30 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY October 16 - 31 , 2017

JUNE Mar Fajardo winning his fourth straight Most Valuable Player award in the Philippine Basketball Association on Friday surprised no one .

In victory , Fajardo broke the records of Ramon Fernandez and Alvin Patrimonio , whose identical 4 MVPs didn ’ t come consecutively .

Even when the ongoing PBA Governors ’ Cup had yet to start , Fajardo had already accumulated a margin way ahead of his closest MVP pursuers .

After the first two conferences , Fajardo was already virtually unreachable .

It helped that he had literally powered San Miguel Beer to back-to-back championships with his sterling performances . But Fajardo and his fellow Beermen had import issues in the Third Conference — SMB ’ s three imports all turning out to be mediocre , if not Cone has disrespected them all more than Black . downright lemons . As I keep saying , no team can win an import-laced conference without having an import that can play consistently during the entirety of a conference .

That is what we are seeing right now from Justin Brownlee of Barangay Ginebra and Allen Durham of Meralco .

In fact , they were so good last year when they practically carried their teams to the finals , with Brownlee hitting a buzzer-beating three that made Ginebra the champ following a Game 6 victory .

But in Friday ’ s Game 4 , Brownlee missed a short jumper that would have sent the game to overtime , allowing Meralco to escape with an 85-83 win , courtesy of Durham ’ s marginal layup for a 2- 2 count in their best-of-seven rematch .

With the win , Meralco has re-grabbed momentum as its back-to-back victories could augur well when it plays Ginebra again in tonight ’ s Game 5 .

Surely , Fajardo will watch it on TV , from the comfort of his home . I won ’ t blame him if he has by his side , his MVP trophy glistening in its mighty splendor .

The good thing about Fajardo is , because of his uncanny skills not usually possessed by one so tall in a land not known to breed giants ,

By Al Mendoza

he could scoop up more MVP awards since he is only 27 years old . In only 5 seasons , he has 4 MVPs already .

For his unbelievable height of 6-foot-10 — the average Filipino height is only 5-foot-7 — Fajardo is agile and a bit sprightly , too , traits not usually found in other Filipinos having heights like that .

Anyway , congrats again , June Mar . May you win more .

Cone disrespected the fans more than Black

IF Meralco won last night ( MERALCO WON ), well and good .

Now , if Barangay Ginebra prevailed , Meralco might be doomed .

I wrote this hours before their Game 4 tiff was to blast off — Meralco needing to win to forge a 2-2 deadlock in their best-of-seven series for the PBA Governors ’ Cup .

But a Barangay Ginebra victory would push Meralco down to a scary 1-3 rut , making it almost impossible for a bounce back by the Bolts .

Having said that , let me now digress on Tim Cone ’ s uncalled for outburst on Wednesday .

First , Cone threw dagger looks at the Meralco bench after Bolts coach Norman Black called for a timeout in the dying ticks of the game .

Cone , the league ’ s winningest coach , resented Black ’ s action , calling it unnecessary because , with only seconds left , Meralco had practically sealed the win due to its unreachable margin .

After the game , Cone didn ’ t shake hands with Black , even hurling hurtful remarks at the Meralco coach as he passed by the Bolts bench .

Black was overheard saying , “ It was my timeout and I have every right to call it .” Or words to that effect .

Before this ugly incident authored yet again by Cone , the Ginebra coach had also questioned , several times in the past , the practice of teams firing baskets even when victory was already secured .

Cone ’ s accuses teams doing that as being “ respectful ” of the game .

The NBA doesn ’ t do that stuff ?

Cone ’ s view we must respect at all times .

But then again , the PBA

Filipino way . For as long as there is time to shoot that ball , shoot . If there is a timeout left , use it by all means .

There is no rule prohibiting one from using it . How can that be respectful of the game when the rules allow it , including shooting baskets when time hasn ’ t expired ?

Anyway , Cone has apologized for his irrationality . He said : “ I regret my actions after Game 3 ended . Yes , I was upset about the timeout that was called late in the game , but there is no one in the PBA that I respect more than Norman Black .”

Fine . But Cone also owes an apology to PBA Commissioner Narvasa and to the Ginebra organization as well . And , yes , also , to the most important sector of the league : the fans .

Maning Borlaza & Beth Celis will be missed

IN one day this week , two friends of mine had passed on .

On October 12 , Emmanuel “ Maning ” Borlaza died at 4:05 in the morning and , hours later , Elizabeth “ Beth ” Celis breathed her last . Heart failure for both .

As I keep saying , a part of us also dies whenever a friend of ours says goodbye for good .

Beth and I go a long way , having started our friendship in the Seventies yet .

To those not in the k n o w — a n d I ’ m sure they

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are so few — Maning Borlaza was the famous film director , who had megged practically all the greatest movie stars , past and present .

This space could not accommodate the list of his numerous blockbuster films that starred the likes of Vilma Santos , Sharon Cuneta and Nora Aunor .

At the time of his passing , Maning , born in Liliw , Laguna , was the vice chair of the MTRCB ( Movie and Television Ratings and Classification Board ) headed by the youthful Rachel Arenas ( the former congressman of Pangasinan ).

Was I glad I got aboard as an MTRCB board member last year , allowing me the luxury of meeting — and becoming friends with — Maning , an absolute giant in the Philippine movie industry .

Even at age 81 , he remained a tremendous worker — a workaholic you might say .

He would have turned 82 on November 5 ; I was planning to surprise him with a birthday gift : a necklace having a huge pendant ( pendants were his fetishes ). I could never forget that day last year when Maning gave me bunches of garlic as pasalubong upon his return from a working MTRCB trip in Vigan . I was floored , as we had barely known each other then .

On Friday morning , a brown butterfly had suddenly winged its way into the MTRCB , flapping its wings energetically at the stairs . We love you , too , Direk Maning .

As to Beth , well , what can I say ?

She broke barriers , becoming the first female to be embraced as a legitimate sportswriter by the male-dominated sportswriting world .

To prove that she was worthy of the badge , she became the founding president of the SCOOP ( Sports Columnists Organization of the Philippines ) in 1981 . I became her successor , Beth saying , “ I will only leave office if Al becomes my successor .”

What an honor . Thank you , Beth . As in my wish for Maning , please also enjoy your vacation .