Bleacher Talk

Bleacher Talk August 31, 2008 Youth Basketball With your permission, I’d like to write about something that is close to our hearts, not only since we’re an advocate for it, but more importantly since we’re now directly involved in it. I usually don’t write about the sports events that we manage, but this will have to be an exception to the rule. We have been given the challenge to manage the BEST Center’s SBP/Passerelle twin tournament starting this year, and with much reluctance and hesitation, we decided to accept the challenge for the purpose of helping in the development of school-based basketball for the youth. As an advocate, we’ve always written and talked about it, but the guilty part of it is how we never really back up our words with action. And so here we are facing the challenge of not only talking, but also doing our share of “walk the talk.” It seems like only yesterday when the first youth-based tournament organized by Bleacher Talk just ended. The Cebu Youth Basketball ...

We are pleased to "announce" that the SHSJ Football Club (Team SHSJ-Spain) won the Under 8 age group championship at the San Roque Cup Football Festival last Saturday, Aug. 22. We defeated San Roque, 1-0 in the finals, scoring the game-winning goal with around two minutes left in the game. Earlier in the semis, we defeated Don Bosco, via penalty shoot-out, 2-1. We went 4-0 in the elimination round to qualify for the playoffs. Congratulations to the team, and let's move on to continue strengthening the foundation of the club for the future. (L-R): MVP Kyle Go, Carlos Berlin, Leo Macquiling, Roland Mattsen, Mico Lee, Jan Momongan, Coach Nito Tapia.

Bleacher Talk August 10, 2008 Olympics: Pinoy as Spectators Did you see the beautiful opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics? How did you feel when you saw all those athletes, performers and politicians waving flags and showing off their million dollar smiles? Did you feel proud when you saw Manny Pacquiao leading the Philippine team, proudly carrying the Philippine flag? How did you feel about Asia’s hosting an Olympic Games? It happens every four years, and each time, a host city is always on a mission to outdo all the previous hosts in the history of the Olympics. The same is true for the countries and the athletes who are out to prove that they’re the best in the world in their respective sports events. So many storylines can be drawn each time the Olympics is held, and all of these reflect dramatic stories carrying a theme to always do better than the past. Michael Phelps is chasing Mark Spitz. In gymnastics, the Americans are out to prove that they can defeat the Chinese at t...

Bleacher Talk August 3, 2008 CESAFI @ 8 The biggest basketball show in Cebu is back and it’s going to be even better! The CESAFI 2008 basketball tournament kicked off yesterday with the traditional opening ceremonies, but when the action starts, only one question will be asked. Will the University of the Visayas (UV) win an eighth straight championship? The million dollar question will be highlighted even more this year as the Lancers are perceived to be fielding what could be one of their weakest line-ups in seven years of the CESAFI. This season is already being predicted to be the most competitive and balanced in terms of competition. The irony of it all is that the Lancers are still the team to beat from the perspective of most CESAFI coaches. But if you look at the past three or four years of the biggest collegiate league south of Manila, you can’t help but notice how the invincibility that the Lancers carried with them is slowly but surely being torn down. In CESAFI 2007, the Uni...

Bleacher Talk July 25, 2008 Making a World Title Fight 2 The headline for today will have to be copied from that of three weeks ago as a minor bump on the road surfaced on AJ “Bazooka” Banal’s path to a world championship. If my forecast is right, AJ Banal won the WBA super flyweight championship last night by knock-out in the middle rounds just as we were going into press for today’s issue. If Rafa Concepcion didn’t change his style from that which we saw from a previous fight, then Banal will tear him up real bad. Concepcion is called “El Torito” or little bull since he fights like a bull, always going forward and not afraid to get hit. He uses his power to get the job done and is not known to be a technical type of a boxer with finesse and classy moves. This type of boxer is a perfect match for Banal’s combination of excellent boxing skills, power and ring maturity. Concepcion comes at you with his punches coming from wild angles via hooks and overhand rights. His jab looks more lik...

Bleacher Talk July 20, 2008 Shortcut to Vegas We’ve all heard about the lights, glitz and glamour of Vegas, but how many of us have actually been there? We all have our personal reasons to go there, and so do the many local blue chip prospects of boxing who are aching to set foot on the of boxing capital of the world. Thanks to Manny Pacquiao, Philippine boxing is now recognized as a good source of world-class boxers, and the international boxing market is now in search of more Pinoys who can light up the rings of Vegas. But how does one get there? Through the years of Philippine boxing, the traditional and usual way of doing things was to go for a Philippine championship. A national championship automatically meant being rated by the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) that also serves as the regional arm of the World Boxing Council (WBC). A boxer would then have to win an OPBF championship if he wanted to be recognized by the WBC or any of the other international boxing bod...

CEIV poses with their trophy. Edmund, Roy, Venci, Atan, Brigs, Jun,Moncabs, Allan, Jojo, Buchoy Atan splits between Bong & Raul to score inside... Edmund receives trophy from Venci. Jojo scores inside. Bong boxes out

CEIV Wins Mondays Liga Cebu Engineering and Industrial Ventures (CEIV) blew hot and cold before toppling top seed Team Monterroyo, 52-47, to bag the championship of the Mondays Liga 2008. CEIV leaned on the hot hands of Edmund Odulio in the first quarter to control the tempo of the game, taking an 18-7 lead going into the second period. CEIV maintained control of the game to take a 33-19 lead at halftime, this time with Roy Aznar leading the charges of City of Naga Councilor Venci del Mar. Team Monterroyo, however, had other things in mind as they staged a rally, bouncing back in the third quarter with Bong Paculaba stepping up, slashing CEIV’s lead down to 39-31 after three periods. Team Monterroyo’s steady rally continued in the fourth quarter as they managed to control the tempo of the game and gained the much-needed momentum with Eric Nepomuceno at the helm. Team Monterroyo cut the lead down to only three at 47-50, with 22 seconds left in the game, but then went blank with their tr...

Bleacher Talk July 12, 2008 A Fraction of F1 Driving a Formula 1 race car in our lifetime is already accepted as an impossible dream. We’re resigned to watching the races on TV and can only stare in awe at the speed, skills and all the fanfare that comes along with F1 racing. But feeling like an F1 driver for a day isn’t too far-fetched now, is it? If you want to feel like an F1 race car driver, go to Kartzone in Panagdait and you’ll know what I mean. In our drive to know more about the events that we cover and read about, the Sportswriters Association of Cebu City Inc. got a feel of kart racing or karting, thanks to Atty. Jess Garcia. The main objective of Bleacher Talk was to relate with what F1 TV commentators talk about when they analyze a live race. One thing is to hear and listen to the analysis, but doing it is a totally enriching thing as we found out at Kartzone. I’ve had the chance to connect both TV analysis and an actual game experience in events such as basketball, badmint...

Team Monterroyo, CEIV in Finals of Mondays Liga Team Monterroyo and Cebu Engineering and Industrial Ventures (CEIV) squeezed themselves into the finals of the Mondays Liga 2008 with heart-stopping wins on the last day of the tournament’s double-round robin elimination phase. Team Monterroyo nipped LCP Garments, 58-56 in overtime, while CEIV bowed to Team-C 62-65, but made it to the finals via the quotient based tiebreaker. In what turned out as a repeat of its first round game which was decided also in overtime, Team Monterroyo banked on its torrid three-point shooting and excellent field goal shooting to outlast an undermanned LCP squad. John Tantay stepped up in crunch time, scoring all his treys in the fourth quarter and overtime just as LCP seemed to grab the momentum. With LCP up by one 52-51, Tantay swished a trey to give Monterroyo a 54-52 lead with 26 seconds left in the game. Mario Camingao however replied with his medium range jumper with 12 seconds left to send the game into...

Bleacher Talk July 6, 2008 Making a World Title Fight I‘ve always been curious of how Pinoy boxers get that much-sought after chance to fight in a world championship and end up living up to the dreams that they made when they were young upstarts. Some have been there, while some haven’t. There are even talks of how many Pinoy boxers who have the legitimate potential to become world champions never even get a chance to challenge for a world championship fight due to a number of forces beyond their control: politics, breaks and at times, plain luck. But times today have changed ever since a boxer named Manny Pacquiao stepped up to the plate to deliver a homerun for Philippine boxing. Ever since Pacquiao scored a major breakthrough, Pinoy boxing is now on the map and is getting the attention of the international boxing scene. Nonito Donaire, Donnie Nietes and Florante Condes proudly carried the colors of the country when they won their world championships, while the recent forays of Berna...

Bleacher Talk June 29, 2008 Seeking Greatness Today is going to be the greatest day in the history of Philippine boxing. You and I are a lucky bunch to be part of what is going to be a big day in Philippine sports. When Michael Buffer makes that final announcement on top of the ring, the entire Philippines is going to celebrate the Manny Pacquiao’s successful quest to win a world championship in four different weight divisions. Pacquiao is seeking greatness in a different manner from the way previous Pinoy greats have gone. While the great boxers of the past chose the path of longevity in a specific weight division to carve their names in the halls of sports history, Pacquiao is taking it a notch higher. He’s going for longevity as a boxer but doing this in four (or five) different weight classes. Flash Elorde will always crowd Pacquiao for the tag as the greatest Pinoy boxer ever. The Flash made the Philippines proud by dominating the super featherweight division (130 pounds) from 196...

Mondays Liga News Update CEIV, Team-C Win in Mondays Liga Cebu Engineering and Industrial Ventures (CEIV) and Team-C scored comfortable victories to muddle the team standings of the Mondays Liga 2008. CEIV got back at first-round tormentor LCP Garments, 63-50, while Team-C outlasted Team Monterroyo, 65-54. Balikbayan Jojo Nardo finally found his groove after a year-long lay-off from the sport to lead CEIV in a clinical display of balanced offense and percentage basketball. Nardo led a CEIV blitz right from the get go as they took a 21-13 lead at the end of the first period. LCP bounced back in the second to trail by only two at the half, 30-32, but Nardo spiked a third quarter run that put the game beyond reach. Four CEIV players scored in double digits led by Nardo’s 18. Atan de Leon added 12 while Jojo Cruz and Brigs Brigoli had 11 apiece including three triples each. Lander Perez led the under-manned LCP squad with 15 points. In the other game, Team-C revived its chances for a slot ...

Bleacher Talk June 22, 2008 Basketball After NBA Now that Celtic fans have recovered from their hangovers and parties celebrating Boston’s league-leading 17th NBA title, the local basketball world is now on the search for the next basketball action to follow. What’s on the table for us? While the NBA will always be the NBA and no other league can match its popularity, we have many other leagues that deserve attention and that provide us with good quality basketball. For starters, the start of the schoolyear also means the start of the collegiate basketball season. The first league to launch its games is the NCAA, now on its 84th season. Games of the oldest-running league kick off this weekend with the usual elaborate and colorful opening day ceremonies. Teams to watch out for are San Beda and Letran. It doesn’t look like strong threats will be coming from other teams although Mapua and JRU always give the favorites a scare each time they meet. The UAAP and all the other Manila-based co...

Bleacher Talk June 15, 2008 Boston’s Team Ball The NBA Finals is pleasantly turning out to surprise basketball fans and experts alike, hasn’t it? Who would’ve thought that the Celtics would be up 3-1 when the Lakers were favorites going into Game 1? Who would’ve thought that the 30-year old ++ veterans of the Celtics would overcome the youth of Kobe and his band of Lakers? If Boston can maintain its momentum and LA continue to sleep at crucial stages of the game (and series), we could be seeing a Boston championship as early as tomorrow (Sunday in the U.S). The factors behind this are obvious and this corner can’t help but compare the ongoing series to the classic Laker-Celtic battles of the 80’s and why Boston is in the driver’s seat. When one looks at those classic battles of the 80s, it was clear that both the Lakers and Celtics relied on team ball to get the job done. And current NBA Finals is also showing us that the team that has been playing team ball is in the driver’s seat. I...

Mondays Liga News Update CEIV, Team Monterroyo Score OT Wins in Mondays Liga It was a night of overtime wins as Cebu Engineering and Industrial Ventures (CEIV) and Team Monterroyo both scored cliffhanger wins that needed extended periods in the Mondays Liga. CEIV outlasted Team C, 59-53, while Team Monterroyo nipped LCP Garments, 62-61. While CEIV celebrated the comeback of balikbayan Jojo Nardo to the tournament after a year-long absence, the team composed of ex-Gamma players of USC leaned on the end-game heroics of Buchoy Jacobe who sent the game into overtime and scored five of his team’s nine overtime points to score their second win in three games. Jacobe scored the team’s last three points in regular time, including a free throw that sent the game into extended play. He also scored CEIV’s first five points in overtime to douse any hopes of a rally from the opposition. Edmund Odulio scattered 26 points to lead CEIV. Jacobe added 10, eight of these coming in the fourth period and o...

Bleacher Talk June 8, 2008 A Little Respect Please This corner has always been proud of Cebu Boxing, and we have hailed its achievements and have boasted (almost with arrogance) that nothing beats us in this part of the world. In a way, I feel guilty of sounding like a PR man for Cebu Boxing. But this is where coming in as an analyst takes us back to reality and acknowledge that not everything is all that rosy for boxing after all. There are a number of things that continue to hamper our growth and do not support our statement that we’re the best in the business. And this is something that we’ll need to work on asap. Cebu Boxing is plagued by unprofessional practices that continue to take place without anyone doing anything about it. All these are indicators of a lack of respect towards the people who serve as officials of the sport and eventually the fans. Around a week ago, a boxing event organized by a Manila-based promoter was held in Bogo, some 100 kilometers north of the city. It...

Mondays Liga News Update LCP, Monterroyo Win in Mondays Liga LCP Garments defeated Cebu Engineering and Industrial Ventures (CEIV) in a battle of opening day winners, 67-57, to take solo leadership of the Mondays Liga 2008. In the other game Team Monterroyo bounced back from last week’s loss to outlast Team-C, 47-42. The LCP squad of team owner Lander Perez once again relied on a big second quarter to break open a close game and cruise to its second win in as many games. Mario “The Silencer” Camingao stepped up again as he did last week, drilling in 14 of his game-high 22 points in the second period alone, leading LCP to take a comfortable 42-24 lead at the halftime break. CEIV staged a third quarter rally behind Atan de Leon’s 10 points while limiting LCP to only eight points, their lowest output in a quarter, to close the gap to 50-36. But Perez took over in the final period to douse any chances of a CEIV comeback. Camingao led LCP with 22 points while Perez and Big Mac Macmac had 18...

Bleacher Talk June 1, 2008 LA-Boston Again They were bound to meet again in a historical case of de ja vu. As if scripted by the gods of basketball, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics will be facing off again in the NBA Finals. They have faced off ten times in the history of the NBA Finals with each series always described as classics, and now, they’re at it again. The green against the purple and gold. Both are hands-down, the two most dominant franchises in NBA history whose consistency since 1946 is simply unmatched. I’m not sure if it’s the age gap or era, but we just can’t help but look back and reminisce at the 80’s when talking about the LA-Boston rivalry. I’m sure that the younger NBA fans out there will contest us on this one, but the today’s rivalry is nowhere near the one we followed in the 80’s. But then again, it just started and has a long way to go. The 1980s has been described as the second era of the Lakers and Celtics after Boston’s dominance of the NBA in the ...

Mondays Liga News Update LCP, CEIV Win in Mondays Liga LCP Garments and Cebu Engineering and Industrial Ventures (CEIV) scored big wins to kick off the Mondays Liga 2008 basketball tournament on Monday. LCP defeated Team-C, 57-39, while CEIV crushed Team Monterroyo, 56-41. After a tentative start that saw both teams tied at 10-all at the end of the first period, LCP of playing manager Lander Perez erupted with a big scoring splurge behind the hot hands of Mario “The Silencer” Camingao who drained eight of his game-high 16 points in the period. But it wasn’t a one man show as all five LCP players who saw action in the second period contributed to the scoring spree while limiting Team-C to only 11 points. LCP took a comfortable 33-21 lead at the half and went on cruise control to seal the win. Camingao was backed up by “Big Mac” Macmac’s 12 points. Raphael Madroñero and Jonas Jumalon led Team-C with eight points apiece. In the other game, pre-tournament favorite CEIV of City of Naga Coun...