The No.1 export of the Philippines

On the morning of April 27, 1521, our first national hero was discovered. Named Lapu-Lapu, together with bare-chested warriors he extinguished the Spanish armada led by the Portuguese, Ferdinand Magellan. Using spears and the Moro weapon kampilan, they butchered and knifed the enemies in the “Battle Of Mactan.”

That was 487 long years ago. Today, Lapu-Lapu’s bravery continues….

Wearing the same brown skin as Lapu-Lapu, Filipinos faced Spaniards. And worse, our countrymen were up against more invaders: the Americans, British, Italians, Germans, Swiss, Koreans, the French—a total of 23 other nations have landed in Cebu to conquer Cebu. This time, the skirmish was named, “Battle at Ayala.”

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On ‘Laban na Banal,’ a Q & A with Michael A

Last night at 6:30 p.m., I spoke to one man who’s largely responsible for the mega-production that Cebuanos will witness this Saturday: the WBA interim super flyweight championship battle between Panama’s Rafael Concepcion and Cebu’s AJ Banal.

Michael Aldeguer. The president of ALA Gym, I spoke to Michael over the phone last night about this weekend’s fight….

What makes AJ Banal, I asked, special?

“His IQ for the game,” said Michael. “He’s only 19 but, compared to others, he’s advanced. He also has excellent all-around skills. Plus, AJ’s ability to adapt to any style. He can change tactics depending on his opponent’s style.”

Is it true, I next asked, that this early on AJ is being labeled as the “next Pacquiao?”

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Categorized as Boxing, Cebu

The awful, distressing and ugly face of sports

This is wrong. Dispiriting. Crooked. Unacceptable. It’s a story about Allan Torrevillas, the former Executive Director of the Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC)….

The International Children’s Games (ICG) is a yearly event that brings together 12- to 15-year-olds for competition. Our very own Cebu City, in 2004 and 2005, sent delegations to Cleveland, Ohio and Coventry, England. This year—in fact, just last week, from July 10 to 15—the ICG welcomed 1,200 athletes representing 40 cities to San Francisco, California.

Carrying the name “Cebu,” five athletes represented our city—a delegation sent by the Greater Cebu Sports Organizing Committee (GCSOC) whose titular head is the well-known and, in sports circles, well-liked Jonathan Guardo.

Now comes the intriguing part… It starts four months ago when I spoke to Allan Torrevillas (the head of the GCSOC delegation) about the composition of the tennis squad. With the Boys Team, only two slots were available and, at that time, two of Cebu’s most celebrated stars—Bernardine “Niño” Siso and Jacob Lagman—were interested in joining the San Francisco ICG.

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Categorized as Tennis

The 10th World Eskrima Kali Arnis Championships

Ask me to swing a tennis racket, dribble an orange ball, swat a shuttlecock or jog a 10-K and I’m fine. But, the one sport that I admit complete ignorance on is the one activity that’s revered by millions: Martial Arts.

Aikido, karatedo, judo, taekwondo, and many more ‘Do’s that include Kendo, Hapkido, Jukendo—they are aplenty. Add one more type of combat that’s venerated from the U.K. to the U.S. and, above all, in Cebu…. Eskrima. Kali. Arnis.

The three are one. They’re the same. Or so I learned when, last Tuesday night and together with my fellow scribes from the Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC), we trooped to a home that is a mecca of martial arts.

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‘The family that plays together, stays together’

At the 26th All-Cebu Sports Awards, (L-R) Don-Don Hontiveros, Jess Lagman, Julie Lagman, Jacob Lagman, PSC Chairman Butch Ramirez

If there’s one clan that I admire most here in Cebu, it’s the “J” family. Yes, every single family member is first-named J. There’s Julius, Jess, Julian, Jessica, Julie, Jacob. The “6Js” I love to call them.

Jess and Julie are the dad and mom. Julian and Julius, the two eldest boys, are studying in Ateneo de Manila University. Jessica, the only girl among four siblings, is third year high school at the Sacred Heart School–Hiyas de Jesus. The youngest J member—Jacob—happens to be the most prominent who’s graced the headlines of the sports section.

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Le Tour: The world’s most torturous race

(AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski)

If you’ve ever climbed on top of a bike, pedaled, and traversed the road near JY Square then climbed up to Marco Polo Hotel, then ascended some more to Willy’s, to Bu-ak, then to the very top of Tops, then you know that climbing mountains is agonizing. Pedaling on flat asphalt is leisurely, but steering those two thin wheels upwards to the sky is, very often, tormenting.

Take the Tour de France. Last Sunday at 10:30 p.m., just minutes before shutting off the bedroom lights, I switched on the TV set and clicked to the Balls Skycable channel 33.

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Categorized as Cycling

Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Karting makes you scream, “Go!”

Spanning 600 meters in length on an asphalt road with curves that twist and snake, it’s called Kartzone.

At 9 p.m. last Tuesday, while the black sky enveloped Cebu, flood lights radiated on Kartzone. The Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC), our group whose sporting words you read about each morning, converged to tackle the one sport that’s defined by one word: Speed.

Rico Navarro, Raffy Osumo, Mike Limpag and Noel Villaflor

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Categorized as Karting