Cebu Football

I AM really not that convinced by the reason that the “misunderstanding” between the Cebu Football Association and the Cebu City Sports Center management was because the religious activity was supposedly booked last December yet and the management can't turn down the request of the organizers to put up a stage at the football pitch. (Photo by ML, no image copyright. Share this for a beer.)

EVER since Neil Montesclaros, Charlie Page and the rest of the Don Bosco alumni started the football festival craze with the Thirsty Cup almost 10 years ago, seven-a-side games have always been the norm. Of course, you can't have a full 11-a-side, 90-minute match in a two-day festival, since that defeats the purpose but seven-a-side matches also had its disadvantages as well as advantages.  Seven-a-side matches, are essentially just competitive versions of the drills coaches have during practices, and luck also plays a major factor, that's why most finals matches--where sometimes teams of unequal quality meet--end in shootouts.

EVERYbody loved Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista as a young fighter.  And sadly, the then 21-year-old fighter who won his first 23 fights would learn, that everybody loves a promising fighter, until he loses. From being the most-loved fighter, Bautista, I think became the most maligned fighter in boxing forums after his first-round loss to Daniel Ponce de Leon, called names by keyboard warriors who’d faint at an Internet staredown.

IN December 2012, the UFL sent a letter requesting for sanction for its Youth League from the NCRFA, which,  four months later, is using such request as a reason to question how things are run in the UFL. Dear NCRFA football stakeholders, get your acts together, will you?   Elvira Lozano, a board member of the NCRFA, told Bob Guerrero, “The issue is the structure of governance in the UFL. We cannot discuss a youth football league or any other project until we deal with this issue.”

ABOUT eight years ago, during a press conference for the Sun.Star Superbalita 9-Ball Challenge, top Pinoy pool players Warren Kiamco, Francisco Bustamante and Dodong Andam said the Philippines has lost its edge in the sport and they were hoping one government agency would help in regaining it. What was the agency? Not the Philippine Olympic Committee or the Philippine Sports Commission, but the Department of Education. Yep, DepED.

MAKE no mistake, the UFL is the future of Philippine football.  Yes, sometimes, I don't like what's happening in the UFL but I still think that if Philippine football has to get to that next stage, it's the UFL that will make it happen. We need a league that will make football a career for anyone who wants to pursue it.  Not just for the players, but for the coaches, trainers, assistant trainers too. That's why I was really glad that the UFL decided to start that youth league.  

WHY? That’s perhaps one of the biggest questions in the sports world after the horror of the Boston Marathon bombing. Sports is supposed to be where we get along, one where we forget the horrors and problems that make the front pages and focus on the human spirit.

EBONG Joson’s path to his new job is very unusual.  Unlike most who send their resumes, or get hired directly, Ebong got his because of what he did while he was drunk as a skunk. It was Feb. 9, 2011 and the Philippines was set to face Mongolia for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers, and Ebong, like the rest of the fans who watched that game, went to the Panaad Park and Sports Complex early.  But unlike the other fans, Ebong, with Bob Guerrero, spent those few hours drinking rhum.

ONE of the big news in sports recently, though it didn’t generate much publicity, are the changes amateur boxing will be adopting this year that will eventually be used for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. One is the dropping of headgear for the men’s competition and the other is scrapping of its computerized scoring system that puts the premium on punches.

IT was yet another great hosting job by Lapu-Lapu City and the Philippine team reciprocated by beating Thailand and moving on to the finals in the Davis Cup Asia/Oceana Group 2. And with the Philippines still hosting the finals against New Zealand in September, it looks like Plantation Bay Resort and Spa will still host it. It’s going to be a fifth hosting by Lapu-Lapu if it pushes through and I hope the crowd will show better tennis  etiquette for the match.

I SAW a picture promoting the Azkals football clinic and that reminded me of a friend’s reaction to what former CFA board member Tony Moraza said during the general assembly that was attended by both PFF president Nonong Araneta and national team manager Dan Palami. I’m not sure who’s organizing the clinic but the poster—which shows all the members of the team, even including coach Dan Weiss—must  have the national team’s blessing.  And according to the info, it’s going to be held at the Music Hall of the SM Mall of Asia (they have a pitch there?) During the assembly, Tony said that while the Azkals have raised the popularity of football in the country, they should do more to promote the game by visiting the rest of the country. “The Azkals should be more visible outside of Manila,” Tony said.  And that’s from a guy whose company is moving to Manila.

I HAD fun making up facts and interviews for that April Fools story about how Global FC supposedly snagged Manny Pacquiao for its AFC President’s Cup campaign in Cebu. I usually write April Fools stories in my blog and at the beginning of the year, when I found out that April 1 fell on a Monday, when I had a column scheduled, I’ve been thinking of a good story. I really looked forward to writing one, and after it got published and we all had fun--including Dan Palami who gamely tweeted it--I thought that was it.

SCHOOL’s out for most students, and after eight months cocooned in the campus, staring at PCs--whether for research or whatever--it would be a pity if you spend the next eight weeks doing the same. Get out, sweat it out. Pick a new skill out there in the real world, not online.

AFTER snagging the Philippine Army’s best goalkeeper, Presidents’ Cup-bound Global FC has snagged the army’s most famous reserve officer—Lt. Col. Emmannuel Dapidran Pacquiao, formerly known as the champion boxer Manny Pacquiao. This is the latest major signing of Global FC, which got Jason de Jong, Edward Sacapano and Joshua Beloya for the AFC Presidents Cup, a tournament that allows only two foreigners per club.