On the DLSU-ADMU basketball game

CONGRATULATIONS to the Green Archers for putting up such a fight when all the sports analysts where clearly betting on Ateneo's Blue Eagles winning the game easily. For a team like the DLSU Green Archers with so many rookie players, their play, 3-point shots, and assists were definitely impressive. (Mejo mahina lang ang rebounds kids.)

It was a very exciting game that put me on the edge of my seat. Even towards the very end, as the game went into overtime, no one was sure anymore who would win. With the game ending at 76-72 in favor of the Blue Eagles, that was not a bad showing by the Green Archers. Not at all. And by god, that boy Joshua Webb can play! Wow, I'm sure his lolo, basketball legend Freddie Webb was so proud of Joshua's performance yesterday. Woo-hoo!


(A sea of yellow at the Araneta Coliseum, Aug. 9, 2009. Photo from BusinessMirror.)

But what I'm most proud of is seeing both teams, as well as students, alumni, and other guests, casting off their team colors for once and wearing a solid yellow in tribute to former President Corazon C. Aquino who passed away last week.

As Bro. Bernie Oca FSC told Jiggy Aquino Cruz, grandson of the late president, who was in the Araneta audience yesterday, Tita Cory was watching the game and is now watching over us. Aren't we so lucky?

(Take a look at the yellow shoe laces of Team La Salle. Aren't you just proud of these kids?! Photo by Ryan Ong. More photos of our team in the Green Archers' blog.)

ANIMO LA SALLE!

Is MAR Roxas turning green?

WELL, not quite. I can assure all the Ateneans out there that the good senator remains a blue blood despite wading into a sea of La Sallians two weeks ago. (The rest at Something Like Life.)

(from left: Ronnie Concepcion, head of the Consumer and Oil Price Watch, and Jorge Araneta, president of The Araneta Group.)

(Peter Coyiuto, president/CEO of First Life; Ria Roxas-Ojeda; Cecile Cacho; and Dr. Elton See Tan, chairman emeritus, American California Bank)


(MAR in an Archers' cap w/ Cesar de Larrazabal, Bunjie Uichico, Sunny Velasco, and Jayjay Malixi)

(MAR w/ La Salle Greenhills HS Class of 1969)

(Banker/businessman Eric Filamor and former Tourism secretary Tony Gonzalez.)

(Ex-Finance chief Cesar Purisima with Knowledge Channel Foundation president Rina Lopez-Bautista, and lawyer Manolo Roxas.)

I have only this to say...

MIKE ARROYO IS AN ATENEAN!

Animo La Salle pa rin!

(Animoism photo from animoism.multiply.com.)

* * * *

OKAY, okay, sige na nga, I got too emotional there. I just soooo wanted to see a Game 3 (and I'm sure, so did the advertisers, and the Araneta Group). But we lost...sob. The Atenistas played a good game, their defense was solid, not to mention they had great shooting from former heartthrob Chris Tiu. (Former kasi parang nasimsim na ni MVP ang bango niya at muka na syang lantang gulay...joke!)

But I also have a beef with the referee for sending Rico Maierhoffer – who usually scores with a lot of baskets – out of the game. I was watching the replay of the finger (or non-finger) he was supposed to have held up but there was just no clear evidence of that. That and JV Casio sitting it out in the last few minutes of the 4th quarter after reaching the limit of his fouls just put way too much pressure on the remaining players.

Anyway, we'll be back next year and we'll get that title, right La Sallians? Go Green Archers!

Animo La Salle! We're No. 1!

DIDN'T I say so?!

It was a great game today, despite the false starts and almost snoozy first quarter but our Green Archers really revved up their animo to trounce the UE Red Warriors 73-64. It was an historic season for La Salle...after seeking the crown for the longest time and after sitting out last year's season, we finally made it (despite the nasty play by some of the Red Warriors...you know who you are). My hands are still stinging from all the clapping (couldn't cheer as I'm officially down with pharyngitis...rats!) but it was worth it.

Kudos to Coach Franz Pumaren for training our boys really well. Of course, the players this season made all the difference – brilliant shooting and offensive plays by TY Tang, Rico Meirhoffer, Cholo Villanueva, JV Casio, and the rest. Sorry Red Warriors, you fought bravely but in the end, it's experience that counts. And our boys have it. Congratulations Green Archers, well done!

See you for more spectacular superb playing next year, people! (Read the story of our win in BusinessMirror.)

HAIL, HAIL ALMA MATTER
Hail to De La Salle!
We'll hold your banner high and bright,
A shield of green and white.
We'll fight to keep your glory bright,
And never shall we fail,
Hail to thee our Alma Mater!
HAIL! HAIL! HAIL!

Btw, can anyone tell me where I can get those Championship T-shirts and caps the players were wearing today? I want!

***

And for your reading pleasure fellow La Sallians, here's a piece from a weeping Eagle:

Blue Eagle woes
AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR By William M. Esposo
Phil. Star, Oct. 7, 2007

It is not the best of times for the Ateneo Blue Eagles. Indeed, my fellow Blue Eagles have a lot of reasons to be dispirited if only for unfortunate events that had transpired in the last two weeks.

Controversial Atenean and First Gentleman (FG), Mike Arroyo, had figured anew in another scandal, this time, the contract for the ZTE National Broadband Network. “Back off!” — FG Mike Arroyo’s alleged order to ZTE scandal whistleblower Joey de Venecia — now rings so uncannily like French Queen Marie Antoinette’s arrogant “Let them eat cake” rebuff to the hungry cries of her subjects. Text messages circulated revolving around that “Back off!” incident.

Each time FG Mike Arroyo is implicated in scandals, Blue Eagles find themselves at the receiving end of text jokes from La Sallians who are smacking their lips in delight at having new reinforcements for their arsenal of friendly ribbing against their traditional archrivals from Loyola.

One even sent a text message suggesting that the spelling of our alma mater’s name has just been changed to ZTEneo.

(For the rest, click Eagle woes)

We're No. 1! Archers stump Eagles 65-60

And our Tees rock! Click Animoism

MY boys did it! All their hard work and training paid off (thank you Coach Pumaren). They did their homework, saw what went wrong in the earlier game with Ateneo (primarily weak rebounds and assists), and came back to pull the rug under the feet of the Blue Eagles.

Sunday's game started out very weak, almost boring at first. The Archers' star player TY Tang was a little off and kept on missing baskets. And Chris Tiu kept on scoring for the Blue Eagles. But my boys hung tough. We were always in the lead, except for a few chamba shots by the Ateneans. But the Archers had a solid play. Our aim was true and it brought the birds down.

No doubt about it, we will get the UE Red Warriors as well!

So ano'ng masasabi mo ngayon, Romy Neri, you no good Atenista you?

(Oooh, my favorite government official isn't so happy about today's game either. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Sayang gwapo ka pa naman, kaso Atenista ka. Hehehe! Turn your cars around, guys! Baha na naman sa Katipunan!)

Btw, we truly appreciate U.S. Ambassador Kirstie Kenney wearing green this time around, when it counts the most. See, even the Americans are on our side!

La Salle-Ateneo rivalry in NYT

A Nation’s Passion Lives in a Rivalry of Green vs. Blue
By RAPHAEL BARTHOLOMEW
New York Times, Sept. 23, 2007

QUEZON CITY, the Philippines, Sept. 21 — Senators, foreign diplomats, cabinet ministers, a smattering of Forbes’s 40 richest Filipinos, movie stars and enough professional basketball players to play five-on-five. They are the elite of Philippine society, and they all gather at Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City to watch the men’s basketball rivalry between the universities Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle.

La Salle Coach Franz Pumaren said, “The janitors in Araneta always say, ‘If there’s an Ateneo-La Salle game, once everybody’s out of the coliseum, it still smells good because of the all the socialites watching.’ ”

In the basketball-crazed Philippines, where former players have become senators and nearly every public square has its own court, it is hard to imagine a crowd like this assembling for any other event. Kristie A. Kenney, the United States ambassador, attended the season’s first meeting between Ateneo and La Salle in late July.

Ateneo and La Salle are the most prestigious private universities in the country. The question of which institution provides a superior education is a toss-up; the tie breakers take place on the basketball court. (Read on Green vs Blue)

ANIMO LA SALLE!