March 1 - 15, 2019
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
Last Sunday night, sister teams
San Miguel Beer and Barangay Gine-
bra made their moves to fortify their
bid for a seat in the quarterfinal round
of the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup at
the Araneta Coliseum.
It was, too, one memorable
evening for Beerman Arwind San-
tos and Gin King LA Tenorio, who
both achieved another milestones
in their storied pro-career that made
them head and shoulder above their
Poor softball and baseball, two
team sports, outside of basketball,
which Filipinos have been lording
it over our neighbors in the region
at least in the lowly Southeast Asian
Games.
While Filipino dribblers have
won all SEA Games gold medals
since the country was admitted in the
SEAG Federation ranks in 1977, ex-
cept once in 1989, our Philippine Blu
Girls have brought home the cham-
pionship trophy from all nine Games
editions with women’s softball in the
calendar of events.
Yes, the Blu Girls took the titles
unbeaten in 1979 in Indonesia, 1981
in Manila, 1987 in Indonesia, 1997,
2001 in Malaysia, 1991 in Manila,
1997 in Indonesia, 2005 in the Philip-
pines, 2007 in Thailand, 2011 in In-
donesia and 2015 in Singapore.
And they, too, are expected to
dominate in this 2019 staging of the
Games the country is hosting this
coming August to September.
Based on the only records avail-
able, baseball was contested in the
SEA Games editions of 2005 2007
and 2011 with the Filipino ballplayers
emerging winners in 2005 and 2011.
If memory serves this OUTSID-
ER right, America’s national pastime
was also played two or three more
times in the biennial meet among the
finest athletes in the Southeast Asian
region.
Incidentally, except also for bas-
ketball, softball and baseball are the
only two other team sports that gifted
this poor country and its downtrodden
people a pair of bronze medal finishes
in the world championships.
The Blu Girls, in fact, came four
SPORTS
Arwind, LA reach
another milestone in
pro-career
equals.
Santos, drafted by Air 21 in
the 2006 season, became the eighth
player in league’s 44-year history to
block 800 enemy shots in that nine
year-stretch to, likewise, emerge as
the first among active players to have
done so.
Tenorio, on the other hand,
played his 596 consecutive games
since picked up by the San Miguel
Beer franchise, also in 2006, tying the
same number of appearances of Alvin
Patrimonio in a 17-year playing career
with Purefoods until his retirement in
2005.
The now Gin Kings playmak-
er and scorer stands to break “The
Captain’s” record kin Ginebra’ s next
outing on March 20 against another
sister club Magnolia Hotshots Pam-
bansang Manok, following the Kings”
100-97 conquering of Phoenix Pulse
lonk the same evening.
Santos, the league’s MVP in
2013, stopped NorthPort rookie Rob-
ert Bolick’s drive somewhere in the
third quarter in the Beermen’s 113-
107 win that allowed him to join an
elite group PBA big man in the pro-
league’s best defender
Santos complemented June
Mar Fajardo’s monster game of 40
points and 19 rebounds with another
brilliant display of defensive game in
the Beermen’s victory over NorthPort
Batang Pier that Sunday night at the
Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The pride of Lubao town in
Pampanga, thus, joined slotmen Ra-
mon Fernandez, Philip Cezar, Abet
Guidaben, Manny Victorino, Benjie
Paras, Jerry Codinera, and Marlou
Aquino, all retired in that elite list of
able defenders.
Despite achieving he milestone,
Santos believes SMB has turned cor-
ner from a 0-3start of the season to
this present four-game winning run
and his feat only serves as a bonus.
“Siyempre kapag kailangan ng
stops, kailangan ding manalo. Na-
kaka-block ka nga ng shots, natatalo
naman ang team. Mas maganda nga
Why Philippine sports is dying
years ahead of our basketball team in
handing the Philippines that precious
software when the squad headed by
left-handed pitcher Julita Tayo fin-
ished third in the World Champion-
ship held 1970 in Osaka, Japan.
Our basketeers, led by Carlos
“The Big Difference” Loyzaga, dupli-
cated the feat in 1954 during their
own world tourney in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.
Tayo, playing out of softball-
player-rich San Miguel, Bulacan was
later adjudged the ‘best left-hand-
ed’ pitcher in the world, while “King
Caloy” Loyzaga, a product of street
leagues in Sampaloc in Manila, was
named member of the world mythical
selection.
Also four years later in 1954,
Tayo and the Blu Girls ended up
fourth in the same world tilt held in
Bridgeport, Connecticut.
The Blu Boys, led by another
legend Filomeno “Boy” Codinera,
wound up fourth in the men’s side of
the worlds in 1968 in Oklahoma, USA,
where the former Sugar Baron belted
out seven doubles in a single game
placing his name and the country’s in
the Guinness Book of World Records.
Still two years earlier in 1966,
Codinera, again headed a national
baseball team that stashed away with
the bronze medal in the first World
Amateur Championship held in Ho-
nolulu, Hawaii.
Now, why am I relaying to you
our dear The Manila Times readers all
these? One day, while strolling around
Harrison Plaza, I chanced upon a
member of the Blu Girls, who I asked
when the opening of the UAAP base-
ball and softball tournaments will be.
She told me: “Aba, nagsimula na, Sir.
Second round na nga ng both tourna-
ments today eh.”
So, I went straight to the vintage
Rizal Memorial ballpark and saw de-
fending women’s softball champion
Adamson sweep the opening round
of the two-round eliminations.
I wrote the story and came back
the following day to cover the baseball
games only to be greeted by teasing
comments by a handful fans of the
two sports: “Ang liit naman ng istorya
mo, nasa ibaba pa ng sports page.
Bakit ‘yung ibang sports, ang laki ng
mga istorya, dalawa at minsan tatlo
29
ang nangyari na nanalo kami,” he as-
serted,
The former Far Eastern Univer-
sity King Tamaraw epressed belief he
can still reach the 900-block plateau
within the next three seasons.
Like Santos, Tenorio looks for-
ward to breaking Patrimonio’s record
and crown himself the league’s new
“Iron Man.”
“All the hard work, the discipline,
all the sacrifices nagbubunga. Siyem-
pre sana ‘di lamang dito matapos ito,”
Tenorio said. “It doesn’t matter ilan na
as long as I can play, I’ll play.”
pa sa isang page. Eh ang softball at
baseball nananalo naman ng medalya
sa international competitions halos
ayaw ilabas.“
Stunned by the question, I just
smiled and shrugged everything off
saying: “At least ang The Manila Times
kinokober at inilalabas ang istorya
n’yo. Just wait till the semifinal round
mabibigyan din kayo na ng malaki-
laking ispasyo.”
Of course I know the answers to
their queries, but I just couldn’t betray
what the real reasons why, to many,
Philippine sports is dying.
By: Julian Ray Fortaleza
Answers from last week’s issue:
1. Wilfred Benitez was the youngest world champion ever at 17.
2. Bowe and Golota fought in 1996
3. Garcia and Spence will fight at AT&T stadium
New Questions:
1. Who defeated Lennox Lewis during his pro career?
2. At what age did Mike Tyson win the world heavyweight champion-
ship?
3. Who is the oldest new UFC champion of all time?
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