John Pages – Page 21 – Cebu Sports Blog by John Pages

Can the 17th seed with 17 majors win in ’17?

Roger Federer has not lifted a Grand Slam trophy since Wimbledon 2012. Aged 35 in a sport where you start playing at five, the almost-never-injured Roger succumbed to knee injury (and surgery) last year. He was out for six months. This, despite a previous record where he appeared in 65 consecutive majors.

This 2017, the 17-major titlist is the lowly 17th seed. Can he or his compatriot Rafael Nadal — both a combined age of 65 — triumph in Melbourne? Do the old dogs still have the dog-fight to clash in the finals? I hope. I wish.

Rafa beat Sasha Zverez last Saturday in five sets. Same with Roger. Against Kei Nishikori, RF finished with 24 aces and 83 winners.

“The last shot, when it didn’t come back, it was an enormous joy,” Roger said, after an exhausting 3 hours and 24 minutes. “I think I’m playing better and better. I felt great in the fifth (set). Great energy.”

How about those Zverev brothers? The younger German (Sascha, only 19) pushed Nadal to nearly fall down in Down Under. The older one (Misha, 29) will play Federer in today’s quarterfinals.

Tennis fan or not, if you have cable TV, watch the Oz Open finale this week. Or, with internet connection, go to YouTube and choose from a myriad of 15-minute summarized contests.

NICK TORRES. A former Class A netter whom I exchanged volleys with at the defunct Cebu Tennis Club, Mr. Torres sent me this message last Sunday:

“When I saw Aleksandr (for the first time) beat RF last month, I was so impressed by his maturity and demeanor that I told my friends that he was a sure bet for top 10. I only saw his elder bro today. I was saddened that Mischa didn’t come into his full potential earlier. Unbelievable how he dismantled one of the best returners and defensive specialists of the game with the almost-extinct serve and volley game. Best of all, if you appreciate humility, grace, and magnanimity in victory, ya gotta see his match with Murray.”

Then, yesterday morning, this SMS from him: “Now that he has the best chance in a very long time to win another slam, my love for RF got the better of me. I’m rooting for him again. Zverev or no Zverev! A 17th seed winning a Slam? Only one man could do that. The G.O.A.T.!”

El Presidente the Commissioner

When I asked Ramon Fernandez — possibly the greatest player our basketball-crazy nation has ever produced — if he still follows the PBA or watches Durant or Westbrook, the answer was as swift as Mon’s famous one-handed running shot: No.

Apart from Manny Pacquiao and Robert Jaworkski, and maybe Efren Reyes and James Yap, there is no sportsman in our 7,107 islands who is more recognizable than Mon.

Just revisit with me his PBA statistics: four MVP awards and 19 championship trophies that saw him don the uniforms for San Miguel, Purefoods, Tanduay, Manila Beer and Toyota. He is the PBA’s all-time leading scorer with 18,996 points and his 8,652 rebounds is No. 1 in the league’s 41-year-old history. He is the all-time leader in blocks and minutes played, and ranks second in assists (to Jaworski) and in steals (to Johnny Abarrientos). In a PBA career that spanned 22 years, his statistics are akin to combining the records of Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.

But when I attempted to talk basketball with him in our 20-minute conversation the other night, he pivoted and dribbled way. The reason: El President is now PSC Commissioner. His game encompases all of Philippine sports.

When Pres. Duterte assembled his team to lead PHL sports last July, at the top of his list was Butch Ramirez, his long-time friend and the former head of Davao sports (and the PSC). Next, he recommended a sports giant whom he’s idolized since the 1970s.

Mon Fernandez is one of four Phil. Sports Commission (PSC) commisioners that include Charles Maxey, Celia Kiram and Arnold Agustin.

“For the last six months,” Mon said, “we have been busy cleaning house, putting the PSC house in order. We have been meeting with various stakeholders: the Local Govt. Units (LGUs), the National Sports Associations (NSAs), schools, athletes.”

The commissioner has been part of a listening tour, collecting inputs from everyone. And the good news is, led by a Davaoeño president and a Davaoeño PSC head in Butch Ramirez, our national sports programs are no longer limited to the secluded gates of Imperial Manila. That was the complaint before; everything’s in Manila: the money, facilities, coaches. And the Maasin, Leyte-born Fernandez, who has called Cebu home for the past many years, especially after his marriage to the dynamic Karla Kintanar, is one reason for this change. Said Mon: “We are decentralizing sports.”

Coral Tee and a rainful of blessings

Cebu Country Club hosts dozens of tournaments each year; but nothing compares to the Coral Tee — a member-guest invitational held every Sinulog week (Wednesday to Saturday) that’s now on its 36th year.

Atty. Jovi Neri, one of CCC’s top golfers, said that the 36th Coral Invitational, next to Manila Golf’s Golden Tee, is the second oldest member-guest invitational in the country.

But last week may have been one of the most challenging.

“While we assumed that we would have a wet Coral Tee as early as two months ago, we did not expect it to be this wet,” said CCC board director and golf chairman Julius “Jayjay” Neri, Jr. “We were very nervous on opening day (Wednesday) as it was raining most of the morning. Thursday had the least rain and gave us hope that conditions would improve.”

After the 430 participants completed the first two days, it poured heavily again on Friday and the forecast on Saturday was more rain.

“It was crucial that the tournament would not be stopped due to the weather or the Calcutta bets as well as the ‘Palusotan’ would have to be cancelled because these were based on the 2nd day scores,” said Jayjay. “And half of the field were playing on that rainy Saturday.”

To make things more problematic, there was no mobile signal. “I got to the club at 9:30 a.m. and did not leave until after the awarding ceremony,” said Jayjay. “Twice on Saturday morning, I was on the verge of declaring the course unplayable. But just as I was about to do so, the rain would slow down.”

Jayjay Neri, who is also the general manager of SunStar, considers being able to finish the 36th Coral Tee despite the torrential rain (and having no major accidents apart from a few who slipped due to the muddy conditions) as a major blessing.

Talking of blessing, two others received major surprises. The first was Rolando Casing of Cagayan de Oro. Last Friday on the 3rd hole of CCC, he used a 7 Iron Titleist 762 club and swung. The ball flew high above the Banilad trees, bounced on the green, rolled and disappeared for a hole in one. Witnessing the rare occurence were Richard Hong, Benedict Uy and Hisashi Miyashita. As reward, Mr. Casing took home a Jeep Wrangler.

Another blessing happened to my good friend Alvin Alazas, a former CCC club champion. At the conclusion of the Coral Tee, the most awaited moment is the grand raffle.

“In the past, I always bought the tickets numbered 118 and 318,” said Alvin, in our phone conversation yesterday. “The number 118 is my civil wedding date (Jan. 18) and 318 is our church wedding date (March 18).”

But as fate would have it, these numbers were taken. Alvin had to choose another raffle number and picked “018.”

“The first number called was ‘0,’” he said. “In our table were Jiji Gullas, Manolet Heredia, Hector Almario, Armando Serafin and Peter Mancao. We have one ticket, they said, referring to our consortium (we bought tickets as a group). When the next number ‘1’ was called, the others, said, sorry, we didn’t win.”

It turns out, Alvin bought his own ticket. Finally, when the number “8” was called and Alvin’s name was announced, all his friends jumped.

“It was exactly 25 years ago that I first joined Coral Tee,” said Alvin. “That was in 1992 and I’ll never forget that tournament because the first day was my wedding day!”

Tomorrow, Alvin and Mimi celebrate their silver anniversary. And as gift, a brandnew 3.6-liter V6 Jeep Wrangler.

Australian Open experience

As we Cebuanos celebrate Sinulog today, fireworks will brighten the Down Under sky tomorrow as the year’s first tennis Grand Slam begins. It’s the Australian Open.

Last June, we had a chance to visit Melbourne — adjudged by The Economist as “the most liveable city in the world” for six straight years. Is this “world’s best” distinction, based on my trip, valid and true? Absolutely.

My wife, daughter and I cycled along the Yarra River for two glorious hours. We parked our rented bike and smelled the flowers inside the Royal Botanic Gardens. We boarded the tram service and toured — for free. (Yes, free city-wide transport.) We sojourned to Queen Victoria Market, disembarked at Flinders Street Station and strolled along their beautiful parks. No wonder it’s often called “Australia’s garden city.”

Best of all? If you’re a tennis fanatic… we got to play tennis inside the Australian Open court.

As soon as we landed in Tullamarine Airport from Sydney, our first objective was to hike the sanctum that I’ve long wanted to visit for years. Melbourne Park was nearly empty when we arrived past 5 p.m. The gift shop was still open and we bought a few souvenirs. Then, we made a reservation for our most important activity in the city: to play tennis.

Forty hours later, we entered Show Court No. 3 — their largest stadium after Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena and Margaret Court Arena. After renting Head and Wilson rackets (not our preferred Babolat brand) and borrowing six balls, our hearts pounded. We were ready. The stadium lights illuminated the stadium like it were 12 noon. Three thousand empty seats surrounded us with Jasmin as ballgirl and me and my daughter Jana swatting backhands. Our rubber shoes squeaked as we danced on the blue Plexicushion surface. Each smashing topspin reverberated upon impact. In my 30+ years of tennis-playing, that was one father-and-daughter experience that I’ll forever cherish.

I revisit that memory because starting tomorrow until two Sundays from today, all tennis eyes will be transfixed on Melbourne. It might be Andy or Novak, although I’m praying for Rafa or Roger; it might be Angelique or Serena — regardless of the victor, the sport of tennis will be victorious because of the Oz Open.

An estimated 720,000 spectators will flood Melbourne Park — a venue that’s part of a 40-hectare greenland named Melbourne and Olympic Parks (the city hosted the 1956 Olympics).

With tennis, what makes the Australian Open different? Wimbledon is formal and classy, with the attendees wearing suits and dresses and snacking on strawberries in cream. The U.S. Open in New York is humongous. I recall the 23,771-seater Arthur Ashe Stadium. Fabby Borromeo and I sat at the uppermost seats watching Andre Agassi and it’s like looking down from the 7th floor of a building. Roland Garros in Paris is played on brown red clay.

Melbourne is hot. Literally. The sizzling heat in January — an oddity because the rest of the planet experiences winter — is often unbearable for the players. Imagine playing for five sets with 40C temperature? Spectators arrive wearing shorts and sleeveless tops. Melbourne is laid-back, unhurried and friendly.

Aldeguer looks ahead to 2017 and beyond

Michael Aldeguer (center) receiving the award in the 2009 Cebu Sports Awards with (from left) Jun Migallen, John Pages, Manny Pacquiao, Jingo Quijano and Raffy Osumo

Pinoy Pride has become too big a show for the true boxing fans in the provinces, said Michael Pastrano Aldeguer, the president and CEO of ALA Promotions.

That’s quite a revelation. Having concluded its 39th edition last November, the “Pinoy Pride” brand has become synonymous with tremendous success. Why mess with it?

But Michael Aldeguer — the first Asian promoter to organize boxing events in the U.S. — is realistic and forthright.

“Pinoy Pride will be for the bigger fights in the bigger cities around the world,” he said.

Ever since the ALA gym was founded by Antonio Lopez Aldeguer in 1985 — whose mission then and now continues to be training aspiring boxers, including the out-of-school youth, to become the best that they can be (including becoming world champions) — the ALA group has continued to evolve and prosper.

NEW FOR 2017. “We are looking to launch different events all over the country and abroad,” Michael Aldeguer said. “We will continue to provide an avenue for prospects all over Philippines and the world as we are working on bringing back the smaller events to connect more to the fans.”

There’ll expand a new feature called “Fists of the Future,” which they launched in San Mateo, California last July. It will continue under the “ALA Stars on Tour” brand.

“It will be smaller than Pinoy Pride and will be held in smaller cities around the Philippines and the U.S.,” he said. “We saw the potential of growing our U.S. events in the coming years; but the plan for 2017 is to go more to the provinces around the Philippines as there are a lot of talents that need to be showcased.”

ALA Boxing’s “IDOL” will also remain. “IDOL will be our grassroots program that will provide young fighters an avenue to fight and develop their potential,” Aldeguer said. “The TV show Pinoy Pride is consistently one of the top Sunday shows. This proves that our market is growing. Filipinos will always have a healthy appetite for boxing. As long as ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN continue to do its part, Phil. boxing will soar.”

To Michael Aldeguer, today is the best era for boxing.

“Manny (Pacquiao) is back as world champion and looking great,” he said. “Philippine boxing has four world champions and one interim world champion. It could have been six if Donnie Nietes didn’t vacate his title to move up in weight but he will be fighting for a world title this year.”

MMA FOR ALA? “ALA Promotions is officially ALA Sports Promotions International, Inc. (ASPI),” Aldeguer said. “We’re not an exclusive promoter of boxing, however focused we are to the sport. It will always be our top priority but this does not mean we are not open to expanding and supporting other fields. I believe the upsurge of MMA helps people appreciate the athletes and sports, in general, including boxing, therefore raising awareness leading to the respect that these unique professionals deserve.”

INSPIRATION. “Boxing is a part of the life of every Filipino since the time of Pancho Villa to Flash Elorde to Manny Pacquiao,” he said. “From the beginning, it has been ALA Boxing’s commitment to help sustain and grow the sport as a means of helping underprivileged kids achieve their dreams. While it’s true that not all who go into boxing succeed the way Pacquiao and Nietes have, ALA Boxing believes that there is a future for the sport.”

Aldeguer spoke about the beginnings of both Pacman and Ahas.

“We can draw inspiration from their stories. Boxing has helped improve their lives and their families. Pacquiao left home and turned to boxing at the young age of 14 because of poverty. Nietes came to Cebu to work as a janitor for ALA Gym before he turned to boxing,” he said.

“We hope to continue working towards supporting the stability and growth of boxing. We can do this by creating more avenues for both the new and experienced fighters; this will bring their dreams closer to reality and build a stronger future for Philippine boxing.”

Michael Aldeguer looks back at 2016

Of the three sons of Antonio and Lou Aldeguer, it’s the middle child Michael who took after his dad in pursuing a life that’s dedicated to sports.

As president of ALA Promotions, Michael has been an aggressor. If he were a boxer, he’s not a counterpuncher but one who’s offense-minded, always moving forward, jabbing and attacking. To date, ALA Promotions is now on its 39th edition of the Pinoy Pride series.

I’ve known Michael since we were in high school. He studied in Sacred Heart and I dribbled as CIS point guard and we faced each other many times on the parquet floor. As the year ended last week, I asked Michael to revisit 2016 and to look forward to 2017 (Part 2 will appear on Sunday).

“The year 2016 was a successful year for ALA Promotions,” said Michael. “We partnered with the biggest promoters in the industry, Top Rank and Mexico’s Zanfer, and worked with a new sponsor, Tecate.”

While tracing its roots in Cebu and contuining their tradition of holding promotions at home (in April, it was an overflowing crowd at the Cebu City Sports Center and, last Nov., at the Cebu Coliseum), the ALA brand has gone international. Michael is proudest of the impact the fighters have accomplished in America.

“We staged more shows that our fellow Filipinos, especially those abroad, could be proud of,” he said, citing the partnership with TV giant ABS-CBN and TFC (including their top-rated Sunday show) as essential to the growth of Phil. boxing.

I asked Michael about his appraisal of the ALA fighters.

“In boxing, it’s always difficult to assess a fighter,” he said. “Evaluating the opponent’s caliber is just as important as looking at each fight’s outcome.”

That’s true. In any sport, it’s easy to look good when your opponent is weak; but when you’re up against the best in the world, the scorecard changes.

The best example is Albert Pagara. Prior to fighting Cesar Juarez, the WBO #1, he was undefeated in 26 fights and could have continued this no-loss streak by taking the easier route.

“He could have fought a lower level opponent but you will never know if a fighter is ready or not until they are tested,” said Michael, of Pagara’s 8th round KO loss in California last July. “It was a good performance for Albert but he got hit. It’s all part of a learning process, to see if a fighter can come back after a knock out loss.”

The ALA boxing gym has dozens of fighters. Michael talked about two of the most promising.

Jeo Santisima, only 20, hails from Masbate. He entered the ring four times in 2016 and knocked-out every one of this opponents, including former Phil. super bantamweight champ Jerry Nardo and former Phil. superfly and bantamweight champ Marco Demecillo.

“Santisima concluded this year’s performance with yet another sensational win over multi-international champion Rex Wao last Nov. in Pinoy Pride 39,” said Michael.

“Santino” is his nickname and Michael says that he has shown two of the most important factors in becoming a star and a world champion — “great power and heart” — and believes Santisima is one of the hardest punchers in Philippine boxing today.

He also cited the undefeated WBO International Featherweight champ Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo. Against veteran and world title challenger Chris “The Hitman” Avalos last April at the CCSC, the 21-year-old from Bohol wowed the 25,000 fans in attendance.

“Magsayo’s performance this year secured him the No. 1 spot in Mark Butcher’s ‘Five rising Asia stars of boxing to watch in 2017,’ released online via Asia Times,” said Michael. “Butcher called the fight a ‘bona fide Fight of The Year contender’ and stated that Magsayo ‘gatecrashed the world rankings with that stirring victory and illustrated he has the heart and spirit to overcome adversity.’”

Santino and Magnifico will have a busy 2017, said Michael, adding, “We will build them up and will work with different fighters from other stables all over the Philippines and abroad to support the steadfast growth of Philippine boxing.”

2020 vision

This image released Monday, April 25, 2016 by The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games shows the new official logo of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Organizers unveiled the new official logo of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Monday, April 25, opting for blue and white simplicity over more colorful designs. The winning logo, selected from four finalists, is entitled Harmonized Checkered Emblem. It features three varieties of indigo blue rectangular shapes to represent different countries, cultures and ways of thinking. (The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games via AP)

TOKYO — Akemashite omedetou! Happy New Year. When you visit sporting goods shops here like Asics or stroll along the corridors of the Metro Subway, the ever-present sign reads: Tokyo 2020. Exactly 1,300 days from today — from July 24 to August 9, 2020 — all of the world’s YouTube and Sony TV eyes will be transfixed on the capital city of Japan.

Back in Sept. 2013, when the rigorous Olympic bidding process ended and Tokyo subdued of the two other finalists (Istanbul and Madrid), preparations started.

Tracing back history, the first Olympics in Tokyo was scheduled in 1940. But we know our history class. During that time, Japan invaded China and helped usher the horrendous moment called World War II. The Games were moved to Helsinki. After the dust cleared from war, including the rehabilitation of Hiroshimi and Nagasaki, this nation bidded again.

In October 1964, the Tokyo Olympics were played. Then, only 93 nations and 5,000 athletes participated. Three years from now, an estimated 207 countries and 12,000 Olympians will join.

Jana, Jasmin and I got the chance to get a glimpse of the National Olympic Stadium. When we visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Govt. Bldg. last Wednesday, we climbed the 45th floor. From that vantage point and with perfect visibility, we saw the country’s tallest peak, Fujisan. And, set amidst the Meiji Jingu Gaien park in Shinjuku, we saw portions of the stadium construction.

The Olympic coliseum is located in the same spot where the original stadium of the 1964 games was held. They demolished the old structure in 2015 and built a new one with a seating capacity of 80,000. This structure has been controversial. The design was awarded to British architect Zaha Hadid, who envisioned a futuristic stadium; but the estimated costs spiraled beyond $2 billion — and the design was scrapped. In the end, they went nationalistic and voted for Japanese architect Kengo Kuma.

The Tokyo Games are expected to be the most high-tech in history. They’ll include the use of hydrogen-powered buses and self-driving taxis. Instant language translation will aid foreigners. And they’ll utilize facial recognition technology to verify ticket holders. But as computerized as Tokyo will be, for the Olympic Stadium, the architect has gone natural.

“I want to express a new, 21st century Japan,” the architect Kuma said. “The 1964 Tokyo Olympics were the Japan of the 20th century, an industrializing society, and it was a great symbol of that. But we are now in a post-industrial society and I want to symbolize the new era.”

Kuma will use wood, saying: “In the industrial society of the 20th century they used concrete and metal. In the post-industrial era we make use of natural materials. Even though you are using wood, techniques in that field have advanced. It’s not the case that using wood means it won’t last for a long time. In fact it’s precisely because you are using wood that it does last for a long time.”

I agree. We got to visit the city of Nara (40 minutes from Osaka) and found the Daibutsuden — the world’s largest wooden building — built many, many centuries ago.

COST. How expensive is it to host the Olympics? When Beijing organized China’s first ever Games, they spent $40 billion. That’s an enormous pile of money; in pesos, that’s P2 trillion. But that’s not the most exorbitant. The title goes to Sochi, Russia, who hosted the Winter Games in 2014 and spent $50 billion.

With Tokyo, they’re targeting “only” $13 to $15 billion. The original estimate was $30 billion but the organizers were able to substantially trim down the figure. This budget includes $5.5 billion for the venues and facilities (including the $1.5 billion Olympic stadium).

How did they cut the budget? Originally, they wanted a compact games (meaning, all the sites were nearby). That has been scrapped. My two favorite sports have been moved faraway: cycling will be in Izu (two hours from Tokyo) and basketball, an hour away in Saitama.

Adto ta!

The genius of the Japanese

TOKYO — I’ve been blessed to have visited many countries but there’s something so extraordinarily brilliant and efficient about our East Asian neighbor. From our 10-day stay here, I’ve listed several astonishing innovations:

There’s the taxi whose doors automatically open. When I boarded one in Kyoto, I shut the door myself, only for it to remain open as the driver, with the press of a button, slammed it shut. (This helps when your hands are full of bags and it’s raining outside.) Plus, this was charming: our driver was female and she wore formal wear with accompanying white gloves.

How about those vending machines (thousands of them found in every street corner) that’s color-coded: blue labels for cold drinks and red for warm (coffee/tea) beverages. And they sell ramen, electronics, umbrellas, ties and underwear!

Robots? In this land where English is not very well spoken, when we visited the Kuromon Ichiba Market in Osaka, a robot stood at the storefront, nodding left and right, waving his hands, smiling and welcoming guests.

Or that see-through umbrella so that you can (literally) see-through traffic and buildings overhead as you navigate yourself in the world’s busiest crossing called Shibuya in Tokyo (where as many as 2,500 cross the street at the same time).

Hungry? How about ordering via touchscreen menu? As you enter the restaurant, you choose from a variety of pictures; you pre-pay, take your seat and, 15 minutes later, your steaming hot bowl of Sukiyaki is delivered to your table (by a waiter, not a robot — that will come in 10 years).

Ta-Q-Bin. This is clever. Prior to leaving Cebu, my sister-in-law Atty. Michelle Mendez Palmares and our “Japanese consultant” Jourdan Polotan introduced this idea. I dismissed it. Ta-Q-Bin is a delivery service where your luggages are shipped the next day anywhere. Why spend extra when we can carry our own luggage? I said. It turns out, Ta-Q-Bin is amazing. The day before we left Osaka for Kyoto, we shipped two large suitcases to Tokyo (our third destination). Total cost: only P800 for both items. It’s not expensive and it saved us a lot of hassle of having to drag the luggages from Osaka to Kyoto to Tokyo. We dropped off the items in a Family Mart (or they can be picked up in your hotel) and, voila, the day after, it’s inside your hotel room.

Shinkansen. We took the bullet train from Kyoto to Tokyo. The distance spans 513 kms. but it took the Shinkansen Nozomi train only two hours and 20 minutes, reaching a topspeed of 300 kph. It’s expensive (P7,400/person) but is a convenient hop-on, hop-off way to travel. A bonus midway through the trip: we caught a glimpse of Mt. Fuji. The coolest part? As the train leaves, the conductor at the end of the train leans out of the window and salutes everyone on the platform.

But I save the best for last: the toilet bowl. Seriously. For the first time in my 22-year sportswriting career, I’m writing about the toilet bowl. To us, there’s nothing to be celebrated about this bathroom fixture; but not to the Japanese.

It starts with the heated seat. Then, you hear water rumbling — it’s background noise to cover any sounds of the user. Then, after you’re done with “business,” there’s a washlet. It’s a bidet-type washing mechanism. Like all things amazing-Japanese, it spews out soothing warm water. After, there’s a dryer from underneath. Finally, when you’re done, there’s a built-in water-saving sink at the top that pours into the tank to conserve water as you wash your hands. Incredible. This, from the nation that has produced brands like Toyota, Sony, Uniqlo, Asics, Epson, Ajinomoto, Mazda, Nintendo and Yakult.

Finally, lest this column get transferred to the Travel Section, a dose of sports: Tokyo 2020 promises to be the most high-tech Olympics ever. Some examples: Hydrogen-powered buses. Instant language translation. The use of facial recognition technology to verify ticket holders. Driverless taxis. Amazing. Only in Japan.

Merikurisumasu from Japan

KYOTO — Merry Christmas! We arrived in the “Land of the Rising Sun” over a week ago and Jasmin, Jana and I are loving every hour of our Japanese sojourn.

Our first stop was in Osaka. What words would I describe the nation’s second largest city (with a populatin of over 19 million)? Bustling with people. Lights-filled. Progressive. Heavenly food.

Japan is a country whose Christian population stands at only two percent. And so, unlike the Philippines with our myriad of activities as Dec. 25 nears, they obviously don’t practice our traditional Misa de Gallo and noche buena. But the highly-nationalistic Japanese have been infiltrated with Western culture. In particular, the playing of Christmas tunes everywhere and the displaying of Christmas lights and decors — all exhibited to excite the shoppers. So, yes, Jingle Bells songs and twinkling lights are all-present in Osaka.

The best example is the Winter Illumination. The 3-kilometer stretch of the main avenue Midosuji Street dazzles with lights — making it one of the world’s longest Christmas-lighted streets. Gingko trees sparkle and historic buildings splash with color at night. As highlight, an extravagant lights show is projected at the Osaka City Hall.

Osaka’s main shopping street is along Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi. Among the tens of thousands of people crowding the alley, I saw a few from Cebu: Dave Lim, one of our best amateur basketball players, tapped me in the back while we were inside the Uniqlo-operated GU store. While walking near the Glico billboard, I saw a tall man — and realized he wasn’t a tourist; he was James Co (who came with his wife Jewel and their children). A many-time Osaka visitor, James quickly pulled me to recommend what he calls “the best sukiyaki restaurant I’ve tried.” The following night, we dined there and yes, the beef was steaming-delicious. A few nights before Christmas, we spotted a familiar and beautiful face: Nia Aldeguer (who came with Chris and their kids and the Durano family). Frederic and Millete Chiongbian and their triathlon champion-boys Justin and Yuan also savored the 10C cold of Osaka.

From our weeklong stay here, this we can conclude about our Japanese neighbors: they are the most polite and courteous we’ve met. In their culture, it’s called omotenashi, which means “Japanese hospitality.” It’s a combination of exquisite politeness with the goal of maintaining harmony and avoiding conflict. In our first day here, we got lost. As we huddled to check on Google Maps, a lady approached to ask if we needed help. She walked us to our destination and did the tradional bow with accompanying smile. She was a university student from Tokyo.

Our tour guide, Mrs. Kumiko Nakame, who escorted us for a full-day visit of the Osaka Castle, the Santa Maria Cruise, the Tempozan Giant Ferris Wheel and Umeda Sky Bldg., was extremely gracious and amiable. When you visit shops or dine in restaurants, they always welcome you with “irasshaimase.”

From Osaka, we took a day trip (upon the advise of Dr. Ronnie Medalle, who visited here two Decembers ago) to visit Nara. Less than an hour away, Nara was Japan’s capital from the years 710 to 794. While strolling inside Nara Park, you’ll see hundreds of deer (and can feed them by hand) and your eyes will feast on the Todai-ji Temple, the world’s largest wooden building that houses the world’s largest bronze statue of Buddha.

On December 24th, we moved to our next destination, beautiful Kyoto, this nation’s capital for over a thousand years. Highly-recommended by our Cebu-based Japan consultant, Jourdan Polotan, who was here last month and who’s visited with wife Jingle multiple times, we spent Christmas in Kyoto. Right across our hotel, in this city of very few Catholics, was the best sanctum to behold: the Kawaramachi Catholic Church, the cathedral of Kyoto. We heard mass at noon, singing Mary, Did You Know?, celebrating the birth of Christ in beautiful Japan.

Edward Hayco, in his own words

As chairman of the Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC) since 2010, Ed Hayco has accomplished plenty. In his own words, Ed shares with us his thoughts:

ON CULTURE: Instead of accomplishments, we prefer to call it our contributions. At the top of our list is Culture and Believing in one’s self. Confidence would have been an easier word but believing in one’s self has a deeper meaning.

Let me tell you a touching story. The father of an archery athlete named Niño approached me in a gathering. I didn’t know him. He explained how happy he was that his son was helping out as a volunteer coach in Guadalupe public elementary. Their family was supposed to go on a 3-week vacation but he pleaded with his father to cancel the vacation because he was assigned to give lessons in archery. The father recounted to us the story with so much pride in his son for how responsible he has become.

Another story was during the Batang Pinoy in Tagum. A father approached me during badminton competition. He wanted to say thank you and explained that his daughter was very shy. But as a volunteer coach during summer, her daughter was able to learn 3 things: 1) Overcome her shyness; 2) Develop leadership through coaching; and the most meaningful and the exact words of the father, 3): “My daughter developed “a heart for others!”

The Guinness records in archery, chess, arnis, and winning the overall title in Batang Pinoy, the summer grassroots, the volunteer coaching, etc. were all tools to achieve this culture. The success of any nation or business is its culture.

Our theme, “Transforming our youth thru sports,” is about character-building. Sports can either bring out the best or worst in an athlete.. the gold medal is just part of the journey, not the end.

Ed Hayco (2nd from right) with Mars Alison, Mike Limpag, Girlie Garces, Hidelito Pascual and John Pages

2017 PLANS. To work closely with DepEd. 1) We have plans to implement a school for sports where all athletes will be in one classroom. They will have different class schedules. 2) An assistant principal for sports in the schools for sports. 3) Develop incentives for public school teacher-coaches and school principals so that the athletes and coaches will be better attended to. 4) Assign high level coaches to train public school teacher-coaches to raise the level of coaching competence. 5) Institutionalize strength and conditioning programs into public school sports programs. 6) Assign 25 volunteer high-level coaches to offer free coaching thrice-a-week, year-round in the Abellana sports center catering to Abellana high school and city central elementary. That’s a potential source of athletes having a population of 9,000 students. If this succeeds, we’ll do similar programs with other schools.

Why are our focus in public schools? Because the students have the least opportunities and resources and yet, they are our richest sources of athletes. Most of these kids cannot afford a P300/session coach. But these kids have the heart of an athlete — they thrive in adversity. We provide them with a hope for a better future.

ON BUTCH RAMIREZ. The PSC Chairman is supportive of Cebu because he has been closely watching our programs when he was chairman in 2005. Since then, we’ve been in touch and have always appraised him of our grassroots program which now covers 25 sports, and also our Guinness records.

Thru volunteerism, we develop the passion and dedication of the athlete for the sports, instead of being obsessed and entitled. This culture has a rippling effect. Winning medals now has a deeper meaning and a gold medal weighs heavier in a different way. When an athlete who has volunteered wins a medal, he wears it with a deeper sense of pride.

ON DEPED. I’ve been trying to lobby this idea, still a hard sell, that the PSC chairman needs to be the undersecretary of DepEd for Sports. As long as PSC is not part of or not an insider of DepEd, the sports programs policies of PSC cannot be implemented effectively, especially the grassroots program.

Just like CCSC. We have a sports program but who do we implement it with? There is no single unit in Phil. govt. that has the command of warm bodies. Only DepEd can make a memo, require and produce the number of kids. That’s why CCSC works closely with DepEd. All our programs are thru DepEd. Once we realize this organizational “flaw,” we can be an effective conductor of the orchestra.

FINAL WORDS. I’m not really a sports person. During the Los Angeles Olympics, the stadium was in front of our hotel. I didn’t even watch! It doesn’t excite me to be in a competition. I’d rather watch Broadway! What an irony? In short, sports to me is a tool. A social screwdriver or pliers to pry open the potential of the underprivileged kids and “make them believe in themselves.” As businessmen, we approach the sports program like a social entrepreneur: we see coaches as managers, athletes as employees, the product as medals and the grassroots training pool. Right culture plus motivated employees equals productivity!