INQUIRER Sports
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THE RINGING tone of a text message rudely roused me from deep slumber early Saturday morning.
He blushed like a schoolboy after his secret crush was revealed to the world.
TOO BAD THE FLYING A’S COMEBACK in the PBA was short-lived. I can’t even remember the last time I saw him play, but last Friday, with two or three key Ginebra Kings sidelined, Johnny Abarrientos had to suit up for the game against Barako Bull to fill in the void.
HIS TOYOTA SUV had smashed into the concrete barrier near the Metrowalk on Meralco Avenue in Pasig City, but Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia was lucky to escape with minor injuries, his beautiful face practically unscathed.
I WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT ghosts and other spooky stuff experienced by popular sports personalities like I always do at this time of the year.
Wary that his group might again be trapped in Baguio by Typhoon Ramil, trainer Freddie Roach instructed Team Pacquiao to get ready to motor down to Manila last week.
PEOPLE have been talking about a young movie actress who’s often seen in the company of a famous sporting personality known worldwide.
Can it be done? This was the question I hurled at a colleague who had tipped me off about a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would be served on the cycling group headed by Ta-gaytay Mayor Bambol Tolentino long before the news broke out in the papers.
PEOPLE ARE GETTING A BIT DIZZY and confused. They’d like to know once and for all exactly what’s the game plan for the PBA’s top draft pick Japeth Aguilar, who finally signed up with Burger King after holding out for several weeks.
OVER TWO months ago, police officers, responding to an emergency call, rushed to the Baja Sharkeez, a bar in the Pier Plaza of Hermosa Beach in California.
THE VETERAN BASKETBALL mentor, possibly under the influence of alcohol, blurted it out straight to the man’s face: “You are not a coach! You have not proven anything. I cannot call you coach.”
IT TOOK several days before Sta. Lucia’s Buddy Encarnado could pay his last respects to fellow-PBA governor Tony Chua of Barako Bull, one of the fatalities of tropical storm “Ondoy.”
TWO DAYS IN A ROW I was at the wake of the late Tony Chua, team manager and board representative of Barako Bull in the PBA.
CAN YOU blame me if I was not in the mood to write my column Saturday on account of the weather?
FLOYD MAYWEATHER Jr. was 146 lb during the weigh-in, but he looked several pounds heavier during his comeback fight with Juan Manuel Marquez whom he completely outclassed last Sunday (Manila time) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
LET’S CALL him the inquisitor, this veteran colleague who has been asking me why Cuban boxing coach Dagoberto Rojas was dropped by the Abap after the training of the five Filipino boxers in Havana, Cuba, and just before the World Championship in Milan, Italy.
IT HASN’T HAPPENED yet but Ateneo Blue Eagles coach Norman Black is already feeling a great loss.
DISCOVERY TV’S Jacque Ruby was so awed by Allan Caidic’s performance in last Friday’s NBA-Asia challenge that he threatened to write PBA Commissioner Sonny Barrios a letter seeking for the reactivation of the long retired Triggerman, who now sits as one of Ginebra’s assistant coaches.
IF THE TURNOUT in last Tuesday's press conference for the First NBA-Asia Challenge is any indication, the game proper between the NBA and PBA legends should be a sellout.
IMPRESSIVE! Owners of the newly formed Asean Basketball League personally made an appearance during its formal launching last September l at the Renaissance Hotel in Makati.
JUST BEFORE he left for Chicago last Monday, man-of-the-hour Japeth Aguilar held a press conference at the Saisaki Restaurant along EDSA.
THE PBA is in an uproar over Japeth Aguilar’s decision to give up a stint in the PBA in favor of playing for the Rajko Toroman-coached Smart Gilas team.
TWO DAYS AGO, I sent a text message to Harbour Centre’s Mikee Romero congratulating him for his biggest victory.
ALL PARTIES were ready to end the dispute on who should be tasked with the responsibility of forming the national basketball team
BEIJING—THE LOSS TO KOREA LAST Sunday was the biggest disappointment in Tianjin, site of the 25th Fiba Asia Championship for men.
The fan lustily cheering for the RP-Powerade team in the game against Jordan was some rows up behind me.
TIANJIN, CHINA— Did you do it? I asked James Yap minutes after the Philippine team’s pivotal victory over Chinese Taipei, 77-70, Monday night at the Tianjin Gym where he exploded for 23 points, 18 of them from triples.
Three days before the Powerade-RP team was to leave for Tianjin, China, to compete in the Fiba Asia Men’s Championship, I made a promise to coach Yeng Guiao.
SOME YEARS AGO, Filipino-American boxer Brian Viloria knocked out a Mexican fighter in the first round to earn his very first world title and the admiration of the Filipino nation.
WHEN I saw the lighted candles on the ground by the gate of an unpretentious house along Times Street in Barangay West Triangle, I knew that former president Cory Aquino had crossed over.
IT WAS GOOD TO see a seemingly healthy Sta. Lucia forward Kelly Williams back in circulation.
RHEA NAVARRO of the Qatar Basketball Federation called the other day regarding a letter she wanted to secure from the PSC, but we ended up discussing at length the latest SBP-BAP issue.
AS EXPECTED, because of their failure to secure Swiss visas on time, no Basketball Association of the Philippines representative was present on the first day of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas-BAP hearing with the Fiba special commission in Geneva on Monday.
TOMORROW is the first day set by the Fiba’s special three-man committee composed of Carl Ching Menky, Boris Stankovic and a Fiba lawyer for the hearing on the BAP-SBP row in Geneva.
NO WAY WILL HE allow Fiba-Asia secretary general Dato Yeoh Choo Hock to be involved in the Asian Basketball League.
I’M A little confused about the Asian Basketball League or ABL. I first heard about this league from Singapore-based Paul Monozca, who was introduced to me by businessman/sportsman Mikee Romero in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand during the 2007 Southeast Asian Games where he was a guest of Mikee.
SINGAPORE— Judging by his military resume, Philippine chief of mission to the Asian Youth Games (AYG) Col. Cesar Binag is as tough as military men come.
The report that awaited PSC chair Harry Angping upon his arrival in this city last Friday was not exactly encouraging.
VETERAN MEDIA MAN Ronnie Nathanielsz, unofficial guardian of national cager Japeth Aguilar who recently arrived from the United States, has been raving about his protégé after seeing him in a light workout on Monday with the Powerade Team Pilipinas.
MY precious little black Liz Claiborne notebook is missing. It’s the notebook I had scribbled notes on during the press conference held at the PBA office last Friday afternoon, following an emergency meeting of the PBA board on the Fiba situation.
SURELY, MANY RAISED their eyebrows when national athletics president Go Teng Kok showed up at the luncheon hosted by businessman-sportsman Mikee Romero for PhilCycling, the national cyclists and members of the media at the Kamayan/Saisaki restaurant on Edsa in Quezon City yesterday.
UNTIL I saw him on national television last Friday night, I did not realize how long Ginebra cager Mark Caguioa had been missing from the PBA scene.
A RABID basketball fan sent an e-mail the other day inquiring about the performance of the Philippines in the 2007 Southeast Asian Games held in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
HE DID not expect another PBL championship, according to Oracle’s Mikee Romero, and wasn’t too concerned about his return schedule to Manila.
Perhaps by coincidence, POC special assistant to the president Go Teng Kok handed in his resignation from his post on the day my last column came out.
ATHLETICS CHIEF Go Teng Kok didn’t want it said that he is caught in between two rival wushu factions.
THERE was hardly any indication of the harrowing double overtime game between Purefoods and Talk ‘N Text which ended close to 11 p.m. last Friday.
Based on what was written in the papers, Philippine Sports Commission chair Harry Angping has all the valid reasons to reject the request made by the Philippine Olympic Committee for a P7.5 million budget for the country’s participation in the 1st Asian Youth Games scheduled June 29 to July 7 in Singapore.
The last time we had a long tête-à-tête, Welcoat’s Raymond Yu was in low, low spirits. And so were his father Tony and his business partner Terry Que, he recalled then.
There's something very odd about the Albay Astrodome, which hosted the aborted game between the Barangay Ginebra Kings and the Alaska Aces Saturday afternoon.
First, the bad news: Sta. Lucia's Kelly Williams is out for the rest of the conference. This information came directly from Sta. Lucia governor Buddy Encarnado, who was buried in office work late Saturday afternoon.
NIC JORGE COULD NOT SAY EXACTLY when or how he was replaced by Far Eastern U’s Anton Montinola as chair of the SBP’s Commission on Youth.
ALTHOUGH he denied it on national television just the other day, some people continue to believe that PLDT’s Manny V. Pangilinan is running for President of the Philippines in the 2010 elections.
SHORTLY AFTER guest schools Arellano University, Emilio Aguinaldo College and Angeles University Foundation were assessed P2 million each (P1.5 million for tournament fee, P500,000 for bond).
THE TIP hardly sounded believable, even if it did come from a highly reliable and well-respected colleague, so I decided to check out the information with Smart sports marketing head Pato Gregorio.
EVERY YEAR DURING THE PBA ALL-Stars, my neighbors at Barangay West Triangle in Quezon City engage in a little friendly bet on who will be the season’s new three-point king. All in the spirit of fun, according to them, since the ante involved is very affordable at only one hundred pesos per bet.
MOST OF YOU would probably associate Alaska Milk’s Fred Uytengsu only with the sport of basketball, since he owns the Alaska Aces, one of the oldest and winningest teams in the PBA.
Brian Viloria could not hold back tears of joy after he was pronounced the new IBF light flyweight champion last Sunday (April 19) at the Araneta Coliseum.
IRONICALLY, it was the media who broke the news of the trade to Ginebra coach Jong Uichico last Friday night instead of the other way around.
There Are Only Four Days to go before the much-awaited double-header between IBF flyweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. and undefeated challenger Raul “Cobra” Martinez and Brian the “Hawaiian Punch” Viloria versus IBF light flyweight champion Ulises Solis of Mexico.
I HAD known Leopoldo Prieto long before he became the PBA’s first commissioner.
Regularly updated on the local sporting scene through the Internet, Rhea Navarro of the Qatar Basketball Federation continues to keep her fingers crossed that the PBA will change its mind and play in the Qatar tune-up series, instead of the Seaba tournament in June or the William Jones Cup in July.
World boxing champ Nonito Donaire Jr. has reached out to his father Nonito Sr. with whom he had a falling out last year.
I had initially planned on conducting a little survey to find out what popular sports personalities do on Holy Week, and if this sacred time of year holds a special significance to them.
DESPITE the stern warning issued by Philippine Amateur Swimming Association president Mark Joseph, organizers, participants and even the guest speaker.
The scribes covering the sports beat are no longer interested in getting to the bottom of the latest Manny Pacquiao controversy.
MY column was ready to be e-mailed to the Philippine Daily Inquirer sports desk Saturday afternoon when I received late-breaking news that Manny Pacquiao
At the time I had a chit-chat over coffee with Solar Sports VP for marketing Jude Turcuato, there was hardly any indication that the company’s recent manpower cutback would become a major issue, considering that cost-cutting is a sign of the times.
As far back as several days ago, there were already indications that the deal between Mikee Romero and PLDT chair Manny V. Pangilinan for the purchase of Harbour Centre -- said to be worth billions -- was off.
The final straw in the raging dispute between the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission was the creation of the PSC-Aquatic Sports Task Force recently.
Have you heard of the Women’s Premiere League? Bet you haven’t. It’s a women’s basketball league which will be launched on March 21.
Thinking that boxing icon Manny Pacquiao was going to officially announce his intention to run for congress in the coming elections, members of the media who were invited by his adviser and kumpare, lawyer Romeo Makalintal, to a press conference on clean and honest polls flocked to the Renaissance Hotel
MANILA, Philippines—Another sport was supposed to be the main agenda of a lunch meeting I was attending Tuesday, but just before the session was adjourned, the talk shifted to basketball.
MANILA, Philippines—A veteran colleague was given an interesting writing assignment recently by his editor.
MANILA, Philippines—Why was I not surprised when I learned that a tune-up series arranged by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) between Puerto Rican club Capitanes de Aracibo and the RP squad coached by Yeng Guiao was cancelled at the last minute?
MANILA, Philippines--International Boxing Federation flyweight champ Nonito Donaire can finally heave a sigh of relief.
MANILA, Philippines—Although the majority of the people in her entourage were cheering for Alaska, United States Ambassador Kristie Kenney did not hide the fact that she was a big Talk ‘N Text fan.
MANILA, Philippines—How lucky can a man get. One of the country’s highest dollar earners, Manny Pacquiao, named his fighting cock entries after his youngest daughter Queen Elizabeth, “to attract luck.” Even if all fighting cocks are male.
MANILA, Philippines—Against the light, it was difficult to make out the face of the tall, lean gentleman seated next to former PBA star Jerry Codiñera at the Gerry’s Grill restaurant, where a handful of PBA legends and scribes were recently invited to lunch by Sydney-based Filipino Marco Selorio.
MANILA, Philippines—Talk ‘N Text’s Macmac Cardona was hoping the booing and the hissing would stop once the semifinal series with San Miguel Beer was over.
MANILA, Philippines—The way he calls people all over the world for lengthy interviews, spending thousands of pesos on phone bills, you’d think veteran scribe Ronnie Nathanielsz is a major stockholder of a telephone company.
MANILA, Philippines—Many people were a bit surprised when Coke hired former Air21 head coach Bo Perasol to assist head mentor Kenneth Duremdes on the bench.
MANILA, Philippines—Very recently, Red Bull team manager Andy Jao made a very important announcement to the Barako.
MANILA, Philippines—After Valley Golf and Country Club member Delfin de la Paz was suspended by the board for the mauling incident involving him and his two children and the Pangandaman family of Lanao Del Norte, I thought that an explanation from my former classmate at St. Joseph’s College was in order.
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, nothing new or earth-shaking was discussed during the PBA board meeting on Monday at the league offices in Libis, Quezon City.
MANILA, Philippines—The knockout game between San Miguel Beer and Ginebra will be held at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay instead of the Araneta Coliseum, where PBA matches are usually staged Sundays.
MANILA, Philippines—National coach Yeng Guiao scheduled his team’s first practice session for the year at The Arena in San Juan City on Sunday, but of the 14 players in his lineup, only eight showed up.
MANILA, Philippines—Talk ‘N Text Phone Pal Mark Cardona was surprised when he learned that he was on top of the heap in the MVP statistical race after the PBA Philippine Cup elimination phase.
MANILA, Philippines—To welcome the New Year, my fellow members in the Celestial Society will perform a bit of ceremonial magic at midnight Wednesday in which petitions will be transported to the higher dimensions through the ethers.
MANILA, Philippines—Harbour Centre’s Mikee Romero should be at the Araneta Coliseum tonight to watch the game between Purefoods and Air21.
With the entry of San Miguel Corp. in the wireless broadband business, fiercer competition is expected in the PBA, specifically between SMC teams and that of PLDT. The two have become rivals in both business and the PBA.
MANILA, Philippines—Newly elected PC vice-president Manny Lopez, who stepped down as president of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines in favor of PLDT-Smart’s Ricky Vargas and slid down to vice president, finally has a reason to smile.
I had only one question for returning hero Manny Pacquiao during the press conference held in his honor by GMA Network last week.
MANILA, Philippines—I must admit I had an ulterior motive when I finally decided to accept my friend Jack Ruby’s invitation to visit his office along Timog Avenue in Quezon City.
“Who are you? You’re unbelievable! You’re too fast. Are you human?” These words came from David Diaz, spoken a few hours after Manny Pacquiao had shamed Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.
MANILA, Philippines—The scribes were huddled in front of the television monitor inside the Araneta Coliseum press room when I arrived late Friday night.
SINGAPORE—Lion City-based Filipino businessman Paul Moñozca had just seen the successful conclusion of his biggest basketball venture so far—the staging of a PBA game between San Miguel Beer and Talk ’N Text—here and already he’s talking about a new project.
MANILA, Philippines—The e-mail dated Nov. 17, 2008 was left unopened until Saturday. I don’t know how I could have missed it but I did.
MANILA, Philippines—Coach Yeng Guiao was eager to get a feedback after the national basketball team’s first practice session at the San Juan Arena last Monday.
TAIWAN—The refreshingly cool change in climate was most welcome, especially after the humidity in Medan and the fickle dry/rainy weather in Manila.
Sta. Lucia Realty’s Kelly Williams was missed at the dinner-meeting called by national coach Yeng Guiao for the recently formed Philippine team that will compete in the 2009 FIBA-Asia Men’s Championship.
MANILA, Philippines—Atty. Butch Cleofe, legal consultant of the PBA, was not the type who likes to surprise people.
MEDAN, NORTH SUMATRA—I marvel at the resiliency of the young. How fast and easily they forget about pain and frustration.
MEDAN, North Sumatra—First the bad news. That is, if you still don’t know it by now. We failed to sweep the Level 2 series. We lost to the tall and hefty Kazakhstan by three points. We fought tooth and nail but we ended up on the losing end.
MEDAN, INDONESIA—It’s six in the morning, Tuesday, as I write this. In a few hours, the RP cagebelles will play their second game in the 19th FIBA-Asia Under 18 Championship for Junior Women here in North Sumatra.
MEDAN, Indonesia—If what was written in a poster at the airport is correct, Medan, in English, means garden. Hopefully, garden of paradise or Eden for the dozen girls who flew from Manila last Thursday, Oct. 30, to represent the Philippines in the 19th Fiba-Asia Under-18 Championship for Junior Women.
In a way, I guess it was a blessing that this column did not see print on its regular schedule Wednesday.
MANILA, Philippines—Several days after the Big J’s remark came out in the papers regarding Rajko Toroman, the Serbian coach hired by the SBP to oversee the development of Philippine basketball, people are still talking about it.
The first and last time the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) had a women’s division was 10 years ago during the term of Yeng Guiao as commissioner.
MANILA, Philippines—A call from Doha, Qatar some days ago has given PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios some cause for worry.
Organizer Susan Papa was proud to announce that the First Mayor Aldrin L. San Pedro Swim Cup would be entirely free of charge to the participants.
SINCE I WAS IN THE neighborhood, I thought I might as well pay a visit to some of my friends at the Rizal Memorial Complex. It was my first time to see the facelift done on the first floor lobby of the old administration building and I was a bit impressed.
Willie Fong, a 51-year-old businessman who, like many in his profession, is nuts about basketball, was tapped some months ago by the national women’s junior basketball team for financial help.
MANILA, Philippines—Scribe Bong Pedralvez, publicist of the Philippine Football Federation, phoned to inform me that football coach Juan Cutillas has apologized to the young girl he had bawled out at and her parents.
MANILA, Philippines—I was surprised—mildly shocked may be the more appropriate term—to hear about an incident involving football coach Juan “Johnny” Cutillas and a 15-year-old female national player.
MANILA, Philippines—About 6 years ago, a tall, gangling youth barely in his teens, stepped into the sports office of La Salle’s high school department.
MANILA, Philippines—The lunch invitation from PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios was for 11 a.m. Monday at the PBA office in Libis, Quezon City.
MANILA, Philippines—Colleague Ronnie Nathanielsz called the other day asking for the phone number of a mutual friend residing in Seattle, Washington.
DOHA, QATAR—The Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs finally achieved what the other teams before them could not. They won a basketball game here in Qatar.
DOHA, Qatar—When my friend Rhea Navarro invited me to return to Doha (after visiting the place with the Sta. Lucia Realtors only 10 days earlier), I hesitated.
MANILA, Philippines—Singapore-based Paul Monozca is supposed to be closely monitoring the affairs of his kababayan Jason Castro of the Singapore Slingers.
MANILA, Philippines—With the upcoming FIBA-Asia Men’s Championship in China next year, Vancouver-based Pinoy expat Jose Flores wanted to know if the SBP has plans of recruiting a naturalized player, much in the same way some of our Asian neighbors have.
MANILA, Philippines—Harbour Centre owner Mikee Romero was as nervous and excited as the PBA applicants on draft day.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—Two wins, two losses. This was the record by the Sta. Lucia Realtors going into the third and last leg of their three-city tour of The Gulf.
DOHA, Qatar—The Sta. Lucia Realtors left Manama, Bahrain keeping the Philippine record intact.
MANAMA, Bahrain—The short walk from the Philippine ambassador’s office to the labor attaché’s office was pure agony, even if it was only a few meters away.
MANILA, Philippines—There was no objection from Purefoods governor Rene Pardo when somebody declared during a recent social gathering that the three San Miguel Corp. teams were the most popular in the league.
DANDING COJUANGCO COUNSELED Purefoods governor Rene Pardo to proceed with caution.
MANILA, Philippines—Sta. Lucia Realty governor Buddy Encarnado said he is the happiest person in the whole world right now.
TO CONFIRM IF MY OBSERVATION was accurate, I called Solar’s VP for Marketing Jude Turcuato first hour in the morning.
MANILA, Philippines—He must have a weird sense of humor, I thought to myself, when Far Eastern University Tamaraws team manager Anton Montinola emphatically pronounced that his cager Mac Baracael was one “very lucky guy.”
PLAYER AGENT DANNY ESPIRITU fancies himself as the type who never imposes his will on his client.
MANILA, Philippines—It was Philippine Basketball League commissioner Chino Trinidad who broke the news to me of the Singapore Slingers’ pullout from the Australian National Basketball League.
HE MAY BE ONE OF THE PEOPLE closest to Tamaraw Mac Baracael but FEU men’s basketball coach Glenn Capacio swears he is just as lost and in the dark as the next guy is as to the motive behind the shooting of the cager.
MANILA, Philippines—This is one for the books. As I write this piece, I have in my hand a copy of a three-page letter from a law office and addressed to the basketball staff of a top exclusive boys’ school.
THE MEETING WAS ACCIDENTAL, if not coincidental. Last Friday afternoon I bumped into PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad and incoming league chair Mikee Romero of Harbour Centre while they were having coffee in an open Italian café at the Shangrila Mall.
MANILA, Philippines—He may not be here to attend the PBA rookie draft next month at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City, but Jason Castro’s agent Danny Espiritu confirmed that he is set to file an application on behalf of the cager.
KRIS AQUINO wanted to know if I knew of an incident in the NBA involving cager Carmelo Anthony, which was similar to that which her husband James recently figured in.
MANILA, Philippines—When his name was recently mentioned as one of the coaches being considered for the men’s national basketball team that would be culled from the PBA, nobody objected.
I WAS A BIT surprised to bump into former BAP-SBP executive director Pato Gregorio at a dinner hosted by Solar for newly crowned WBC lightweight champion Manny Pacquiao at the Dusit-Thani Hotel last Friday night.
MANILA, Philippines—People were surprised to see Romel Adducul during the opening ceremonies of the 2008 NCAA basketball season last Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
ON THE EVE OF the Manny Pacquiao-David Diaz fight, all I could think about was a statement made by Manny’s coach and chief trainer Freddie Roach during a press conference held recently in Las Vegas.
MANILA, Philippines—When I saw Purefoods’ 7-foot import Reda Rhalimi on television the other day, I immediately called Giants governor Rene Pardo.
IT WAS so unlike coach Norman Black not to return a phone call but Saturday, I tried to reach him a couple of times and there was absolutely no response.
MANILA, Philippines—The opening of the 2008 UAAP season is just around the corner, but it wasn’t the reason I was calling on University of Santo Tomas professor Felicitas Francisco of the Physical Education Institute Wednesday.
MANILA, Philippines— The overseas call from Abe King in Seattle, Washington came first hour in the morning of Tuesday.
IF HE WAS A BIT IRRITATED BY THE interruption, Manny Pacquiao managed to mask this to some degree during the phone-patch interview with the media held at 11 a.m. last Friday at the 17th floor of the GMA-7 building in Quezon City.
MANILA, Philippines—A veteran scribe, who once again invoked anonymity, wrote in to report on the recently-concluded National Open Track and Field Championships at the Rizal Memorial.
FORMER TALK ‘N Text assistant coach Bong Ramos was at the FEU gym last Friday morning to watch the last game of the RP junior women’s team in the 2008 Nike Summer Basketball League.
MANILA, Philippines—The Manny Pacquiao-David Diaz title fight is barely a month away, but unlike most of the Filipino boxing icon's previous bouts, this one doesn't seem to be generating too much excitement.
MANILA, Philippines--PBL Commissioner Chino Trinidad was on his way to Cavite when my call came through early Saturday morning.
MANILA, Philippines— The Philippine Basketball Association board meets Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at the PBA office in Libis, Quezon City and the main topic which is expected to be discussed at length is the choice of television coveror, now down to two—ABS-CBN and Solar Sports.
IF THERE’S A Palarong Pambansa, the House of Representatives also has a Palarong Kongreso.
By this time, BAP- Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Manuel V. Pangilinan (MVP) should be in San Francisco, having dinner with Harbour Centre’s Mikee Romero.
BY THIS TIME Talk ‘N Text governor Ricky Vargas should have landed in Capetown, South Africa, after almost a day of hopping in and out of airplanes.
MANILA, Philippines—The press conference for PBL cager Jason Castro at the Saisaki Edsa was over when Paul Monozca handed me a photocopied document. He said it was a scoop, although I saw several other copies of the paper in his folder.
HARBOUR CENTRE OWNER MIKEE Romero seemed to be more excited than his player Jason Castro, who had just signed a 7-month contract with the Singapore Slingers, one of the 18 teams in the Australia-based NBL (National Basketball League).
MANILA, Philippines—One of the main topics during the long table discussion between the PBA board of governors and the media on the eve of the PBA All-Star game was the television franchise.
BACOLOD CITY -- THE FLIGHT FROM Manila to Bacolod was very short and uneventful. We had barely unfastened our seat belts when the pilot announced over the PA system that we were starting our descent.
MANILA, Philippines—My timing was perfect, said Philippine Basketball Association commissioner Sonny Barrios, when I capped our short phone chat Wednesday with one final question.
MANILA, Philippines—Sports Vision director Rhea Navarro can hardly wait for the next phase of the Shakey’s V-League.
MANILA, Philippines—This year, two siblings in the champion Sta. Lucia Realty family are getting married. “Sukob,” they call it in Filipino, for real brothers who are trekking the aisle on the same year.
MANILA, Philippines—Although Purefoods cager Romel Adducul insisted on staying active in the hardcourt while waging his battle against cancer, his doctors put their foot down.
MANILA, Philippines—The day after the “Invasion” at the Araneta Coliseum, a popular scribe was talking about his encounter with Manila visitor Juan Manuel Marquez.
MANILA, Philippines—The guests at the NBC tent in Taguig, Rizal were kept guessing as the countdown for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics began last Thursday.
MANILA, Philippines—First hour in the morning Wednesday, I was already chatting with PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad, who was in Baguio City with his family to escape the torrid summer heat.
MANILA, Philippines—There has been a change in the career plans of former Ateneo cager Japeth Aguilar. Japeth said he is not joining the NBA draft when he graduates from college two years from now. He will either play in the European leagues or return to the Philippines to play in the PBA.
MANILA, Philippines—The responsibility of sending a team to the 2008 FIBA Asia Champions Cup in Kuwait and the 30th William Jones Cup in Taipei has fallen on the shoulders of Harbour Centre owner Mikee Romero.
MANILA, Philippines—Abe King sat on his luggage by the entrance of the Knottsberry Hotel when I arrived from some last-minute shopping at Lakewood.
BUENA PARK, California—Francis Arnaiz arrived at the Knottsberry Resort Hotel Saturday morning a bit hunched and hobbling.
UNION CITY, California—The tall, bespectacled young man looked very familiar.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA—I first noticed the chinky-eyed fellow at the San Francisco airport. He was with Abe King, chair of the PBA Legends Foundation USA, and the other Filipinos who were there to welcome the legends arriving from Manila.
MANILA, Philippines -- Time flies. I realized this when I got a copy of an e-mail sent by executive director Pato Gregorio to Harbour Centre owner Mikee Romero reminding him of the 7th Seaba Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia this April.
GINEBRA assistant coach Allan Caidic was besieged with alarming phone calls this week. One call came from Abe King, who phoned from Seattle, Washington, to say that Big Boy Reynoso had suffered a stroke.
MANILA, Philippines -- Not only are the PBA legends excited over the grand reunion scheduled in four California cities this March, they are also eagerly looking forward to the prospect of playing with boxing champ Manny Pacquiao in San Diego.
IF BONG Alvarez’ fondest wish today is to be able to migrate to another country, Francis Arnaiz’ is the exact opposite.
MANILA, Philippines - I was surprised to get a phone call from Bong and Almira Alvarez while I was celebrating Valentine’s night with neighbors in Quezon City.
MY SCRIBE friend, who watched the PBA knockout game between Purefoods and Sta. Lucia last Sunday, was wondering why comedian Vic Sotto’s shot was frequently being flashed on air.
MANILA, Philippines -- At the traditional pre-championship series press conference tendered by the PBA at the Harbor View Restaurant in Manila Wednesday, I finally got to prove to myself that Ryan Reyes was indeed the cager introduced to me by agent Mike Gonzalez more than three years ago in 2004.
ONCHIE DELA Cruz, one of the PBA’s “bad boys” of the ‘90s, was at our house Saturday to pick up some books he was taking back with him to the US for his buddy Abe King.
MANILA, Philippines -- A sports scribe was telling us how uncomfortable he felt during the press conference hosted by the newly established Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) at the Annabel’s Restaurant in Quezon City last week.
MANILA, Philippines--CAN’T BLAME the Big J if he’s not too excited about his forthcoming birthday celebration in California this March with other PBA legends.
MANILA, Philippines -- PBA Press Corps president Nelson Beltran was calling all the way from a beach resort in La Union where he was vacationing with a balikbayan relative from San Francisco and his immediate family.
MANILA, Philippines -- The text message from San Francisco was unexpected. Christian Bocobo, the US-based sports medicine doctor who co-authored the book “Legends and Heroes of Philippine Basketball,” said he is coming to the Philippines for a medical mission in Mindanao.
MANILA, Philippines -- It was impossible not to speculate about major changes in the Talk ‘N Text camp.
MANILA, Philippines--VETERAN MEDIA MAN RONNIE Nathanielsz was the first to vehemently react when PBA chair Tony Chua announced the result of the board meeting last Thursday, Jan. 17 at the PBA office in Libis, Quezon City.
MANILA, Philippines -- Last Christmas must have been one of the happiest for Purefoods team manager Alvin Patrimonio.
MANILA, Philippines -- For the benefit of the very curious—that includes me—I text-messaged some people known to be very close to boxing icon Manny Pacquiao in an effort to identify the girl in green he was kissing in that now controversial set of internet-spread photos.
MANILA, Philippines -- For the longest time, every Jan. 9 during the feast of the Black Nazarene, three people come to mind: cager Bong Alvarez, Inquirer sports columnist Recah Trinidad and basketball coach Joe Lipa.
MANILA, Philippines -- “Fiat voluntas tua.” If these words sound Greek to you, they shouldn’t, literally. They’re Latin, according, to Lambert Ramos, one of two remaining candidates for PBA commissioner, and they were culled from the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Magnificat.
Perhaps Mikee Romero thought I was joking when I told him that Hapee Toothpaste was destined to win the PBL championship, but because of his intense desire to win -- probably at all costs -- he managed to change the course of history.
MANILA, Philippines -- Most people -- especially if he or she is a celebrity -- will probably be too shy to reveal the one thing that will make him/her truly happy.
MANILA, Philippines—If you live somewhere in the Alabang area, chances are you would’ve seen a huge tarpaulin along Madrigal Avenue right across Ayala Alabang.
MANILA, Philippines -- Sta. Lucia governor-team manager Buddy Encarnado guffawed when I relayed the observation of old friends who saw him at a party I recently hosted.
BETWEEN now and Jan. 10, the date when the PBA board reconvenes to select the next league commissioner, a lot of things can happen.
NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand--Before anything else, allow me to thank the nice people who remembered my birthday last Dec. 14. I could not reply to their well-wishes because the roaming feature in my cell phone expired earlier than I expected.
NAKHON RATCHASIMA--EXCEPT for a very few, the Filipinos who booked into the Sabai Hotel are well known in Manila's basketball circles.
MANILA, Philippines -- Mikee Romero, patron of the Philippine men’s basketball team, has been sleepless the past few days.
MANILA, Philippines -- Unless the process hits some unforeseen snags, the Philippine Basketball Association should have a new commissioner before Christmas of this year.
Now I think I know why this PBA player had wanted to talk with me. Several weeks ago, I got a text message from somebody whose number I did not recognize.
MANILA, Philippines--THE INVITAtion was hard to resist. Lifestyle columnist and Crush Advertising exec Rod Nepomuceno said Jojo Neri Estacio, head of Skycable’s newest sports channel “Balls,” was treating two media people to the Pete Sampras-Roger Federer exhibition match in Macau over the weekend.
MANILA, Philippines -- Former PBA cager Abe King had both good news and bad when he called from Seattle, Washington last Sunday.
MANILA, Philippines--BUSINESSMAN Arben Santos, reacting to an item in this column, called the Friday to say that he would have to decline his nomination as PBA commissioner.
MANILA, Philippines -- She is strikingly attractive; you won’t miss her even in a thick crowd. Not only does she literally stand head and shoulders above those in her immediate vicinity -- man or woman -- her exotic Syrian beauty will also most certainly catch anybody’s eye.
MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine Basketball League commissioner Chino Trinidad appeared at the PLDT offices the other night with his arms riddled with an assortment of cuts, scrapes and wounds.
MANILA, Philippines -- After the woeful disaster in Tokushima last August, there’s no way the basketball-crazy Filipino will take another disappointment in the Southeast Asian Games this December.
MANILA, Philippines -- Look who’s getting VIP treatment from the mayor of Muntinlupa City. Swimming legend Susan Papa, that’s who.
MANILA, Philippines—It was a tight day for me, but my good friend Rhea Navarro, a director of Sports Vision which organizes the very popular Shakey’s V-League insisted that I watch last Sunday’s most awaited elimination round game between the inaugural and 2007 first conference champion UST and Ateneo.
MANILA, Philippines -- Manny Victorino’s colleague Abe King does not believe there was anything sinister behind the bullets found in the cager’s possession at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
MANILA, Philippines -- It wasn’t all hard work and pressure for the ladies’ basketball team in Phuket, Thailand. There were light moments too.
MANILA, Philippines -- Abe King’s eyes were red and watery. He was on the verge of tears as he answered a question I had innocently asked.
TODAY THE 33rd season of the PBA opens amid the usual pomp and pageantry.
MANILA, Philippines -- Typical of this so-called cyber age, the discovery of Filipino-American national player Vicky Brick from the University of Maryland, a Division I US NCAA squad, came through the Internet.
MANILA, Philippines--I DIDN'T realize how out of touch I had been with the RP women's basketball team until I got a press release from SBP executive director Pato Gregorio announcing that Jean Henri Lhuillier of Cebuana Lhuillier had agreed to play godfather to the squad.
MANILA, Philippines -- The UAAP best-of-three championship series between De La Salle University, coached by Franz Pumaren, and University of the East, coached by Dindo Pumaren, was surprisingly not in Pilo Pumaren’s consciousness when I called him for a short interview Wednesday.
MANILA, Philippines--AFTER THE two-day directional meeting of the PBA board in Macau early this week, league followers should be closely monitoring the process involved in the selection of a permanent commissioner. But before we go to that, first things first.
MACAU -- The first directional board meeting of the PBA under new chair Tony Chua of Red Bull was supposed to be held here Sept. 26 and 27, but it started a day earlier in Manila in a most unlikely venue -- the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
MANILA, Philippines -- GMA-7 PUBLICITY officer Barbette Atienza was still in a good mood when I first talked to her early Saturday morning, just before the scheduled 9 a.m. “sendoff” press conference for Manny Pacquiao.
MANILA, Philippines -- Looks like Solar Television is the very first outfit to express intention to bid for the 2008-2009 PBA broadcast coverage. The contract of current coveror ABC-5 expires at the end of the 2007-2008 season.
MANILA, Philippines -- The 59-year old Serbian coach gave it to Patrick Gregorio straight: “If you want to get back on the Asian basketball map, you have to have at least one 7-foot player in the team.”
MANILA, Philippines -- Since the Pacquiao-Barrera fight is only a few weeks away, I thought that the press conference called by GMA-7 last weekend was going to be about the Oct. 7 event.
MANILA, Philippines -- I mentioned in a recent column that last season’s PBA chair Ricky Vargas of Talk ‘N Text, had proposed to the board the conversion of the pro basketball league from an association to a corporation.
MANILA, Philippines -- When he first came to Manila nine years ago, Kobe Bryant was only 19 years old and a sophomore in the NBA.
MANILA, Philippines -- Two teams from the Philippines are currently in Brunei participating in the Brunei Cup, previously known as the Sultan’s Cup.
MANILA, Philippines -- I was surprised that Philippine Basketball Association chairman Tony Chua of Red Bull was not in the PBA office Wednesday morning when I called for an interview.
“I’D RATHER BE COACH THAN commissioner.” Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao was quick to answer when I asked if he would have been interested had the post of PBA commissioner—recently left vacant by Noli Eala—been offered to him.
I’ve followed his 5-year career in the PBA, but I don’t recall former Ginebra cager Mike Advani ever losing his temper while playing. Last Tuesday night though, I witnessed Mike, a former Red Lion and now San Beda College team manager, really get angry for the first time.
MANILA, Philippines -- For Purefoods cager Marc Pingris, his recent trip to Europe was one of the happiest, most memorable highlights of his life.
MANILA, Philippines -- I’ve often heard Welcoat team owner Raymond Yu talk about his father Tony, to whom the Yu family turn for counsel regarding business matters.
MANILA, Philippines—Yes, that’s what I heard too. Freddie Webb’s the choice of the PBA executive committee to sit as officer-in-charge until a permanent replacement for Noli Eala is found.
MANILA, Philippines -- After Noli Eala resigned as Philippine Basketball Association commissioner last Tuesday, several names have cropped up as a possible replacement.
MANILA, Philippines—Ever since the news of PBA Commissioner Noli Eala’s disbarment broke out in the media, people have not stopped calling and texting me.
MANILA, Philippines -- Arriving late for the birthday bash of Astra president Orville Roque, I could only manage a swift, sweeping glance at the huge dining table in his newly refurbished White Plains house where boxing icon Manny Pacquiao was surrounded by other guests.
MANILA, Philippines—I can imagine how disappointed Kris Aquino (Yap) must be, not finding her husband’s name in the final lineup of the RP team.
MANILA, Philippines -- BAP-SBP executive director Patrick “Pato” Gregorio was brimming with optimism on the day the RP team left for Tokushima, Japan for the nation’s biggest assignment in years: the 2007 Fiba Asia Men’s Championship, which is the qualifier for next year’s Beijing Olympics.
MANILA, Philippines—I’m not much into golf but the topic of conversation in our table during a recent birthday party I attended was so interesting it caught my undivided attention.
MANILA, Philippines -- Birthday boy Manny V. Pangilinan, PLDT/SBP chair, did not have just one but three wishes to ask the birthday genie this year.
MANILA, Philippines—My friend Rhea Navarro, who used to work for the Hongkong-based Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Promotions, has a theory behind the “new look” of national cagers Dondon Hontiveros and Kerby Raymundo.
The last time I talked to PBA head statistician Fidel Mangonon, I remember him telling me that while Phone Pal MacMac Cardona was leading in the Best Player of the Fiesta Conference derby, it doesn’t look like he will be able to compile enough points to make him eligible for this year’s MVP race.
MANILA, Philippines--PBA chairperson Ricky Vargas must be terribly disappointed.
MANILA, Philippines -- My son Raymond came home the other day with a story that would have been perfect for Father’s Day. The story is about Purefoods cager Marc Pingris whom he had met for the first time at the SportsCamp in Fort Bonifacio last Tuesday.
MANILA, Philippines—Ever since Harbour Centre’s Mikee Romero publicly expressed his intention to join the PBA, people have not stopped asking exactly when he plans to take the big step.
MANILA, Philippines -- As usual, Ateneo Blue Eagles coach Norman Black was very cautious in making his forecast for the incoming UAAP season.
A veteran colleague texted us to ask if Terry Capistrano is still the team manager of the De La Salle University Green Archers men’s basketball team since he had supported two La Salle alumni national tracksters in their six-month training in Southern California.
MANILA, Philippines—An old friend I called as such not because it is a reflection of his age but of the long years we have known each other, broadcaster and journalist Ronnie N, dropped by to visit us at St. Luke’s hospital the other day after keeping tabs of how we were doing through daily phone calls.
MANILA, Philippines -- It’s not that easy to sit in a hospital room and try to write a column. I tried to while confined at St. Luke’s Hospital but it didn’t work.
On Thursday at high noon, the PBA board meets at its new Libis office in Quezon City to tackle the Enrico Villanueva-Romel Adducul trade which has caused major dissension in the 34-year-old basketball league.
MANILA, Philippines—I was in what they call a hypnagogic state (half asleep, half awake) as I was talking with an executive-friend from Red Bull who called to inform me that the league’s most loyal and enduring fan Illuminada Pagala, better known as Aling Luming, had passed away.
MANILA, Philippines -- Aboard the PAL flight to Manila last Tuesday afternoon, national cager Mick Pennisi could already manage to smile.
RATCHABURI, Thailand—Going through long stretches of nerve-grating traffic, it took us almost four hours of journey overland from the Bangkok airport to this province, site of the Seaba qualifier for the FIBA-Asia Men’s championship in Tokoshima, Japan this July.
MANILA, Philippines -- To avoid turning the blessed event into a carnival, Kris Aquino requested the media not to mention the church where her two-month old son Baby James Yap would be christened.
MANILA, Philippines—It seems that a lot of people are still not too clear on what it would take for the Philippine basketball team to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
TSUEN WAN, Hong Kong -- Up to the last minute, because of the current problems and severe harassment that had been coming her way compliments of Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi, swimmer Susan Papa wasn’t sure if she could make it to the Mantas Invitational Meet scheduled May 12 and 13 in Hong Kong.
MANILA, Philippines -- Talk ‘N Text head coach Derick Pumaren and his staff were surprised when their national players returned from a recent stint in the United States.
MANILA, Philippines -- If it had been anybody else who made the offer, Chito Narvasa would have probably turned it down outright.
MANILA, Philippines -- As if the record two deaths and 256 hospitalized delegates of the recently concluded Palarong Pambansa were not enough, four more died when the bus carrying Palaro delegates on their way home to Tuguegarao, Cagayan figured in an accident.
MANILA, Philippines -- It has been one nightmare after another for 53-year-old former swimmer Susan Papa since February when what looked like a whole army swooped down on Villa Donata in Alabang, Muntinglupa, to demolish a small fence constructed by residents in her property.
MANILA, Philippines -- I WAS surprised to get a visit at high noon from Reli de Leon, former shoe man who's now highly connected in the sporting world, owning race horses and hobnobbing with the likes of world boxing icon Manny Pacquiao.
MANILA, Philippines -- The call came just as I stepped out of DZME’s radio booth yesterday noon.
MANILA, Philippines -- Without meaning to, longtime chum from RFM Elmer Yanga managed to make my eyes turn green with envy when he texted a long overseas message the other day.
JAKARTA, Indonesia—Last Wednesday night, Harbour Centre owner Mikee Romero was eagerly awaiting word from Jakarta regarding the result of the RP-Indonesia elimination game in the Seaba Champions Cup qualifier.
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- The result of the first game between the Philippines and Malaysia in the Seaba Champions Cup qualifier came all the way from San Francisco, California.
TWO days before their departure for Jakarta, Indonesia, I was expecting RP-Harbour Centre coach Junel Baculi to be feeling a certain amount of pressure and anxiety.
MANILA, Philippines -- From what I know, Ginebra cager Rudy Hatfield is a man of his word. But now, just like almost everybody else, I’m starting to doubt if he would be able to fulfill a promise he made when the second conference unfolded last March.
MANILA, Philippines -- I couldn’t help but laugh when Mike Keon returned my call the other day. Mike said his candidacy for Ilocos Norte governor had just been officially launched that day.
MANILA, Philippines -- Ginebra cager Mark Caguioa was lying on the bench when we arrived at the Moro Lorenzo gym where the national team was having its last workout prior to its departure for Carson City in Los Angeles.
MANILA, Philippines -- It was supposed to be a joyous occasion. His close friend and business partner Moying Martelino was celebrating his 72nd birthday and they had planned a surprise party for him at the Manila Polo Club in Makati.
In a gesture that he was giving the amateurs his support and blessing, BAP-SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan had accepted the invitation to join the PSA forum where the RP-Harbour Centre team bound for Jakarta, Indonesia for the Seaba Champions Cup qualifier was going to be presented.
MANILA, Philippines -- At first I thought the news about Rudy Distrito traveled halfway around the world, Las Vegas the starting point, going to Carson City where the former cager’s family resides all the way to Alaska where Rino and Rose Salazar are now based.
BETH CELIS - MANILA, Philippines -- Just like the PBA, teams in the collegiate leagues are now starting to recruit imports of all shapes and sizes more aggressively.
BETH CELIS - Over radio DZME’s “Usapang Sports” yesterday, a caller posed a question which I could not answer.
BETH CELIS - MANILA, Philippines -- The group behind gameface.ph certainly deserves a pat on the back for its extensive talent-scouting efforts in high school and collegiate basketball.
BETH CELIS - Scribes and photographers covering the PBA were invited to a press conference by the Coca Cola Tigers through its advertising agency on Friday night.
BETH CELIS - MANILA, Philippines -- Nobody noticed, least of all the Fil-Am cager who was the subject of a scouting expedition to Manila recently.
BETH CELIS - Early this week when i was first informed about the staging of the San Beda College-University of Santo Tomas battle royale, one of the highlights of the 21st anniversary celebration of the Edsa People Power, my first question to Bobong Velez was, “Who will coach the Red Lions?”
BETH CELIS - MANILA, Philippines -- The lunar Year of the Fire Pig must be good for Philippine basketball. Four days into the Chinese new year, the long awaited FIBA ban on the Philippines was lifted, much to the jubilation of the entire Filipino nation.
BETH CELIS - Although FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann hinted during the BAP-SBP Unity Congress that the lifting of the Fiba ban on the Philippines would be automatic as soon as the new national sport association is recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee.
BETH CELIS - MANILA, Philippines -- Since it is Valentine’s week, I thought perhaps it would be appropriate to pay a small tribute to the marital unions in the sporting world that have endured the test of time and temptation.
BETH CELIS - Although she looked so much lovelier and more sophisticated, I instantly recognized Guia Asaytono when I bumped into her at the taping of the “Mom’s” show over QTV recently.
BETH CELIS - MANILA, Philippines -- Some of the best things that happen in this world are not planned.
BETH CELIS - For a moment there, I got confused about all those movements going to and from Bangkok, Thailand.
BETH CELIS - HE DIDN’T bring home a single piece of danggit or dried mango from Cebu, but PBA chair Ricky Vargas assured us he didn’t exactly return to Manila empty handed.
BETH CELIS - MANY of them were really not good at the game, but in the spirit of fun and fundraising, they all signed up to compete against each other, and in the finale, against world billiards champion Efren “Bata” Reyes.
TEMPORARILY pushing aside the subject of boxing, to which he has been closely identified with lately, Reli de Leon of Manny Pacquiao Promotions has shifted his interest to a new passion.
BETH CELIS - FOR SBP chair Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, the trip to Switzerland is certainly not a tourist’s delight. On the contrary, for him it is supreme sacrifice.
BETH CELIS - NO ONE CAN imagine the amount of blood, sweat and tears that went into Santa Lucia Realty’s overtime victory over Air 21 in the knockout match of the wild card series recently.
BETH CELIS - I GOT two interesting letters in my e-mail yesterday, one from San Francisco-based player agent Bobby Rius, the other from Henry Abes, president and CEO of gameface.ph, a website aiming to build a reputation as the bible of Philippine amateur basketball.
BETH CELIS - PBA chairman Ricky Vargas, whose pet and most ambitious project for his term is the construction of the league’s own coliseum, is working double time to fulfill this vision.
THERE must be a dearth of news in the basketball community following the holiday season.
BETH CELIS - IT’S hard to imagine that someone as highly physical as Manny Pacquiao could be very spiritual too.
BETH CELIS - PEOPLE FROM Metro Manila who went to General Santos the other weekend to attend the three-in-one celebration of Pinoy boxing icon Manny Pacquiao had some interesting tales to tell.
BETH CELIS - BAP PRESIDENT Sen. Jinggoy Estrada was inside a taxicab in Hong Kong when he made the official announcement yesterday afternoon.
BETH CELIS - IT was supposed to be an act of protest—the “sit-down” strike staged by Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao during the Red Bull-Purefoods game at the Araneta Coliseum last Sunday.
BETH CELIS - IT MUST HAVE been around this same time last year when I last had a long talk with Purefoods team manager Alvin Patrimonio.
BETH CELIS - I’VE NEVER IN MY life coached a basketball team, not even on the barangay level, but last Tuesday noon I found myself having lunch with a handful of coaches who were scheduled to pay a courtesy call to the new BAP president, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada at the Senate.
BETH CELIS - Basketball Association of the Philippines president Senator Jinggoy Estrada obviously has had a change of heart since the last time I talked with him at the session hall of the Philippine Senate some weeks ago.
BETH CELIS - WHAT HAVE WE got to show so far in Doha, Qatar? After five days of competition as I write this, nada. Nothing. Not a single medal.
BETH CELIS - THE text message from Teddy Perena of Team Ads was timely. Just the day before, a Mon Fernandez fan was inquiring about his idol—where he is now, what he does for a living—stuff like these.
BETH CELIS - IT WAS A PLEASANT surprise to find myself sharing a table with the Living Legend, former senator Robert Jaworski and his lovely wife Evelyn, at a birthday party I attended last week.
BETH CELIS - THE Sports Vigilantes, a group of rabid sports aficionados, were still talking about Pacman over Radio dzME’s “Usapang Sports” when I arrived at the station yesterday morning.
BETH CELIS - MORE THAN the usual number of lady sportswriters were at the Pantalan Restaurant in Manila last Tuesday morning to attend the weekly PSA forum.
BETH CELIS - FROM where I was seated during the luncheon hosted by San Miguel Corp’s Ramon Ang in honor of billiards champions Efren “Bata” Reyes and Ronnie Alcano, the sport’s newest star, I could tell that the profile of the two were starting to look identical.
BETH CELIS - MANY unanswered questions on the state of Philippine basketball continue to persist despite a series of press statements issued by Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) chair Manny V. Pangilinan and newly installed BAP president Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
BETH CELIS - SINCE our paths crossed more than two decades ago in the Philippine Amateur Basketball League (now PBL), RFM’s Joey Concepcion has been actively involved in a big way with basketball.
BETH CELIS - IT was a three-week-old request for an interview, granted only last Wednesday by a reluctant Manny V. Pangilinan, PLDT/ Smart chairman, Talk ‘N Text team owner, Ateneo/ San Beda basketball squad patron and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas head, among others.
BETH CELIS - TAMUNING, GUAM —I’m writing this as I sit by the deck of the Alupang Beach Club waiting for the bus that would take us to the next series of water activities which include dolphin watch, snorkeling, fishing and the banana boat ride.
BETH CELIS - IT’S A DONE DEAL and there’s no turning back. However, reports of demoralization among some players could have caused Red Bull management to feel remorse over the recent Lordy Tugade trade.
