Category: Uncategorized

You should read this.

As I’ve written on this sports box on many occasions, last February 17, I attempted my first 42K run at the Hong Kong Marathon and failed. At the KM. 28 mark, I succumbed to massive cramps then, when the muscle pain subsided, the sides of my knees hurt like they were hammered by a baseball bat. I limped to the 36th km. until the 5-hour mark arrived but couldn’t finish within the allotted 5-hour, 30-minute marathon cutoff time.

Why did I fail? Having trained for six months, I felt confident. Maybe, too confident. Despite experts suggesting that first-timer marathoners “not bring a watch… forget about the time… and just finish,” I neglected to heed that advice. Instead, self-assured and undoubting at the training I had logged, I targeted to finish between 4 hours, 15 minutes to 4:30.

I aimed to have a good time.

Two days ago, fighting for the presidency of the Philippine Olympic Committee, Jose “Peping” Cojuangco bested his rival, Art Macapagal. What a thriller of a contest!

At first, the four initial ballots cast went for Cojuangco. Next, Macapagal, the half-brother of President GMA, snatched 11 of the next 15 votes to lead, 11-8. But after that, Cojuangco won 12 of the next 17 votes to virtually clinch it at 20-16. But, four more ballots were left unopened. The first vote went to Macapagal. Same with the second. And the third. All of a sudden, the score stood at 20-19 with one vote remaining. At this point, Cojuangco said, “I have to admit that my heart beat a little bit faster than normal.” Finally, when the last vote was said, it read: “Cojuangco.”

Antonio Lopez Aldeguer, quoted by Quinito Henson in yesterday’s issue of The Philippine Star, summed it up best: “Boom Boom was in top shape. I don’t know what to say. We did our best to prepare him for this fight. Our critics exaggerate our losses and forget our wins. This hurt us. We can’t seem to win the big ones. We wanted a tough opponent for Boom Boom to test him. We got what we asked for. We did everything possible for Boom Boom. I just don’t know where to go from here.”

The one trait I admire most about ALA—apart from being Cebu’s undisputed Sportsman—is his candor and straight talk.

You saw it, I saw it and Mr. Aldeguer, without mincing words, saw it—that, against a hard-bitten, rigid and durable opponent, our own Rey Bautista was tyrannized.

Sure, Heriberto Ruiz’s head collided with Boom-Boom’s to unleash a torrid of red lava that flowed non-stop, but even before that head-butt and, worse, after that, B-B-B was outclassed and outperformed.

Fourteen days from today, on the same Sunday morning when Manny Pacquiao steps on the square ring to battle Oscar de la Hoya in the biggest sporting event ever by a Filipino, 28 Cebuanos will step on the asphalted roads of The Lion City to fight another battle: the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.

How far is a marathon? Is it 10,000 meters? 20,000? 30,000? No, it’s 42,195 meters. Doesn’t that sound crazy? Foolish? And ludicrous, to run that far? As my brother Randy, the only musician in our family, would often ask, Why?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Lm_U9yEP0[/youtube]

One of the smartest inventions on the internet—especially for sports—is YouTube. In search of a 1960s NBA classic? Want to see a replay of the other night’s Boston Red Sox 8-7 win? Manny Pacquiao’s KOs? They’re all there. Plus, YouTube is free, fast, and has nearly 100 million videos stored—tens of thousands of which are related to sports.

Typing “Michael Jordan,” for example, will result to 54,600 videos. There’s the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, the Larry Bird vs. Michael Jordan McDonald’s commercial, MJ’s final shot in ’98, and a tribute video aptly-titled, “I Believe I Can Fly.”

Greg Slaughter? Cebu’s newest and, literally, biggest star? There are dozens of videos on the UV center, one of which is “Greg Slaughter Dunk UV vs. China” where, true enough, you’ll see the 6-foot-11 giant sprinting down the lane, jumping, catching an inbounds pass on the air and slamming the ball down the ring.

Doctors Yong Larrazabal and Peter Mancao at last year’s Adidas Run

Thanks to Jay Montecillo, who’s based in Modesto, California, I got to speak to one of the most promising young athletes in Cebu. His sport is the game of Roger Federer and, at only a dozen years old, he’s won dozens of local, national and, yes, US-based tournaments.

Vince Marc Tabotabo. You’ve read his name on these back pages before. Nicknamed “Mac-Mac,” he’s been in America for the past two months.

“Kumusta?” I asked when we spoke last week.

“OK ra,” the shy 12-year-old tennis phenom hushed.

Together with his father/coach Titus Tabotabo, Mac-Mac has got Californians interested. For here’s a small youngster with the complexion unlike most of his white, towering tall junior American players. Here’s an example: Just last Sept. 7 in Auburn, California, Mac-Mac not only won the Boys 12-and-under singles title, but, just as well, the Doubles crown. In the quarterfinals, he beat Bobby Fretz, 6-3, 6-0; in the semis, the third-seeded Tabotabo faced the No.1 seed, Jacob Zetlin. The top-seed won the first set (6-3) before the Tuburan, Cebu native avenged to win the next two sets, 6-4, 6-2. In the finals, it was a breeze: a 6-1, 6-4 win over Scott Putty. Not contented, he teamed up with Fil-Am Winston Limhengco to win the finals, 8-2.

PBA Press Corps Awards Night
September 2, 2008

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I would like to thank Nelson Beltran and the PBA Press Corps for the kind invitation to speak tonight. I know it has been some time since I’ve frequented gatherings with the Press Corps and tonight is a particularly special evening.

First I’d like to congratulate Santa Lucia Realty for their Championship. Buddy (Encarnado), I know it may have been some time coming but the rewards for something hard earned are always sweet. And it is always nice to see one of our former players do well as he successfully made the transition from basketball player to Head Coach. Congratulations Boyet(Fernandez)

I’d also like to congratulate Ginebra San Miguel for their Championship. I know it was hard to compete with all the media attention focused on the Olympics but I am sure their title was just as sweet for them.