Category: Tennis

The town of Ubay, Bohol—where my father-in-law, Atty. Jacinto “Jack” Mendez, was raised and continues to visit almost monthly—will play host to a major event: the Mayor Eutiquio Bernales Cup National Open Tennis Tournament. Scheduled from January 21 to 25, a total of P50,000 in prize money is allocated for the participants which, apart from top Cebuano netters like Bo Alburo and Michael Quiñones, will include high-ranking stars Johnny Arcilla, Elbert Anasta, Alexander Lazaro and Ricardo Lagac. The champion will receive P20,000, the runner, P10,000; and the semifinalists and other good performers won’t go home empty-handed. What’s best is that all out-of-town players will be accommodated in Ubay, Bohol for… free! Yes, free housing and free food will be showered upon all players. To top it all, this is a Philippine Tennis Association (Philta)-sanctioned tournament. For now, the singles event is guaranteed but a doubles tournament might also be played during the same week. All interested must register soonest. Call the event organizer, Tngardz Uy at 0920-6049060.

Raffy Uytiepo—my fellow columnist, fellow Ilonggo, fellow runner and, yes, fellow injured man (we both own knee injuries)—gifted me with a book last week that, after reading it’s hysterical and brilliant quotations—got me snorting and laughing. Ironically, the 246-page book’s title, “Tennis Shorts,” was my original by-line when my first-ever column appeared (for The Freeman) back in Sept. 21, 1994.

Compiled by Glenn Liebman and fully-titled, “Tennis Shorts: 1,001 of the Game’s Funniest One-Liners,” it was copyrighted in 1997—which explains the absence of Rafa and Roger. Enjoy these tennis shorts…

“Got to let one rest and be fertilized while I’m using the other.” – Bill Cosby, on why he has two grass courts at his house

“Grass is for cows.” – Jan Kodes, on his disdain for grass

Though I’m not as avid a bookworm as my wife, Jasmin, I love books. (Plus, I strongly believe that today’s children read much, much less while watching more TV and playing more videogames—but that’s another article.)

My favorite books? Without question: Autobiographies. And, at my home’s second floor study area, I have a library of them: Barack Obama’s two bestsellers, John McEnroe’s “You Cannot Be Serious,” Richard Branson’s “Losing My Virginity,” and plenty more by Pele, Lee Iacocca, Jack Welch, Bob Cousy, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Martina Navratilova, Rod Laver…

Last Sunday, I finished one more. Thanks to one of my best friends on the tennis court—Fabby Borromeo, who purchased it in the U.S. and lent it to me last week—I devoured the story of one man who stands as probably the athlete I idolized the most.

“Pete Sampras: A Champion’s Mind / Lessons From A Life In Tennis” is a stupendous book—as you’d come to expect from the greatest player ever to hold a tennis racket. (Roger Federer fans: Your man has not surpassed Pete’s 14 Grand Slam singles titles record yet, so the accolade, for now, though I’m sure it will be broken by RF, stays with PS.)

Mac-Mac Tabotabo with that perfect form

This is wrong. Dispiriting. Crooked. Unacceptable. It’s a story about Allan Torrevillas, the former Executive Director of the Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC)….

The International Children’s Games (ICG) is a yearly event that brings together 12- to 15-year-olds for competition. Our very own Cebu City, in 2004 and 2005, sent delegations to Cleveland, Ohio and Coventry, England. This year—in fact, just last week, from July 10 to 15—the ICG welcomed 1,200 athletes representing 40 cities to San Francisco, California.

Carrying the name “Cebu,” five athletes represented our city—a delegation sent by the Greater Cebu Sports Organizing Committee (GCSOC) whose titular head is the well-known and, in sports circles, well-liked Jonathan Guardo.

Now comes the intriguing part… It starts four months ago when I spoke to Allan Torrevillas (the head of the GCSOC delegation) about the composition of the tennis squad. With the Boys Team, only two slots were available and, at that time, two of Cebu’s most celebrated stars—Bernardine “Niño” Siso and Jacob Lagman—were interested in joining the San Francisco ICG.

Enjoy these photos of Jess, Jacob and Jessica Lagman…