Dr. Potenciano “Yong” Larrazabal III (center of the photo) has a complete website for Cebuano runners. It shows all the events about to kick off this 2007. It shows pictures, commentary, articles. If you reside in Cebu and you’re into the cheapest available form of exercise–running–then bookmark this site (http://www.runforsight.net) and mark it as one of your favorites.
For many years, one of the top junior tennis events in Cebu has been the Head-Penn Junior Age-Group Championships. This year was no exception. Held at the Sancase Tennis Club in Mabolo from May 15 to 17, over 153 participants joined from all over the country. I attended the awarding and helped distribute the trophies to the winners. Read the Sun.Star Cebu story (written by Marian Baring) on the results…
Left photo: Boys 18 champion Francis Largo (right) and runner-up Larry Antigua (left) with head coach Fritz Tabura
Right photo: The famous Siso family: Sally Mae (right) and Nino (left) with their mom, Sally
Gina Juan with Men’s World No. 1 Lin Dan at the Aviva Super Series event in Singapore last May 6
One of the top female badminton club players in Cebu, Gina Juan (who plays regularly at the Casino Espanol de Cebu) sent me something hilarious. Question: Are you crazy about this sport? Like thousands of others are in the Philippines? Read on. This just might be you.,,
• Just a split-second before shaking someone’s hand, you think forehand or backhand grip.
• You form hundreds of shuttlecocks into a Christmas tree. At parties, you compare the calluses of friends.
• You buy a tennis racket to train your wrist strength.
• You buy college text books as weights for wrist training.
• You wish you lived in Malaysia or Indonesia.
• You own more than two rackets.
• You’d rather play than go on a dinner date. You call in sick at work to play.
• Your choice of boyfriend is based on his level of play.
“The Big Dome” in Quezon City… the Araneta Coliseum
The other day, May 15, I wrote a column in Sun.Star Cebu entitled, “Cebu Megadome: What We Needed Yesterday.”
Yesterday, I read good news. Sylvan “Jack” Jakosalem, the recently re-elected Councilor of Cebu City and the chairman of the games, amusement and professional sports committee at the City Council, announced very good news: “I guess it is the right time to build one for
That’s welcome news. Thanks, Jack. This proud city of ours deserves no less. How can we call ourselves to tourists and foreigners “better than Manila” if we can’t even build a sportsdome?
Read the full Sun.Star Cebu article (“A ‘megadome’ for Cebu City: Councilor Jack”) penned yesterday by my colleague Rommel Manlosa.
Coach Butch (right) with Michael Mora and Jana Pages
Last night, I had dinner with “The Coach.” If you’ve been in touch with Philippine tennis the past 30 years, you know him. Davis Cup captain. Mentor to dozens of RP’s finest. US-trained. Harry Hopman-tutored. Articulate. Passionate. Inspiring. There are many words to describe Coach Butch Bacani.
Here’s one more: Pete Sampras fan.
During last night’s dinner at the Cafe Laguna Garden with his assistant coach Michael Mora (a former top pro), my wife Jasmin, and our eight-year-old daughter Jana, I asked Butch: “I have this VCD of Sampras. One of the best matches I’ve ever seen. Can you guess what match it is?”
In a split-second, he replied: “Sampras versus Boris Becker, Germany, World Championships.”
I grinned from ear-to-ear. Couldn’t believe it. How did he get it? That quickly? In the split of a split-second? Well, because he’s breathed the tennis air for three decades now, “The Coach” knows the game. He knows the players. And he knows who’s the best ever. “Pete Sampras,” he tells me, “at his prime, will beat Roger Federer at his prime. Nobody has the serve, first or second serve. Nobody volleys as good. In grass and in fast hard-courts, Pete will beat Roger.” I didn’t argue. With a guru as knowledgeable as Butch Bacani, you perform one act: Nod your head.
In case you didn’t know, Butch Bacani is in Cebu for one month to teach tennis. Beginners. Adults. Advanced. Children. Parents. Grandparents. All interested, regardless of shape, age or color, are welcome to join the Monday-Wednesday-Friday sessions at the Cebu Country Club. Sessions end June 1. (Call Ging-Ging at 4161122 for more info.) All you need is your tennis racket, a pair of shorts and Tshirt and shoes… that’s it. Sponsored by SMART, this is–simply amazing–for free!
This is NOT the Cebu Coliseum
Last Saturday night, I parked near Colon Street, strolled about 157 meters, and stepped inside the Cebu Coliseum.
San Miguel Beer, the most famous bottle ever produced in this country, paraded 6-foot-6-tall giants who dribbled and dunked as the building’s parquet floor shook. It was the PBA—“Live In Cebu!”—and I arrived midway through the second quarter to watch the Don-Don Hotiveros-less SMB versus the Red Bull Barako contest.
The game was hot! Oven hot. You see, while the Cebu Coliseum is no longer called just “Cebu Coliseum”—they’ve added a first-name and named it “NEW” Cebu Coliseum—I couldn’t figure out what was new about our city’s only sports arena. New? Ha-ha. Instead, I suggest to replace that word with another three-letter word: Hot.
The “Hot Cebu Coliseum.”
Barely seven minutes after I sat down on the front row of the Lower Box, trickles of sweat slipped down my cheeks. And they said this place had air-conditioning? I wonder if those cooling units were the same ones from 1879—the year the Cebu Coliseum was born. (Just kidding. I tried to research when it was built but couldn’t find the answer. But this I’m sure: it was decades and decades and decades ago…)
Isn’t it time for Cebu to have a real NEW COLISEUM?
Imagine with me. Imagine if this proud land of ours, if this city and province that we call “RP’s Best” while those from Manila call “taga-probinsya,” imagine if we had a 25,000-seater arena?
Where to hold Dennis Rodman and his Bad Boys? No problem. Where to stage a future Madonna concert? No problem. Where to hold a Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal exhibition? No problem. Where to hold the Binibing Pilipinas? No problem. Where to hold the World Wrestling Federation rumble?
Sayang. Remember then-governor Pabling Garcia proposed that we build the Cebu Megadome? Where the CICC is now located? Remember that? Had that pushed through—at only a fraction of the CICC’s cost, P250 million—Cebu would be a world-class sports destination today. We’d bring in more tourists. We’d bring in more of our neighbors from Bohol and Cagayan de Oro and Dumaguete to watch and applaud and scream from the stands. And best of all, we’d have no problem where to hold the World Cup of Boxing.
Two months ago, I spoke to Michael Aldeguer, the dashing young son of Antonio Lopez Aldeguer (ALA) who wore a black suit with a silver tie during the Boom-Boom Bautista and AJ Banal fights in Las Vegas. You know what, according to Michael, is Cebu’s problem with the World Cup?
It’s not the fighters. Boom-Boom and AJ won and they’re hungry to gobble nachos and enchiladas with the Mexicans. It’s not the money. Aldeguer has lots and the Cebu City government, with the backing of Mayor Tommy and Councilor Jack Jakosalem, has lots. It’s not the Cebuano audience. There’ll be more of us spectators than there are seats. Remember “Moment of Truth” last March? The Cebu City Sports Center bleachers overflowed. So what’s the problem?
The venue. Why? Because the World Cup of Boxing has to be fought on Saturday night in the US. And Saturday night there means, to us here, Sunday morning. Now. Can you hold a Sunday morning fight—from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.—at the open-air Cebu City Sports Center? Sure you can. But the spectators around the boxing ring will be fried, cooked, torched by the sun. And the whole Sports Center will flood with sweat.
The World Cup of Boxing needs an indoor arena.
The New Cebu Coliseum? Don’t make me laugh. Or sweat.
Last night, I watched San Miguel Beer come-from-behind to beat Red Bull Barako, 98-93, in a PBA game at the Cebu Coliseum.
The game was hot!
Sitting inside the Cebu Coliseum felt like you were being cooked inside a La Germania oven. It was that hot. And they said it had air-conditioning? I’ve been to both venues and must say, though it’s smaller, the Mandaue Coliseum is better: you don’t have to sweat as much as Olsen Racela.
The San Miguel-Red Bull game? It wasn’t hot. The stadium wasn’t 75 percent full. The Lower and Upper Box bleachers were crowded but in the General Admission section, it was mostly vacant. The game itself was unexciting. Maybe because Don-Don Hontiveros (who’s with the RP National team) wasn’t playing. And isn’t Don-Don the Cebuano Idol of this land, ever since the days of the Cebu Gems?
The game lacked the moments when your palm would turn moist, when your neck will loom out and your eyes enlarge, when your heart pumped 128 times per 60 seconds.
The part when the crowd got most excited? No, not during the game. But during break time when T-shirts were hurled via slingshot to the hungry and sweaty Cebuanos.
Now. Was this a PBA game or a carnival?
The Philippine Basketball Association, in my opinion, has to reinvent itself. Popularity has dwindled. Fans no longer scream as loud. The game has to regain its dribble.
Cebu City Councilor and most-bemedalled coach Yayoy Alcoseba (right) with Patrick Gregorio, the man groomed to head the Samahang Basketbol Pilipinas (SBP)-BAP
Name me a child—or adult—who doesn’t like Spiderman. I have one: my mother-in-law, Malu Mendez. She dislikes spiders. No, make that hates spiders. Anything brown and web-like and crawling with eight legs, she stays at least 957 feet away. But Spiderman? Because of Jana, her grandchild, she’s willing to catch a glimpse of the movie.
Spiderman is in Cebu! No, make that Spider-men. They number hundreds. Young and old. Some as young as four and some as old as 50. They come in different shapes, short and tall. They all share one passion. Crawling. Vertical crawling. They love to stare up the ceiling, plant their four legs on the wall and climb.
Spider-men. Wall-climbers. The same species.
The first time my daughter Jana, now eight years old, tried wall-climbing was two years ago. Jourdan Polotan, the muscleman of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP), invited John Ligan and Ferns Uy and our children to Metrosports.
At first, Jana trembled at the sight of the wall. It stood 24 feet tall. She sat frozen. Then here comes her dad to the rescue… just like the superhero… Spiderman. Never mind the sweaty palms and Ferrari piston-pounding heart beat, I crawled up, up and away. Aha! I told myself.
Jana laughed. She laughed so hard. Why? I found out later: she said I looked like a giant lizard! Then she tried it. Right hand up, left leg up. Step by step, she reached the summit. Fast forward…
Today, Jana is Spider-woman. Since that first climb, we’ve been back every month or two; in each visit, she climbs at least 15 times! Wall-climbing is exhilarating. It’s fun. Here’s why…
1. Wall-climbing builds courage. Believe me, as a first-timer, it’s scary. And that’s the point. To take a risk, to try something different. In life or in business or in wall-climbing—you’ve got to be scared, at first. If your heart’s not pumping full blast, then you’re not taking a risk. Let’s say you’re halfway up—at 12 feet—and you look down. You want to climb down. You don’t. Instead, you look up and aim for the sky. You climb. Once the summit is reached with your bare hands, you grin and scream, “Yes! I made it to the top!”
2. Wall-climbing means child bonding time. John Ligan climbed with his daughter Alison. They did it together, side by side. What a sight! You’re hanging up on air, your daughter’s looking at you and she’s got that worried look, but you smile, give her instructions and say, “You can do it!”
3. Wall-climbing teaches perseverance. I’ve seen Jana shouting the words “Falling” (the signal for you to be lowered) and wanting to stop midway when her instructors urge her on and say, “Almost, Jan… you can do it!” She pushes a few more climbs and makes the top.
4. Wall-climbing is to feel relaxed. Same with life. Even when you’re hanging on to a small form of clay, you’ve got to breathe deep, not look down and not get panicky. Stay cool. That’s a motto in life and in climb.
5. Wall-climbing is safe. In Metrosports (called Vertigo Wall Climbing), look for Tony Go, the head instructor (assisted by Bernie Yu and Jack Culi). They’re a good team. Their English is perfect. They’re polite. They don’t just hold the rope to make sure you’re securely fastened. They teach you. They give you tips. They demonstrate. We asked Tony, who had been wall-climbing for 10 years, to give us a demo. He slipped on his special shoes, covered his hands with powder, and walked vertical. He climbed the most difficult wall—the same one you see on TV with those spiders hanging upside down.
Rates? Reasonable. In Metro Sports, for non-members, it’s P110 for four hours.
Back to Jana: After 109 or so climbs, I no longer tremble watching her brave the 24-foot summit. My only fear? It’s when I climb and she calls me by another name and not Spiderman…. Daddy lizard.
With TV host Bobby Inoferio in Cebu last year
Jack Biantan is a giant. He stands six-foot-one. Weighs 330 lbs. Three hundred thirty pounds? “Actually, I’ve lost count on how much weight I carry,” Jack once told me. “Because every time I step on my weighing scale it says…… Error!”
Hehehe. Jack and I laughed. Sure, he’s a giant. But Jack’s also a giant on another scale: The Literary World. With Sun.Star Cebu, he was the assistant sports editor from 1998 to 2001, covering boxing, basketball, volleyball, and swimming.
The sport Jack loved most? Football. His credentials are impressive: coach, Don Bosco Boys Home (1986-1990); coach, USC college varsity team (1990-1994); coach, SWU college varsity team (1998-2001); Cebu coordinator, Coke Go-For-Goal (1989-1996); secretary general, Cebu Football Association (1989-1996).
Jack is now an Englishman. Yes. (Ever wonder why the flag of UK is called Union Jack?) Seven years ago, Jack left Cebu for London. Today, he works in a hospital, same with his wife, a manager of nurses. They have a one-year-old son, Ethan Luke.
Jack emailed me a couple weeks ago to announce the good news: He’s back into writing. Check out Jack’s columns on English football at www.pinoysoccer.com.
ROGER FEDERER, the undisputed world No.1 on all tennis surfaces except clay, is on two current publications: Time and Men’s Vogue.
In Time magazine, the 25-year-old Swiss is counted as one of “100 Most Influential People In The World.” Wow! For the winner of 10 major titles, that’s major. Guess who penned the piece on the man destined to be The Greatest Ever… of course, who else but the current Greatest Ever himself: two-time Grand Slam winner Rod Laver.
“Every time I speak to Roger,” writes Rod Laver, “I sense no ego on his part. He asks me questions about how I prepared for big matches—Roger has a clear appreciation for the history of tennis. (Plus, these days, I should be the one peppering him with questions. He’s the big star!) When you’re talking to Roger, he makes you feel important—whether you’re a fan, an opposing player or an old geezer like me.”
Laver said not to crown Federer as the best ever — not yet. But, he said, “One thing is for sure: he’s the best player of his time and one of the most admirable champions on the planet.”
Read the whole Rod on Roger piece here.
IN MEN’S VOGUE, you’ll not only be entertained by a terrific write-up, but also by some fabulous pictures. Read the Men’s Vogue article here and see all the seven pictures here…
