Cebu Football

LAST year, Gilas coach Chot Reyes was the toast of the basketball world, having guided the team to second place in the Fiba Asia championship and a slot to the World Cup for the first time in decades. There were those who criticized him of his choices, for sure, but they were drowned by an adoring crowd ready to crown him as the messiah that would get us the long-sought gold medal in the Asian Games. But in the World Cup of Basketball last August, more questions came and they became louder.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Sept. 27 edition) WHEN I started in sports writing back in 1997, while splitting time as a sophomore at USC taking up BS Electronics and Communication Engineering, I never expected to be in this position now, heading the sports desk. Back then—heck, rare is a sophomore engineering student who plans beyond the weekend binge—life was simple. I rushed to the office after school to file my stories, or during weekends, I’d go to the venues to cover my beat. No Internet, no social media, no cell phones. You had to be there where the story happened. ( CIRCA 1997. That's me in the middle with from left Banat Sports Editor Yoyo Abayan and then correspondent now Freeman Sports Editor Manny Villaruel. )

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Sept. 25 edition) IT’S the semifinal round of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. football competition and the University of Southern Philippines Foundation is the No. 1 seed, a development that got me by surprise. I thought the University of San Jose-Recoletos or the University of San Carlos would fight for the No. 1 spot, being last year’s finalists, but right now, the two-time defending champion Jaguars are at fourth place. But thanks to an archaic competition that should have gone the way of the dodo, it might as well be USJ-R at first and USPF at fourth in this Cesafi football playoffs.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Sept. 22 issue ) Last Thursday, I met Chad Songalia, Milky Cañete and Neil Montesclaros--the men behind the Thirsty Cup--to discuss the details for another football tournament that they are handling. The Sun.Star Football Cup.   This age group tournament that was first staged in 2012 after that historic Singapore vs. Philippines match will return for its third edition this year on Nov. 22 and 23, still at the Cebu City Sports Center.  

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Sept. 20 edition) THAT semifinal loss to the University of San Carlos Warriors has got to be the lowest point in the University of the Visayas Lancers’ 14-year stint in the Cesafi, worse even than that loss to rivals Southwestern University Cobras when a few Lancers started rough-housing their foes. UV issued an apology then, issued an apology now. What makes this worse is that a couple of UV players got in a fracas--not with the foes--but with each other. A first, I think, in the history of the league.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Sept. 15 edition ) IF 90 minutes of football is tiring for some, try 6,060 minutes. That’s 101 hours or four days and five hours of non-stop football. Crazy? Yes, but if the BPO football community in Cebu is successful, they are going to play 101 hours of football to break the Guinness record for the longest football match. A search online shows there are two records for the longest football match, one is 33 hours for a full 11-a-side game and another is 53 hours for a five-on-five.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Sept. 13 edition ) WHEN I was still a correspondent in early 2000s, there were basically two questions that would start a long debate among colleagues as no one had a clear cut answer – how long is the UV Green Lancers’ win streak and how long is the USC Warriors losing streak? Back then, covering the Cesafi basketball was as interesting as watching paint dry--UV would win all the games and the titles and all the Lancers need to do, it seems, is show up. On the other side of the coin, the USC Warriors would lose all games so badly that it was often suggested that the school drop the Warriors monicker. I was a correspondent and a USC student at that time, and I’d always get ribbed by colleagues, “ Kulata na sad imong San Carlos.”

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Sept. 11 issue ) FOR the Fiba World Cup, the former Brooklyn Nets center Andray Blatche was Filipino enough to represent the Philippines in basketball’s showcase event. But weeks after leading the Philippines in scoring and in minutes played in the World Cup, the Olympic Council of Asia has disqualified the naturalized Filipino from playing in the Asian Games.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Sept. 8 issue) WHEN I first saw the cast of teams in the Peace Cup, I knew defending the crown would be one difficult task. Myanmar, Palestine and Chinese Taipei were all invited, a vast improvement from last year’s cast which seemed pre-selected to assure the Philippines keep the crown. This year, the organizers wanted a real test for the Philippine team in preparation for the Suzuki Cup and it got what they wished for, of course, minus the silverware.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Sept. 6 issue) IF YOU were not in front of a TV last Wednesday, then you just missed one of the biggest nights in Philippine sports. It was the night Gilas Pilipinas faced Puerto Rico in the Fiba World Cup in Spain and the night that the Azkals took on Chinese Taipei in the Peace Cup. If you were in front of the TV last Wednesday and on Thursday were shopping for a new one, then you must be a downtown Cebu resident. Gilas and Puerto Rico were tied at 70 when the cable signal was lost and throwing the remote at the TV is a justifiable act.

( UPDATE: This Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Sept. 4 edition was written before the Gilas vs. Puerto Rico and Azkals vs. Chinese Taipei matches. Gilas lost and the  Azkals won.  It still was a magical and unforgettable night for Philippine sport .) FOR some misguided passionate fans, you are either a basketball or football fan. I’ve seen some arguments over social media about such silly things. I don’t really mind them as they are but a few. It’s just that sometimes, the argument spills over into the national team and folks point out why this team should have more support over that team. Well, the truth is, when it comes to the national team--of any sport--it doesn’t matter if you’re a fan or not, you support the team because the players are playing for the flag.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 28 edition) ONE forgotten December almost 10 years ago, Chieffy Caligdong and Aly Borromeo conspired in the dying minutes to end the Philippines’ winless drought in international football. Facing a 1-0 deficit in the dying minutes, Borromeo’s header connected with Caligdong for the equalizer and deep in injury time, the two were at it again as Caligdong scored the game winner for the Philippines first win since the 1991 Southeast Asian Games.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 16 edition) BACK in college, one of our boardmates got confined at the Cebu Doctors’ Hospital for a few days. I’ve forgotten what for, but what I can’t forget is that we visited him regularly for two reasons. First, it was the NBA finals and for cable TV-deprived college students like us, his confinement was god-sent as it allowed us to catch the Michael Jordan-era Chicago Bulls beat the Utah Jazz. And the second reason, of course, as engineering students in male-dominated classrooms, his stint at the hospital was just what the doctor ordered for eyes deprived of lovely sights.

( Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 14 edition , this is my Fair Play column for) WHEN Gilas Pilipinas was first formed, I thought, this over-paid bunch doesn't need a new patron, but to rediscover the honor of playing for the flag. Let them look at the football team, I'd tell colleagues over beer—no allowance, no fancy uniforms, no recognition, and heck, there weren't even overseas stints, and they play like wearing the country's colors is the highlight of their careers. That was in 2009, a year before the Azkals phenomenon hit fever pitch in Hanoi 2010.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Aug. 7 edition) I WON’T play if Coach Dooley is still in charge. If that came from any of the players based here, he’d be pilloried no end. Ostracized for thinking he’s bigger than the team. But this came from Stephen Schrock, one of the more respected and high-profile members of the team. Denis Cagara said it too. The two guys are essentially saying, if you still want us, get him out.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 31 edition) THIS weekend is truly for the sports fan. Aside from the Ironman 70.3 event, which will attract world-class athletes and showbiz personalities--if that’s your thing--two other major events are kicking off this weekend. There’s the basketball season of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc., which will open on Aug. 2, the same day the Ironkids event will kick off, and then there’s the Visayas leg of the Milo Little Olympics, which opens on Aug. 1.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 28 edition) EVER since Sunnex (Sun.Star Network Exchange) decided to air the Cesafi basketball matches over livestream, college basketball in Cebu has never been the same again. Fans who watch the game no longer need to go to the misnomer that is the New Cebu Coliseum—though sportswriters have dropped the name new over a decade ago—as they can watch the matches in the comfort of their homes.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 25 edition ) THE Cebu City Council got caught up in the numbers game anew lately with the controversy on the proposed P5,000 doleout for single parents. Whether who is right or wrong, I’m going to leave that to our more experienced opinion columnists like Frank Malilong (who is a former sports editor, by the way) and Bong Wenceslao. But this latest round of numbers game led me to think that if Cebu City wants to spend its money why not spend it for Palarong Pambansa medalists?

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 21 edition) DURING their undefeated reign as nine-time Cesafi champions, there were some members of other varsity teams in UV that resented the privileges of the basketball kings, saying those players rarely attend classes. “ Way skwela-skwela, pasar gyapun. Basta makadula ra’g basketball, payts na ,” a member of UV’s football team, who won a Cesafi crown, told me.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 19 edition) ONE of the most memorable images in the 2013 edition of the Ironman 70.3 wasn’t that of an athlete but a group of passengers carrying their luggage up the Marcelo Fernan bridge, caught unaware of the closure of the vital link to Lapu-Lapu City. Organizers say they have had several information blasts regarding road and bridge closures for the Ironman but even if they’d do it daily, there would still be people who’d be caught by surprised.