Star Spangled Banner, Baseball, Pinoy boxing, and a football documentary

I wrote recording artist Bruce Hornsby in the summer of 2002 and asked him if there was ever a video or actual recording of his rendition of Star Spangled Banner that he performed with Branford Marsalis at the start of the 1991 NBA All-Star Game in North Carolina. I recorded that on the old betamax format and the tape had well seen better days as I must have played the entire All-Star game like 3 dozen times before it gave out.

He wrote back and told me that it was available in CD as a part of the soundtrack of Ken Burns' monumental epic "Baseball." The following day, I found the DVD box set at HMV in Fifth Avenue since at that time, I worked about a block away. It was kind of pricey ($54 if I recall it correctly) so I settled for the CD. I did go back for the DVD about a month later so I could adjust my budget.

It started out with the poignant rendition of the American National Anthem at the '91 All-Star match and it led to the epic baseball docu that inspired me further. For years I looked on youtube for any video of the Hornsby-Marsalis interpretation and it was only recently where I found one (albeit not in full as it misses out some 10 seconds).

I love Burns' Baseball documentary for its masterfully crafted research and re-telling of days gone by. It also led to my watching Burns' massive Civil War epic. This was the time when I was picking up a lot of historical stuff. His technique makes use of actual letters, poems, or narrative accounts that are juxtaposed on actual footage, old pictures as well as paintings.

A few years later, I met a Filipino in California who had quite a collection of original film footage of those Filipino fighters of yore. I used this footage in the two-hour boxing special titled Glory Road: The Story of Philippine Boxing that aired over Solar Sports (right around the time Manny Pacquiao beat Erik Morales in their third meeting).

I couldn't find the original footage (that I believe is priceless) anymore as I think it was lost during Ondoy although I still have copies of Glory Road.

Burns' epic and many of the writings of the late David Halberstam greatly influenced a lot how I look and write about sports.

One of the projects I was working on last year was a football documentary based about life in Iloilo. I lost all the footage also during the flood but only recently have begun to painstakingly put everything back together. Hopefully, I can find the time to work on the post-production on that midway through the UAAP season.

Say goodnight, Gracie!

It's the end of the road for Chuck Liddle. Incredibly, that first round was his. Little did he know that he was fighting a one-armed man after Rich Franklin had his arm broken after a kick by the Iceman (as Chuck was once fearfully called). Yet Ace still knocked Chuck out with under 10 seconds. That's what -- five times in his last six fights or something where he's had his clock cleaned out. Call it a career before some real damage is done, Chuck. At least Quinton Jackson has Hollywood and the WWE to go to if he loses anymore fights. You might want to do the same.

How's that for German efficiency? 4-nil vs Australia

That was some message the Germans sent to the rest of the world. Slick passing. Great defending and goalkeeping and great scoring chances. And what a story. After the 2006 World Cup where they fell in the semifinals to Italy, Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose were deemed to be the next great German stars in the Bundesliga. They both won with Bayern Munich but Podolski was soon benched and cast out later to Koln his first German club. The same thing happened to Klose even after Bayern ditched Luca Toni and feuded with Franck Ribery, he got benched.

But the two have great scoring reputations in the international game where they just turn it up a notch.

Klose to Podolski was like old times and when the former signaled with three fingers, he meant that this was the third consecutive World Cup where he scored. In 2002 in Korea and Japan, he tallied five goals. He repeated the feat in '06 in Germany where he won the Golden Boot.

And now 4-0 (they are the second team to score more than one goal in this World Cup so far) with a third goal added my the sound Thomas Muller and fourth by late substitute Cacau. The Germans were efficient once more in their management of the game. And it made Joachim Loew look like a genius for reinstalling his twin strike force of Klose and Podolski upfront even if they've had poor seasons in the Bundesliga and for going with young players like keeper Manuel Neuer of Schalke, midfielders Sami Khedira of Stuttgartand Muller of Bayern, and striker Cacau of Stuttgart. Right now, I'm looking forward to see Mario Gomez get some playing time.

Bleachers' Brew #213 A Touch of Brazil

This appears in my column in the Monday June 14, 2010 edition of the Business Mirror.

A Touch of Brazil

by rick olivares

Alcides G.R. Prates is a career diplomat. He’s served as the Brazilian Ambassador to a number of countries including Italy, Switzerland, Russia, Vietnam, and now, the Philippines.

During one engagement at a university in Hanoi, a student asked, “Tell us more about Brazil. We only know about three things – football, the carnaval in Rio, and the foreign debt.”

Prates smiled and in a self-effacing manner deadpanned, “Then you know everything you need to know about my country.”

The assembly broke out in laughter.

Prates grew up in Porto Alegre, the southernmost city that is on the border of Argentina and Uruguay. It is home to two football clubs – Gremio and Internacional. “Porto Alegre” means “merry harbor” in Portuguese and along with football, in many ways, it sums up what the world’s fifth largest country is all about.

In 140 years, Brazil has not been involved in any armed conflict with its 10 neighbor countries. For a nation that is passionate about its football teams, they have never had a “football war” in the way Honduras and El Salvador have fought in after a series of matches inflamed already smoldering tensions between the two countries.

Images of the carnaval, bossa nova and the samba, as well as the laid back and somewhat glamorous life of Copacabana are indelible images of the nation and its people. And there is the sheer joy of which Brazilians play the game of football.

Prates loved football as a kid and he still does. After all, if any Brazilian didn’t love or play the sport, it was deemed that there was something wrong with them. He played it yet he admits that he wasn’t particularly good. “What mattered was I played,” he recounted. While stationed in Vietnam, he organized pelada matches (pickup games) with fellow European diplomats. “But now I’m retired like Pele. My brother who is a doctor advised me to quit football since he believes it is not good for my health at this age. I also had to quit tennis as, because of my many duties, cannot play it regularly. Now I do the treadmill and ride my bike.”

Entering a career in the Foreign Service was something that appealed to him as a youngster. He took up law but decided that the Foreign Service was a good career for him and a chance to see other countries. “Some people never go out of their country. For me, living in Porto Alegre, when you cross the border to Argentina, they speak Spanish. A step back inside, its Portuguese. “Two worlds that are similar yet different, no? I asked myself, ‘What else is beyond our borders and our continent? I wanted to know and see for myself.’”

Like every other diplomatic station, it is the ambassador’s duty to know more about the country he is assigned to. He promotes his country’s culture and fosters relations that can be mutually beneficial to nations. Yet for Ambassador Prates, football is never too far from his world.

He was assigned to Rome at the time when Paolo Rossi famously scored a hat trick during Italy’s 3-2 beating of Brazil during the 1982 World Cup in Spain. The Seleção of that year had its brilliant trio of midfielders in Socrates, Zico, and Falcao but they crashed out of the competition.

It was like a wake not just at the Brazilian Embassy but also throughout the South American country. “It was a disaster,” confirmed Prates who still cringes at the memory.

However, the times have changed for Brazil. They’ve been blessed with good governance and that is saying something in a region known for tin-pot dictators and military juntas. Recent policies and programs as well as poverty reduction schemes have ushered in an unprecedented economic boom. They have repaid their debt to the International Monetary Fund a year ahead of schedule. And now, it is predicted that in a few years’ time, they will be a leading economic power (not that they aren’t now).

When the name Brazil comes up now, football and the carnival are still right up there. There has always been the samba, coffee, bossa nova, the Girl from Ipanema but now there’s Coelho, supermodels, Capoeira, Formula 1 drivers, mixed martial arts champions, a fledging aircraft industry, and billionaire tycoons.

And as a result of their newfound progress, most recently Brazil was awarded the right to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Even “the Beautiful Game”, an expression coined on Brazil’s expression “joga bonito”, has changed.

When the Seleção of 2006 in Germany were shamed at their own game by Zinedine Zidane and France, the team underwent a transformation from the free-flowing game that was espoused by Ronaldinho and Ronaldo to the more defensive game with lightning counter-attacks as espoused by Dunga who played in Brazil’s 1994 World Cup champion team (alongside Romario, Taffarel, Jorginho, and Bebeto).

Whereas before, teams were told not come home if they lost, Brazilians still feel bad but they know that the sun will come up the following day and there will be other competitions to win.

“Maybe it’s the way the world is now a smaller place with the Internet, global migration, immigration, inter-cultural dialogue, and people to people contacts.” opined Prates. “Now we have the means to understand each other a lot better.

He accepted the invitation from the South-African Ambassador to watch the 2010 World Cup opening ceremonies at the Hotel Sofitel last Friday, which he attended along with other members of the diplomatic corps and many other people.

“But the games in which Brazil plays I will watch at home with my family and some close friends. I’m superstitious when it comes to the Seleção.”

There was once this joke about Brazil that its citizens loved to tell: “Brazil is the country of the future and will always be.”

It’s not a joke anymore.

Show your true colors, Austin.

Yes, that's me in an Argentina jersey with Juan Roman Riquelme's number and the Adamson Falcon's Austin Manyara wearing the ManU jersey I gave him.

Last year, Manyara saw me wearing a Liverpool jersey and he went up to me and shook his head. "My team is better," he said. "Ah, who do you root for?" I asked in return.

"Manchester United."

I nearly decapitated him. Hahaha. Nah, I shook my head back at him and said that they may be England's top team of the last decade or so but they will always suck.

Anyways, we laughed. And got to talk about football and how he enjoyed the game back in his native Kenya. He asked me where he could get a Red Devils shirt in Manila and I said I had one (it was gifted by some idiot) and if he wanted it, I'd give it to him. I was planning on using it to clean the hub caps of my dad's new car so maybe it has some better use elsewhere.

Today during the FilOil match for 3rd Place, I gave it to him and he positively beamed and began yapping like a child (much to the amusement of his teammates). We talked about the World Cup and who could possibly win it all. It sure is fun to talk football with these African guys who love the sport.

Enjoy it now, Austin. Liverpool will be back.

'Twas a Thrilling England-USA match at Rustenberg

This is the first World Cup where I am rooting for the United States. Well, I still root for France as well, but this time, I'm hoping the US will advance deep and maybe go all the way. My reasons are simple. I've have begun to enjoy the MLS and no I am not under the influence of anything. The English Premier League will always be number one and I watch the La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A, and the Bundesliga every chance I get but the MLS is becoming better and fun to watch. If the US does advance not only will the sport explode throughout North America but it will even infect this country of ours that like to follow the lead of others.

Having said that, the US has some pretty good players making a name for themselves overseas. And that experience is valuable.

Their hyped up match with England -- it was thrilling and agonizing to watch for the missed opportunities by either side.

In the first half, after the US surrendered an early goal to England captain Steven Gerrard, their midfield began to buckle down to work and take charge. In truth, they took control not only of possession but also in chances. They had some nice runs through the middle but were largely unable to capitalize. England had its chances to but after the early goal, Tim Howard was up to task.

While everyone is berating Robert Green for not being able to fully stop Clint Dempsey's shot. It was not weak as the press is saying. C'mon, give credit where it is due. It would not get away from Green if it lacked power. If it was a harmless slow roller then it should have gone in front of the goalkeeper. If you ask me, not only did he misjudge it but there was sufficient power in the blast. Watch it closely. I've seen lots of shots slip through the keeper's hands and while it is normed as an error, I don't think people give too much credit to whoever takes the shot. Any shot taken on goal has a chance of going in whether weak or powerful. There are just too many things happening on the pitch that it always has a chance.

Robert Green will only make people forget if England wins the World Cup. If they fail to get out of the Group stage then it's going to be telling.

In the early second half, England was reenergized with their attack but I thought that they fell into a more defensive 4-4-2 as the US turned back their attacks into great chances of their own. Jozy Altidore and Landon Donovan were superb as was Oguchi Onyewu on defense.

Aaron Lennon's speed was frightening and he did make up for the absence of David Beckham with his through balls and attacks on the wings. But with Wayne Rooney marked well and Steve Lampard still shooting blanks for the second straight World Cup, how many chances did they have? Gotta give credit to Emile Heskey who some wondered why he was in this team. But that was a nice flick to former LFC teammate Gerrard for the first score.

Though teams played cautiously close to full time, they both had good chances to pull out a winner. The match ended in a 1-1 draw that was half disappointing and pleasing.

The opening match jitters are gone. On to the next games.

IMAGES FROM GETTY AND AFP.

Ateneo wins its 3rd Fr. Martin's Cup title

Summer Harvest

The Ateneo Blue Eagles end their long summer with a Fr. Martin Cup title

game account and pic by rick olivares

Eleven games in 25 days. That was followed by training for six hours a day for the next 20 days in the United States. When the Ateneo Blue Eagles returned, in less than a week's time and while battling jetlag, they played another three matches. Their fourth game was for the Fr. Martin Cup and was against old NCAA foe Mapua.

When they took to the court inside the sweltering hot St. Placid Gym at San Beda, instead of going to its harassing defense, the Ateneans waited back to conserve their energy.

And it was just as well because after tipoff, Ateneo scored six consecutive points with barely a minute gone by. Third year Mapua Coach Chito Victolero, who once donned the colors of the Cardinals, called time to settle down his boys and he turned to third-year playmaker Allan Mangahas to get his team untracked.

Over the course of the summer, the Cardinals started out slowly prompting basketball observers to pencil them as potential flameouts in the NCAA. While they were eliminated early on in the Fil Oil Invitational, they did quite well for themselves in the Fr. Martin Tournament where they beat some heavily favored teams en route to the championship game against Ateneo.

It's easy to dismiss the Cardinals as some of their players struggled last year. With a healthy line-up and the return of Jonathan Banal after an ACL injury kept him out last season, Mapua has some balance. Not to mention firepower.

They have two of the best jumpshooting big men in college hoops with center Jason Pascual and Macky Acosta and both can nail it from around the three-point arc. Guards Rodel Ranises, TG Guillermo, Banal, and Mangahas have range as well.

And it was on display today.

The Cardinals overhauled an early 10-2 Ateneo lead after Chris deChavez hit a baseline fade. Pascual hit a jumper to give what would be Mapua's only taste of the lead at 17-15 but any bench celebration was immediately tempered when Ateneo center Jason Escueta scored on an and-one from an Acosta foul for the blue and white to take the lead at 18-17.

And in a blazing run reminiscent of Ateneo's Season 72 second unit that not only cleaned up the mess of the starters but also blew apart opponents, the lineup of Esceuta, Tonino Gonzaga, Emman Monfort (he didn't start today), Art de la Cruz, and Frank Golla (and Bacon Austria after that) secured a 13-point lead 37-24 with a few minutes left in the first half.

But Guillermo strung up six straight points to bring the lead down to seven before halftime.

The 10-minute break didn't damper Mapua's momentum as a 6-1 blitz to start the 3rd forced Ateneo to call for time 38-36.

After the timeout, Nico Salva and Kirk Long gave Ateneo a little more breathing room at 42-36 but this was where the game became interesting. Mapua's outside shooting was on target while Ateneo preferred to score from the inside. After the referee whistled Cardinal forward Erwin Cornejo for kneeing Eric Salamat who tried to post him up, Mapua coach Victolero charged to the officials table and berated the referee who slapped a T on him.

Three free throws gave Ateneo a 45-36 lead but as Mapua regained possession, the technical foul lit a fire on the NCAA team.

A Ranises trey negated those three free throws and the Cardinals rallied once more. Their cheers reached a crescendo when Mangahas' deft behind the head flick to a cutting Guillermo for a deuce shrunk the lead to 52-50. Ateneo time out at the 7:57 mark of the 4th.

The timeout was crucial as it gave Ateneo a chance to regain their wits inside the really hot gym. When they returned, it was their turn to go on a 12-2 run capped by an unlikely trey from Frank Golla at the top of the arc. 64-52 Ateneo at the 4:08 mark. Said Frank of the biggest trey of his career, "Parang nagisip pa ung bola kung gusto niyang mashoot or hindi."

The game was every bit another classic as it was marked by a run by one squad only to be countered by another. And for sure, there was one last spurt coming from the Cardinals.

In the match's final two minutes, two miscues by Mapua killed their chances to tie the match or send it into overtime. Cornejo failed to track a long defensive rebound that was picked up by Eric Salamat. It was crucial for Escueta scored on the next play. And on Mapua's next possession, Ronald Pascual stepped out of bounds while getting ready to drive around his defender.

They would score the game's last six points but time had run out on them. The buzzer sounded 68-64 and Ateneo had it's third Fr. Martin title under Norman Black.

One long summer. One championship. One quarterfinals berth. Next week, the team has seven days off.

Ateneo 68 - Escueta 14, Long 11, Salamat 7, Golla 7, Gonzaga 6, Tiongson 5, Austria 5, Monfort 4, Salva 4, Erram 2 deChaves 2, de la Cruz 1

Mapua 64 - Pascual 17, Guillermo 12, Ranises 9, Cornejo 6, Mangahas 9, Acosta 5, Sarangay 3, Stevens 3, Banal 0

Good luck to Chito Victolero and the Mapua Cardinals in the NCAA Season 86!

The Ateneo Blue Eagles under Norman Black:

2 UAAP titles, 2 PCCL titles, 2 Uni-Games titles, 3 Fr. Martin titles, 1 Nike Summer League title

Chasing glory

Andy Pettitte won his 200th game with the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers won 4-3 as Pettitte beat the Houston Astros, the only other team he played for between his two stints in pinstripes in the second Interleague Play of the season. He's tied at that number with the great Ron Guidry, Mr. Louisiana Lightning himself. NY is at 38-23 with 1 game behind Tampa Bay in the American League East standings. I think they've got eight more games in their homestand at the Bronx.

Friday @ the FilOil Invitational

The long summer tournament is almost over and it's going to be a UAAP team vs an NCAA team for the title. FEU vs. San Sebastian.

Both had to scrap their way to the title with FEU's amazing RR Garcia scoring 10 points in the final minutes of play to put away the Adamson Falcons while the Stags dispatched JRU in similar fashion.

The Falcons collapse' began when they gave up their (was it a seven-point) lead in the fourth quarter. And come OT, they started out with a misplay when Jan Colina failed to field an inside pass by Eric Camson (after the former sealed himself inside for what should have been an easy bucket). With desperation setting in, Alex Nuyles decided to take the game into his own hands and would drive inside instead of finding the open man (Lester Alvarez). Whatever streak shooting they had when they disposed of Ateneo deserted them this time around. They failed grab a couple of lose boards (one that Pippo Noundou put back for a bucket) that FEU parlayed into an extra possession. And when time was running down on the Tamaraws, it was Garcia who would hit the clutch shot.

As for the Stags, how they reached the title match is even more compelling. They have not played with a full crew all throughout. One time, they even had only 10 players dressed up (but they still won). With Dave Najorda and Ian Sangalang (who will still make it in time for the NCAA tourney) out, they never let up on their high energy game. Said the Stags' Jonathan Semira after the game, "That's us.We always try to outwork and outhustle everyone."

The problem for the Heavy Bombers is they tend to put the ball in the wrong hands when they need to make a bucket. Save for Alex Almario who tries to push the ball up as quickly as he can the others have a bad tendency to squander precious seconds off the shot clock then decide to make a move with time running down? How many shots did they take under time pressure? I stopped counting at six. Even John Njei's failure to get off a quick shot towards the end of overtime said something about their shot clock management. But one thing is clear, in their last couple of games, Joe Etame is clutch for this team. Give the ball to the big man down the post and not way up high. Joe had 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. He played 23 minutes only and had 2 fouls. I noticed in all their games why the coaching staff is holding him back. Hmm.

But the Heavy Bombers could not match the Stags' energy. Led by Calvin Abueva who had 14 points and 14 boards, the Stags pounded JRU mercilessly from the inside. Gilbert Bulawan added 14 points of his own while Ronald Pascual had 13.

JRU scored 31 points inside but poor production from their guards killed their chances.

Anyways, the championship is this Sunday at 4pm at the Arena in San Juan.

Blue Eaglets have a chance to make history

Blue Eaglets have a chance to make history

One day after beating the San Beda Red Cubs on their home floor to barge into the finals of the junior division of the Fr. Martin Cup II, the Ateneo Blue Eaglets found themselves facing the San Sebastian Staglets in the semifinals of the Badolato Cup.

At first, their desire could not match up with their game as King Staglet Gino Jumao-as repeatedly drove the lane for layups while smirking at his defenders. And San Sebastian was threatening to bowl over the Eaglets with the score 30-18.

A late rally allowed Ateneo to close the gap at 30-24 at the half but the coaches were unsatisfied.

Inside the Blue Eaglets’ locker room, assistant coach Joe Silva, who was coaching the team with headman Jamike Jarin out of the country, exhorted his players to ratchet up the defensive intensity. “We need stops and to be a little more aggressive. We need to challenge shots and put a hand in their face.” he thundered. “If we don’t play defense we do not win this game!”

Heeding their coach’s call, the Eaglets immediately scored in their first possession of the second half. Full court pressure here and the Staglets gave up the ball to Von Pessumal who scored on a drive.

Even as Ateneo began to ratchet up on their defensive pressure, Jumao-as kept on driving on the blue and white as they refused to take a charge from the Staglet forward. San Sebastian managed to hold Ateneo at bay 48-44 by mid-third quarter.

But the momentum was beginning to turn and the Ateneans uncorked their finishing kick with a Pessumal three at the end of the third canto to go ahead 49-48.

Jumao-as would tie the match one last time on a drive and an and-one on Pessumal to notch it at 51-all but the speedy Eaglet forward returned the favor with two free throws and a layup 55-51 Ateneo.

Whereas San Sebastian relied mostly on three players – Jumao-as, Ram Pante, and AJ Vitug, Ateneo, whipped the ball around and found huge contributions from Mio Puno, Jay Javelosa, and Paolo Romero.

With Ravena switching on Jumao-as and taking away his drive, San Sebastian was forced to play one-on-one and some of their shots were forced if not badly taken.

On the offensive end, Ravena showed Jumao-as they had he no problem getting his shot off against the taller player as he score six straight points to finish off the Staglets 73-67 and make it to the finals against San Beda.

Inside the Eaglets’ locker room, the atmosphere was light yet evenly tempered. After all, they still needed to take care of business.

They had a chance to make history – to win two pre-season tournaments. Something the team has not achieved in spite of its illustrious cage history. The last time an Eaglets team won a pre-UAAP title was when Joe Silva himself donned the blue and white alongside BJ Manalo.

“But…” cautioned Silva. “Let’s take it one game at a time.”

Ateneo 73 – Ravena 28, Pessumal 19, Puno 8, Javelosa 6, Romero 5, Gadia 3, Gamboa 2, Cacluti 2, Austria 0, Lim 0, Tenorio 0, Ressurecion 0, Suarez 0, Bitangcol 0

San Sebastian 67 – Jumao-as 32, Magno 10, Vergara 8, Vitug 8, Pante 6, Velasco 3, Balid 0, Macasaet 0, Leyva 0, Pascual 0, Sapalo 0, Pariña 0

The Eaglets play Arellano High School for the Fr. Martin II Cup on Saturday 1030am at the San Beda Gym and the San Beda Red Cubs on Sunday 2pm for the FilOil Badolato Cup at the San Juan Arena.

Faked off

Chris de Chavez fakes off Letran's Jaypee Belencion during their FilOil match earlier in the tournament. When I took this, it was a series of shots as the Knight was late in covering de Chavez. Chris moved to another spot then took a shot. I think it went in. Hahaha.

HOLD IT! CHRIS TOLD ME WAS WHISTLED FOR TRAVELING ON THAT PLAY. BWAHAHA!

Blackhawk Up!

That was a thrilling Stanley Cup Finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers. But the Blackhawks were consistently the best team this NHL season and all ends well for them. And one fan (below) is overjoyed by that. Now if he can get his Bobcats to win it all as well.

Wanna watch the greatest football player ever for FREE?

Hey, ya'll! I would like to find out if there are any football fans out there who would like to watch a feature film of the great Pele for FREE.

The movie is titled Pele Eterno (translated it means PELE FOREVER) and was directed by Anibal Massaini Neto and runs for two hours! Unfortunately it's in Portuguese with no subtitles. But by watching the film we're going to understand it anyway by taking a look at the action. If I can get a crowd of at least 20 fans out there then we're going to do this at Fully Booked High Street and admission is FREE. We, meaning myself and the Brazilian Embassy hope to do this after the World Cup. The important thing is to get the numbers. So those who are interested please email me.

Obrigado!

Q&A time. Someone sent me some Q's via email so lemme answer them here

Q: Our defeat to Adamson yesterday is telling me: steel yourself for a tough UAAP season. Do I have that right? Or would it be tougher than tough perhaps?

Rick: Well, we played Adamson back-to-back and both games were tough. We pulled one out and lost in another one. Both times, the team had a spurt but otherwise looked sluggish overall. Remember I wrote that the team arrived on a Friday and was still suffering from jetlag. That’s not to take anything away from Adamson. Even Coach Leo said that in the last three years they booted out Ateneo in their first game back from the US.

Having said that, we are a slow starting team. Every team is different. We are not the 2006 or 2008 team that just plastered foes. It’s going to be a tough season. I’d be surprised if we go 13-1 again. Realistically, methinks 11 or 10 wins. It’s gonna be hard for sure. I think the first round will be a true test. If we hang tough, we’re good. If we make the Final Four, then everyone better watch out.

Q: Does this Filoil League allow two imports at a time? On TV, I saw Etame and Njei playing at the same time for JRU. I guess the answer would be yes. Did any other team take advantage of this exemption from the season rules?

Rick: Yes FilOil allows that. The other team to use their two imports is Adamson. Yes, Adamson. Aside from the big ManUnited fan (Austin Manyara who I promised to give that crappy Red Devil jersey that was gifted to me by a nincompoop) who is from Kenya, Will Stinnett is a Fil-Am from Guam. His papers aren’t fixed so he’s competing as an import.

Q: Are we going to see a horde of Africans dominating our collegiate basketball leagues? There are the following already: Njei, Etame, Mbe, Manyara, Daniel (Rick’s note: he’s American by the way), Noundou. What would be the merits and demerits?

A: Personally, I don’t like it because others exploit it when c’mon, they finished school? But… it’s good because it gives us exposure in playing taller guys. Will Ateneo ever have an African player? When I asked Coach Norm that question about a year ago he said no. He’d rather get a Fil-Am. If he does get one he has to be absolutely good and willing to really study.

Just to tell you a story. JRU’s Joe Etame rehabbed at the MLSC and sometime last year he inquired about transferring to Ateneo. In doing so, he miffed Ariel Vanguardia. As much as I wanted to say “yes” I thought it wasn’t a good idea given the waiting period. It won’t help him. I said that he should stay with JRU and help them win a title. Of course, it is presumptuous for me to say that I was the deciding factor. Not at all. There were others who convinced him to stay at Shaw.

And I’m writing something on Njei and Etame. They are some really cool guys. I also enjoy yapping with Manyara who is a huge football fan. ManU sucks! Hahaha!

Q: What gives with the Nike Summer League? Were they offended by your suggestion that "summer" is all about fun and recreation and thus effectively being an "insignificant" league? Sayang, because Ateneo (champions in 2008) has had better luck with the NSL than this Filoil preseason league?

Rick: Dude, we do not hang championship banners for tourneys outside the UAAP and NCAA. I like to think that we’re like the New York Yankees or the Boston Celtics. Just as they have no room for flags or banners for division titles, we have no place in the rafters for tournaments outside where we come to really play. We can win all of that but if we don’t get the UAAP title then it’s for shit. Still… it’s nice to see everyone take the FilOil seriously for the first time and it’s always nice to win everything in sight. Then that way we’re also like FC Barcelona. Six for Six!

Q: Finally, by my count, Ateneo can still fill in the slots vacated by Sumalinog and Burke? Am I right about this?

Rick: Yes. Right now strong faves to make it are Carlo Balmaceda, Paul Siarot, and Jeric Estrada. IMHO, Carlo is in. The other slot is a toss up between the two.

Fantasy time. Another player I would have wanted to see make it to Team A is Alec Rivera. Dude, alongside Emman Monfort, these guys were speed demons. Effing pedal to the metal. All blood and guts.

Q: Will you be writing about other college teams this year?

Rick: Yes. Adamson, DLSU, JRU, Letran, San Beda, and NU. Hopefully a little more regular than usual. I might miss out a couple of weeks of college ball because I am going to Brazil and Argentina this September. I have to figure that out well because it will clash with my other work.

Some great reading before kick off in the wee hours of Saturday

The latest issue of Sports Illustrated is now available. Landon Donovan, baby.

If you notice the background how the Sports Illustrated logo is covered by the three footballers; about 20 years ago such a thing was unthinkable. The reason being (in the US), magazines were placed on a newsstand rack and you needed to see the name of the mag and logo to stand out. The rise of the modern specialty shop from Barnes & Noble to Borders eliminated that. Even if you go to HMV or even Kinokuniya, the mags are displayed prominently so you can see the cover in its full glory. One of the first to break that standard was Marvel Comics when they began to blow up the logos of their titles. It was a gamble but it worked. Hope that bit of trivia helps.

The Ateneo Blue Eagles make the Fr. Martin II Finals

The Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles salvaged some of their lost pride a day after getting ousted from the FilOil Invitational by pipping the Perpetual Help Altas by 3 points 83-80 when Kirk Long nailed a trey at the buzzer off an inbounds assist by Bacon Austria. The Blue Eagles play the Mapua Cardinals (who knocked off the FEU Tamaraws) on Saturday 1pm at the St. Placid Gym at San Beda College for the Fr. Martin II Cup title.

Cheer for the Blue & White!

I guess Paul Pierce shouldn't be talking smack

Wednesday's Fil Oil games

In yesterday's FilOil games:

FEU pounced on two mistakes by UP in the crucial stages of their quarterfinals match yesterday. The Maroons were able to keep pace with FEU but to close the lane from incursions by RR Garcia, they shifted to a zone. That gave the Tamaraws' zone buster Paul Sanga room for three consecutive treys (Pippo Noundou added one of his own after to cap the run) that broke the game wide open. How did that happen? With the spacing of the Maroons defenders who were guarding against the drive of Garcia. It was a gamble you could say -- pick your poison. Hope that Sanga would continue to miss or let Garcia drive. Dang! They paid for it. The second was when they kept Mike Silungan on the bench during that stretch and instead opted to go with Martin Reyes who was mostly shooting blanks yesterday. Silungan himself didn't have a good shooting day but he was taking the ball to the rack using his quickness and athleticism to blow by defenders.

Gotta give credit to UP's Jett Manuel who provided a huge lift for his side with his hustle and spunk and to Magi Sison who got the better of his FEU counterparts yesterday.

Purefoods' Don Allado remarked that he saw a little of himself in Silungan when he first arrived from the States. "P**a! Ang yabang," he said candidly about the UP player's stride and swagger. "Pero that was nothing compared to me. I was worse." He then let out a hearty laugh.

In case you don't know, Mike, who hails from Chicago, Illinois, is named after this other dude who wears #23 and once played for the Bulls. Yep, he's Michael Jeffrey Silungan. Had a nice chat with him. Yep, we're rooting for the Blackhawks. Game 6 for the Stanley Cup today (shucks wrote this kasi last night), dude!

The second game saw the JRU Heavy Bombers and the favored San Beda Red Lions play in an intense match. JRU took it to the heart of SBC immediately with Alex Almario and John Lopez leading the way early on. The crazy thing is they were doing it mostly playing one-on-one. A 20-minute power interruption in the late 2nd Quarter nearly derailed their momentum but they continued to wax hot upon the resumption of the 3rd as they went up by 14.

That's when Borgie Hermida showed all who were watching that he could take over the game as he scored what -- seven or eight straight points? Then Kyle Pascual tied the match before fouling out.

But three missed free throws (2 by Hermida and 1 by Sudan Daniel) in the closing minutes plus a steal by Raycon Kabigting off Rome dela Rosa during an inbound play by SBC did them in. Su Daniels was whistled for a T for kicking Kabigting but that wasn't the damaging part to SBC. It was that steal and John Njei's huge offensive rebound that prserved their 67-64 lead for the final score.

Lost in all of this was the superb performance by Joe Etame. I thought that he was the difference for JRU as he scored 16 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and had 1 assist. His slam off a Lopez feed took it to the stunned Red Lions who missed their chances to eke out another rally. But that was an awesome game.

Incidentally, the two teams played in the finals of the Fr. Martin Cup I (but JRU was without Etame) and the Red Lions prevailed.

And it set the stage for another upset as the Adamson Falcons booted out Ateneo de Manila for the second time in three years in the FilOil Quarterfinals. Both Blue Eagle losses were their immediate game following their return from the USA.

Like in the Fr. Martin game where Ateneo dug themselves into a hole early on with poor play, poor defense, and poor shooting. For a quarter there it was just Nico Salva vs. Adamson. They came back to even take the lead largely because of the efforts of Kirk Long. But save for a few superb defensive plays they couldn't sustain their momentum as they looked sluggish. In the meantime, Austin Manyara and Roider Cabrera picked up the slack from Eric Camson who led the team in scoring in the first half. The pair hit 7 triples in the second half to put away Ateneo to barge into the semis against FEU.

It was nice to see them celebrate at their side of the court. Good job to them and good luck in the semis.

In the nightcap, San Sebastian fended off a feisty De La Salle team with tough and gusty play. And they did this without Ian Sangalang who got injured in the first minute of play. As he landed on the floor during a rebound play, he heard a pop in his foot (it could be some ligament damage) and was taken out right away. On the sidelines he could move his foot (a bad sign). Guess they gotta look for a replacement while there's time but losing your 6'7" battle-tested center is tough.

From a close halftime lead of 2 points (was it), the Stags pulled away in the third as they went up event by 16. Almond Vosotros played superb as the Green Archers tried to rally. The Stags won 84-76.

But the Green Archers couldn't match up with Calvin Abueva (who I penciled in upcoming fourth issue of Rebound as the likely NCAA MVP). He scored 24 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, dished 3 assists, and had 2 shot blocks. In case ya don't know, he's averaging a double-double.

And here's a joke that DLSU coach Dindo Pumaren likes to share about his squad -- para silang "security agency" -- puro guard. Bwahaha. The coach has always had a sense of humor.

Hey, Chris. You surprised that I can speak Kapampangan? Well, I do but it's good not great though. I understand it more than I can speak it. Bwahaha.

So one one side, it's an all-UAAP affair between FEU and Adamson and on the other it's San Sebastian vs. JRU.

That's on Friday, folks! See ya there.