Last Friday, after the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings won a close game over the Coca-Cola Tigers, 84-81, in the ongoing eliminations at the PBA Philippine Cup, Ginebra coach Siot Tanquincen told to the media that the Kings are trying out a new system since they lost to Red Bull in the last PBA Fiesta Conference. Yesterday's game of Ginebra against the Alaska Aces was a witness to the new system that Ginebra's trying and struggling to implement.

The old system of Ginebra focused on their big men at the post. Ginebra's strength has always been on the post, with big men Eric Menk, Romel Adducul, then import Chris Porter, and Andy Seigle manning the paint. However on the semifinals match against Red Bull, the Bulls had the post covered so well by double-teaming each post player (I saw how Chris Porter struggled on each possession) that Ginebra bled on missing those seemingly easy high percentage shots. I hate to admit it, but Enrico Villanueva did a good job defending Eric Menk, Romel Adducul, and even Chris Porter. The norm against the double team is passing the ball to the open man, but Ginebra's jumpshooters couldn't shoot the ball (remember how Jayjay Helterbrand was 1/8 from the floor in Game 7 of the Fiesta Conference last Feb 5, 2006?). Also, on that semifinals match, as far as I can remember, Ginebra's guards couldn't drive to the basket because of Red Bull's pesky defense.

On Ginebra's three game skid against San Miguel Beermen, Purefoods Chunkee Giants, we saw a struggle for shots by the Ginebra camp, hence the low scores: 59 against SMB and 56 against PF. Aside from the fact that Menk (2/10 FG against SMB and 2/14 against PF) was injured at that time and Romel Adducul was struggling at the post (1/6 FG against SMB and 1/4 FG against PF), Ginebra went to its post players despite the suffocating defense thrown at them and even if Adducul and Menk couldn' shoot the ball. Horrible. Siot Tanquincen would later claim that it was a toss between implementing the old system involving more postplays and their new system. Ginebra lost to Air21 Express again, but I wasn't able to watch that game (OMG!) neither live nor on TV.

Ginebra barely escaped Coca-Cola last Friday, March 31, 2006. I haven't watched the game except for the last two minutes (after I woke up), but Siot would later tell the media that they implemented the new system and "it's up to the other teams to find out what that system is." Maybe I'll consider Ginebra to be lucky on that day as the breaks of the game went to Ginebra's favor as Dale Singson pulled off costly turnovers and hurried shots. Ginebra won 83-80, after Mark Caguioa sealed their win with two freethrows off a foul by Dale Singson.

Then came Ginebra's game against the Aces. As Quinito "the Dean" Henson explained that Ginebra shifted from post-plays to a guard-oriented offense led by Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand, and Kalani Ferreria (with Sunday Salvacion and Rodney Santos coming off the bench) with Eric Menk and rookie Mike Holper- far from their usual tall line-up of Adducul-Menk-Holper-Caguioa-Helterbrand.

Guard play is similar to what Red Bull is doing with their wingmen Larry Fonacier, Lordy Tugade, Cyrus Baguio, and Diego... err.. Junthy Valenzuela. Remember back in Game 7 of the PBA Fiesta Conference Semifinals back in Feb 5, 2006? I stated that Ginebra's guards scored only 33 against Red Bull's 54.

Even if they were downed by Alaska in the first quarter as the former led by maybe as much as 10 points, Ginebra noticeably never went to the post, and moved the ball around as if each player has at least touched and passed the ball in each possession. It was notable that Ginebra relied in its outside shooting than post plays. Well, when did you ever see Romel Adducul take jumpshots? He did just like that! Of his three field goals on that game (against eight attempts), two came from outside (well, his free throw is another story as he muffed all of his two free throws in that game). Eric Menk is seen driving to the basket more than he posted up. The style of Ginebra was to take more outside shots and let the big men do the rebounding, plus a lot of passing and ball rotation. Trigger-happy Mark Caguioa had 25 points, mostly coming from fadeaway shots off a post play with Jeffrey Cariaso.

Ginebra tough, didn't play rotate their men: from a 10 man rotation which included shock troopers Mark Macapagal, Aris Dimaunahan, and Ervin Sotto, Ginebra played with only eight players, with Sunday Salvacion, Rodney Santos, and Romel Adducul coming off the bench. The risk though was all of Ginebra's big men had foul trouble with at least five each, by the end of the fourth quarter, and tiring its major players as Menk, Caguioa, and Helterbrand had played at least 45 minutes in that game (No one has beaten Jaworski though for playing ALL minutes with 3 overtimes when he was 40 years old). Worse, Ginebra lost Rodney Santos midway fourth quarter due to a knee injury. Somehow, Rodney's injury crippled Ginebra's guard rotation, that Sunday Salvacion had to play unusual extended minutes to fill Santos' gap.

Still, I can say that Ginebra got lucky with its win over Alaska. It's not easy to adjust to a new system, just like what happened to San Miguel last 2006 PBA Fiesta Conference , when they almost finished deadlast while trying to implement a new system. Ginebra got away because of Alaska's turnovers at the end game courtesy of Tony dela Cruz (poor guy, he missed the shot that could have won it for Alaska instead of going to overtime, he turned the ball over as the ball went in between his legs off a pass from Jeffrey Cariaso in the dying seconds of the first overtime, and finally, Sunday Salvacion shot over his face via a triple), Nic Belasco's rebound and lost the ball into his foot which rolled out of bounds in the last two minutes of overtime, and Jeffrey Cariaso's turnover together with Tony dela Cruz (as what I stated earlier).


Sunday Salvacion's saving grace on that Sunday evening


This one's for Rodney!

The problem with this system though is concentrating the offense too much on the guards. I'm sure other teams will find a way to stop the guards of the Gin Kings. Gang rebounding by other teams may work against Ginebra since this system seems too small compared to other teams (and this sytem would require Eric Menk to substitute for Romel Adducul and vice versa). Also, the risk for Ginebra is they're shooting more from outside rather than in the paint. What if their shots don't fall as desired? Other teams may exploit Ginebra's relatively small line-up when it's Ginebra's turn to play defense.

What's nice about this system is that Ginebra can run again, with three guards in the floor at the same time. It was nice watching Helterbrand, Caguioa, and Ferreria running at the same time in that game against Alaska. Also this system involves everyone rather than one or two passes between the post player and the passer. Should Ginebra's gunners connect from outside, the defense would extend on them, and this would give more opportunities for the post players to operate inside the paint. In this passing game, the offense wouldn't be as predictable as before. Again, who wouldn't have thought that Romel Adducul shot two baskets from outside? Or when was the last time Eric Menk drove into the lane rather than posting up?

Changes to the existing system may bring growth pains to Ginebra. It may bring frustrating losses as well, or possibly winless games in the approaching second half of this Philippine Cup tourney. It will be up to Ginebra's players to believe in their new system and adjust to their new roles in this system and possibly give justice to the word "System" a term used for "a group of independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole"

"This is you, this is you, this is you ha" was the old system impemented by old Ginebra great Robert Jaworski.

Go Ginebra, payt payt payt!

Armed with my two books and my new Steve Watson replica jersey, Rocky and I took a road-trip to the San Juan Gym in downtown San Juan (uhh...) for the first day of the Fil-Oil Flying V Homegrown Cup last March 25, 2006. The league, as stated in the papers as early as February, was a "continuation" of the Fil-Oil Flying V Showdown between the Ateneo and La Salle legends and All Stars last July 2, 2005; only this time, UP, FEU, Letran and San Beda joined the league which pitted ex-players/ supposedly-notable alumni of the said schools.

Just a trivia: the San Juan Gym is the old home of the Andoks-San Juan Knights, 2000 MBA Champs (yuh, at the expense of the Manila Metrostars for the Northern Conference title) that team led by Chito Victolero, Kalani Ferreria, Gherome Ejercito, Chris Calaguio, Rafi Reavis, Omanzie Rodriguez, Bonel Balingit, and Rudy Distrito and coached by Philip Cezar and managed by Jinggoy Estrada.




We came in a bit late at 5:00pm and we expected that we'll only catch the third quarter of the Ateneo-San Beda ballgame, but lo-due to the long opening rites, we still caught the final quarter of the first ballgame between La Salle and Letran. Letran was supposedly led by Samboy Lim, but only later did I know that aside from Samboy Lim having another ACL operation, all staff from San Miguel, including the San Miguel All Stars, are barred from playing in that league. Staff from San Miguel and some players of the SMB Touring All Stars include Ritchie Ticzon (Ateneo), Boybits Victoria (San Beda), Jong Uichico (La Salle), Ronnie Magsanoc (UP) Samboy Lim (Letran), Ronald Magtulis (FEU). Boo you, SMB.




The La Salle alumni were led by ex-pros Dwight Lago, Tonyboy Espinosa, Noli Locsin, and Alvin Magpantay. Lim Eng Beng was a no-show, unfortunately. La Salle had a good lead until a commotion happened between Moody of Letran and Manguerra of La Salle (c'mon you old men, this is just basketball). Letran staged a rally that cut the La Salle to three, entering the last two minutes, but lost steam as La Salle escaped with the W.




For the next game, the following players carried the fight for the Blue and White: Rainier Sison, Sonny Tadeo, Chris Quimpo, Marco Benitez, Jimmy Tioseco, Mon Tioseco, Ogie Narvasa, Jean Alabanza. No shows are 1976 NCAA Champion team members Fritz Gaston, Steve Watson and Joy Carpio, plus Mikko Rabat, and Paul Tan Chi. On the San Beda side, Ralph Rivera (who had stints with the Pangasinan Presidents and Batangas Blades in the MBA) wasn't present. Instead, the lions had former SMB player Elmer Reyes, still with his moustache but without his hair.




Ateneo opened the first quarter with Tadeo, Sison, Narvaza, Quimpo and J. Tioseco. Rainier Sison, who didn't play in the Showdown back in July 2005 and the Dream Games, displayed his old form as he drained triples and jump shots everywhere. Ateneo rode on the back of Sison, to lead the first half by 15, 42-27. However on the third canto, San Beda, behind the guns of Guzman, Reroma, and Sonny Manucat, unleashed a 15-2 run to inch to the Ateneo lead, 44-42. Ateneo answered with its own run which was started again by Sison, but San Beda answered with a rally to inch to the Ateneo lead again, 52-54, before unleashing a triple to grab the lead for the first time in the ballgame, 55-54.

The bleeding continued for Ateneo as suddenly their outside shots didn't pour in. Meanwhile, the ring opened for the San Beda gunners as they canned outside shots here-and-there to close the third quarter, 61-56.

The bleeding turned into hemorrhage for the former Eagles, and things suddenly looked bright on the Lions camp with their outside shots, inside presence of Sonny Manucat, the hustle and steals of old warrior Elmer Reyes (who must have played the entire ballgame), and the cheers of their alumni, plus the band that kept on playing for San Beda (ugh, will someone remove them?). Rainier got cold from the outside. Worse, Epok Quimpo sprained his ankle late in the game.

Mon Tioseco tried to rally the Blue and White in the fourth, but he couldn't lift the Eagles enough as Ateneo lost to San Beda, 77-88. Mon Tioseco had 21 markers, followed by Rainier with 17, and Jean Alabanza with 16 markers.




In the second ballgame between the powerhouse guard-factory San Beda Red Cubs and the Blue Eaglets, the Eaglets gave a good fight but lost to San Beda by seven points, 68-75. Enzo Katipunan, a former fellow patient in the Moro Lorenzo Clinic, though missing ALL his shots in the first quarter, led the Eaglets with 14 markers.

It was a sad day for Ateneo basketball as they Eagles couldn't avenge their defeat from the San Beda Red Lions in that infamous closed-door NCAA game in 1977. Nonetheless, it was a sight to see former Blue Eagles and Red Lions strutting their stuff on the hardcourt and relive their glory days once more.

Go Ateneo! One Big Fight!

"The Crispa Redmanizers, its bench cut to half by ailments, reported with a required eight-man cast. But only after owner Dany Floro had fetch two feverish players from the hospital and made them suit up. Driven dangling close to the cliff after they had fallen behind 2-0 in their best-of-five title race against the Toyota Tamaraws, the Redmanizers swang back, took Game 3, and swept the remaining matches to win the 1976 All Filipino series. They won the first league Grand Slam, thus making it as the original dynasty in the PBA"
- PBA 20 years in pictures

"... Most enduring player, he will be remembered for coming back in KO match vs. Northern (Consolidated) in the Reinforced despite busted lip which required several stitches and leading team to victory"
- Robert Jaworski's profile in PBA Annual 1985-1986

"Carlo, despite a bum stomach and still recovering from his lack of sleep, rose up from his bed, went to work at 5:00pm just to build an important release, which he FINALLY successfully made at 2:00 AM, before sleeping in the office couch while waiting for the sun to rise and for the streets to be safe."
- Carlo

It was a warning for the opposition: that the Kings are back, and they are determined to show everyone who owns the Philippine Cup.

The Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings made that statement after trashing the new-look Talk 'n Text Phone Pals, 98-81 to start their title defense bid in the PBA Philippine Cup 2006 last March 8, 2006 at the Araneta Coliseum. And yuh, the Basketball buddies are back after a month layoff, armed with Lower Box tickets (thanks Diane!) and an authentic Mark Caguioa jersey (w00t!).

Interestingly, the Kings were up against a rebuilding Phone Pals under new coach Derrick Pumaren and added veterans in Anton Villoria, 1995 MVP Vergel Meneses, 1996 Most Improved Player Poch Juinio, and 1998 MBA MVP John Ferriols (for Mark Telan), but missed the services of point guard Donbel Belano and #1 pick Anthony Washington (what an irony). The Kings meanwhile only missed reserve forward Migs Noble to San Miguel during the offseason, and is still missing the services of big man Andy Seigle due to ACL injury he sustained last month. Lots of changes on the other camp, but still any game between colorful rivals Ginebra and Talk 'n Text is hard to pass.

Rocky and I, with no rush (reserved seats!), came to the Big Dome at the start of the second quarter, with Talk 'n Text leading. It was surprising to see that the coliseum was not jam-packed and lots of empty seats in the Upper Box A section. When Vergel Meneses (one of my idols) scored his first (and what turned out to be his only basket of the game) to add to the Pals' lead, I felt threatened. It also felt different that Caguioa and Dimaunahan took turns in defending the "Aerial Voyager" Meneses who was once a Gin King back in 1999 to 2001 (and Caguioa was Meneses' back-up especially in the 2001 All Filipino Cup finals against San Miguel).

A. Prelude to the championship
It was a victory that took 8 years to finally get one since La Salle Green Hills returned to the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1998; and one since LSGH last won an NCAA Track and Field title back in 1978-1979 season.

Boy, what a long road did the LSGH Tracksters take before winning this sweet championship. The nearest that the LSGH Tracksters got was back in 2000 and 2001, during the years that I played for La Salle. We won 1st runner-up honors behind San Sebastian College. In 2001, our team which was composed mostly of seniors, carried the fight for the black, green, and white, but we eventually lost to the Letran squires to take another bridesmaid finish. Coach Jem Flor mentored the LSGH Tracksters since LSGH returned to the NCAA, including the two bridesmaid finishes that we scored.







Coach Jem eventually left LSGH to pursue a nursing career abroad, and Coach Winston Narvaez was elevated from the grade school ranks to the high school batch, taking with him most of the kids that he handled in the Grade school track and field team. The LSGH tracksters scored disappointing finishes despite the newly rubberized track oval and other new equipments in LSGH back in 2003, as Philippine Christian University and Letran took turns in winning the junior crown during those years. The LSGH tracksters had internal dilemmas as well, and lots of coaching changes occured.

This year, Coach Geoffrey Chua, head coach of the DLSU tracksters (who won the UAAP crown in 2004) and Mike Pelaez (who had stints with the Warriors when University of the East dominated the track scene in the late 90's and early 2000) were enlisted to guide the LSGH tracksters, together with Coach Winston in his *final* coaching stint in Green Hills. Coach Winston was finally set to leave September of last year after he completed his masters degree in special education, but decided to stay for one more year in La Salle.

The tracksters showed hints of the things to come as LSGH dominated the PRADA Track and Field meet in January 26, 2006 in Brent International School in Laguna, besting other schools that include Ateneo high school, Lourdes School of Mandaluyong, San Beda, Marist school, and Brent. (see pics here) . However, the opposition was weak, and the closest team that can challenge the LSGH tracksters were the high school boys from Ateneo. The PRADA Track and Field meet was just a warm-up to the bigger fight in the NCAA games.

B. The three grueling, cruel days: February 24 to 26, 2006


For some weird reason, the NCAA decided to hold the games for three straight grueling days, instead of the usual four game dates separated by at least three days. Back then (even in last season), the first and second game dates were usually played for points, the third as semifinals for all events, and the last day for finals. The three straight days were but cruel, especially for those who played multievents.

By the time Rocky and I came to Rizal Memorial Coliseum last Saturday, February 26, to watch the festivities with the LSGH Track alumni (Aaron Macalinao, Fabian dela Paz, Glenn Ba?ez, and Bryan "loudmouth" Sutingco), Michael Mendoza and Charles Ba?ez, captains of this year's batch of green tracksters, were warming up for the 110m junior hurdles. Earlier in the morning, both high hurdlers scored a gold-bronze finish in the 400m low hurdles. Also Michael Mendoza pulled off a victory in the 400m run immediately after the 400m low hurdles. LSGH also pulled a close gold finish in the 4x100m relay (with both captains included in the team).




Atoning for his mistakes last year when he tripped in the finals of the 110m JH after leading the opposition with a consistent 15.5x seconds time and losing the medal in the process (which catapulted LSGH hurdlers Bert Segunial and Fabian dela Paz to get the gold-bronze finish), Mike made sure he won't make the same mental miscue as he secured his fourth gold medal in that day by finishing the race with a slow 16.3 seconds. That was slow in the sense that he has been consistently doing a 15-second hurdles races since since he was in second year high school (yeah, I've been watching this kid since he was just a freshman in high school), but even in his "slow" time, no one got close to him. Off the starting blocks, the hurdlers ran a very close race up to the second hurdle before Mike picked up his speed, enroute to the gold finish. The battle for the second place was close between a Letran squire and Charles Ba?ez, but the Letranite trackster prevailed by a split second.




Meanwhile, in the other left side of the oval, the high jump contest took place. Jen Reyes, brother of Ateneo Blue Eagle Jai, this time carried the fight for the green and white. Jen tried to duplicate his high jump feat that he made back in PRADA when he jumped 1.70m high for the gold finish and almost overtook his brother's place in the PRADA track record books. He did jump 1.70m, but the opposition was strong (I think the gold medalist attempted to jump 1.9m and I shouted, "hoy high school ka pa ba?" from the stands. God, that was a college level jump attempt) that he couldn't clear 1.75 and settled for the bronze finish with his last cleared height. Meanwhile, Campos pulled off a gold victory in the 200m race that followed. The LSGH runners settled for points in the 1500m run shortly after.




Jen switched into "long jump mode" from "high jump mode" as he ran towards the jumping pit/ sandbox for his second straight event, the long jump finals. He made a 5.99m jump, which was unchallenged upto his third attempt. However, he couldn't follow up on his best attempt as he jumped a 5.6 and 5.55 on his next attempts. To make things worse, he injured himself when he jumped on the pit and accidentally landed his left foot (with spikes shoes!) over his right shin. Ugh.

Moments after, the last call for the 4x400m relay was announced, and a tired and injured Jen went to the LSGH huddle. The 4x400m relay team consisted of him (as the first runner), Uytengsu for the second leg, Charles for the third leg, and Mike Mendoza as the anchor. Lo, after the "long jump mode," Jen switched to 400m mode.

The familiar, magical words "Runners final start, pwesto" came out from the official as Jen crouched in the fourth lane, with the baton on his right hand. "Handa," and the gun went off. Jen was fatigued and all, but managed to maintain his speed and endurance as he ended up third overall before he passed it to second runner Uytengsu. Uytengsu likewise maintained the third place throughout the 400m oval behind PCU and Letran, before passing it to Ba?ez for the third leg.







Excitement came as Baņez chased the Letran runner in the 200m mark, and the PCU runner at the 100m mark to take the lead before passing it to anchorman Kabisote... err... Mendoza. Mendoza ran relaxed, a good 10 meters ahead of PCU. However, on the last 100m, PCU threatened to inch to Mendoza's lead as the two runners ran neck and neck approaching the finish line, but Mike sped off in the last five meters and dipped his shoulders over the finish line to give the team a gold medal finish. God, one of the most exciting races I saw.







Meanwhile, with Jen's right shin heavily bandaged, he went back to the jumping pit to resume his last three jumps. He was lucky that even though he couldn't do a farther jump than his first attempt at 5.99m because of fatigue, his first jump was the farthest among all attempts which earned him the long jump medal ahead of PCU and another LSGH jumper.

The LSGH tracksters spent time camwhoring and celebrating as they could smell the championship trophy minutes away, even if the javelin throw for juniors and the pole vault for seniors were still being contested. Meanwhile, harvest came in as the medalists for the afternoon events were awarded their gold, silver, and bronze medals.










C. Immortality and Glory minutes away


The LSGH tracksters went to the soccer grounds from the grand stand after all the events have finished. Coach Geoff gathered all his troops and congratulated the tracksters as he kept on announcing to the team that the trophy is bound to go to Green Hills, even though it really hasn't been awarded yet. The tracksters kept on jumping up and down while the last batch of medalists from the other schools were being awarded.




After all the events medalists have been awarded, the individual awards followed. Then the lady announcer's voice echoed over the stadium as she uttered the words, "For the junior's most valuable player... Michael Mendoza of St. Benilde." Mike marched to the officials as his teammates chanted/sang to the tune of "Enteng Kabisote." Mike was awarded for his gold medals in the 110m Junior Hurdles, 400m Low hurdles, 400m, 4x100m relay, and the 4x400m relay.




Still, in the LSGH huddle, Coach Geoff reminded his troops of the contribution that head coach Winston gave to LSGH track; how coach Winston looked after the team since most of them were still in grade school. For Coach Winston, he could smell the trophy minutes away. Under the NCAA rules, the coach of the champion team automatically gets the Coach of the Year award. And boy, what a great souvenir to take with him when he leaves LSGH in the next season. "For the coach of the year award, junior's division... Coach of St. Benilde!" Coach Winston ran into the officials and got his trophy and raised it proudly.




Coach Winston went to his fellow coaches as he shook the hands of Coach Geoff and Coach Mike and said "sa atin lahat itong trophy na to."

After all the individual awards have been given, the last four awards await: the track and field championship, and the overall championship (for all sports) trophies for the junior (high school) and the senior (collegiate) level.

And finally, after eight years since LSGH returned to the track scene, and after 27 years, the words "for the track and field champions for the junior level, College of St. Benilde!" were finally announced once more. Finally. finally, finally, finally.













Finally, after all the celebration, the photo-ops with the championship trophy, and the euphoria settled a bit, the champion tracksters huddled in, as the MVP led the prayer of thanksgiving. They all raised their hands together and in unison, they shouted the familiar words "Animo.... La Salle." Afterwards, they all raised their arms in singing the Alma Mater song while facing DLSU. [ok, I have to admit was prepared to sing my heart out but when they faced DLSU, I just kept silent. hehehehe.] The general championship of the junior division went to San Sebastian because of the Staglets tracksters' third place finish. Had they placed fifth as a team, the general championship could have been awarded to LSGH once more, and thus Green Hills could have achieved a grand slam of sorts. College of St. Benilde, meanwhile, won the senior's overall championship trophy after placing fourth in the track and field competition: their first since joining the NCAA in 1998.







D. Postscript
The achievement of the LSGH tracksters is now in the annals of NCAA and LSGH sports history. Meanwhile, as a trackster whose team failed to win the prestigious championship trophy after being denied twice, I still felt the high school spirit in me that's why I was just as enthusiastic and as happy when this batch of tracksters won the championship. It was as if their victory was ours too, and all of the LSGH tracksters of the past, and most importantly the school's and all of the LSGH alumni and students. I just wished all of my teammates were with me on that day when the trophy was awarded.

I'm so happy for Coach Winston. This one, indeed, is something he'll bring as he leaves LSGH at the end of this school year. I knew what he went through since he coached this team, that's why this championship, along with the best coach award, was so sweet for him. Inuman na ito soon!

Next year, I'm unsure who will carry the fight for Green Hills. I don't even know who will coach next year (I have to thank Coach Geoff a lot for helping out with this championship as he offered his tons of experiences to the junior tracksters) I do hope for a repeat.

We are the champions, indeed. Animo La Salle [Green Hills]!

The blue sign stands out from the green leaves

Last December 7, 1941, the Ateneo Blue Booters defeated the La Salle College Booters via a single goal by Ateneo Sports Hall of famer Simon La-o (who also played with the blue cindermen's first championship in December of 1940 coached by Fr. Austin Dowd and with the basketball team who won the NCAA 1941 crown). That was the last Ateneo pre-war championship, as the second world war broke out the following day.

Will history repeat itself this coming Thursday against La Salle for the UAAP 69th season Men's football championship?

We do hope so.


The December 7, 1941 rematch between bitter rivals Ateneo and La Salle was the result of the last UAAP men's football elimination game held at the Ateneo grounds last Sunday, February 19, 2006. The game ended with a draw, 0-0.


UAAP rules point that any team who sweeps the whole football elimination games, without tied games, will be named outright champions. Prior to sunday's game, Ateneo had an unblemished record with a 9-0 mark, and a total of a single goal was scored against them in all of the games they have played so far. A good Sunday football game that may go down to the annals of the Ateneo Sports history was hard to pass, especially that it was against La Salle: should Ateneo win, they would win the championship outright and La Salle, second in the standings, would win the 1st runner up.

My only experience of football is back in the grade school and high school intramural games, and some team building soccer games with the women's track and field team back in 2002 (with me averaging 1.5 goals in 2 games). In my boring channel surfing nights I tune in to soccer games on TV. My FIFA 2004 game in my N-gage phone helped me familiarize myself with the game and its rules and little strategies, and that's it. Nonetheless, that little knowledge of the game made me appreciate the game as a whole. I don't know what sunshine Rocky felt while watching the game as she got busy staying away from the heat of the sun while Bit and I were just busy watching the game. :D




Corner kicks taken by yours truly

The game was extremely physical, as lots of La Salle booters flopped, and yellow cards kept on flashing out from the referee's hand like he was giving away money. Both teams have equal chances of scoring the first goal of the game, but both the teams' defenses were tough to crack. As expected, the game was dragging with the defense that the teams are playing against each other, but there moments of excitement when Ateneo attacked La Salle's side. The agressive Lasallians attacked the Ateneo goal on the first half, but Ateneo hung tough against the green and white. Ateneo attacked the next half, and the same intensity in defense was played by La Salle.


The highly contested ball

It seemed like La Salle was really playing the minutes as they really hung tough with 10-5 minutes remaining in the game. When the final whistle by the referee sounded, the Ateneo crowd was left stunned while the La Salle booters celebrated as if they won a championship (or at least living for another day for a championship). But it was amazing that after the game, Ateneo made a gesture of sportsmanship as they shook hands with La Salle players. After the alma mater songs were played, the Ateneo football team spent a long time in the huddle.


One Big Fight!

While the blue booters didn't win the last game, they have a chance to clinch the crown again on Thursday against second place La Salle, armed with a twice-to-beat advantage. The game will be held though, as earlier reported to us by Rick Olivares (naks!) himself, at the Philsports Football Field, or ULTRA, at 3:00pm. La Salle requested (or demanded) a change of venue. Ugh.

Whether any day, or any venue, Ateneo will clinch the crown soon. So just bring it on, La Salle!

One big fight!

* note: more pictures in my multiply account
* game stories here (Ateneo website) and here (University Belt website)
* still, I stick to my loyalty to my high school, and to my college.

***
Update: We just won against DLSU! 1-0! Hooray for the 3-peat champs!

Wounds have healed.


Last thursday, February 9, 2006 (coincidentally this guy's birthday), I took a leave from work to go to the old familiar Rizal Track & Field stadium for the first day of the 68th UAAP Track and Field festivities with Rocky. This time, it's different though as I went there not as an athlete, but as a mere spectator to watch and cheer for old teammates and watch newbies fight their hearts out after months of training and competing.

This year, as I've constantly heard, was supposed to be a break-out year for Ateneo as it got loud-mouth rookie sprinter Bryan Sutingco (1 BS BIO) from LSGH whom I've watched compete since he was in second year high school (he talks before he runs), and former Blue Eaglet Jotham Manlapat; vast improvement of James Gregorio (3 BS CS) and ol' training partner Joboy Quintos (3 AB MECO) who's scoring a consistent 15.9s in time trials and practices; international exploits of pole vaulters Mika Santos (3 AB COM) and Steph Javellana (3 BS LM), and captains Rob Sargan (4 AB IS) and Ryan Dalman (4 BS BIO), among others. From my batch/ track generation, only Nina "Buko" Buenaflor (MA Eco) and John Gregorio (MS CS) remained in the team.

From the other schools, La Salle dropped out of contention as sprinter halimanoid Waldy Soguilon (who holds the record for the 100m, 200m, and 400m, and usually finishes with five medals on his pocket) finished his eligibility years, and high jumper and high hurdler Isagani Bayson transfered to sister school CSB.

Sadly, the team was hobbled by injuries as decathletes Ian Marchadesch (3 BS MCT) and Armand Sazon (3 BS ME) suffered a "Chito" injury (hamstring injury) and groin injury respectively, and the devastating blow came from the injury of captain Rob Sargan, who injured himself after a freak pole vault accident a week before the UAAP track meet (sounds familiar) and cost him supposedly two gold medals from pole vault and decathlon, plus an MCL tear and cuts that had to be stitched.

The games opened up as Bryan Sutingco, who told me that he was gunning for the junior national record, settled for second place behind some FEU veteran after the men's 100m elimination round, with a 11.2s clocking. James Gregorio (11.83s) and long jumper Chris Gothong (whose long jump event coincided with the 100 m eliminations) didn't make it to the final round.

Says Sutingco, "kung matalo sya (that FEU sprinter) ng freshman, nakakahiya naman sa kanya". The best remark I've heard.

Next set was the men's 110 m High Hurdles. Blood rushed into my head, just like the old days. Only this time, I'm watching. I saw former opponents in Glenn Archangel of UST, and usual medalists Seigfred Fabro of FEU and Willington Dangan of Adamson (see video). This time, Jotham Manlapat, Lech Velasco, and Joboy Quintos carried the fight for the Blue and White. Jotham didn't qualify though, so was Lech Velasco even if he did a good 17s run but was left out by Seigfred Fabro of FEU.

Then came eager Joboy's turn, who was matched against Soriano of FEU. The gun fired off, and another was fired. False start. All are given a warning. Goddamit, if there's one thing I hate, it's false starts. The hurdlers were lined-up again, and finally the gun was fired. Ironic, I was cheering for him but at the same time, I was mesmerised by Joboy's improvement, especially his speed and clearance of each hurdles. My jaws must have dropped, and I only got to pick them up after Joboy won the round by a convincing 15.83s. 15.83. F*cking Electronic time. Goddammit, that was far from my last recorded electronic time, 16.6s, in the National Open last May 2003. From there, I couldn't put down my raised arms and clenched fists when I celebrated Joboy's amazing run. Sorry man, but this guy whom I was leaving behind then in our races before, just pulled off a stunner on me.




Then came Nina's turn in the eliminations of the 100m low hurdles for women. Memories were brought back as we used to run and practice together, whether in long jump or the hurdles. When I got insecure about my performances back then, Nina (or Buko as we call her for her fondness with buko juice) readily motivated me. The gun fired off, and she ran a 16.6s en route to a second place finish and an automatic slot in the finals later in the afternoon. Just like the way I celebrated in Joboy's run, I raised clenched fists in Nina's second place finish in the eliminations.

Rocky and I ate merienda in the McDonald's store nearby in Harrison Plaza (HP!). By the time we came back about 30 minutes later, Bryan Sutingco came up to me, saying that the finals of the 100m for men has just finished, and he lost by a mere 0.0x seconds. That close. With the FEU veteran whom he raced in the eliminations. Ugh. I missed his finals run, and he was defeated in the race. Sad to say, Bryan wasn't able to get his junior record target, but I bet that he's an athlete to watch out for who will take over Waldy Sougilon's spot in the 100m. Ateneo and UAAP, watch Bryan dominate in the coming years.




Next race was the men's 110 m High Hurdles final, where Joboy faced the time of his life against 2003 gold medalist and former record holder Seigfred Fabro of FEU, 2002 and 2004 gold medalist Willington Dangan of Adamson, usual finalist Glenn Archangel of UST, and other hurdlers in Soriano of FEU, De Mesa and Tuliao of UST, and Quezada of UE. Each athlete focused as they are when they stare at the hurdle, the moment brings back memories of all the hardships endured throughout the year/s and all is realized in front of him literally. It the moment of "this is the moment of truth and what I worked hard for is finally ending on this race" mentality. Knowing and having felt that before, I felt excited yet nervous for my eager training partner who kept on saying he'll defeat all of the hurdlers in there (but I just kept on saying do his best because I know the strenghts of the other hurdlers as well, having competed against most of them in previous national and UAAP meets).

False start again. Mind games. All are warned.

And so the barker says "Runners, final start, pwesto!" as the hurdlers crouch on the starting line. I was pumped up for Joboy as I must have jumped up and down a couple of times for him. "Handa." And the gun went off. Joboy was trailing three hurdlers in front for the first five hurdles. I was worried. I know how disappointed this man can be if he gets defeated. I was like, "C'mon Joboy, gago ka humabol ka!" Finally, his endurance (which I believe is one of his strongest points) kicked in as he closely inched to the lead. Eight hurdle: Joboy was in third. Ninth hurdle: Joboy was in second place, faster than a breath away from the first place. Tenth hurdle: Joboy was still in a sure second place. Sprint. God, that was one of the closest hurdle reaces I saw. I wasn't sure if he won or was in second place, but I was more sure of the latter. I looked up, raised my fists in victory for him as I shouted as if there wasn't any tomorrow. I was simply happy over his finish. My eyes must have shranked by half. (want proof? see Joboy's amazing run and my celebration in this video). God. I went up to him after the race and gave him a high five. Joboy was lost also, probably couldn't believe what just happened to him.







Next stop was the 100m Low hurdles for women, where Buko is matched against 7 other amazonas. Nina was just so focused as she stared at the hurdles; she was so focused that she must have been deaf for that time and I didn't waste any energy cheering for her as I didn't want to distract her. The gun went off. A hurdler sped off, leaving her at a clear second place midway the race, but she was a hurdle ahead from the rest of the opposition. A silver medal finish was clear in the finish line, nonetheless, I cheered my heart out as I really want her to win a medal. Tenth hurdle. Sprint to the finish. Dive to the finish line. I raised my clenched fists in victory of a friend and a fellow hurdler. I felt for her. Her fellow teammates rushed to the finish line as they hugged her. Even Nina couldn't believe what she has done. She tried to fan herself using her hands as she was in a high. I clapped, as I remembered all those days in the Moro Sports clinic; during the times when she was almost forced to quit track because of a nagging knee injury and just like me, she spent most of her time in the walls of the Moro Clinic; only that she survived her injury while my body gave out on me.







Later, I hugged her. She thanked me and I was like, "for what?" She said that if it weren't for me, she wouldn't have reached where she is right now. Joboy said the same thing. I was touched. I felt I was part of their victory also, and they made me feel that. :) Thank you guys. Yah, for all the times I left you guys during our training days >:) haha. Kidding. I was just so happy and so proud of them. :)










And so Rocky and I left the Rizal Memorial late in the afternoon, bringing with us lots of new memories, plus memories of my days in Rizal.




Later, John Gregorio, threw the javelin 51.xx meters (more than half of the football field, to give you guys an idea) en route to another silver finish in his last UAAP playing year eligibility, duplicating his silver finish back in 2002. He led most of the way until some lucky UST trackster threw the javelin farther than him on his fifth attempt. Four silver medals in a day. Not bad.

In the days that followed, the Flying A Loyola tracksters chipped in points and medals in contribution for the overall standings. Ryan Dalman (4 BS Bio), once mentioned to me that he'll gun for a triple gold finish, and he f*ckingly did as he won the discus throw, hammer throw, and established a new record in shot put (13.92 meters). He surpassed what my former teammate and former national team training member Eugene Tan (MS 2001) did when Eugene scored a double gold for Ateneo back in 2001. Not only that, he tied what former Ateneo trackster (for a year) National team member and SEA games gold medalist Arnel Ferreria did back in February 2005 when Arnel broke all the existing throwing records in the discus throw, shotput, and the hammer throw. Mark Durante (3 AB Pos), followed up on Ryan's act by throwing 12.xx meters in the shotput event, winning the silver medal in the process.

A number of points were chipped in by the pole vaulters, decathletes, and sprinters. But the most exciting of all was the men's 4 x 100m run, where the now team Blue Cow (err.. that's what we call the relay team), led by sprinters Bryan Sutingco and James Gregorio, hurdler Joboy Quintos and jumper Chris Gothong (the last two were fielded in for injured Rob's place), scored a silver finish: the highest finish the tracksters won in years (the last one was back in 2001). FEU won a convincing first, but according to the people I've chatted with, the fight between Ateneo and UST was a close one, and Ateneo won the race by 0.0x seconds: that, despite the hamstring pull of third leg runner Joboy Quintos. It was a good thing he passed it off to anchorman Chris Gothong in the last leg of the race.

God, I'm so proud of these generation of tracksters.

FEU won the overall crown again, followed by UST and UE. DLSU, finally disloged from the top three, dropped to the lower ranks, while - get this - the Ateneo Men's team scored a fourth place and was five points away from third place UST. Ugh. And they did it without even "recruits", unlike last year when they won fifth despite Arnel Ferreria and Bember Yu carrying the Loyola tracksters on their shoulders. Fourth: the highest so far that Ateneo has reached since it joined the UAAP. The fourth place finish duplicated the feat that Coack Mick Perez (AB '84) did in the early 80s, and the finish that we did back in 2001 and 2002. The Ateneo Tracksters rose from the grave after scoring a last place finish back in 2003 - the time I got injured.

It was a good season of the Flying A Loyola tracksters. And after the emotional and physical wounds have healed after my injuries back in 2004, I can say that I'm mighty proud of my teammates, and I'm mighty proud that I came from that track program.

God bless the blue tracksters next year. They will be in the podium finish.

Stats of Red Bull-Ginebra Game 7

1. Jayjay Helterbrand:
0/3 from 3 point area, 1/5 from 2 point area. 4/6 free throws.
6 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists.

2. Chris Porter:
6/12 from free throw area.
22 pts, 17 rebounds (7 offensive), 3 assists, 2 steals, 7 turnovers.

3. Mark Caguioa:
2/9 from 3 point area, 3/7 from 2 point area. 1/2 free throws (including missing the crucial free throw after a four point play opportunity)

4. Rodney Santos:
1/7 from 3 point area, 2/5 free throws (including missing 2 free throws after attempting a trey and being fouled by Lordy Tugade)

5. Eric Menk:
7/20 from 2 point area, 2/4 free throws.
16 points, 10 rebounds.

6. Ginebra:
4/21 from three point area (19%), 26/63 from two point area (41.3%), 30/84 field goal shooting (35.7%), 15/29 free throws (51.3%), 53 rebounds, 13 assists, 10 steals, 21 turnovers.

7. Red Bull:
7/25 from three point area (28%), 27/52 from two point area (51.9%), 34/77 field goal shooting (44.2%), 8/17 free throws (47.1%), 53 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 steals, 24 turnovers.

8. Ginebra guards/SF (Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand, Mark Macapagal, Rodney Santos, Aris Dimaunahan) vs. Red Bull guards/SF (Tugade, Diego...err... Junthy Valenzuela, Celino Cruz, Topex Robinson, Cyrus Baguio, Larry Fonacier):

33 points vs. 54 points

9. Red Bull deserved to win, based on the stats. Mainly, Ginebra couldn't shoot the ball. Breaks went to Red Bull that even if Ginebra defended well (I'm impressed), Red Bull's Celino Cruz and James Penny shot the treys.

But as always, there's always more than what is reflected on the numbers.

Philstar.com

Barangay Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen yesterday apologized to the Kings? legion of fans for the team?s failure to advance to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) San Mig Coffee Fiesta Conference finals.

Ginebra came back from a 1-3 series deficit to force a Game 7 against Red Bull in the semifinals but lost an 83-79 decision to the Barakos in the clincher at the Araneta Coliseum last Sunday.

"I apologize to the fans," said Tanquingcen. "I know their expectations were high. I was not able to deliver to the fans and our team management. I?m just hoping that in time, masusuklian namin sila for their support, patience and confidence."

Tanquingcen, 33, had no excuses for the loss and said a limited rotation was not a factor in the Red Bull series. The Kings lost center Andy Seigle four days before Game 1 when he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his left knee at practice. Seigle will be out for at least six months and will sit out the next conference.

"To be honest, there?s a lot to improve on," said Tanquingcen. "This was a learning experience for us, particularly the coaches. This will make us together next time. There were poor decisions made, like in Game 4 which we lost by three. I felt I should?ve called a timeout late in the game to map out a play. If we won, the series would?ve been tied and we wouldn?t have gone down 1-3."

Execution is what Tanquingcen said the Kings will work on.

"We tend to rely heavily on our individual talent," said Tanquingcen. "We?ve got to learn how to use our talent to execute our plays with teamwork. As the Red Bull series went on, I tightened our rotation and began to play most of the guys in our two championship teams, except for Mac (Mark Macapagal) who?s a good defender and scorer. I like Mac because he competes and gives us diversity. Not that the other guys don?t compete because they all do. It?s just that in the Red Bull series, it wasn?t so much about mismatches and Mac was a better fit in our system."

Tanquingcen admitted that Mark Caguioa was far from healthy in the series.

"We kept it a secret but Mark was hampered by a hamstring injury," he continued. "He was playing 60 percent. But he?s a true warrior. He never complained of the pain. He would even ask me to put him on the other team?s best offensive player. Because of the pain, he wasn?t as explosive and quick. And it showed in his stats."

Caguioa averaged only 9.8 points in the last six games of the Red Bull series. He hit at an 18.3 clip in the double-round classifications.

As for Jay-Jay Helterbrand, Tanquingcen said the long grind finally took its toll on the Kings? floor leader.

"He hasn?t had any time off since recovering from his shin injury," said Tanquingcen. "From the Philippine Cup, he went straight to the national team then we started playing this conference. It had to be the wear and tear, more the mental fatigue. Sometimes, he practiced twice a day. The body can only take so much. He struggled against Red Bull (he didn?t score in double figures the last three games). His mother surprised him when she arrived from the US for Game 6 and that was a big boost for him."

I haven't gotten over Ginebra's defeat against Red Bull, 83-79, in Game 7 of the PBA Fiesta Conference 05-06 Semifinals sudden death match.

Give me time to get over it.

Good thing I've Rocky beside me when we watched the game. I could have felt worse.

Still, hats off to my team for fighting it out from the last minute (via a Chris Porter dunk) to the last 30 seconds of the ballgame (via a Caguioa triple), and for extending the series to seven games after being in the brink of getting eliminated with a 1-3 win-loss disadvantage.

*coughs* Hats off to Red Bull also. *coughs*

Ginebra! Ginebra! Ginebra!

Instead, I'll make myself more miserable with this magazine that Virgil left before he went to NJ. Before the game yesterday, a video clip of Rudy Distrito's shot was shown in Araneta in Ginebra's game against Shell back in the 1991 First Conference Game 7 finals (after Ginebra fought back from a 1-3 win-loss disadvantage to claim the crown from Shell after that famous 1990 Game 6 walkout by A?ejo).


What could have been a repeat of history. *sigh*

Still, there's only one Jaworski who can pull off something like that.