Gary Mercado October 19th, 2009 (Visited 1291 times)
Fresh from the PBA Mailing List:
The Philippine Basketball Association yesterday handed down its severest penalty to date, suspending veteran Burger King guard Wynne Arboleda without pay for the rest of the 2009-10 Season.
Arboleda, who was earlier called for his second flagrant foul in the game, went after a heckler at courtside during the Whoppers’ game against Smart-Gilas at the Araneta Coliseum last Friday, landing a kick and some punches before being restrained by cooler heads.
Gary Mercado October 18th, 2009 (Visited 1216 times)
I absolutely have no idea how things transpired so badly the other night, but in the interest of keeping a record, here's (belatedly) what I got. Yes, I'm referring to Wynne Arboleda's going UFC on a fan in the middle of a game between Smart Gilas and Burger King, and not the game itself. Anyway, here's the video:
Gary Mercado October 7th, 2009 (Visited 1605 times)
Friends, I'm so sorry to disappoint you again (I was not able to liveblog Game 2), but I can't liveblog Game 3 as well due to a brownout in our area. I'm writing this from a 'net cafe at SM Marikina.
So go and find an alternative asap, since I'll be missing the game myself.
Gary Mercado October 7th, 2009 (Visited 832 times)
Smart Gilas is a team that had been playing together for quite some time now, only recently coming back from tournaments abroad. RP Powerade Team Pilipinas in contrast is composed of pro players who hadn't played together because they had no reason to.
So lo and behold, when I went to Araneta last Monday to watch the game, I saw a Smart Gilas team that looked like they had been playing together for quite some time now, only recently coming back from tournaments abroad. In contrast, RP Powerade Team Pilipinas looked like they were composed of pro players who hadn't played together because they had no reason to.
Gary Mercado October 5th, 2009 (Visited 457 times)
Still no PLDT service where I live, so blogging, let alone liveblogging, is an issue. Caught UE's 88-68 Game 2 thrashing of ADMU however, so I'm glad to be able to share my thoughts. Forthwith:
It's wonderful to see UE in the finals - Not to say it'd not have been cool to see an FEU - ADMU finals, it's just there's something great about seeing a team that didn't plan on being in the Finals to be in the Finals. That's got to do something for UE's self-confidence, and in the world of College sports I've always reckoned team confidence as far more valuable than any factor including individual player performances and stats. True they lost Game 1, but I didn't necessarily see UE lose because they weren a lesser team. Rather, they lost because they didn't make the right plays and push the right buttons. This Game 2 win showed they have the ability, and applied it appropriately (particularly, in team defense), while ADMU found itself in the same hole UE was in Game 1.
The SBP (Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas), together with the PBA, PBL, UAAP and NCAA, is organizing a fund raiser basketball showdown this Monday, October 5 for the victims of Ondoy. There will be two games (at the Araneta Coliseum). First game at 5pm is between the UAAP / NCAA selection vs PBL / Liga Pilipinas selection. And the main game at 7pm is between the RP Powerade vs RP Smart Gilas. Of course, I will be playing in that game for the Smart Gilas team together with Japeth Aguilar, Marc Barocca, JV Casio, Dylan Ababou, CJ Giles, etc.
Gary Mercado October 1st, 2009 (Visited 400 times)
sorry folks, tried liveblogging using 3g but it's just not fast enough. Still no phone and dsl service here in Cainta. Yes I live in Cainta, but don't worry, floods were far from where we are, so everything's fine. Not that our neighbors weren't affected unfortunately.
Will have to forego liveblogging for the moment. Later folks.
Gary Mercado September 24th, 2009 (Visited 668 times)
Ok let's start off with what you need to know.
First off, Rebound Magazine September / October Issue #2 should be available at National Bookstore now. This lays to rest questions re where and where to buy it when I wrote about it the first time it came out.
Second, it's the last issue of the year, with a 3rd issue, I am assured, in the works for next. As such, congratulations are in order to the publisher, editors and writers behind it because obviously we wouldn't even be talking about a 3rd issue if the 1st one wasn't a hit.
Gary Mercado September 24th, 2009 (Visited 610 times)
According to a letter issued by a CHED OIC Director, former ADMU player Jobe Nkemakolam, previously the subject of yet another UAAP Men's Basketball controversy, was eligible for College and therefore cleared to play during the time he was on their roster.
To recall, a certain Atty. Levito Baligod filed a complaint with the UAAP Board, claiming that Nkemakolam was not qualified to enter College and therefore ineligible. He presented evidence ie. a CHED statement issued Sept. 3, 2009 stating that Nkemakolam “has not met the academic requirements to graduate from high school, hence, he is not qualified for admission to college.” The document was signed by a Lilian B. Enriquez, Officer-in-Charge, Director III. Reports via inboundpass and uaapsports.com.
Also contested by Baligod was Nkemakolam's graduating from Reedley International School, providing evidence stating the school has no record of his attendance for Grade 12, the equivalent of 4th Year High School.
Gary Mercado September 23rd, 2009 (Visited 567 times)
So as everyone knows MJ shot his mouth off about how Bryon Russell 'threw wood into his fire'. Well guess what. In recent news, the Utah Jazz NBA D-League owner is offering a $100,000 donation to the charity of the winner's choice to see MJ play Russell play one on one.
Even earlier than that, Russell already said how willing he'd be to take him on, saying “I’ll play his a— right now, This is a call-out for him to come play me. He can come out here in his private jet and come play. He’s got millions of dollars. He can pay for the jet. He can meet me at the Recreation Center in Calabasas.” to Yahoo Sports.
Gary Mercado September 22nd, 2009 (Visited 1145 times)
Accusation, accusal (a formal charge of wrongdoing brought against a person; the act of imputing blame or guilt).
These days, Mark Barroca is in the hotseat. FEU has recently said more or less, that the reason he isn't playing is either because 'the team expressed dissatisfaction with his play' and / or he 'gave in to temptation'. On the other hand, Barroca himself issued a statement detailing how sorry he is about what happened (whatever it is), and how he is moving on (again, from whatever it is).
The problem is, there cannot be any moving on, there cannot be any apologies or acceptance of apologies without primarily explaining what it is he's accused of having done.
Otherwise, there are two scenarios:
One: Either Barroca has been a victim of mismanagement - because you can't just kick a player out due to 'bad play' or
Two: He's getting away with murder - because if he sold a game, he has more than FEU or the UAAP to answer to.
Gary Mercado September 22nd, 2009 (Visited 432 times)
Pacman Shoes Give New Meaning To Shadow Boxing
Above title is my pathetic attempt to make this post slightly more entertaining than the pics I'm about to show you. No? Didn't work? So ok here are the pics of Pacquiao's fancy glow in the dark shoes then:
Gary Mercado September 19th, 2009 (Visited 399 times)
By now everyone on the planet that's ever idolized him has heard his Hall Of Fame speech, and by doing so hopefully taken away something good out of it. Frankly, I didn't.
Which is not to say it detracts from his talent, ability and accomplishments. His greatness may have lessened, but certainly not what he's done with his career.
Gary Mercado September 11th, 2009 (Visited 329 times)
In preparation for the oncoming Hall of Fame weekend in the US (Sep 10-12), I've naturally been privy to all the hype, particularly when I go YouTube-ing (which I tend to do when I'm working bored). It's hard not to be. You can always tell what the NBA's trying to cook up if you notice an inordinate number of NBA sponsored YouTube videos re a particular player or event. For example, if it's All-Star weekend, nearly every basketball video on YouTube's front page is showing All-Star games, interviews leading to All-Star games, etc. (assuming of course, that you have a YouTube account), and so on.
At any rate, the one thing I know that's hard to find on YouTube are John Stockton related material, but since a few weeks ago, that's been radically changed. Highlights and more highlight reels abound, but today I think I've found the best.
Gary Mercado September 10th, 2009 (Visited 518 times)
I'm a big Gmail / Google Reader / Gcalendar / G everything freak, so I was semi excited to find out Google's Calendar had 'Sports' categories now. Well guess what I found:
