Brandon Roy Retires

I didn't expect to wake up to this. Brandon Roy, the Portland Trail Blazers' 3-time all-star and one-time franchise player was set to retire from professional basketball. After undergoing a physical doctors told Roy that his playing years were over and that if he continued to play, he could face the possibility of not walking at all in the future. No more cartilage, no more playing. The career of the only player I've followed over the past few years is over.

We always believed that our heroes were indestructible, that they would last forever and never leave us. During the lockout, I had hoped that Brandon's knees would get better with the extended off-season. After Nate McMillan and Larry Miller's statements a few days ago regarding Roy's state of mind and him being part of Portland's plans for the season, my feeling of hope turned into excitement. I printed out the Blazers' 66-game schedule and taped it on the wall of my office. I installed apps for my phone that would help me keep track of news, scores and stats throughout the season. Brandon was ready and so was I.

What I was not prepared for was today's news. The apps I installed did what they were supposed to do, each one of them confirming the story of the day, each one taking the wind out of me. I was shocked. I was sad. On this cold December day, my basketball hero learns that his knees won't allow him to play another NBA game. Just like that.

I can't say that I fully understand everything in the NBA, much less basketball in general. CBAs, BIRs, MLEs, etc. These are just letters to me. For me, being a fan is more than just knowing the numbers and statistics and contracts. It's the feeling of belonging, rising and falling with your team and your favorite players. It was Brandon Roy who pulled me back to watching the game more closely. He made me a fan again of a sport dominated by egos and endorsements. He was a joy to watch, a warrior on the court and a gentleman off the court. The city of Portland loved him and he loved them back. He played with his heart on his sleeve and never let his injuries get in the way of his game. It's sad to think that he won't win a championship, accept an MVP award and won't get to represent the USA in the Olympics. As part of the coaching staff or management maybe but as a player, no. But like what he showed during games 3 and 4 of the 2011 playoffs, there's always a new chapter, a new beginning. He can now focus on the more important things in his life, his family and his health.

Before I end this, I'd like to share my favorite Brandon Roy moment: Game 4 against Dallas in the 2011 NBA Playoffs. Living outside the United States, NBA games are always broadcast in the morning. Game 4 was earlier than usual and I had to wake up at 5:30 to watch the game scheduled at 6. Unfortunately, the NBA provider wasn't scheduled to air the Portland-Dallas game on TV so I went to my office so I could watch it on-line. What I witnessed was one of the most inspiring things I had ever seen. I knew he had spoken about his diminished role in the team a few days before. I knew he responded with 16 points off the bench in the Game 3 win. But what I didn't expect was that I'd be watching what greatness was all about. In just one whole quarter. It was the Brandon Roy show. After he hit that three with Marion fouling him, I could already feel my hands shaking. Then moments later, at the final buzzer, I had tears in my eyes. It was the only time a sporting event could bring me, a then-29 year old man, to tears. The fact that the man, who had no more cartilage in his knee, could orchestrate one of the biggest comebacks in sports history, was just too much.

Thank you, Brandon. For the amazing buzzer beaters, the killer crossovers, the monster dunks and most of all, your selflessness. Good luck and God speed.

Pacquiao-Marquez III

Manny Pacquiao, the Fighting Pride of the Philippines, was supposed to knock out Juan Manuel Marquez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He was supposed to deliver his vaunted left hook right at Marquez's jaw. With one minute and thirty seconds left. In the 6th round. He was supposed to get lifted off his feet by Buboy Fernandez and his horde of followers, his fists in the air in a show of jubilation. He would then be interviewed by Mario Lopez, asked about his next fight, his much-awaited showdown with Floyd Mayweather. Pacquiao would flash his winning smile and answer that it would be up to his promoters to decide then segue to promote his after-fight concert at the Mandalay Bay. Here in Manila, the people would be buzzing about the People's Champ's great victory, each one saying the fight was worth the price of the admission ticket and already warning Mr. Mayweather that he would be next. Pacquiao was supposed to put the doubts of his last two fights to Marquez to rest, proving once and for all that he was the better fighter.

But unlike the script we already played out in our heads, things happened oh so differently.

The thirty-eight year old Marquez defied father time and put on one of the best displays of boxing over the last few years, brilliantly keeping Pacquiao at bay while unloading vicious punches to the Filipino's head. Pacquiao, for his part, looked tentative, only showing sporadic signs of life. He would connect from time to time but we never saw the flurry of punches he was famous for nor his legendary speed and power. The Pac-Man we saw was hesitant, cautious of Marquez's counterpunches. For the Filipino boxing fans, they knew Manny would be lucky if the match had been judged a draw but after twelve rounds it was clear that this was supposed to be the Mexican Warrior's day, his time for revenge and his chance at redemption.

But unlike the fairy tale ending Marquez knew he deserved, again things happened oh so differently.

Robert Hoyle had it a draw 114-114. Dave Moretti had 115-113 and Glenn Trowbridge had it 116-112 for the winner and STILL WBO Welterweight Champion, Manny Pacquiao. After hearing the decision, Marquez and his posse left the ring in haste and possibly, in disgust. Yes, Pacquiao showed flashes of brilliance, Yes, Pacquiao threw more punches. Yes, Pacquiao is a Filipino and so am I. I believe that Pacquiao won the first two fights but not this one. After the final bell, it was either a draw or a Marquez victory for me. Not to take anything away from Manny but in the end, it was supposed to be for the fighter who dictated the pace and connected more clearly.

But unlike how a lot of boxing fans, myself included, saw how this fight would end, again things happened oh so differently.

And that is why this victory is a bitter pill to swallow.

La Salle Greenhills 85 San Beda 82

I attended my high school's championship game yesterday at the Araneta Coliseum (it still feels funny calling it the Smart Araneta Coliseum, sorry). My La Salle Green Hills Greenies was up against the San Beda Red Cubs. LSGH, the College of St. Benilde's junior team in the NCAA rode its momentum from their last game against the Letran Squires and held San Beda at bay for most of the first quarter. The second quarter was a different story as the Red Cubs showed why they had been unbeaten the whole season as they slowly chopped the deficit with their composure and high-octane offense, eventually ending the half down just by three, 41-38, with a trey just before the buzzer sounded.

LSGH player introductions. Unsteady photo by me.

After the break, San Beda continued its relentless pressure on offense, complete with stunning no-look passes and inspired play. The Greenies seemed to be stuck on neutral as the Red Cubs capitalized on missed shots and poor rebounding from La Salle. After three, it was LSGH 63, San Beda 62. It was a heart-stopping last period as both clubs stepped up their performances with the Red Cubs eventually taking the lead with only a few minutes to go. That's when back-up center Andre Paras, son of retired cager Benjie, took over. The younger Paras scored 11 of his 13 points in the pivotal fourth as LSGH won back the lead. The Greenies had several chances to ice the game but were missing free throws down the stretch. In the end, they held on to win the thriller, 85-82 ending San Beda's unbeaten run at 18 games. Forward Jon Villaruz led La Salle with 22 points. Thomas Torres nearly dished out a triple-double performance with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 7 dimes. San Beda still enjoys a twice-to-beat advantage heading into the next match scheduled for next week.

While LSGH won, it was still far from a perfect game. They allowed San Beda to get fast break points as the Red Cubs easily broke the Greenies' press. They were also outrebounded by their opponents 51-39. And most importantly, they only made 23 of 40 shots from the free throw line. Hopefully, these problems will be addressed before the next game.

Animo La Salle.

No Other Woman

Finally saw No Other Woman last Saturday. The movie, starring Derek Ramsey, Anne Curtis and Christine Reyes and directed by Ruel S. Bayani, focuses on the the tried and tested theme of having an affair. First, let me get one thing off my chest: Anne Curtis was hot in this movie. Mr. Bayani gave us all a lesson in shock value with that opening scene where Ms. Curtis was parading on the beach wearing, probably, the best swimsuit known to man. Then and there, I knew someone was going to have at least some kind of affair with her. Damn. Ok, I'm done. And that slow pan of the camera was just gravy. Ok, NOW, I'm done. 

Derek Ramsey in his role as The Luckiest Man Alive

The plot is simple: married man Ramsey has an affair with hot New York-educated, rich, hot, liberated, hot other woman Curtis. They agree not to fall in love which eventually, they do. Meanwhile, hot, new rich, meek, hot housewife Reyes begins to suspect the affair and confronts hot other woman Curtis and even invites her over for dinner in what would be the ultimate nightmare scenario for us guys. For us guys WHO CHEAT ON THEIR WIVES, I mean. Ha ha, silly me. Ha ha.. Anyway, after a back and forth of very original Filipino sayings, hot housewife's greatest fears are confirmed when hot other woman eventually comes clean about her dirty doings with married man. All hell breaks loose.

The movie's three leads give good performances. I am especially surprised with Derek Ramsey whose at-first confident and suave and then lovestruck and torn characterization was very spot on. Add to the mix a very in-her-element Anne Curtis whose portrayal of a smitten other woman made me even a bit sympathetic. She can lean on me anytime for support. Anytime. Christine Reyes was the other surprise for me. Who knew that this girl, with her reputation as a real-life bad girl, could play a quiet and reserved housewife just waiting to explode. The other supporting characters are forgettable except for Tirso Cruz III, whose stern and distinguished demeanor made me think he would draw a gun at some point in the movie and Carmi Martin, who nearly stole the spotlight from both lead actresses with her witticisms. The script. What script? Maybe I haven't watched a Filipino movie in a long time but correct me if I'm wrong, scriptwriters are writers who actually write scripts, right? They don't just get whatever cliches and sayings they can get from Google search right? I thought I was watching a book from the Filipiniana section come to life. It was like one of those on-line rap battles where one would try to denigrate the other. The Art of War for mistresses. I could go on. If the writer's objective was to make people laugh and have their share of quotable quotes for them to share with their friends, mission accomplished. Otherwise, I was kept searching for more decent lines. 

All in all, No Other Woman was fun to watch. It was a modern and very sexy take on a dated plot. It would have been better if they focused on making an original script that could have catapulted it to classiness instead of making something that would end up circulating as text quotes.   

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Steve Jobs passed away today. He will always be remembered as a visionary, a modern day Thomas Edison who was never afraid to think, never afraid to do and never afraid to dream. We always read about legends and icons from the past, people we never got to see and never got to hear. We saw Steve Jobs. We heard Steve Jobs. We saw and heard him on the marvels that he created for us. He brought the future to present day and gave the world to us. He spent most of his life looking for ways to make our own lives easier, simpler, and maybe even better. He taught us to be creative, to go forward and most importantly, he taught us to think different. 

This is from the old Apple ad and I don't think there's a more appropriate way to describe him.

Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Rest in peace, Steve Jobs. Thank you. Your genius will be missed.

The More Things Change, The More They Remain The Same

I had high hopes that we had grown as a nation. That we wouldn't be swayed by surveys, celebrity endorsements and traditional politics. In the months leading to Election Day, I firmly believed that change was coming to my country. In this day and age of on-line campaigning, Facebook and Twitter, where credentials, achievements and platforms were mere scrolls and clicks away, everybody had access to the candidates. And with TV, print and radio serving as the messengers of our society, there was no way we wouldn't be informed. Everybody clicked. Everybody scrolled. Everybody looked. Sadly, everybody didn't see. In the end, it was still a popularity contest. It was still about who was the son, and who was the poor man’s supposed hope and the man who wanted to be the poor man’s supposed hope. Heck, even the disqualified candidate got thousands of votes. This may sound like sour-graping of the highest order. It probably is but only because in my heart of hearts, I know we could’ve done better. We should’ve done better. I’m sorry but I will not apologize for my beliefs. 

And so begins the Aquino era. Again. It is my right to say that I did not want him to win but at the same time, I will accept what my country chooses. That is the beauty of democracy. We, the people, get to choose who we want. Majority wins. Whether it is the right choice always remains to be seen. I will not take to the streets just because my candidate lost (Whoever came up with that crazy idea?). I will continue to hope that we, as a country, will eventually see past nostalgia, winnability and name-recall as bases for choosing our leaders. More than ever, I will be more vigilant, more involved and more watchful. I will be the Allan Peter Cayetanos, the Manny Villars, the Jinggoy Estradas and the Panfilo Lacsons. I will be part of the new opposition. But unlike the aforementioned names, I will not malign and shoot down every action of the commander-in-chief just because he is behind these acts. I will commend him for his good decisions and scrutinize him for his bad ones. I congratulate Noynoy Aquino for winning the presidency. I pray that he will be the president our country needs him to be. I pray that he won’t be used for personal reasons by the people around him. I pray that, under his watch, our country will be united and great once again. I pray that the people  have made the right choice. I had high hopes that we had grown as a nation. And we have. We just haven’t grown up yet. 

Sulong Pilipinas.

Note: I  wrote this more than a year ago, right after the National Elections. To be perfectly honest, besides his outlawing of car sirens or "wang wang," I really haven't seen much done under the Aquino administration. It's always "Gloria did this, Gloria did that." Fine, let's punish people for their wrongdoings. But when are we going to see new things from this government? Man up, Noynoy. Are you so scared of committing a mistake that you barely do anything at all? And what makes up the headlines of your presidency, your love life? Really? Really? Damn it, Philippines. You really voted for this guy. This guy? That's funny.

Habibi by Craig Thompson

When is art a journey? When do pages become passports? With Habibi, Craig Thompson's 672-page monster of a book, we are transported to places both fact and fiction. After savoring each image, each word and more importantly, each letter, one couldn't tell the difference. And frankly, one shouldn't.

While in Blankets, we can relate to its story of first love, brotherhood, heartbreak, abuse, religious choices and The Cure's Just Like Heaven, Habibi shows us images of poverty, prostitution, power, sex, lust and a deeper insight to religion and faith as a whole. Or maybe we just choose not to relate to these things, period. But make no mistake, Habibi is still a story about love. To compare Blankets to Habibi would be unfair as it would be like comparing Spielberg's Jaws to his Saving Private Ryan. And from there we become witnesses to Craig Thompson's genius.

Habibi is a love letter to storytelling. You could see that Thompson writes and draws straight from his heart right to your own. His words are deep yet accessible. His art is simple and intricate at the same time. What comes out is a tour de force of truth, beauty and of course, love. I highly recommend that you read Habibi. It is more than a story.