ACTIVE ZONE at Ayala Center Cebu

This October will be exciting. Apart from Barack Obama trying to convince the IOC officials to choose Chicago in 2016 (and Brazilian President Lula Da Silva reminding the delegates that never before has a South American nation hosted the Olympics), this month will be fascinating.

Here in Cebu, we will see, for the first time, the opening of an all-sports, all-lifestyle, all-wellness center. The venue? Ayala Center Cebu. Remember the former Ayala Food and Entertainment Center, where the likes of Ratsky and Don Henrico’s and Tequila Joe’s used to be found?

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Categorized as Cebu

P250-million surplus? It’s time we fix the oval

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Mayor Tommy Osmeña, Acting Mayor Mike Rama, Cebu City Councilors Jack Jakosalem, Yayoy Alcoseba and the entire Cebu City Council: Let’s rebuild our Cebu City Sports Center track oval now!

Built in 1994 by Mayor Tommy and spearheaded by then-Councilor Joy Augustus Young months before we hosted the Palarong Pambansa, our rubberized track oval’s life span is 10 years. Using simple math, this means that, five years ago—in 2004—when our maroon-colored sports circle exhibited signs of weariness when wrinkles sprouted and corrugated lines bloomed, it should have been overhauled.

Should have been. Because here we are, 15 years after it was constructed, and it’s the same rubber that’s glued.

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Cebu City Sports Center: The Ugly, the Bad and the Good

It is our Bird’s Nest. It’s our Wembley Stadium. It’s our Fenway Park. Our Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. It is the main headquarters of Cebu’s institution called Sports.

The 23rd SEA Games hosting? Check. Palarong Pambansa? Check. Regional meets? Provincial meets? City meets? Check. The Milo Little Olympics? Check. How about our city’s grandest mardi gras, the one held every January? Do we use the complex as the grand stage? Check.

But checking the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) two mornings ago, here’s what I checked: a track oval clad with wrinkles and warps. Portions of the oval were so corrugated it appeared like snakes got implanted.

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On ‘Laban na Banal,’ a Q & A with Michael A

Last night at 6:30 p.m., I spoke to one man who’s largely responsible for the mega-production that Cebuanos will witness this Saturday: the WBA interim super flyweight championship battle between Panama’s Rafael Concepcion and Cebu’s AJ Banal.

Michael Aldeguer. The president of ALA Gym, I spoke to Michael over the phone last night about this weekend’s fight….

What makes AJ Banal, I asked, special?

“His IQ for the game,” said Michael. “He’s only 19 but, compared to others, he’s advanced. He also has excellent all-around skills. Plus, AJ’s ability to adapt to any style. He can change tactics depending on his opponent’s style.”

Is it true, I next asked, that this early on AJ is being labeled as the “next Pacquiao?”

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Categorized as Boxing, Cebu