UAAP Weekend Roundup

It’s difficult to guess what Adamson’s Roider Cabrera was thinking during the last few seconds of the Adamson-Ateneo game. Whether he was intending to pass it to a teammate, or he was heaving it in the hopes of a last second shot, is anybody’s guess. Either way, Cabrera’s awkward toss out of bounds was an anticlimactic end to a hard-fought game, which Ateneo won by the skin of its teeth, 55-52.

It was clear that two main factors were in play for yesterday’s game. One, the winner would gain solo control of second place, and, two, had Adamson won, it would’ve broken a 13-year drought against its fellow raptor school, a 26-game skid dating back from 1997. With those two factors in mind, both teams girded themselves for a bruising battle.

And a bruising battle it was.

Both teams played excellent inside defense, making it difficult to impossible for either team to score from the inside. While the first quarter ended with Ateneo leading, 16-10, the second quarter saw such tight defense that both teams were often forced into making three-point shots, many of which never found the mark. The first half ended, 22-21, in favor of Ateneo.

The second half started with the ejection of Ateneo’s Edwin “Jumbo” Escueta, for apparently wearing the wrong pair of shorts. Escueta’s shorts lacked a patch, the Philippine flag shaped into an “A” form. In the past, such an infraction could have resulted in a forfeit, as well as a protest, but since the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) had changed its rules, the team with the infraction was assessed with a technical foul, meaning two free throws, and the ejection of the player; also, such an infraction could not be protested anymore. Escueta dejectedly left the court, leaving a big hole in Ateneo’s big man rotation.

It might have been the spark, though, to ignite the Blue Eagles’ motivation, as, during the third quarter, Blue Eagle Ryan Buenafe shone, as he muscled his way through, again and again, and Nico Salva came in with some clutch shots to put the Blue Eagles up on top by the end of the quarter, 41-34.

Still, the Falcons would not be dismissed so easily, and managed to catch up with Ateneo in the fourth quarter, and even claim the lead going into the last minute of the game. Coach Leo Austria’s boys probably started seeing that long losing streak to Ateneo coming to an end.

However, it was not to be. Nico Salva got two points putting in a rather awkward hook shot to regain the lead, and Eman Monfort shot two foul shots to push the lead up to three, with about 13 seconds remaining. Still, there was hope for Adamson to send the game into overtime, since Coach Austria fielded all of his players who could shoot a three.

In spite of that, Adamson could not capitalize, as their main gunner Lester Alvarez missed a three, and, after Monfort missed both free throws, Cabrera tossed off what could be a hotly-debated move in Adamson, giving Ateneo the slim victory.

With the win, Ateneo now moves into solo second, a half game behind Far Eastern University, which got ambushed by a desperate La Salle squad the day before. Adamson has solo third, a half game ahead of La Salle, as well as a continuation of the long drought against Ateneo. It’s still possible, though, for both teams to meet in the Final Four, where Adamson can try their luck once more to end the drought.

In other games, National University kept its slim Final Four hopes alive at the expense of a gritty University of the East team, winning by a 1-point margin, 69-68, although that score is deceptive, as it came courtesy of a last-second three-pointer by Warrior Raffy Reyes. The University of the Philippines continued its disappointing and frustrating winless season, dropping a close game to the Tigers of Sto. Tomas. The win keeps alive the Tigers' hopes of making the Final Four, although they will have to win all their remaining games, and pray that fourth-placer La Salle loses all of theirs. It'll be a wild ride for just about everybody, except UP, going into the final two weeks of the elimination round.

Media Commentary - Esposo's Sunday Column

William Esposo is a columnist of the Philippine Star, and his columns have often shown a strong bias towards the Aquino administration. But his Sunday column, entitled “The vultures that prey on the hostage tragedy”, sums up a number of my thoughts about some of those criticizing or commenting on the tragic event.

In his column, Esposo castigates a number of whom he calls “vultures”. He first scores opposition leader Rep. Edcel Lagman and former President Gloria Arroyo’s spokesperson Elenita Horn for criticizing the Aquino government and for lauding President Arroyo for being more decisive during her time. He correctly notes that neither Rep. Lagman nor Horn spoke up about the massive corruption during the Arroyo administration.

Horn can probably be excused for her silence, being Arroyo's Presidential Management Staff head, although one can question why she stayed on despite the corruption of her boss. Her current stint as spokesperson, though, shows where her loyalties lie, and denies her any credibility to speak out against the Aquino administration.

Lagman’s doglike loyalty to Arroyo is more questionable. A former anti-Marcos stalwart, Lagman has shown none of the moral activism that he displayed in fighting against the martial law regime. In fact, he has been one of the most traditional of politicians under President Arroyo, coming to aid time and time again whenever an impeachment complaint was filed against Arroyo. He stymied every effort to take Arroyo to task for her excesses, and, now, he has the temerity to criticize the Aquino administration? Rep. Lagman, that’s one gigantic plank in your eye.

On a side note, while I realize it’s a fact, President Aquino’s advisors or spokesmen shouldn’t make much of the fact that President Arroyo did not do enough to equip and train the police, which is part of what led to last week’s tragedy. It’s a fact, which Rep. Lagman will probably gloss over, that President Arroyo had nine years to improve the quality of the Philippine National Police (PNP). Instead, it appears that, not only was PNP equipment and training lacking, members of the police may actually have aided in some of the more brutal aspects of the Arroyo administration, such as the extrajudicial killings and even the now-infamous Maguindanao Massacre. Be that as it may, if the President’s men are the ones who speak up about the deficiencies of the Arroyo administration at this time, it will only be seen as passing the buck.

Esposo also questions ABS-CBN’s Maria Ressa for continuously denying that her network had any culpability in what happened last week. In a news item last week, Ressa noted that if ABS-CBN cameramen and newscasters had stopped their live coverage, viewers would’ve been angry with them, which betrays the fact that the network was more interested in its ratings rather than public safety. It has been widely believed that the live coverage of the arrest of hostage taker Rolando Mendoza’s brother was the spark that lit the fuse, and set off the tragic turn of events. Ressa’s inability to acknowledge this shows an appalling lack of conscience on her part.

What I don’t fully agree with Esposo is his assertion that President Aquino was right in not taking Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang’s phone call at the height of the hostage taking. Esposo argues that, in international diplomacy, Tsang is not the equal of President Aquino, and that the one who should have called was China’s premier Hu Jintao.

While such may be true, I think it would have been mere politeness for Aquino to have taken the call, although I am not too knowledgeable of international protocol to be certain of that. Would the action have been construed that our country’s leader is only the equivalent of what is essentially a provincial governor of China? Still, it would have been a gracious act, and it might have smoothed relations a little better.

The investigation into last week’s tragedy continues, and, hopefully, we’ll be able to move on, and take action on those aspects of law enforcement that need strengthening. At the same time, maybe the political vultures will stop circling the fledgling Aquino administration.

Dissection of a Tragedy

Last Monday’s tragic incident, wherein a dismissed police officer Rolando Mendoza took hostage a busload of Hong Kong tourists in order to air his gripes, exposed a number of lapses and blunders committed by both the police and the media. These lapses resulted in the death of Mendoza, as well as eight of the hostages, and marred the reputation of the Philippine police, which was still reeling from the graphic footage of police torture the week before.

From the live coverage of the incident, it was clear that the police were not prepared to deal with the situation. They apparently lacked a central command, in order to coordinate whatever course of action they would decide to take. This could be seen from the way it appeared that police were crowding the bus.

It was also clear that the police were poorly equipped. They had no gas masks in order to deal with the tear gas they lobbed into the bus, and they didn’t have any lights on their guns, which would make it difficult to see into the interior of the bus. When it came time to open the door of the bus, a police officer used a rope instead of a chain, and, predictably, the rope broke.

Finally, the lack of police training in hostage situations was exposed for the entire world to see. From the looks of it, it took far too long for the police to storm the vehicle, and I’m not sure what sort of negotiator was assigned to talk with Mendoza, but apparently, at some point negotiations broke down, and the police should have acted more decisively.

At the same time, to some extent, the media should have coordinated more closely with the police, although I will concede that the apparent lack of a single officer tasked to take charge of the situation would have made such coordination difficult. I will assume that Mendoza was able to monitor what was going on outside the bus through the television set that is invariably part of the bus’s comforts. Since there was no delayed telecast, and everything was being reported live, Mendoza would have been able to adjust his tactics to deal with the police.

Aside from being able to know the police’s movements, the report of the arrest of Mendoza’s brother, who was apparently with him inside the bus, was the trigger that set off the tragic chain of events, and effectively ended whatever negotiations that were taking place. If this report was not aired live, perhaps Mendoza would have acted so precipitously.

Of course, the media will huff and puff that it is their job to report the news (and they did just that on ANC), and that there is no call to restrain the press, but, what the media have to remember is that no freedom is absolute. I agree with Cebu Rep. Quisumbing when he clarified that, while it’s important to document whatever event is going on, it’s also important for the media to coordinate with law enforcement officials and not immediately release information which could result in tragedy. Rep. Quisumbing apparently plans to introduce a bill to regulate press actions during situations such as hostage-taking and the like, although even that should be carefully scrutinized, lest it become a tool to muzzle the press.

The incident also exposed Filipinos’ apparent predilection to rush and ogle any dangerous situation. After it was clear that Mendoza was killed by the sniper’s bullet, people rushed in to inspect the hostage site, disregarding any personal safety or comfort, since it was raining in torrents that night. The crowds made it difficult for emergency vehicles to approach the bus. While the police should have exercised proper crowd control, I can only shake my head at my countrymen’s attitude of ogling and kibitzing situations such as these.

If there is something that can be learned from this tragic event, it would be that our government has to invest time, effort and money in training our police force to deal with the situations they face. I’m hoping that the investigation that is taking place to assess and evaluate the police performance will come up with these recommendations, so that the next time something like this happens, our police force will be better prepared to deal with it.

In the media -

I really like Cito Beltran's take on the situation, as he tries to see the tragedy in the context of Filipino culture.

The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility released a suggested set of guidelines for the media to follow in such situations in the aftermath of the 2007 hostage taking by Armando Ducat.

Inquirer columnist Amando Doronilla worries about the economic and political repercussions of the event.

The Politics of Corruption: Names on Billboards

It’s clear that a number of former President Arroyo’s allies in the House of Representatives are loath to give up the perks they enjoyed under Arroyo’s nine years in office, despite the fact that these perks were either self-aggrandizing, or symbolic of the corruption that characterized the Arroyo administration.

The newest perk to be removed is President Noynoy Aquino’s order to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that politicians’ names and faces should not be placed on billboards advertising their supposed sponsorship of DPWH projects.

Arroyo’s allies were quick to protest this move, and it’s interesting to note those who were reported to have spoken out. Of particular interest are Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, who spent $10,000 wining and dining former President Arroyo during a U.S. trip, and Iloilo Rep. Augusto Syjuco, who, as TESDA head, apparently spent millions on a TESDA ad featuring himself and singer Sarah Geronimo. Throw in Zambales Rep. Ma. Milagros Magsaysay, and one can see a pantheon of those who supported and probably encouraged corruption during the Arroyo administration.

Perhaps their various reasons may make sense in their ears, but, to the discerning public, their reasons are simply pathetic and stupid. Suarez’s assertion that placing the cost of the project and the contractor’s name in lieu of the politicians’ mugs will only make it easier for the New People’s Army rebels to demand revolutionary tax suggests that the Quezon representative has been funding the rebels and is guilty of helping perpetuate the insurrection. Syjuco’s desire to be recognized ignores the fact that his public works projects are funded via his pork barrel funds, which are, in fact, taxpayers’ money. If that’s the case, maybe Syjuco should erect a billboard with his constituents’ faces, since ultimately, they are the ones paying for the project, not him.

The problem with politicians’ faces on billboards is that it perpetuates the corrupt practice of patronage politics, wherein the politicians, through the billboards, reminds the constituents who their patron is, and that they should be grateful to the politician for the assistance, especially when the next election comes along. The constituents forget, though, that it isn’t the politician who is paying for the project; they are.

The current administration’s order to place the contractor and the cost will make it more difficult for politicians to hire shady contractors and make questionable deals wherein the politicians are able to skim some of the funds for their own use. By placing the name of the contractors, it will be easier to go after them should the project turn out to be faulty.

I’m glad that President Aquino has been working to remove the vestiges of corrupt practices. He started out with the ban on wang wangs, and has shown that he is consistent as he goes after other symbols of misguided importance. From the looks of it, the Filipino people are supportive of those moves. Those in the minority who cannot let go of the past will simply marginalize themselves further as they attempt to hold to practices that are no longer viable. With any luck, these idiots will marginalize themselves out of Philippine politics.

Police Brutality on Video

It was a jarring sight this morning to see a video of a naked man being beaten inside a police station, and I could only wince as the man writhed in pain; apparently, a rope was tied to his private parts, and his tormentor was intermittently yanking the rope as he delivered a beating to the victim.

According to the news, the incident occurred in PS 7 in Tondo, Manila. The victim was an alleged holdup suspect, and the tormentor was allegedly a policeman in shorts and shirt. The sheer obvious violation of human rights was enough to get the entire detachment relieved of duty and recalled to their main station; the policemen involved are now facing administrative, and maybe even criminal, charges.

Police brutality is nothing new; thanks to the vestiges of martial law, our policemen have often been caught resorting to illegal and criminal means to deal with criminal suspects. Nevertheless, the video captures in graphic detail the extent of police brutality that is present today. Still, just because one has been accused of a crime doesn’t rob that person of his or her human rights. Police have to follow due process in dealing with suspects, and file the proper charges in court if the evidence is strong enough to condemn the suspect. The police shouldn’t have to resort to brutal means to convict or punish wrongdoers. It is this sort of incident that doesn’t engender trust in our law enforcement officials.

I feel sorry for PNP Director Jesus Verzosa, who has opted for early retirement later this year, that he has this incident to punctuate his stint as police chief. When he was first appointed, he had to deal with the “euro generals” scandal, where high-ranking PNP officers were caught sneaking thousands of euros into Russia. Now, before he leaves, he has to deal with a vicious case of police brutality. Hopefully, he still has time to put into place reforms that will discourage such practices before he rides out into the sunset.

Stories of the 15th Congress

The 15^th Congress has barely started, and its plate is already full of issues, with laws being proposed, and lawmakers making news (good or bad).

Here’s the rundown of some interesting goings on at the Congress.

Fighting Congressmen – The fighting term is a double meaning, as it refers to the House’s resident Congressman-boxer , Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao, who made waves when he announced that he would begin training for his November 13 fight against Margarito in the Batasang Pambansa itself. This idea was quickly shot down by House Speaker Quezon City 4^th District Rep. Sonny Belmonte, who flatly stated that the Batasan would quickly become a house of spectacle, with media, fans, and even Congressmen thronging to see the fighting Congressman from Sarangani. Of course, the House has always been a house of spectacle, even without Pacquiao’s announcement.

This was proven when Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello castigated former President, and current Pampanga Rep., Gloria Arroyo and her allies in the House, as he accused them of corrupt practices in a privilege speech. The President’s son, Camarines Sur Rep. Dato Arroyo and Arroyo’s closest ally Rep. Edcel Lagman rose up to defend the President, while San Juan Rep. JV Ejercito spoke up to support Bello’s claims. As a result of his actions, Rep. Bello will likely face the House ethics committee for being “unparliamentary” in attacking Rep. Arroyo. Still, I’m sure a number of Filipinos were cheering Bello on as he just spoke about what he felt the former President and her allies did during their time in power.

As it is, it appears that Rep. Gloria Arroyo has yet to make any impact on the House, and has been content to absent herself whenever one of her critics stands up to speak about her. I’m not sure what she meant to accomplish being in the House, except maybe to use it as a convenient sanctuary to shield herself from criminal suit.

Here We Go Again – Senator Franklin Drilon has once more dusted off the proposal to move the opening of classes to September in order to avoid the typhoon season. On one side, the proposal has merit, considering that a number of school days are lost when typhoons, a regular natural occurrence, rage across the country. Not putting students in the danger of wading through floods is another advantage of the proposal.

However, moving the opening of classes to September also means that students will be compelled to go to school during the hot summer season, wherein it’s likely that we will have to deal with students suffering from the heat. It also means that students’ vacations will fall squarely during the onset of the typhoon season.

Moreover, moving the opening of classes to September will not be any assurance that students will be able to avoid the typhoon season. Senator Drilon seems to have forgotten that last year’s killer storms “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” hit the country in September and October. If Drilon’s proposal was in place, and school had just started in September, students would have still been severely affected by the storms.

What needs to be done is to improve our meteorological systems. The wake of typhoon “Basyang” this year revealed the inadequate resources our weather service has in dealing with nature, a bitter irony considering the decades of knowing that the Philippines always bears the brunt of Pacific storms.

Senator Drilon would be better off working on other laws that can help improve the working of our country.

Proposed laws – I’ll be writing about these in a future post (hopefully), but among the laws up for study and deliberation are the reproductive health bill, the freedom of information law, laws legalizing or decriminalizing divorce and abortion, and a proposed ban on allowing children on motorcycles. Each of these laws, if passed, will have a significant impact on our country. What the impact will be I’ll be discussing soon.

President Aquino's Early Days

It’s been difficult to write about the political realm during the past few weeks. I guess I’ve been playing a wait-and-see attitude to the Aquino administration, trying to gauge what moves the President will make in order to lift us from the sea of corruption that has besieged our nation for the longest time. So far, President Aquino’s moves have been both tentative and bold, at times unsure, and at other times confident. The result is something that has yet to be evaluated, as events are still unfolding before our eyes.

There are, however, some issues that are already in play, and it’s possible to take a closer look at them.

The “no wang wang” policy – Undoubtedly, this has been one of President Aquino’s most popular initiatives, instantly removing a much-hated symbol of flogging one’s status upon others. It has been followed up by the removal of politicians’ names from government projects, another worthy move. Too long have our politicians and government officials been acting like nobles and lords, conveniently forgetting that they are actually the people’s servants. President Aquino’s bold move reminds the people that they, not the officials, are the masters.

Of course, recalcitrant officials have apparently tried to get around this policy by resorting to police escorts to block traffic so that the officials have a smooth ride. From the looks of it, it’ll only be a matter of time before even this perk will be removed, and officials will have to slog it out in traffic like the rest of us.

The proposed 12-year education curriculum – While the idea has merit, and, if properly implemented, could improve the educational standing of the country, it would be better for the Department of Education (DepEd) to pay more attention to the existing problems; otherwise, the 12-year plan will only add 2 more years of educational mediocrity. The DepEd should pay more attention to the following aspects of public school education: teacher training, teacher recruitment, material and physical plant improvements. Without enough well-trained teachers and classrooms, as well as enough school materials for students, it will be difficult to justify to parents why their children will have to endure two extra years of expenses and mediocre education.

The newly established Truth Commission – Truth to tell, I’m not exactly sure what this Commission, headed by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr., is supposed to accomplish. At the same time, I’m not sure as to what powers have been invested in the Commission to give it teeth. While it is supposed to investigate the various corruption issues of the previous administration, will it have the power to file cases? To subpoena witnesses? All of that is still up in the air.

My main fear is that there is a possibility that the Truth Commission will go the way of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), which has yet to win any major case against the Marcos family. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed, though, that the Commission will be able to shed light on the various scandals which rocked the Arroyo administration.

The Hacienda Luisita issue – Even though President Aquino has only a 1% share in his family’s corporation, leftists, in particular, have managed to make it a major issue in the early days of the Aquino administration; it’s interesting to note that the C-5 controversy of their erstwhile patron, Sen. Manny Villar, has been shelved for now.

I’m not going to be commenting on this issue at this point, since I’m not really well-versed in business matters; I can’t really tell whether using stock in place of land distribution is legal and more effective in helping the hacienda farmers. I’ll just join others in waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court on the petition challenging the stock distribution option (SDO) plan of the hacienda.

The E-VAT on SLEX toll - I'm not too clear about this issue, since I rarely go through the expressway. What I understand about it is that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) head Kim Henares was dead-set on imposing this revenue measure; whether she was given marching orders by the President is unclear. Like others, I find it strange that the BIR would impose what is essentially a tax on a tax; a toll is a tax to use the expressway to begin with. Now the measure is being challenged in the Supreme Court. It will be interesting to see how the justices will rule on this one.

I also don't think that the administration will get away with blaming former President Gloria Arroyo for this. Simply saying that the Arroyo administration failed to implement the tax measure won't cut it with people who traverse the expressway on a daily basis, and won't be pleased to be paying more than they feel is right.

Start of the 2nd Round: Upsets

It looks like we'll have a Final Four after all.

The Adamson Falcons (6-2) upended the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws (7-1), 64-63, to snap FEU's 7-game winning streak and end FEU's unbeaten run. With the win, a nailbiter won at the last second via an Eric Camson tip-in, Adamson moves a half-game ahead of erstwhile 2nd place partner Ateneo, and comes within a game of FEU's top spot. It's been a while since Adamson has managed to fly high, having spent some time in the doldrums since MVP Ken Bono graduated. The win also identifies Adamson as a serious threat to other teams' Final Four aspirations.

In the other game, the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors buried the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers 75-65, courtesy of top gunners James Martinez and Paul Lee. While the road is still a steep uphill for the Red Warriors, it's a step in the right direction. With a little luck, perhaps UE can manage to claim a Final Four spot.

In tomorrow's games, the Ateneo Blue Eagles (5-2) will try to keep pace with the Falcons as they face a winless University of the Philippines (UP) squad, while the De La Salle Green Archers (4-3) will try to avoid a three-game losing streak (dating back to last season) against a suddenly dangerous National University team.

End of the 1st Round: A Quick Look

With the end of the first round of men’s basketball eliminations over, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) kicks off the second round tomorrow, with the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers scuffling for position against an always dangerous University of the East (UE) squad, while unbeaten Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws facing off against an up and coming Adamson Falcons team (currently tied with Ateneo at 2^nd place with a 5-2 win-loss record) in the second game.

While we await the start of the second round, it may be helpful to take a quick look at the standings and what each team needs to do in order to barge into the Final Four.

The Teams:

FEU Tamaraws (7-0) – led by standout sophomore guard RR Garcia, the Tams have led the way, and have garnered a sweep in the first round. FEU is a veteran squad, and Glen Capacio’s coaching has brought out the best in his players. With a powerful showing in the first round, the Tams are favorites to sweep the second round, although they’ll have to continue playing at their best in order to do this. With the first round sweep, the FEU is a marked team, with other teams hungry to derail the Tams’ bid to barge into the Finals via a sweep.

Ateneo Blue Eagles (5-2) – The defending champions had a slow start to their season, losing their opening game to FEU, and then losing to archrival La Salle to give them a 2-2 record. But, then, sparked by a healthy Eric Salamat and Kirk Long, the Blue Eagles won their last three games to catch up with Adamson for a shared second place. The second round won’t be a cakewalk; as defending champions, the Eagles are also marked for hungry teams eager to prove their mettle. However, with coach Norman Black, and the emergence of Ateneo’s younger players, the Blue Eagles figure to be in the fight for a third straight championship.

Adamson Falcons (5-2) – To tell the truth, I’ve not been able to see this team in action much, although the Falcons managed to put a scare into Ateneo before folding, 69-66; the Falcons only other loss was to FEU. Its roster is experienced, though, as its starting roster is made up primarily of seniors, with Alex Nuyles (3^rd year) and Austin Manyara (rookie) rounding it out. Ably coached by Leo Austria, the Falcons will likely make it to the Final Four, assuming that the Tams don’t sweep the second round.

De La Salle Green Archers (4-3) – If it wasn’t for the embarrassing loss against the National University Bulldogs, the Archers would be sharing second place with the Eagles and the Falcons. However, La Salle remains a dangerous opponent, with youthful exuberance providing the spark for its wins, as only captain Simon Atkins and Ferdinand being the only seniors. Whether that will be enough to win the championship is doubtful, but the Archers are likely to be in the thick of the fight for a Final Four slot.

UST Growling Tigers (3-4) – Inconsistency and lack of height finally did the Tigers in, and coach Pido Jarencio will have to dig deep into his bag of tricks to pull off a Final Four appearance. UST’s shooters will have to remain deadshots, or else the Tigers’ chances of making the Final Four will be slim to none.

National U Bulldogs (3-4) – Rookie Emmanuel Mbe burst onto the UAAP men’s basketball scene with a commanding performance against La Salle, and provided an instant inside presence for a Bulldogs team hungry for wins and respect. However, it was clear that Mbe alone could not carry the team to victory, and the team’s penchant for turning the ball over did them in. In order to compete for a Final Four slot, the other Bulldogs will have to step up, and provide Mbe and Kokoy Hermosisima with needed support. Also, they will have to avoid the turnovers that spelled their doom.

UE Red Warriors (1-6) – What a difference a year makes. Last year, UE was a men’s basketball finalist; this year, the Warriors just have one win, and are likely to miss the Final Four. It’s clear that the Warriors have been unable to buck the loss of three key members of their frontline, and it’ll take a miracle (read: sweep the second round) in order for UE to make it to the Final Four.

University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons (0-7) – Despite all the preseason hype (U.S. training, and doing well in the preseason tournament), UP has been unable to win this season, resulting in the replacement of coach Aboy Castro, who has taken an indefinite leave of absence, with Boyet Fernandez . While there are some bright spots, particularly rookie Mike Silungan, the Maroons obviously lack the talent in order to compete for a Final Four slot. What coach Fernandez can probably do is to instill his system, apparently more defensive than offensive, into his players, and hope that it pays off for next season.

Back Again

As I look at the calendar, I didn’t realize that I’d been unable to post anything for more than two weeks; that’s probably one of the longest stretches I’ve had between posts. It’s basically the result of my workload, both at home and in school, and, at the same time, I guess I’ve been a bit burned out after hitting post # 1000.

It’s definitely not the lack of topics to write about. Whether it be movies watched (I have yet to watch “Inception”, though.), books read (or reread; I’m currently going through Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” for the umpteenth time.), sports played (the current UAAP men and junior basketball wars) or events viewed on the news (P-Noy’s wading through the corruption of the previous administration, for one), there’s been a rich source of topics over that past two weeks. It’s all been a matter of: one, finding the time to write about it, and, if I do have the time, finding the motivation to put a post together. Obviously, it’s been difficult finding both factors coming together at the same time.

I’ll probably try to push myself into writing once more; I’ve been lazy, and I need the practice. The important thing about writing for a blog is to stay focused and motivated, and these are qualities that I need to practice. If I am to be a writer, I have to keep at it.