"Hawaiian Punch" is back on track

Brian the Hawaiian Punch Viloria is back in winning fashion with a victory over Jesus Iribe.

Brian Viloria, who was the WBC light flyweight champion back in 2005, went on a decline and struggled to impress boxing aficionados. Viloria lost his title to Mexican Omar Niño Romero and lost again in their rematch in an attempt to snatch the title back.


Viloria eluding Edgar Sosa's left, April 14, 2007

The Hawaiian Punch erased the memory of lackluster performances with 6 consecutive wins which includes a KO win versus former IBF light-flyweight champion Jose Ulises Solis (W28 L2 KO20.) Viloria improved his record to W26 L2 KO15.

Other notable Filipino boxers (other than Pacquiao) on a hot streak:

Nonito "Filipino Flash" Donaire
"Marvelous" Marvin Sonona ...Keep it up!

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The fall of Philippine basketball

Image by leeroy09481

Basketball is an invaluable pastime to Filipinos. A basketball crazy country, the Philippines owns a rich hoops history. Here is a quick look at our country's most important basketball achievements.

1. 1936 Berlin Olympics- The Philippines defeated Uruguay to finish 5th overall, the highest ever Olympic finish by any Asian country. Not even China topped that feat. A piece from Wikipedia: "If not for controversial rulings, the Philippines could have won silver or bronze medal." (Basketball in the Philippines)

2. 1954 FIBA- The Philippines finished 3rd in the world championship. Again the highest finish by an Asian country.

The famous Caloy Loyzaga, who was named in the FIBA mythical five selection, would later be represented by his two sons Chito and Joey who both played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA.) Joey Loyzaga is known to have dated local actress Gretchen Baretto. Chito was the head band guy and was the better ballplayer of the two.

3. Asian Champions- The Philippines were king of Asian basketball having won four consecutive championships in the Asian Games in 1951, 1954, 1958, 1960. That would be the last taste of glory as local basketball eventually declined in terms of international competition.

Won medals since: 1986 (3rd place, win vs Jordan,) 1990 (2nd place, lost to China,) 1998 (3rd place, win vs Kazakhstan)

4. FIBA Asia Championship- The Pinoys emerged victorious five times in the years 1960, 1963, 1967, 1973, 1985 beating Taiwan twice and South Korea three times, respectively.

Other FIBA Asia medals: 1965 (2nd place, lost to Japan,) 1969 (3rd place, won vs Taiwan,) 1971 (2nd place, lost to Japan.) It has been a drought since as the Philippines struggled to keep up with the development of basketball in the Asian region. The highest rank after 1985 is a loss to Japan in 1987 when the pinoys finished fourth.

5. The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)- The PBA is the first professional league in Asia. It was a hit for almost 3 decades. Its prime is comparable to the NBA among Filipinos. Every game is closely monitored. Hardcore PBA fans such as myself knew every player, referee, and commentator. The All Filipino Cup is composed only of local players while the rest is reinforced with foreign basketball players (predominantly American imports.) It was an exciting league to say the least.

This post is about the FALL of local basketball, not its DEATH. Pinoy basketball is still very much alive.

However, some unfortunate events robbed it some of its luster. The significant event points to the end of the 1990's when the league seemed to have found its answer by recruiting "Filipino-Foreign" players such as Rob Parker, Al Segova, Asi Taulava, Mick Pennisi, Sonny Alvarado and a few more- all presented a hybrid game that would potentially propel the Philippines to a new era of basketball greatness in Asia.

It was later revealed that some of these PBA players had false, incomplete, or missing documents. This anomaly created a disturbance among PBA supporters which later proved fatal to the league's credibility. A sharp decline of the PBA's popularity due to this incident and the invasion of NBA basketball on local cable television shaped the face of local basketball today.

The PBA as well as our collegiate basketball leagues used to be the talk of the town. It used to be a pastime many of us cannot live without. Now some of us can live without it. Although local basketball is still doing decent nowadays, it lacks the commanding flare of the basketball culture we've had in the past. The kind of passion we're used to. The leagues tolerate players to play for money, but what is money if paid to losers?

The concept of Team Pilipinas is a good development in bringing the Philippines back to the basketball map. The PBA wasted many years of stagnation by neglecting the importance of winning international competitions. The inevitable has finally caught up: to improve basketball knowledge and broaden experience because we are getting behind compared to other Asian countries.

Aside from the obvious lack of height, our poor country lags behind in terms of compensation to players participating in this program, improving the scientific aspects of basketball, modernizing basketball facilities.

Although much is to be learned from this experience, it is a good step forward. As we have learned from PBA legend Robert Jaworski a long time ago: NEVER SAY DIE. Read more>>

Chihuahua and Yorkshire Terrier pictures

Creepy!


Another sleepless night. Almost 2:30am now. While in solitude,
I wasted away some minutes browsing through old photo albums.
I rediscovered some pictures of my dogs when they were younger.
Suddenly I feel alive! Indeed there is value in these captured moments. Allow me to share some of it to you...

Pissed on the table


Yorkie's (yep, that's his name) first haircut


Beeeeehhhhh!


Bubu's first night at home. He is the tiny alpha dog.


Still Bubu, my first ever dog.


Dogs pray, too...


...He is praying for this dog from Somalia.


She (Baba) was actually my favorite girl. She was sickly so
it took a lot of effort to keep her alive.




She survived the hard times as she slowly turned
into a beautiful lady.


Here she is standing up...


A double bite to Bubu's ears.


She gets cold easily so we bought her a
furcoat.


This girl is brave enough to face off with the alpha...


...and engage in several fights like this one.


Do not underestimate this 1.5-pound dog because she is
one tough chihuahua.


Although corageous, she is also comical.


Runs like a deer.


And a sweet little creature.


No one hurts her. Not even this macho kid.


Or else.


Later on these thugs bonded and founded a gang.


I am a little sleepy now so here is the last set of pictures. My Yorkshire terriers (Chloe and Yorkie) loves the outdoors. The first picture is when I told them we'd be going out for a walk.

A little anxious to see the outside world.


This is how they looked when I changed my mind:


Well then, that is it. This is not "Scratch boreD" for nothing. I hope you liked my dog pictures. Goodnight!

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Free at Last

Sorry guys, not too many posts this month. I've been selectively busy (or conveniently preoccupied). In no particluar order, here is a list of what I have been doing this month of August:

1. Free time, which includes unwanted absences (college), is spent mostly with my younger brother who has been away for more than 4years. Having experienced prison life for almost half a decade, we shared stories from different perspectives. We talked about a lot of things from life in prison to new buildings within the metro to inmates' scabies to computer games to everything under the sun including its cancerous UV rays. We talked a WHOLE LOT. We slept a bit late (around 4-5am). As a result, I had to skip my morning classes. (FYI: my brother's NOT GUILTY)


Manila City Hall

2. Bubu got hospitalized. Now, this incident took only a fraction of my time but a nasty bite on my wallet. I had to pay Php5,000 for a confinement that took less than 24 hours. My reformed brother almost killed the dog when he dropped it, head first on the asphalt ground. I was so mad I would have sent him back behind bars. Of course he apologized to the little fella'.


Bubu

3. Beer and more beer. Excessive alcohol drinking is a thing of the past. I choose to drink every weekend at most, none at best. No explanations but I've been drinking often this month. Thank you relatives and neighbors, for breaking my oath. All the beer drinkers around the world should try San Miguel Beer at least once.


Toast to my 11th bottle.

4. Last but not the least, my brother and his girlfriend are expecting their first baby. I will soon have my second niece. Wait, didn't I just say my brother spent years in jail? Exactly! Were they in a relationship before he got in? No, they hardly knew each other. That is what's so special about it! By the way, she was in jail only for a visit. It was the day they met. Moving forward, this couple really does not make me any busier but nothing beats the buzz of a newly engaged couple!


The free and a baby

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Pay Day!

Today is not only the start of a weekend (whew!), but also an essential event to employees: PAYDAY! As expected roads will once again be congested and malls filled with busy ants. Unfortunately, others are not as lucky. These goons take advantage of unsuspecting shoppers. So take good care of that hard earned dough. You don't wanna lose it to charity. Beware of pickpockets, hold-uppers, or even your greedy wife (it's a joke, silly). See you around!!!


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Magic Jack

The MagicJack is no big secret. Many of you already know or have actually used this device as it lets you call abroad simply by plugging it on a computer's USB. The nice thing? Calling your loved ones (or even making prank calls) in the USA and Canada is of minimal cost: $19 a year (or equivalent in pesos). What does it mean? Well, eliminate COSTLY PHONE BILLS and save thousands of pesos!



I've been using it for about half a year now. So how does it work? How much does it cost?

Things you may want to know:

1) MagicJack costs around php3000.

2) Will require a PC, a handset, and an internet connection.


A regular handset like this is good enough.

3) With MagicJack you can contact cellphones or landlines in the US or Canada. Calling cellphones may mean collect charges apply. For instance, calling my mom in Cincinnati, Ohio costs her airtime minutes from 7am to 6pm ET. No charges apply outside of those hours. MagicJack to MagicJack calls to and from anywhere and vice versa is free. The MagicJack functions as if it were a North America phone number.

4) Calls (using MagicJack) outside the US/Canada may have rates depending on location. This means if you are using your MagicJack to contact someone in Italy, charges apply because you are calling somebody outside of the US/Canada region. This is true except when you are contacting another MagicJack (remember that MagicJack to MagicJack is for free).

5) I personally do not have any complaints on voice clarity (except the occasional pulses).

6) I am simply selling the idea so that more and more people will benefit from this peripheral.
For more info, visit MagicJack.com.


USB: Plug it.

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Cory Aquino rides the yellow cab to the spirit world

Why are you wearing red, ma'am?
Image by ManilaRyce

Been trying to shy away from ink jotting regarding former President Cory Aquino's sad departure. Bear with me as I try to recall personal experiences linked to Cory's existence...

1986 campaign- I was 6 and well aware that my mom was pro Marcos. It was reason enough to turn me into a Marcos ally as well. As the election campaign intensified, more and more swarms of people can be found barking enthusiastically "Cory, Cory! Laban, Laban!", with the raised L hand sign and all (which now is a sign for L-osers). While Marcos "fanatics" uttered their version of the Marcos chant which drowned in the overwhelming battle cry of the opposition. A number of Marcos supporters later on found themselves enticed by the growing growls of Cory supporters and the bandwagon successfully ignited a prelude to the historical EDSA 1.

1986 post snap election- at the time our residence was situated a few hundred meters from Malacañang (palace). Commotion down the streets can be heard from inside the house. Kids such as I were quick on our wit to realize there is something special going on. Some concerned elders who didn't want to scare their kids tried to mask the event by talking in codes and forcing younglets to bed. In my case, the purpose is defeated since I hear what's really going on (tanks and legions roaming the streets) from adults themselves when they talk to each other. As the night progressed, it somehow turned to a calm celebration. As it later turned out, the Marcoses hula hooped all the way to Hawaii.

Yellow- not that slang for ice but the yellow of the color spectrum. Up to this day I associate this to Cory Aquino. In the 80's I had this vague interpretation that the Dollar taxi painted red is to Marcos as the emerging yellow cabs is to Cory. Mustard to ketchup. Yellow Submarine to Lady in Red. You get the picture. I was a weird kid and an even weirder adult.

Kris Aquino- the president's daughter. Location: PICC, the place to be with rented pedal bikes circling the entire place. Inside the PICC building, caught a glimpse of the young Kris Aquino and had instant daydreams of being with her as lovers (I was 9 and she was around 16). I was even assessing the age gap if it would later impose a relationship problem (duh!). Kids are crazy. I later resented the idea of this self inflicted abnormal proposition. Maybe soon I'll delete this post or modify it to save myself from embarassment.

Tora Tora Bang Bang- the famous coup d'etat in the latter segment of Cory's presidency. Gringo Honasan's attempted revolt against the Cory government flopped like flip. That was really a crazy one. Our warplane, the Tora Tora, is an amusing demonstration of the Philippines' technological advancement (or lack thereof). An elicit eye opener to a naive young boy (me) of our country's third worldness. Preserving history is not a valid excuse in operating a long retired warplane. It's brutal torture to this old aged machine.

Well, I bet once again you learned nothing from this blog. Thank you for relieving my boredom today. To former President Cory Aquino, may you rest in peace. Thank you, ma'am.
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