Two afternoons ago, Cebu City Councilor Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba called. He was furious. “Boy (Felix) Tiukinhoy is only good if he’s the one organizing the tournament,” he said. “If he’s not part of it, to him the event is no good.” The latest issue, as you’ve read on these back pages the past few days, [...]

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Two Sundays ago in San Francisco, U.S.A., a freakish event happened. No, prisoners did not escape from Alcatraz (it’s been closed since 1963) and, no, the red-colored Golden Gate Bridge wasn’t painted gold—it was another type of oddity. In the Nike Women’s Marathon, a total of 20,000 runners joined. Nothing wrong with that—in fact, that’s [...]

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“There were over 20,000 competitors in Sunday’s Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco,” wrote C.W. Nevius of the San Francisco Chronicle last Oct. 21. “And 24-year-old Arien O’Connell, a fifth-grade teacher from New York City, ran the fastest time of any of the women. “But….. she didn’t win.” She did not win? And she had [...]

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The above slogan is the NBA’s newest. Introduced to basketball fanatics last year, it replaced the long-running and popular, “I Love This Game.” Either way, this we know: the NBA is loved and is amazing. Take Kobe and LeBron. Teammates in the ‘Redeem Team,’ they’re opponents on the parquet floors of the Staples Center and [...]

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Exactly one week from today, the game that’s dribbled in America but is followed by all 195 countries of the world—especially by our basketball-crazy nation—will begin. The NBA, after four months in hiatus, finally begins its 2008-09 Regular Season on Oct. 28. I’ll make an admission: I haven’t followed the league. Ever since “the greatest [...]

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Roger in danger… Ronaldinho: Touch of Gold

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One of the smartest inventions on the internet—especially for sports—is YouTube. In search of a 1960s NBA classic? Want to see a replay of the other night’s Boston Red Sox 8-7 win? Manny Pacquiao’s KOs? They’re all there. Plus, YouTube is free, fast, and has nearly 100 million videos stored—tens of thousands of which are [...]

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Though I’m not as avid a bookworm as my wife, Jasmin, I love books. (Plus, I strongly believe that today’s children read much, much less while watching more TV and playing more videogames—but that’s another article.) My favorite books? Without question: Autobiographies. And, at my home’s second floor study area, I have a library of [...]

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Last Friday, I sat down for lunch with Greg Slaughter and asked him a plateful of questions. Here is the rest of my Q & A with the Cebu basketball phenomenon who stands nearly 7-foot-tall (…now I know why his jersey is No.7). Greg (center) dwarfs John Pages and Von Lanete How does Cebu compare [...]

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Greg Slaughter (left); Sun.Star Cebu photo Less than 48 hours after leading the University of the Visayas (UV) to its eighth Cesafi basketball title, I sat down with not only the tallest person at the Ayala Center Cebu last Friday—but also the only player in Cesafi’s eight-year history to be named the season MVP, the [...]

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Doctors Yong Larrazabal and Peter Mancao at last year’s Adidas Run

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Barack Obama of Chicago is running—yes, we know that—but not this Sunday’s marathon at his home city. Two Cebuano doctors, meanwhile, will run 42 kms. at The Windy City: Potenciano “Yong” Larrazabal III and Peter Mancao. Chicago will be Yong’s fifth marathon (after NYC, Hong Kong, and the Pasig and Milo marathons in Manila). How [...]

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At the New York City Marathon finish at Central Park: Yong and Donna Larrazabal and Phia and Peter Mancao

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One act of kindness that I will never forget happened last February 17. Together with 13 others from Cebu, I joined the Hong Kong Marathon. After the starting gun fired at 6:45 in the morning, off we jogged, traversing the asphalted roads, climbing bridges, crawling under the tunnels when, suddenly at Km. 28, both my [...]

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He is the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest skyscraper. The Empire State Building. He’s Taipei 101. He’s the Marco Polo Hotel of Cebu basketball who is statuesque and overlooking while the rest of the buildings sit below his monstrous shadow. Last Thursday night at the Cebu Coliseum and together with 10,000 standing-room-only fans, I watched [...]

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I’ve dribbled a basketball, putted on a golf course, swam 25-meter laps, flicked my wrist in badminton, ran 10-Ks along Osmeña Blvd., swung volleys in tennis and mountain-biked to Tops, but the one sport that I have yet to try is…. Tri. Yes, tri. As in, three. Triathlon is it’s full name and, if one [...]

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