Cebu Sports Blog by John Pages

This just in: small Henin stands tall

She is short. In this planet inhabited by the 6-foot-2 Maria Sharapova, the 6-foot-1 ½ Venus Williams, and the 6-foot-1 starlet named Ana Ivanovic, she stands petite. She’s only 5-foot-5. To us Filipinos, that’s tall. But to women’s tennis, that’s small. Add to that her physique. She looks frail, thin, flat-chested and, even if she flexes hard those leg muscles, they’d still be thinner than Serena Williams’… arm!

She’s Justine Henin. Yet, if you watch her at 7 a.m. (RP time) today over cable TV channel 45, she’ll beat Svetlana Kuznetsova to win the 2007 U.S. Open.

How is this possible? Look at the women today. They’re all giants. Gone were the days of Billie Jean-King, who won a combined 39 Grand Slam titles—despite her 5’4” frame. Or Evonne Goolagong, the 5’6” Australian who moved with such grace and finesse that she looked like a ballerina wearing tennis shoes.

Today, tennis is all about five letters: P-O-W-E-R. Slam that forehand, rip that backhand, ace that serve, smother that volley. Bang, bang, bang. And, to those who’ve followed this sport for decades, you’ll have to agree with me on this: Height is might. And—just like in almost every other sport not named billiards or chess—the taller, the better.

Manny Pacquiao is ‘The Gambler’

With my brother Charlie

Although he calls the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino his home here, I haven’t seen Manny pulling the levers of slot machines or sitting on a high stool and rolling the dice to wager on Craps. It’s not that kind of gambling I’m speaking of.

It’s this: Manny loves taking risks. Inside the ring, you know his style. Does he hide behind those two red gloves to cover his mustache? No. Manny pounces. Attacks. He’s aggressive. Assertive. He knocks on the head of his enemy not to kiss him—but to tutor the student on the definition of “K.O.” He swings punches that break ribs and bend jaws. That’s Manny. He sees blood, goes for blood. For the risky shot. He gambles.

Take basketball. For the past two Sundays, I guarded Manny on the wooden parquet floor. Is playing this game of LeBron James, you ask, a gamble? Of course. Think about it: Who, in his right mind, would risk injury and play basketball weeks before a Las Vegas fight that would pay him P150 million?

No one. Except one. Manny.

Far left, that’s Manny with the jump-shot… That’s me (No.9)

Last week, I sat beside Freddie Roach at the lobby of Waterfront. He was alone and I introduced myself. We spoke about our basketball game—and how Manny and I collided and fell to the floor.

Team Pacquiao vs. Cebu Sports Media

Finally, we won. After losing the first two games against Manny Pacquiao and his team, we won the third one, 95-91.

(From left) Bunny Pages, Buboy Fernandez, Dennis Padilla, Jun Migallen, John Pages

30th PAL InterSports biggest, best-ever

Last Saturday at 8 p.m., the Grand Convention Center overflowed. Red, blue, green, white—name a T-shirt color, it was visible. Ilonggo, Tagalog, Cebuano, Chabakano—name a dialect, it was represented. Bowling, basketball, billiards, badminton, golf, tennis—name a sport, it was played.

After 30 years of existence and three days of dripping sweat and pumped fists and friendly handshakes, the 30th PAL InterSports concluded last weekend.

Sev Sarmenta stood as emcee and made us laugh. Bernadette Sembrano, his co-emcee, was pretty in her short, brown hair—and how she charmed the men. Sitti (above photo), the Bossa Nova singer who’s only 20, wore a leg-revealing dress and soothed everyone’s muscle pains with her voice. Philippine Airlines’ top honchos were all in attendance, led by president Jaime Bautista.

Overall champions? Of course, who else but the host club: Los Jefes de Cebu. Out of the six sporting events, we topped almost each one…

In all, this wasn’t only the biggest-ever PAL Intersports in history—but also the best-organized. To Los Jefes de Cebu, hail to the Chiefs!

Chester Cokaliong

After reading his name hundreds of times on these sports pages, I finally got to watch Chester Cokaliong. Right after last Thursday’s Opening Ceremonies at the City Sports Club, our Los Jefes de Cebu basketball team played Iloilo. On the first minute of the very first play, the ball was thrown to a left-hander who stood beyond the three-point line. Within a second after catching it, he released the ball as it sliced through the air. Whoosh! Three-point shot. Aren’t those two synonyms? Chester. Three-Pointer. Yes they are. They even rhyme. At the end of the 40-age-group event, Cebu emerged as champions. And who was the Three-Point Shoot-out and Two-Ball winner? His initials start with the same letter as Champion.

Edgar Chiongbian and Bunny Pages

Congratulations to Edgar Chiongbian (above, right), the president of Los Jefes de Cebu, and Bunny Pages, the tournament chairman of the 30th PAL InterSports!

Gina Juan

Our Los Jefes de Cebu badminton team stood proud as champions. Meeting stiff resistance from other badminton-fanatic cities, we emerged champions. Thanks to Jordan Tanco, Jomi Tan, Benny Que, Chris Que, Arman Bolo, Ruel Dihiansan, Louie Moro, and (women) Cheiko Saito, Cathy O, Arlene Yu, Jeselle Laranas, Noeme Orellosa and team captain Gina Juan.

Bill Uybengkee

Our bowlers—pardon the pun—bowled over the competition. Really, they did. Led by the husband and wife team (probably the best in the whole country) of Bill (above photo, 2nd from right) and Cynthia Uybengkee, our team composed of Ben Miranda, Ernest Tan, Docdoc Gothong and Sidney Guani won as Team Champion, Team Highest Single and Triple, Highest Men’s Single (Docdoc Gothong scoring 244) and Highest Women’s Single (Cynthia Uybengkee, 180).

Paeng Nepomuceno was a guest. And on Saturday night when he stepped on stage, there was a gasp from the crowd. Paeng is 50 years old but he looks as fit as a 21-year-old bodybuilder. His left arm—the one he used to win four World Cup titles in three decades—was as thick and muscular as any athlete’s leg.

Marichu San Juan at the U.S. Open

She is a very close friend and tennis companion at the Casino Espanol de Cebu. Yesterday, I received this e-mail from Chu San Juan, the wife of my tennis buddy Jun San Juan.

“Hi John! I’m sending you greetings from the Mecca of tennis: the USTA National Tennis Centre in Flushing Meadows, New York.

“I had the opportunity to be at the Arthur Ashe Kid’s Day (Aug. 25) and saw some of my favorite stars. I had photos taken with Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic, Marion Bartoli and Patty Schnyder. In practice, I saw Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Carlos Moya, and Ai Sugiyama. Music sensations rocked the house that day; they included Domican Kat Delo, chart-topping musician Sean Kingston, rising hip-hop star Lil Mama and the talented trio, the Jonas Brothers.

“An exhibition match was played between Andy Roddick, Serena Williams and Roger Federer with a special guest appearance by Tony Hawk and Chris Kattan. I also just received a call from Msgr. Achilles Dakay who jetted in four days ago in New York. I’ll meet him at the Tennis Centre soon with Larry Chan, a tennis buddy, and Nonoy Laurente, who is based here in the U.S.”

With Patty Schnyder

With Marion Bartoli

PAL Intersports soars!

Finally, it’s done. And with Philippine Airlines and Air Philippines as sponsors, the event succeeded with flying colors. The 30th PAL Intersports, composed of 12 teams from all over the Philippines (including squads from Australia and Guam), concluded last night with the Awarding Ceremonies at the Grand Convention Center. It was an unprecedented success. Over 800 executives arrived to compete in six events: golf, tennis, badminton, billiards, bowling and basketball.

Did you know that the PAL Intersports started in Cebu when a group of executives got together to play basketball? From that small group—which included the Aboitizes, Ugartes, Aldeguers, Lhuilliers—it expanded to include teams from out of town. Today, 30 years later, it’s grown into one large, nationwide, smiling, healthy family.

To Los Jefes de Cebu, led by my “neighbor” on this page, Ed Chiongbian, and my dad, Bunny Pages, the tournament chairman, and the rest of the organizing team—a big round of applause to you!