Cebu Sports Blog by John Pages

The 10th World Eskrima Kali Arnis Championships

Ask me to swing a tennis racket, dribble an orange ball, swat a shuttlecock or jog a 10-K and I’m fine. But, the one sport that I admit complete ignorance on is the one activity that’s revered by millions: Martial Arts.

Aikido, karatedo, judo, taekwondo, and many more ‘Do’s that include Kendo, Hapkido, Jukendo—they are aplenty. Add one more type of combat that’s venerated from the U.K. to the U.S. and, above all, in Cebu…. Eskrima. Kali. Arnis.

The three are one. They’re the same. Or so I learned when, last Tuesday night and together with my fellow scribes from the Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC), we trooped to a home that is a mecca of martial arts.

‘The family that plays together, stays together’

At the 26th All-Cebu Sports Awards, (L-R) Don-Don Hontiveros, Jess Lagman, Julie Lagman, Jacob Lagman, PSC Chairman Butch Ramirez

If there’s one clan that I admire most here in Cebu, it’s the “J” family. Yes, every single family member is first-named J. There’s Julius, Jess, Julian, Jessica, Julie, Jacob. The “6Js” I love to call them.

Jess and Julie are the dad and mom. Julian and Julius, the two eldest boys, are studying in Ateneo de Manila University. Jessica, the only girl among four siblings, is third year high school at the Sacred Heart School–Hiyas de Jesus. The youngest J member—Jacob—happens to be the most prominent who’s graced the headlines of the sports section.

Lagman Photos

Enjoy these photos of Jess, Jacob and Jessica Lagman…

Le Tour: The world’s most torturous race

(AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski)

If you’ve ever climbed on top of a bike, pedaled, and traversed the road near JY Square then climbed up to Marco Polo Hotel, then ascended some more to Willy’s, to Bu-ak, then to the very top of Tops, then you know that climbing mountains is agonizing. Pedaling on flat asphalt is leisurely, but steering those two thin wheels upwards to the sky is, very often, tormenting.

Take the Tour de France. Last Sunday at 10:30 p.m., just minutes before shutting off the bedroom lights, I switched on the TV set and clicked to the Balls Skycable channel 33.

Every picture tells a story…

Sent by Cebu Hall of Fame sportsman Graeme Mackinnon, who inspired and helped popularize Cebu football in the 1980s and ’90s, here are pictures that need no explaining…

Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Karting makes you scream, “Go!”

Spanning 600 meters in length on an asphalt road with curves that twist and snake, it’s called Kartzone.

At 9 p.m. last Tuesday, while the black sky enveloped Cebu, flood lights radiated on Kartzone. The Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC), our group whose sporting words you read about each morning, converged to tackle the one sport that’s defined by one word: Speed.

Rico Navarro, Raffy Osumo, Mike Limpag and Noel Villaflor

Best article on R & R

I have read dozens of articles on the epic Roger vs. Rafa final but must say that the best piece comes from one of the best (if not THE best) tennis writer in the world, Peter Bodo. (If Pete Sampras, who recently released his autobiography, “A Champion’s Mind,” chose him to be co-author…. then he must be the best, right?)

Read Peter Bodo’s article here.

I love this ad….

Roger and Rafa: Simply smashing!

(EPA/V. Donev)

Squandered break points. Rain delays. Two-set comebacks. Saved match points. A finish just 12 minutes shy of five hours. And, at 9:16 p.m. London time, the latest ending for a Wimbledon singles final. It wasn’t just a Grand Finale. It was a Match For The Ages. A rivalry that’s unrivalled. A marathon classic. Here are 14 random thoughts…

1. Manny Sainz, the president of Casino Español de Cebu, is beaming a toothful grin today. Next to our own, his favorite country won. And how Spain has dominated sports… Nadal wins two Grand Slam titles. Spain win football’s Euro 2008. Pablo Larrazabal (any relation with Dr. Yong?) wins golf’s Open de France. And Alejandro Valverde wins the Tour de France first stage en route to possibly the yellow jersey in Paris. Said Manny Sainz: Viva España!

The Heavyweight Championship of the World

Please watch the movie tonight. Please do. Sorry, it’s not starring Manny Pacquiao—he’s no heavyweight. Tonight, at 9 p.m. (RP time), it’s a battle between two champions.

One is the undisputed titleholder on grass. He’s won 65 of the last 65 on the greens; 40 straight on this tournament that you’ve probably heard of, Wimbledon. The other is the undisputed combatant on clay. Of 117 matches on the red dirt, he’s won 115; he’s 28 of 28 matches at another event you probably know: the French Open.

Tonight, the two settle the score. They’ll score. One against one. Nobody else on the boxing ring—or, the 78-ft. x 27-ft. tennis court rectangle, it’s called—will be there, not even the presence beside their chairs of their coaches or trainers.

This title fight is compelling because of how similar—and dissimilar—these two champions look. They both wear Nike. They’re 6-foot-1. They both wear white. They both have first-names that begin with “R” and represent countries that start with “S.”