Thursday, September 29, 2005

September has ended...

This is just one of these days when I feel like I can very much relate to a song... Today is my last day in my current work. I never realized I would feel this sad and lonely...

Wake Me Up When September Ends Lyrics
Green Day

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

like my fathers come to pass
seven years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are
as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september ends

summer has come and passed
the innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

ring out the bells again
like we did when spring began
wake me up when september ends

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are
as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september ends

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

like my father's come to pass
twenty years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends
wake me up when september ends
wake me up when september ends

Special thanks to my dear officemates who made my work experience a fun-filled one. You truly have a big space in my hypertensive-ridden heart. hehehe.

Monday will be a totally different ballgame. I hope everything will be fine...

Monday, September 26, 2005

Better Luck Next Time...

LA Tenorio's last game with the Blue Eagles was phenomenal. However, his efforts were still insufficient to defeat the De La Salle University's Fantastic play in their Final Four match Last Sunday. He was on a high up to the end of the First half and garnered an early 15 points to top all players as of halftime. Ateneo held their last lead by then. What happened in the next quarter, to me, is still unfathomable. Unexplainable. Not to mention, disheartening. Ateneo, turned the ball over more than 9 times, giving La Salle around 16 turnover points. This game them a double digit lead by the end of the Third Quarter. And the rest was history. Ateneo lost to De La Salle, 57-74, for the third time this season 68. Last year was also an Ateneo-La Salle final four year where Ateneo lost their chance for a finals berth.

LA Tenorio gave his all last Sunday. He is worthy of praise for giving the Ateneo high spirits that day. However, basketball is a team sport. Without the efforts of other team members, they wouldn't really muster the win they deserve. From the way I saw the game, he was all alone in there.


Photo by Ditoy Aguila of uaapgames.com



I can't seem to fathom what the heck is wrong with the Ateneo players everytime they play LA Salle. I can't seem to explain why the Eagles were able to defeat the top team, the Far Eastern University Tamaraws who swept the Archers in the elimination round, but always fall short of expectation when playing with their long-time arch-rivals.

Blame it on pressure, I guess. It is really difficult to play in a crowd of 14,000, where mixed emotions unravel every minute. I think what the Ateneo Blue Eagles lack is the mental toughness to withstand these on-and-off-court pressure. It takes maturity, patience and temperance. And most of all, focus. I personally think that the Eagles are a team of highly-talented individuals. What they need is not a practice of agility, endurance and strength, but a practice of endurance of heart and spirit. In that game against La Salle, the Eagles did not win against La Salle. They lost against themselves.

Too bad LA Tenorio did not finish his UAAP career with a championship ring. But he's got a lot of talent and heart to make it to the bigger leagues. Probably by this time, a lot of PBA teams are already wooing him to join their clubs.

I would also like to give credit to the graduating Eagles this season for their respective contributions to season 68, for making the Blue Eagles one of the toughest teams this year. On the general perspective, the Ateneo Blue Eagles fell way above expectation. They were initially expected to be out of the final four after losing two games early in the first half of the elimination round. However, they managed to win seven-straight games as the league went on.

Coach Norman Black was terrific. Enough said.

Personally, I was frustrated and saddened by the Ateneo's eleimination from the final four. But I know that there will always be a next time... Until then, Halikinu!!!

Season 69, here we come!!!

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Random thoughts of the day...

If there’s one thing Filipinos can be proud of, it’s Manny “The Pacman” Pacquiao. Just last week, Manny won over Mexican Hector Velasquez in six rounds of a title bout held in Staples Center, Los Angeles. Not only did Filipinos rejoice over this victory, but it also brought new hope for our Filipinos. The greater news is that all three Filipinos who fought that night won their respective matches. Brian Viloria won his championship in the first round over another Mexican, while Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista knocked his opponent down in the third round. On this Sunday morning, Filipinos were again filled with pride and jubilation.

This may be a week late already, but it was brought back to my senses because this morning, I witnessed a heated argument about Manny Pacquiao’s success on the way to office. During our trip, one shuttlemate started the conversation regarding Manny’s wife, whom they thought improved aesthetically since Manny became a superstar. Then, one mentioned how lucky Manny Pacquiao is now that he has fame and fortune. However, our driver reminded the group that every Filipino boxer in history went broke after retiring from boxing because of their lavish lifestyles and over-confident behaviors. Thus, he sees that considering his gambling habits, it only takes a matter of time before he suffers the same fate. Then, one shuttlemate (probably a Manny Pacquiao fan) lambasted the driver for his “crab mentality” over Manny’s success. She even added “Kaya tayo hindi umaasenso eh dahil sa mga kagaya niyo eh. Bakit hindi niyo na lang sabihing magaling yun tao.” After this, the shuttle bus went silent…

In this morning trip, I learned two things. First, our driver was right. If success gets into our heads, we’re dead meat. Just like the rest of the former Filipino champs. Manny Pacquiao, having had this gift, has so much more responsibility in his hands. He not only needs to take care of his finances so that his family would not suffer in the future, but he also needs to take care of his image to the public because right now, he is considered Filipino’s only spark of hope. To some, He is their source of strength because he is the living example that a Filipino could surpass poverty just as long as he strives for the best. Just like what the ring commentators said, he is the real rags-to-riches story. And to some, he is the modern-day hero who makes us proud of being Filipinos.

Second, the shuttlemate who criticized our driver was also, in a way, right. People nowadays are so skeptic of the successes of other people. Instead of being proud of their fellow countrymen, some people criticized them destructively, find faults, or sometimes even look for flaws instead of their successes. This might be one of the many reasons why our country is still in holocaust after all these years. It is sad to mention this fact, but it is so true. I just hope we just be happy that there are still people who succeed amidst crises in our country so that we be inspired and also strive to make it to the top.

Just some thoughts that I think are worth sharing.

Congrats to Manny Pacquiao…

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Battle for Third...

This will only take a few words...

La Salle won over Ue in the rematch last Sunday. Because of this, La Salle became twice to beat... Now UE and Ateneo will have a playoff on Thursday to determine who will be the third place. I don't really see the purpose of this playoff... The only value-added in this match is that the winner will not get to play against FEU. Some value-added indeed.

I wish the Blue Eagles the best of luck. If not for the upset against the UST Tigers, they could have been in the position where La Salles is right now.

Halikinu!!!

By the way, UST won its fourth-straight UAAP-Nestle Non-Stop Cheerdance competition awars last Saturday. Well, based on my own judgment of the event, they really deserve that victory. UP, better luck next time... Again... At least we're consistent second...

Monday, September 12, 2005

Friday, September 02, 2005

UP's Moment of Truth

UP will battle the Defending Champions tomorrow, at 4pm. All you UP alumni and fans out there, cheer for our beloved school!

This is a make-or-break situation for the Fighting Maroons, now that they are on a 6-6 win-loss card, while the Green Archers are at 7-4 after an overtime win over the UE Red Warriors last Thursday. If the Maroons win this game, it will give them a better chance of grabbing the last spot of the Final Four. Their scorecard will improve to 7-6, and La Salle will be 7-5. La Salle will be one loss away from losing its final four bid. However, if the Archers win this game, it will automatically eliminate UP from the final four race.

UP hasn't been in the Final Four since 1997. They haven't had another taste fo the championship since the Ronnie Magsanoc-Benjie Paras days. With the firepower of Marvin Cruz and rookie Axel Doruelo, the domination of Nestor David and Abby Santos, there is a very big chance that UP could make it this year.

UP started out great this season 68. They went 3-0 until they succumbed a lost to UE (I couldn't really recall). However, due to major lapses in the offnse and defense, and the some injuries of their key players, UP went haywire in the early stages of the second round. Hopefully they will bounce back after their big win against the Adamson Falcons.

I hope they play great on Saturday... this is a do-or-die situation... They have no other options.

Push on, UP...

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Ding, Ang Bato!!!

For a guy, I don't see the rationality of avidly watching the primetime tele-fantasya "Darna." Maybe it's because of this disarming young lady whom I think brought Darna back to life. What's cool is that though she wears this skimpy metallic red bathing suit every primetime night, where children are watching, it still doesn't look obscene. This big break just made Angel Locsin the most sought-after Teen Star. And the sexiest woman-hero of the Philippines. Hehehehe...
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Though I find Angel Locsin ultra-charming and best fit for the Darna role today, I still am a Vilmanian by heart and thus believe that Mayor Vi still is the ultimate Darna...

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Trivia, trivia...

did you know: Sharon Cuneta also played Darna in the early 80's! She was cameo to the Herbert Bautista/ Edu Manzano hit "Captain Barbel." To all Sharonians out there, don't worry coz Ate Shawie is not left behind. I still don't know if Ate Guy would be Darna in the future... hehehe...