Princess, ang itatawag ko sa kanya….

I’ve been thinking about my ex for a few weeks now. It began when I decided to finally start saving for a condo, when we were still together. I promised her that we’d get one and love each other forever. A condo would have been perfect for our lifestyles. She was always on the go, I didn’t like traffic, a house wasn’t bagay for us. We both didn’t want a big family, I didn’t even really want to have any kids, I remember saying that when we’d get married it would take 3 years for us first to even think of getting pregnant, my exact words were ‘paglalaruan muna kita‘

I broke up with her about 7 years ago, it feels like a lifetime already. When it happened, I instantly knew it was over. No crying, no regrets. It was, trying to say this as gently as possible, ‘the end’. I am purposely delaying the reason for the breakup. There was a 3rd party. Yes, I agree, I am the scum of the earth. Princess, my ex, was great.

She was sweet,
she was pretty,
smart,
she loved her family,
she loved my family,
my parents liked her,
she had this way of carrying herself,
she was independent,
and most importantly, she loved me more than life itself.

But hey, I threw all that out of the window and chose the other girl. I loved that other girl which may have been the reason why breaking up with Princess was so easy. But even when that relationship didn’t work out, it never crossed my mind to get back with Princess.

So what is THIS all about!? Every time I pass a condominium, my mind automatically plays out a life where we would have been together: buying groceries, sharing a car, paying for the electricity bill, making love in the kitchen, living a life that was supposed to happen.

All my life I have promised myself to never regret a decision that I make. It seems that as I grow older, this promise, like a promise I made to woman named Princess, will also be broken.

San Beda Red Lions, Season 86 NCAA Champions

Alas the 86th NCAA season has just ended and the best team.. And when I say best, it clearly is an understatement, emerged as champions!

Congratulations to the san beda red lions!

It was an awesome season for the lions. Winning eighteen straight games! Going through 8 teams and beating them twice with authority and sweeping the golden sTHUGS in a best of 5 series. This was a great season for the Lions and a better one for their fans.

I for one even just after the first game already believed that this was going to be our year. Our lineup was just too massive, talent filled and embodied the will to win! Ok, I know I said some harsh words for our skipper, Frankie Lim, but hey he deserved it. In the first few games, his rotation was awful, he used that silly hi-lo play too much that even a grade schooler could intercept the pass, he relied too much on Sudan. Yes they were winning but for some strange reason, the boys just didn’t jell. Which is a clear manifestation of the coach’s ineptness no matter how you look at it.

But during the 2nd round, things got better, and boy, did it get better! Frankie’s usual first 5 consisted of Marcelo, Dela Rosa, K.Pascual, Hermida and Lanete. This bunch ensured a tough defensive front with loads of fire power to boot. Marcelo, as you know remains to be my papa bear, is just as dominating as Sudan in the defensive paint. He has a mean 10ft jumper which gives the slashers opportunity to get some points in. K.Pascual, and also his namesake J.Pascual, fall short in being consistent, but their height and defensive prowess helped the team nonetheless. Dela Rosa stayed true to form, his upper body strength and control was always fun to watch as he flew to the ring in all his runaway layups. King Lion Borgy Hermida gave all he got, there were games (finals included) where it looked like he injured his knee but he still fought through it, gave his all and produced when we needed it. But among the first 5, I must say, Garvo Lanete became the scorer we all knew he could be. As I said in my first post, we needed a scorer, someone we could rely on, a go to guy, and we got it from Garvo.

Of course this Lion article will never be complete without talking about the bench, a very deep bench I may add. Pascual acted like your energy bunny, one who would get under the skin of the top scorer of the other team. What sucked was when the opponent got under his, he’d usually mess up, but those Abueva match ups were always fun to watch, and even if Pascual slipped up, which he did a lot, it would be ok. A player who delivers with passion will always be a great player in my book. Mendoza who showed promise in the first round got sick in the 2nd. It seemed he never got his groove back, even during the finals, let’s just hope things get better next season. The Semerad twins have always been a great addition to the team, Anthony has a fierce 3pt shot, while David adds muscle to the frontline, both can act as guards and both never falter against competition. Oh and chicks love them, bringing out some fine women to the Red battalion. Caram, who I felt wasn’t given minutes during the first round, was blessed by substantial playing time during the finals. Even though Hermida shall be leaving this season, knowing that Caram would be the one to replace him gives you the sense that the King Lion’s place shall be left in good hands. Villarhermosa who we all know is a great point guard needs time to fill his role, rookie jitters is probably his sickness, let’s pray he gets rid of by it next year. And of course how can we forget, the 86th season MVP Suuu Daniel..

Let’s make this paragraph all about Su, he is the MVP afterall! This 6’8 behemoth of a man just dominated the paint, with his long outstretched arms it is no wonder he leads the league in blocks. He has developed a good midrange jumper and has also improved his free throw shot. I must emphasize that although the team does not revolve around his capabilities, Sudan’s skills and expertise fit into the team like a T. Beda is a running team, it focuses on transition points coming from the lockdown the defense delivers. This in turn gives Sudan the ability to score on the fastbreak, or by a put back after a rebound. Beda has great guards and forwards, and as center Sudan delivers as well. Allow me to comment also on the import issue. Sam Ekwe was just a tall 6’9 player, he rebounded and blocked, that’s all he did. But he improved due to consistent coaching, he developed lay ins, dunks and even a mid range jumper, he actually became an offensive threat. Sudan Daniel was different, being American he had at least a background with basketball, he was a lot more athletic, jumped higher, and already had a good shot. Sudan is different now than his first year, circa 2009, it was obvious, he was no Sam Ekwe, he wasn’t as defensive nor did he have the same work ethic as Sam. But he did dunk better. 2009 was the season where Lim focused on Sudan, implementing the dreaded Hi-Low play, which Baste checked, and checked a lot. Sudan tired easily, shoulders slouched and players like Abueva, Njei, and even just the small center of the Letran Knigths, Alas, at times seemed to bully the American. But 2010 was different for Sudan, and the MVP plum was just the cherry on top of the sundae which was the season 86th championship. We have to remember, that these boys play for their school, it is silly to discuss imports. These boys do not play in a professional league, they play in a collegiate one. They do not fight for nationalistic pride, but for school pride. The only rule that discusses foreign players is that no 2 or more foreign players of the same team can be on court at the same time. Foreign and Filipino players are all alike, both types are students of the school, go to classes, finish projects, attend practices and play their hearts out on game day. It is stupid and immature to talk about foreign players as being an advantage. In the Olympic games, Asian games or in any tournament where we wish to compete in, we as Filipinos view our counterparts as equals, if we see these foreigners as someone superior, what is the use of competing in a game where we already know, even before the ball is thrown in the air, that we will not win. I view Sudan as a Bedan with long arms, helluva vertical jump, athletic and one who has the patience of Mother with 10 kids. If you are from a different school, view Sudan as a great player you wish you had, because if you perceive him as an import or to see him as someone more superior just because of his race and the color of his skin, you only degrade yourself as a Filipino, so this ‘nationalistic’ bullshit is just plain stupid.

I have always loved my being a Bedan, and I take pride in the way we play basketball. This season showed the world how great our Team was. The only downer about this season is that it ended so soon, and season 87 is still far off. Animo San Beda!!

Hear Me World!

Haven’t written for the longest time. I blame work for that, the weird thing about it was there were so much topics to write about.

Hostage crisis
San beda championship — awesome!!
UFC 118-120
Work
(In)Existence of a love life

So many,

I guess the only way to make this blog work is to work around ‘work’. Its not that I don’t have free time, because I have lots. So here, hear me universe! I’ll make this work, who cares if no one is reading! Haha! This IS for ME!

My UFC 117 nightmare

Woke up from a nightmare, I was beating someone up, giving him a no-tomorrow thrashing, believing he was clearly knocked out I get surprised when the dude lifts his legs and gives me a triangle choke. My whole body tries to resist tapping out, but my hand has a mind of its own, suddenly the ref stops the fight, … Wait, this isn’t my nightmare, it’s Chael Sonnen’s.

San Beda Nike Jerserys

Damn, what a great time to be in college… first an Adidas Jacket.. now a whole line of Nike apparel, what a great time to be a bedan! apir!! um!

http://www.nikebasketball.com.ph/newbreed/

San Beda Red Lions vs. Perpetual Atlas

I’m not sure which type of game I like watching more, games where the lions are up against a strong team or ones where they’re up against a lousy one.  With a lousy one, you tend to change the channel due to the sure W, but i guess this was an exemption.  It was evident from the start that this was going to be a blow out, and a blow out it was. But unlike other blowouts where the lions just played. This game, they played to win strong.

Frankie blew my mind by giving us a different first 5, he started with Lanete, Dele Rosa, Hermida, K. Pascual, and Marcelo.  The great thing about the Bedans now is that they are actually giving us a mature type of game, they have set plays, they don’t rush for the point, and they make more passes.  It’s ironic that this team is the youngest that they ever had, where majority of its players are rookies or sophomores. I believe Marcelo and Lanete are the only ones in their 4th year, while Hermida is on his 5th.

Marcelo, my new man-crush, again, has displayed excellent defense. He has also showed us his ball skills in a play where he intercepted the ball and ran from half court all the way to the hoop.  This team is so talented that you feel a bit disapointed that Marcelo has limited minutes. 

It was such an obvious win, that Melo Lim saw more playing time. Even with 2 errors and 3 ‘wtf’ shots, Frankie was doing a Jaworski and still kept his son, ‘Dodot” Lim in the game.  It was frustrating but you are forced to ask yourself, “Why isn’t my dad that loving?!?!”  But alas, the young Lim scored when he was free and also made good passes.  Have I misjudged this mag-ama?  Let me end this discussion with this thought… you get to play because of talent, not because your last name is the same as your coach’s

To emphasize on how lopsided this game was, Lim also made Sorela play and it was the first time that both Semerad brothers played together.  As the game showed, Anthony Semerad is the better of the two. But you can’t deny the fact that the twins gives height and defense. A benefit Frankie can pull from the bench at any given time.  I like these rookies: Semerad twins, K. Pascual, and Mendoza, they play with passion, with the limited minutes, every second, they play with their hearts on their shorts.  Bedans should use the “Puso” chant more often, because these bedans play with HEART!

Sudan Daniel was hailed best player, ending the game with 15pts, 10 rebounds, and 11 blocks. He was a monster at the paint and with 3 alternating Point Guards (Carma, Villarhermosa, Hermida) all did their best in giving Superman an alleyoop.

I noticed that Lanete’s first option is to pass, it’s great seeing unselfish plays but it would be better if he can grow to become the king lion. Again, we need one, and Lanete is the right choice.  Because the team is young, a veteran go-to-guy would be needed to win. In August 15, the Lions will face their strongest opponent in the San Sebastian Stags.  Lanete and other Bedans have to bring their A game. Anything less, would be a sure Loss.

Preaching to the Choir

My first post to witness my adventure, more on that later, but now I just want to talk about this guy preaching.

Don’t get me wrong, ok lang naman to preach. But he’s doing it in bisaya.  Just because we’re all taking a plane to bacolod, it doesn’t mean everyone knows how to speak bisaya. I’m on my ipod and it does look a bit rude, but sheesh, I don’t understand you. I would love to listen to your sermon, honestly I would, but hell, why are you doing it in bisaya?

The woman next to me just said, “amen” , just realized a couple of brethren our actually listening, so I guess, im the only bisaya-non-speaker-passenger. Haha!

Alright, guess I just have to fake this, ‘till my next post everyone!