2019 – Page 2 – Cebu Sports Blog by John Pages

2019 SEA Games

Exactly 104 days remain before the Philippines hosts the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. Held every two years with 11 nations participating, the last time our country hosted was in 2005. This will be the fourth time we’ll host the SEA Games, having also welcomed the athletes in 1981 and 1991.

From November 30 (when the Opening Ceremony kicks off in the Philippine Arena) until the flame gets extinguished in the Closing Ceremony in the brand-new Athletic Stadium in Clark on December 11, over 9,000 athletes will compete in the 12-day meet.

Cebu? Ha-ha. We’re far from any action. Twelve years ago when the SEAG was held in our archipelago, Cebu hosted three events: dancesport (Waterfront Lahug), sepak takraw (USC gym) and penchak silat (Cebu Coliseum). This 2019, we’re hosting zero events.

Luzon gets the honor to host all the 530 events from 56 sports. The three main hubs are in Metro Manila, in Subic and in Clark.

At the center of the games is the New Clark City Sports Hub, located in Tarlac. This is the spot where the 20,000-seater Athletics Stadium is found.

Nearby is the 2,000-seater Aquatics Center, a world-class facility complete with a 10-lane Olympic-standard pool and an 8-lane training pool. Billions of pesos (news reports have said between P3 to P6 billion) have been poured into funding this new sports complex. Lucky for Clark.

Metro Manila gets to host majority of the more popular events like basketball (Mall of Asia Arena), volleyball (Ninoy Aquino Stadium), badminton (Makati) and boxing (PICC). The Rizal Memorial Sports Complex has been furiously undergoing renovations; it will host tennis, squash, football, taekwondo and weightlifting.

The SEAG has an approved budget of P7.5 billion.

Here’s an intriguing game: Obstacle course. Yes, the game that’s often played in family gatherings or team-building exercises is one of the unique events offered this December. And for those familiar with UP Diliman, the six events under the Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) sport will be held at the Sunken Garden! How exciting is that.

Esports is making its debut at the SEA Games. I’m no gamer but the six titles to be played are “Mobile Legends: Bang Bang,” “Arena of Valor,” “DoTA 2,” “Hearthstone,” “StarCraft II,” and “Tekken 7.” The venue will be inside the FilOil Flying V Sports Arena in San Juan.

With 530 events coming from 56 sports, the 2019 SEA Games will be a sports fanatics dream-come-true spectacle. And, for sure, there will be several athletes from the nearly 10,000 competitors who’ll see action at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics next year.

How will the host Philippines do overall? The goal is lofty. To aim is to win that No. 1 spot — the same spot we achieved back in 2005 when we won the overall trophy.

The problem is, not until last week when the PSC and POC and the other sports bodies finally got together and got united, it was all squabbling and “sports politics” among our leaders. Our hope is that all this fighting will not hamper our hosting preparations and will not dampen the motivation of our athletes.

Go, Pilipinas.

Trash Talk

Basketball is as American as cheeseburgers, Donald Trump, baseball and Apple’s iPhone, right? Not exactly. Basketball is Canadian-invented.

James Naimsmith, born in Ontario, Canada in 1861, was the P.E. teacher who invented the game of basketball. Thus, it’s fitting that the NBA champions this year come from…

Canada? Why not. Out of the NBA’s 30 teams, all but one is not U.S.-based. And that one might be No. 1.

Given how the Toronto Raptors dominated the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 and given how Drake and his 37-million strong fellow Canadians are praying that Kevin Durant’s injury doesn’t completely heal this June, what seemed an impossibility is now possible.

Canada might win its first NBA title. Game 2 tomorrow is the most crucial 48 minutes of this series. If Klay and Steph combine for 70 and Draymond seeks revenge from Drake’s hurtful words and records another triple-double and Igoudala is free of his calf injury and contributes tomorrow for a Golden State win, then the basketball planets will be aligned and will rotate back to its original axis. The Warriors will win, 4-2.

But if Toronto rouses Kyle Lowry from his sleep (he only had seven points in Game 1) and Kawhi scores 35 (compared to the measly 23) and Justin Trudeau is up 2-0 versus Donald Trump, then it’s advantage Raptors.

“I don’t think we played our ‘A’ game,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr of Game 1. “I think that’s obvious.”

What we witnessed was a rusty Warriors. Maybe it was the nine-days-off from their last game (three days of which were taken off completely). Maybe it was the quickness of the Raptors. (“They definitely have a lot of speed,” said Draymond Green.) The Warriors’ 17 turnovers didn’t help.

Most of all, Durant’s presence was sorely missed, despite them previously scoring a 5-0 record without him.

More on KD’s injury: I experienced the same pain while playing basketball five years ago. I was my fellow Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) members in Bright Academy and, as I turned to sprint to the opposite court, I felt a sharp kick in my calf. Someone had kicked me! I looked around and nobody did. I hobbled. Good thing that I was able to see Dr. Tony San Juan, our top sports doctor, within hours after I writhed in pain. I had to stop running for months.

It’s been one month since Durant’s calf strain and the final outcome of this series might depend on KD’s return. (Sources have said that he’ll probably be back in time for Game 4.)

As for all this “trash talk,” the NBA and the Philippines have got something in common. While Canada’s trash — all 69 containers of garbage — were shipped back to Vancouver from Manila the other day, Drake and Draymond were having their own trash-talking. This verbal tussle did not start during the NBA Finals. It began last year when, as host of the NBA Finals, the Toronto-born Drake roasted Draymond Green’s attire when the latter won the Defensive Player of the Year award. Check out the YouTube video.

Rafael Nadal: King of Clay

(Photo by Thomas Samson/AFP)

Here in Cebu, majority of our tennis courts are clay courts. Unlike volleyball or golf or basketball where, anywhere you play around the world, the court surface hardly varies, in tennis, it’s different.

Grass. Hard court. Shell. Artificial turf. Clay. Tennis offers a variety of surfaces. But here in the Queen City of the South, our predominant surface is clay. The reason: clay (hardened “anapog”) is softer on our knees and you’re less prone to leg injuries.

On clay, there is one human being who is the undisputed heavyweight champion.

He turns 33 on June 3, hails from the resort island of Mallorca, and is scheduled to get married to his long-time girlfriend Xisca Perello this October.

Rafa. That simple nickname will evoke despair and anxiety among his ATP counterparts when the only Grand Slam event played on clay begins today.

The 6-foot-1, 187-lb. Spaniard owns an unbelievable 86 wins out of 88 matches at the French Open. That’s a 97.72 percent winning clip.

On his first attempt to play on Paris’ red clay back in 2005, he hoisted the trophy. Same on his second try. And on the third and fourth. Of the multiple trips that he’s ventured inside Stade Roland Garros, he’s only lost twice: to Robin Soderling (2009) and Novak Djokovic (2016). Rafael Nadal owns 11 Roland Garros trophies.

Last week, after he won the Italian Open in Rome (Nadal’s first 2019 title), the overwhelming favorite in France is the Spaniard. But there are two others that I consider as strong contenders.

Novak Djokovic has won the last three majors (Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open). In that last slam in Melbourne, he humiliated Nadal in a quick 3-setter that lasted a mere 124 minutes. Djokovic has extra motivation in Paris: he’ll be aiming for the “Djoker Slam” — winning four straight majors.

Dominic Thiem is the third contender. At the French Open, he reached the finals last year (handily losing to Nadal) and the semis in 2016 and 2017. He has also beaten Nadal (on clay) four times.

My pick in Paris? The answer is obvious. I’ve always been a huge Rafa fan. His relentless all-out effort on court coupled with his smiling and good-natured attitude off the court makes him a global sports ambassador. Much like Roger Federer — who’ll be making a comeback after skipping the red clay for the last three years.

Rafa and Roger can meet in the semis. They’re both in the lower half of the draw together with another rising star, the Greek 6-foot-4 with the style and one-handed prowess of Federer. He’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.

At the upper half of the draw are Djokovic and Thiem plus a slew of strong (and tall, both 6-foot-6) players, Alexander Zverev and Juan Martin del Potro.

But the Spaniard aiming for his 12th title in Paris is the odds-on choice.

“I think Rafa Nadal is the huge favourite,” said Dominic Thiem, “and then after that, there are also five, six players who can win the tournament. So it’s gonna be very interesting two weeks.”

June Mar Fajardo

Two years ago during the 35th SAC-SMB Cebu Sports Awards, I had the privilege of sitting beside Fred Uytengsu, Jr. (the Sportsman of the Year awardee) and, to my right, the country’s most famous athlete not named Manny Pacquiao.

Standing 6-foot-11, is there a larger-than-life figure than June Mar Fajardo? That afternoon in SM City Cebu, the Pinamungajan-raised sports giant was quiet and almost shy, despite all eyes and cameras transfixed to his 250-lb. large frame.

Alongside Gabriel Elorde and Mon Fernandez, June Mar ranks among the greatest of Cebuano athletes. And with his PBA records that include being a five-time MVP, talks are circulating that he can be the all-time greatest Pinoy cager.

Last Wednesday, June Mar did it again. I watched most of Game 7 of the Philippine Cup between Magnolia and San Miguel and the colossal figure was unstoppable. He scored 17 points (only) but pulled down 31 rebounds, beating the previous record of 29 rebounds set by Marcelo Simbulan in 1975. Thirty one rebounds!

The game was a thriller. Down by as much as 17 points, the Beermen looked tentative and uptight — made worse when they scored a miserly five points in the 2nd quarter.

But SMB rebounded back — thanks to the rebounds of June Mar, erasing the lead and winning when the buzzer sounded, 72-71, for a fifth straight All-Filipino crown for Ramon Ang’s team.

“All the championships are hard,” said June Mar, “but this series ranks among the hardest.”

The game was not without controversy. There appeared to be several non-calls (fouls) that went against Magnolia. I thought that June Mar’s bump against Marc Barroca was an offensive foul — which could have reversed the outcome in favor of Magnolia. Even in the last play of Jio Jalalon, it looked like he was fouled and, with a couple of free throws, would have cost SMB the win.

“(The game) went down the wire, it was anybody’s ball game,” said Rafi Reavis of Magnolia. “But we all know who got the short end of the stick.”

I sympathize with Magnolia but also understand the referees; in those last few moments of a Game 7, the natural tendency is not to blow the whistle and decide the outcome by intervening.

Controversy or not, what’s unquestionable is the supremacy of June Mar, who picked up his third Finals MVP award. What’s also indisputable is how kind and humble June Mar has remained.

Recalling a chat that I had with Atty. Gus Go many years ago, the owner of the University of Cebu had this to say about his prized student:

“Before the PBA Rookie Draft, when he was selected by Petron as the top pick, he came to my office in UC. He was so thankful. But I told him, ‘No, it is I who should say thank you for all that you have brought to our school.’”

Only 29 years old, June Mar will continue to dominate. He might pull down 40 rebounds and score 40. No human being who can stop him except…

Spider-Man. Ha? Confused? Google that crazy May 10 incident that almost injured The Kraken.

Warriors still golden

The NBA is composed of 30 teams. After the season tipped-off last October 16, a total of 1,230 regular season games were played in the U.S. and Canada (Toronto). From the original 30, a total of 14 teams were eliminated. Only the top 8 squads per conference qualified to join the playoffs, which began last April 13.

From the 16 teams that entered the NBA Playoffs, we’re down to 8. If this were another sport, it’s called the quarterfinals. What comments can we deduce so far?

One, the Golden State Warriors is Number One. Led by the unstoppable force named Kevin Durant, GSW is, by far, the team poised to collect their 4th NBA ring in five years. There are websites that provide real-time odds and, after their 2-0 lead against the Houston Rockets, the Warriors are now -200 favorites to win the title. (Your $200 bet will win you only $100.)

Durant. Curry. Thompson. Green. Igoudala. How can you bet against this formation? They’re the Avengers and, for everyone else, it’s an end game.

The Houston Rockets, we thought (and many hoped), would topple the Warriors, like they almost did last year. But that’s looking unlikely. Chances are, after extinguishing the team of James Harden and Chris Paul, the next challenge for GSW in the Western Finals will be easy prey.

Denver or Portland? What a scintillating 4OT game yesterday! But either team won’t pose a major Thanos-like problem for Golden State.

The East is more exciting. After stealing Game 1 in Milwaukee, we expected the Boston Celtics to sustain the momentum and overwhelm Giannis Antetokounmpo. Given the erratic wins and losses of the Celtics in the regular season, what we witnessed in the playoffs was the rejuvenated Celtics. They swept the Indiana Pacers and extinguished the Bucks in Game 1 for a 5-game winning streak.

Celtics all the way to the NBA Finals, right? Not so fast. They lost Game 2 and lost again at TD Garden yesterday. It’s back to the same erratic performances for Boston.

My choice in the East? The 76ers. Back in November, my wife Jasmin and I had the chance to watch Philadelphia play the Atlanta Hawks at the Wells Fargo Arena. The experience was electrifying. Joel Embiid, JJ Redick and Ben Simmons were the stars. Then they added Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. Today, they’re much stronger and are leading the Toronto Raptors, 2-1.

My forecast? Warriors-Trail Blazers and Bucks-76ers; Warriors-76ers in the final with California winning again.

The side talk has been on the 2019-2020 season given the list of the upcoming free agents: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, Kristaps Porzingis, Kemba Walker and Jimmy Butler.

Imagine the scenario of Zion Williamson landing with the Knicks and Durant and Irving joining the rookie in New York? This will vault the lowest-performing team (17-65 this season) into the top spot.

For Lakers fans, how about Kawhi joining LeBron? Or is Kawhi flying to LA but the other LA team: the Clippers? The possibilities are irrestible.

Eliud Kipchoge

(Photo: Getty Images)

Have you heard of his name before? If you’re a marathoner and you’re updated on the news on running, the answer is yes.

Eliud Kipchoge is the world’s greatest ever long-distance runner. He has joined 12 marathon races in his lifetime and won 11 times. The 2016 Rio Olympics? He won marathon gold.

The 34-year-old’s greatest achievement happened in Sept. last year when he broke the world record in the Berlin Marathon. His time of 2 hours 1 minute and 39 seconds broke the previous record by a staggering 78 seconds. (That was the single largest improvement in marathon times in 50 years.) His 2:1:39 time also means that he is only 100 seconds away from recording the long-awaited “sub-2 marathon” (running 42.195 kms. in under two hours).

Eliud Kipchoge will once again run the 42K today in the London Marathon in what is billed as the best-ever assembly of runners.

Daniel Wanjiru and Wilson Kipsang are competing but Kipchoge’s biggest nemesis is Mo Farah, from the UK, who’ll be running in front of a hometown crowd. A 4-time Olympic gold medalist (in the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races), Farah also won the 2018 Chicago Marathon.

Kipchoge vs. Farah. This is the mano-a-mano spectacle with the fighters running on Nike shoes and sleeveless shirts.

Kipchoge is the huge favorite. He is the 3-time London Marathon defending champion and the man who starred in the Breaking2 project of Nike where the Kenyan clocked 2:00:25 in Monza, Italy in 2017.

As physically-gifted as Kipchoge is (he stands 5-foot-5 and weighs 123 lbs.), he credits his mental strength as his greatest power.

“The mind is what drives a human being,” said Kipchoge. “If you have that belief – pure belief in your heart – that you want to be successful then you can talk to your mind and your mind will control you to be successful. My mind is always free. My mind is flexible. That is why I wear this band on my wrist. I want to show the world that you can go beyond your thoughts, you can break more than you think you can break.”

Because of his triumphs and the appearance fees that he collects plus his collection of corporate endorsements, Kipchoge is multi-millionaire rich. But he lives simply. For an estimated 300 days each year, he trains in a tiny village in Kenya (Kaptagat), far from his three children and wife Grace. He prefers the “living simply sets you free” mantra and even reportedly helps his running mates in cleaning the restroom.

“I enjoy the simplistic training and life in marathon,” Kipchoge said. “You run, eat, sleep, walk around – that’s how life is. You don’t get complicated. The moment you get complicated it distracts your mind.”

Can he break the world record or, incredibly, run sub-2 today? That is unlikely because London is not as fast a course as Berlin. But listening to Kipchoge is hearing a man in love with this sport.

“My dream is to make this world a running world,” he said. “A running world is a healthy world. A running world is a wealthy world. A running world is a peaceful world. A running world is a joyful world.”

Tiger and The Masters

(Getty Images)

When we had dinner a couple of Saturdays ago at the house of my neighbor Andre Borromeo, I posed this question to a group of Cebu’s top golfers. There was Atty. Jovi Neri, Marko Sarmiento and Bayani Garcia. All are former club champions of the Cebu Country Club.

Can Tiger Woods win another major?

The response was easy: Yes.

These diehard TW fans reminded me of his 2018 Tour Championship win. They were confident, despite knowing that Eldrick Tont Woods was already 43 years old, that Tiger would win someday.

Will “someday” be Sunday? As you read this, the third round of golf’s most illlustrous tournament has concluded. I don’t know how Tiger performed on Saturday but for the first two rounds of The Masters, he was as good as anyone.

He shot a 2-under 70 last Thursday and a 4-under 68 last Friday for a 6-under scorecard midway through the event held in Augusta, Georgia. He’s just one shot behind the leaders.

Unfortunately for Tiger, the leaderboard is littered with a who’s-who of former major champions: Scott, Oosthuizen, Molinari, Jason Day and one of the hottest players today, Brooks Koepka, who has won three of the last six majors that he’s played.

But the golf stage this weekend belongs to Tiger. One incident highlighted the second round: After his approach shot on the 14th hole, Tiger was nearly mobbed by the crowd as a security guard sprinted towards Tiger and slipped, hitting Tiger’s right foot and nearly injuring the golfer.

Can you imagine if Tiger sprained his ankle and had to retire because of an injury? Another injury! But, no, Tiger’s shot landed 20 feet from the hole and he calmly putted it for birdie.

“Accidents happen,” Tiger said. “I’ve had galleries run over me, it’s just, you know, when you play in front of a lot of people, things happen.”

The security officer had a more amusing response: “Well, he made birdie, so I guess it all worked out. Man, I am really glad he made birdie.”

If Tiger’s lucky out-of-the-woods escape and good fortunes continue this weekend and he wins the 85th Masters, it will be one of sport’s greatest combacks.

Consider this: Tiger is 43 years old. Although Jack Nicklaus was 46 when he won The Masters exactly 33 years ago, very few 40-plus year-olds win major titles. The last time Tiger won a major was the 2008 US Open.

Injury after injury; scandal after scandal.. Tiger’s playing some of his best golf.

“If he wasn’t Tiger Woods and you didn’t know him, say he was a guy coming off the web.com Tour, you’d say: ‘This is a guy who is gonna win at any time,’” said Tommy Fleetwood. “So I wasn’t that surprised when he did but I think it’s an amazing comeback, from not being able to swing a club or even move. He showed at the Tour Championship that, once he gets it in play, he is the best iron player in the world. It’s sometimes easy to forget that he is the greatest golfer of all time, you just judge him as a competitor.”

Let’s hope Tiger’s someday is Sunday.

Mount Zion

(Getty Images)

On TV, I rarely watch live sports nowadays. Unless it’s a major spectacle like the upcoming Warriors-76ers NBA Finals or a La Salle-Ateneo UAAP game 3 or a Rafa-Roger contest in New York, I opt to visit one of the world’s most visited websites: YouTube.

Here’s what I do: I don’t scan the results and wait 40 minutes after any sporting event has finished and it’s right there, an 11-minute summary of the game. It has zero commercials and nobody misses! Every attempt on YouTube is a good shot.

Yesterday, that’s what I did. It was the Sweet 16 of the NCAA basketball tournament between Duke University and Virginia Tech. I rarely followed the NCAA games in the past but this year is extra special.

Zion Lateef Williamson. If you’re a basketball fan, it’s a must that you watch Zion. (Google offers 4.6 million videos on the phenom.)

Zion is an 18-year-old Duke University freshman who stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 285 lbs. But what separates him from the dozens of other college dribblers are his LeBron James-like physique, his jumping ability, his left-handed aggressive moves, his gravity-defying block shots and his rim-shattering dunks (including dunking from the free throw line).

Zion has the bulk and size of a power forward but he struts like a point guard.

“What strikes me?” LeBron James was asked. “His agility and his quickness. For his size, how strong he is, to be able to move like the way he moves, he’s very impressive. I mean, everybody can see the athleticism. That’s obviously, that’s ridiculous. But the speed and the quickness that he moves (with) at that size is very impressive.”

Against Virginia Tech yesterday, the No. 1 seed Duke triumphed 75-73. Zion scored 23 points, including an alley-oop dunk that’s ridiculous.. catching the ball at a ceiling-high elevation before slamming it home with both hands. The TV announcer then quipped, “How high can you go?”

How high can Zion go? He is surely going to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. The joke around the NBA is this: #NotTryinForZion. It means the worst-performing NBA teams are purposely losing so they’ll get a better chance of drafting him.

Duke and Zion are in the NCAA Last 8 and will play Michigan State tomorrow (Phil. time).

If Zion helps coach Mike Krzyzewski win his sixth NCAA title for the Blue Devils, it will elevate Zion to a stature as the best-ever collegiate player of his generation.

What makes Zion a potential global superstar is his type of game: he flies and dunks with the ferocity of a Darryl Dawkins. Of these alley-oops, of which he has recorded dozens this season, Zion said yesterday after the game: “I’m jumping not knowing where the rim is.”

Zion can shoot a good 3. And, the most controversial happening this season, he can also break open a Nike shoe, injuring his foot.. which was such bad publicity for Nike that the company’s shares dropped by $3 billion. That’s the power of Zion.

Women, not we, men

In majority of sporting endeavors, the majority of participants are men. This is understandable. Men are generally stronger, more muscular and athletic than the women

Not last night. Not last Friday as we celebrated the International Women’s Day and not this Women’s Month of March.

AWUM, it’s called, and the full spelling is All Women Ultra Marathon. It’s not a 5K, 35K or 15K; it’s much more. It’s 50,000 meters of running.

A total of 350 AWUM women braved the city streets of Lapu-Lapu, Cebu and Mandaue last night. They started at 10 p.m. The fastest runners to finish will be speedy (Lizane Abella set the course record last year, clocking 4 hours and 21 minutes). But majority will take a relaxed jogging pace, finishing around 6 a.m. The cutoff is at 8 a.m., giving the ladies 10 hours to complete 50K.

Unlike larger events like the Cebu Marathon or the 7-Eleven Run, the roads are not closed. The women will have to wear blinking lights gear and strap neon stickers and run on the roadside. They’re brave.

One of the participants is my beautiful wife Jasmin. I recall us visiting the starting line of AWUM several years ago at the Cebu City Hall and Jasmin declaring that she’ll run the event someday. That someday is today and she’s accompanied by her dear friend Jewel Co.

And, as if running 50 kms. is not challenging enough, the route is difficult. It will include four climbs: first is the climb up Busay all the way to the U-turn point in the Busay Barangay Hall; on the latter part of the race are three of Cebu’s bridges: Cansaga, Marcelo Fernan and the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge. These superwomen — running 50 kms. the entire night — are fearless.

What will help motivate the ladies is the presence of 28 volunteer running groups who will spread themselves every 1.5 kms. to feed, massage, hydrate, “retouch” and put on make up on the tired but lovely faces of the ladies.

I attended the Race Kit collection and Race Briefing last Friday night at the garden of Ayala Center Cebu (across Belo) and it was a celebration of womanhood.

Joel Garganera, the Cebu City councilor who is the founder of AWUM (together with race director Dr. Willie Estepa and the group ThinkTank), spoke to motivate the crowd.

Of the 350 AWUM runners this 2019, a whopping 40 percent are first-timers.

“AWUM virgins!” Garganera calls these bravehearts who’ll be running their first AWUM 50K.

Bravery? Toughness? Willingness to endure pain? Grace under agony and discomfort? Resilience? Grit? They all spell W-O-M-E-N.

As the Greek philosopher Socrates once said: “Once made equal to man, woman becomes superior.”

We, men, bow to the women.

At the finish: Annie Diano, Jewel Co, Jasmin Pages and Cindy Lumindas

CSA – Bulacan

Where is the best tennis facility in our 7,107 islands? If you answered Cebu (no way!), Rizal Memorial in Manila (not anymore), Subic (yes, but once upon a long time) or PCA in Manila (no), you guessed it all wrong.

The answer? Bulacan. Yes, the province in Central Luzon that’s a couple of hours travel from Metro Manila.

The Colegio San Agustin (CSA) – Bulacan, the sprawling 20-hectare school that was built just three years ago, houses the country’s best tennis courts.

The total budget — based on what I heard — was P1 billion. This amount includes a mix of world-class sports facilities. There’s an indoor basketball gymnasium that seats at least 3,000. An Olympic size swimming pool. There’s a standard football rectangle and track oval. Plus several other top-notch sports facilities.

All are housed in a gigantic structure that looks like a spaceship (or a giant mall) from afar. And, at the topmost floor of the multi-level building are 11 tennis courts. Five courts on each side complete with bleachers and, at the far end, a center court that’s surrounded by its own seats. The 11 courts are all indoor and hard-court and they carry specs that’s similar to international standards.

Last weekend, my wife Jasmin and I were in Bulacan. For the first time in the history of the UAAP (now on its 81st year), the tennis matches are being played in CSA-Bulacan. In years past, the games were held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, right beside La Salle and several universities.

Last year, when the players and school officials first heard of the move to transfer the games to Bulacan, complaints reverberated. That’s too far away.. a two-hour-plus drive! they hollered.

But as the games started and the 10 simultaneous matches were played (instead of the six in Rizal) and the indoor roof shaded the already-tan-skinned players, the gripes turned to praises. (Our daughter Jana represents Ateneo and they’re carrying a 2-1 win-loss record.)

The CSA-Bulacan indoor tennis stadium opened only last year. And, as evidence of that, many of the sturdy plastic chairs in the bleachers were still covered with plastic. The whole school is huge. Since they opened the campus in 2015, there are a few students thus far.. only 110 students in the elementary and high school levels. But the long-term goal is to have a full-scale university that will include college courses. The campus houses a building with dormitory rooms and a sizable chapel that seats hundreds.

From what I heard, the property (located in the city of San Jose del Monte) was donated by the Araneta family to CSA and the school raised the funds for the multi-billion project. It is situated beside the Ayala Land Inc. 98-hectare project called Altaraza.

Build it and they’ll come. That’s the overriding message that strikes me when I think about the humongous sports school project. Even if it’s located far from Metro Manila, they built it. And my bet is that, in the long-term, with the growth spreading outside the metropolis and better transportation systems are in place, this CSA-Bulacan sporting heaven will thrive.