Bleacher Talk

Bleacher Talk June 28, 2020 Wanted: Sports Parents this Schoolyear It’s time to shine sports parents! You all have a new challenge these days, and it’s not about sports. The new game? Online learning, the new normal in education. When classes start, students will remain in the comforts of their homes to be “present” when attendance is checked. The house is the “classroom.” And with teachers conducting their lectures from another location, parents and guardians will now have to step up to the plate (and deliver). This is where sports parents won’t have to make too big of an adjustment. The best sports parents are those who provide all-out support for their children in sports; they are multi-tasking super heroes who can do it all. They drive their kids to practice and games, and serve as water boys, towel girls, umbrella girls, nurses, photographer, camera men, kargador and cheerleaders. When home, they turn into laundrymen, guidance counselors, massage therapists and coo...

MYBL-Cebu, KOTC, Dondon Partner to Raise Funds   The MVPSF Youth Basketball League-Cebu (MYBL-Cebu), Kings of the Court (KOTC) and Dondon Hontiveros have partnered to raise funds for officials of the league who are affected by the suspension of games due to the pandemic.   For the price of P700, one can get a personalized and customized artwork in high definition similar to the one made for Dondon Hontiveros by KOTC. All one has to do is to choose from an array of designs from KOTC’s catalog, send pictures of themselves and send these by e-mail to info@kingsofthecourt.ph together with a proof of donation. Once the donation is confirmed, the artwork will be sent by e-mail within three to four days. The campaign is open not only to basketball players but also to those in volleyball, football, swimming, cycling, running, boxing and coaches. Proceeds of the fund-raising campaign will go to the officials of the MYBL-Cebu, the biggest age-group grassroots league in the region. ...

Win the Wait We all love a great quotation, don’t we? “Win the Wait” was one of those that stood out at Friday’s online forum of the Sport Management Council of the Philippines, “PH Collegiate Sports Moving Forward,” a Huddle Up with guest sports directors, athletes, coaches and more. Among the panelists included CESAFI Commissioner Felix Tiukinhoy Jr. The forum tackled the major issues that college sports faced in this time of the pandemic. The major question revolved around what will happen to college sports this year with the cancellation of tournaments in 2020 and maybe even for a large part of 2021. The answers were a mix, considering that everyone came from different contexts and situations. For the schools whose resources for sports are not an issue, it’s business as usual. Coaches are still on board, scholarships of student-athletes are preserved and all teams remain active but online instead the usual practices. The same is true for the state universities where educat...

Coach Nic BEST Center. Milo BEST. SBP Passerelle. DEFENSE!  These are the words that will forever be associated with Coach Nic Jorge. He passed away yesterday morning, but we are certain that he will never be forgotten. For basketball players, how can we ever forget those annual summer clinics where we yelled “DEFENSE,” met friends from other places and learned that character, fellowship and discipline were more important than the spider drill? For participants of the annual SBP Passerelle basketball tournament, how can we ever forget that first ever game played as if it were the most important game of our lives, and ended up shooting an air ball or committing a turnover the moment we got on the court? And yet we kept pushing ourselves to “be the best.” For parents, how can we not forget how we would bring our children to a BEST Center clinic backed by Milo, excitedly cheering from the sidelines and taking pictures of every move of our kids? And how can we forget going a...

Inspired to Serve, Bayanihan When we wrote the story “Good Deeds Are Contagious” for our May 26 sports page, it dawned upon me that in this time of pandemic, service, charity and concern for others is very much alive. This particular story was about the pledge of Bounty Agro Ventures Inc. (BAVI), better known as the makers “Chooks to Go,” to donate 5,000 pieces of Bounty Fresh dressed chicken to CESAFI officials, coaches, medics, utility crew, security guards and venue personnel. The first batch of deliveries were made last week, with all recipients flashing ear-to-ear smiles and unanimously commenting, “Dagko-a gud ani.” BAVI president Ronald Mascariñas is no stranger to sports at the national level, so his pledge to help a regional league is a most welcome whiff of fresh air. The key here was how he was i nspired by CESAFI’s providing food baskets to its coaches, officials, support and utility teams. “We admire the efforts of CESAFI management in looking after the welfare of ath...