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One
more time
Batang Red Bull bids for 2002 PBA
All-Filipino crown to become powerhouse team |
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People
say the Batang Red Bull Thunder team won the 2nd Conference
championship title in the 2002 season of the Philippine
Basketball Association (PBA) because of their imports.
They credit the win to Julius Nwosu, Tony Lang and Sean
Lampley (Lampley replaced Lang in the Thunders' finals
duel against Talk and Text.) and not to the locals. They
may be right because Red Bull has yet to win an All-Filipino
Conference championship title since joining the PBA last
year.
Coach Yeng Guiao is not disputing those comments. Instead,
he's letting the import-less team prove it is now the
best by winning the championship crown of the All-Filipino
conference, which kicks off on Oct. 20.
"Personally, it's very important to me, so it should
be very important to you too because with this also, you're
going to have your first All-Filipino Championship,"
the 43-year-old Guiao told his boys during their practice
at the RFM gym in Mandaluyong City.
The Thunders will be riding on the momentum of their domination
of the just concluded second conference, which, incidentally,
they also won last year. |
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Guiao
and Harp: Powerhouse in the making. |
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A
deeper bench is a plus factor. "The other teams don't
have the all-Filipino bench. Tayo meron," Guiao assured.
A strong lineup also gives Guiao's chargers a good chance
of winning back-to-back titles. Once again, Davonn Harp,
the best player of the 2002 second conference, leads the
pack.
Veterans Nelson Asaytono, Noli Locsin, Edmund Reyes, Jay
Mendoza and Vince Hizon can pit their experience against
their counterparts in other teams.
Young players Junthy Valenzuela, Lordie Tugade, Anton
Villoria, Willie Miller, Jimwell Torion and rookie Omar
Soc will provide the stamina, the inside plays, power
plays and perimeter and rainbow shooting.
Except for Mike Penissi and Rudy Hatfield, who are playing
in the Busan Asian Games as of this writing, the Red Bull
players revealed how they will help get the next crown.
"We just won a championship so I think a lot of teams
will play their best against us so we gotta be ready for
them. It's a lot of work that's why we're practicing early
to get ready for the conference," Harp said.
The 24-year-old forward Tugade, point guard Torion and
forward Valenzuela said they would practice more, put
in more weight and concentrate more.
The 27-year-old Villoria said, "As a point guard,
i-execute ko pa rin ng maganda ang play namin. Susunod
pa rin sa sistema ni coach at saka step up sa depensa
at mag-deliver sa big man."
Small forward Reyes, 31, said, "Siguro gawin ko lang
iyun role na ibibigay ni coach and stick kami sa sistema
niya."
Point guard Miller, 25, said they all need to regain the
confidence they have during the tough 2nd conference.
"We just have to work for it first para malaman namin
kung ano talaga ang chances namin for the third conference.
Kaya nag-practice na kami hard kaagad para makuha agad
iyun kumpiyansa at iyung dating laro," he said.
Shooting guard Hizon said, "I can contribute on the
defense, play good solid defense and on offense of course.
I hope to use some of my experience too you know, help
the team in any way."
Former Barangay Ginebra and Pop Cola power forward Locsin
said, "Hindi naman ako masyado nagagamit pero kailangan
handa ka para kahit galing ka sa bench, kaya mo. Kailangan
maaasahan ka sa lahat ng oras. Ang tulong ko siguro sa
rebound at depensa."
Asaytono said he would be working on the defense and rebounds
and learn the playing system of coach Guiao. "Siguro
konti na lang para makuha natin ang lahat ng tamang sistema,"
he said.
The All-Filipino Conference is very short. In the elimination
round, each of the 10 teams will clash once. The four
lowest teams will be booted out while the rest advance
to the next two rounds. The top two teams in the eliminations
automatically gets into the semifinal round and will not
figure in the quarterfinals, where the remaining four
teams will mix it up in a sudden death.
In case there are teams that end up with similar win-loss
cards at the end of the elimination round, the quotient
system will determine which gets the top two slots and
the last slot.
In the quarterfinals, the number three team fights number
six, while four and five meet. The survivors advance to
the semifinals with the number one team playing against
the number four team and number two meeting number three
in a best of three affair. The semifinal winners meet
in the best-of-five championships.
"So it's really a very short conference. It's just
a two-month league so you need to be in great shape. You
can't make mistake!" Guiao said.
Harp added that the second conference is going to be difficult
because all the tall guys from the RP Team will be back
playing for their respective teams.
"I feel a lot of pressure on me; a lot of weight
on my shoulder. The team is looking at me now. I got the
respect of my teammates. I love my guys and my guys love
me. So I'll play hard as I can to do it (win a championship)
again for the team," said Harp.Guiao is aware that
almost all the teams that won the championship in a particular
conference failed the following conference.
"Purefoods won the championship last conference,
they failed this conference. The last one, Sta. Lucia
won and failed the next conference. We won and we failed
the next conference so I'd like to break that cycle now,"
the coach said.
"We wanna win two straight championship in the same
year! That will really establish us as a powerhouse team
for next year," he exclaimed. |
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| Basketball
champs fans of Sex Bomb Girls |
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The
2002 PBA Second Conference champions Batang Red Bull Thunder
is not only aiming to win again in the All-Filipino Conference.
Players of the team also want to keep the phenomenal Sex
Bomb Girls as their trophy, este inspiration, well into
next year’s PBA season. For your information, the
Sex Bomb Girls are the cheerers of the Thunders. They
are called the Sexy Bulls. As in, mga toro?
Lordie Tugade revealed his reason for liking and wanting
to keep all the 14-member Sex Bomb Girls: “Nakatutuwa
naman sila eh. So lahat sila gusto ko…para sa team.”
No, Tugade is not greedy. Willie Miller is too. “Lahat
sila kakulitan ko eh kaya gusto ko sila lahat. Lahat ang
se-sexy, lahat ang kukulit pero tuwing me games lang kami
nagkakakulitan,” Willie said. PBA games, of course!
Anton Villoria likes Diofanny ‘Jopay’ Paguia.
Uuuy! “Si Jopay ang gusto ko. (Bakit?) Wala. Natutuwa
lang ako sa kanya kase malaki hita nya,” Anton said.
No offense, Jopay. Pareho naman kayong malaki ang hita.
Edmund Reyes and Nelson Asaytono are groping in the dark,
when it comes to the 14 beautiful and sexy singer-dancers.
Why? “Wala akong kilala dun eh pero ok iyun suporta
na ibinibigay nila sa team,” said Edmund. Nelson
said, “I heard of them pero hindi ko kilala ang
bawat isa sa kanila.” |
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| Vince
Hizon reunites with his first love |
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Vicente
Paul Nicholas "Vince" Hizon, 31, shooting guard
of the Batang Red Bull Thunder team in the PBA, said he
wouldn’t let go of his very first love that gave
him a sports television career. “My first love talaga
was basketball. Basketball has actually brought me to
Sports Unlimited and for some time Sports Unlimited would
actually hinder my basketball, taking me away from it
coz we're shooting six far locations,” Vince the
‘Prince’ said of the sports-oriented TV show
he co-hosted with Dian Castillejos-Garcia.
“Basically, I really don't like the direction I
was going. It went away from sports. The pure sport that
I was thinking has turned into something else. But it's
still a good show. It's just that it's not the show that
I've signed up for. I decided not to renew my contract,”
he said.
I didn't want my first love go and that's for sure. If
it were for basketball like I said I would have so many
things including Sports Unlimited. So I decided to stick
to my guns and you know, cheer you up!”
But the handsome mestizo is thankful for people behind
Sports Unlimited for making him a part of the show and
the chance to work with Dian.
Now, does anybody still wanna know Vince’s second
love? |
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| Jaworski
to help poor athletes |
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Not
all PBA players end up as multi-millionaires. Former Toyota
Tamaraw player Alex Clariño died of rectal cancer
without leaving any money to the loved ones he left behind.
His teammate Senator Robert S. Jaworski even paid for
his hospital bills. Former Gilbeys Gin cager Teddy Alfereiro
and former boxing champion Rolando Navarette, who are
as poor as Clarino, also approached Jaworski for financial
assistance. Seeing his old colleagues that built the PBA
dynasty and other athletes who brought honor to the country
in the past neglected, Jaworski vowed to help them cope
with their hardships. He is planning to amend and expand
the scope of Republic Act (RA) 9064 that grants cash incentives
and non-monetary benefits to athletes, coaches and trainers
of Olympic Games. He wants that law that he authored to
also give cash benefits to players of the Philippine Basketball
Association and other sports associations.
Jaworski also authored RA 8757 establishing the Sports
Hall of Fame. |
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| Blood-sport
on in Saudi schools |
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"Bloodshed"
is in the minds of Black Python martial artists teaching
judo and karate to students of the Nour Al-Maaref International
School (NIS) in Riyadh. No they are not preparing the
kids to defend themselves in case the US war on terrorism
spills to the desert kingdom. Black Python chapters in
the Central Region conducted the free training dubbed
"Kick for a Cause" to raise voluntary donations
in any amount from NIS kids and their parents. The donations
are for the benefit of the Philippine National Red Cross,
which appealed for donations from overseas Filipino groups
and individuals. They also donated blood to the Red Cross.
Meanwhile, various sports organizations in the Eastern
Region are also helping gather donations for the Red Cross.
Participants to the volleyball and basketball tournaments
at the Philippine School in Dammam are taking time to
donate and collect used clothes, canned goods and cash
donations while playing their favorite sports. |
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| Shopping
for a gym |
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Entering
a gym is like entering a mall. There are as many things
to do in a mall as in a gym. In a gym, there are different
fitness classes to enroll in and different fitness programs
to choose from.
Contrary to purchasing products off-the-rack in the malls,
however, fitness programs in the gym are made-to-order,
made to suit the needs and lifestyles of a particular
client. And how do you shop for a gym to workout in? Here’s
the measure that I use.
1. Accessibility - How long will it take for you to get
to the gym? Consider the length of time
you need to travel and the amount of energy you’ll
use up. It would be a major hassle
if just getting there alone could tire you out.
2. Equipment - You will be dealing with machines when
you workout, so make sure you pick
a place where there are clean and well-maintained equipment.
For best results, use up-to-date
machines.
3. Classes - Most gyms offer clients different fitness
classes. Pick a gym that offers a wide
array of classes at different times of the day for each
day of the week. Aside from aerobics,
which is probably the most basic, there are taebo, yoga,
pilates and dance classes to aid
you in working up a sweat.
4. Instructors - They should always be attentive to the
client’s needs and also always ready
to help. However, I personally dislike trainers who are
over-friendly. I mean, how can
you concentrate on your program when they chat you up?
I once heard though that part
of Mariah Carey’s training for her concerts is chatting
with her trainer while she’s
running the treadmill. It’s supposed to build endurance
and strengthen the lungs. Could
be true but not while lifting weights, please!
5. Locker and shower rooms - What could be better than
a nice shower after a grueling workout?
Luckily for me, I came, I saw and found out that Fitness
First in Eastwood, Libis, Quezon City absolutely fits
the tab.
It takes me 45 minutes to get to the place though. So
I can’t exactly say that it’s accessible.
But hey, it’s definitely worth the drive! |
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Fitness
First Eastwood: First class facilities |
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Since
the place is new, there are a lot of machines that exercise
different parts of the body. My favorite is the glute
and ab machines. I don’t have to bore myself to
death doing reps of leg lifts and crunches. And these
machines hit the muscle group right on target. You’ll
really feel your muscles working!
I’ve been lifting weights for almost four years
now. I prefer free weights but I’m learning to love
machines now that I get to use new and modern ones in
Fitness First.
Classes there are interesting too! There are different
types to choose from. Of course they have the basics like
aerobics, taebo and yoga. They also offer yoga-like class
called pilates. And for those who wanna do both yoga and
pilates, the fitness geniuses in Fitness First came up
with yogilates. Neat, huh?
There’s also body pump. It’s a combination
of aerobic exercise with weight training.
And for those who love to simply groove to the music,
they also offer jazz classes!
The instructors are nice and knowledgeable. They’re
always ready to help you with the machines and other things
you need. The fee for personal or one-on-one training
is too expensive though. Well I guess nothing’s
always perfect. Anyway, they give free session for your
first day so a trainer can write up a program that would
lead you to your desired results.
Oh and the locker room and showers are heaven! I’m
starting to like taking showers there more than I do in
my own bathroom! There are sauna and steam rooms too!
Fitness First have branches in Makati and Alabang, the
biggest - 3 floors! But if ever you’re in the Libis
area, check it out. And while you’re at it, take
advantage of the free drink-all-you-can ice tea and eat-all-you-can
banana. :) Ms. So is a PBA
sportscaster and the news anchor of the Milo Sporting
World that airs on IBC 13 every Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
She co-anchors the weekly radio program In the Zone,
every Monday from 8 to 10 a.m. over Sports Radio in
the AM band.
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SEX
BOMB GIRLS. Fourteen boob-tube babes would like
to help fight lawlessness and evil in our crime-infested
communities. How are they going to do it if they have
superpowers? |
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GET
YOUR COPY NOW |
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