Blog Posts by Patricia Bermudez-Hizon

PBA Image/Nuki Sabio
He's an American basketball player of Nigerian descent with a Japanese name.  It's hard to miss Champ Oguchi.  More than the name though, his game is what makes him stand out.

He dropped 43 points in his debut game with the Meralco Bolts.  He's lethal from the outside and works hard to get to the hoop.  Though the team didn't make it to the big dance, management felt that Oguchi would be of value for the upcoming Governor's Cup.

"Coach told we that I did well, came in and gave the team a boost and I feel  that I did that."  Coach Ryan Gregorio's decision of keeping Oguchi in the team gives them an edge as far as team chemistry is concerned.

"That's my advantage over all other imports.  I came midway through the last conference, I stayed here in the off season, and I just kept the chemistry with my teammates", shared Oguchi who was sporting a Mac Cardona jersey while he was at courtside beside Sol Mercado during the PBA All Star games in Boracay during this interview.  Yes, he went to

Read More »from The deal with Champ Oguchi

Photo by Nuki Sabio
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Board of Governors have spoken.  Barako Bull's sale to Phoenix Petroleum has been turned down leaving the Photokina franchise to go back to the drawing boards and figure out a different exit strategy.

The required two-thirds vote was not met in the deliberations held at the PBA office earlier today with only six giving their yes votes to the sale.  They needed at least 7 votes for the board to give their approval.

According to a PBA governor, the three San Miguel teams and the Air21 franchise voted against the sale, and as a result, the Board has given the approval to grant Barako an extended leave in the 3^rd conference.

Phoenix instead was invited to join the PBA D-League in the meantime.  Should they want to pursue joining the PBA next season, they are free to use a different company or brand.

It has been said that there are team owners who are open to liberalize the PBA, meaning possibly having competing brands.  This will be great for the

Read More »from No Phoenix, no Bull

Photo by Patricia Bermudez-Hizon
It does not end when the final buzzer sounds, the fight has been won, and fists have been pumped up in triumph. The impact of an athlete, the impact of a winner goes beyond the game, and beyond the sidelines.  A sporting hero's call of duty becomes more imminent with every bit of glory he or she basks in.

"With great power comes great responsibilities." This is not just applicable to Spider-Man or any other fictional superhero. Sure this is applicable to anyone and everyone, but more so with those who are famous and have some kind of influence in society and that includes sports personalities who most of the time are treated like rock stars, royalty or real life super heroes.

Last March 22, the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters came in full force to support the first ever Philippines Walks for Water, an event championed by Maynilad, a company owned by Manny Pangilinan's MPIC and the Consunji's DMCI.

It was to give a voice to the 16 million Filipinos who do not have access to water and it

Read More »from Impact beyond the sidelines

NPPA Images/Mike Alquinto
It was a dogfight indeed between the Philippine Azkals and the Palestine Fighters, though it ended in a scoreless draw. With the result, the Azkals now face a must-win situation on Friday against Bangladesh.

Winning against Bangladesh 2-0, getting their best ever FIFA 115th world ranking are just some of the factors that have been giving team Palestine the momentum to do better than their quarterfinals finish in the 2006 AFC Challenge Cup.  They have their awesome core of Captain and Keeper Ramzi Saleh and top scorer Murad Alyan who delivered the two goals against Bangladesh and Fahed Attal who is one of the best scorers in their program's history.

When at home, the Palestine "Al Fusan" are confronted by their country's instability, strict borders, and other concerns so football serves as an escape from all the conflict.  They came to the AFC Challenge Cup Group stages with purpose, and are holding on to the top spot in the group of four.  The top two teams  will advance to the next

Read More »from Azkals in a ‘must-win situation’

Photo by Jay Morales/MPB/NPPA Images

A few hundred in the stands braved the freezing cold Mongolian weather to witness the Blue Wolves beat the Azkals who found it hard to thaw out in that harsh climate.  But despite their gallant stand, the 2-1 outcome wasn't enough to overcome the aggregate score.  The Philippines, though defeated in that battle, won the war.

The road to Mongolia was even harsher than the sub zero temperature. The Philippine National football squad trained in Japan and were there during the earthquake.  Though unscathed, their way out of Gotemba was punishing. Hours of being on the road, waiting at airports and traveling by plane, only to have to deal with more delays, carrying boxes and praying for their luggage was definitely taxing for the squad.  Good thing they left the Philippines with the well wishes of an entire nation and a 2-0 win in Bacolod to start of their campaign.

In Ulan Bator, James Younghusband delivered the opening blow with a goal in the 4th minute. Their offense started with

Read More »from Azkals advance to the group stages

Screengrab from PBA.ph
The sporting community is in mourning with the loss of a leader, whose passion and commitment has uplifted boxing and basketball. Rodrigo "Rudy" Salud joined our Creator on Monday, March 7, at 12:30 in the afternoon.

Just days shy of his 73rd birthday which falls on March 13, World Boxing Federation's founder and former Secretary General has made such great strides and will forever be revered in the halls of world boxing.

There, he chaired the world ratings committee and the world championship committee and was instrumental in formalizing the rules governing these committees.  He also drafted its Constitution and By-Laws.

He worked tirelessly to unify the international boxing community. He was hailed by Philboxing.com, further citing his achievements, being part of the governing body that institutionalized the system of "using three judges and non-scoring referee and the practice of giving ringside physician authority to recommend the stoppage of a fight".

Atty. Salud also served as

Read More »from A parting shot for Rudy Salud, 72

Doug Kramer is non-stop. When push comes to shove, he's out there hauling!

Because of the shortened single round robin format of the Commissioner's Cup, every single game counts which is why Rain or Shine treated their game against the Meralco Bolts like it was the playoffs. It was the only time that the two squads would cross paths in the eliminations, so winning and busting egos absolutely mattered. Things were on edge and rough on the hard court, which is exactly how the fans like it.

Doug was in the thick of the fight, and he paid dearly for it. In the 2nd quarter, he sprained his ankle off the break and had a pinched a nerve. "It was not really sprain but something happened to my ligaments on my left ankle." Determined to continue, he convinced Coach Yeng Guiao that he was good to go.

Not too long after though, Mac Cardona accidentally hit Doug's left hand and he ended up with a swollen left knuckle. Determined to continue, he convinced Coach Yeng Guiao that he could still be

Read More »from Doug Kramer fighting tooth and nail