8/30/2004
Ants Marching
Sports over the weekend…
In gist, a world power falls, two jins return home limping without a medal, an underdog defends their Olympic volleyball crown, a crayon in rampage dehorned the defending champions, a team that played their full potential against their rival a week ago brings down another nemesis, an eagle clipped the wings of another bird of prey, and a German winning his seventh championship despite finishing only second in the race.
-----
There is a god!
To prove that, he answered the prayers of all non-American basketball aficionados watching the Olympics.
To the highly religious, I apologize. I shouldn’t be asking for bad fortune against a neighbor. But someone has to bring them back down to earth, where they actually belong. They are just mere mortals pretending to be celestial beings.
In short, I am just a happy person. Then again, God may not be a good reference to what I am going to divulge next.
This is an Olympics of firsts. This is probably the first time that the rest of the world (other than the former Soviets) wanted the USA men’s basketball team to lose. Yes, it’s like them against the world.
With the pressure mounting, apparently they did. They have enough losses this year to last them a lifetime.
This is also the first time Argentina entered the gold medal match in basketball in the Olympics. Nevertheless, beating the overrated Americans is already an achievement in itself.
Ahead by 13 going into the final quarter, all the Argentineans need to do was just hold on for ten more minutes. Just like what the Archers did against the more talented Ateneo last Sunday.
And hold Argentina did with the help of Walter Hermann, who scored six crucial points in crunchtime with the Americans breathing down heavily on their necks.
When the buzzer sounded, Argentina was whooping it up in the middle of the court, feeling like they have already won the gold, making Olympic history, repeating what they did to Team USA in the last World Basketball Championships, winning, 87-80.
As of presstime, I still have no news of what happened to the gold medal match. On the other hand, the Americans salvaged whatever dignity they have left (if they do have one to begin with) and grabbed bronze against Lithuania.
-----
Jin-ny weasles
Thus ends our Olympic campaign, although technically we still have one athlete (Eduardo Beunavista in marathon, but come on, our chances of winning a medal here is the same of us having a cyclist in the Tour de France) still to strut his stuff.
Donald Geisler wasn’t able to finish his match due to injury, while our last glimmer of hope, Marie Antoinette Rivero, succumbed to a much stronger Korean opponent. She wasn’t able to recover after suffering a knockdown in the first round.
-----
Whoops, they did it… again
Two sets down against the tall and mighty Russians, the Chinese women’s volleyball team resurrected themselves to win the gold medal, defending the title they won four years ago in Sydney. With that victory, I’m hoping that it would make a difference in the overall medal tally, which is a pretty close fight between China and USA.
I admit, this has been one of the more competitive Olympics in recent history. Barcelona and Atlanta weren’t like this when USA ran away with most of the gold medals. Makes you want to question United State’s sports program and where their priorities are.
Must be because of the coming elections. Then again, their elections coincide with every Summer Olympics.
-----
B-U-L-L-D-O-G, B-U-L-L-D-O-G, B-U-L-B-U-L, B-U-L-L-S-H-IT!
With the way things are going, the National University men’s basketball team is going to the dogs. Coach Rico Perez should bench Rey Mendoza some more. They might win one more game.
If you think Ateneo was bad last Sunday, this was worse. Seven points at the end of the first quarter. By halftime, University of the East was already ahead by 14, 39-25.
The Warriors are no Archers, but then again, the Bulldogs are no Eagles. UE was coasting most of the game that I didn’t bother watching as I tried to finish the CHALK! UAAP/NCAA special issue from cover to cover before the FEU-UP game could begin.
Some game highlights did make me look away from the Ateneo-bigoted publication. Luis Lopez, a nameless Warrior, was assessed for his fifth personal foul in the 8:14 mark of the third quarter. Quality minutes, indeed.
Realizing that he has more potential to be a boxer, Dave Catamora gave the diminutive Marcy Arellano a well-placed left hook to the gut that somehow the numerous ABS-CBN cameras didn’t manage to pick up. What’s worse, the UE bench got warned during the lull in the action.
-----
They will be loved
Going into the season, the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons were already considered good as dead.
Rob Bornancin, realizing that a UP diploma is worth less than a Philippine peso back in Brazil, decided to continue his studies in Singapore instead.
JR Reyes, the gay that he is, couldn’t make up his mind on which team to play. There was a time when he was playing for three squads: the Maroons, the Welcoat Paintmasters in the PBL, and Graham Lim’s National Team. Then there was none.
Jonjon Tabique, who according to my friend, is someone who couldn’t get any gayer as a Bedan could get, has already shed all of his hair with all of the chemotherapy he has already done.
Just when their luck couldn’t get any worse, Ira Buyco would have to look like Rip Hamilton (but couldn’t play like one) if he wants his nose intact. Kenneth Robin has to sit out the rest of the season. And somewhere along the way, UP men’s basketball coach Lito Vergara had to be hospitalized.
Fast forward to the end of August, the Crayola-monickered squad are actually fighting for a Final Four slot. Their latest victim: the Far Eastern University Tamaraws.
FEU was already comfortably ahead when lolo Josant Cervantes showing how magulang he is, gave Tamaraw rookie JR dela Cruz an arm at the back of the latter’s neck as if to say, “Welcome to the big league, boy.” As if by reflex, the neophyte bovine returned the favor with an elbow replying, “I ain’t backing down from you, old man. Wanna try my kung fu?”
This proved to be counter-productive for FEU as after the incident, the Diliman-based team trimmed the lead down to four by the time the third period ended. And of all people, the person responsible for reclaiming the upperhand for UP was lolo Cervantes when he scored a three-pointer coming from a Jireh Ibañes pass midway in the fourth quarter.
And the Tamaraws, a good shooting team percentage-wise, were firing blanks from all parts of the court. As Elaigh put it, “They suffered the ‘Green Archers curse’.”
And nothing could be worse than the ‘Green Archers curse’. Imagine a day when Macmac Cardona’s teardrops don’t fall, Joseph Yeo’s three-point attempts hit nothing but air, TY Tang’s hitting the side of the backboard, Jerwin Gaco missing a dunk, Michael Gavino couldn’t make a pointblank layup, Mark Benitez couldn’t tip the ball into the basket, JV Casio’s freethrows clank the rim, and the only goal made by the Archers was when Junjun Cabatu released a jumper way, way after the 24-second buzzer sounded.
Twenty-eight fouls in a game? That’s an average of seven per quarter. And we are just talking of FEU here. Friends, we’ve just discovered why UAAP men’s basketball games take forever to end, the long commercial breaks notwithstanding.
And the winner is… ABS-CBN. They wouldn’t want it any other way. The longer the games, the higher the ratings. Makes sense, right?
Was so stunned with the loss that I oversaw a very good angle for an article: Maroon five winning by five for their fifth straight victory. My dream lead down the drain. Argh!
And oh yeah, the FEU cheering squad didn’t do their “Danger” cheer.
In gist, a world power falls, two jins return home limping without a medal, an underdog defends their Olympic volleyball crown, a crayon in rampage dehorned the defending champions, a team that played their full potential against their rival a week ago brings down another nemesis, an eagle clipped the wings of another bird of prey, and a German winning his seventh championship despite finishing only second in the race.
-----
There is a god!
To prove that, he answered the prayers of all non-American basketball aficionados watching the Olympics.
To the highly religious, I apologize. I shouldn’t be asking for bad fortune against a neighbor. But someone has to bring them back down to earth, where they actually belong. They are just mere mortals pretending to be celestial beings.
In short, I am just a happy person. Then again, God may not be a good reference to what I am going to divulge next.
This is an Olympics of firsts. This is probably the first time that the rest of the world (other than the former Soviets) wanted the USA men’s basketball team to lose. Yes, it’s like them against the world.
With the pressure mounting, apparently they did. They have enough losses this year to last them a lifetime.
This is also the first time Argentina entered the gold medal match in basketball in the Olympics. Nevertheless, beating the overrated Americans is already an achievement in itself.
Ahead by 13 going into the final quarter, all the Argentineans need to do was just hold on for ten more minutes. Just like what the Archers did against the more talented Ateneo last Sunday.
And hold Argentina did with the help of Walter Hermann, who scored six crucial points in crunchtime with the Americans breathing down heavily on their necks.
When the buzzer sounded, Argentina was whooping it up in the middle of the court, feeling like they have already won the gold, making Olympic history, repeating what they did to Team USA in the last World Basketball Championships, winning, 87-80.
As of presstime, I still have no news of what happened to the gold medal match. On the other hand, the Americans salvaged whatever dignity they have left (if they do have one to begin with) and grabbed bronze against Lithuania.
-----
Jin-ny weasles
Thus ends our Olympic campaign, although technically we still have one athlete (Eduardo Beunavista in marathon, but come on, our chances of winning a medal here is the same of us having a cyclist in the Tour de France) still to strut his stuff.
Donald Geisler wasn’t able to finish his match due to injury, while our last glimmer of hope, Marie Antoinette Rivero, succumbed to a much stronger Korean opponent. She wasn’t able to recover after suffering a knockdown in the first round.
-----
Whoops, they did it… again
Two sets down against the tall and mighty Russians, the Chinese women’s volleyball team resurrected themselves to win the gold medal, defending the title they won four years ago in Sydney. With that victory, I’m hoping that it would make a difference in the overall medal tally, which is a pretty close fight between China and USA.
I admit, this has been one of the more competitive Olympics in recent history. Barcelona and Atlanta weren’t like this when USA ran away with most of the gold medals. Makes you want to question United State’s sports program and where their priorities are.
Must be because of the coming elections. Then again, their elections coincide with every Summer Olympics.
-----
B-U-L-L-D-O-G, B-U-L-L-D-O-G, B-U-L-B-U-L, B-U-L-L-S-H-IT!
With the way things are going, the National University men’s basketball team is going to the dogs. Coach Rico Perez should bench Rey Mendoza some more. They might win one more game.
If you think Ateneo was bad last Sunday, this was worse. Seven points at the end of the first quarter. By halftime, University of the East was already ahead by 14, 39-25.
The Warriors are no Archers, but then again, the Bulldogs are no Eagles. UE was coasting most of the game that I didn’t bother watching as I tried to finish the CHALK! UAAP/NCAA special issue from cover to cover before the FEU-UP game could begin.
Some game highlights did make me look away from the Ateneo-bigoted publication. Luis Lopez, a nameless Warrior, was assessed for his fifth personal foul in the 8:14 mark of the third quarter. Quality minutes, indeed.
Realizing that he has more potential to be a boxer, Dave Catamora gave the diminutive Marcy Arellano a well-placed left hook to the gut that somehow the numerous ABS-CBN cameras didn’t manage to pick up. What’s worse, the UE bench got warned during the lull in the action.
-----
They will be loved
Going into the season, the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons were already considered good as dead.
Rob Bornancin, realizing that a UP diploma is worth less than a Philippine peso back in Brazil, decided to continue his studies in Singapore instead.
JR Reyes, the gay that he is, couldn’t make up his mind on which team to play. There was a time when he was playing for three squads: the Maroons, the Welcoat Paintmasters in the PBL, and Graham Lim’s National Team. Then there was none.
Jonjon Tabique, who according to my friend, is someone who couldn’t get any gayer as a Bedan could get, has already shed all of his hair with all of the chemotherapy he has already done.
Just when their luck couldn’t get any worse, Ira Buyco would have to look like Rip Hamilton (but couldn’t play like one) if he wants his nose intact. Kenneth Robin has to sit out the rest of the season. And somewhere along the way, UP men’s basketball coach Lito Vergara had to be hospitalized.
Fast forward to the end of August, the Crayola-monickered squad are actually fighting for a Final Four slot. Their latest victim: the Far Eastern University Tamaraws.
FEU was already comfortably ahead when lolo Josant Cervantes showing how magulang he is, gave Tamaraw rookie JR dela Cruz an arm at the back of the latter’s neck as if to say, “Welcome to the big league, boy.” As if by reflex, the neophyte bovine returned the favor with an elbow replying, “I ain’t backing down from you, old man. Wanna try my kung fu?”
This proved to be counter-productive for FEU as after the incident, the Diliman-based team trimmed the lead down to four by the time the third period ended. And of all people, the person responsible for reclaiming the upperhand for UP was lolo Cervantes when he scored a three-pointer coming from a Jireh Ibañes pass midway in the fourth quarter.
And the Tamaraws, a good shooting team percentage-wise, were firing blanks from all parts of the court. As Elaigh put it, “They suffered the ‘Green Archers curse’.”
And nothing could be worse than the ‘Green Archers curse’. Imagine a day when Macmac Cardona’s teardrops don’t fall, Joseph Yeo’s three-point attempts hit nothing but air, TY Tang’s hitting the side of the backboard, Jerwin Gaco missing a dunk, Michael Gavino couldn’t make a pointblank layup, Mark Benitez couldn’t tip the ball into the basket, JV Casio’s freethrows clank the rim, and the only goal made by the Archers was when Junjun Cabatu released a jumper way, way after the 24-second buzzer sounded.
Twenty-eight fouls in a game? That’s an average of seven per quarter. And we are just talking of FEU here. Friends, we’ve just discovered why UAAP men’s basketball games take forever to end, the long commercial breaks notwithstanding.
And the winner is… ABS-CBN. They wouldn’t want it any other way. The longer the games, the higher the ratings. Makes sense, right?
Was so stunned with the loss that I oversaw a very good angle for an article: Maroon five winning by five for their fifth straight victory. My dream lead down the drain. Argh!
And oh yeah, the FEU cheering squad didn’t do their “Danger” cheer.
// posted by Unknown @ 17:33 
