Cebu Football

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Sept. 2 edition) I FINALLY had a chance to see the template the Philippine Football Federation sent to the local provincial football associations that they must follow inline with the changes mandated by Fifa in Philippine football. There are a lot of changes actually and if the CFA adopts them all, the way it operates will be a whole lot different from what we are used to. From the board composition, to membership, to the election.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 22 edition) TALISAY City-based swim coach Alfie Fernandez is achieving what some politicians only talk about come election time—helping kids through sports. And these are actual under-privileged kids, not the kids who are the favorite of traditional politicos and are the subject of their "grassroots" program—those eligible to vote. Last summer, he started a clinic for kids who hang out near the Talisay City public beach, most of them the sons of single moms. He trains them at the sea, against the flow of tide because using a pool means using money the coach doesn't have.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 15 edition) LAST month, while we were groaning collectively at another miserable stint in the Southeast Asian Games, there was a major development in the local sports scene, one that's supposed to address the ills of sports in the country. The Senate passed its version of House Bill 4461, originally authored by Cebu Rep. Samsam Gullas, establishing the Talisay Sports Academy and Training Center. Sen. Sonny Angara, in approving the bill, hopes the Academy will be the premier primary sports development and training center in Cebu and hopes it would jumpstart grassroots development. Yeah, right, and I'm going to be the next superstar in D'Voice Kids.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 11 edition) BRASH challenger Francisco Rodriguez knows his role perfectly--the visiting villain to the hometown hero. Rodriguez, 21, called Donnie Nietes an old champion who should be ready to let the new blood take over, earning the ire of the down-to-earth champion. Donnie, old? Naah. Older may be, in the sense that 33 is older than 21. But an old champion? No way Jose, or should I say, Paco.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 8 edition) ONE of the very first things I thought of the Cebu Football Association when I got in the media scene in 1997 was that perhaps they got the name wrong. Growing up in a small town in Mindanao makes you wary of groups that include you in their mandate but doesn't include you at all. It was the football association for Cebu but most of the teams were from one city of Cebu. I think I asked why there wasn't a Mandaue City football association and got a shrug. A few years later, someone got really interested when I told him to put up a Lapu-Lapu City football association since the local association doesn't cover it.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 6 edition) TWO months ago, a high school player in Manila passed away after collapsing in a basketball game. To avoid such an incident this year, the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. is requiring its basketball players to have a medical checkup, which will include an ECG check, before they can be allowed to play.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's June 27 edition) TO be one of the best football clubs, you have to have ample support and a real structure and in Cebu--no teams epitomize that support and structure better than Leylam FC and Erco Bro. Before, the dominant teams were Queen City United, backed by the Cebu Amateur Football Club, Hiroshi FC of Haru Iwanaga and Crazy Horse of the Ayabe father and son tandem.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's June 20 edition) THE Philippine national team is off to its best start in the World Cup qualifiers, winning the first two games against dangerous Bahrain at home and Yemen in Dubai. And do you know what are some fans concerned about? Where’s the homegrown talent? Where are the pure Filipinos? A week ago, sprinters Eric Cray and Kayla Richardson swept the century dash gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games and some again asked where our homegrown talents were, as if getting these Filipinos raised abroad to represent the country in international competitions is a mortal sin. Some even blame them for having the flags that were sewn in their jerseys upside down.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's June 15 edition) HERE'S an interesting comment from a reader who watched the Azkals match at the Philippine Sports Stadium last Thursday. He agreed that we had our A-team, but the real problem in the match was the 12th man, the missing home crowd. “It’s a pity that the crowd was not present. We were officially only about 6k spectators and to make matters worse there were about three to four groups cheering differently. So the home factor has not been a factor for the Azkals which is why I am commenting,” he wrote.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's June 13 edition) I DON'T know what was more impressive last night, that we beat Bahrain for the first time or that we only had 10 days of training time to do so. Concerns on the lack of preparation for the national team, which even had less than six days to train as a complete unit as the last member arrived on June 5, were immediately thrown out the window the moment we took the field. Lack of training time? Chemistry or what have you? No problem!

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's June 8 edition) WITH no international friendly lined up before they kick off their 2018 World Cup qualifiers, the Azkals made do with a modified friendly with a foreign-laced UFL All- Stars squad last Saturday at the Philippine Sports Stadium. Playing three 30-minute halves to give the whole squad a chance to take part, the Azkals took apart the UFL selection, 7-1, with Javier Patiño scoring two and Iaian Ramsay, Kevin Ingreso, Misagh Bahadoran, Stephan Schrock and Mark Hartmann getting one each.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 28 edition) LET'S face it, luck has rarely smiled on the Azkals. Just look at the draw we got for the World Cup qualifiers. For the Suzuki Cup campaign, Southeast Asia's premier tournament, we can't even get the best players available because Asean's centerpiece event is so small in Fifa's world that it's not part of the calendar. Meaning, the players based in Europe won’t be compelled to play. But for this year's World Cup qualifiers, it seems, fortune is smiling on us---as we got Stephen Schrock, Javier Patino and Neil Etheridge back, plus new kids Iain Ramsay, Luke Woodland, Stephen Palla and Kevin Ingreso. How did we get them to commit?

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 27 edition) THE Philippines' campaign in the 2018 Word Cup qualifiers begins on June 11, and the training camp will start on June 1. Are we back to the old days of taking these things for granted? Pre-2010, we'd love to bash the PFF for spending less than a month to prepare for tournaments, resulting to our boys getting beaten black and blue and going home with their tails between their legs. Now, if we're lucky, we'd get 10 training days before we take on dangerous Bahrain at home. Aren't we cutting it too close for comfort?

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 25 edition) EVER since we lost our best chance to win an Olympic gold medal in 1996, our record in the quadrennial meet has been woeful---zero golds, zero silvers, and zero bronze medals in the Syndey, Athens, Beijing and London Olympics. That’s four straight meets without a medal after winning a bronze in 1988 and in 1992 and that silver by Mansueto Velasco in 1996. That shows how difficult it is to win a medal, or even qualify for the Olympiad. Our best bet has always been boxing, but lately our boxers can’t even make it past the second round of eliminations. Tanamor, who was then predicted by Sports Illustrated to win a medal in the 2008 Olympics, surprisingly lost in the round-of-32. Mark Barriga had the same fate in 2012 and lost in the second round.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 23 edition) JUST as I thought that the fight as to which group is the legitimate NSA for volleyball in the country was over, I was told that it is not. It’s far from it. And it still could get court-case ugly that could lead to the country’s suspension in international play. Philippine Volleyball Federation president Gener Dungo Edgardo Cantada said in an e-mail that before LVP can be recognized by the POC, it has to removed the PVF from the roster of recognized NSA members by a 3/4 vote of the general assembly, then the it has to confirm the accreditation of the new group with a 2/3 vote.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 21 edition) SO the Larong Volleyball ng Pilipinas has just received recognition from the FIVB (International Volleyball Federation) as the national sport association for volleyball in the country, and I hope this ends t he political infighting in volleyball. I hope, too, that now LVP is recognized as a national sports association, it will really become a national sports association, and not commit the same mistake as its predecessor and think that “national” only covers Manila.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 20 edition) I'M not a betting man, but if I was, I'd bet my buddy's bonus on Donnie Nietes stopping that cocky Mexican challenger in Pinoy Pride 31. I'd probably throw in his new ride, too. Donnie, like most Pinoy fighters, especially those from ALA, is not one to boast. They'd let their fists do the talking. Many sportswriters have been disappointed that they can't lead with, "I'll beat the crap out of him," in their stories instead of, "I will just try to do my best." But Donnie's body of works--longest-reigning Pinoy champion and three defenses in Mexico--speak volumes, and when he says he'll do his best, it doesn't mean he's 100 percent ready, it means he can go another 12 rounds after a 12-round fight. That's how Donnie is.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 11 edition) CENTRAL Visayas, after finishing at fourth place in every Palaro since god knows when, dropped to sixth place this year. Going into the Palaro in Tagum, Cviraa’s Vivian Ginete told Sun.Star Cebu that they would be relying on the team events to get that much-needed medals to get ahead in the standings. They didn’t get it, and now, one of Central Visayas’ key strategies for next year according to Victor Yntig, the team manager, is to ask DepEd to adopt the core medal system for parity. I think that’s not what is broken.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's May 7 edition) MOMENTS after the greatest win in a stellar career, Floyd Mayweather Jr. climbed the ropes, crossed his arms and looked at everyone in the arena, as if they were all beneath him. He got booed. He just beat the fighter whom most thought would beat him. Beat him soundly, too. And he made sure, they knew that. “I told you so! I told you so!” he screamed. Booo! The crowd answered.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's April 30 edition) IN 2007, when I covered the Palarong Pambansa for the first and last time, I saw a bunch of elementary football players barely having even the strengh to even cry after a tough finals loss. They were playing their fifth game in three days, because the tournament manager’s only concern was the schedule, not the players’ welfare. I thought those days are gone and DepEd has finally taken steps to ensure players’ health aren’t compromised in the Palaro.