DLSU - 2008 PCCL Champs

The DLSU Green Archers rise to the top can be summed up in two letters - JV. The silent assassin used his third quarter scoring rampage to fuel the DLSU's offensive runs to silent their UAAP Tormentor, defending PCCL Champs and archrival the Ateneo BLue Eagles to win their first Philippine Collegiate Championship. Playing on his last year for the Green Archers, Casio summoned all his strength to give the Green Archers a 71-62 win over the UAAP Champs. The win assured the Green Archers 500k worth of scholarships and another 500k worth of prizes plus a trip to Serbia to represent the country in the 2009 Universaide Championships.

It is but fitting for the Archers to cop this crown for they have beaten both the UAAP and NCAA champs to give themselves the right to be the Best Collegiate team in the country. My only regret is that I wont be seeing JV play anymore. Well most probably he will bring his act to the PBA next year. Congrats to Dr. Mikee Romero and Eric Arejola who I got to seat next to in this game.

De La Salle 71 – Casio 20, Barua 10, Malabes 8, Ferdinand 7, Mangahas 5, Bagatsing 5, Maierhofer 5, Webb 5, Mendoza 2, Walsham 2, Villanueva 2, Lee 0.

Ateneo 62 – Reyes 22, Al-Hussaini 10, Gonzaga 6, Salva 5, Austria 5, Baldos 4, Baclao 4, Long 2, Salamat 2, Escueta 2, Sumalinog 0.

Quarter scores: 9-13; 28-29; 51-46; 71-62

Ateneo Alumni Homecoming 2008

"Ang Maglingkod ng buong Dangal at Galing (AMDG)" This was the battlecry of the 2008 Ateneo Alumni homecoming that was held at the Ateneo High School covered courts. Remembering the latin phrase Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (for the greater glory of God) certainly gave the jubilarians something to be happy about as the members of the High School 1983 gamely hosted the event which has so many high points. I will just enumerate them through the pictures you will see here.

One of this year's Golden Jubilarians is High School batch 1958. Led by one of the most visible comedy duos in the 70's 80's and 90's, this batch had the zany champoy tandem of Subas Herrero and Noel Trinidad. Since they were given the chance to perform, Noel called their whole batch on stage and to quote him, he said that this maybe the last time they will be performing as a batch since most probably a lot of them won't be around by their 75th Anniversary since they will most probably be in a cool place with some batchmates in a much hotter place.


To lead them in their singing is Noel's long time buddy Subas Herrero who came in a wheel chair. For Subas, the event is something not to be missed as he believed that spending time with his Ateneo friends is something worth cherishing forever. The batch sang "Those were the days my friend.." which is very fitting since they kinda remembered all the happy days they shared which was mostly in the Ateneo.


At one part of the program all the jubilarian batches were called to cheer and share ONE BIG FIGHT with the hosts. The host batch together with the help of the current crop of Blue Babble Battalion band members drummed away the beat of One big fight as the one unifying essence of being an Atenean was chanted by everyone in the covered courts. As fitting finale, the Blue Babble Battalion of Batch 1983 led by Mike Ruivivar took centerstage to call the Ateneo cheers they have been cheering the past 25 years. I remember seeing these guys perform during the halftime games back in the 80's and it was quite funny to see them back although a lot had a hard time bending during the cheers. Nevertheless it was again another nostalgic moment.


One of the most popular stories passed on batch after batch was how the Ateneo HS 1979-1980 1A class of Mr. Onofre Pagsanghan came to compose the song Hindi Kita Malilimutan. As narrated to us though an AVP, Mr. Pagsi started the ball rolling by getting a line from Isaiah 49 and challenging the class to add on to the lyrics. Two of the most celebrated Ateneo musicians happen to come from that class, Norman Agatep and Manoling Francisco who is now a revered Jesuit Priest. Time and again the song won numerous awards and until now it is still one of the most popular songs to come out of the Ateneo, a song written by first year students. TO immortalize the song, the 1A class of 1979-1980 led by Norman and Mano sang the song to the audience.

The formal hostilities ended when the torch to host the homecoming was now passed to the next batch, High School 1984. This batch has a big task ahead of them since they will be hosting the Alumni Homecoming which is Sesquicentennial batch. Ronald Ventura accepted the torch together with batchmates.

A fitting ending to the event was the singing of the Song for Mary which ended with a confetti machine pelting half of the covered courts with lots of silver confetti. Afterwards the bands took centerstage to bring the music of the 1980's into the scene. Most notable was the performance of a HS jubilarian who was known in the performing arts and came out to sing Karma Chameleon dressed up like Boy George, and that HS 1983 Jubilarian is none other than Louie Heredia.

Last year's Grade School jubilarians were there to witness one of many torch passings so that by 2011 they will be ready to host this very prestigious event.

For my batch, the Grade School Silver Jubilarians, its a pity that only a few of us were there. I n this picture is AA Aquino, AA Legarda, Martin Bautista, John Tanjangco, Heaven Torres and Dong Feliciano. I also saw Naresh Ramnani and Lloyd Anastacio. Till next year see you all!

Congratulations Manny Pacquiao

I have been a fan of Oscar dela Hoya since he came out in the 90's, but today the whole Philippine nation shrugged that aside including me to support the one and only "Pambansang Kamao" in their fight dubbed as Dream match! Before the event a lot of boxing experts were saying that Manny cannot withstand the strong punches of Oscar since dela Hoya who is a natural middleweight. Unfortunately for them it was the other way around, Manny's speed and strength got him the win. Manny's punches were in and out before Oscar even saw it. He made sure that his best asset which is his speed and barrage of punches will be what dela Hoya will face. True enough, Oscar quit the fight by the start of the Ninth round as his size cannot neutralize Manny's speed and strength. It seems like Oscar never really did hurt Manny. Congratulations Manny, you have proven time and again that you are the best boxer pound for pound in the planet. So who's next?

PCCL: ADMU vs. DLSU Game 5

The Ateneo Blue Eagles survived the spirited stand of the Letran Knights as Ryan Buenafe scored on a driving lay up to give the defending champions a 61-60 win over the NCAA third placers. The win enabled the Blue Eagles to defend the crown with the team they beat in the UAAP Finals, the De La Salle Green Archers who surprised NCAA Champion San Beda Red Lions with an equally exciting 62-61 win.

The Eagles started the game a little sluggish as the Knights came out with their guns blazing as they took an early 8-0 lead. When the Blue Eagles settled down, they came back and tied the game 8-8 and took the quarter 14-12. Rabah Al-Husaini scored 10 points to pace the Eagles. In the second quarter the Baste Juniors connection gave Rabah a good rest as Eric Salamat and Ryan Buenafe scored 8 and 7 points respectively to give the Blue Eagles a 39-24 halftime lead. Unfortunately for them, the Letran Knights played more physical which ate up the Ateneo lead. WIth less than a minute left the Knights led 60-59 on an RJ Jazul follow up. Ryan Buenafe then made his presence felt by canning the winning shot with 10 seconds left. The Blue Eagles had three great defensive stands to cover up Rabah's blunder to escape with the win.

So its Game 5 of the continuing saga of the Ateaneans and Lasallians as they bring their rivalry from the NCAA to the UAAP to the PCCL. I hope that by monday Ateneo comes out as the best collegiate team in the country. Good luck Blue Eagles!

Champion's League Final Four

The stage is set for the blockbuster meeting of the two top teams of the two biggest collegiate leagues in the country, the Ateneo Blue Eagles who won the UAAP title and the San Beda Red Lions who captured the NCAA title. There is just one big stumbling block in this dream match, the De La Salle Green Archers and the Letran Knights. A lot of basketball fanatics are saying that its just quite great that these four teams made considering the combined UAAP and NCAA titles that these teams have between them. Ateneo has 14 NCAA and 4 UAAP titles, Letran has 16 NCAA titles, San Beda has 14, DLSU has 7 UAAP and 5 NCAA titles. That's 60 cage titles combined. Both Ateneo and San Beda needed little time to dispose their lightly touted foes while La Salle and Letran took similar paths by beating UE and FEU in close games respectively. Now it is up to these two teams who will create an upset to spoil a UAAP vs. NCAA finals. Game time is at 2pm at the Arena in San Juan where Ateneo faces Letran and followed by the San Beda vs. DLSU matchup at 4pm. Place your bets we are in for the best fight in college basketball.

Aling Nene's- Best bbq in Manila

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I remember many years ago while the St. Scho Days with the Lord was still having sessions at the Subiaco Retreat house, my buffet buddy Baba San Jose used to drop by and bring me delicious barbecues so that I wont starve. She said that she bought it from Aling Nene's. Fast forward many years later I got to be at the Vito Cruz area a lot and found the famous Aling Nene's carinderia 21st century edition. The restaurant has changed but the food is still the same. Sumptous barbecue and one of a kind Bbq rice which can stand alone as a meal. Aling Nene's new carinderia is already along the South Super Hiway...I just dont remember how long it has transferred since. Do order the barbecue rice and of course its barbecue!

You can also get to buy their secret recipe vinegar for only P 20 per "mineral water" bottle.

NAASCU Billiards Tournament

The National Athletic Association of School's Colleges and Universities became the first school league to introduce billiards in its sports calendar. Billiards is a sport that has a bad image from parents because most of them think that Billiards has a connotation of getting kids in to cut class to play and stand by the whole afternoon. Nowadays that notion is quite similar to playing computer games in Internet Cafes. All that bad image soon came to a halt eversince the influx of Filipinos who made the sport very popular. There is Efren "Bata" Reyes, Django Bustamante, Rodolfo Luat, Ronnie Alcano and Alex Pagulayan just to mention a few. The list goes on and on. The Philippine Sports Commission is now funding this sport and in years it will hopefully skyrocket once more and propel Filipinos to prominence because of this sport.


This is where the NAASCU comes in. Billiards takes a lot of time to nurture one's skills and techniques and is a reat prelude to a Physics course. That is why the NAASCU is geared towards discovering and developing talents at the grassroots level and hone them to become top filipiino athletes. COngrats to the NAASCU this is a great start and congrats to the University of Makati Billiards team for winning the inaugural run.

STI - 25 years of providing quality education

I have often talked about most of our events in the STI Education Services Group namely the Olympians, the Talent Search and our Tabulations. Unfortunately though I have little to say about the noble deeds our company or school for that matter has done the past 25 years. Here is an AVP done by my officemates (our multimedia group) about what STI is all about.

STI Communications Back Pack 2nd batch

The Backpackerz

Our batch, the second batch of the STI Communications Back pack ended on a good note as all managers and supervisors involved in the training gave their 15 minute presentation on a topic that is comfortable to them. The previous three sessions saw us cram for information last October 16-18, 2008 at the Apex Traning Center of STI at the Market Market mall. The same venue was used for the second training session last November 18-19 which I unfortunately missed while the last training session was November 21-22, 2008 still at the same venue.

Mhel with our very dynamic trainor Maribel Aglipay

There were so many learnings in this training that I for one validated a lot of things that I have been doing in the past but unfortunately had no word to describe the basics of what it really is. I for one have been an emcee for more than 20 years and I was quite excited in the preparation of a presentation. You know what topic I chose to present? Blogging. I actually encouraged all the participants including our one of a kind trainor, Maribel Aglipay, to start blogging.

Presenting Blogging Rights

One thing nice was that even after I finished my presentation a lot of my office mates were still excited with what they heard that they wanted to start immediately and asked lots of questions on how to start their own blogs. I am just happy to learn a lot and infect others to join the Blogosphere and become bloggers themselves. Congrats to Team STI for a fruitful training session.

Mr. & Ms. Tutuban-Philippines 2008

The winners

Divisoria is home to bargain buys and the latest imitations that you can purchase for your direct selling business or just for yourself if you seek to buy items at lower prices. At the heart of Divisoria is the Tutuban Mall which promises a unique shopping experience for all its customers.

Opening number with Candidate # 1

Tutuban is where KKK founder Andres Bonifacio grew up thus the feast and merry making in this place occurs every 30th of November. Tutuban used to be a ricefield and a haven for TUBA, makers, a very popular local drink, where it got its name Tutuban. Eventually in the last 19th century the first train station in the country was constructed and it went all the way from CM Recto to Dagupan City. In the 90's , since the railways are already inactive, the place was reconstructed and is now more popularly known as Tutuban Mall.

Ms. STI 2008, Hazel Cayetano was one of the candidates

In order to improve its image and keep pace with the big malls in the country, Tutuban has launched one of the biggest pageants in terms of prizes as its Mr. and Ms. Tutuban-Philippines gave way to numerous applicants for the P300,000 first prize.The launch started last August and went through many preliminary rounds until it culminated with the coronation of the newest Ambassadors and Ambassadress of Tutuban Mall.

Peter and Bamba, 300k richer

Winners are Peter and Bamba as both of them showed grace under pressure as both of them bested their 15 other competitors and the 300 other applicants who intially wanted to be in their place. Notable judges present were Robina Gokongwei-Pe, German Moreno and Joel Cruz of Afficionado. Congrats to the winners.

Mr and Ms Friendship will have a trip to Boracay. In this picture is Jei Tanjuakio of STI Colleege Recto who was 2nd Runner up in the Mr. and Ms. STI 2006. Pageant. His batchmates who joined other pageants were Mutya ng Pilipinas 2007 Zephorah Mayon and Ms. NAASCU 2007 Edgel Joy Durolfo.

Champion's League Final 8 Coming up

Except for the sentimental favorite in me, I almost got all the winners correct in the first round of the Philippine Collegiate Champion's LEague. Ateneo breezed past Lyceum University while San Beda did the same to . De La Salle University and University of the East likewise came out on top as the two finalists of last year's UAAP thrashed University of San Jose Recoletos and University of Visayas respectively. Most intriguing was how the smaller UE team handled the 6-11 giant of UV.

Arellano University capped its season long brilliance by beating the Universal College of Nursing Dragons while Coach Leo Isaac's other team, the Mapua Cardinals gave the MLQU Stallions their pink slip for the tournament. The Letran Knights arranged a final 8 meeting with the FEU Tamaraws. The tamaraws eliminated 2008 NCAA Runner up Jose Rizal University. The final 8 will roll this week with the following games:

Ateneo Blue Blue Eagles vs. Mapua Cardinals
San Beda Red Lions vs. Arellano Chiefs
De la Salle Green Archers vs. University of the East Warriors
FEU Tamaraws vs. Letran Knights

My picks are the teams at the left side. Good luck and just remember that there can only be one!

STI 14th National Youth Convention Kicks off in Baguio

Me and students from STI College Baguio

CLose to 3,000 STI Students from Northern Luzon flocked the CAP Cultural and Trade Center in Baguio City to witness the spectacular STI road show presentation entitled the STI 14th National Youth Convention. The event seeks to give STI students additional knowledge on specific subjects which is normally not taught in class. The theme for this year's NYC is "Connect, Communicate, Control - Cracking the Code to Success!'

Mhel G. with the speakers Spanky, Jojo and Stanley

I invited MR. Spanky Enriquez, former STI employee and now COO of the Universal Workers Inc., as guest speaker and he confirmed as he tackled the subject "A Blog's Life." This year's first topic encourages all STI students to start blogging. Eversince I started blogging I have always tried to infect everyone since it is something that is quite fulfilling. Mr. Stanley DImain was the second speaker who dwelled on cash management thorugh his topic " PESOnality, Characteristics of a managening your PESO!" The last topic saw Jojo Recio encourage students to build relationships and connect with every STIer he meets if possible.


This Road Show presentation will run from November to February and will culminate with the Metro Manila event come february. If this Baguio NYC is just a preview of the many conventions to come then definitely its one for the books. See you in the NYC!

Connect, Communicate, Control

Mobile Picture Blog; Fuzzyshot.com

In April 2008, a certain Alex, Alvin and Kevin got together to address a concern each of them faced: Why was there no way to share mobile photos in a fast, easy and interactive manner? Some websites require users to send in their photos using a special email address, other sites don’t even bother to organize photos in a logical manner.

Cute way to send photos REAL TIME

The three decided to focus on this problem by starting out with the iPhone and making an application and a website they love to use. Their aim is simple – to build the most interactive mobile photo bloging platform in the internet.

Alex is the back-end guru and iPhone architect. He makes sure everything runs as smoothly while Alvin develops the Fuzzy shot front end and iPhone application. Kevin works on the designs and graphics so that everything looks great.

Having early dinner with Zerina at Gateway

Last Thursday evening I came across this application in my iPhone and started to experiment. I was quite lucky because the hotel we got to go to in Baguio City, Holiday Hotel, gave free WiFi access to its guests. By the next morning I was taking pictures of my team and posting them in my newly created MobilePhoto blog courtesy of Fuzzyshot.com.The creators were correct, in such a short while the pictures were immediately uploaded and I have started my mobile photo blog. Here is the link for you guys to see.

http://fuzzyshot.com/mhelgarrido