DLSU Lady Spikers reclaim UAAP title

La Salle capped a dominating season with a 25-18, 25-17, 28-26 victory over University of Santo Tomas Saturday to win the UAAP Women’s Volleyball championship at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan. It was payback time for the Lady Spikers as they lost to this same team in the finals a year ago.

Despite the Tigresses holding fort to a 24-19 lead in the 3rd set, the Lady Spikers showed poise down the stretch to hammer out this come-from-behind win. Captain Cha Cruz, who was named the Finals MVP, collected 14 hits, including four blocks, while Michelle Gumabao and season MVP Jacq Alarca combined for 25 markers.

Though they are officially 16-1 in season 73, the Lady Spikers are technically undefeated as their lone setback was a forfeiture due to an eligibility infraction.
“Hindi namin inisip na may talo kami. Inisip namin na 17-0 kami, talagang pinaghirapan ng mga bata ang championship na ito,” said a jubilant coach Ramil de Jesus, who has guided La Salle to all of its 6 UAAP championships including a 3-peat from 2003 to 2005.

Maika Ortiz had nine hits while Maru Banaticla added eight markers for Tigresses.

An outside hit by Abigail Maraño allowed UST to move closer in extending the game to a 4th set. But the Lady Spikers did not wilt under pressure as they mounted a rally to regain the upperhand 25-24. The Tigresses were able to tie the count twice, the last was at 26-26, after Ortiz scored a running spike. However, Gumabao scored a kill, while Cruz scored a hit which UST setter Rhea Dimaculangan failed to dig in which sealed the win, and the championship for La Salle.

Aside from the MVP plum, Alarca was also adjudged Best Spiker and Best Server. The other awardees from La Salle are Mika Esperanza (Rookie of the Year) and Michelle Gumabao (Best Blocker).

Source: greenarchers.ph

the open closes...

The Aussie Open closes after a fortnight of spectacular world-class tennis from top players all around the world. My eyes can now rest after two weeks of watching daily 12-hour live coverage of the grand slam event. Grand slams happen only four times a year, so as a tennis enthusiast, it's a compulsion to never miss a singles event match.

No Rafa and RFed in the Final this year (which sucks!). Rafa sustained hamstring injuries and still has the sickness he acquired from his last tournament in Doha. He was totally dominated by his fellow countryman Ferrer in the Semis but you'd be impressed on how he played that game despite everything. He's truly a fighter. Federer on other hand, was just simply outplayed by Djokovic in every aspect of the game. Too erratic semifinal for Roger as he kept on shanking the balls with his back-hand. Is he really starting to lose his touch? In the end, the Serbian Djokovic and the Scot Murray, had to set aside their friendship for a while to face off for the coveted title. Unfortunately for Murray, the Serbian found a new gear with his powerful forehand and defensive repertoire. Djokovic won the Men's Singles event in straight sets (6-4, 6-2, 6-3).

In the Women's draw, nothing could be more perfect for Kim Clijsters: No Sharapova or Justine Henin (other players dispatched them for her) but most importantly, no Williams sisters to threaten her game. Serena Williams was absent this year because of sustained injuries from her previous tournaments (This game could be really brutal!). Venus Williams also fell short of the competition for injuries she got from her match against Zahlavova. I think it's an injury on one of psoas muscles. People even booed the poor woman for retiring from her game against Petkovic just after six minutes of the game. People can be really idiotic sometimes noh?. In the end, Kim Clisters and Li Na dueled it out for the title. I was a historic event. For Li Na, she became the first Chinese to play in a grand slam final. (I am really starting to like her. She has this bright, quirky and comedic personality) But in the end, supermom Clijsters outplayed Na (3-6, 6-3, 6-3) with her masterclass ground strokes to win her first Aussie Open title.

out of shape

Out of nowhere, my phone beeped. It hadn't been beeping for a long while and so I got curious. Who would be texting hermit me? It was Jeremiah. She invited me to play badminton with her and Mark and his colleagues from the community hospital. I've been bugging her about playing because I felt like my blood was starting to coagulate due to lack of exercise. I had to start pumping my system or else I'd die of a heart problem or a stroke in a decade. My last smash if memory serves me right was two years ago back in college, which feels like a lifetime ago.

A couple of hours later, I arrived at the courts and did the usual stretching... but not really. I was just so psyched about playing! I played for just a couple of hours and man, I couldn't be more out of shape! Thirty minutes in (playing Sir Carlo), I started to labor on my breathing. I was struggling to breathe in air into my lungs and I was feeling that sharp pain on the part of my abdomen where the liver is supposed to be. After that, I played doubles with Jem against Mark and Sir Carlo. As expected, I couldn't find the right timing to smash the shuttle and most of my drops fell short into the net. We won in 2 sets but I felt like I was going to collapse on the floor. I rested for a while and had a singles match against Mark. Everything was going fine at first until Mark started to send the shuttles to the baseline. I was literally dragging my feet, from the net to the back. My footwork's shot. Eventually, my hands turned clammy, which was not a good sign (I might be having a generalized vasodilation that could put me into shock). The game only lasted a set. I gave up.

I went home knowing my body would ache for days. And I was right. My hamstrings felt like they're really pulled to the limit. My forearm muscles hurt so much that I could barely bend my wrist, brush my teeth, or lift a dipper of water when taking a bath. Sitting upright from lying supine became such a labor. For some reason, my abdominal muscles felt so weak, like I'm going to develop a hernia. I even needed to splint my lower abdomen when I cough to lessen the pain (and probably to keep my intestines from from sticking out of my tummy or worse, into my balls!). But the pain is good in a way. Every night when I'm off to sleep, I feel like I just had an extremely hard full body massage. I was sleeping like a baby.

I really have to make a routine exercise but it's really hard, especially if you do not have someone to do it with. I am starting to consider doing it all in the gym, but I'm not really comfortable in such places. Is that weird? I guess it is since everyone is going in that place to buff themselves up. But me? In a gym? Gawd I'm weird!

lady spikers sweep tigresses in straight sets

After a one-sided finals last year, the perennial rivals of UAAP Women’s Volleyball, De La Salle Lady Spikers and UST Tigresses, faces each other once again in their first match up of the season. And with a very dominant performance, the ladies in green swept the ladies of España in straight sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-12).

This match shone light on the critical differences between the two championed teams coming into the season. In the UST side, the loss of Din Din Santiago (middle blocker) and Angeli Tabaquero (open spiker) has become more apparent. Also, the absence of steady reception from Curato (libero) strained the team’s floor defense against the serves and attacks from the opposing team. Midori Hirotsuji, the rookie in the line-up could do a little better when it comes to attacking and defense—feats mostly developed from experience. It is crystal clear, that Aiza Maizo is the heart of this team. Ortiz, Caballejo, and Banaticla should step up if they really want to win this season. Meanwhile, everything from DLSU team seemed like an upgrade. Coming into the season with the team intact, Coach Ramil found a gem—a brilliant setter in the name of Esperanza. Unlike her rookie counterpart, she plays more confident and adds more height to the team’s defense (which was a problem when they still had Martinez as the setter). Reinforcing DLSU’s arsenal is Michelle Gumabao (utility spiker). Her high percentage attacks and towering height in the net made La Salle a more dominant team than ever before.

Statistics-wise, it is apparent that La Salle has the advantage to win it all, however, this is how La Salle started the last season; entering the 2nd Round without a loss only to be squashed by UST at the end. I guess their next matches against each other will stand as the true tests for these two teams, after making all the adjustments and fine-tuning every aspect of their game. And so the questions go: How will La Salle cope up to the pressure of being undefeated, and could UST keep their composure and beat their rival to win the championship? Season 73 couldn’t be more unpredictable...

animas fall prey to growling tigresses

They just lost it…and in a very frustrating way. After playing a dismal game on Game 1, you would’ve taught they’d be able to finally adjust and address the flaws in their plays. But they didn’t. It was the same story for La Salle on Game 2 and it cost them the Championship in 4 sets (18-25, 14-25, 25-16, 15-25).

Unforced errors, poor reception, and imprecise sets were written all over the 1st set for the Lady Spikers. Since the team couldn’t receive well, Martinez, setter, wasn’t able to set up killing plays. Middle attacks were neutralized and drop shots weren’t good enough for the UST floor defense. Service errors, net interference, and attack mishits piled up giving free points to the Tigresses.

Through the course of the 2nd set they still weren’t able to regroup and build momentum. Even though they gained an early lead, faulty reception and sets kept on creeping in and crippling their game. It was the same story for Set 2… only it had gotten worse.

On Set 3, Coach Ramil took a risk by positioning Cha Cruz, an open spiker, to do setting chores instead of Martinez; an act of desperation to save the game, perhaps, but Cha really delivered to set up plays effective enough for her spikers to penetrate the UST block and score points. It came out as a surprise because I didn’t know she was an alternate setter. Cha Cruz really turned the gears for La Salle, contributing in both setting and blocking duties. And as the set went on, errors suddenly came pouring in from the opponent’s side giving them free points. Momentum had finally shifted. The girls in green could block more. They were able to receive better, and with Cha Cruz’s excellent sets, were able to bring down balls on the UST floor. Open, middle and running attacks came to life piling up the points for them to win the crucial set.

The Lady Spikers, once again took an early lead by the start of Set 4, but they failed to keep up the momentum they gained from the previous set. With Cha setting for most of the set, they fought for every point. But after the first technical time-out, La Salle was once again haunted by the old ghosts from Sets 1 and 2. They just lapsed into E-R-R-O-R-S. I think it is safe to say that they gave away the game with the way they played that set. Hays.

Even though it breaks my heart, I really applaud the UST Team. They deserve it. They were able to master the pressure and just play their game. One thing remarkable about the Tigresses is their consistency, which La Salle fell short of. La Salle finished on top by the end of the eliminations but they weren’t able to peak up their game unlike UST, which peaked at the right time. But that’s a game. Someone should lose, right?

I’m looking forward to see these girls play again next season. But of course, there’s still the Shakey’s V-League to look forward this coming April.

...and another heartbreaker...crap

The DLSU Lady Spikers have fallen prey to the UST Tigresses yesterday on Game 1 of best-of-three finals series of UAAP Season 72—26-24, 23-25, 16-25, and 21-25.

There was an obvious lapse on the La Salle’s game yesterday and it was really frustrating because I know how good they really are. And it turned out Kaye Martinez, setter, is nursing a shoulder injury she got from their last match against Adamson and opting to use Garbin, alternate setter, didn’t help their cause. Her plays were just slow and predictable allowing the Tigresses to set up appropriate defence both on the net and on the floor. Also, Maraño was a non-factor in the game and her dinks weren’t sufficient enough to fool the opponent’s defence. Cha Cruz’s attacks weren’t spot on as they usually are and she also committed a couple of errors on her spikes and serves. But I still love her. Unforced errors really killed La Salle’s game last night and very crucial ones they were.

UST’s reception was better converting chance balls into points with the aid of their libero, Curato. She’s way better than Fortuno I think. La Salle really needs to work on their reception especially when playing balls served by Rhea Dimaculangan. She really deserve that Best Server Award, doesn’t she? But last night, even Din-Din Santiago’s and Angeli Tabaquero’s serves proved fatal to their defence. There were times when even Melissa Gohing failed to up balls to set up plays.

One key factor in UST’s gameplay was Aiza Maizo. On their previous match, they were able to neutralize her spikes but on this game, varying sets by Dimaculangan to middle and open attackers fooled the blockers allowing the leftie drill balls on the floor. Good thing they were able to manage the Ortiz attacks, a feat they failed to do on their previous game. But only one player outshone everyone on the court—Angeli Tabaquero. Man, that girl could really spike! Her leaping ability was just superb. She was able to elevate herself in an incredible height to pound the ball over the blockers and down hot on the floor where defenders couldn’t do anything about it.

Another thing that made that game so depressing was the entrance fee. From P80.00 it increased to P150.00. It would’ve been worth it if only the game ended in 5 sets, but it didn’t. And the 4-hour long bus ride home was just crazy. I feel so tired and dirty when I got home and to think I still had nursing duties.

I’d really like to see La Salle make up for this loss and win Game 2 and hopefully the Championship. But I think I’m just gonna watch the games on TV. It seems like La Salle always lose a game whenever I’m in their presence. Haha!

Eineemow, Luh’sohl!

heartbreak on the day of hearts

THE (2) UST TIGRESSES AND (1) DLSU LADY SPIKERS battled it off yesterday at the San Juan Arena. Being a big fan of the game, I decided it would be stupid to miss this powerhouse match. So I, together with a couple of friends, went to San Juan and saw the games live.

Watching live volleyball action featuring your idols (namely Cha Cruz and Paneng Mercado) in the flesh was a very thrilling experience. It definitely beats watching them on HD TV! It felt really nice to revel once more in that familiar addictive school spirit. I was rooting for La Salle and for a day I felt like I got to be one of them, shouting Animo, La Salle! and singing along with their chants.

As the games progressed, the Arena was booming with every point from both sides. The crowd oooh-ed with every drop, block, and spike as bass drums amplified the intensity of the game. I really learned to appreciate the work and the effort exerted by the Pep Squad. Imagine shouting Animo, LaSalle in a full and booming voice for two hours. Mine started to break in the 3rd set and I felt a shooting pain in my left lower chest. I thought one of my lungs had collapsed. Hehe!

The game seemed longer than it usually does on television. But after two hours of a five-set match, the ladies in gold defeated the ladies in green, (25-23, 20-25, 28-26, 16-25, 12-15) earning the bragging rights and probably tipping the scales to their advantage for the Championship. It was a heartbreaker. I feel for Melissa Gohing (libero) for a crucial error in the end setting the opposing team at set point. She maybe the defence specialist but she fell victim to Rhea Dimaculangan’s sharp floater.

The match was a no-bearing game. Its outcome will not change the two teams’ positions as they enter the semi-finals. But man, they really delivered and gave their all. I’m definitely going back to watch them live again. I’m also looking forward to watch the Ateneo Lady Eagles; another very promising team. It would be really interesting if they could steal at least a game from the Tigresses. The semis will start next week on the 20th.

It was a long and rough 3-hour journey home. I got home tired, voiceless, sleepless but happy. And I still got to watch the replays on Balls. Hehe! By the way, there’s a volleyball league in town and I’m wondering if I’d join. I know I’m really rusty but somehow I’d like to. ANIMO! –Can anyone tell me what this means?

when the open closes...

AFTER WATCHING LIVE week-long tennis and hearing men and women grunt and moan while whacking balls with their rackets, the Australian Open 2010 had finally crowned its new victors—the Master, (1) Roger Federer and (1) Serena Williams.



It’s been a great tournament this year. Lots of drama, starting with Rafael Nadal who had to retire from his Quarterfinal Match; the US Open Champions, Juan Martin del Potro and Kim Clijsters, ousted in the earlier rounds; Maria Sharapova who played stellar tennis against Dementieva in the 1st Round (but lost to Kirilenko); the two Chinese players dominating the semifinals, Na Li and Zheng Jie, and of course the return of the former number 1, Justine Henin, who really gave Serena a run for her money in the Women’s Final. I was really rooting for her. I believe she remains to be the female tennis player with the deadliest backhand. But she really needs to work those services out. But that’s okay. There are still three majors to go: The French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. I feel sorry for Murray though. I really thought this would be his year. But Roger really demolished his plays to win his 16th major singles title and first as a father. He really deserved it. I admire Roger as a sportsman, but I admire him more for his social responsibility. He initiated a charity for the victims of Haiti, which mustered an amount up to 650,000 dollars.

One tournament down, one to go (the UAAP of course!), and one more coming up—Vancouver 2010! Thank goodness for Cable TV! Hehe!

somethings to look forward to...

O-NINE HAD PASSED AWAY and here comes the fresh New Year. And like everything that ends and has to begin again, this year brings a new perspective of things to come. That’s the beauty of endings and beginnings. They give people the feeling of having a clean slate. No wonder New Year’s resolution has become a viral ideology. The ironic part is, most people fall short of them. (Even Oprah!) I wonder why.I gave up on making New Year’s resolutions due to the fact that

I lost my belief in them or rather on my belief in myself to carry out the deeds I promised to do.I think it all boils down to what your heart really wants plus a proper mind set. Thousand New Years will come and go, but unless you grow a willing heart to change, you’ll end up failing yourself. Enough of this New Year’s resolution crap. I say there’s a lot to look forward to especially on television. Since I started taking care of my Lola, I have grown to love th etelevision again. And even morning and primetime news suddenly became a part of my everyday routine. Before then, I was contented to watch series and movies on DVD’s to the point that I even started to miss those long annoying commercial breaks between shows.

Australian Open

The firstgrandslam tournament to start the year is here. If you’re a tennis fanatic, you know what I’m talking about. It’s time for another week-long tennis action from the best players in the world. My bet is still on Roger. I wonder if he could beat the defending champion, Rafael Nadal, this year. However, exciting parts of these events includes the upsets and the rising of new tennis stars. I was blown away when Del Potro brought Federer to his knees on last year’s US Open and how Kim Clijsters, a wild card entry, regained her title, despite coming from a two-year retirement; a Cinderella story indeed. I heard Henin Hardene is coming back. Shocking!

UAAP Volleyball Season 72

Round 1 will resume on January 9^th. You can catch them live on Studio 23 and Balls. Too bad they’re not featuring the Men’s Volleyball. But I like watching Women’s Volleyball morebecause of longer rallies. Men’s Volleyball is all about power. Here’s my new favourite player of the season, Charleen Cruz. Isn’t she cute? :P

American Idol Season 9

I have always been a fan of this show and since I am an Ellen fan, I bet this year’s going to be blast. Hehe! I think Ellen’s one of the funniest and lovable TV personalities out there and it would be interesting to know what she could bring to the table to fill Paula’s place (I sure gonna miss her looping comments T_T)

I hope Emily Wynne Hughes would return this season. It broke my heart when she was cut off in Hollywood week. There were rumours that this season is going to be the last due to some allegation that Simon is leaving Idol for good. Hmm. Idol premieres via satellite on January 13 at 6 PM on QTV and StarWorld.

Lost

The final season will air early next month. The Lost series has gained its reputation for being weird or bizarre. No wonder some people don’t watch it. Even a magazine called it the worst television series. I say they just don’t have the intelligence to watch it. Ha-ha! But I don’t blame them. I was cynical of this before. I mean, yeah, it’s about commercial plane that crashed on an island but there’s more to it than entertainment. Brain fuck--Haley use to call this stuff; books, movies, anything that could tease your mind and blow your head off eventually. And because of the nature of this series it’s very hard to talk to someone about it apart from my best friend of course.

Enjoy the New Year everyone!

it's here... finally

THE 72ND VOLLEYBALL SEASON of UAAP is finally here. Lots of volleyball action to occupy my lazy afternoons. Woohoo! I’m really rooting for the Ateneo Lady Eagles but I don’t think they could make it to the Finals this season especially now that the defending champions, The De La Salle Lady Spikers are back. Have you watched the Main Game yesterday? UST VS DLSU? Oh man! It was a nail biter. La Salle won it 5 sets. I wouldn’t be surprised if the ladies in green would win a back-to-back championship.

Cute girls digging and spiking balls? Whew. It can’t get any better than this! However, I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off of one player. She has a great resemblance to that gymnast who won in the Olympics (I forgot her name. Hehe!) The winner of the Dancing with the Stars?

Stephanie Mercado, De La Salle Lady Spikers

Catch the live game telecast of UAAP Women’s Volleyball on Studio 23. 2-6 PM usually on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays.

frustrated

I AM SO FRUSTRATED with some almost-nonsensical stuff lately. Well, first: The teams I was rooting for to win the Shakey’s V-League didn’t make it to the finals. They gave their best shot but it’s still frustrating all the same. It sucks not to see Fille kick some ass even for just a little while. But I guess I’ll only have to endure a little longer until the UAAP starts.

Fille Saint Merced Cainglet, Ateneo Lady Eagles

Second: The inspiration to write comes like a thief in the night and it leaves the same way it enters—in stealth. The problem is I have no laptop to pour those unpredictable thoughts into and I am not comfortable writing them using pen and paper. And when I try to recall them when finally faced with a computer, my memory fails me. This is a silly ranting. I know there a lot of problems to worry about.

And third: My birthday is fast approaching. If I could only slow down time, I would. Time flies alarmingly fast now and I can’t keep up with it. Sometimes I feel like time is an enemy I should defeat. But we all know that the better way to cope with it, is to treat it like a friend.

Make a wish, Ron…

shuttlecocks and balls

I WAS WATCHING THE V-LEAGUE yesterday and i realized how much i miss playing my sports. i miss almost everything about it (except being in the loser’s end): the adrenaline rush, the sweat, the pressure, the trash-talking, and of course, the joys of ending triumphant in a competition. besides, my muscles need some toning and i got to lose the burgeoning fat, particularly in the middle.

i consider myself as a sport-minded person even though i don’t play a lot of contact sports like basketball. when i was young i used to be skeleton-thin (literally! i’ll show you some of my horrible photos one of these days) and could easily tire. i was just a little bit too soft for basketball that’s why i chose to play another sport, volleyball.

there are a lot of stereotypes with guys who play volleyball, but who cares? it’s a really fun and a competitive sport and i believe, less tiring than basketball. besides, there’s nothing that can beat the elation from hitting someone’s face with a ball (absolutely not if you’re on the defensive side! haha! i got hit by perfectly executed kills straight to my face three times already). it’s really fun to kick ass when a net and couple of paces separates you from your competitors.

i started playing the sport when i was in elementary school and eventually became a member of our varsity team (reyn was my captain ball. he’s the first one who taught me how volleyball tastes like). then, there was this sporting event and it turned out that i was over aged to qualify. my coach solved the problem by making me pretend to be someone else. he borrowed someone else’s birth certificate and voila! for a day, i became emmanuel. hehe! i was such an asset my coach couldn’t afford to have me disqualified! haha! when i started attending high school, i decided not to join the varsity since academics was my main priority at that time. instead i get to play during the intramural games. i play setter. i was a show-off when i played especially when i knew my crush was watching and cheering for me. it gave me that extra motivation to rip the ball down, hard on the opponent’s court.

it was also in high school when i discovered that i have some skills in playing badminton. i don’t know if it’s true but they say when you’re good in volleyball, you’re probably good in badminton. but, between the two sports, i am more passionate about the latter. i became a varsity and played doubles (the program sucked by the way. i could recall how rushed our trainings were. no wonder we ended up being losers). i just love the crispy sound of a brand-new shuttlecock against the racket. the sound matters because it tells you whether you hit the shuttle correctly or not. i used to play the sport with my college friends, some where volleyball players too. we would rent a court and play all day, till our bodies give out. there was this one time when i smashed a shuttle so hard and accidentally hit my opponent right in the balls! haha! it was so funny because he got mad! speaking of sportsmanship! hehe! how i wish i can play one of these days. the problem is i have no one to play it with. if i become desperate i’ll just play against a wall…like squash?

one of the sports that i love to watch and want to learn is tennis. there is somehow elegance, grace, and prestige in the game. i was so hooked about it i even finished the tournament of ‘virtua tennis’ in my psp (using roger federer, my favorite player) in just one sitting. my thumbs were screaming in agony the next day that i even found it hard to press the remote. hehe! i miss playing table tennis too. a friend taught me one time and since then, i got hooked!

so that’s it for now i guess. i just thought i’d write something far from emo this time…:P How about you? What's your sports?

. . .

off the record, please bear with me and watch the clip. hehe! (you might want to turn off the music on my sidebar first :))

i have a hunch that the ‘prince’ would surpass its predecessor. there were some stunning scenes, upon watching this trailer and scrutinizing each frame. some of these are the fiery cave scene, harry and dumbledore on the ‘outcrop of rock’ and the quidditch sequences of course! i’m glad they have decided to include it in the storyline and also ron who accidentally ate a cake with a love potion and fell in love (not with hermione though! haha!) i think the opening sequences will be about the destruction caused by the death eaters all over britain (the falling bridge and the black smokes gave it away). harry will have another kissing scene with ginny. big deal! i think i am a better kisser than harry anyway. haha! thanks to alex for the video. peace out!