News in the Philippines

Friday, May 4, 2012

NU may bench Youth skipper Alejandro this UAAP season

MANILA, Philippines—After the National University (NU) Bulldogs’ blowout 99-48 victory against the Jose Rizal University (JRU) Heavy Bombers on Monday, Bulldogs head coach Eric Altamirano disclosed that Energen Pilipinas Under-16 national team captain Rodolfo “J-Jay” Alejandro III would not suit up for the team for UAAP Season 75.
“Well, right now, we’re not planning to put him (Alejandro) in the lineup yet for (the upcoming UAAP season),” Altamirano said. “Bata pa s’ya (He’s still young), so we try to give him time to mature first, and hopefully next year, he’ll be part of the team.”

NU secured a commitment from the 6-foot guard Alejandro last February. He led the Malayan High School Red Robins last year to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA juniors division while averaging league-best 25.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals.

He was named as the team captain of the Energen Pilipinas Under-16 team, which finished fourth in the 2011 FIBA Asia Under-16 Championships in Nha Trang, Vietnam, last October, where he once scored 34 against Japan in the second round of the tournament.

Llamados seek clincher today

It was quite odd to hear what B-Meg coach Tim Cone had to say Wednesday night after his Llamados moved a step closer to winning the PBA Commissioner’s Cup title.

It was just as odd that Talk ‘N Text coach Chot Reyes— whose Tropang Texters could be unseated as champions and lose what looks like a second stab at a Grand Slam—practically echoed Cone.

“It took a tremendous effort by us to win tonight,” Cone said Wednesday after moving within another win of a first PBA title for a team other than Alaska. “I hope we have another one left in us.”

Said Reyes: “As a coach, I need to sense if we have anything left in our gas tank. We really need to think hard about our desire to win the series.”

Whether they were talking facts or not will be known at 6:45 p.m. today, when both powerhouses square off in Game 6 of what has been an up-and-down series, where neither team has won consecutive games, at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

This time, the Llamados will try to end it all after a masterful 82-66 Game 5 victory that Cone said may have drained his boys and left them with little energy for the finishing kick.

“We gave our absolute all to win this (Game 5),” Cone said. “The pressure is now on the team with three wins to close out the series, especially against a great team like Talk ‘N Text.”

Reyes practically admitted that his star-studded lineup was already running on an empty tank after hammering out wins in Games 2 and 4 to tie the best-of-seven playoffs twice.

If the Texters follow the trend and prevail in the third even-numbered game, one of the most exciting duels for the title culminates in a Game 7 this Sunday.

Being down in a series is nothing new to Reyes and the Texters, who erased a 1-3 deficit against Petron Blaze to win the Philippine Cup. In the best-of-five semifinals here, Talk ‘N Text came back from a 1-2 hole to eliminate Barako Bull and make the Finals.

“Against Barako Bull, it was just in the semis, and we didn’t play a team as strong and as big as B-Meg,” Reyes said.

“At this point, the players need to decide if they want to give it a final push.”

If there is one most motivated player to end it all tonight, it is James Yap, the former two-time MVP who spoke with so much excitement and desire after unloading a tournament-best 30 points Wednesday, the most by anyone in the title series.

“It will be hard work as always in Game 6,” Yap said in Filipino “Patayan ulit. Basta’t walang bibitaw (It’s do or die. We have to hang on till the end).”

Before the Start of PBA Commissioner Cup Quarterfinals

As the PBA Commissioner’s Cup had closely come to a finish, many teams and players have yet again proven that they are the best of the best in PBA, while others had shocked fans in their stunts in winning their piece of the cup.

Rain or Shine Shining through B-Meg Lefty marksman Jeff Chan shot 10 of his 19 points in the final quarter as Rain or Shine stunned B-Meg, 101-95, Wednesday night in the 37th PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The win kept the Elasto Painters’ quarterfinal bid alive.

According to latest PBA News, import Duke Crews had 24 points but had 20 cracks and only made nine. Crews also grabbed 16 rebounds. Rain or Shine bucked a 38-point explosion from the Llamados’ reinforcement Denzel Bowles, who had 15 markers in the final quarter alone.

B-Meg, on the other hand, remained in second place at 5-3 but blew its opportunity to seize an outright semifinals berth.

Barako Bulls Whipping Petron Blaze As two of the most prominent teams in PBA, the battle between Barako Bulls and Petron Blaze had become a scorcher when the Barako Bulls bulled its way across the field and landed its win against Petron Blaze.

Rodney White fired 41 points and had 22 rebounds and Mick Pennisi stole the show with a classic comical act way before Barako Bull routed Petron Blaze, 94-80, which kept the Energy in the hunt for a quarterfinal berth in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

White, who chalked up the season’s first triple double of 18 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in an 89-82 victory over Meralco last Saturday, was virtually unstoppable as the Energy rose to 4-4, now tied for fifth overall.

New Petron import Will McDonald got tossed out of the court with 8:45 left in the second period after he threw the ball to the head of Pennisi, who did a good overacting job—although way delayed—of falling to the floor after the incident, eliciting laughter from both benches and the Smart Araneta Coliseum crowd.
Pennisi’s antic already trended on Twitter and was getting numerous hits on YouTube and more than that, even Barako Bull coach Junel Baculi said “the flop” helped his team, without taking credit away from his players who played their hearts out.

“I was surprised at how their (Petron) import acted, and we were lucky that he got thrown out,” Baculi told reporters. “It would have been a different story had he been around to finish the game.”

All-Star Game Top Bets Perennial MVP contender Arwind Santos of Petron Blaze and crack rookie JV Casio of Powerade are the early frontrunners for starting spots in the Veterans and Rookies, Sophomores, Juniors team for this year’s PBA All-Star Game.

According to UAAP News, fans have another week to select members of the Veterans and RSJ sides, which will be mentored by Chot Reyes of Talk ‘N Text and Powerade’s Bo Perasol, respectively. The Event is set May 10 to 13 in Laoag City.

Before the Start of PBA Commissioner Cup Quarterfinals

Powerades run for the Commissioners Cup

Powerade is one of the most prominent teams of PBA to get into the finals of this season’s Commissioner’s Cup. This path, however, is not without any challenges, and that Powerade will still have to face its greatest challenges.

With their offense clicking, the Tigers pummeled the Air21 Express, 121-92, Sunday night, but somehow, things still aren’t as easy as it looks for Powerade. The team sits on third place at 4-3 with two games left in the elimination round.

Powerade’s Toughest Challenges Yet “Looking ahead, it’s really going to be down-the wire towards the last two games that we have, we have to win at least one, better if two,” said Powerade mentor Bo Perasol. Though it may seem easy, actually doing it and achieving their goal is not as easy as the Tigers perhaps have the hardest last two games among the remaining squads left vying for a playoff spot.

According to latest PBA News, some of the teams that Powerade will still have to face include the Alaska Aces in which the team will battle on Friday, as well as B-Meg, which is currently raring to bounce back after losing to Rain or Shine.

“For all the distractions, it was really difficult for us to focus but they still believe that we really have what it takes to win in this tournament,” Perasol said.

“So they just played together. I challenged them that the little things are going to matter in this game. I think they responded well to the challenge but there’s still so much difficulty ahead in those last two games,” added Perasol.

The Tigers played minus immense pressure last conference as the team went all the way to the Finals before losing to the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters in five games. This time’s different, however, according to UAAP News. After that successful run, the expectation rose and now, perhaps anything short of a finals berth is a failure.

Pressure is Good for the Team For Perasol, pressure is a good thing. “I’m okay with pressure. Pressure is for the better. It’s a challenge for us to be better. We just have to do what we can with what we have,” Perasol said.

And what they have with scoring maching Gary David and prized rookies Marcio Lassiter and JV Casio are vital pieces not every team has.

“No question Gary David is the best scorer today if he wants to he can score but it all boils down again if are we going to win with those kinds of numbers. Is he going to share, which he did (tonight),” Perasol told INQUIRER.net.

First Love Your Body before Losing Weight

Exercising and dieting is one thing, taking care of your health and body is another. Though we all think that losing weight is good for our health, taking it too extreme may not be as healthy as we think. This is the reason why we all must first love ourselves and our bodies before we undergo weight-loss regimens.
Loving Your Body Exercising and eating right to achieve a healthy weight are major goals for an improved lifestyle. But exercising and dieting to the point of compromising one’s health, relationships, self-esteem and even life will never solve your body issues.

In the Jan. 4, 2005, issue of the New York Times, according to latest Wellness Philippines news, it was reported that 19 percent of overweight people would risk their life to be thin, while 33 percent of obese people and 4 percent of normal-weight people would do the same to lose 10 pounds. Meanwhile, 31 percent of obese people would trade up to five percent of their remaining years to be 10 percent thinner.

Unrealistic weight goals are manifestations of a poor body image, and have been linked to serious health problems. Body image is the way you picture your own body. According to studies, the way we see our body is the effect of what we see in the environment, like the underweight models in magazines, dieting friends, thin celebrities, influential people like athletes and coaches, and even parents who are obsessed with dieting.

Recognizing Your Body Issues Recognize your body issues. According to latest Philippines Lifestyle news, before setting off in your goal of losing weight, you might have to consult a mental health specialist or a counselor, or even get more support by talking to your family and loved ones if you experience the following:

1.) You worry too much about your appearance even if you look fine and your weight is just right for your height.

2.) You spend a lot of time thinking of how to be thin, you are never content with your body, and you keep criticizing yourself.

3.) You are always negatively affected by others’ looks and weight.

4.) You are willing to spend just to lose weight or improve your appearance in the fastest possible way.
5.) You can take weight loss to the extreme by dieting and/or exercising as much as you can endure.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Complete Acquittal from the Articles

As the Impeachment Trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona continuous, more and more articles are being withdrawn from the prosecution due to the lack of supporting evidences which will point to the Chief Justice’s involvement in many of his allegations.

However, a mere withdrawal of 5 out of 9 articles is not enough for the defense to ensure that the same articles would not be used again. And so the camp of the Chief Justice plans to seek acquittal of not just one article, but all 5 articles of impeachment filed against him by the prosecution.

Complete Acquittal from the Articles Corona’s lawyer, Ramon Esguerra, feared that if Articles 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8 were simply withdrawn “without prejudice,” then the allegations contained in the articles could be used again in filing another impeachment case against the Chief Justice after the one-year ban for filing lapses.

“[If it is] dismissed with prejudice, I think we can agree with that…They can’t refile anything on this five articles anymore…If it will amount to an acquittal, then that’s fine with us. But if you’re saying: No, we’re withdrawing this without prejudice to refiling them from December or after the one year, that’s different. How can we agree to that?” Esguerra said over a phone interview on Wednesday.

For this reason, Esguerra said the defense team would first seek a clarification from the prosecution team whether they were withdrawing the five articles with or without prejudice.

And if the prosecution team decides to withdraw the allegations without prejudice, then Corona’s camp will present evidence to seek the acquittal of the Chief Justice on the five articles of impeachment.

“We might as well present evidence on the five articles so that there will also be a ruling ultimately by the Senate sitting as an impeachment court on the five articles not only the three. That’s just fair,” he said.
“You can’t just go to court and say: You know, I’m accusing you of 10 counts but I’m withdrawing nine [and] I will stick to one,” Esguerra added.

According to latest Philippines Current Events, this statement was submitted after the prosecution rested its case against Corona after presenting only evidence and witnesses for only three of eight articles in the impeachment complaint.

According to Philippines News Today, the three articles submitted for decision to the Senate impeachment court were Article II pertaining to Corona’s alleged non-disclosure of statement of assets, liabilities and net worth, Article III on his alleged lack of proven competence, probity, integrity and independence and Article VII pertaining to his alleged “partiality” in the granting of a temporary restraining order on the government’s watchlist order against former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last November 15.