Required reading of John Lloyd Cruz

Ingat

Live The Dream

On the 13th of November, 2009, following ten rounds of bantamweight division boxing versus Colombian Luis Melendez, Filipino fighter Z “The Dream” Gorres hit the canvas of the Mandalay Bay House of Blues ring in Las Vegas, Nevada, just minutes after being announced the winner of the contest—the very contest that would have lined him up for a championship rematch with reigning WBO Bantamweight champion Mexican Fernando Montiel.

The 27-year-old Cebuano will spend his next days in coma after undergoing brain surgery at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas, suffering from subdural hematoma or blood clot in the brain. He will not get to do the rematch that would have catapulted him to world boxing stardom.

Z is one of the most humble and kindest boxers I’ve ever met. I’ve seen him at training and he’s such a disciplined hard worker. What he may give up in length at times in the ring he makes up in speed and ring smarts. He lost a close controversial (split decision) title fight to Fernando Montiel in Cebu in 2007. Many thought he won that fight. I do too. In my eyes, he’s one of world our champions, too.

—TJ Manotoc, ANC Sportscaster

Buchoy might have lost his shot at a world title but I would rather see him as a champion father to his four kids and a champion husband as well.

Buchoy is a highly-skilled boxer and would have made it as a world champion. But I guess God has a better plan for Buchoy, who can now tell that boxing might be a way to rise from poverty, but it remains as one of the most dangerous sports.

—Chino Trinidad, Sportscaster/Columnist, GMA 7

Z is now awake and in recovery stage; financial help would be greatly appreciated by the Gorres family. You may send your donations through the PAYPAL account of Datches Gorres, Z’s wife, at datchesgorres@yahoo.com.

How to Win a Basketball Championship by Norman Black

As told to France Pinzon

FIRST OFF…
The number one thing that you have to think about is your talent level—the players. I’ve had a lot of success, but I think the major ingredient to having a championship team is to get them to play in his team. I think that’s the number one thing. Whether it’d be in the professional ranks, where you have to pick your player through the draft, or you get them through trade, or whatever way you might get them, you have to scout those players before you get them. First, make sure that they have ability to play well; two, they have the skill level to go along with their athletic ability, and three, hopefully, they have good attitudes. They’re coachable, in other words.

COACHING IS WORK
Coaching is actual practice and actual games. Every coach has a system, whether it’s a good system or a bad system, most coaches have a system, whether it’s offense or defense. Most coaches know what they have to do offensively with their team; they know what they have to do defensively. That’s based on the talent level that they have. Most coaches form their system based on the ability of the players that they have. That’s best way to get it done.
 
Next, you also have to sell the system to the players. In other words, you have to get them to execute what you’ve already planned. They have to be able to execute on the floor what you have already figured out in your mind would work on the court. So that’s half the battle right there. Let’s say you have twelve players on a team, you’ll need to have all twelve players on the same page as much as possible for you to be successful. If you have three, or four, or five who are not on the same page then it’s not really going to work.

Communication is important. Coaches should never feel that he’s so above and high that he can’t come to the level of his players and communicate. A lot of times when you’re trying to accomplish things, it’s not as simple as saying, “Okay, run as fast as you can… jump as high as you can.” Sometimes it comes down to explaining why you need to run as fast as you can or why you need to jump as high as you can. The players seem to understand a little bit better when you do it that way than if you just give instructions.

WHAT IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE BEST PLAYERS?
All coaches must be very flexible and they must have the ability to work with what they have, because you cannot always choose your team. You may inherit players; say if you take over a job in the pro ranks, you would inherit a team that you probably would not recruit. But when you first take over that team, your responsibility is to mold whatever you have. You can’t expect to come in and change everything that’s there right away. It’s the same thing for college basketball. For instance if you look at the Ateneo team now, I actually recruited every single player on the team at this moment. During my first three years I didn’t. Last year there were still two players, Chris Tiu and Yuri Escueta, which I did not recruit. I think it’s the responsibility of the coach to be flexible enough to take that talent and mold that talent because that’s basically his job.

FOLLOW THE LEADER
First thing that Chris Tiu really contributed in his time with Ateneo was he was a very good person. He wasn’t actually a natural leader, but he learned to be a leader. He had all the characteristics—but in his senior year he was put in the position where he had to take it upon himself to become team leader. I don’t always have to be the one that polices the players. I can ask Chris so it’s not always one voice that they hear. So it makes my job a lot easier if your star player and leader of the team is also a hard-worker and has a good attitude.

DOES BEING A GOOD PLAYER MAKE A GOOD COACH
I don’t think so. They normally say the average players make the better coaches because they have a lot more time to sit on the bench and see what’s really going on or how the coaches handle the team, while the best players are always on the court. Some of the best coaches have never played before in their lives. Some were just mediocre players; some were great players. It depends on the coach actually. Coaching is all about leadership. Coaching is about managing. Coaches are just like teachers. We basically have to teach and convince our students that this is the best way to do things so they can pass tests. In our case, passing a test is winning a basketball game.

CASE STUDY: CRISPA AND THE CELTICS
Number one is the talent. The Celtics was a very talented team. They had the best players in the league—same thing with Crispa. You had Abet Guidaben, Philip Cezar, Bogs Adornado, Bernie Fabiosa and Atoy Co. Two, was obviously the coaches. Good coaching isn’t always X’s and O’s. It’s not always how good the coach is at putting plays on the board or setting up defense, it also has a lot to do with motivation. Being able to will players to win, giving them the reason to go out and win championships, giving them a goal, setting a goal that they can strive to reach so that they can reach and become the best team in the league.

In the pro level, sometimes it comes down to money, sometimes it comes down to bonuses, how much the guys are earning, how much did they make if they win a championship, how well the management treats its players. So that’s also another form of motivation, but it’s a little bit different from what the coach uses to motivate his players.

RITUALS
When I was a player, I used to like to eat the same thing everyday, like spaghetti. But as a coach I don’t really have any. The only ritual I may have is if I lose a couple of times with this shirt that I’ve worn for the game, I probably won’t wear it anymore. I’d stop wearing it at least to games. I’m not really into rituals. I’m into hard work, and being able to out-work my opponent, scouting, training my team well, getting them into play every game and then motivating them to win. 

How to be Miss Universe

This is from Gloria Diaz as told to Shawn Yao 

PREPARATION
When I joined Bb. Pilipinas, there was no preparation. In fact, I didn’t know that if you won, you’d go to Ms. Universe. You don’t even prepare because during that time, things just seemed to happen. Now, it’s totally different. A lot of it is physical—tallness, long hair, breasts—now a lot is enhanced, they use teeth whitening and wear very tall heels. The contestants during my time, all of them were basically okay. Blonde and blue-eyed or South American, thick hair—Farrah Fawcett style—and then the Asians are totally different.  

They couldn’t tell if I was Filipina or Chinese. Some thought I was South American or Puerto Rican. It was who they thought was most representative of everything, but not necessarily very Asian nor very European. I just knew that everyone wanted to stand with the Asians, but I always wanted to stand with the blondes, and I felt I was different. 

COMPETITION
Right when you get there, you’ll know it’s a competition. You don’t know that you’re going to win but you don’t want to lose. That’s the kind of feeling I had, but that’s innate. My daughters don’t feel that way; they want to blend in. I told them: “If you blend in, you can’t be number one.”  

Our country had never won—we were neophytes. South Americans and Europeans, they knew what a winner had to look like. Filipinos had no idea, and neither did I. We always think that as long as one is beautiful, it is enough. You also had to be taller than the average Filipina. I think you had to be more proportioned; you had the minimum height…the most important thing about me? I was well proportioned. 

STANDING OUT
Also, you’re always together, so you always have to be neater than the rest, pay more attention…be nicer and friendlier. You have to realize that the judges are always around so you can never be in a bad mood, look sloppy or cranky. In the days leading up to the pageant, you don’t meet the judges right away. It’s like being in the Araneta Coliseum, rehearsing for 10 days and there are a lot of people walking around and you just know that there are people who count. You can’t sit across the stage and walk sloppily back and forth. 

DIET?
You’re 18. There is no 18-year old who diets. But I was very sporty when I was a kid. And gravity hasn’t taken its toll. 

DISCRIMINATION
Even then, there’s always some kind of discrimination. In all contests, Asians are always, always dehado. We didn’t stay in nice hotels. Sometimes they don’t invite all of you to those big, sponsored dinners, only half. Then in pictorials they only focus on one or two Asians and majority are blondes, or South Americans. Even now! Donald Trump loves blondes. In fact I was surprised they had one or two blacks thrown in. In all contests there really is discrimination. Even in our country, if one is really dark, maybe unless she’s really pretty, there’s little chance that she’ll win. If she’s fair or light-skinned, there’s a better chance, so you have to find a way to create your own niche.  

MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE OTHER CONTESTANTS?
If they look friendly enough. Otherwise, you mind your own business and smile. You sit with them through dinner and maybe the next day but if they’re not nice you move on. You can make friends with as many of the girls as you want, but if you keep making friends, within ten days you won’t really have any close friends. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an Asian, everybody’s around the same age so everybody has something in common. I was friends with my roommate who was Ms. New Zealand. She was so gorgeous—very tall, with red hair and green eyes. I was so shocked she didn’t make it. We were quite close until the day I won.  

WALKING
It was scary during the contest because there are always steps, and those steps are always plastic and there was always water. Nobody helps you down. You practice the night before, one in heels, then in your bathing suit, but not in your dress. That’s when you’ll realize how scary those stairs are. Many have fallen there, like Miriam Quiambao, but she picked herself up, she was so brave. You walk slowly.  

AFTER WINNING…
…you work. Ms. Universe is really work. You become their possession, their model. From six in the morning you are already told what to do and you do everything they ask you to do. You become a commodity you see? They give you a lot of money, a lot of prizes, which you have to work for.  

BEING MISS UNIVERSE, THERE’S…
A lot of flying. Then from the airport straight to wherever, cut a ribbon here, take photos there, pictorials there, dinners…We did a lot of charity work around America and South America. Once, I was sent to Argentina, there was a charity show there called La Campana de Cristal, I remember so well because I liked it. They granted a terminally sick child there a wish. She wanted to meet Ms. Universe because she wanted to be a beauty queen. So they brought me there.  

In Brazil, and they asked me, “Do you know Pelé?” I didn’t know who Pelé was. (Apparently they had just won the World Cup. It was the biggest thing!) So the next day, in the front-page it said: “Ms. Universe doesn’t know Pelé”, it was as if I didn’t know God. So they arranged for me to meet Pelé, he was like a hero, which was quite nice. He was in hiding because they just won, and the people would swarm over him. They put him somewhere nobody knew where I met him. They took pictures. It was like a gimmick that I finally met him.

DON’T FORGET TO SMILE
You smile all the time, even if you’re ready to fall asleep. The worst part would be the dinners because they’re always with sponsors, owners of big companies and they’re always old people, they sit there and talk to you and take 100 pictures. But it’s your duty—you have no choice.
I even met the presidents of Uruguay, Paraguay and even Nixon…but for an 18 year old, it’s all very boring. You learn to make small talk. Very boring. I’d rather sit at home or in the hotel and read a magazine. (But then) I ask myself if I would rather be sitting in an office, typing a hundred words a minute or be here? And you know it’s going to end. Just the thought that there’s an ending makes you feel good.  

STAYING BEAUTIFUL
You have a lot of help. Clothes come every week and on a certain day you have your hair styled. But you’re 18-years old, you really don’t need that much maintenance, right? They sent me to New York to shop for clothes. Almost every week you go abroad. But it was still very hard work. You cannot just have free clothes, a big allowance, beautiful hotels and just can’t sit back and feel pretty. No, there’s no such thing.

As Ms. Universe sometimes you just wanna die. Mealtimes were erratic. When I crowned the new girl, I was very sick. I had low blood pressure because of the schedule. I came from Japan and by the time I got to America, I was so dizzy, they had to inject me with iron. But it’s good because an 18-year old can take it and it’s a good break-in.  

Anything after Ms. Universe is easy.  
 

[image c/o Wikipilipinas]

This article appears in the August ‘09 issue of UNO. If you loved this piece, check out the rest of the issue — we have more. Out on news stands!

Visayan Odyssey: An Epic Longboard Trilogy

HIGH SPEEDS, GOOD TIMES AND THE OPEN ROAD: OVER 30 LONGBOARDERS HAVE THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES TRAVELING THROUGH BACOLOD, DUMAGUETE AND CEBU

Article by Jukka Holopainen

“Be ready for the ride of your life!”

More than 30 longboarders from all over the country came together for the first longboarding expedition, spanning 9 days of exploration and traveling through Bacolod, Dumaguete and finally Cebu. The expedition promised to be an adventure: days of free style longboarding, downhill and carving, videos and photography shoots, lunches and siestas, healthy hemp foods and drinks, travel and even more skateboarding. We were set to lead the first documentary expedition to see the country like it had never been seen before.
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Top 8 Reasons why I loved Kobe Bryant’s 2009 Manila visit

Editor’s Note — So we sent France Pinzon to meet Kobe Bryant and she came back a changed woman. With a torn shirt. Pardons — we’re still trying to sort through the photos she took. Some of them are scandalous. Take it away, France.

8. Knee tremor
I always prided myself for not getting easily star-struck. But to my transitory dismay and eventual admission, Kobe Bryant, NBA’s 2007-2008 Most Valuable Player and last season’s Finals MVP, shook the bejeebers out of my kneecaps while I was about to ask him a question at the press conference.

What’s worse was how I forgot to use my MJ (Michael Jackson) question, which I over-rehearsed just the other night, to have the guy share a little about his predilection for the ‘King’ (not James). Everyone was asking about the Lakers, his tolerance for pain and favorite Filipino food, might as well throw a curve ball out there, I thought—or didn’t.

Bottom line: I waned at “Hi Kobe,”—a very insightful moment for me, indeed.

7. Smoke machine
So usually, I’d see this particular visual effect in 80’s or early 90’s variety shows on the ‘tube, when some TF queen would do a dance number with the Whiplash (complete with lifts and all). Either that or I may have mistaken the character Sheila (from the comedy/horror film Army of Darkness) as Alma Moreno one time.

Excuse my cheese factor, but the fog that built up as Mister-81-points-in-one-game entered onto the Philippine Sports Arena court just added on to my belief that he’s not really of this world. Definitely, not titillating nor scary, but rather ceremonial in the realm of sports.

6. Dogs everywhere
One thing that puts a big smile on my face is a dog sighting. And I saw six huge ones making the rounds in the locations. Securing the place, they were definitely nicer to look at than those sweaty bouncers, slash, UFC rejects, if you’d ask me.

5. Packed venues and screaming straight men
Okay. So I did expect huge crowds in all three venues: The Peninsula Manila, Nike Park The Fort and Philippine Sports Arena. Maaann, that’s Kobe we’re talking about—forget other NBA stars that dropped by our basketball-crazed nation the past year, we (meaning ALL of us lovers of the sport) ain’t missing his return for nothing!

But no cheerleader’s somersault could’ve prepared me for the legions upon legions of Black Mamba diehards—men and women, kids and Barney. (Hey, a lot wore violet!) Many were in Laker #8 and #24 uniforms. Cheering. Howling. Chanting M-V-P. It was absolutely thrilling. Historic, really. For a moment I tried squinting, imagining it was MJ (Michael Jordan) and all the brouhaha still made perfect sense.

4. Flourishing Philippine basketball
Kobe’s return only meant that focus is still on basketball, whether people believe it wrecks the other sports’ future here or not.

Our Nike Elite team is one strong proof that improvement in our basketball program has yet to come to a halt. Mr. Bryant worked them pretty hard yet again during the one-on-one session, to their hearts’ content, I’m sure.

3. Dream Season
The new Nike Dream Season designed specifically for the Asian market byKobe himself (along with the creative team of Nike) is pretty sick. The shoes are set to inspire the dreamers to go back to the streets where, according to NBA greats, all the magic starts.

The lightweight footwear, which has the XDR (Xtra Durable Rubber—ready for the outdoor concrete), were so light, Kobe decided to throw the pair he was wearing out to the outstretched arms of his fans at The Fort. Lucky ducks.

2. Gawad Kalinga’s Sagip program for kids
I had my first GK experience (www.gk1world.com) in 2008 and I must say it’s something that I will always hold near and dear to my heart.

The lucky kids got up close (and I mean 5-inches close) with Kobe, representing Sagip of Barangay Tatalon, Quezon City. Thereafter, Kobe and Nike donated a huge cheque worth P100, 000 to the organization. In return, they gave him a sweet art present.

Each got pats on the head and the sincerest smile from the man himself. And for a moment there we felt embarrassed to admit how green with envy we were of the children.

1. Kobe Bryant
More than the personal glory he’s been receiving for his talent, his skill, his dedication to his craft, more than the 2009 championship, the wicked shoes that cradle his elevation up to the basket, more than the MJ comparison, Kobe is this generation’s sports icon.

Whether or not what he says about the Philippines being his “home away from home” was true, I will choose to believe him because he was able to make a long-term fan out of me in one day.

That, plus he loves Manny Pacquiao.

How To Win in an Election

By Ricky Carandang as told to Erwin Romulo
 
Ricky Carandang is an anchor for the ANC News Channel as well as host for The Big Picture. One of the country’s most respected broadcast journalists, his most recent program, Buy The Numbers, exposes the ways Philippine elections can be won as well as tackling the issues surrounding the planned automation for the 2110 polls.

IF YOU’RE RUNNING FOR PUBLIC OFFICE…
 
The first thing you need is a lot of money. This is what I’ve heard. Assuming you don’t get the votes, then you have to figure out a way to manufacture them. Some of it might be considered improper or unethical, but not necessarily illegal. Well, some of it is plainly illegal, but most of it is in a sort of grey area.
 
People tell me that local elections actually have a lot more integrity than the national because it’s so closely fought. If you’re a national candidate, you’ll also end up depending on these local guys to bring in the votes and guard them. They basically run the elections—manage the elections in their municipalities on behalf of their candidates, watching each other like a hawk, knowing everybody around. These informal checks and balances on the local level are much more effective. But these guys are gonna be fighting for themselves, you’re secondary if you’re a national candidate. Their concern for you is secondary to their own election. So chances are, they tend not to watch your votes as closely.
 
WHO GETS PAID?
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Losing Weight or Losing It?

One lazy man’s tumultuous journey to weight loss

Article by Patrick Michael Balo

There are only two periods in a man’s life when weight loss is as important to him as it is to girls of all ages: his high school years (when girls have not yet realized the importance of humor/inner beauty which is why they laugh at the nice, chubby guys and get their hearts broken by the gwapings) and the 6-8 months before he gets married to the girl who settled for humor/ inner beauty because she couldn’t land Diether Ocampo.
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Mixmaster Mike: Mike Canlas Mixes Cocktails at The Stock Market

Blame Sex and the City if you must—but whatever the reason, cocktails are popular as ever among women.

They may be the gayest drinks in the world, but knowing a few tips and tricks may just help you get social with them ladies. Read on as cocktail connoisseur Mike Canlas helps us through this whole drink-mixing business.

“I love working in the bar, and I’d often hog the station so that I would prepare everything the whole shift,” Mike Canlas tells us about his experience working at a local restaurant and café. He worked there for about six years as a barista, learning the ropes of mixology. But it was after an old friend and mentor introduced him to a salesperson from Torani flavored syrups that his fascination turned into a full-blown addiction. “They had a lot of flavor varieties and I’ve never stopped experimenting on their wide selection of flavors since then,” says Mike.
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Francis Magalona in Memoriam

On the cover of Happy Battle is a Nintendo-era bare-knuckles fighter. He is shirtless. He is on bad-ass karate stance. He is wearing an expression that says “kill.” His face, however, does not give away his age easily. He is eternally in limbo between adolescence and full-blown adulthood. He is both fifteen and thirty. He is simultaneously twelve and forty. He is both a young teenager on Ninja Kids and a baby-faced father on Eat, Bulaga! He is Francis Magalona, and—like his likeness on that album cover—he is a superhero.
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