More than eight years ago (Dec. 8, 1999, to be exact), I wrote a feature story in The Freeman newspaper on a young triathlete named Chris Aldeguer. At that time, Chris was less than two years into the sport and, as we look back now, would continue to compete in triathlon for three more years [...]

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ALA is The Father. You know him. Everyone knows him. Mention the words “boxing” and “godfather” and “Cebu” in the same line and you receive one reply: Antonio Lopez Aldeguer. ALA has three children—all boys. The eldest is Jay. You know Jay. If you read this paper’s Business Section or visit the Ayala or SM [...]

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My good friend Noel Villaflor, the former Copy Editor and, at one time, Sports Editor, of Sun.Star Cebu, has returned to writing. Today, Saturday (Dec. 29), is the first day of his first column on the sports pages of the leading regional newspaper in the Philippines. Noel is a big, big football fan. He follows [...]

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If you’re still in search of gifts to hand out this Monday night, search no more: Buy the gift of exercise. No, no, no. You can’t burn calories for your mom, spouse or best friend—but you can buy a gift that’ll make him or her sweat. Here are some suggestions… Treadmill. Ever since 12 months [...]

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More than two years ago (on Nov. 27, 2005, to be exact), I wrote this article about the Opening Ceremony of the SEAG here in Cebu City… If you were among the 20,000 who screamed and raised fists in the air last Friday night at the Cebu City Sports Center, you’ll shout this in unison [...]

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I remember the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. That was just 24 months ago. The venue? Our very own, the Philippines. I remember RP’s No.1 song then, “Pinoy Ako.” We sang the Orange and Lemons tune, nodded our heads, swayed our hips, waved, danced, and pointed our right index finger to the sky signaling that, [...]

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“Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we shall…. diet!” Haven’t you noticed? Santa Claus singing this tune every single Christmas for hundreds of centuries now to no avail? And for good reason… Think of that mouth-watering La Marea warm-brownie cup. Or the turtle pie only Coffee Bean perfects. Or Homebakers’ merceditas and Leona’s Chocolate [...]

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Two years ago when the Philippines hosted the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, we won our first-ever overall title. We bested powerhouse nations like Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. It was a historic moment in our sports history and made us all sing and dance to the tune of “Pinoy Ako.” You and I were proud [...]

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Congratulations to Cebu’s very own, Fr. Vicente Uy, for being appointed yesterday as the Executive Director of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).Next to PSC Chairman Butch Ramirez, his position wields the most power. But Fr. Vic, one of the humblest people I’ve met, is not overawed. In an interview, he told Manila Bulletin’s Nick Giongco: [...]

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Jun San Juan, the Vice-President of the Cebu Volleyball Association (CEVA) and the husband of one of Cebu’s all-time greats in volleyball, Marichu San Juan, sent me these photos of the various events CEVA has organized. Together with Governor Gwen F. Garcia and CEVA President Glenn Soco, this organization has done a lot for Cebu [...]

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Gov. Gwen F. Garcia (3rd from left) and Glenn Soco (2nd from right) award the 2006 GUV Cup champion’s trophy to the Talisay City team The Cebu Volleyball Association (Ceva) was organized in the year 2000. Though never a volleyball player, I remember Glenn Soco inviting me to join the initial core group. I sat [...]

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In another excellent piece written by Sun.Star Daily’s Marian C. Baring, the University of San Jose-Recoletos have won the CESAFI women’s volleyball crown…. Here’s the story by Marian, “History: Lady Jaguars.” (Sun.Star photo/Arni Aclao)

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Throughout this blog, I’ll be posting pictures of sports personalities for you to guess. Know who this is?

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Two weeks ago, he was conferred as one of the 25 Emerging Leaders by Sun.Star Daily. Last year, the Entrepreneur magazine named him “One of the 75 Most Admired Entrepreneurs of the Philippines” and, in that same season, no less than Gov. Gwen Garcia awarded him the Garbo sa Sugbo trophy. The year before that, [...]

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Cerrone Dayo from the U.S. sent me these photos he took of some of the biggest names in beach volleyball: Karch Kiraly, Kerri Walsh and Misty May Treanor…

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One of my favorite personalities in the Cebu sports world a few years back (before he moved with his family to London) was Jack Biantan. He had a loud booming voice, penned poetry with his writings, and he loved football like a fanatic. So I ask, if you’re a football aficionado, to read the commentary [...]

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Graeme Mackinnon, the Aussie-turned-Filipino-turned-Aussie, the Hall of Fame coach who helped kick Cebu football to what it is today (one of this city’s top sports for students), sent me this email. Scan through the photos and, I’m sure, your reaction will be, “Oh, my God……….”

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I asked my good friend Dennis Canete, who’s directly helping run the ALA Boxing Gym, to e-mail some photos of last Sunday’s twin victories by the two BOxers named BA… Bautista and Banal. Thanks to Dong Secuya, the founder of Philboxing, here are the pictures of Boom-Boom…

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The future world champion…. BAZOOKA BANAL!

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I love quotations. Ever since I was in high school, I recall tearing out and compiling every single copy of Reader’s Digest’s ‘Quotable Quotes’ that I could find. Sports quotations? My favorite. Hope you enjoy these… “I’m tired of hearing about money, money, money. I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok.” [...]

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