Ignite your UAAP school spirit and help champion your school’s cause in the UAAP.

Ignite your UAAP school spirit and help champion your school’s cause.

Support your school and make a difference through Samsung’s UAAP Assists Program.

Watching the UAAP games is not just all fun, competition and sportsmanship. This season, Samsung Electronics Philippines Corporation (SEPCO) is helping the UAAP-member schools give back to its chosen cause through its UAAP Assists program. All students, alumni and supporters can now support their school in championing its cause. From August 24, 2012 to October 14, 2012, customers who purchase select Samsung products can earn points for their chosen UAAP-member school and use the earned points to donate to its chosen cause.

After purchasing a Samsung product, customers simply need to register on the Samsung Facebook Page (UAAP Assists Registration Facebook App) or through the Samsung 6^th Man App (UAAP Assists Tab). Each Samsung product has a corresponding give back point. The give back points have an equivalent Peso value which will then be converted at the end of the promo.

The top 3 schools who have garnered the most number of points by the end of the season will be able to convert the give back points to its monetary value and donate it to their chosen cause. The first place winner will receive 100% of total points to be converted to its monetary value, second place winner will receive 70% of total points and the third place winner will receive 50% of the total points.

Participating UAAP-member schools are: Adamson University, Ateneo De Manila University, De La Salle University, Far Eastern University, National University, University of the East, University of the Philippines and University of Santo Tomas. The UAAP-Assists Program is open to all customers; affiliation with one of the UAAP-member schools is not required.

To learn more about Samsung’s UAAP Assists Program, you may visit the Samsung Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/SamsungPH or you may call the Samsung hotline at (02) 214-7797.

It’s nothing Messi(y). It’s just Barcelona wanting to win every game.

It’s nothing Messi(y). It’s just Barcelona wanting to win every game.

by rick olivares

It could be a bump in the road then again it could be a pothole.

It could be a molehill or maybe it could be a mountain.

Or William, it was really nothing. Oh, theres' my nod to The Smiths.

I was surprised that the on field argument between Barcelona’s Leo Messi and David Villa during their 2-0 win over Granada at the Camp Nou last Saturday got a lot of ink.

In case you don’t know what happened, Barcelona reporter Francesc Tomas quoted of the exchange:

Messi: "First-touch pass, Guaje, first-touch!" 



Villa: "Leo, I couldn't even control the ball! It's the first ball I've touched today and was going to pass it to you!" 


Why do I think that it is nothing? Prior to this match, Barca was at 4-0 with the optimum 12 points. Second place (although I am not that surprised) Mallorca was at 2-2 with eight points. Champion Madrid sported a 1-1-2 record for only for points!

When was the last time you saw this in a Barcelona match? Always! Just watched Carles Puyol (who is unavailable because of injury) when he is in there. He really rails at Gerard Pique when he zones out and he has acknowledged this. Pique knows it is nothing personal and it’s all about doing their jobs well. 

True enough, Messi seemed surprised about the reaction: “People shouldn’t look for a problem where there isn’t one. These things are part of football, with the tension of wanting to score to make everything easier and win. It happens in training and in matches as well. I haven’t got any problems with El Guaje, quite the opposite. These things show the character of the team to want to win and keep on playing well. We get ‘heated’ because we want the best and the tension makes you react like that."

And let’s leave it at that.

RR Garcia and Alex Nuyles for Gatorade

Here are a couple more videos that I worked on for Gatorade featuring FEU's RR Garcia and Adamson's Alex Nuyles. Scripts were written by me, Stu Balmaceda, and Alexx Esponga with video done by Brosi Gonzales, Karlo Roño, PJ Lim, Ago Coronado, and Arn Reodique. We had help from FEU's Mark Molina and Bert Flores and Adamson's Leo Austria. Hope you like them!

When I thought of the Brand Ambassador program for Gatorade three years ago, I knew who I wanted to get right away. It might sound like a no-brainer but it really isn't an easy process. There aren't much metric systems or data to tell you that this person will resonate well with the public, will not be a headache for their teams or community and so on. Working with them the past three years has been a blast. More so since I am leaving Gatorade in a month's time. My take away from this is it allowed me another platform to work with these athletes. It sure was a blast! For example, RR was such a noisy and funny guy during practice. He does  keep it light. Alex... well, he's quiet but once he's comfortable, he's just as makulit as the next guy. 

In case you missed it, here is the link to the Ray Parks and Nico Salva vids. Next up... UST's Jeric Teng and La Salle's Jeron Teng. 

Bleachers' Brew #239 Twilight of the Giambino

This appears in the Monday September 24, 2012 edition of the Business Mirror.

Twilight of the Giambino

by rick olivares pic by rob carr/getty images

I read with great interest Chris Ballard’s column on the Colorado Rockies’ Jason Giambi who is now in the twilight of his career and far removed from his fearsome slugger days. I try to follow when I can the careers of former Yankees. In fact, I think it’s terrible how Alfonso Soriano faded away. How Melky Cabrera finally found the success he craved for but never got as a utility player in New York only to see it massively tainted by performance enhancing drugs.

Living in New York is now a cherished memory. How I love this time of the year – there’s a chill in the air as the cold months have set in. If the pace is already quick then it doubles because of the cold. The Giants and the Jets have entered the picture with the Knicks also barroom and chat room fodder. And then there’s the playoff chase to play in October.

When I was a kid, I went to sleep with my football next to me. That was my teddy bear. As an adult, I went to sleep at this time of the year (since it’s colder) either in my Islanders jersey or a Yankees jersey. My flatmates used to call me, “Mr. Yankee.” I was like Reggie Jackson to them. Larger than life. One who extolled the virtues of Derek Jeter. While a roomie was overly concerned about the GDP I gobbled up the OBP. I understood what couch potato meant. With a couple of hundred cable channels to choose from who the hell wants to get up and go to work?

Back to Giambi.

After Tino (Martinez) Bambino we got the Giambino. Heir to the Sultan of Swat. Only his Yankee teams made two World Series but did not win it. By the time he left the team, New York won it again.

During the height of his career in New York, I was working the tables one afternoon in the Upper East Side restaurant where I worked (East 86^th and Lexington) when Giambi, third baseman Robin Ventura, and outfielder Karim Garcia entered for some eats. There’s an unwritten rule in our restaurant where you do not go up to any celebrity to ask for an autograph. You didn’t have to work there for that to that to take effect. One kid sought out The Sopranos’ James Gandolfini one time and instead he got a chiding that was tantamount to a rubout. Scarlett Johansson was there one time and rules be damned I tried. I had to settle for her table napkin that had her kiss mark and lipstick on it (I still have it after all these years).

My bud Emon and I are huge Yankees fans. Funny how a guy from Bangladesh is a huge baseball fan but there we were breaking rules and asking for autographs and pictures. Emon didn’t have any paper so he asked Giambi to sign a menu! Hilarious! I used a card that we would slip to the kitchen for orders (I still have the autograph).

The intercom buzzed and it was the on-duty manager, Jim Rose, who called my attention. Damn. I’m a goner. Only when I went down to see Jim he gave me a copy of the New York Post with Giambi on the back cover and asked me if I could get the Yankees’ slugger to sign it. Whew.

When Giambi was outted for using PEDs, Emon wrote me and said that he had stuffed his old pinstripes with “Giambi” on the back inside one of his drawers. “Maybe one day it will see the light of day again in the stadium,” he wrote via email several years ago.

I have a couple, Paul O’Neill and Derek Jeter, that I still wear with pride to this day (my son still has his Alex Rodriguez). I still have my Giambi medallion, baseball cards, and well team photo that is also autographed. The steroid scandal/age still makes my head spin. Do the stats accumulated during those wild days count or not? I have no idea and will leave that to the proper authorities to determine.

So I watched the Rockies the other day and Ballard’s column all the more made me think of Giambi and where he was and where he is now.

This season he’s played in only 60 games! That’s one-third of the season. He’s only gotten 89 ABs with 20 hits and get this – one home run. He ha struck out 24 times despite an OPB of .372 and a .303 SLG average. Young studs like Wilin Rosario and Carlos Gonzalez are the team’s hitting leaders.

As Ballard pointed out, it has been a love fest send-away for Atlanta’s Chipper Jones this season. Giambi? Who knows if he will be back after this year?

In his first year with Oakland in 1995, he played behind Mark McGwire and figured in only 54 games. When Big Mac was traded to St. Louis the following two seasons later, Giambi flourished (to date he has career stats of .281 BA, 429 HRs, 1,405 RBIs, 1,967 hits, and a lifetime .404 OBP).

Now…. well, he’s a part time player. He did provide Colorado with a fleeting vision of the player he once was when he hit three home runs in one game in May 19^th of last year against the Philadelphia Phillies.

This year, he hardly gets off the bench. Only when regular first baseman Jordan Pacheco needs a day off does Giambi play. As for promise? Well, the promise of a title in Oakland never happened and he whiffed in his one trip to the World Series with New York.

It’s been a tough at-bat but I still root for Jason Giambi.

On MVP leaving Ateneo

The compre of that PLDT print ad I did so long ago. 

On MVP leaving Ateneo

by rick olivares

In 1996, I was working for Avellana & Associates as a senior copywriter. I was wrapping up my stint there and was either headed for J. Walter Thompson or abroad (I chose the latter). There was talk then that we could lose the PLDT account that generated much of Avellana’s revenue. The company had been bought by the Hong Kong based First Pacific Company and rumors were rife that the telecomms company was moving to Saatchi. Nevertheless, I was still on board for a few more JOs (job orders) as we called them. The acquisition was to be made known through among many other things, a print ad.

And I was asked to do it. I was coming off a few vastly successful campaigns with a few ones winning advertising awards. But with PLDT, I was nervous. It was like working on Philippine Airlines before. Read: tough, stressful, and well, stressful.

Now I didn’t really know MVP. I heard of what he accomplished in Hong Kong and Indonesia but it was kind of vague. Our client then, the one I liaised with was Tony Samson, who nowadays aside from writing for Business World and ateneo.edu, is with DDB (the ad agency for Gatorade where I currently work -- Mindshare actually).

“A centerspread ad in the major dailies that celebrates the sale and how the five different companies under PLDT – PLDT, Smart, Piltel (now Talk ‘N Text), Infocom (the internet system that was being stabilized), and the Mabuhay Satellite – will work in greater concert to become the class of Asia,” I recall Mr. Samson saying about the creative brief.

The first thing that I normally do is to devour the brief and research as much information as I can so when I come up with a concept it looks informed and well thought out. What popped in my head was the five companies working like the starting five of a basketball team. I sketched a rough layout for a couple of ads and showed it to my art director. We prepared three concepts complete with compres and all (I still have all the designs including many of my thumbnail sketches for ads and storyboards as I also dabbled in illustration).

I was rooting not for the basketball concept but for something else. Now since client is king…. My art director and I came up with several designs. One was a clasp of hands during a huddle that was my favorite. Somehow we ended up with a layout I wasn’t wholly crazy about (there was another execution I favored). But it came out and that it is all that matters. Job done. Billings. Hopefully, client is happy.

I did leave in a few weeks moving into the client side and a marketing job (by then I had done advertising and public relations and marketing I believed would complete the trinity and make me a better person when it comes to work).

Never did I think I’d get to meet MVP until more than a decade later when I first began to write about the Ateneo Blue Eagles for the Ateneo website and later for Smart Gilas Pilipinas during the national team’s initial foray abroad. When I first learned of his being team patron in the early years of the new millennium, I thought back to the basketball-themed print ad of so many years ago. He loved hoops. No wonder he chose that concept.

One time, I found myself in MVP’s office interviewing him for a story for ateneo.edu. What was supposed to be a 30-minute interview went up to one hour. And what further struck me was he wasn’t late for the interview despite his busy schedule.

There was more for me to be impressed. I wrote him on two separate occasions and I was surprised that each time, he answered my email. Here’s a man who is so busy that I am sure that there are never enough hours in the day yet he took the time to answer a few questions and ideas I had percolating in my head. Wow. Of course, I like to think that the email was pertinent and not trivial.

One time while sitting idly around following a basketball game, I asked him, “Sir, how do you manage your time with all your companies and concerns?”

He smiled and said in a deliberate manner, “Very carefully. Very carefully.”

We both cracked up.

That says something about the man. He just doesn’t dive into things without doing due diligence.

Ironically today, I sat in the office of an Ateneo official talking about schools and their patrons and wondered if we were prepared for MVP leaving one day. When I got home and opened my new Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, I was shocked to read of his “complete and total disengagement from the Ateneo.”

Honestly, the first thing that popped into my head wasn’t the basketball program. Come on. There are more important things in life than basketball. As great as he is for the sports program, I think I value more how he helps school orgs and the facilities. Teaching in Ateneo today, I always tell myself that today’s kids never had it so good. Back in the day, we didn’t have much save for a beautiful campus.

I have known first hand of the problems that keep coming back like a bad itch. This was a long time coming what with differences and scars on various issues that have cropped up over the years. What I told myself upon hearing the news and reading the statement that Dennis Lucindo posted was, “This one is over.”

I understand both sides of the coin and am neither angry with anyone. It is what it is – differences. They happen. They just do.  

There will be no doubt attempts to bridge this and to extend an olive branch to sort this out now or tomorrow. What comes of this I have no idea.

Nevertheless, I am not going to wait. I do want to take the opportunity to thank MVP for all that he’s done for Ateneo (he’s only pulling out of his alma mater and not the country). He has been mighty generous and we should be forever grateful.

While I am sad it has come to this, by nature, I grieve for a moment then move on. I guess living in an unforgiving New York climate does that to you. Unlike my crappy boss who looks for people to blame, I on the other hand am a solutions-oriented person. My Plan A has a Plan B and Plan C and D if possible.

This is what I have been saying, Ateneo. Do we have a Plan B or Plan C to MVP pulling out? Not just for this but also for many other things from us being on the fault line to the traffic that chokes Katipunan Avenue and the eyesore that is SM Blue (the matuwid na daan is nothing more than a clever PR line that at the end of the day is full of crap). Things happen and well, we have to be ready. Ready to move on and at once ready to bridge the gap.

I guess it’s like family. We quarrel. We get upset. Some times, the differences are more than a gap. They are a chasm or the great divide. I have my issues with family as well but at the end of the day, we’re family. We'll patch things up and well, we'll kick back and laugh at our travails and pitfalls. 

So a heartfelt thank you from me for all you’ve done for our school. I like to think of the old tagline for PLDT – “Touching lives.” Yes, that is so.

If this is done as I fear it is (but hope not), I want to quote some lines from Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” that says,

“Must end that work the ides of March begun.

And whether we shall meet again I know not.

Therefore our everlasting farewell take.

Forever and forever, farewell, Cassius!

If we do not meet again, why, we shall smile;

If not, why then, this parting was well made.”

One Big Fight, sir.

UFL Preview: A call to arms Part 1

A call to arms Part 1

Are we looking at an extended period of dominance by Global? The arms race just escalated big time. By Rick Olivares.

As it is with the start of every football season, one of the biggest stories are the new recruits and transferees and how their rosters hope to topple the defending champions.

The current class of the United Football League is Global. In three years of UFL play, they’ve won the Division Two title, the UFL Cup, and the Division One championship. Despite a slow start and undergoing three coaching changes (four if you count the interim coaching of their team owner), they finished the season in grand style.

Global isn’t looking to rest on their laurels. They have beefed up their squad that already features 13 former and current national players making them early favorites to sweep the pieces of silverware available.

Entering the second year of a historic five-year television deal with AKTV, the UFL from the cup to league play promises more games, even more exciting football action, and of course, drama.

The cup kicks off this October with 28 clubs – including eight guest teams – looking to unseat Air Force who survived an onslaught from unlucky Loyola. Do the Airmen, who looked mighty vulnerable during the league play, have enough to hold off the charge of the new wave of football clubs?

League play on the other hand will commence action in January next year.

So how did the rest of the UFL do in this arms race? We’re about to find out.

Global (champion, 13-3-2)

The ultimate lesson served by Global last season was – to crib a line from baseball’s Yogi Berra – “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”

Furthermore, Global bucked all sorts of on and off field drama, a semifinals loss to Air Force in the cup, then two losses in the first round of league play plus a few draws, before going into the penultimate playing day without another loss. There they drew 2-2 with Loyola and that was good enough for them to pip second-running Kaya on goal difference.

Now what hasn’t killed this club has made them stronger. They have the UFL’s top-rated defense and their offense just got a whole lot better with the addition of national team striker Denis Wolf plus new finds Matthew Uy on defense and Demetrius Omphroy in the midfield (although he can move up front).

Despite the loss of Angel Guirado (12 goals last season to lead the club) who bolted for a club in India, this Edwin Cabalida-coached squad will have Marvin and Marwin Angeles for a full season. The twins play much like James and Phil Younghusband do – with a great understanding of where the other will be on offense. Marwin should be able to find Wolf, Misagh Bahadoran, and Izzo El Habbib without much difficulty.

Aside from their stingy defense, one of the biggest strengths of this team is its speed especially on the counter attack. Jeffrey Christiaens may very well be the successor of Chieffy Caligdong on the left wing of the national team and having him on the flanks with Yu Hoshide and Marwin Angeles in the middle and Patrick Reichelt on the right translates into quick ball movement.

This is a stacked and loaded lineup. They’ll be heavy favorites to win both available trophies.

Coach: Edwin Cabalida

(OUT) Angel Guirado (Salgaocar), Ayi Nii Aryee (Green Archers United)

(IN) Kevin Capolei, Maverick Madayag, Fidelis Nnabuife (Nomads), Demetrius Omphroy, Romeu Rodrigues (Team Socceroo), Sadia Dely Roland, Matthew Uy, Denis Wolf, Delon Patrick Yao

Kaya (2^nd place, 13-3-2)

The three-time former UFL champions nearly won it a record fourth time on the last playing day but Global drew with Loyola leaving Kaya tied with the former on points (42 each). However since Global had a superior goal difference, they took home the trophy leaving Kaya waiting at the altar.

Kaya was one of the best defensive teams last season as they only allowed 17 goals past keeper Saba Sedeghi. So how did they address their scoring woes? Well, for starters, expect Azkals skipper Aly Borromeo to be back in time for cup play -- not in the back where he made a name for himself but upfront. Upfront beside the quicksilver quick Eric Dagroh and Nate Burkey. They will have the returning Yannick Tuason who took a sabbatical in Italy to recharge his batteries.

But their biggest upgrade was reserved for the midfield as they brought in San Francisco State University alum Antonio Ugarte (the old Ugarte Football Field that is currently the Ayala Triangle is named after the brother of his grandfather). Ugarte, a Fil-American, has a good feel for the game with very good passing skills. He will be the team’s central midfielder where he will partner with Sean Illif, Eddie Mallari’s classmate from the United States. Illif brings a toughness to this team in the middle and like Ugarte has very good on-ball skills. OJ Porteria will also make his debut with Kaya and add scoring punch and ball wizardry to this secondary line. Toshiya Hosoe will be more than the second Japanese player in this squad as he adds depth to the middle third.

Lexton Moy will be back at least for the Cup play before he plays professionally in Hong Kong. Darren Hartmann transferred from Nomads and he looks to be in form for this competition.

Expect the backline to feature Eddie Mallari, Jason Sabio, Anton and Armand del Rosario, Jonah Romero, and Kross Ubiam.

Interestingly, there’s be some competition in the mix as Chicago Inferno keeper Troy Osborne joins the team that already has the league’s top goal keeper in Saba Sedeghi. Who will start? That is a game day decision.

This team addressed their internal issues last season and it would be interesting to see how they cope with a far deeper squad and competition that will crop up for playing time.

Coach: Kale Alvarez

(OUT) Prince Mark Boley, Evan Santos

(IN) Dario Dakic, Toshiya Hosoe, Sean Illif, Troy Osborne, OJ Porteria, Antonio Ugarte.

Loyola (3^rd place, 11-4-3)

The clock is ticking on the Miami Heat, er, orange.

They came within a game of winning the cup and faltered down the stretch in league play. After that infamous meltdown, team captain James Younghusband exclaimed that they’re like the Miami Heat where they came close one year they achieved it in the next. There’s also a little pride that none of the two clubs that placed higher in the league defeated them. Now the onus is on the club to back up those words.

For a team that undertook the biggest roster overhaul at the start of the last season, they didn’t add much in the off-season. There are new parts here in there but they believe that after a year together, they have a better understanding of what it takes to win the UFL.

Scoring is not a problem for Loyola. The problem is their defense.

And they made quite a few changes from last year beginning at goal. Last season, they had Gabby Vorbeck, Patrick O’Donnell, and Lando Cabaniero caddying for starting keeper Ref Cuaresma. This season, they got a very capable backup in former Pachanga second string keeper Mark Sorongon who played extremely well the Red Phoenix’s record setting season in Division Two. Sorongon is tall and is a good defensive keeper who should provide good leadership in the back. The challenge for Coach Kim Chul So is to find minutes for Sorongon that will keep him sharp. Note that  the more he played for Pachanga last year the better he got.

The back four on the other hand will be strengthened when former national player Chad Gould comes in. Gould can play multiple positions and his experience in the back will help. It is hoped that PJ Fadrigalan (who made his Loyola debut in the quarterfinals win over Kanbawza in the 2012 Singapore Cup) will close down the once porous right back position. Mainstays Byeong Yeol Jeong and Park Minho are there while Jo Won Jang and Hoon Goo Heo will help out.

Loyola has arguably one of the league’s best starting elevens. However,  when they went to their bench there wasn’t much help. The addition of Gould and their K-Pop contingent should help.

As it is Loyola is the sum of three different parts – the Fil-foreigners, the homegrowns, and the Koreans. The Singapore Cup helped the team’s chemistry. The question now is, how does that translate into the new UFL season?

Coach: Kim Chul So

(OUT) Matthew Hartmann, Lando Cabaniero, Gabby Vorbeck, Gabby Borja, Alex Camara, Lawrence Ikeguwuruka

(IN) Chad Gould, Simon Greatwich (reactivated), Mark Sorongon, Rodrigue Nembot (from Union Internacional Manila), Paul Torres (Navy), Eric Giganto (FEU).

Stallion (4^th place, 8-5-5)

They were the biggest story of the first round of last year’s league competition when they turned their game around from the physical brand they were previously known for to a more skillful one that was a sight to behold. They played beautiful football with accurate passing and clinical finishes. Balut Doctora became a star and received a call up to the national team along with Antonio Albor and Bervic Italia. Their midfield was celebrated for their crisp passing. And head coach Dr. Eu Hyung Pe looked like a local version of Pep Guardiola albeit a Korean one.

Stallion carved out huge victories and won five straight before teams figured out how to play them by disrupting the supply of forward balls from the midfield.

How Dr. Pe got two disparate groups – the homegrown Illongos and the Koreans who had made the Visayan province their home – to play great football was a huge accomplishment. They were a far cry from the long ball that Visayan clubs espoused.

This new season, they look to add some scoring punch with the arrival of Internacional de Madrid striker Rufo and Joaquin Cañas. Holding midfielder Jason de Jong can be a huge asset when he has his mind on the game and isn’t going after opponent’s ankles.

And that says a lot. When Stallion reverts to their former persona where they played highly physical football, it backfires as they rack up cards instead of goals.

They won’t be catching any clubs by surprise this season and they will have to raise their game a notch higher if they want to unseat the upper teams.

Stallion is battling for more than respect. They are out to show that with their new additions, they can win some silverware.

Coach Eu Hyung Pee

(OUT) Ansing Gustilo,

(IN) Rhante Bayquin, Joaquin Cañas (Madrid), Jason de Jong, Won Hyung Lee, Rufo Sanchez.

Air Force (5^th place, 7-4-7)

The Airmen’s final league slate coincidentally mimics the designation of those jetliners of the past decade. Time sure flies. For two years, Air Force was the toast of the UFL winning back-to-back league titles including a thrilling cup win over Loyola.

Come the league. They faltered big time. Teams stopped the wing play that was crucial to their offense. When injuries knocked Chieffy Caligdong out, so did Air Force’s offense tank. Injured or not, the Airmen dished out some spectacular performances against Loyola who proved to be unlucky against the military team.

This is a crucial season for Air Force as with Army (the third military team, Navy, was relegated). Their inability to recruit and pay huge sums to outside players because of their ingrained system hurts them. Time was the best footballers in the country went to the military teams to continue their career. The growth of the club scene has somewhat killed that. In another time, the best players of Stallion and Pachanga would have gone to the Armed Forces teams to play. Now, because one can finally make a career in football, the military football teams are no longer an option.

But one cannot underestimate the pride that flows through the Airmen’s veins and swells in their hearts. Not only do they help protect our country but they also represent the hopes of others who otherwise will not get an opportunity to play for the national team with its predilection for foreign talent. Yanti Barsales defied all expectations with his superb play even as Caligdong went out. Caligdong is healthy and they still have the dangerous Ian Araneta. But the challenge is for their defense to hold fast despite having the reliable Tats Mercado to mind the net. Air Force hopes that the addition of Mark Anthony Fernandez from Pasargad will shore up that backline.

With time for this reality to sink in, second year coach Sgt. Edzel Bracamonte, who succeeded Edwin Cabalida as coach and won the cup in his debut on the sidelines, will have to do his best coaching this season. It would be foolhardy to bet against the former champs. Watch out.

Coach: Sgt. Edzel Bracamonte

(IN) Paul Concepcion, Mark Anthony Fernandez (Pasargad), Neckson Leonora (Pachanga)

----------------
WATCH OUT FOR PART 2 AS WE LOOK AT THE OTHER DIVISION ONE TEAMS.

Get out of the way! Ray Parks and Kiefer Ravena throw the hammer down!

Ray rises. Photo by Carl Sta. Ana

The first one I ever saw to dunk the ball in the UAAP was Jayvee Gayoso in a game against NU when we were in high school. Dunking the ball was such a rarity that when he slammed it everyone on the Ateneo bench rushed to the floor to celebrate never mind if the game was ongoing. Technical foul, coach Rafael Dimalanta. I don't think I saw someone more happy to get T'd up. Then came Benjie Paras and wow. I wondered if the basket support was strong enough to withstand his slams. Then there was San Sebastian College's Paul Alvarez and he did some pretty amazing things with that ball. Then I saw Danny Francisco throw some down first while he was a Blue Eaglet then when he was a Blue Eagle. When Bong Ravena made his debut with the UE Warriors, all I could think was, "Look out below." 

But if there was any one time that was a dunkfest that was in the early 1990s in the UAAP when La Salle's Jun Limpot would engage Adamson's Marlou Aquino in a slamfest! In one game at Blue Eagle Gym, Limpot posted up Aquino. He spun around and threw down one as the Adamson center tried to block it front behind. The next trip down the floor, Aquino got the ball at the fifteen foot line, drove and elevated for a monstrous throwdown! They'd dunk on one another that it was truly amazing. Like there was no one else but themselves going at one another. Now throw in Adamson's Kenneth Duremdes, FEU's Henry Padaong, and La Salle's John Edel Cardel. There was one game where Cardel pulled down an offensive board, went down to secure the ball, then jumped right through a forest of arms to slam it in. Wow. Three-point play against FEU! It seemed that with the 1990s, players were trying to throw down whenever they could. 

Some dunks you don't forget. There was Japeth Aguilar in the Home and Away League where Ateneo was playing San Sebastian at EAC. Jap blocked a Stags' jumper, corralled the loose ball and high-tailed it downcourt with two opponents giving chase. Just past the free throw line, Jap elevated with two Stags going up to try and meet him in the air. Wham! In your face! Every one of the 50 people inside the EAC gym jumped up in celebration (including the San Sebastian team)! That was a NBA-type of dunk, right there. I remember Jap saying that he would have traded that highlight reel slam for a win because Baste took the match by six points. Another dunk that a lot of people did not see was when Ateneo played UST in the Fr. Martin's Cup and Jobe Nkemakolam, two feet from the free throw line took off. The Tigers' Alwyn Espiritu met him in mid-air but Nkemakolam was not denied. There was Danny Ildefonso on anybody foolish enough to face him and get embarrassed with his trademark "raise the roofs". There was Rico Villanueva on Cyrus Baguio, Paolo Bugia on Ronald Tubid, Ferdinand on Nico Salva, Khasim Mirza on Nico Salva (what the!), and JC Intal on Veejay Serios. Calvin Abueva with a death-defying dunk on San Beda's frontcourt players. Ronald Pascual also has some incredible slams too! UE's Elmer Espiritu was always fun to watch. What hops he has. I wish we could catalogue these dunks!

And there are these two special ones where NU's Ray Parks throws down a vicious tomahawk on La Salle's Arnold van Opstal (sorry, bud) and Kiefer Ravena posterizes UST's Karim Abdul. I'd say that these two dunks will give us something to talk about other than this season's horrid officiating.

Sumakay ka pa. Photo by Raddy Mabasa.

And there was this flush by Enrico Villanueva on Cyrus Baguio in a game during 2002. Cyrus tried to swipe the ball when Rico drove in but he missed. The result... a photo in the Ateneo souvenir book of 2002. The violence of the dunk was over in a flash. Photo by Aaron Vicencio.

From one fan to another: Helping bring back pro basketball to Seattle

From one fan to another: Helping bring back pro basketball to Seattle

by rick olivares photo from sonicsgate FB

I was shocked at how the NBA could allow a franchise like the Seattle Supersonics to leave just like that. I tried to find out information on what happened and didn’t get much until I saw what these Sonics fans did. I purchased the DVD of the documentary (a well-produced and incredibly informative and engaging one) to throw some support and even wrote about it on the Philippine page of nba.com. What follows is a short interview with the producer of Sonicsgate, Adam Brown.

One of the other persons involved in this film, Brian Robinson, will be in Manila soon, and we’re going to meet up to see what else can be done. Thanks to Adam and Brian for all their unwavering faith to see pro basketball return to Seattle and for the support in my writing about this issue.

Rick Olivares: Can you kindly describe the last home game of the Sonics before the team left. What was the atmosphere like? Did the people of Seattle know that they were gone then?

Adam Brown: The final Sonics home game at KeyArena in 2008 was the most uniquely powerful and emotional sports event I've ever attended.  A packed, passionate crowd came out to support our team and willed the all-time franchise worst 18-62 Sonics to victory over the contending Dallas Mavericks that night.  We all knew in our hearts that the team was likely gone, but there was still hope with the Federal lease trial to come.  We tried to convey this emotional roller coaster in our film Sonicsgate, as the little moments of hope would pop up when Sonics fans thought we could beat the odds. It was an unparalleled moment as our community's love for the Sonics transcended all of the hopelessness, and KeyArena became the toughest home court advantage in the league that it was in the 90s glory years.  The atmosphere felt like a playoff game, as the only Rookie of the Year in Sonics franchise history, Kevin Durant, downed the Mavs in the clutch closing minutes of the game.  Durant hyped up the crowd's ferocious chants of "Save Our Sonics" that echoed through the building, as this basketball city represented for all the Sonics fans worldwide that we weren't just letting this team go without a fight.  Truly a special night in sports history.

Rick: How did the idea of doing a documentary about this come about? Was it difficult? Did the league try to stop you in anyway?

Adam: We are just the biggest Sonics fans our whole lives, and we all fought our hardest to keep the team here before it tragically relocated.  Yes, it was difficult, but with a ton of help from people throughout the local community, our core six-man production team shot 39 exclusive interviews, sifted through hundreds of hours of archival footage and edited the movie together over four months, releasing it for free online in October 2009.  We were heartbroken and angry about the scandalous circumstances that caused our team to leave.  The movie was our attempt to let the nation know the truth about those circumstances and start a movement to bring basketball back to Seattle.  Early in 2012, CNBC contacted us about licensing the film and we re-cut a new version that aired nationally this year.

The league turned down our interview requests to have David Stern or another representative appear in the film, but it hasn't contacted us since then or tried to stop the film in any way to our knowledge.  Everything we've done has been out of love for the Sonics, so we like to think that the league knows we are the biggest fans and consumers of its product.  We're straight up NBA junkies.  Even since the Sonics left, we still subscribe to League Pass, play in a competitive NBA fantasy league and watch as much pro hoops as ever.  It will be great to restore the legacy of the Sonics here in Seattle, and thanks to Chris Hansen that day may come sooner than later.  

Rick: What was the response of the NBA to Sonicsgate? Would you know of any reactions by former Seattle players to Sonicsgate? Did the film have any impact on NBA fans or the people of Seattle?

Adam: We haven't heard any official league response to the movie.  Everyone who has watched it has given us great feedback, and it's all been overwhelmingly positive.  Check out all the bonus features and press on our website to see some sample responses.  Ray Allen tweeted his support for Seattle after watching the movie in 2009.  Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Spencer Haywood, Xavier McDaniel, Jack Sikma, Slick Watts and many others have watched the movie and expressed support for bringing basketball back to Seattle.  We get emails from sports fans all over the country and even internationally saying they were impacted by the film, which is rewarding to hear. The biggest impact we've had is locally, where there was great apathy and bitterness when the team left, and now there is unabated enthusiasm throughout our community for bringing the Sonics back.

Rick: With Chris Hansen in the picture, what does this mean? Since the announcement of the new deal, what has happened?

Adam: The Seattle City Council officially votes to approve the arena deal on Monday, Sept. 24!  The fans here have risen up since Sonicsgate came out and let it be known that we want basketball back here. Chris Hansen made it possible with his calm vision and generosity.  Now the NBA just needs to help find Hansen a team to bring the Sonics back so we can get those banners back up and retire Gary Payton's jersey along with Gus Williams, Nate McMillan, Jack Sikma and the other greats.  We're happy that our movie has helped this cause, and we can't wait to root for our hometown team again.

For more info about Sonicsgate is available at www.sonicsgate.com

Rick: Thanks, Adam and good luck to the city of Seattle!