Photo by Joseph Nebrida from Inboundpass

By France Pinzon

Yes, I had just written about the country’s growing love for football weeks ago. But really, what’s not to admire? It says a lot, when you see the entire nation covered with makeshift basketball courts that welcome all sorts of individuals to play anytime of the day, regardless of sportswear. Regardless if they’d rather watch matches on television, than flock to our arenas and pay for their seats. Regardless if they’d endlessly bash our pro-league and declare it as close to its extinction.

Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant’s latest visit to the Philippines last July 13th (courtesy of Nike) only reaffirmed the nation’s love for this sport. As if many had doubted it, thousands of KB24 faithful filled the Araneta Coliseum to see their favorite NBA standout put on a great show.

Indeed, a great show it was. What started out as a friendly competition between Smart Gilas Team Pilipinas and a select set of UAAP players (from schools: ADMU, DLSU and FEU), turned into something else as the Black Mamba requested to add eight more minutes into the original 10, putting on an FEU jersey to join the UAAP All-Stars, who were outplayed by our national men’s basketball team past the ten minutes.

It really didn’t matter much what Kobe actually did on the court that afternoon. It was the very thought of our players, having the opportunity to play with an NBA player of such high caliber—five championship rings, USA Men’s Senior National Team membership, Finals and All-Star MVP honors, and stat records broken to boot. It was the very thought that the thousands, who invaded the coliseum, got to witness such a rare gesture from the 1997 superstar rookie and Slam Dunk Champ.

Earlier that day for charity, Kobe visited a Gawad Kalinga site to shoot some hoops with the SIGA kids. Later after, he faced hundreds of Black Mamba diehards, who’d waited under the scorching sun in front of Nike, The Fort branch, accompanied by three of his Filipino students from his famous US-based basketball clinic. Excuse the cheese factor, but while Kobe vows for some “payback” come the next NBA season, here he’s left the country itching for another Manila comeback, and soon.

Here are some additional photos taken by Denise Mallabo :

Aahh, to be young (and agile) again. Too bad the not-so-young anymore had long outgrown their first edition Chucks and skimpy P.E. tights, but at least we get to relive our younger years, somehow, every July, through the energy-fueled dramafest that is the UAAP men’s basketball series. Gearing up for Season 72, sports enthusiast cum analyst Jinno Rufino makes the predictions and tells us which club he thinks has the leather ball in their court this time.
The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament has given us heart-stopping action the past couple of years, from the UST Growling Tigers’ mother-of-an upset win over the ADMU Blue Eagles in 2006, to the epic comeback season of the DLSU Green Archers in 2007, to finally, the relentless dominance of ADMU in 2008. Expect Season 72 to have that edge-of-your-seat suspense towards the end of regulation.

This year, three teams have been deemed ready for a(nother) championship, three are expected to mess up what has just been said about repeat championship, and another two are determined to gain some higher-than-usual ground through the competition.

ADMU Blue Eagles (1st in Season 71)
Losing Chris Tiu’s scoring will hurt them, but not as much as losing his leadership. Finding a new floor leader will probably be the 2008 champion’s toughest hurdle. Reigning Most Valuable Player Rabeh Al-Hussaini, has said that he plans to lead the team by example, since he is not the vocal kind. He will need the help of veterans Jai Reyes, Eric Salamat, and Nonoy Baclao to orchestrate the plays. However, if the Blue Eagles want to defend their crown, they will need everyone to be on the same page early in the series—that includes perhaps their best offensive player, last season’s Rookie of the Year Ryan Buenafe, to play within the system and not hurt team chemistry. If Coach Norman Black gets to carry their trusty game plan throughout the campaign, there could be another happy bonfire waiting for them in Katipunan.

DLSU Green Archers (2nd in Season 71)
With Dindo Pumaren backing up older brother Franz with the coaching duties, expect the young Taft-based team to find their footing earlier than expected. Coveted rookies Hyram Bagatsing, Gabriel Banal and Jed Manguera were under Franz for the RP Youth team, so anticipate a faster transition into the Pumaren system. Look forward to the Archers going up and down the standings in the first round, but expect them to hit their stride by the second round of the tournament. Losing their top players in JV Casio and Rico Maierhofer will be tough, but with LA Revilla, Peejay Barua, Bader Malabes, James Mangahas and Simon Atkins back to lead the troops, the Green Archers have the tools to make yet another strong championship run.

FEU Tamaraws (3rd in Season 71)
Head coach Glenn Capacio’s team will have Mark Barroca and JR Cawaling coming back after a stint with the Smart-Gilas Philippine Team. Barroca made a name for himself, leading the team in scoring and looking almost unstoppable in exhibition tournaments abroad. With that experience under his belt, expect him to lead the Tamaraws, who recently came out as champs in this year’s FilOil Flying V Pre-season tournament, straight to the final four in Season 72. Don’t be surprised if you see Barroca win the MVP award this year, while his team wins the championship. Newcomers Cameroon-native Hypolite Noundou and youth team member Ryan Garcia, the latter forecast is not far off.

UE Red Warriors (4th in Season 71)
Newly inducted head coach Lawrence Chongson’s team has looked impressive during pre-season tournaments, but as they say, there is nothing like playing in the UAAP. With a new system in place and guys like Elmer Espiritu, Paul Lee, James Martinez and Raffy Reyes leading the way, expect the Red Warriors to battle it out for the final spot of the final four. Those being said, expect them to battle it out and still not quite win ‘em all in the end.

UST Growling Tigers (5th in Season 71)
Losing one of the best players in the history of their program, in Jervy Cruz, will be difficult to deal with, but with his absence expect another star to rise. All-around player Dylan Ababou now has the reigns to the team. If Khasim Mirza can find his shooting touch from two years ago, and young guards Clark Bautista and Jeric Fortuna continue to improve, Coach Pido Jarencio’s boys can be the dark horse of the series. If they get into the final four, they are good enough and big enough to go all the way. But they have got to get in first. Former Xavier University standout Jeric Teng (former PBA stalwart Alvin Teng’s son) may be another key addition to the UST roster.

UP Fighting Maroons (6th in Season 71)
Second-year head coach Aboy Castro will have his work cut out for him in Season 72.  There were times last year that the team looked like they were going through the emotions. They should improve on last year’s three-win turnout, but it remains to be seen on what kind of support marked men Mike Gamboa and Woody Co have. If the rest of the young Maroons can provide enough help, perhaps they can pull a few surprises. Don’t expect them to be shaking the win-loss rankings up spectacularly, though.

ADU Soaring Falcons (7th in Season 71)
Returning head coach Leo Austria, has proven he can win as a basketball coach on many different levels, however, numbers say the Falcons probably don’t have enough material to make the final four. Veteran playmaker Leo Canuday, will try to lead the way, while rookie Allen Etrone is expected to provide some backup scoring after his decent debut as a Falcon in the 2009 FilOil games.

NU Bulldogs (8th in Season 71)
The only loss of Ateneo last season came at the hands of the Bulldogs, and one of the reasons why NU managed to pull off such an incredible upset was because of how they played the game without any pressure. In order to stay away from the bottom of the standings this time around, Coach Manny Dandan must find a way to get through to former San Beda Red Lion Ajeet Singh, Joseph Hermosisima, and the rest of the ‘Dogs to play freely on the court.

Originally published in UNO July 2009 issue.

Bending over backwards to give us the news, Gretchen Fullido is a welcome sight even when she’s telling us to get ready for heavy weather. At a time when everything is becoming reality TV, this broadcasting siren may be a talking head, but she doesn’t need a Teleprompter to have the first and last say.

Words by Chip Childers

“I guess I’m just passionate about my work. I think that someone who isn’t passionate about this job would rather just jump off a cliff than have to deal with this schedule….” I didn’t need any more convincing from Gretchen Fullido on this point.

After weeks of feeling like a dog chasing bumpers on Indy 500 race cars, I had finally caught up with Gretchen on a Friday night, in between dinner-time and a bedtime broadcast at the ABS-CBN studio. (The previous Sunday had mutated from a leisurely empty space in the calendar to a 6-broadcast day in a matter of hours, thus canceling our appointment.) With current duties handling showbiz, sports and weather for Dateline Philippines on ANC, as a field correspondent for Showbiz News Ngayon (SNN), and disc-jockey duties on Sports Talk Radio (DZMN teleradio), she also manages to squeeze in occasional slots on the sports show Hard Ball, News Central on Studio 23 and on TV Patrol World. Fullido seems to have found a way to thwart the confines of the 24 hour day.

For those who have witnessed Gretchen’s meteoric blitzkrieg into the living rooms of viewers nationwide, it seems impossible that there is just one of her, as she seems to be reporting on everything, everywhere. “I wish I could just divide myself, and assign each of the Me’s a different job. Sometimes I’m just like, ‘how the hell am I gonna do this alone?’” Writing, hosting and reporting on stories as diverse as the Police Beat for TV Patrol (“…every day there were massacres, rub outs, car nap, shoot outs…you see the dead bodies, the sites, the chases…) to the weather for Dateline (“I don’t get bored with the weather—its fun! When there’s a storm, you get a total adrenaline rush, warning people about what to do…”), Grecthen is well versed on multitude of topics. In fact, she writes all her reports, having entered ANC as a writer, not a newsreader.

Gretchen’s first time in front of the camera was as a courtside basketball reporter for the Fighting Maroons of the University of the Philippines, from which she graduated in 2008, covering games for the UAAP beginning in 2003. Her energetic reports and readily apparent enjoyment and rapport with team members (“they became like family to me”) are still remembered by basketball fans, and lead to work with ABS-CBN’s Star Magic, guest roles in soap operas, and further work with ANC. “I had to juggle my studies, UAAP, ANC, and on top of that, my varsity athletics,” she says, as if already preparing the impossibly jam-packed schedules she would be experiencing upon her graduation.

The complete article can be found in UNO’s July 2009 issue.