UAAP Season 71 Champions!

Photo courtesy of http://www.philstar.com/.

Finally! After 6 long years of drought, the Ateneo Blue Eagles recaptures the UAAP Men's Basketball Championship, sweeping the highly-competitive De La Salle Green Archers in Season 71's finals. This time, it was Chris Tiu who carried the team to victory with 16 points, the team's best. Due to foul troubles, Season MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini was constrained in the bench. This lead to surprise performances from backup big men Jobe Nkemakolam and Mike Baldos, who got 8 points each. Jai Reyes provided the game turning point with a slashing layup a little more than 3 minutes to go in the game! Rookie Ryan Buenafe showed that the Ateneo dynasty is on the way, exuding poise and excellence in the series.

This year's championship series proved that in basketball, there is really truth in the saying "the best offense is defense." This was shown by the 2008 Best Defensive Player Severino "Nonoy" Baclao, as he took away the Finals MVP. He gathered a whopping 5.5 blocks, alongside 6.5 points and 8.5 rebounds! His defensive performance this season will be unforgettable, especially with his crucial rejection of Rico Maierhoffer's shot! And the best part is that he showed sportsmanship by publicly apologizing to Rico for his taunting. Truly a man of Ateneo character.

I gotta give it to the De La Salle Green Archers. They showed they had the heart of champions and despite apparently having less talent and height this year, they gave the Blue Eagles a good competition. They defended their championship well.

It is just sad to see unsportsmanlike gestures from the other team. After the game, nobody from La Salle went to the stage to get the first runner-up trophy and medals. Coach Franz Pumaren uttered sharp words to the bad officiating. Well, probably it's just one of those very Filipino traits of "walang natatalo, meron lang nadadaya."

I was not at all happy for Rico's ouster. That way, La Sallians would have another alibi for their loss. :)

For now, Ateneans would have to enjoy its one year of bragging rights. :) Better luck next year, La Salle.

Go Ateneo! One Big Fight!

Michael Moore's Slackers Uprising

Michael Moore, documentary director and producer famous for his blockbuster documentary "Fahrenheit," has once again released a movie about the upcoming elections, entitled "Slackers Uprising." From the articles and

I wish someone as patriotic as Michael Moore would wake up slackers from the Philippines and encourage (if not bribe) them to vote in the upcoming 2010 elections...

Article below came from http://www.reuters.com/:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Filmmaker Michael Moore released his latest documentary for free on the Internet on Tuesday, marking a first for the maverick director who aims to encourage young people to vote -- preferably for Democrats -- in November's U.S. presidential election.
"Slacker Uprising," a feature-length film documenting Moore's tour of swing states during the 2004 presidential election year, was made available for a free download instead of being released in movie theaters.
The maker of the award-winning anti-Iraq war blockbuster "Fahrenheit 9/11," said in a statement the gesture was "entirely as a gift to my fans."
"The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters at the polls in November," Moore said.
Moore has long been known as a firebrand filmmaker. He took on large corporations in 1989's "Roger & Me" and the U.S. gun industry in 2002's "Bowling for Columbine," which earned him an Oscar. "Slacker Uprising," made for about $2 million, comes on the heels of Moore's blistering expose of the U.S. health care system, "SiCKO," in 2007.
Although "Slacker Uprising" chronicles the director's efforts to get young people on either side of the political spectrum to vote, he said the documentary was also a "tribute to the young voters who are going to save this country from four more years of Republican rule."
Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are in a neck-and-neck race for the White House in the November 4 election, according to opinion polls.
Moore encouraged fans to download, e-mail or share the movie with everyone and anyone, or to show it in schools, colleges, church halls and community centers, adding, "I don't want to see a dime from this."
He said several websites, including iTunes and Amazon.com, were providing streaming or downloading services for free.

One step closer...

With the help of MVP-to-be Rabeh Al-Hussaini's dazzling display of basketball elegance, the Ateneo Blue Eagles are one step closer to getting the highly coveted UAAP Senior Men's Basketball Championship!

Unfortunately, I was not able to watch it live in the Araneta Coliseum. I was too lazy to fall in line for hours in Araneta or the Blue Eagle Gym, and was I not stupid to buy those thousand-dollar tickets originally priced at 70 pesos! So I just decided to watch the game at home, with a few bags of chips and bottles of cold beer.

With Chris Tiu glued to the bench due to foul trouble, somebody needed to step up his game. Fortunately, Jai Reyes and Rookie Phenom Ryan Buenafe were in perfect playing form. Both scored doubles figures early in the game. This is alongside Rabeh's 31 points, which gave Ateneo a 69-61 win over the defending champions, The De la Salle Green Archers.

We need one more win to regain the campionship after 6 years. We're a step ahead, but the challenge is even greater. If I recall correctly, in 2006, Ateneo was a game ahead of the UST Growling Tigers series after Doug Kramer's miracle shot 1.6 seconds to go in the game. UST later on took the title after winning two straight. I just hope that this will not happen again.

I suggest that we end this on Thursday! Go Ateneo!

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Just a look-alike trivia. James Mangahas sort of looks like the acclaimed comedian/professor Ramon Bautista. :)

Top Ten 90's Dance Hits

Thanks to Ichi’s task for me to make a 90’s dance hits playlist, I got to reminisce a few dance steps and lines from choruses. Having experienced my teenage years in this decade, I have my personal list of 90’s dance favorites. Let me do a Mike Kasem and give you a rundown of my top ten 90’s dance hits (In no particular order):

1. Backstreet Boys - Quit Playing Games. We all know that the Backstreet Boys spurred an era of boybands, causing an influx of male groups that followed their league in the 90’s: Boyzone, Code Red, 911, 98 Degrees, ‘N Sync, just to name a few. I agree that groups like Color Me Badd and New kids on the Block started the pop boyband era, but the BSB made the deeper dent. If you’re a teen in the 90’s and you haven’t ever imitated the dance steps of this boyband, then you’ve missed a lot in your childhood!

2. Jon Secada – Just Another Day. I remember playing his cassette tape and suddenly my mother entered my room and asked why I was listening to music I don’t even understand! At that time the Spanish version of this song was playing. Jon Secada was another hitmaker of the 90’s! Even before Ricky Martin decided to go livin’ la vida loca, Jon Secada is already a mainstream Pop icon, famous for this song. Recently, I watched him sing the Mexican national anthem during the Pacquiao – Barrera rematch and saw in his physique how times have definitely changed!

3. Erasure – Always. This song made the Universal Motion Dancers the hottest dance group in the Philippines in the 90’s. Who would forget the butterfly dance step?!

4. Chimo Bayo – Extasi, Extano. Another UMD dance hit. You wouldn’t understand the lyrics but it would definitely make you sway your arms up, sway it down, say it side to side, etc. Okay, repeat until chorus ends…

5. Vanilla Ice – Ice Ice Baby. The 90’s era made famous a number of rap artists. Even before Eminem hanged out with Dr. Dre, there was this white rapper with his famous flat top hair. Who could forget the Running Man?! All right stop, collaborate and listen!!!

6. Michael Jackson – Black or White. I’m not sure if this song was dedicated to his evolution from black to white, but the song made a big mark in the 90’s dance arena. And who would forget Macaulay Culkin’s cameo in its music video?

7. MC Hammer – U Can’t Touch This. Despite having ripped its tune from a famous 70’s dance song, MC Hammer made big bucks from selling albums containing this track. He also made a fashion evolution from tight straight cut jeans to baggy pencil cut pants. Not to mention, purple! Too bad this guy lost majority of his earnings due to various financial problems.

8. Ghost Town DJs – My Boo. If you’re attending the ’95 and ’96 prom and dance party, you will NEVER ever miss hearing this song. Kids and teens, this is the MY BOO we twenty-somethings grew up with, and not that Alicia Keys – Usher collaboration!

9. INOJ – Love You Down. Same with My Boo, you will never miss dancing to this INOJ song when you are already allowed by your parents to a dance party in’95 or ’96. This song even dragged on and remained in people’s dance playlist until the latter years of the decade! Just by listening to the uptempo drumbeat will make you want to hit the dancefloor!

10. Eric Gadd – Do You Believe in Me? This one is my personal 90’s favorite. Taken from the album with a heretic title, “Do you believe in Gadd,” the song almost made you believe that Eric Gadd will not be a one-hit wonder and will produce more singles! Unfortunately, he never came out with another single, or at least none that I can recall.

That completes my top ten 90’s dance hits. Comments are welcome! Make your own list here!

We're going to the Finals!

Finally, the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles once again takes a trip to the Finals of the UAAP Men's Basketball Division. It will once again test the coaching power of Norman Black, who was tested once during the 2006 blowout to the UST Growling Tigers.

It's ticket-hording time again for our beloved scalpers as they will probably hit big on Sunday because it will be another epic battle of the Eagles against its long-time arch-rival, the De La Salle Green Archers. Playing with heart and full of energy, the Green Archers are planning to defend their championship against the seemingly invincible lineup of the Blue Eagles.

The Eagles are planning to regain its glory after 6 years of championship drought. The last time they claimed championship was in 2002, when the Blue Eagles produced top-caliber players like Enrico Villanueva, Wesley Gonzales, Larry Fonacier and LA Tenorio. Hopefully, with the help of a superstar starting five and a solid supporting cast, the Eagles can reclaim the ever-elusive UAAP crown.

I just hope I get tickets for Sunday's Game 1.

Northpark on Grandparents' Day

I don't really know who the heck invented this occasion, but my family relented anyway, and we gave our dear grandparents a North Park treat at Trinoma Mall last Sunday, September 7, 2008, Grandparents' Day.

It was a hit gimmick/made-up-occasion for malls because most of the restaurants were packed that day. We needed to wait a few minutes before finally getting a seat.

My Lola, Lolo and our ever special Aunt, Tita Cecille (standing)

North Park has always been my family's comfort food. Thank God for the Trinoma Mall branch, we no longer have to drive all the way to Banawe, the nearest North Park branch to our Mindanao Avenue residence. At the same time, my lolo and lola always has preference for Chinese Food.

My brother always wanted their Wanton so I relented and ordered 6 pieces of Wanton. We drew lots to know who will not eat the dumpling since there were seven of us and there are only six pieces of wanton. Good thing my lola had allergies for shrimp so she gave up her piece. :)

We ordered two kinds of braised noodles: with Nanking Beef and Szechuan Tan tan Mien.

Braised Noodles with Nanking Beef

Szechuan Tan Tan Mien

We got two kinds of rice: Yang Chow Fried Rice and Salted fish Fried Rice. Then we ordered Lechon Macau, Salted Garlic Squid, and Stir Fried Beef with Brocolli Leaf (Kailan). I guess I was too hungry to remember to take a picture of the other dishes. Apologies for the lack of visual aid. All these dishes coupled with several cups of hot tea and the "better-late-than-never" soup, which came a few minutes before we were done.

Big bites caught on cam

The Grandparents' Day treat was a big success, thanks to the ever-reliable food from north Park. What's good is that I had a P37-peso discount from my Lolo's Senior Citizen ID! Ain't that a steal?!?!

We took a 5-minute tour of Trinoma's landscape front entrance. After a few more steps, my lola got tired and decided to go home. We ended Grandparents' Day with a scoop of Ice Cream (per Lola's request) and by watching Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo on DVD.

Happy Grandparents' Day to all the Grandparents! To my Lolo and Lola, more to come!

Parang Kailan Lang...

Eto Kami Noon...

Eto na kami ngayon...



Bottomline: Ganun pa rin...

Mabuhay ang 4F '98! Maligayang 10 taon ng pagtatapos sa High School!

Pinglish

This was taken from an FX going to office this morning...

This may not be an instruction, but rather a declaration. I was just waiting for someone to fasten my "set" belt. But no one did.