Cebu Football

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Sept 24. edition) IF there’s one solid reason there is a need to revamp the whole leadership in the Philippine Amateur Swimming Association, their group’s conduct on the Maxime Rooney affair is it. If what the future Olympian’s father said is true, then our swimming officials just turned down our best chance to win an Olympic gold for reasons know only to them.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Sept. 23 edition) WHILE the Cebu media community is celebrating its Press Freedom week, there's an interesting issue brewing in Manila--a sportswriter was banned from all PBA activities for his actions on social media. It all started when a model-slash-round-girl confessed about having an affair with a PBA exec in a radio show, the writer picked it up and then interviewed the host is in his own radio show. He also dealt about the matter in social media, where he supposedly maligned the concerned official.

(This is my Fair Play column for SunStar Cebu's Sept. 21 edition) AT the end of the first round of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. college football season, defending champion University of San Carlos was at the bottom of the heap, with two points to show in four matches. They lost to the University of San Jose-Recoletos and the University of the Visayas and struggled to earn a point against the University of Cebu and the University of Southern Philippines. But in the second round, USC finally showed why it is the defending champions with wins over the top two teams—2-1 against USJ-R and 3-0 against the University of Cebu—rekindling its title defense alive.

(This is my Fair Play column for SunStar Cebu's Sept. 19 edition) IT’S great that Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. Commissioner Felix Tiukinhoy is open to the idea of adding bowling in the school league. However, the Commissioner set a series of requirements that would test the resolve of the bowling community. Though hard, the requirements are not insurmountable, and overcoming them could mean a smooth-sailing entry for the sport in the school league.

(This is my Fair Play column for SunStar Cebu's Sept. 17 edition) FOUR years after it was first announced in Cebu, the P80 million dalliance of Smart in Philippine football gets another reincarnation as a national U22 amateur championships this time around. First, Smart wanted a league, with provincial teams competing against each other. Of course, the UFL was already at its height, so it became a de-facto reincartion of the PFF men’s open of yester-years. When it became an extension of the UFL and the pro teams made it their playground, there was discontent from the provincial FAs. This P80 million tournament was supposed to be for Philippine football, not the UFL.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Sept 16 edition) WINNING the overall title in a multi-event meet isn't easy. Just ask the Central Visayas delegation in the Palarong Pambansa, where it has taken up long-term residence at fourth place. Winning the overall title in a multi-event meet when you're a visiting team is an even harder feat. For the Palaro, the NCR regularly does that every year, but that's because being the National Capital Region, it has a wider base of athletes to choose from, and these athletes are better than most.