Mark Garcia reviews the NBA Playoffs

He putts on the Cebu Country Club golf course and swings a tennis forehand but ask Mark Garcia which game he loves most and his reply will echo as loudly as the slogan… I Love This Game!

The NBA. And, yes, after five months, we’ve reached the Final 16 (of the total 30) as the playoffs started last Saturday. “I think the Cavs and the Lakers will meet in the finals with Cleveland winning,” said Mark. “The Cavs have loaded up their team with Shaq and Jamison. They also have a deeper bench. The Lakers also have been banged up this year, which is a concern. The advantage of the Lakers is their experience being defending champs and that they have the best closer, Kobe. But I think that this is going to be Cleveland’s year.”

Mark Garcia has, like millions of us worldwide, followed the NBA for decades. But what few of us have experienced is watching an NBA game. Live. Mark’s done that five times. “The first one was Game 2 of the 1992 playoffs between Detroit and New York in Madison Square Garden. Detroit had Isiah, Dumars, Rodman, Laimbeer (The Bad Boys); Knicks had Ewing, Mark Jackson, Kenny Walker and were coached by Pat Riley.”

In 1996, Mark saw three games. On one occasion, together with his cousin Chris Aldeguer and best friend Quinito Moras, he saw Chicago vs. the Clippers in LA. “The Bulls lineup were composed of Jordan, Pippen, Rodman.. and MJ scored 40 points. That was the game when he closed his eyes for one free throw,” he said. “We were six rows from the court and Jack Nicholson was across us.”

Mark Garcia (right) with Chris Aldeguer

(All photos by Mark G.)

Last year, Mark watched the pre-season game in Las Vegas between the Lakers and Kings and saw top rookie, Tyreke Evans, plus, said Mark, “Kobe who played 30 minutes and put on a show with three dunks.”

KB24? Yes. “My favorite players are Kobe and Lebron. Kobe because of his work ethic and will to win attitude like Jordan. He’s also worked hard to make himself the best clutch shooter. He came into the league as a pure scorer but learned how to play the team game (like Jordan).

“LeBron came as the most hyped NBA player but he exceeded all expectations. Like Kobe, LeBron has gotten better every year. His jump shot and defense have improved every season. LeBron’s understanding of the game at a very young age is amazing. Plus, both have great charisma.”

But who, among the two, is No.1? “Last year, Kobe and LeBron were about the same level,” he said. “Both of them were dominant offensive players and made the all defensive first team. This year has been different. LeBron has been amazing in almost every category and will surely win his second straight MVP with the second place far behind. LeBron is the better player now and will be for many years.”

Cleveland will win, assures Mark. “I love the Lakers but I think the Cavs’ defeat last year against Orlando will be enough to motivate LeBron and Co. It’s like the Lakers when they lost to the Celtics during the ‘07-’08 finals.”

How about the Boston Celtics? “I think this is going to be their last run at a championship with the Big 3 (Garnett, Pierce and Allen). If healthy, they might be able to get to the conference finals because of their experience but I don’t see them going to the finals. They haven’t played consistently.”

For the best first round playoff match-ups, Mark lists three:  Celtics vs. Heat (“A good one since the Heat closed the season on a high note winning 12 of their last 13 games), Dallas vs. San antonio, and Denver vs. Utah.

As to which teams might surprise us, “I think Dallas has a chance since they have an experienced lineup with Kidd and Dirk. They also pulled off the best trade this season with Butler and Haywood. San Antonio, now healthy, can also do well. Orlando has also gained experience from last year’s finals plus they have Vince Carter.”

Mark’s final words: “This year’s Playoffs will be great since there’s no clear-cut favorite. Whichever team gets hot in the next month could win, like Miami in 2006. A lot of the playoff seedings were determined on the last day of the regular season which shows how close the teams were.”

Comments on the Palarong Pambansa

Four (4) responses I received yesterday from the Palaro article….

Joy Augustus Young, BOPK vice mayor candidate for Cebu City and the main proponent of the 1994 Palaro Games in Cebu City: “As long as somebody else is interested to bid and host the Palaro, we will never bid. We will offer to give the opportunity to others who have not yet hosted. That’s our policy and the reason why…”

Graeme Mackinnon, Cebu Hall of Fame awardee, now residing in Australia: “Good morning John. Interesting article. Does the renovation of the sports center complex track also include the football field as well. Hopefully if it does they will do it correctly this time with underground drainage as well as a the proper foundation that will give the grass a chance to grow correctly. Of course with the heavy traffic that the ground gets it will always suffer. Is the football ground still used for the cadet training or has playing soldiers been scrapped.

“Any way you would expect that if the Palaro was to be held in Cebu football would be played at the Aboitiz fields. Incidentally John in all the number of Palaro’s has any city hosted on multiple occasions? Let’s hope that this promise of the long overdue renovation of the rubberized track is not a vote catcher (why am I so skeptical of political promises) and that it will indeed push through.

“On another note, TV ads are beginning to appear here now for Roland Garros which trumpets the beginning of the European Grand Slams (French and Wimbledon). At this early stage picking a winner is like trying to pick the winning numbers of the Lotto. There are just too many combinations. Nobody is dominating at the moment which would through up a first choice favorite for the title. Even among the women’s I think it will a choice of many with Kim and Serena most probably the frontrunners.

“It all means that the Slams are going to be throwing up “unexpected” results maybe in some instances in the very early rounds. Are you salivating at the prospect John? It is going to be very interesting. Too bad the games here are televised so late LIVE. Oh well I can always catch up with the re-plays during the daylight hours. Catch you later mate. Graeme”

John Henry Osmeña, former Senator of the Philippines: “PALARO will come to Cebu City when I am Mayor. We will build a new Cebu City Sports Center at the SRP with both track oval and basketball coliseum, athlete’s accommodations, sports academy and a parking facility for both buses and cars. Cebu City will be a sports MECA. PBA will play here twice monthly.”

Atty. Mike Yu, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) – Cebu City chapter: “Hi John. The purpose of holding Palaro alternatively Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and not in the same province is to expand the exposure of sports nationwide. Other provinces need also modern facilities in the hope that it will sustain the sports program in that locality after the Palaro. Just like in Cebu City after the Palaro in 1994, I have not seen any upward surge in sports involvement. Not in my time from 1983 to 1985. Let us support the national program the Palaro was intended for. Our city has grown. Perhaps we can host our own premiere sport to rival the Palaro… the Cebu City Games which can be held a week after Palaro so that the players are still in peak form. Start toying with this idea.

“We should not forget the purpose. Palaro is the grassroots sports program. A program followed from other countries. It starts from the Unit Meet, the winners advance to the Provincial Meet, then advance to the Regional Level. The best of the best fight it out in the Palarong Pambansa, the national meet. The best of the Palaro are recruited by Gintong Alay to represent our country in international competition. It’s simple… daghan lang buaya!”

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Categorized as Cebu City

When will Cebu City host the Palaro?

The last time our city organized the “National Games,” as the Palarong Pambansa are called, the president was Fidel V. Ramos, our track oval at the Abellana grounds was brand-new and named the Cebu City Sports Center, and Alvin Garcia and Tommy Osmeña were best friends as vice mayor and mayor.

That was 1994. Since then, cities like Naga, Iloilo, Lingayen, Bacolod, Tacloban, Puerto Princesa and, just concluded yesterday, Tarlac, among others, have hosted one of the largest sports meets of the Philippines.

In fact, when I researched the history of The Palaro, which was restarted in 1974 after a brief hiatus during Martial Law (it was previously named the Bureau of Public Schools-Interscholastic Athletics Association or BPISAA Games), a total of 27 Palarong Pambansa hostings were organized and, lo and behold, Cebu City hosted it only once. Yes. This Queen City of the South, the land preferred by athletes and officials because of our Cebuano hospitality, our showmanship (“Pit Senyor!”), our SM City mall and Ayala Center restaurants, our location at the center of the archipelago—yes, despite all these advantages, we’ve only hosted one Palaro the past 27 times.

Unbelievable. Preposterous. Sure, there are dozens of other cities spanning Batanes to Tawi-Tawi that can host these every-summer-Games, but, if a survey were to be conducted with the question, posed to competitors and sports leaders nationwide, “Which city would you want to go to next?” I bet the query would yield an answer that has four letters.

For Cebu has proven itself. Just look at the Milo Little Olympics. Last year, the first-ever nationwide competition (it used to be divided among the Luz-Vis-Min regions) were held at our backyard. Guess what? We electrified the 1,223 participants. During the Opening and Closing Ceremonies—thanks in large part to the overall architect, Ricky Ballesteros—fireworks brightened the black night ceiling, Dancesport Team Cebu City shakers and movers enthralled the audiences, the venues were well-manicured and prepared—everybody was impressed. At the event’s conclusion, my ears opened wide to listen to the comments from our NCR and Mindanao neighbors and, if a rating were to be made, we scored an A+.

For we are Cebu. And when Cebuanos host, we host not a mediocre, so-so banquet but an awe-inspiring party. For here’s the shortcut for the name Cebu: Celebration.

The Palarong Pambansa? The event that’s called The Olympics for the elementary and high school students? Why, I ask, after 27 stagings, have we hosted it only once and, in the past 15 years, have we not hosted any?

The answer, I realized, is elementary. It’s our Sports Center. It’s rotten. It’s oval surface, which used to be called rubber, is now soft clay. It’s decomposing, it’s soft, it has formed corrugated snake lines, it’s crumbling. (In one incident not long ago, a spectator during the Sinulog couldn’t stand up after her pants got glued to the ground’s rubbery surface.)

Ka uwaw. That’s sad. For, like hosting visitors at home, how can we invite guests over if our house is broken? Not for long. Thanks to the P40,000,000 that has been allocated by the city, the oval will finally—after it was built in time for the 1994 Palaro Games—be fixed.

When? Supposedly, now. But, because of the ban on construction projects nearing the elections, our officials have scheduled it after May 10. Which means one beautiful realization: By year’s end, we should have a new Cebu City Sports Center.

Next year’s Palarong Pambansa hosting?     Ha-ha. That’s too soon. Two years from now? Yes. That’s perfect. London hosts the Olympics. Cebu, the 2012 Palaro.

Taekwondo: the Sport with a Kick!

First published in July 2007….

Kenn Toledo teaching the youngsters

Ask any Korean you’ll meet at SM or Ayala to translate the word “Taekwondo,” and this is what he’ll say: “Tae” means to destroy with the foot; “Kwon” is to strike or smash with the hand; and “Do” means art, or way of life. Thus, the full translation reads: “the way of the foot and the fist.”

Taekwondo is one of the most popular martial arts in the world. But why learn the sport? I posed this question to one man. He’s the Team Cebu City taekwondo director. He’s the regional chairperson of the Philippine Taekwondo Association. He’s Tony del Prado.

“Taekwondo is both a sport and a martial arts,” said Tony. “You get to exercise and at the same time know how to defend yourself. The sport was on the upswing after it was admitted into the 1992 Barcelona Olympics as a demonstration sport. It’s also among the safest martial arts. The protective gears from head to foot are impressive. The way the taekwondo jins deliver the kicks are amazing. A demo presentation, even if done by our locals, never ceases to electrify the crowd.”

Tony’s first exposure to the sport was during his college days at the Ateneo. Then, he marveled at his taekwondo-kicking dorm-mates who were fit and disciplined. “In 1994 when my son Anton was five years old,” added Tony, “I brought him to Baseline Center and enrolled him. There was a bully in school and I thought that he should know how to protect himself. Early on I wanted him to fight his own battles.”

Tony del Prado (second from right) with Team Cebu

True. Isn’t this why many enroll in martial arts? For self-defense?

But taekwondo is much more than just defense. It’s now one of the more popular Olympic events. And it’s a sport where the Philippines—never a gold medal winner—has a crack at gold.

“We have a good chance in the Olympics,” said Tony. “The national pool is training in Korea to prepare for the Olympic qualifying. Our athletes are world class and this was proven during the Asian Games. Although the Koreans are still the best, we have a big chance since countries are only allowed to send a maximum of 4 players for the 8 Olympic categories. This means that Koreans can only compete in 4 of the 8 categories. This also holds true for strong teams like Iran, China and Spain.”

Taekwondo in Cebu? It’s kicking. Just three weeks ago in Bacolod City, the Cebu delegation won second overall in the Visayas Taekwondo Championships. Of Cebu’s 40 jins, 33 came home as medal winners: 11 gold, six silver, and 16 bronze medals.

Future plans? “We have focused on equipping the instructors and officials. Fair competition was at the top of my list. By doing this we were able to elevate professionalism among practitioners in our region. The instructors’ course we conducted two years ago had a significant impact on our growth. It opened their eyes to the modern way of teaching. It was a paradigm shift for most.

“For instance, in children nine years old and below, teaching is mostly done in a ‘play and learn situation’ because you cannot be militaristic towards kids. The reforms resulted in the sport’s unprecedented growth this year. People who quit or were inactive are coming back and training to be instructors.”

Matt Michael, 7, with his yellow belt

Why the taekwondo success?

“Not being a taekwondo practitioner, I initially had difficulty when I assumed the chairmanship position. Although a disadvantage, I made it work for me since I have no club or chapter and therefore have no vested interest. I don’t know of any other region that has a non-taekwondo guy as its chairman.

“I wouldn’t be successful if not for my management committee members: Kenneth Toledo of Bright Academy, Avenger Alob of SHS-Jesuit, William Ylanan and the senior blackbelts like Larry Elpa, Danny Yap and Rene Brojan.”

Kenneth Toledo (left), the regional chief of referees in Cebu

As individual a sport as taekwondo is, it’s rare to have a leader like Tony del Prado who credits not himself—but his team.

Future Olympic gold medalists? Why not!

Hong Kong Marathon

Kenn Toledo with the Cebu group in the recent HK Marathon…

Dodong Sulatre, Kenneth Toledo. Dr. Alex Junia, Dr. Emily Estrada, Dr. Rosan Trani and Roy Trani

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Categorized as Marathon

Kenneth Toledo’s story

Taekwondo here in Cebu started in 1982, during that time my dad Julius Toledo was one of the pioneer students. Every time he went to training, I always tag along with him and eventually learned few basic moves then. After two years of watching from the sidelines, I officially enrolled in Taekwondo last April 2, 1984 at the age of 9 yrs. Old. Since then I’ve learned to love the sport and trained hard that one day I’ll make it to the National Team.
In August 1, 1987 I finally got my 1st dan black belt and a week after joined my first tournament the 9th National Taekwondo Championship in Manila. I was still under the grade school division and made a very impressive tournament debut winning all four matches convincingly and emerge the Best Player of our team. It was also then that my dream of making it to the National Team came true when GrandMaster Sung Chon Hong ( Head of Philippine Taekwondo ) offered me a slot to be me a member of the first ever Gradeschool National Team.

However after a month training with the team, I had to drop out coz they wanted me to pursue my high school studies in Manila which I objected. I Went back to Cebu and continued my training under my dad. Joined several regional level tournaments which I dominated almost every division I competed. In 1989, went back to manila to join the 11th National Taekwondo Championships and sweep all 3 matches in KO victories and again got the Best Player award for team Cebu.

In 1992 I then moved up to the Juniors division and joined the 14th National Taekwondo Championships in Manila. I was the team Junior Bantam weight player and again won all my 4 matches lop-sided in which earned me the Best Player award and this time also a slot at the Junior National Team. But just like my 1st experience, I had to drop out after few months with the same reason that they wanted me to continue and finish my college in manila.

Few months after, I went to US and continued my Taekwondo training under Grand Master Richard Chun in New York. After working out for one day in the new gym, GrandMaster Chun saw my advance skills in the sport and never hesitated to offer me a job to be one of his instructors and to train his students for competitions. I accepted his offer and after 2 months of rigid training I competed in the 1993 New York Open Taekwondo Championships. I was competing in the Men’s fly wt division where most of the fighters are very fast with their kicks and tall. Despite facing tough opponents from different states I still manage to land a Bronze medal in my division.

In 1994, Cebu hosted the National Palarong Pambansa which also set the birth of the Cebu City Sports Center. Taekwondo also debuted in that same year and I was representing Region VII in the Bantam Weight Division. It was a field of very strong competitors from different regions since it was the pioneer edition but I still manage to grab a Bronze Medal. Actually I could have easily won the Gold medal if not due to the controversial decision during my semi-final match against Region I.

I felt the decision was so biased which cost me the slot in the championship round. With my lost at the semi-final round I was then drop to the loser bracket to fight for the bronze medal where I face the title favorite NCR player. I told myself that beating the NCR opponent will just prove one thing that I truly deserve the Gold medal and yes I did won the match convincingly. In 1997 I went back to US and this time trained and teached under Grand Master Mark Williams in New Jersey. That same year I also competed in the New Jersey Grand Prix Taekwondo Championships and won Bronze medal in the Men’s Fly weigh division.

Few months after I went back to the Philippines and joined the Philippine National Games held in Cebu. Top Taekwondo jins all over the Philippines we’re present in that tournament. The Cebu taekwondo best fighters also joined that prestigious event but with very strong competition, all of them failed to get a single medal except for myself. I consider that tournament to be one of the toughest competition I’ve ever joined with over 2,000 elite fighters all over the country vying for the Gold medal. I was then in the Senior Fly weight division with over 60 strong tkd jins clashing for the top 3 spot. I face a very strong opponent from Zamboanga on my opening match and won in points 4-1.

After an hour, I was back in the court for my 2nd elimination match against NCR player who was also currently in the National Training pool, it was a close match but I still won 4-2 points. However during that match I injured my left foot after landing a strong kick to my opponents elbow.  My left foot was all swollen right after the match that I needed to use anesthetic spray to temporarily relieve the pain since I have more fights to do. Then came in my 3rd elimination match facing opponent from Mindanao and again winning the match 3-0. My 4th match was now in the quarter-final match facing another tough opponent from NCR and beating him 5-2 in points. My pain in my left foot which was injured in the 2nd match was getting worst that even the anesthetic spray couldn’t stop it from aching already. In my 5th match of the day, semi-final round against Philippine Navy team I couldn’t execute my kicks well anymore due to my injured foot but manage to hang on til the end of the bout. It was still a close match but loosing it 3-2 in points. I settled for a Bronze medal after 5 hard fought match in one day.

In 2000, I was back in US and opened a school together with my close buddy Master Nathan Delgado. In the next 4 years I spend most of my life in US training and teaching in our school in Dumont, NJ. I was also training together with some current and former members of the US Taekwondo National Team. It was during this time that I was yearly competing in the New Jersey State Taekwondo Championships where I got Bronze medal in 2001 & 2002 and the Big East Taekwondo Championships where I was the 3 time Bantam weight champion from 2001, 2002 & 2003. The Big East event was a bigger one since it was a tournament composed of 4 states ( Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut ).

Taekwondo is fun, safe: Kenn Toledo

According to Wikipedia, taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means “to strike or break with foot”; kwon means “to strike or break with fist”; and do means “way,” “method,” or “art.” Thus, taekwondo may be loosely translated as “the way of the foot and fist” or “the way of kicking and punching.”

An Olympic sport since 2000, taekwondo is the world’s most popular martial art in terms of the number of practitioners. Here in Cebu, it is just as celebrated.

Kenneth Toledo, who has a 4th Dan Black Belt, is one of the prominent instructors in Cebu. Starting at the age of nine, he has kicked, sparred and punched for 26 years now, many of those sessions in New Jersey, where he became the U.S. Bantamweight champion in the Big East (Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut) from 2001 to 2003.

This summer in Cebu, the Kenn Taekwondo Training Center is underway with four venues: Rivergate Mall, St. Benedict Learning Center, Bright Academy and Southhills Intl. School.

“I encourage children to go into Taekwondo because it’s fun,” said Kenneth. “Children also learn self-defense. Plus, it’s good exercise since most of the kids now are spending much time playing computer games. By enrolling them in taekwondo, they will balance their activities from just sitting down for hours facing the computer to jumping into an active sport.

“One of the advantages of Taekwondo is that you can learn this sport at a young age (even four yrs. old). It is one of the safest of Martial Arts. Taekwondo is clean and safe because we have specific rules in competition which focuses on the safety of every competitor. You can see five-year-olds having fun and not getting hurt at all. In other martial arts, you don’t see young kids in competition due to the rough type of arts they’re performing.”

Discipline. Yes, that’s one of the teachings of the sport. “I always emphasize discipline during my orientation and remind them that I’m not teaching them Taekwondo to bully other people or use it in a bad way,” said Kenn. “They must have self control all the time. I’m also imparting the Tenets of Taekwondo: Self Confidence, Modesty, Indomitable Spirit, Perseverance and Etiquette.”

Kenneth, who’s also into running (he finished the 42K Hong Kong Marathon last February), wants to help train the youth because that’s how he started.

“Taekwondo here in Cebu started in 1982, during that time my dad Julius Toledo was one of the pioneer students,” he said. “Every time he went to training, I would always tag along. After two years of watching from the sidelines, I enrolled on April 2, 1984 at the age of 9. Since then I’ve loved the sport and trained hard that one day I’ll make it to the National Team.

“In August 1, 1987, I got my 1st dan black belt. The week after, I joined my first tournament: the 9th National Taekwondo Championships in Manila. I was in the grade school division and made an impressive debut, winning all four matches to emerge as the Best Player. It was then that my dream of making it to the National Team came true when GrandMaster Sung Chon Hong (Head of Philippine Taekwondo) offered me a slot to be me a member of the first ever Grade School National Team.”

This summer, Kenn has various offerings. “Not everyone who enrolls in Taekwondo aims to compete or become an elite athlete,” he said. “Some kids enroll for fun, for self-defense, for exercise. With these reasons, I employ different approaches. I want people to know that Taekwondo is a sport for everybody, not only for kids. Adults even 50 yrs. old can enroll in Taekwondo.

To learn the world’s most popular martial art, contact Kenn at 316-3498, 0917-6225366 or [email protected].