Cebu Sports Blog by John Pages

In ‘David vs. Goliath,’ the brave heart prevails

MANILA—I’m in our capital city to do three things. First, to visit our family-owned juice bar outlets. Two, I watched a concert last Thursday night by Duran Duran—with the all-original cast of Simon Le Bon, John and Roger Taylor, and Nick Rhodes. It was the best performance I’ve seen—and will write about it later this week. And the third reason: to watch our RP tennis team exchange smashes with Uzbekistan in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group I.

Led by two Filipino-Americans—Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino—the RP squad has resurrected from the clay-court ashes and returned to the world stage. At the SEA Games, we claimed gold medals. In Davis Cup—the annual competition that pits country vs. country—we’ve resurfaced. Thus, this RP vs. Uzbekistan tie.

The SAC

The Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC) is a band of 20 or so men and women whose jobs are to inform, entertain, and report to you, dear readers, the scores and facts about athletes who dunk, sportsmen like Tiger Woods who putt, and chisel-bodied boxers like AJ and Boom-Boom who score KOs.

Last Thursday at 8:30 p.m., we gathered. At Mooon Cafe, we dined, drank products by San Miguel, swapped stories about this morning’s boxing event at the Araneta Coliseum. From Sun.Star, sports editor Mike Limpag headed our line-up together with writers Marian Baring, Norvie Misa, and Edri Aznar, and columnists Atty. Jingo Quijano and myself.

Toto: The Worst Concert I’ve Watched

Not sports-related but must-be-reported-news… Heading out of the Waterfront ballroom last Wednesday night, I heard various comments: “highway robbery,” “yabag,” “they forgot their lines!” “fake,” and “rip-off.”

Toto was bad. Really bad. As a start, the tickets weren’t inexpensive—the highest-priced at P3,500. In my case, with wife Jasmin and best friend Dr. Ron Eullaran and his wife Raycia, we bought the P2,000.

Our expectations were high—and justifiably so. Toto is one of the world’s most popular bands. During my teenage days in the ‘80s, I grew up listening to the American band. Toto was revered.

What happened? Put simply, they did not sing their most popular hits. Yes, songs like “Rosanna” and “Georgy Porgy” were sung but several major hits—like “Lea,” “I Won’t Hold You Back” and “I’ll Be Over You”—which the thousands in attendance kept on pleading and awaiting and asking to be sung—were never sung.

A sure-bet, no need to gamble on this Casino

The palace is a mansion. With a ballroom that can seat 500, a fine dining enclave called El Comedor, a poolside that will rival Plantation Bay, two tennis courts, six bowling lanes, two badminton courts, billiard tables, dining tables, buffet tables, and the decades-long-popular “Bar Mixto,” is there any mansion that can rival this palace? There is none.

Why Golf is Fun—and Funny

The “Mud-man,” he’s called. On the third hole of the Iloilo Golf and Country Club in Santa Barbara, he swims alone in search of money in a pond where errant golf balls dive. No net to catch, no goggles to see underwater—he searches by hand beneath the pond’s muddy bottom.

“Pa-picture anay,” I shouted, not wanting to miss this rare shot.

Gamely, he emerged from the brown water then flexed his muscles for a pose. I clicked the camera; we chuckled, he laughed.

Photos: Iloilo Golf and Country Club

More photos…

Is the Federer Express out of service?

(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

He is Tiger Woods by another name. He is Manny Pacquiao on the tennis court. He is the undisputed title-holder, the pound-for-pound champion in this sport using yellow balls, linesmen, deuces. Since Feb. 2, 2004—that’s four long years ago—he has been world no. 1, a record 217 nonstop weeks on Mount Everest.

He is, as you know, Federer Express. Why that moniker? Because his service deliveries, like the courier company FedEx, is peerless and sublime. A 128-mph ace down the ‘T’ that you want delivered right this minute? “Sure,” he answers, then pounds an ace. A forehand crosscourt winner on breakpoint that you need now? “No problem,” he adds, thumping an unreachable shot down the corner.

For with Roger Federer, here’s the slogan: I’ll Deliver. And deliver he has. Last year, out of the four Grand Slam singles titles, he won three. The year before, he won the same number: 3 of 4. In the past four years, he’s won 11 of the last 16 major titles.

He delivers.

Since you ate all fish, my advice: Be a fish!

ILOILO—Each Holy Week for the past three years, I’ve stayed at my wife’s uncle’s beach house in Oton, a town 20 minutes away from Iloilo City. Last year, I wrote an article in Sun.Star Cebu about a sport I exercised here each morning. Here’s a revised version of that piece…

Here in the rest house, right on the front lawn, sits a temptress. She’s dressed in all-blue, is sexy, and winks at me to jump on her. Her name? Swimming Pool. Ahhh… Is there any other four-letter word that best describes this lady in blue?

Jonathan Davis, top boxing judge, speaks

I had to call. I had to seek the opinion of this highly-esteemed Filipino boxing judge. And so yesterday, at 5 p.m., I called.

Jonathan Davis, 58, first sat on that high chair beside the ring with pen and paper on hand in 2002. Since then, he has presided as judge over 400 fights. “When Flash Elorde fought and I was in high school,” said Davis in our 20-minute telephone conversation, “I’ve been doing my own boxing scoring.”

Lucky (or Unlucky) 13 for Manny?

Today is Manny Pacquiao’s 13th boxing fight in America.

I looked up “13” in Wikipedia and it brimmed with dozens of “Unlucky 13” versus “Lucky 13” examples. For instance: Some airlines skip a row 13, many buildings don’t have a 13th floor, and the Code of Hammurabi (ca. 1760 B.C.) does not contain a 13th law.

Lucky 13? Sure… Wilt Chamberlain, Alex Rodriguez and Dan Marino wore jerseys number “13.” And, in Italy, guess what their lucky number is? Thirteen.