Paul Lee still had enough bling-bling to wow the crowd in Game 3 of the UAAP Finals. UE’s sensational shooting guard faced the toughest defense in the league. Yet he still found a way to garner oohs and aahs.

In one dazzling coast-to-coast performance, Lee darted from the backcourt to the Warriors’ frontcourt while effortlessly dribbling past one Ateneo defender after another. Once he crossed the half-court line, Lee spotted Ateneo stopper Kirk Long blocking his path. Long anticipated a violent collision. Lee didn’t. With magician’s hands as quick as David Blane, Lee transferred the ball from his right hand to his left with a behind-the-back dribble while sprinting at 120 kph. Read the rest of this entry »

*I honestly didn’t expect the best-of-three UAAP Finals to go the distance. I surely didn’t expect UE to force a third and deciding game by blasting Ateneo off the court. Credit goes to the Red Warriors, these renegades in red, for handing us a real series and giving me second thoughts about my beloved basketball beliefs.

The Warriors, I should understand by now, enjoy trampling on conformist principles. Odds are always in favor of bigger teams who play organized offense and superb defense. Clearly, nobody from UE got the memo. In an astounding display of offensive firepower and defensive ruggedness, the Warriors smashed the Blue Eagles in Game 2. The game wasn’t even close. The Warriors’ performance last Sunday was similar to their victorious effort against FEU in their Final Four rubber-match, only on a much grander, wilder scale. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s another way to help victims of Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. You’re all invited to watch the Charity Game on Monday, October 5, at the Araneta Coliseum. Pinoy Basketbol, Kakampi Niyo! is a notable cooperative effort by the PBA, SBP, PBL, UAAP, NCAA, Liga Pilipinas and the Araneta Coliseum. The charity games aim to raise money and collect relief goods for typhoon victims.

The first game at 5:00pm pits a UAAP-NCAA selection against a combined PBL-Liga Pilipinas squad. The main game at 7:00pm is an intriguing match-up between Powerade Team Pilipinas and Smart Gilas. Read the rest of this entry »

Like a boxer who jabbed, danced, slugged, punched and pushed an opponent for 11 rounds, the UE Red Warriors knew they poured everything they had. Their knuckles were sore. Their arms used up. They frantically gasped for oxygen heading into the final round. Then, they stared at a most discouraging sight. Bobbing accross the ring, their opponent looked as fresh as Marian Rivera. Sans any sign of weariness, the adversary thumped his gloves, shifted his head side-to-side and seemed ready to run a 10k. Read the rest of this entry »

Papz Javier, an energetic, likable cheerleader for Ateneo’s Blue Babble Battalion, was all pumped up for the UAAP Finals scheduled to begin last Sunday. Once shown on live television doing his air-trumpet breakdance routine in the upper box section of the Araneta Coliseum, Papz couldn’t wait to ignite Ateneo fans for Sunday’s Game 1 between Ateneo and UE to start. As an Ateneo cheerleader sworn to root for the Blue Eagles with gusto no matter what the odds, he lives by the idiom “One Big Fight.”

Last Saturday, however, Papz stood shivering on the roof of their submerged house in Provident Village in Marikina, relentless rainfall piercing his skin like sharp icicles, basketball farthest from his mind. This “One Big Fight” for dear life was for real.

I am reposting Papz Javier’s tale of survival on my blog so readers will better understand the fury of Typhoon Ondoy;

“This is an account of what exactly happened to me and family during the flood. I’ll try to be as detailed as possible.

Around 9am: I woke up with a major hangover from last night’s party. Saw Matt sleeping on the bed just below mine. I woke him up, cause his mom is looking for him. Mama invited to eat some pasta. I wasn’t able to eat some cause my stomach still hurt. Outside, the sky was crying as if its heart just got broken due to the bf/gf. Her tears has formed a brown river - waist-high. Matt really had to go, he took a ride with one of Mama’s workers. Read the rest of this entry »