In Huddle
Harbour’s Romero, Jun Sy on SBP board?
By Beth Celis
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:03:00 05/15/2008
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.
MVP will be with his vice chair Ricky Vargas, who’s flying in straight from Capetown, South Africa.
At Wednesday’s SBP meeting, at which the executive committee approved the new list of members of the organization, MVP said he would very much want two gentlemen who had been very supportive of Philippine basketball to be on the SBP board.
He was referring to Mikee and Jun Sy, who is funding the boys’ youth program or what is collectively known as the NBTC.
Jun Sy is the president of Tao Corporation, the biggest distributor of Nokia phones in the Philippines.
A low-profile businessman who has pledged over P70 million to Philippine basketball, scribe-friends who have met Jun up close have only good words to say about him.
He is definitely well liked.
* * *
Before the SBP elections, which have been reset from May 31 to June l2, Independence Day, the representatives of the various stakeholders should be in.
As far as the Philippine Basketball Association is concerned, the four slots allotted to the league will go to the commissioner, Sonny Barrios, the current board chairman Tony Chua, the vice chairman Joaqui Trillo and the treasurer, Robert Non.
The Philippine Basketball League, which is given two seats, will be represented by commissioner Chino Trinidad and incoming board chairman Mikee Romero.
Mikee, who will be returning from a six-week vacation in San Francisco before the election, said he was honored to be of service to the SBP.
I have not had the chance to get a reaction from Jun Sy.
* * *
Jhah Mhar Pangri. That’s the way his name would sound if pronounced correctly in French, said Magnolia cager Jean Marc Pingris, who is half-French and half-Filipino.
“But it’s too late to change that now. ‘Sanay na ang mga taong tawagin akong Marc Pingris. Baka pati ako manibago pag tinawag ako na parang lumalabas sa ilong ang pronunciation’ [People have already gotten used to calling me Marc Pingris and even I might find it strange to hear people calling me like their voices were coming out of their noses],” Marc said.
Marc and wife Danica took a quick course in conversational French before traveling to Normandy, France last year to visit his father whom he saw only for the first time.
The last letter in every French word is not pronounced, according to Marc. Frankly, the six units of French I learned from Prof. Bobbie Malay at the University of the Philippines have practically faded into oblivion.
By next month, Marc will be a father. He has adjusted to his new team, he said: “’Okay na ako. Trabaho lang naman ‘yan.’ [“I’m okay now. That’s part of the job.”]
Boy or girl? I asked Marc.
His face suddenly lit up full blast.
“Un garcon!” And he gave me that wide, wide grin.
* * *
Talking of adjustments, Sta. Lucia’s Joseph Yeo seems to be adjusting very well to married life.
Joseph tied the knot with his scholarly looking new bride, the former Angela Medalla, a school teacher, last April 27, which is why he had to skip the All-Star week in Bacolod City.
“We’re very happy ma’am, but I could be happier if we only had a maid,” Joseph said.
Does he have to do the cooking and the laundry, I asked.
Since he’s responsible for both chores, Joseph said he brings the dirty laundry to his parents’ house and also orders their meals from there.
I promised to look around for a housemaid for the couple.
|
