February 2008 – Page 3 – Cebu Sports Blog by John Pages

Pasta Breakfast

At six in the morning today (Sunday), over 600 runners ran starting from the Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital along Osmena Boulevard. A few hundred did the 3-K, a few hundred more the 6-K, and a few more, the 10-K. It was another highly-successful event organized by Dr. Peter Mancao, his team of physicians, and the Cebu Road Runners Club (CRRC). The event: RUN FOR YOUR HEART. Truly, our hearts were given a run!

Right after, I had breakfast with another group of runners, the Cebu Executive Runners Club, with the bowls of pasta courtesy of Dr. Vic Verallo…

Honeymoon in Hong Kong

Ten years ago last December 27, Jasmin and I exchanged vows at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral then boarded a flight 48 hours after to stay for five nights in this city labeled as one of Asia’s most enthralling.

In Hong Kong, we rode a mini-train to the top of Victoria Peak. We dined on Peking Duck, strolled along Nathan Road, boarded the Star Ferry and, by nightfall, sat mesmerized at the display of lights across the harbor. We squeezed inside the MRT, disembarked in the shopping district of Mongkok and stood dazed at the dizzying walking pace of our Chinese neighbors. We took a train to watch horse-racing at the far-flung Sha Tin Race Track and even entered the Hong Kong Convention Center and nearly saw, in person, Jackie Chan!

Run For Your Heart

DR. PETER MANCAO lives by the age-old saying: “Practice What You Preach.” One of Cebu’s top cardiovascular surgeons, Dr. Mancao knows that to keep one’s heart vigorous and pulsating, one has to run, jump, stretch, lift, smash, kick and sweat. In one word: Exercise.

And so Dr. Mancao is one who not only exercises—I’m sure you’ve read that he finished the New York City Marathon last November—but he also helps other people turn into vibrant and energized individuals. How?

Got It!

Giant Upset!

(Eric Gay/AP)

You know why I love sports so much? Five words: YOU NEVER KNOW THE ENDING. You don’t. You never do. A $220 million blockbuster movie will telegraph it’s ending midway through the story while a New York Times bestselling novel will snake you through turns and twists and reveal, two-thirds through the 347-pager, that last-page twist.

But sports? Nah. YOU…. NEVER…. KNOW.

Take yesterday’s Super Bowl XLII. The New England Patriots owned the NFL. In fact, wasn’t the league supposed to be renamed the “N.E.L.,” as in the New England League? You see, the Pats are Tiger Woods-like; in the past six years, they’ve snatched three Super Bowls. They owned Randy Moss, the game’s best wide receiver who scored a season touchdown reception record (23) this ‘007. They called Bill Belichick as head coach.

Super Bowl XLII: It’s Going To Be Super!

Tom Brady. His other name is Matt Damon. They’re twins. They look alike. The only difference is, even if Matt Damon is well-built and can jump from 22-foot-tall buildings like what we saw in “The Bourne Ultimatum,” he’s unlike Tom Brady who towers at 6-foot-4, has graced the covers of GQ Magazine 235,280 times, has a child with actress Bridget Moynahan (from “I, Robot”) and whose current girlfriend is, according to the Guinness Records, the “world’s richest supermodel,” Gisele Bundchen.

And Matt, sorry—you’re not the most famous American in the world today. Tom Brady is! I’m serious. Tom is no Cruise or Hanks and he’s not on CNN running for President like Barack Obama, but later today—Sunday in the U.S.—all eyes will be transfixed on one man: Mr. Brady.

Tonight!

It’s a few hours to go before one of the most-awaited events in Cebu sports unfolds… Z vs. V. Will Z “The Dream” Gorres fulfill his dream? Or will Vic “The Raging Bull” Darchinyan ravage over Z like a raging bull? Abangan! Check on Philboxing.com. (Photos of yesterday’s weigh-in by Dong Secuya.)

Hong Kong? Champions Leszl and Mendel await

Her name is Leszl Gitaruelas. She’s 33, married with three children, the eldest aged 15. But she’s not your typical stay-at-home mom. She’s an ultra-athlete. By “ultra,” I mean elite. Unlike you and me and 99.8 percent of the populace, she has a physiological makeup that only God can bestow. In two words, she’s this: A CHAMPION.

Back in 1992—when she was only 18—her sport was arm-wrestling. Yes, no typing mistake there: arm-wrestling. And she didn’t just arm-wrestle boys in school, she grappled them to the ground. At 18, when most girls her age first closed their eyes for that first kiss, Leszl did something else: She was the Philippine Arm-Wrestling Champion. No kidding. At 18! And, when Leszl joined the World Arm-Wrestling Championships in Japan, she placed fourth place.

Leszl Gitaruelas Photos and Clippings

In the 12 years that Cebu’s “Queen of Running” has lorded over the sport in Cebu, there have been dozens and dozens of newspaper photos and articles that were featured about her. Here are a few…

Mendel Lopez Photos

HERE ARE SOME OF MENDEL’S VICTORIES…