Blog Outsourcing - April 2, 2012 edition

Greetings and Welcome to Holy Monday.

Yesterday, was Palm Sunday, and thus marks the beginning of Holy Week. For most Christian nations, it is an opportunity to think and reflect on things. In the Motherland, usually, people retreat to the provinces and take advantage and schedule vacations. Especially on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, where the country virtually shuts down on its own.

Just one game left in men's college basketball's main course, the NCAA Tournament. It has a palindromic feel, as it is UK vs KU. Yours truly finished an embarrassing last place. Shame on me. But look who is currently on top. 5 players finished with over 1000 points. There is currently a tie as of the moment with Mikey and Billybawl at the lead, but the former has the Wildcats and the latter has the Jayhawks. In fact, he is the only one of the pool who has Bill Self's team winning the tournament.

Here forth are the links after the jump:

Deconstructing Coach Chot's PBA selections

SMART-Gilas 2 head coach Chot Reyes announced his 16-man PBA Pool for the Gilas 2 earlier this week. These are the following individuals:

From Talk N' Text: Jimmy Alapag, Jayson Castro, Ryan Reyes, Larry Fonacier, Ranidel De Ocampo and Kelly Williams
From Alaska: LA Tenorio and Sonny Thoss,
From Petron: Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos
From B-Meg: James Yap and Marc Pingris
From Powerade: Gary David and Marcio Lassiter
From Rain or Shine: Gabe Norwood
From Barangay Ginebra: Enrico Villanueva

He has yet to announce the other half of the pool consisting of the players who are not yet in the PBA, led by Chris Tiu from the Gilas roster. Current Air 21 import and naturalized Filipino Marcus Douthit is also in, even with the planned naturalization of Denver Nugget and recent Manila visitor JaVale McGee already in the works.

I am not surprised with the six players from TNT, because those guys are the ones he's most familiar with, being their coach. Plus, they won the 3 of the last four conferences, and you cannot argue with that success. I am relatively surprised with JVee's non-inclusion, as well as Enrico's inclusion. Then again, a naturalized player will man the slot for at least 30 minutes, so that will be the least of our concerns.

What can we expect: a lot of small ball, transition, open court offense, something that has been en vogue as of late (look at Team USA under Coach K). We have designated gunners with Yap and David alternating in the role. There is an emphasis as well with defense, led by Marcio, who did such a great job for SMART-Gilas last time out, and Larry for TNT. You'll need someone who knows Chot's offense, so the entire TNT PG corps will do that for him. Sonny is an upgrade over Asi for the back-up big who can play alongside naturalized slot man. Think our backcourt's small? Ryan and Gabe can handle it. Even Larry can do it in a pinch. Marc is like Udonis Haslem. Arwind is like Josh Smith, even with his bad habit of shooting threes poorly.

It is important to stress this info out: Chot did express that the pool will remain fluid, so guys can play their way in or out of the pool.

Blog Outsourcing - March 26, 2012

It's another Manic Monday.

So, the Final Four is set. Congratulations to Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas and Ohio State. The establishment once again reigns in the NCAA, as a SEC, B1G, Big East and a Big 12 team asserted their claim. Kentucky is filled with boatloads of talent, which Cal will reload, and reload he will until the NBA pries him away. Standing in his way is a familiar nemesis in Rick Pitino and his Cardinals, the champions of the Big East. Then we have Bill Self against Thad Matta on the other bracket. Maybe we will see the drama we're normally accustomed to here. Who knows.

The women are in their Elite 8 (Baylor-Tenn vs Stanford-Duke, Notre Dame-Maryland vs UConn vs Kentucky) The NIT is also in their Final Four, too. But most of you don't care about that. What more the CBI and the CIT...  

Here forth are the links to make your morning catch-up worthwhile.

Mick Pennisi is Floptastic

March 21 is definitely a special day for one Mick Pennisi. Mick, a long time veteran of the Philippine Basketball Association, had earlier nailed his 700th three pointer against the Petron Blaze Boosters. He is the 8th Filipino to make that many conversions from that distance. But all we will remember from that day was this instance.

The Chelsea FC Soccer School in Manila

Four-time Barclays English Premier League side champions Chelsea FC has entered into a partnership with The Younghusband Football Academy (TYFA) that would lead towards the creation of a soccer school in the Philippines.

To be spearheaded by Phil and James Younghusband, The Chelsea FC Soccer School will be ofiicially launched on May 15, 2012 at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. It will be the English club's initial foray in the Philippines. Prior to that, a Chelsea FC Soccer School Summer Camp will be organized this April and May at the Evia Football Field in Las Piñas, with the culminating activity to be concurrent with the official launch of the school on the 15th. The camp is to be subdivided into the Under-8, Under-10, Under-12 and Under-16 age groups for boys and girls.

It was natural to have Chelsea and TYFA to enter into a partnership, as Phil and James have roots with the team from Stamford Bridge. The siblings came from and played for the Chelsea Academy, under the tutelage of Gianluca Vialli and current Real Madrid CF manager Jose Mourinho. From this experience, in January 2010, Phil and James established TYFA as a series of enhancement clinics for football skills to help with the grassroots development of the sport in and around the Philippines while at the same time playing for the national team. In fact, the brothers are holders of UEFA Coaching Credentials (Phil has a Level 2 badge, while James has a Level 1 badge).

For any questions and inquiries, you may contact 09478357519 or go to the website.

Pray For Fabrice

c/o Daily Mail

It is unnerving to hear about stuff like this, especially if the person involved plays for the team you root for.

The former English Under-21 international collapsed during their FA Cup Quarterfinal match against Tottenham at White Hart Lane. He was rushed to The Heart Attack Centre where he faces a key 24-hour stretch.

Hope you pull this through, Fabrice. COYW!

Of Cinderella, Football and March Madness

*Note: This post was written BEFORE the 2-0 defeat against Turkmenistan

Photo from PDI writer Cedelf Tupas' Twitter acct

It is March, said to be the most fascinating time of the year in sports. Frenetic and palpitating. Filled with  moments of magic.

In the realm of American college basketball, there is a realm called "March Madness." It is the mad dash towards the collegiate postseason, and the postseason itself, where 68 teams fight their way to be known as the best team that year. Where it is literally a life-or-death scenario, where a defeat will eliminate you and send you to obscurity and probable disappointment. People love that and it shows, especially now in the era of social media and its immediacy. This is where the concept of Cinderella in sport is best known, as some little-known school gets on a roll, beats a heavy favorite, goes on a run, gets wide appeal.

Arnold Clavio responds

Just now, GMA News released a statement from one of its key members of its news corps, Arnold Clavio.

Mga igan, nakakalungkot na may negatibong reaksyon ang naging pahayag ko tungkol sa Philippine Azkals kaugnay ng sexual harassment complaint ni Ms. Cristy Ramos. Wala po akong ganoong intensyon. Ang isyu po rito ay sexual harassment at kung may nagamit man po akong mga salita na hindi angkop, nagpapakumbaba po ako at humihingi ng pang-unawa. Dun naman po sa mga kasama kong nanindigan laban sa sexual harassment, maraming salamat po. Seryoso pong isyu ito na dapat bantayan.

Translation (my version): It saddens me that there has been a negative reaction based on my comments about the Philippine Azkals regarding the sexual harassment complaint of Ms. Cristy Ramos. I did not intend it to go that way. The issue is about the sexual harassment case, and if I may have used any inappropriate language, I humbly ask for your understanding. To those who support the fight against sexual harassment, thank you. This is a subject matter that needs to be focused on.

To fully understand the context of what he said, here is the actual video:



You may choose to frame it to what you want it to be frame, for as long as you heard both ends of the story.

Blog Outsourcing - March 12, 2012 edition

Another Monday greets us all today.

Congratulations to the 68 teams who made it to the Big Dance. First to the 31 Conference Tournament Winners, since they earned the automatic bid. Then to the other 37 institutions whom the NCAA Selection Committee has deemed to be deserving of the spot.

I am pretty sure we will have a myriad of posts upcoming to deconstruct the bracket, and other what nots, but there are other things to look at, as there is the NIT and the CBI and the CIT, too.

Good luck and may the bracket gods be nice to you.

Here are the links to make your day after the jump

Powerade and Neil Etheridge

 
Neil Etheridge arrived in the country mainly to prepare for the FIFA international friendly against Malaysia last February 29. In addition to that, he also managed to make his first formal appearance as an endorser for sports drink brand Powerade at the Makati Shangri-La last February 27. Neil is the final piece of its dream team of Ambassadors, as the Fulham GK joins collegiate basketball standout David Semerad, running extraordinaire Rio dela Cruz and fitness maven Chinggay Andrada as the foursome for Powerade.

A-Me55i-ng

 
Lionel Messi is the reigning, defending Ballon D'or winner. That means you are the best footballing god in the planet. If you are not convinced, let this Champions League clip against Bayer Leverkusen show you.



h/t to the guy who posted this on Vimeo.

First guy to score five goals in a Champions League match. First guy to score at least 4 goals in a CL match twice (he scored 4x against Arsenal 2 years ago).

He's plain and simply bad-ass.

Seaoil High School All-Star Game this weekend

It is interesting that there really has not been a true showcase of the best high school players in the country. All we know of them are their exploits if you have seen them live in person in the different leagues. Now, the people behind the National Basketball Training Center will help you get to know the players in a first of its kind Philippine spectacle, the Seaoil High School All-Star Game, which will take place on Sunday, 11am at the Ynares Gym in Pasig.

Hundreds of graduating High School basketball standouts tried out, but only 30 were selected to participate. Six of those come from the provinces as recommended by the locals in their respective areas.The 30 names were then ranked by a group of basketball experts, which included Ato Badolato and current Youth Team coach Olsen Racela, and split evenly into two-15 man teams, which will be coached by the staff from either National University or San Beda College.

The event is intended to be about the kids and for the kids, as remarked by NBTC Technical Director Alex Compton. This is different from the Nike Elite Camps that had been shown previously as the Elite is more of instructional and that was composed of different age groups, unlike this particular event, which is tailored for incoming collegiate freshmen.

In addition, Rajko Toroman, who helmed SMART-Gilas previously and now serves as consultant with the SMC franchises, will also have a session with the 30 players.

It is expected that coaches and scouts from the different colleges and universities will be attending this event to check out the players, some of which have already declared where they will be attending college. There are still others who remain undecided as to where they will be pursuing further studies and take their athletic talents to.

Here are the players who will be participating in the 1st Seaoil High School All-Star Game


Light.                                                                  Dark
FRANCIS ABARCAR                             THOMAS TORRES
JOHN BOO                                              PAUL NIELES
KIM CINCO                                            JERON TENG
JJ ALEJANDRO                                       JASON LIGAD
DARYL NAZARENO                               KYLE SUAREZ
IAN CARLO VALDEZ                             GABRIEL REYES
MCJOUR LUIB                                        RALPH NAPA
ARIEL BASAS JR.                                   VAN ADAM ABATAYO
KEVIN BAYTAN                                     RICHIE VILLARUZ
BRIAN ILARDE                                       GIDEON BABILONIA
RALPH TANSINGCO                             ANTONIO BONSUBRE
TOMAS RAMOS                                     EDRIC ESTACIO
JULIUS CADAVIS.                                  JANMER GABITO
PAOLO JABINES                                    PAUL RAZEL RUBIN
RANDOLPH TORIÑO                            DAVE WILSON YU

Here is the picture of some of the players participating in the game, which was taken during their press conference held at the National Sports Grill yesterday. Joining them are current NU head coach Eric Altamirano, Alex Compton and SBP Executive Director Sonny Barrios.

Blog Outsourcing - February 27, 2012 edition

Hello. Good Morning.

It feels odd that I actually managed to watch only a little of the All-Star Weekend. I missed out on the festivities... Am I disappointed? Maybe. Or maybe not.

You see, it has been a weekend habit of mine as of late to cover football here, doing tweetcasts on behalf of Soccer Central Philippines for the United Football League. That means, for the past few weeks has been no rest for the weary, so the upcoming break will be a great reprieve.

I actually missed the Saturday activities (which is on Sunday) due to previous commitments. Ditto for the game itself, which oddly enough, took place on Oscar night.

Here forth are the links after the jump.

Pilipinas, A Call To Arms

In a week, our friends from across the South China Sea will be visiting the hallowed ground of Rizal Memorial.... Let's put a twist to our well-known Filipino hospitality, shall we...





Join us. Sama kayo sa amin. 

Blog Outsourcing - February 20, 2012 edition

Hello Everyone!

You're probably wondering where the heck has been the basketball stuff I have been doing. Well, I have been a little busy with the other sport of devotion as of late, and I have been remiss on the duty, so here. I will break down the All-Star Friday and Saturday for you. The All-Star Game itself will have something on its own at a later time.

BBVA Rising Stars Challenge - Novel idea to have "captains" (in this case being Shaq and Sir Charles) make their selections, which were based from players voted in by the NBA assistant coaches, and of course, an assist from "Commissioner" Kenny Smith (for Lin and Cole).

Team Shaq has Blake Griffin, Jeremy Lin, Ricky Rubio, Markieff Morris, Kemba Walker, Landry Fields, Norris Cole, Brandon Knight, Tristan Thompson and Greg Monroe. They will have Ron Adams of Chicago as their head coach, with TNT's Steve Kerr as an assistant.

Team Chuck has Kyrie Irving, DeMarcus Cousins, Derrick Williams, Paul George, Marshon Brooks, John Wall, Tiago Splitter, Evan Turner, Gordon Hayward and Kawhi Leonard. They will have Maurice Cheeks of Oklahoma City as their head coach, with TNT's Mike Fratello as an assistant.

With this, it may replace the Dunk Contest as the biggest highlight of the weekend other than the All-Star Game.

Sprint Celebrity Challenge - Dwight and KD will be the head coaches, but the interesting idea of Jersey Shore's Vinny lobbying to make this roster paid off.

Haier Shooting Stars - Team Atlanta aims to defend their title with Joe Johnson and Lindsey Harding as the new wingmen to holdover Steve Smith. Team Texas also has a holdover in Kenny Smith, but will be joined by Sophia Young and Gator alumnus Chandler Parsons. Team New York will have Landry Fields, Cappie Pondexter and Allan Houston; while Team Orlando will have Jameer Nelson, Marie-Ferdinand Harris (who is a Florida native) and Dennis Scott to try to win it for the home fans.

Taco Bell Skills Challenge - No official list yet, but if healthy, Stephen Curry should be defending the title against a gaggle of fellow youngsters with the depth at the position available. Ricky Rubio should be in this competition, as well as Kyrie Irving. If the NBA wants to squeeze as much out of Jeremy Lin, he would be in this competition, too.

Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout - James Jones returns to defend his title against five other noted shooters in Kevin Love, Ryan Anderson, Joe Johnson, his own teammate in Mario Chalmers, and Anthony Morrow. The Net is already currying favors in paying homage to late great Drazen Petrovic in this competition.

Sprite Slam Dunk Contest - No Blake Griffin repeat, but hopefully Chase Budinger, Iman Shumpert, Paul George and Derrick Williams has the opportunity to entertain the fan base with three dunks. No judges on court, as it will be done via texts and tweets, opening it to the power of the people. It is of course assumed that Iman will figure a way to incorporate Jeremy Lin into the equation.

Here forth are the links after the jump to welcome the morning for you.

Blog Outsourcing - February 13, 2012

 

Good Morning! Welcome to the new week ahead.

I was watching a portion of the Grammys earlier. Of course they did some minor tweaks in the aftermath of Whitney Houston passing. Just some minor thoughts.

I would have wanted to see Etta James and Don Cornelius on the In Memoriam vignette. Both were not on it. Nate Dogg was simplified into a group instead of individual like what they did to Amy Winehouse or Whitney. Sure thing they put a tribute for Etta in already with Raitt and Keys. But that is different. I will definitely be in the minority with regards to Chris Brown. Ok, so he beats up women, fine. He still has talent for music. Speaking of which...



CBreezy was doing his thing alongside David Guetta and Lil' Wayne, then the Foo Fighters did theirs, followed by this!



Adele was the worthy winner. Going 6/6 on your 2nd album in the Grammys is sweet. Another worthy winner? Jennifer Hudson. Tasked to sing the song originally sung by Dolly Parton, she killed it onstage. The simplistic preparation of the segment also was great. Fitting, too. Contrast that to what Nicki Minaj did. That seemed more appropriate for the MTV VMAs.

Oh, and Paul McCartney was awesome. So were his friends.

The complete winners can be found here.

Here forth are the links to make your morning after the jump.

The Commissioner's Cup beckons

Starting later tonight, professional basketball in the Philippines resumes with the start of the Commissioner's Cup. With the backdrop of the fascinating All-Filipino Cup between the underdog Powerade Tigers and the newly minted champions Talk N' Text Tropang Texters, Philippine basketball re-emerges into the spotlight and attention of the Filipino sports fan.

The success of the "Kampihan Na!" campaign fostered by the partnership of the PBA and AkTV has already netted some dividends, as the league earned P39 million in gate receipts, exceeding the P36 million target. With regards to television, 1.2 million viewers watched the Game 7 telecast of the semifinals between bitter rivals Petron Blaze Boosters and TNT.

The previous conference thrust new players into the spotlight, namely SMART Gilas I alumni JVee Casio, Chris Lutz, Dylan Ababou, Marcio Lassiter and the establishment of Gary David as a bonafide star in the league. Who can forget his virtuoso postseason for the 8th seeded Tigers. He deserved to win the Best Player of the Conference trophy.

The new conference will have one major tweak, and that is the inclusion of an import with unlimited height. As it was discussed during the press conference last Wednesday, having the right import could be all the difference between making it to the next stage or missing it.

The pressure now lies with these guys:

Air 21 Express (formerly known as Shopinas) - Marcus Douthit
Alaska Aces - Adam Parada
B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados - Denzel Bowles
Barako Bull Energy - DerMarr Johnson
Barangay Ginebra Kings - Chris Alexander
Meralco Bolts - Jarrid Famous
Petron Blaze Boosters - Nick Fazekas
Powerade Tigers - Dwayne Jones
Rain or Shine Elastopainters - Willard Crews
Talk N' Text Tropang Texters - Omar Samhan

Kick-off will be tonight, 515pm with Barako Bull versus Alaska and the 730pm game would be B-Meg versus Meralco.

Austin Rivers Issues Fatality

We all know about how good Austin Rivers really is. Highly touted recruit. Goes to Duke. Struggled early on, but we know the talent is there. And he put that on full blast against their fierce rivals North Carolina.

39 minutes. 29 points (most for a freshman at the Dean Dome). 5 rebounds. 2 assists. 1 steal. 9/16 shooting from the field. Went 6/10 from beyond the arc, with his final attempt being something like this:



At least for one night, we know Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers more as Austin's dad, instead of Austin being Doc's kid.

Middle East Training for the Azkals Underway

The 2012 AFC Challenge Cup is a month away, and in line with the preparation for that particular competition, the Philippine Football Federation has arranged for a training camp / tour for the senior national team in the Middle East. It is hoped that the location will facilitate chemistry between those based in the Philippines with their overseas-based counterparts, with the competition getting closer and closer. It is an opportunity as well to provide goodwill for the large Filipino community based in the Gulf region.

Based in Dubai and Doha, the training will span from the 7th to the 17th and will include three friendlies, two against international sides and one against a top quality Qatari side. The first friendly will be against the Uzbekistan Olympic Team at the Al-Maktoum Stadium in Dubai on February 11 (8pm local time, 12mn in Manila). The Uzbek side shares the group lead with the United Arab Emirates in their quest to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics with two group matches remaining. They will then proceed to Doha for their match against Qatari side Al-Ahly on February 13 (730pm local time, 1230am on February 14 in Manila) before returning to Dubai to face the Australian Olympic Team at the Al-Maktoum Stadium on February 16 (8pm local time, 12mn in Manila). The Olyroos are actually in the same group with Uzbekistan in Olympic Qualifying, but they are a distant third and their chances to advance are slim with two matches remaining and they have a five-point deficit against the leaders.


ABS-CBN Sports as part of their commitment with the PFF, will be broadcasting the matches of the senior national team. They have confirmed that there will be a live broadcast of the international friendlies on the 11th and 16th, whilst the Al-Ahly friendly is still being worked on. The Dubai friendlies will have a pregame that will start at 1130pm and will be shown on Studio 23, with the replays to take place the following morning at 11am.


Here are the players who are to participate in the Middle East camp:

Philippine Air Force Phoenix FC: Ian Araneta (FW), Emelio Caligdong (MF)  
Philippine Army Fritz & Macziol: Roel Gener (D / MF), Eduard Sacapano (GK), Nestorio Margarse (MF)  
Global FC: Rob Gier (D), Carlie de Murga (D), Angel Guirado (MF / FW), Juan Luis Guirado (D), Misagh Bahadoran (MF), Paolo Pascual (GK)  
Kaya FC: Joshua Beloya (FW), Lexton Moy (MF), Jason Sabio (D)  
Loyola Meralco Sparks FC: Phil Younghusband (FW), James Younghuband (MF)  
Stallion FC: Ruben Doctora (MF / FW)  
Laos FC: Marwin Angeles (MF)  
Grindavik: Ray Jonsson (D)  (arriving on the 12th)

1. FC Magdeburg: Denis Wolf (MF / FW)  
FC Dordecht '90: Jason de Jong (MF) (arriving on the 8th)  
MSV Duisburg: Roland Müller (GK) (arriving on the 10th)  
Fulham: Neil Etheridge (GK)  (arriving on the 14th)

Blog Outsourcing - Feb 6 edition

It's the day after the Super Bowl.

That was some ball game last night. The Book of Eli comes through once again. Another fourth quarter comeback. The vaunted offense of New England scuttled to only 17 points. They did not make mistakes. They forced the Patriots to make theirs, which was just enough for them to win a Super Bowl in the fourth straight decade. Maybe this time Eli gets his due. Maybe this time Tom Coughlin gets to coach for as long as he wants without people asking him to be fired.

It's amazing that a Manning gets to lift the Lombardi at Indianapolis.

And M.I.A. did not give us the finger.

Here forth are the links to things you may have missed in the afterglow of the Super Bowl