Bleacher Talk

Bleacher Talk August 26, 2007 Train in Peace We may not realize it, but Cebu is the envy of Philippine boxing these days. And it’s all due to Manny Pacquiao’s decision to make the country’s boxing hotbed as training base for his upcoming fight against Marco Antonio Barrera. When we first heard about this news, we didn’t want to believe it. After all, why choose Cebu over the usual Wild Card Gym of Freddie Roach? Why didn’t Manny decide to work out at the Wild Card Gym in Parañaque, Roy Golingan’s gym in Gen San or the ABAP Gym in Baguio? Every time local training for Pacquiao was discussed in the past, these were always the only venues proposed to or for the Pacman. The irony of all this was that Cebu was always left out in all these talks. I guess what goes around comes around. For the first time since tying up with Freddie Roach, Pacquiao is not making Wild Card as his main base of operations. Believe it or not. Cebu is it! I can now recall those previous marketing communication camp...

The SHSJ Football Club bagged the championship of Under-12 age group at the San Roque Football Fiesta. They defeated CIS, 1-0, in the finals yesterday. (L-R) Orson Tan, Miggy Acebedo-Kwan, Pompom Veloso, Vinson Nery, AJ Pelicano, Anthony Adlawan, Matthew Miñoza, Will Villaver, Coach Lito Ramos, Donald McNevin, Gabby Sungcad. MVP. AJ Pelicano, who headed in the winning goal in the finals, was named MVP of the Under 12 age group of the San Roque Football Fiesta. With him is his proud mother Tonet.

Bleacher Talk August 19, 2007 Development Through Schools Much has been said about grassroots development in sports. It has now become an over-chewed chewing gum, and there never seems to be an end to all the talk. Politicians, sportsmen and everyone else involved in sports seems to be an expert in the field, but the irony of it all is that we still can’t see the fruits out of all these talk. Where are the fruits of the all the grassroots programs that are being implemented? Or maybe the question should be: Do we have a genuine grassroots program? I read in the news that BAP-SBP Executive Director Patrick “Pato” Gregorio is in town with veteran FIBA referee Alan Richardson who’s here for a lecture series on officiating. It isn’t too often that we get to talk to the brand new boss of basketball, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t read or listen to columnists like us, but what the hell, I’d like to throw my two cents worth anyway. It’s all about going back to school. If Pato (I’ve called him...

Bleacher Talk August 12, 2007 Extra Mile @ World Cup What will it take for the Philippines to win the Philippines-Mexico showdown today? Talent? Skills? Heart? Yes to, all plus a whole lot more. As the six boxers go up on the ring, they’ll have to remember that while their skills are at par with the world’s best, skills alone can’t assure you of wins. For Boom Boom and company, they’ve got to go the extra mile. Do more than the usual. Go out of the box. Stretch it to the limits, even beyond the limits. Unfortunately for us, the “other side” of boxing is not on our side and may never ever be on our side at all. Boxing politics have always been favorable to Latinos and not us Asians. After all, all the boxing bodies are dominated and ran by Spanish-speaking boxing “gods.” I’d like to see Boom Boom Bautista win, but it’s not going to be easy. This early, people are already predicting a sure win for Boom Boom, and he hasn’t even gone up the ring yet! Let’s put everything in the proper pers...

Bleacher Talk August 5, 2007 CESAFI Earning Respect The local basketball scene couldn’t have picked a better time to wake up from a long nap with the opening of the seventh season of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation (CESAFI) yesterday. When one talks about Cebu Basketball and its impact or contribution to the bigger picture, the CESAFI and/or the local collegiate scene will always be tops in terms of heritage, history and prominence. And no other local league, personality or establishment can claim to be bigger or richer in history. Although the CESAFI is only seven years old, it traces its roots to the long history of the Cebu Amateur Athletic Association (CAAA) and all the collegiate leagues of the past. Through the years, many leagues have come and gone, but none has lasted as long as the local collegiate family. This link to the past makes it the longest running local league in the land today. The CESAFI and all its predecessor-leagues in the past have thus made local collegiat...

Bleacher Talk July 22, 2007 Love Team: Refs & Coaches Love team in sports. Yes sir. No, we’re not referring to the likes of Raymart and Claudine, Angel and Richard, and Vic and Pia. Showbiz is not the only place where these are found as the sports world has its own share. The love teams in sports are much bigger, long-lasting, and can even be more controversial than all of showbiz love teams combined! Referees and Coaches. I couldn’t think of a better pair. So bring in those theme songs, “Perfect Combination,” “Endless Love,” “Love Team”… You love them and you hate them. They love each other, and yes, they hate each other. Like any other relationship, they have their ups and downs, lover’s quarrels, joyous moments, and painful experiences, but that’s what love is all about, di ba? But the optimist in me would prefer to look at the brighter side of things. I’m confident that referees and coaches can work together to establish a lasting relationship that is smooth, trouble-free and s...

Bleacher Talk July 22, 2007 Oplan Beijing When Team Pilipinas opens its drive to make it to the Beijing Olympics later in the week, all of the Philippines will be watching. And whether or not they like it, the PBA-initiated national training team program is going to be on the hot seat. All eyes will be on them and these eyes won’t be those of only the basketball family. The entire sports family: officials and fans alike will be training their critical eyes on the most talked about national team program in years. And the million-dollar question? Is this the correct formula to bring the Philippines to the Olympics? If the Philippines makes it to the Olympics, then a resounding “yes” will automatically be the answer. If we fail to qualify, many people will say “no.” But that’s not going to stop others from saying “yes.” The “yes” group will provide a disclaimer that the program that was ran for the past year wasn’t exactly the same as the original version proposed by national team Coach C...

Sacred Heart, Barili Football Club Win The Sacred Heart School-Jesuit Football Club (SHSJ-FC) and Barili Football Club (BFC) split the Under-12 and Under-10 age group titles at the First Barili Fiesta Cup Sunday in Barili. The hosts BFC struck first in the Under-12 division by beating SHS-FC, 2-1, in the finals of the 7-a-side football festival. BFC scored the first two goals, one in each half, before SHSJ-FC retaliated with a goal courtesy of Vinson Nery. BFC then clamped down on defense and held off all SHSJ-FC rallies to bag the championship. Both the BFC and SHSJ-FC squads went undefeated in the elimination round, including a scoreless draw between themselves before facing off in the finals. SHSJ-FC, however, bounced back in the younger Under-10 division with a 3-0 win over BFC. Kiko Villamor made up for their elder counterparts’ loss with the quickest goal of the tournament, scoring on SHSJ-FC’s first possession from the opening kick-off. He followed this up with two more goals to...

Bleacher Talk July 15, 2007 College Ball & Pride Have you surfed channels and observed the ongoing PBA Finals and basketball games of the UAAP? Did you notice which games had more “K”? Which games had more fans or spectators? From this lot of fans, which fans were wilder, rowdier, or were simply having more fun? Which games had louder cheering support for teams? Which TV production/coverage had more TV sponsors? If you answered the PBA, guess again. The period between July and September is actually the time the PBA takes a back seat to the real stars of local basketball. It’s time for college ball once again as the UAAP leads the pack of the country’s collegiate leagues in “taking over’ local basketball. Incidentally, it is of no coincidence that the PBA and PBL are taking their respective off-season breaks. I’ve always admired the way the UAAP and NCAA games are being conducted, from the actual games, to the fans and their TV coverage/productions. All these are at par or are even ...

Bleacher Talk July 8, 2007 Going International on Local Shores How do you describe a boxing event that’s held in a posh Cebu hotel? Sosyal, classy, unique; something for a change? Now what if this featured for its main event a 12-round championship bout between a Korean champion and a Thai challenger? Yes, you read it right. We had two foreigners slugging it out for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia Pacific super lightweight championship here in Cebu! And it took place last night at the Waterfront Hotel. Don’t ask me. Just like you, I’m still at a loss on how to describe last night’s foreign-flavored boxing promotion organized by SGG Sports, the ALA Boxing Gym and BP Entertainment of Korea. But don’t worry if we can’t think of a name or tag for the event (for now). After all, never before have we seen something like this in the past. Five Koreans, Two Thais, One Indonesian. That’s a total of eight visitors showing off their skills before Cebu’s boxing fans in one night. We used...

Bleacher Talk July 1, 2007 Sports in School Did you ever notice that when you pay the tuition fees of your children, there’s an expense or cost item for sports? It might be labeled as “sports fee” while other schools call it “athletics fee.” Whatever it is, it’s supposed to be used for sports. But did you ever bother to ask the school where this fee ends up in the real world? Disclaimer # 1: Before anything else, I’d like to make it clear that this is not a column questioning these fees at the school where my kids study. [I better play safe here lest they take it against my innocent kids.] :-) We all know how important sports is in the formative stage of kids. There is so much one can learn and develop in sports that you can’t find in the four walls of a classroom. This is why many schools take on a holistic approach in developing or educating our kids. It’s not a matter of giving kids a full dose of academics and nothing else. Extra-curricular activities are highly encouraged, and on...

Bleacher Talk June 24, 2007 BAP-SBP Split in Cebu? I’ll ask this up front and hope our sports leaders can give me a straight answer. Is there a split between the Basketball Association of the Philippines regional chapter and the BAP-SBP? I ask this because I’m concerned. After attending the unity meeting that saw the birth of the united BAP-SBP in Manila earlier in the year, I was all high hopes that Cebu would play a major role as one of the leading regional basketball hubs of the country. I was thus expecting to see unified activities that would bring all our local basketball leaders together and on the same page. But is this happening? What got me worried were the separate announcements of two upcoming tournaments. The first is the Talk ’N Text SBP-BAP MVBA Invitational Basketball Tournament that kicks off today, while the other is the BAP Danao City Mayor’s Cup on June 29. Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s great that Cebu will be awakened from a quiet basketball summer with the hold...

Bleacher Talk June 17, 2007 Working for a World Title One of the most interesting activities in boxing is how boxing managers work through the sport’s maze to get a world title shot for their boxers. I’ve always been amazed at how the sport has somehow found so many thousands of ways to have boxers fighting for world championships, and we’re very fortunate to have one our very own boxing clubs working on this with their boxers. There are those who work their way slowly but surely, going through the process of building up their boxers through the ranks. These boxers usually gain the much-needed exposure at home, then go international to further increase their confidence and test the waters. When ripe and ready, they challenge for a world title which the manager works so hard for, with the help of the big names or promoters of international boxing. But a boxer whose career is made to grow this way can’t be guaranteed of a championship just yet. Beneath all these are all the wheeling and ...

Bleacher Talk June 10, 2007 Spurs and NBA Finals 101 This is it. We’re down to two teams. Will the San Antonio Spurs come out on top as predicted by most (if not all) analysts and fans? Or will Cleveland Cavaliers score another major upset behind the leadership of a 22 year-old superstar? The irony about making a forecast for this year’s finals is that it’s going to "easier" than making one for what was supposed to be a Spurs-Pistons finals. I really wish I didn’t have to say that, but there really isn’t anything else to say, is there? You can ask any basketball fan and nine out of ten will predict a Spurs championship. Everything is simply pointing to another Spurs championship and it doesn’t look like the Cavs will be able to pull off another surprise from Mike Brown’s bag of tricks. A unique blend of over-all player superiority, experience and consistency will bring the Spurs another championship. They’re simply so much stronger in every department with the lone exception...

Bleacher Talk June 3, 2007 PHIL-ling Up Are you happy with the current state of Philippine boxing? Are we happy that Manny Pacquiao is recognized as the people’s world champion? Are we also happy that Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista is on the verge of winning a world championship? I think the answers to these are an obvious “yes.” But let me challenge the question further. Are we happy with just these? A couple bright stars for Philippine boxing, and that’s it? If you take a look at the current boxing scene and gauge how the Philippines is doing vis-à-vis other countries, you’ll most likely agree with me that yes, while we are proud of the latest achievements of Pacquiao and Boom Boom, there’s a long way to go before reaching our long term dream of seeing the Philippines as a dominant player in the international boxing scene. And when one talks about dominating the world boxing, one of the best examples is Mexico, especially in the “lighter” weight divisions, i.e. those below the middleweight...

Bleacher Talk May 27, 2007 Pistons and Spurs Show If you aren't happy with the current match-ups of the NBA Playoffs, blame it on the Golden State Warriors. They were the ones who prevented us from watching a Dallas-San Antonio series. You can also add Detroit to the blame list for doing everything almost effortlessly, getting the job done even if they had to go through a scare against the Bulls. The Pistons even had the luxury of playing lousy ball and still came out on top over Cleveland in their ongoing series. In sum, after a high-octane first two rounds of the playoffs, it looks like the excitement, following and hype being produced by the Spurs-Jazz and Pistons-Cavs series isn't up there as expected. And so I ask. Are the playoffs getting “boring?” Hmmm. A San Antonio–Phoenix clash would've been a better conference finals match-up, di ba? And in a way, the playoffs set-up wasn't “fair” to the Bulls who ended up facing the Pistons so early. Thus, the jury is out on...

Bleacher Talk May 21, 2007 What’s Up Cebu Basketball? What’s happening to local basketball? As I write this, I feel a sense of de ja vu as I’ve decided to write about a topic that I also discussed around a year ago today when I was worried about the state of local basketball. Talking about local basketball these days brings up a mix of questions, kudos and concerns. If you take the viewpoint of one who has followed the local basketball scene since the 70’s, you can’t help but be worried. Why? If you talk about local ball today, the only topic to discuss is collegiate basketball. The CESAFI and the Partners Cup series remain to be the only leagues “alive.” But both are essentially one and the same set of teams using different league names or “titles.” I take my hats off to CESAFI Commissioner Boy Tiukinhoy and lawyer-sportsman Merong Estenzo for doing their share of putting up a league other than the CESAFI. But I just can’t help but say that there’s something missing in local ball: the...

Bleacher Talk May 13, 2007 What’s Next for Boom Boom? When “The World Awaits” came to a close, more questions than answers were raised. Was that it? We all waited for this? Where was the promise of explosions that had the world waiting? Did Mayweather deserve to win/lose? And on and on and on. But we don’t want to dwell on these, do we? There’s a more important question that needs to be answered and it doesn’t even deal with the uneventful main event. We’re talking about the best fight of the night! We’re talking about one of our very own. What’s next for Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista? Is he for real? Is he ready for that world title fight? Is he still being fed patsies? Will he be the next world champ this year? Don’t look now, but the Philippines waited for May 6 to have their questions answered, and I’m not sure if anyone was disappointed with what they saw. Boom Boom Bautista is for real, and he’s the next big thing to come out of Philippine boxing. Believe it or not. I have to admit th...

Bleacher Talk May 6, 2007 Worth the Wait? When an event says that the world awaits it, then it’s got to be something really big. And so when “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather and Oscar “Golden Boy” de la Hoya clash in the year’s biggest fight at around noon today, all of us boxing fans will finally get to watch what we’ve been waiting for ever since the fight was announced. At the end of the day, the big question that we’d like to ask is if it was all worth the wait. But before anything else, we ought to issue a warning. Just because the event is called “The World Awaits,” don’t expect the fight to be a top candidate for “fight of the year” or to become the most talked about fight in boxing history. Let’s discuss why. For starters, the fight is not going to be a “bakbakan” or rumble that fight fans always look forward to when two giants clash on top of the ring in the same way that Manny Pacquiao and Erik Morales slugged it out in three episodes. It’s not going to be like the Juan Manuel M...

Bleacher Talk April 29, 2007 Playoffs Twists and Surprises The NBA season’s first round of playoffs has produced a combination of twists, surprises and expected’s, and has done a great job of making the playoffs a must-watch affair. While many tune in late in the playoffs to see who will eventually clash in the finals, missing this year’s first round could mean a lot of “sayang’s” when they find out what has taken place so far, and we aren’t even halfway through the different series yet. The biggest story out of the first round has to be the way the Golden State Warriors have played against the Dallas Mavericks. When I found out that the Warriors had taken Game 1, was I surprised? Not at all, knowing that if there was a coach who knew how to beat the Mavs, he would have to be Don Nelson. After all, didn’t Nellie once handle Dirk Nowitzki and company before (and this includes Dallas Coach Avery Johnson)? While many predict that the Warriors won’t eventually win the series, they are prov...