Cebu Sports Blog

I’m republishing this article I wrote last Feb. 22, 2009 (last year)…

Manny looking up at 7-footer Greg Slaughter; from left, Raffy Uytiepo, Jun Migallen, John Pages, Jingo Quijano and Raffy Osumo (Photo by Iste Sesanted-Leopoldo of CDN)

As president of the Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC), I was tasked to give the Closing Remarks at last Wednesday’s 27th SAC-SMC Cebu Sports Awards at the Casino Español.

I prepared a 10-minute speech. Instead—because Pacquaio had left, the clock neared 10:30 p.m. and the crowd sat restless either to have photos with Greg Slaughter or to head home—I delivered a 25-second “Thank you and goodbye” message. Allow me to read to you—in writing and in full—my speech…

“To Acting Vice Mayor Jun Davide and Councilor Jack Jakosalem, thank you for joining us tonight. I promise not to talk about the Cebu City Sports Center track oval! Thank you to Girlie Garces of SMC, our awards night partner for decades.

“I’d like to congratulate Fr. Vic Uy, the first Cebuano PSC commissioner, who is the Presidential Awardee. To my fellow Rotarian, Francis Onglatco, the Orlacsan Awardee. To Maxi Maximo, the Sportsman of the Year. To Donnie Nietes, who is represented by Michael Aldeguer. To Gerry Peñalosa, our co-Athlete of the Year… Congratulations!

“I’d like to recognize Nonito and Rachel Donaire for joining us. Same with the president of the Casino Español de Cebu, Manny Sainz.

“Our Guest of Honor, Monico Puentevella, the congressman from Bacolod, maayo ni siya mag basketball kag mag-tennis. Plus, he’s an excellent singer! Maybe we can hear a duet later with Manny?

“Dr. Manny Pacquiao: We’re lucky to be the first event to address him as Dr. Pacquiao. And, I’m sure next to GenSan, Manny calls Cebu home. Why? Because his father, Rosalio, comes from the southern town of Pinamungajan. Dili ra si Manny maayo mo Bisaya, naa gyud siya Cebuano roots. Thank you for accepting our Lifetime Achievement Award. Hangyo lang mi that this May 2, katong hambugero kaayo na taga England i-knockout nimo!

“I’d also like to commend all the parents who are here. Without your support, example, sacrifice… your children will not be here.

“To our awardees, congratulations! This is a memorable night. Imagine, this is the 27th Awards Night and there have been thousands of past Cebuano greats who’ve come before you… but, tonight, is your night.

“Feel proud. Celebrate. Smile. And, before the night ends, have a photo not only with Manny but with all the other athletes. THIS HAPPENS ONLY ONCE A YEAR.

“Two tips I want to share with you summarized in three words: BE LIKE MANNY!

“Never stop learning. Look at Manny. He’s the greatest boxer in the world. On his off days, he can be watching TV all day or relaxing at the beach… but, no, what does he do? He enrolls in college. He reads. He’s planning to become a lawyer. That’s amazing. Shows how learning and studying is so important to Manny. So I hope that we, too, will learn from this: to never stop learning, never stop improving.

“Work hard. There’s no shortcut to success, especially boxing.. you’re the only one on the ring. Like my fellow sportswriters, I’ve watched Manny up-close train at Wakee Salud’s gym and you won’t believe what he goes through: the no. of hours he trains, all the beating and suffering he undergoes. I asked others if they try to follow Manny and they do… but they all get sick! Nobody can match the work ethic of MP. So, I know you all work hard but, if you want to become a world champion… you’ve got to train like MP!

“To end, let me say that if you grab a newspaper today and scan through its pages, what do you see? BAD NEWS. If you look at the front page, there are murders, factory closures, Texters’ Choice fiascos… Bad news.

“But, did you know that there is one section in the newspaper that is the GOOD NEWS SECTION. You know which one? It’s the sports section. And why are the sports pages the good news section?

“BECAUSE OF ALL OF YOU. Because of your Palarong Pambansa gold medals, your trips to Singapore or Hong Kong where you won silver or bronze, your flying to Manila and beating RP’s best. Because of you, there is good news. Thank you.”

These photos from last year’s Cebu Sports Awards….

Thanks to Iste Sesante-Leopoldo and Marian Baring for these pictures…

Gerry and Manny

Edward Hayco, Nimrod Quiñones, Marian Baring and Marigold Lebumfacil

POC Chairman Monico Puentevella (center) with Jun Migallen, Raffy Uytiepo, Caecent Magsumbol, Iste Leopoldo, Goldie Lebumfacil and Manny Villaruel

Greg Slaughter with Mike Limpag and Marian Baring

Tennis ace Sally Mae “Em-Em” Siso receiving her award

Sun.Star Cebu Sports Editor Mike Limpag with Ciriaco “Noy Cacoy” Cañete

More photos from the 2009 Awards Night…

Thanks to Marian Baring of Sun.Star Cebu for these photos…

Greg Slaughter and Manny Pacquiao

Jinkee and Manny…

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) Chairman and Bacolod Congressman Monico Puentevella, the night’s Main Speaker

The Awardees

Hon. Monico Puentevella (in blue) conversing with Manny; left, John Pages; right, Raffy Osumo

With the Carcel family (from left) Mia, Kali, Neil and Tonio

The Sportswriters Association of Cebu members

From left: Noel Villaflor, Jonas Panerio, John Pages, Hon. Puentevella and Manny

It’s “The Oscars” of Cebu sports. It’s the one evening of the year’s 365 nights when all the top athletes gather to mingle, swap stories, celebrate and be applauded.

It’s the Cebu Sports Awards this Thursday 6 p.m. at the Casino Español. Jointly organized by the Sportswriters Association of Cebu and San Miguel Beer, our main guest of honor is Mr. Boxing himself, Antonio Lopez Aldeguer, while the Sportsman of the Year, whose identity will be revealed in 48 hours, sports the initials “E.H.”

The awardees: Presidential: Z Gorres. Orlacsan: Jessica Jawad-Honoridez. Posthumous: *** Eugene De La Cerna.

MAJOR: Athletics: Daniel Noval, Lindley Fran Navaja, George Pinanonang. Badminton: Ralph Ian Mendez. Basketball: M.Lhuilleir Kwarta Padala-Cebu Ninos, Woodrow Enriquez, JuneMar Fajardo, Gregory Slaughter, Mark Jayven Tallo and the University of the Visayas. Beach volley: (men) USJ-R (Ariel Carumba and Loujei Tipgos); (women) USP (Erika Camille Verano, Apple Saraum). Billiards: Rubilen Amit. Bowling: Jomar Jumapao. Boxing: Johnreil Casimero, Rodel Mayol, Donnie Nietes. Chess: Joseph Sanchez. Dancesport: DTCC, Charlea Lagaras.

Golf: Irina Gabasa. Judo: Vicente Fernandez III. Karatedo: Lutche Metante, Noel Espinosa. Karting: Jette Calderon, Juan Antonio Carcel. Mixed Martial Arts: Deftac Cebu. Pencak Silat: Marniel Dimla. Running: Mendel Lopez, Mary Grace de los Santos, Leszl Gitaruelas. Sepak Takraw: Metodio Suico, Gene Mark Saavedra, Harrison Castañares, Jerome Vendiola.

Swimming: Loren Dale Echavez, Paula Abigail Vega, Anthony Linn Navarro, Bea Roble. Scrabble: Teodoro Martus, Jr. Table Tennis: Richard Gonzales and Dannel Jay Tormis. Taekwondo: Shaneen Sia. Triathlon: Noy Jopson, Lorhiz Echavez. Tennis: Sally Mae Siso. Volleyball: Catmon Elementary School-Girls’ team, USPF- junior team. Weightlifting: Kelle Kaye Rojas, Angelica Lado, Reynante Briones

CITATION: Autocross: David G. Lim. Bowling: Kimberly Lao. Boxing: Milan Milendo. Baseball: Jesse Bernad. Beach volleyball: Johnrey Sasing. Football: Glenn Ramos, Christian Noel, Paolo Pascual, Carmelo Genco, Abellana National School, Oliver Colina. Mixed Martial Arts: Sabah Fadai, Renault Lao. Motocross: Siegfred Ornopia, Jon-Jon Adlawan.

Running: Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC), Dr. Potenciano Larrazabal III/Run For Sight Foundation. Sepak Takraw: Cebu Province-Sta. Fe team. Tennis: Larry Antigua, Jacob Lagman, Hannah Espinosa, Sallydine Siso, Bernardine Siso, Adrian Parangan. Volleyball: Talisay City women’s team, Catmon’s women’s team, Mandaue City men’s team, Liloan men’s team. Weightlifting: Joselito Padilla, Christopher Bureros. Wushu: Mary Stephanie Agbay.

To the awardees, if you have further questions, contact me at john@pages.ph.

Romy S. DyPico did the unthinkable last Friday night. While attending the Rotary District Conference, Romy, the president of my club, the RC of Cebu West, scurried near the front stage and tiptoed to sit beside a lady for that one-click photo moment.

We were in General Santos City along with 1,200 other Rotarians from District 3860 when President Romy posed beside Ms. Seductive. Who was she? Mommy Dionisia.

The Discon was fun! Apart from attending the successful event (kudos to District Governor Tony Veneracion) and gorging on tuna in the Tuna Capital of the Philippines for four days until yesterday, we did one more act: we saw the empire of King Manny.

As soon as we landed in “Magandang Gensan” last Wednesday, our driver whisked us to see the city’s most publicized landmark: Pacman’s house. House? Sorry. It wasn’t; it was a mansion, a castle, a palace equipped with a blue pool that’s shaped after his red glove.

Both photos from Pinay Heart Wanderings and Musings

We visited Robinson’s. After lunch at Grab-A-Crab, we strolled along the mall’s corridors. Together with my Rotary club’s past presidents, Wilton Uykingtian, Maxwell Ahyong and Ronnie Medalle, I toured the Food Court. There, at the center, stood another landmark: Pacman Shawarma. Yes, like our beef-and-pita stands in Ayala and SM in Cebu, it was the same take-out food stall owned by a boxer who’s job is to take-out opponents.

Wilton Uykingtian in action

Next, we entered TEAM PACQUIAO. It was a museum and souvenir shop bundled into one. The white pair of shoes Manny wore against Juan Manuel Marquez sat on the open shelf. Everything MP was found there: mugs, towels, CDs and DVDs priced P99 and P150, keychains, a pair of Nike shoes worth P8,000. Picture frames of MP adorned the walls. A pair of boxing gloves with his signature could be yours for P15,000. There sat trophies, jackets, T-shirts with the words “Now You Know.” A Victorinox watch was priced P30,000.

Wilton, John, Maxwell and Ronnie

Right beside was Blue Gre Cafe. Known for its Durian Gatchpuccino, it’s owned by… now you know… Mr. and Mrs. Pacquiao. Next, we toured the city. One building stood out. The two-story structure was colorful, eye-catching, modern and named JMP Building after the initials of its owners.

For here’s what I witnessed: Manny P. has transformed himself into more than just the world’s No.1 boxer. He’s a promoter. An actor. A singer. A Rotarian honorary member of the RC of Midtown Gensan. A congressman? Most of all, he’s a businessman.

That’s what we saw, our group from the Rotary Club of Cebu West led by Past District Governor Toto Cupin, president Romy and his wife Julie, past president Ex Bollozos and his wife Cynthia, and our past president (and current District Trainer) Philip Tan.

Pacquiao has a myriad of ventures. There’s Pacman H20. Promoted as the “Pambansang Tubig,” Manny’s photo is on all the plastic water bottles. At the KCC mall, Jinkee has two stores: a fashion boutique and a franchise of the beauty clinic, Flawless. They also own a gas station. The JMP Bldg.? That’s Part One. There’s also JMP Bldg. 2 and, last Friday, after the dancing and revelry of the Rotary Discon party, we sojourned into the corner building along Aparente Avenue. On the ground floor of JMP 2, a collection of Manny’s photos lined the walls. At the corner was “Pacman Sports Bar,” a venue to drink while playing two of Manny’s favorite pastime games: billiards and darts. JMix is on the second level and, complete with dancing lights and ear-splitting music, it’s the newest disco-bar Gensan hangout.

To top all these, when our Rotary group toured the Fishport two afternoons ago, we passed a construction site. Located in Tambler, it reportedly costs P20 million and will house four buildings including a covered basketball court and a world-class boxing facility. It’s called the JMP Multi-Purpose Gymnasium.

Now, imagine if, seven days from this morning, Manny beats Joshua Clottey and, later this 2010, gifts ‘Money’ Mayweather with his first loss? Manny and his money will own the city.

Above photos from GenSan News Online Mag. Visit the website at GenSantos.com

Dodong Sulatre, Kenneth Toledo. Dr. Alex Junia, Dr. Emily Estrada, Dr. Rosan Trani and Roy Trani

He is my coach. My mentor. My Sunday-lunch drinking buddy. He is funny. Wise. Has street-smarts. He’s rich, was poor, is God-loving and forever generous. He’s a family man, a Rotarian, a disciplinarian.

Jacinto Villarosa Mendez was born on August 17, 1931. Which makes him, today, 45 years old, right? Right. Because never mind the math, it was this morning 45 years ago–on March 4, 1965–when he established what has endured as his legacy: the Centurion Security Agency, Inc.

Today, the company that owns .45-caliber pistols commemorates its Year No. 45. How many homegrown Cebu companies can claim this longevity?

Few. That’s because few people are like Jack Mendez. He wasn’t supposed to succeed. Born poor, he was raised poor. In elementary, he endured kilometers of walking on dirt roads to attend school. In college at the USC, he could barely afford to buy textbooks. When he stepped inside the library, he wore borrowed pants and, to support his studies, he mopped floors in exchange for free lodging.

Manny Pacquiao? Jack Mendez was the same: he lifted wood at the pier as kargador. And, on his final year at the USC law school, his father, a firewood dealer, decided that his brothers and sisters would stop school to allow him to graduate.

After passing the bar exams, he did what no other brand-new lawyer has possibly ever done: he became a security guard. While assigned at a furniture company in Manila where snakes crawled the premises at night, he squatted on table tops.

Yet, he endured. He persevered. He did not let his sorry state bruise his fate. Jack’s first job was with the SSS. Despite a stable job and lofty position as division head of the Claims and Benefits branch, he dreamed beyond the Social Security System. He longed to become an entrepreneur and daydreamed of establishing his own security business.

March 4, 1965. That was the moment. He named the business “Centurion.” As he envisioned, the start-up prospered. And the reason is simple: The owner was a former security guard. Who better to train and manage blue guards than a former security man himself? He understood the guard’s suffering of sleepless nights and the loneliness of working everyday, seven days from Thursdays to Wednesdays, including Christmas and Holy Week.

In those mid-1960s, guards were perceived to be “notorious” and “shady.” He aimed to change that stereotype into one where people would respect security personnel who were courteous, qualified and well-trained.

He did that. From one solitary guard when he started nearly half a century ago, the firm reached a peak of 1,500-strong men and women, back when they operated a second agency, Mensa (or Mendez Security Agency).

The company motto? It remains as enduring today as it was in 1965: “The Best Pay from the Best of Companies through the Best Service.”

True enough, CSAI became the best: 10 times it was adjudged the “Best Security Agency for Region 7” and, three times, it was awarded the “Most Outstanding Private Security Agency” of the Philippines.

Why, you ask, this story of Atty. Mendez on these back pages? Because, like metaphors, life and sports are alike. Difficulties? Challenges? Adversity? Are these not present both in our daily lives and in the lives of athletes?

The story of Jack is motivating. Be you an athlete or a non-sportsman, it defines what is one of the most powerful teachings in this whole universe: You. Can. Do. It.

For here’s the formula of life employed by Jack Mendez, now 78 years young: “Hardships are not meant to make us bitter.… but better.”

One more lesson he imparts? Laugh. Yes. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.     Laugh. Out loud.    Win or lose, shout ha-ha-ha-ha. For life, and sports, is a struggle. But if you laugh at your own foibles and chuckle when problems arise, you’ll often succeed.

And so today, to the original Centurion, to my inspiration, to my father-in-law: Sir, I salute you.

Jasmin, John (back), Malu and Jack Mendez, and Atty. Michelle Palmares

Thanks to the controversy last February 5, when Talk ‘N Text walked out of their game against Barangay Ginebra, my interest in the Philippine Basketball Association has intensified.

Remarkable showing by the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants. Having been down 1-2 in their best-of-seven semifinal series against San Miguel Beer, the Giants won three games in a row and, thus far in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup Finals, they’ve won another three straight. That’s 6-of-6.

Will it be Lucky 7 when Game 4 is contested tomorrow? Alaska Milk, highly-touted to have provided tough resistance to Purefoods, has faltered. In Game 2, they shouldn’t have lost. Leading by 13 points in the third quarter, they stumbled. Now they’re in a deep, dark hole. Can they win their first game? And, after that, maybe one more? To seize the momentum? Can they score four straight when no team ever in PBA history has come back from a 0-3 deficit?

Improbable. That’s as unlikely as Joshua Clottey scoring a knockout win versus our Filipino flag-bearer next Sunday.

But here’s a fact: A former University of San Jose Recoletos star player, a Cebuano named Roger Yap, has been the playoff’s best.

“‘He was really the brightest star who played with an incredible will to win,’ said Gregorio of Yap, who was named the undisputed KFC/Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period Feb. 15 to 21, quoting the official website PBA.com.ph.

Balamban Councilor Dave Karamihan, one of the wittiest and funniest men you’ll meet on this island, is once again at the helm of a noble project: the Paghandum ni Magsasay Annual Adventure Trek ’10. Held in commemoration of the 53rd death anniversary of Pres. Ramon Magsaysay, this annual climb runs from March 20 to 21 in Dave’s bailiwick called Balamban.

Paghandum ni Magsaysay Annual Adventure Trek ’10, 53rd Annual Commemoration of the Death of President Ramon Magsaysay, March 20-21, 2010, Mt. Manunggal, Barangay Magsaysay, Balamban, Cebu

The Annual Commemoration is actually on March 17.  A simple wreath laying rite will be held in the crash site at 9:00 in the morning.

On March 20,  Saturday, the weekend of festivities will kick off with the 5th Annual Paghandum ni Magsaysay (PNM) Adventure Race.  This is a climbathon open to professional runners, weekend warriors, and locals.  The race starts at the Welcome Arch of the Municipality of Balamban at the Transcentral Highway all the way to the crash site in Mt. Manunggal.  There is also a Women’s category.  The route is 17km (13Km for the Executive, Local, and Women categories) of partly concrete road, dirt road and mountain trails.

In the evening is the San Miguel Beer Night.  A concert by various bands will be held in the campsite.  Trekkers can have the chance to party with fellow mountaineers.  Food and beverage stalls are situated all around.

On March 21, Sunday, the 7th Annual PNM Mountain Bike Challenge commences from Poblacion in Balamban with the finish line, likewise at the campsite in Mt. Manunggal.

The campsite has comfort room facilities and is fully secured by the local PNP.  An ambulance and medic team is on standby 24/7.

Balamban dumptrucks will be picking up trekkers as early as 5Am in JY square in Cebu City.  There will also be a pickup point in Balamban for local trekkers.  These same dumptrucks will be ferrying trekkers on Sunday back to Cebu City and Balamban.

Paghandum ni Magsasay Annual Adventure Trek ‘09
53rd Death Anniversary of President Ramon Magsaysay Sr.

The aim of this event is to showcase the beauty and the eco-tourism potential of Mt. Manunggal and its environs.  Before, it was just the hardcore mountaineers who can get to this place and set up camp.  Over the years, an access road has been laid out and comfort room facilities added, more and more weekend warriors or families who just want to go on a picnic have started trickling in.

Through all these events that are lined up for the commemoration of the death of a beloved president year in and out, we may be able to put Manunggal in the map of must see destinations for foreign and local tourists alike in Cebu.  This could help out in both ways:  more economic activity in the area, and more consciousness on environmental issues for locals as they would tend to take care of their resources more to keep tourists coming in.

Nobody really knows how this adventure trek started.  Some say, it was the mountaineers who like spending their March 17 weekends atop Mt. Manunggal and integrate themselves with the locals.  Some say it was the University of San Jose Recoletos volunteers who started some outreach programs (they even constructed a chapel near the monument) —and continues to do so— since several years ago.

One thing definite is, this all started with a mountain, which happened to embrace a great man in his death.  It is ironic, that with Magsaysay’s death, a new life is born.  A new life for the constituents of Barangay Gaas and Manunggal.

That is our goal and our promise.

One of my favorite websites is The Big Picture by Boston.com. They publish photos that are, as its name explains, BIG. Check out a few Winter Olympics photos below and visit their website here.

For more, visit The Big Picture by Boston.com

Congratulations to several Cebuanos who joined last Sunday’s race. No, the run didn’t start at the Cebu Business Park and it wasn’t a 5K. It was the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon.

Roy and Dr. Rosan Trani finished. So did 42K first-timer Kenneth Toledo, Dr. Emily Estrada, Dr. Alex Junia and Dodong Sulatre, who clocked an impressive 4:24.

Best of all, Mendel Lopez, an awardee this March 11 during the 28th SAC-SMB Cebu Sports Awards, scored a standout finish: Of the thousands who participated in the 21K race, Mendel placed 3rd. A Japanese arrived first, an Italian second (only five seconds ahead of Mendel), then our very own Cebuano.

The past two Februarys in HK, Mendel placed fourth. Now, he’s climbed one step higher. And given that this race attracts a mix of global runners that would make the United Nations smile, this was a remarkable performance. Congratulations!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Back in July of 2007, I started a habit. I drank. Not beer or Johnnie Walker or tequila or lambanog. I drank a brown-colored mix that’s available in carenderias and supermarkets, SM City and Ayala Center, our homes and offices. I started with San Mig Coffee. When I woke up in the morning, I tore open the blue sachet and poured the 3-in-1 on a steaming cup of water. I sipped. Next, I swallowed Nescafe Intense. It was, as it’s family name suggests, intense. I drank it two hours before running the Hong Kong 42K footrace. I drank it each morning at my Talamban home.

Today, I still drink. But thanks to Jourdan Polotan, who, to me, owns a doctorate in Coffeetology, I’ve learned to be more sophisticated. Mr. Polotan who? He happens to be the husband of Jingle, who’s the sister of Steve Benitez, who’s the owner of the outstanding Cebu brand named Bo’s Coffee.

Jourdan, who’s resided in Surabaya, Indonesia and traveled to Russia and Dubai and Italy and most of the corners of this round planet, taught me about this “French Press.” At first, given his all-muscle physique, I thought the “press” was his gym exercise: the leg press.

French Press, it turned out, was one excellent method of making coffee. And so, for the past 60 days since I’ve purchased that portable French Press gadget at Starbucks and a coffee grinding machine at Rustan’s, I’ve grounded various selections of beans.

When do I savor my coffee? Each morning, with no miss, at 6 a.m. What does one 8-oz cup do to my system? It stimulates my brain. From half-shut, my eyes amplify. From a funky state I transform into a punk. From being a wuss, I transpose into a revving Lamborghini. Coffee, as commonly said, “perks me up” and switches my just-awoken zombie skeleton into an Energizer bunny.

Which brings me to E: Exercise. And why, if you don’t drink cappuccino before you engage in sports or, worse, if you don’t involve yourself in any type of sweating, you should.

Needless to expound, Exercise is necessary for a robust and strapping figure. But here’s what I’ve uncovered is just as necessary prior to exercise: a brown cup. And this theory of drinking coffee before working-out is endorsed not just by me or Vice Governor candidate Glenn Soco, who owns the chain of cozy outlets named Coffee Dream, but by plenty of studies.

“Australian researchers found that even a small quantity of caffeine allowed athletes to exercise almost a third longer,” said the August 2003 article from BBC.co.uk entitled, Coffee ‘boosts exercise stamina.’ “A single cup of coffee may be enough to trigger these beneficial effects. The Australian Institute of Sport team found that caffeine triggers the muscles to start using fat as an energy source rather than carbohydrate sugars. Caffeine has been used by many endurance athletes as a way of eking extra energy out of their body’s reserves during an event. The researchers tested its effects on cyclists, who were allowed to sip on flat cola or coffee as they pedaled. Those who did were able to keep going longer than those who stuck to water.”

Believe it now? There’s more. In fact, hundreds of studies have validated the positive effect of coffee on athletes.

According to the Univ. of Michigan Health System website, “it makes (people) feel more alert, gives them more energy, improves their mood, and makes them more productive. Athletes often use caffeine to help them perform better, both in routine workouts and in competition.”

To me, it keeps me motivated to pedal that Trek mountainbike, sprint that 5K run, swing that Babolat tennis racket.

I hope you drink coffee. Not just to sleep awake, slumped in Seattle’s Best’s sofa set for 104 lazy minutes, but to use coffee to energize your senses and convince your physical self to move.

Do sports. Sip caffeine. What a one-two combination. That’s why I love the French Press. It’s the perfect mix prior to a bench press.

Like Borg and McEnroe, Evert or Navratilova, Federer vs. Nadal, there stood two enemies in the 1990s: Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. I sided with Pete. Not now. Not in this battle between books. Having read the memoir of Pete Sampras, “A Champion’s Mind: Lessons From A Life In Tennis,” a year ago and having consumed, in just several hours of nonstop reading yesterday, Andre’s tell-all, “Open: An Autobiography,” it’s a no contest. Agassi beats Sampras in straight sets.

I love AA’s book. It’s funny. It’s shocking. It’s no-holds-barred. It’s absorbing. So unlike Sampras’ book where, if you ask me now, I can hardly remember anything. Not Agassi. The most colorful character in tennis. He dated Barbra Streisand. He sniffed shabu. He helped “discover” Celine Dion. He wore a wig (deceiving the admirers of his then-blonde, flowing hair). And, to me, the most shocking of all revelations: He despised tennis.

His father, Mike, an Olympic boxer for Iran, treated his youngest child like a slave. He allowed him to skip school to play tennis. He forced him to eat, fantasize, work, sleep, study one word: Tennis. Andre hated and loathed and abhorred the game. Unbelievable.

Sins? Ahh. The 388-page hardbound book, sent to me by fellow columnist Michelle So and owned by tennis left-hander Atty. Frank Malilong, exposes plenty. The most scandalous of all is Andre’s taking crystal meth. He didn’t sniff the drug for years. He took it maybe a few times. But the fact that he did engage in drugs and lied about it with the ATP officials–then revealed it in this written story is startling.

But Agassi is Agassi. He’s open. He’s honest. Today. And he did the right act by divulging that sin. Why? Simply because this book is not fictional; it’s a diary, a confession, a tell-all. For him to have hidden this dark episode would have made him a fraud. (And deprived the publisher of millions more in book sales!)

The autobiography also hurts people with its openness. Take Sampras. Agassi insults his arch-rival. First, he describes Pete as more robotic than his pet, a parrot named Peaches. On another occasion, he says Pete is cheap when he tipped a parking valet only $1. Wrote Agassi: “I envy Pete’s dullness. I wish I could emulate his spectacular lack of inspiration, and his peculiar lack of need for inspiration.” Ouch.

The book also recounted all of Agassi’s major triumphs. His Wimbledon conquest. His Australian Open titles. His U.S. Open victories. His come-from-behind French Open win. But more than tennis-talk, this book was a love story. For Agassi is a romantic. A love story not so much with Brooke Shields, his wife from 1997 to 1999, but more so with a player you might have heard of: Graf. Stephanie.

For who’d have known, had he not revealed it, that Andre has kept, from way, way back, a secret crush on Ms. Graf? Their love story is titillating. How he sent her flowers (while her boyfriend was there). How he wet the piece of paper with Steffi’s phone number and panicked to retrieve it. This love story I found most riveting. For who would have imagined a better-than-a-movie ending: the only two people to have won all four Grand Slam titles plus the Olympic gold medal… Only Mr. and Mrs. Agassi.

Funny. That’s what this book is also about. It has hundreds of episodes that will make you laugh. In page 191, for example, Agassi loses in the 1994 French Open to Thomas Muster. But he’s angry for a different reason. “At the net he rubs my head, musses my hair. Apart from being condescending, his gesture nearly dislodges my hairpiece… I stare at him with pure hatred. Big mistake, Muster. Don’t ever touch the hair.”

The book is, most of all, well-written. Co-authored by J. R. Moehringer, a Pulitzer Prize winner, the words are compelling and irresistible. (So impressed by the writing, I visited Fully Booked and bought another Moehringer book, The Tender Bar.)

In summary, this book you MUST READ. Tennis fan or not, it’s one of the best autobiographies I’ve ever read.

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US Open 2009 speech

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Hall of Fame speech introducing Steffi Graf

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Last match at the US Open

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60 Minutes interview

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60 Minutes (Part 2)

Last Wednesday, I stayed overnight in Iloilo City. I switched on the TV set while inside the hotel room. I shivered. Not because the air-conditioning was near-freezing, but because of what my eyes witnessed.

Snow. Lots of snow. It’s the Olympics and the star is Vancouver, Canada, where the 21st Winter Games are being held from February 12 to 28.

The cable TV company in Iloilo showed two channels fully devoted to the Winter Olympics. One was a European channel and the other was Solar Sports. It was nearly a 24-hour, all-snow, all-Vancouver coverage. And it was sensational. I watched Curling. Virtually unheard-of in this part of the tropical world, it’s a game of utmost precision. I saw Cross-Country Skiing. The skiers were terrific athletes: they’d climb up a steep hill, stride down, sprint on a flat mound, both arms swinging, all hearts pounding in 111 percent effort. Ice hockey I saw. Same with Speed-Skating and Alpine Skiing. These were all shown in both live and replay feeds on both two channels.

Not in Cebu. But in Iloilo. Now why, I ask, isn’t the Olympic Games, held only once every 48 months, being shown in our Queen City? I don’t know. But I don’t like it. And I presume, so do the thousands of other SkyCable subscribers who would have loved to see snow in our sunny island.

Bode Miller? Who captured gold yesterday in the Super Combined? No show. Lindsey Vonn, an unbelievable beauty of a blonde American who won gold in the Women’s Downhill? Sorry, folks, but you can only check out her moves and photos via the internet (visit the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and you’ll see her in seductive, two-piece swimwear.)

It’s a pity SkyCable severed its ties with Solar Sports. The biggest losers in all this are you and me.

SUPER BOWL. Last week, I got the chance to speak by phone to Raymond Kokseng. He was infuriated and annoyed. And Mr. Kokseng, one of Cebu’s top businessmen (Banilad Town Centre, Harbour City/Dimsum Break, Golden Cowrie, Grand Convention Center, to name a few), is also one of this island’s most amiable and courteous of gentlemen. Thus, to hear him somewhat aggravated was a surprise.

The reason: Sports. Once again, the no-show by SkyCable. The event: Super Bowl XLIV.

Played between the Indianapolis Colts versus the New Orleans Saints, it turned out to be a huge upset win for the Saints and Drew Brees (who outperformed the so-called “greatest quarterback ever,” Peyton Manning). That February 7 event also turned out to be the most-watched TV program in U.S. history, beating M*A*S*H. In all, 106.5 viewers saw the Super Bowl.

You and me here in Cebu? Ha-ha. Pity us. We saw nothing. And that’s what got Raymond Kokseng displeased. Having resided in San Francisco (“I was a big, big fan of the 49ers”), he had grown to love, and to follow, American football; in particular, that once-a-year spectacle. Sadly, it was no Bowl, no snow, no show.

See all 45 photos in SI.com

Pop Sabandon is dead. Last Friday past 11 p.m., as he exited the hospital after visiting his father-in-law in Gen. Santos City, Pop was shot twice in the head. Shocking. Pop was one of the top tennis players of our land: a former Davis Cup player, he was ranked as high as RP # 3 just a few Februarys ago. But more than his tennis prowess, he was one of the most cheerful and enthusiastic of men.

Last April, he was in Cebu. Joining the Cebuana Lhuillier Men’s Open at Baseline, he entertained the crowd with his bandana-on-the-forehead look and style of play that was aggressive and captivating. One occasion I recall was our dinner last year with Jean-Henri Lhuillier and the rest of the players at Mr. A in Busay. Pops was the star. He sang. He drank. He joked. He smiled. He was simply a lovable, outgoing person.

According to Cebuano tennis ace Michael Quiñones, one of his closest friends here, Pop was a few days away from leaving for Hong Kong for a possible tennis coaching profession. He was only 28.