Run for Pasig River

See you there! I'll be doing my usual 3k.

Registrations end Nov 15!

Sign up now!

De La Salle University registration booth is located at the St. Joseph Hall lobby.

For more information, please visit Run for Pasig River 2011.

Jay~

Azkals 2 - 0 Blue Wolves

The Philippine football team, called the "Azkals", faced Mongolia's "Blue Wolves" yesterday for an Asian Football Cup (AFC) match and pulled off a 2 - nil victory. For a team that has been generally ignored by Filipinos for the longest time, victories such as these bode well for increasing the popularity and accessibility of football - "the beautiful game" - to the Filipino masses. Enjoy the highlights in this video by ABS-CBN:



The nice thing for me about this victory was how it was won. The Filipino team ran the Mongolians to the ground and generally just tired out the Wolves' defense, especially their very hard-working goalkeeper. Winning was not totally surprising, seeing as the Filipino team was on home grounds and were on a high since doing very well in the Suzuki Cup, reaching the semis. Still, the stellar Filipino offense really murdered the Mongolian defense, and should be a taste of things to come.

I cannot help but commend the first goal as absolutely brilliant. The ball control involved in bringing the football up and over and behind the last defender was an intelligent play, and made even better by a nice follow-up strike in between the 'keeper's legs. I think, however, that it wasn't really aimed there; the usual safe and smart shot would have been a low strike at that distance. Still, fantastic goal. The second goal, a bent shot around the Mongolian defense, was simply a display of precision and control. The shot actually reminded me of how Thierry Henry (former Arsenal striker) used to shoot back when he was in the English Premier League (EPL). Low, controlled, and has lots of bend. Good goals, both of them.

Good job Azkals, and keep on playing well! It's time for football to take over this country :D

Jay~

Murder on the Pitch

De La Salle University's Men's Football Team crushed Ateneo de Manila's Men's Football Team in the opening football match of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) football season.

5 - 1

All our goal-scorers were rookies; two bagged a brace each, and another a single goal, while AdMU scored just before halftime. In any case, it could not stop the inevitable La Salle demolition of the Ateneo team at the final whistle.

5 - 1 is a thrashing, no two ways about it :D

Read more from this Yahoo! article by Sid Ventura and our official UAAP website.

Jay~

DLSU May Have To Forfeit Unbeaten Streak

This was something that I knew about a couple of days before it was released. A tad bit disappointing in terms of potential consequences, but in my opinion, the noble thing to do, looking at the big picture.

One of my mentors and father-figures, Sir Edwin Reyes, spoke with me regarding this issue, and we were both in the same mind that coming clean and admitting the mistake first - an honest mistake at that - of our university would do all parties well. In the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), there is no space to make errors such as the one my university did. I'm very proud that not only did we own up to this error, but we are willing to face the consequences as well.

We are, after all, Lasallians.

Full article here.

Jay~

We Aren't So Football Crazy

With the recent AFF Suzuki Cup competition highlighting our very own national football team, the Azkals, football has certainly grabbed the attention of many Filipinos. We are a very athletic people, but football - the "Beautiful Game" and the most widely played sport in the world - seems to escape our grasp. Perhaps it was because we misunderstood it so much. Complaints on "how long the game takes" or "the low scores the games have" were just some of the supposed reasons many Filipinos I've talked with give when asked why not football for us.

And perhaps, we cannot be taken seriously by the rest of the world when there are numerous Filipinos (oh, you've seen this I'm sure) use football boots (not even futsal boots!) to walk around malls and parks, and, really strangely, as driving shoes.

*nods* Those are cleats alright.. *sigh*


Jay~

"Power" "Balance"

If you have a couple of thousand pesos (or about $30), and believe in doing anything to gain a competitive edge, chances are you've bought yourself a bracelet made by Power Balance.

It is, however, a rather dumb investment considering the company itself admits that there is no science behind their products.
(Click the link above for the full news report)

Is that money down the drain? Not necessarily. As mentioned in the article, it could provide something of a "placebo effect"; when the user believes that his/her performance will improve by using the bracelet, then it would probably help, albeit simply on a psychological scale. In my opinion though, it is a rather pricey piece of motivational accessory. I'd stick with my "lucky baller" :P

Jay~

Malaysia Wins Suzuki Cup

Malaysia has won the AFF Suzuki Cup for the first time!

Congratulations and Malaysia Boleh! :)

Picture from allvoices.com

More on the AFF victory in The Straits Times and the AFF website.

Jay~

Basketball Karma

Here's a lesson we all know: Do unto others what you would others do unto you. Otherwise, be prepared for the karma delivery truck, which runs on its own schedule.


This is a game between Houston and Arizona, in the Pac-10 league. Houston was leading 63-51, when Chase Budinger of Arizona fell on his back. Aubrey Coleman of Houston sees him on his back and unceremoniously steps on Chase's face. No excuse me, no apology; it looked intentional to me. Also, his high-fives from teammates lead me to believe they thought it was something funny.

It wasn't. It's unsportsmanlike.

Coleman was ejected.

Arizona went on to win, 96-90.

Jay~

Ateneo Bonfire

Greetings, Ateneo de Manila University.
You are the 2008 UAAP Men's Basketball Champions, beating us, the De La Salle University Green Archers in two games for the coveted finals championship.

Are you, however, behaving like real champions?
We get it, you beat us in two games, though Game 2 was very suspicious, it's okay. You guys need a victory, since the last time you were top was six painful years ago.

The manner you celebrated your victory with a bonfire was not only unbecoming of a supposedly "top" "Catholic" school, it was downright uncivilized and disgusting. So much for your alumnus calling us "uneducated" ey?

**These are REAL pictures of the ADMU bonfire**



You burn our players' and staff's names?
How very sportsmanlike of you!

I am disgusted by your actions, and the fact that supposedly "adult" and "mature" persons were there at your bonfire did not do anything to stop this awful act. Jesuit school? This is more like witch-craft!

I am very proud to say that when we won last year, the worst thing we did to the University of the East (UE) was print shirts saying "it takes a great archer to bring down a perfect warrior" (in light of UE's perfect season streak). Then we partied three nights straight, and printed even more shirts, sent our team to Hong Kong, partied some more, made posters and banners, then partied some more. We did no insulting thing, and that, CLEARLY, shows which side between yours and ours has more maturity.

I bleed GREEN.
Proud to be a Lasallian.
Proud to be Green and White.

Congratulations, "champions".
Actions speak louder than words.

**Pictures from Cokeycyn.

Jay~

Hello Varsity!

I did it.
I made varsity. :)
Another thing I can check off my list!

I am now a member of De La Salle University's official entry into the UAAP Cheer-Dance Competition.

Animo Squad

Had a tiring 5-hour audition and I had to dance in 3 different styles, plus show some competency in liftings and gymnastics.

The first part, liftings. There were a couple of girls (auditioning) who didn't know the right technique to get up on my shoulders, so I'm a little bruised now. LOL. It was fun though. I was stronger than I thought, which is a big plus.

Second part, street dancing. My strongest area, and I hope I did well enough to really impress Coach Mycs, the resident coach of La Salle Dance Company - Street. To be truthful, the song's beat for the choreography was not too hard, but I was really jumpy. LOL. I'm glad I did well in that.

Third part, jazz. Let's just say I had a bloody disaster party when I had to get up from a bridge, fall down to a one-legged extension, and then to a split. I need PLENTY of work on that.

Fourth part, cheer dance. No comments. Let's just say I have some catching up to do.

Fifth part, gymnastics. I just felt relieved I didn't have to do a fronthand spring, as I just learned it yesterday and it's still very rusty. Nothing too hard, though I was a little disappointed that I couldn't lift my body as high as I wanted. All ended good though.

And when the results were announced..
I was speechless, literally.
I didn't expect all that much, but I'm just so glad that they saw talent and effort in me. This might be the term for The Jay. :)

I just need to work hard and make it into the first team.
Then I'll be dancing in the UAAP Championships. :)

No pain no gain.





Jay~

EPL 07-08 Champions

The English Premier League Champions for the tenth time since the conception of the EPL is..

MANCHESTER UNITED!!

The team!

Cristiano Ronaldo with trophy.

Wayne Rooney with trophy.

Go Red Devils!
87 points! Massive goal difference!

We couldn't have done it without our god-like Back Four.
You guys are insane defenders.

I've been a Red Devil for 6 years now.
No turning back, no giving up.
Glory Glory Man United!
10 titles in the EPL.
Boasting the best mix of experience and raw talent.
Unstoppable!

And of course, Cristiano Ronaldo who is on his way to become the best player in the world right now.
Also Ryan Giggs, United's 34 year old stallion who's still got the speed and the moves.
Not forgetting the awesome individuals like Nani, Anderson, Nemanja Vidic, Owen Hargreaves, Wayne Rooney, and all the rest.

Let's get to Moscow for the Champions League finals and give that Chelsea a smack-down!

(Photos courtesy of Manchester United Official Website)

Jay~

Football Madness The Sequel

Here's a sequel from Nikki's question. *grins* Enjoy.

Full-time.
90 minutes of game time. 45 minutes each half.
15 minutes of break at half-time. (More to 20 minutes if you watch on TV).

Injury-time.
Also known as stoppage time. This is given to allow for stuff that happened while the game was on. Examples are player injuries, bookings (explained in previous post), unfortunate delays (weather, a fan gone crazy and raised hell), or substitutions. How much time is given depends on a lot of variables, some not quite understood. Injury-time can vary from 1 minute up to 6 minutes (the most I've ever seen). Extra-time is given at the end of each halves and is extremely up to the referee's mood and he can call it off sooner, or let it play on longer. Note the referee wearing 2 watches next time you watch a footie match.

Extra-time.
ET is only given during championship or elimination matches. They are not given in league matches (those that run the course of the season where points are counted, not who wins or lose). ET is needed to provide a winning team especially when the score is tied (0-0 or 2-2 and no one has away goals advantage. Away goals to be explained later). There used to be the Golden Goal rule where the first team to score a goal in ET is awarded the win, but it's gone now. Now, you get 15 minutes of ET per half. If no one still scores, we go to the penalties.

Penalty Shootout.
The most nail-biting, heart-stopping part of a competitive match. Also pretty unfair but rules are rules. Each team sends out shooters to go against each other's goalies. Usually, 5 shots are given per team, where you need to get 1 more than the other team to win. However, if both teams keep scoring, there's little choice but to let them shoot it out until a shooter (or a keeper) makes a mistake.
Famous shootouts include the AC Milan - Juventus Champions League Final, and the legendary Istanbul incident where Liverpool beat out AC Milan in the penalties after fighting back from 0-3 to 3-3.


Away Goals.
During a championship knockout stage, where a team must win to progress, the away goals rule is applied. No points are necessary, so goal difference (GD) or aggregate (AGG) score is required. Let's say Roma is playing at home. They score 2 goals and win the match, but Manchester United score 1 goal. An away goal. If at Manchester's home ground they win 1-0 (bringing the AGG score to 2-2), Manchester United would progress as they have an away goal, whereas Roma only has home goals. The concept is that its harder to score at your opponent's home ground, as you are unfamiliar with it. Of course, Manchester United banged in 7 goals to 1 in the 2nd leg of this knockout to progress with an AGG score of 8-3. True story by the way.


Substitutions.
Each team is allowed 3 substitution per match.
Aussie substitution.

Squad.
A football squad must consist of a minimum of 16 players. 11 starters and 5 subs. A squad (like the Blue Baboons aka Chelsea) of course have no limits as to how many players they have, as long as they can afford to pay all of them.
Play is stopped and automatically conceded to the opponents once a team reaches less than 7 players available on the pitch.
A possible scenario goes like this. You start with 11 players. 3 get injured, and you must sub them. 2 players are red-carded (sent-off, read post below) and sent to the locker room. 2 more players are injured and unable to continue. Then, the goalkeeper has his skull broken a la Petr Catch (Chelsea goalie). However much time is left, you can't continue.

Points.
Easy to understand. A team gets 3 points for a win (W), 1 point for a draw (D) and 0 points for a loss (L). Strategically speaking, 2 wins are better than 5 draws. That's why United are champions. The Blue Baboons drew too many games.

Goals.
GF - Goals for. Goals scored by your team.
GA - Goals against. Goals scored against your team.
GD - Goal difference. Mathematical formula of GF-GA=GD.

Jason~

Football Madness

This post was inspired while talking (more to listening while she rants) with Nikki. She was trying to explain the unfathomable world of F1 racing. I thought it's basically whoever is fastest and stuff. Boy, was I a noob. *blush* I then gave her simple football questions, and she couldn't answer a single one. Even Stevens, but I thought the average girl should know more about the world's most wonderful game. Joga Bonito!

The Offside Rule.
The benchmark of being considered a true football fan. It's probably the hardest rule in football to understand but I'll try and explain it.
The offside rule is implemented to prevent an attacking player from camping near the defending team's goal. It prevents an attacker from gaining unfair advantage over the defending team. The offside rule says that an attacking player cannot be nearer to the defending team's goal than the ball and the second last defending player (the last being the goal keeper or an outfield player because some keepers are stupid enough to go way out of their penalty box).


Here we can see a Chelski idiot (blue) in an offside position trying to gain unfair advantage over Manchester United (red).

Note that being in an offside position is not an offense.
It only becomes an offense when the attacker is in the offside position while ball is in play. That means the ball is touched/kicked by a team-mate while he is in the offside position. It's this that proves controversial, as the referee or his assistants (called "linesmen") call (or not call) offside when the player is (or not) in an offside position while ball is in play. Of course, you can be Chelsea and pay referees.

Positions.
There are 4 basic positions for a football player. Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder, and Forward. The latter 3 are also called outfield players.
For simplicity's sake, let's take Manchester United's typical formation, the 4-4-2.

Left and right backs (LB & RB) who go far out forward during attacks are also called leftwing / rightwing backs (LWB & RWB). Notable RWB player is Gary Neville.
The 2 centre backs (CB) can be further divided into south wing (SW) and/or a sweeper. Sweepers are generally extinct now, with the exception of CB Rio Ferdinand.
Left and right midfield (LM & RM) players who maraud the sides of the pitch (wings) are called left / right wingers (LW & RW). Notable LW is Ryan Giggs and RW is Cristiano Ronaldo. Notable RM is David Beckham.
In the central midfield (CM) position, a midfielder can either be an attacking mid (AM) or a defensive mid (DM). Notable AM is Steven Gerrard (Liverpool). He's also a a very good CM.
For forwards, they are usually called Strikers (ST) and, depending on their position, a left forward (LF), right forward (RF), and a centre forward (CF). They are the tooth and claw of the team and they are usually expected to be the goal scorers. Notable strikers are Thierry Henry (Arsenal) and Samuel Et'oo (Barcelona).
Goalkeepers (GK) are goalkeepers. Thay are allowed to use their hands to touch the ball only within their penalty boxes. Notable keepers are Peter Schmeichel, Gianluigi Buffon, Oliver Kahn, Santiago Canizares, and Victor Valdez.

Kicks
Penalty Kick
When a player is fouled (or is thought to have been fouled) within the penalty box, a penalty kick is awarded. The goalkeeper and defending team's players almost always rush to the referee, causing one or more of them to be booked for their futile complaints.

A beautiful save. Not many keepers can keep out a penalty kick. It takes a lot of psychological strength for the taker to score too, so it's a 50/50 chance.
Notable penalty kick taker is Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Free Kick
During play, when an attacking player is fouled anywhere else on the field except the defender's penalty box, a free kick is usually awarded. If it's near enough to the goal, the goalie usually arranges a wall to try to block the kick. It works, sometimes.

David Beckham, arguably one of the greatest free kick takers of all time.

Goal Kick
The ball goes out of play behind the goal line. Simple.

Youth player takes a goal kick.

Throw-In
When the ball is played out of the line at the sides of the pitch, a throw in is awarded.

Here, a Chelsea idiot is preparing for a throw-in. They suck at those.

Bookings
When a player is fouled, a free-kick is usually just given. When a foul is particularly harsh or blatantly illegal (like a body check or a hand ball) a yellow card is given and the poor sucker's name goes in the ref's book. Just like the idiot below.


When a player makes a challenge (or a tackle) that is deemed dangerous or possibly career-threatening to the recipient, or for fighting, or for committing a yellow-card offense twice, a player gets a red card. It's also called a sending off. This has 2 consequences. The immediate one is that the player is kicked off the field (sometimes literally) and banned a few matches. The other is he's guaranteed to make it into the ESPN highlights show.


That's all for now I suppose. *smiles*

Jay~

Champions!

Ah so as I've posted a while ago, we are the English Premier League Champions!

Our new young squad has gone through so much pressure, adversities, and sometimes really disappointing defeats, but the Red Devils prevail This season, for the first time in 4 years, we finally get back what is rightfully ours, the Premiership Trophy.

Eventhough our defense for the last two months has been horrendously ripped apart (lost captain and RB Gary Neville, CBs Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, and Mikael Sivestre, LB Patrice Evra, and the more often than not injured LB Gabi Heinze), we persevered over the money machine that is Chelsea. We did not have many strikers, especially with Saha injured. We had to rely on the back-from-injury Alan Smith and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the "Baby Faced Assassin". Roo had to play mostly as an attacking midfielder, yet, he still got in his lot of goals. Amazing team. *smiles*

How it was won? Simple. Here's the last three games for each club.

Manchester United vs
Manchester City
Chelsea
West Ham United

Chelsea vs
Arsenal
Manchester United
Bolton Wanderers

United was leading by 5 points. Theoretically, Chelsea can still beat United to the title provided United gained fewer points than Chelsea.

First game: Manchester United vs Manchester City
It was a tale of two penalties, and Ronaldo scored his, while Vassell of Man City saw his shot saved by our Dutch keeper, van der Sar. United now leads Chelsea by 8 points.

Second game: Chelsea vs Arsenal
Arsenal scores first, followed by an equaliser later on from Chelsea. 1-1 draw, meaning both clubs get 1 point out of the game. It means United are ahead by 7 points. United wins title.

Mathematically it's impossible. 2 games left, for a total of 6 points. United leads by 7. It doesn't even matter if we lose the next two games! *grins*
EPL Season 2006/2007 is ours. 20 players have scored for United. 83 goals scored. Conceded only 26. Most goals scored in extra time. One player (Ronaldo) has 23 goals so far in all competitions. With amazing stats like that, it's no wonder that Manchester United are the champions.

Glory Glory Man United!

Jason~

51 Points From The Arc

It was a Sunday. As usual, the game's at the Boat Club. Wind feels good. Wrist feels supple. Elbow's tight. Shoulder's ready. Game is on. I didn't know I was about to break my previous record of 14.

Game was at 4.30pm as usual. Usual gang, usual ball. In the past couple of weeks, I've been shooting a lot more jump shots, to boost my scoring mostly. I'm an assist guy; I love being the ball crew's resident playmaker. I also like to shoot three-pointers, and when I start, I usually can't stop. *smiles*

First 2 were the opening shots of the day. Andrew commented that he felt I was losing my touch. I told him yeah, I feel like I haven't been shooting enough. That's when I got in 3 more back to back. Felt good to have 5 for the day. First game's going on, and I was (unfortunately for the opposing team) left wide open on the 3-point line. I sank in another 4 before I was properly guarded. That's 9.

The next batch was awesome. The big boys of the court started coming. Jerome, the offensive rebound dude; KS, another 3-point specialist; and Serious Sam, yet another 3-point and jump shot specialist. I was going to be given a run for my money.
Game 2 set, and I got in another 3 out of my first 5 attempts. That's a nice 12. Fastbreak in the middle of the game and since I couldn't lay up to save my life, I stopped at the arc and took a swish. Swoosh. Lucky number 13. Alan said that since 13's unlucky, I probably wouldn't get another one. Then came numbers 14 and 15, and I already broke my previous personal best.

Numbers 16 and 17 were truly special. Game's ending, and we're behind, 32-38. For a game until 40 points, it was game point for them. *sighs* I got in a nice under-pressure shot that hit the inside of the ring and went in. 35-38. Then, the big one. The shot that tied the game and brought us back from the dead. 38-38. I tried to go for glory, but I missed, and Alan got the rebound. He scored and we won. *smiles again*

29042007. Best basketball day for me, ever.

Jason~

I'm a Red Devil!

The Red Devils. Manchester United, the greatest club in Premiership history. It’s not even “arguably” the best; they are simply the best. I have been supporting them since the 2002/2003 Season, when they won the Premiership for the 8th time in 11 years at that time.
Many people who support clubs do not actually remember how they came to support the club they do, but I remember it quite well. I was watching a match between Man United and another team, I’m not sure whether it was Arsenal or Aston Villa, but I remember seeing two players. Club captain Roy Keane, running box to box to box, looking like he owns the pitch, and Ruud van Nistelrooy, that Flying Dutchman who looked like he could score as long as a pass was given to him. From the way they moved, the way they ran at the defenders, I was hooked to football, and my love affair with United started.

I supported them season after season after that. Even as we beat Arsenal home and away, Arsenal would go on to win the next season undefeated. In the 2004/2005 season, we made sure we ended their winning streak by killing them off at Old Trafford. However, the money machine that is Chelsea would go on to spend over £200 million that season and would also win the Premiership, back to back in the ‘04/’05 and ‘05/’06 Season. It was heartbreak, but we did not have the money to waste like the Russian billionaire owner of Chelski.

This season is different. We have the PFA Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year in Cristiano Ronaldo. We have 8 of the 11 players in the PFA XI in Edwin van der Sar (GK), Gary Neville (RB), Nemanja Vidic (CB), Rio Ferdinand (CB), Patrice Evra (LB), Ryan Giggs (LW), Paul Scholes (CM), and Cristiano Ronaldo (RW). We have the best young team in England, and arguably the best young team in the world. We have the best goal difference in the Premier League. We are competing for the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and the FA Cup. Every outfield player except Gary Neville has scored for the club. We have the best defensive record at home. We have the best attacking record home and away. We have the most attendance at home games. We have the best club stadium in England. This season is ours. 5 games left and 3 points ahead of the Blue Baboons, we’re nearly there.

So why do I support Man United? I love the way they play. I love the way they pass. I love the way they score. I love the passion of the fans and supporters. I love their history. I love the fact that they are winners. I love the fact that they rise one more time than they fall. I love the fact that almost every other club hates them. I love our big Theatre of Dreams. I love songs ringing around the stadium.

I am a Manchester United supporter. I am a Red Devil.
Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.

Jay~