It's Time to Move On

By Jan Angelo Bermas

China may have won at the recent FIBA Asia Championships, however, a lot of people don’t seem convinced that they deserved it. Filipinos and other fans of Gilas Pilipinas have turned to social media to express their disappointment in the game.

A particularly angered Rye Dela Cruz shared on twitter his open letter to China regarding the recent game:

Dear China,

Congratulations on winning the FIBA Asia Championship. Your carefully strategized dirty tactics worked to perfection. Which tactics you ask? Let me point some of them out for you.

·        >  2 days ago, you moved the Philippines vs. Japan game to a later time. The later a game starts, the later of course it ends. This reduced the amount of rest time our players had before heading to the Philippines vs. China game.

·        >  You delayed the Gilas’ electric bus that would take them from their hotel to the stadium. Less warm up time for our Filipino cagers!

·          > Tickets were not given to some of the assistant coaches of the Philippines.

·        >  The officials were so in favor of you that Gilas players might have thought they were in a MasterChef finale instead of the FIBA Asia Championships. The officiating, especially in the early parts of the game, were the most outrageous calls and non-calls I’ve ever seen in my entire life of watching pro basketball tournaments.

These things mixed with the fact that Gilas were playing on the opposition’s home court were certainly factors that lessened their preparation before the match and altered the team’s mentality coming into the game.

The rants visible on social media complaining about the match that it was “cooked” were testament on how the setup to the finals of the competition were considered one of the worst in professional basketball history.

Filipino volleyball star Gretchen Ho generated a lot of buzz by questioning the game's officiating:

Dear @FIBA, I thought this was a world-class tournament? Why don't you have world-class officiating? Please explain. #FIBAAsia2015

The Philippines may lament the calls and the unusual antics that happened before the match but they can’t deny that China deserved to win though. They were really off their game and the Gilas’ main man Jayson Castro who finished with 8 points was testament to their off-par performance.

That combined with the hostile crowd from the hosts fuelled China into claiming gold at the FIBA Asia Championship, showing their dominance and flexing their muscles at the weary and winded Filipino warriors who seem to have never gave up until the final buzzer.

It's impossible to doubt Gilas Pilipinas' desire to capture the championship. They fought hard every step of the way to reach the necessary level starting with the Toyota Four Nations Cup in August. Though they came up a bit short in this event, they provided reason for optimism moving forward.

Gilas falters against China as they settle for Silver

By Jan Angelo Bermas

Amid the roar of a crowd hell bent on seeing them lose, Gilas Pilipinas fell versus the giant China, 78-67, to settle for silver in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship on Saturday, October 3 in Changsha, Hunan, China.

The Philippines missed the outright berth to the 2016 Summer Olympics and will instead be relegated to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament happening in 2016 from July 5 to 16.

Naturalized big man Andray Blatche was the only player in double figures for Gilas with 17 points and 5 rebounds.

Guard Jayson Castro, known as Jayson William internationally, never got going in the game as he finished with only 8 points on a miserable 3-of-14 shooting from the field on top of 6 rebounds and a single assist. This was the only time Castro scored below 10 points.

Gilas started the game well at 5-0 and led for a while but the Chinese steadily crept back in and erected a double-digit lead thanks to 14-of-22 free-throws while the Filipinos had only 7-of-11 from the stripe.

China, ranked 14th in the world by FIBA, never relented the 46-35 halftime lead they established as they hit open baskets from the outside. They led by 16 point bulges in the second half and with just over 3 minutes remaining.

The game got ugly as early as the first half with calls and breaks not going the way of the Philippines, as the Gilas bench and players incessantly complained all game long. Gilas was called for 28 fouls while China had 24.

There were also several instances where Chinese fans allegedly threw objects at Gilas assistant coach Norman Black, at Filipino fans in the venue, and even at Calvin Abueva after the Gilas rookie fouled out with over 4 minutes remaining.

It was an ugly loss for the Philippines, which dominated most of their foes from the first round.

“Throughout this tournament, our team displayed the Philippine brand of selfless, creative, passionate basketball, fuelled by the warm and vocal support of Filipinos at home and abroad”, said Edwin Lacierda, Presidential Spokesperson, in a statement congratulating the team on finishing as runner-ups for the second straight tournament.

“This group deserves the respect of the country. They may not have won the gold medal, but they are winners as people,” coach Tab Baldwin said, reassuring the fans that they still can hold their heads up high.

Wapak defeats Juniors, crowned as champs

By John Christian Berbon

Grade 10 Wapak Team caught fire in the last two sets which propelled them past the Juniors, 22-25, 25-20, 21-25, 25-13, 15-8, during their volleyball match last Friday, September 11 at Tabaco National High School Intramurals 2015.             

The Grade Nine started strong and took a 3 to nothing spree in the first set led by digger Jovin Binamira setting the surge for the Juniors. A game-tying kill from Kerwin Belarmino of Grade 10 tied the score 15 - all. The scoring production of Grade 9 poured in with the help of John Vincent Bejo who ceased the exchanges of scores of both sides and grabbed the set one and a better team coordination by Wapak started the second set showcasing their dominance in the court.

Meanwhile, a Patrick Casin spike startled the Grade 9 but got deflected by Binamira. Jeffrey Tuble took advantage of an empty middle and produced a one point breathing space for the Wapak. A Belarmino kill signaled the start of set three but was answered by a quick play from the Juniors. The red-hot hands of Binamira swiped the third set from the Wapak by creating a quick play for an easy kill and spike of his comrades while a better floor defense was established by the Year four, they thwarted every attack demoralizing the Juniors in the fourth set. They stacked a 12 point deficit clinching the fourth set.

In the opening of the fifth and last set, the Wapak exploded.  A Cabria spike send the ball into the empty middle.  A Tuble campfire send the ball in the middle of defenders. They've dominated the fifth set and crowned as the Champion.

On the other hand, equipped with a proper mindset Year four ' s Girls Volleyball team outgunned  and outperformed the Sophomores, 25-8, 19-25, 11-12

"We committed a lot of errors and there was miscommunication among the members of our team; those were the reasons of our loss. We were nervous and pressured" said by Mitzi Binamira. "Despite of our loss, we enjoyed the game and won the second set. A close fight it is."

Caño sweeps Bellen in men's badminton finals; 21-17, 21-17

by Kyle Denzil Chavez

Dencarl Caño returned with vengeance as he defeated bitter rival Roy Bellen 21-17, 21-17 in the finals of men's badminton held at the Lagman Gym last friday Sept. 11.

The two players both had faced each other in previous games from past years with Bellen winning last year's finals.

Bellen. although having high hopes of winning the game and bagging the title again, started a little bit clumsy, letting drop shots short and some back hands missing his targets, 6-4.

A slight build of momentum carried Bellen to the top. drowning Cano with his thunderous smashes, 13-12.

Caño tied himself together, rendering a strategy that brought Bellen into "no man's land". Having a 1-2 punch combination of an almost short serve and awesome placing, stole the opening set, 21-17.

Bellen being down a set, served a mouthful of smashes but Cano chewed enough so he can swallow as Caño replies to every smash Bellen throws.

After the short period of being in an even match up, the wind suddenly changed. Bellen fell into the arms of Caño. Caño then took his window of opportunity, 12-10.

Bellen was trapped in quick sand. The harder his smashes were, the more drained he got. Eventually he ran out of gas. Caño scrambles and took over the remainder of the game, 21-17.

"It is one of my strategies- letting my serves just pass by the short service line, momentarily confusing the opponent. With the opponent scrambling to return the shuttlecock, I could send it back with a heavy smash thus scoring a point," Caño said.

Padiz dominates 2015 Batang Pinoy Badminton Championship

by Val Jinsen Buela

Solomon Padiz Jr. from Laguna dominated the 2015 Batang Pinoy Badminton Championship game held last July 18-22, 2015 in Malolos, Bulacan.

He unleashed his great power in badminton by showing fast and powerful smashes added with lightning-like techniques in his last game during the Batang Pinoy competition which left his opponents helpless.

Padiz also mercilessly pounded his opponents with his fierce jump spikes and his barrage of hits all throughout his last seven games in the league.

His gold medal win earned him a spot to play in the 2015 Malaysian Meet along with one of the country’s best badminton players, Mark Shielly Alcala, which was held last August 15-18, 2015 in Malaysia.

“The spot I've earned for the Malaysian Meet is but another way for me to continue enhancing my abilities in badminton. This is also a great way for me to align myself with the best badminton players not only in our country, but also to the neighboring ones; who knows, someday, I might be one of them,” said Padiz.

Win or Lose

by Katherine Bunao, Pil Joshua Boncocan and Mary Kristine Brizuela

There are things that can bring the Filipino nation in a passionate display of unity. Consequently, this unity is most apparent during sport competitions. It is not hard to depict. We are all united and certain with what purpose we are screaming for—it is to support the team holding the Filipino banner! Because yes, this team represents the nation’s pride!

True enough, there are many Filipino athletes. With this, it could be further deduced that many people are greatly interested in sport competitions. But then, it is also with this perspective that one could critique the attitudes portrayed when it comes to playing.

The aftermath of any game or competition could only be two—winning or losing.

Winning is the main goal of any athlete. It couldn’t be denied that for some, winning is their motive to play. They want to win, not just for the prize, but for the honor that they’ll bring back to their country. Also, it has something to do with the satisfaction and pride felt when they bag a place in the competition. It is so overwhelming that they could defeat their opponents. And the thing is, when Filipino athletes win, they know deep within that they did not just play for their selves—rather, they played for their fellow Filipinos, too.

Losing, on the other hand, appears to be a negative for most people.  But it is not.

It is true that there are Filipinos who get unsettled when losing a game. There are the sore losers, too. Since most strive to win, losing could be really hard to take. They think that they weren’t good enough. They think that they did not add up to the nation’s pride. In some circumstances, they think that they were cheated in the game.  But these should not be the case.

Losing is not bad. They should not feel upset about being defeated. What they should put to their minds is the experience. As it goes, all people learn from their mistakes and loss. With this, they could step up and enhance their skills— from losing, the next thing will be their win.

Yet at the end of it all, win or lose, one could most definitely say that Filipino athletes have the attitude of giving their best. They prove to everyone that as Filipinos, they do not fail the hope of giving an “excellent game”. Already, this matters a lot.