STI signs MOA with PSC

“There will come a time that our athletes will retire from the sport they love and will no longer be fit to compete. That is the time that the value of an education comes in.” This was what the STI Education Services Group Inc. President and CEO Mr. Monico V. Jacob said to the media after presenting the Ten Million Peso scholarship grant that STI College will be giving to the Philippine Sports Commission.

 This aid is in support of National Athletes who are in the PSC’s pool but are unable to secure a good education because of their financial status.  Mr. Jacob thanked the Honorable Chairman Richie Garcia for the opportunity to serve the country as the Official Education and Technology Partner of the Philippine Sports Commission.  At the same time, Chairman Garcia expressed his heartfelt thanks to the STI Education Services Group for renewing their commitment to help Philippine athletes.  It was in 2004 when STI and the Philippine Sports Commission started this partnership but unfortunately after some changes in the PSC some athletes forgot the aid. Through the efforts of the PSC, the partnership was once again renewed and now deserving national athletes can avail of a four year college course.

Back in 2004 it was STI that set up the computer network infrastructure of the PSC and is again committed to support the PSC by helping out their employees.  The partnership also included discounts for PSC employees and their dependents. At the same time, STI is also committed to help out in training PSC employees who are not that skilled with regards to computers and information technology. STI will set up training sessions to help PSC employees improve their skills and knowledge in computer related topic. 

Also present in the MOA signing were PSC Commissioner Mr. Wigberto Clavecilla  and former national athlete Akiko Thomson – Guevara who is also one of the Commissioners of the PSC. STI’s Executive Vice – President and Chief Operating Officer Mr. Peter K. Fernandez and Vice – President for Communications Mr. Elbert L. de Guzman were also there to witness the MOA signing. 

UM beats Lyceum but doesnt make PCCL

Controversy has rocked the Philippine Collegiate Championship League. The latest involved two respected institutions, the University of Manila and Lyceum of the Philippines University. In their game last November 12 at the Lyceum Gym, the University of Manila Hawks beat the Lyceum Pirates 77-74 for their third win and claim the top spot in that zonal competition.

But then again, it looks like Lyceum has the last laugh as it placed the game under protest in terms of eligibility. Wait...did I just say that? Lyceum checked the UM roster for the 9th NAASCU and found out that 2 UM players did not suit up in that league and protested. UM on the other fielded its best team owing to the fact that the school got invited to the league. This alone should show that the PCCL should create its own set of rules and regulations. UM is correct in saying that they just got invited and the PCCL NEVER gave them a set of rules on eligibility. Same with us when we were invited. How would they say that a player is ineligible when there are no set of rules in the first place. I would like to say that UM is correct in saying that. Last year three of my players were canned even before we got to play and the PCCL would always say lets follow your mother league rules. Well, in the NAASCU we can play 17 people and they limited it to 15.

This is a wake up call, I hope the PCCL would really establish a clear rule book on the eligibility of players, lets face it, with all the leagues and all the mother league rules its hard to marry all.

The Only One

Relentless. That is the only description of what Manny Pacquiao did to his latest ring victim, Miguel Cotto. Cotto was picked to fight Pacquiao because of his reputation as a tough hard punching natural welterweight. Cotto was what the doctor ordered and what fight fans were waiting for as he engaged Manny Pacquiao in a toe to mano a mano classic boxing match. Cotto was strong and good but Manny's blinding speed and awesome power was evident which gave Pacquiao a 12th round technical knock out. Pacquiao added the WBO Welterweight Title to his six other titles. Manny has previously won the (1) WBC World Flyweight Title (106 lbs), the (2) WBC, WBO & IBF Super Bantamweight Title (119 lbs) , (3) Ring Magazine Featherweight Title (126 lbs) (4) WBC Super Featherweight title (130 Lbs), (5) WBC Lightweight TItle, (6) IBO and Ring Magazine Light Welterweight Title (140 lbs).

The question once is again is who's next? Sugar Shane Mosley or Floyd Mayweather are good candidates for the Pacman to relentlessly punish. Winning titles in six weight classes is already an achievement! Winning a seventh title puts him a cut above the rest. Manny Pacquiao can now say that he is THE ONLY ONE!

Fifteen Grand Slams for Roger Federer

I am not much of a Tennis fan because I never learned the sport and I do not play it. Fortunately though there are millions of Tennis fans like me who watch even though we never really played it. It has got to be the glamour of the sport which makes us want to watch it. At the same time, the increasing number of beautifulFemale Tennis Hotties might be something I might also consider since I grew up watching Martina Navratilova. Just last night, I was about to sleep when I glanced upon the Star Sports Channel and lo and behold its the Wimbledon Finals between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. I got to read the exploits of Roger but never got to see him play and the result was that Roger gained another fan in me. Watching him win over Andy Roddick made me a believer of the man they call the best Tennis player ever.

While watching the epic battle between Federer and Roddick, I was amazed by the way Federer climbed back to win the second set considering he was down 1-4. At the same time, the match was taking too long as both have been playing for more than three hours and neither one was taking a break. Come the fifth set with the score tied at 12-all I became restless since it was already one o'clock in the morning. I then went to the Wimbledon website to see who won, little did I know I was watching live as the website had a running score while people still logged in with their Facebook accounts were also restless as comments came plenty when both were players were unable to break each other's serve. The end finally came when Roger finally broke Andy's serve to win the fifth and final set with the score of 16-14! A very memorable 15th grandslam for Roger Federer. You can just imagine how important to the match was to sports afficionados, I was staying up late watching it and I am not even a tennis fanatic.

For the record, Roger won all major grand slams as he won the French Open once (2009), the Australian open thrice (2004, 2006, 2007), the US Open five times (2004-2008) and Wimbledon six times (2003-2007, 2009) for a total of 15. Probably what's next for Roger is to match the 7 Wimbledon titles of Pete Sampras who was also there to witness the classic win. Other Wimbledon greats present were five time Champion Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver. Wait till the US Open where Federer has been undefeated for the past five years! Roger might end the year with a sweet 16 caption on his cap. And all of this he accomplished in 7 years, Roger you are really a class act!

Manny Pacquiao knocks out Diaz in 9th round

It was like game 6 of the Celtics vs. Lakers series, everyone was anticipating a brawl that had both protagonists slug it out “mano a mano,” unfortunately the bout ended in a rout. Manny “the Pacman” Pacquiao was the aggressor the whole bout as he pummeled WBC Lightweight champion David Diaz for eight rounds until he finally knocked him out by the ninth round. You can liken Diaz to a punching bag as he was like a steady immovable force in the middle, that’s why Pacquiao had an easier time hitting him. Diaz in an interview after said that it was Pacquiao’s speed that got him. He said that he can see the punches, unfortunately "It was all his speed. I could see the punches perfectly but he was just too fast. In the meantime, kudos to David Diaz, with Pacquiao hitting him hard from the first quarter, he had the heart to stay in the game until his disastrous 9^th round surrender. In the end, you could not even distinguish him from cartoon hero Shrek! It was said that Pacquiao was ahead on the judges scorecards in all 9 rounds!

Experts said that Pacquiao three 788 punches to Diaz's 463. Pacquiao's jab was a thing of beauty and his boxing skills has immensely improved since coming out as a 106 pound brawler 13 years ago. Pacquiao's 180 power shots connected hurt the champion the most and eventually these power shots took its toll on Diaz.

In winning this bout, the Pacman added the Lightweight title to his list of accomplishments that makes him the first Asian to win four World Titles in Four different weight classes namely the Flyweight (112 llbs), Junior Featherweight (122 lbs) and Junior lightweight crown (130 lbs).

Imagine that in his first bout as a lightweight he made mincemeat of the champion- the question now is who’s next. Congratulations Manny Pacquiao, THE FILIPINO NATION IS VERY PROUD OF THE YOU!