I started writing about way back, filing stories about the UP Fighting Maroons for an old incarnation of Peyups.com. With the new UAAP season opening this Saturday, I unearthed an old article I wrote in 2003, a running diary of the league's opening.

I'm posting it now for a couple of reasons: it's fun to look at how my writing has changed (or hasn't changed) since eight years go, and it fits in well because Ateneo is hosting this season again.

A few more notes:

- I was totally ripping off Bill Simmons in this diary, something I would freely admit, except no one called me out because he wasn't the sportswriting superstar he is today, and not as many people read him back then.

- A couple of interesting figures turn up in the diary: play-by-play guy Jude Turcuato, who was really the first mainstream media person who gave this blog the time of day, and analyst Ryan "The Genius" Gregorio, who needs no introduction to readers of this website. Funny how these things work out.

- The Karl in the article is the owner of Peyups.com; he's now one-half of the famous wedding photography tandem Mimi and Karl.

- While it's not exactly excellent writing, I still enjoyed my gratuitous potshots at Ateneo.

Oh, sorry, *the* Ateneo.

Enjoy.

Continue reading "A blast from Peyups past: My running diary of the UAAP opening day 2003"

If you missed it, here’s my report on Smart Gilas Pilipinas’ heartbreaking loss to Mahram of Iran last Saturday.

I wasn’t able to file a report for Sunday’s game, but Karl Decena, whom you might remember as the college student who wrote this excellent profile on Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, filled in for me to write about the Philippine team’s loss against Qatar.

MANILA, Philippines - Spitfire guard Jayvee Casio floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee, and the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national squad played rope-a-dope against Al-Jala’a of Syria in a come-from-behind 85-80 win in the quarterfinals of the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

Casio was brilliant throughout the game, providing the only glimmer of light in an otherwise dim opening half that saw the Philippines trailing the Syrians, 34-41.

While Casio scored 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first half, the rest of the team shot miserably, making the rim bleed by making just 11 of 32 field goal attempts.

Former NBA first round pick Samaki Walker, meanwhile, dominated his matchup against naturalized SMART-Gilas center Marcus Douthit early in the game, scoring 16 points in the first half for Al-Jala’a. Syrian hotshot Micheal Adanly added 14 points to fuel Syria’s hot start.

But it was a different story after the halftime break, as Casio, Douthit, Chris Lutz, and Japeth Aguilar conspired in a furious 10-4 run to start the third quarter. Aguilar’s three-point play with 1:37 gave SMART-Gilas a 56-55 lead that it would not surrender for the rest of the match.

Continue reading at InterAksyon.com

It’s serendipity that the man behind the Heat’s downfall today, Dirk Nowitzki, is German – just like the word Schadenfreude.

The last time Dondon Hontiveros was on the court against basketball players from Jordan, the game ended in heartbreak for millions of Filipino basketball fans. The Philippine national basketball team was defeated by Jordan in the 2007 FIBA-Asia Championship, slamming the door on the medal hopes of Hontiveros, his teammates, and his countrymen.

It’s unclear if the hotshot from Cebu still harbors any bitterness from that loss, but with his performance on Wednesday night, it wasn’t hard to imagine him carrying a chip on his shoulder. Hontiveros scored 23 points -- pouring in six three-pointers -- to lead SMART-Gilas Pilipinas to a hard-earned 76-74 victory over Applied Science University, which featured stars Sam Daghlas and Zaid Abbas, members of the Jordan team that beat the Philippines in 2007.

Continue reading at InterAksyon.com

QUARTERFINALS SCHEDULE
Friday, June 3

2 p.m. Lebanon (Al-Riyadi) vs. Iraq (Duhok)
4 p.m. Iran (Mahram) vs. Saudi Arabia (Al-Ittihad)
6 p.m. Philippines (SMART-Gilas) vs. Syria (Al-Jala'a)
8 p.m. Jordan (Applied Science University) vs. Qatar (Al-Rayyan)

For what seemed like an eternity in the third quarter, the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team was so bad it couldn’t hit water if it fell off a boat. Fortunately for the throng of Filipino fans who showed up at the Philsports Arena, Mark Barroca caught fire in the fourth quarter to lead the team to a 74-64 victory over a surprisingly competitive Duhok squad of Iraq.

Barroca poured in 8 of his 14 points in the final period, sparking the team after a nightmare third quarter that saw Iraq cut a double-digit SMART-Gilas lead to three by the end of the period. He scored six straight points after Iraq made its last run, pushing the Philippine lead to 14, 74-60, and putting the game out of reach.

Continue reading at InterAksyon.com

Trailing by 1 point at halftime against the Westsports KL Dragons of Malaysia, a disappointed Rajko Toroman had a simple message for the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national squad:

“We’re a better team than this.”

Continue reading at InterAksyon.com

I’m filing reports on Smart Gilas in the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup for InterAksyon.com, the official news website of TV5. If you’ve been following this site from the very beginning, you’d appreciate the delicious irony of me covering the team for a website of a media company owned by Manny Pangilinan himself.

Anyway, yeah, click here for my report on tonight’s spanking of Saudi Arabia, starring the much-maligned Japeth Aguilar himself. Hopefully he’ll continue to play this well when the competition gets better. Also, check out the schedule, ticket, and TV info if you wanna see the games yourself.