San Miguel Beer still the team to beat By Al S. Mendoza SAN Miguel Beer is on everybody’s lips on the eve of Season 44 of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). When Asia’s first play-for-pay unfurls today, January 13, at the cavernous Philippine Arena, all pundits point to the Beermen…

Nietes deserves our collective applause By Al S. Mendoza DONNIE “Ahas” Nietes is now a four-time world boxing champion. That’s after beating Kazuto Ioka of Japan on New Year’s Eve in Macau. Hooray for “Ahas!” Why is he called “Ahas” again? It’s because of his love for snakes. Nietes used…

With love and fond memories of Atche Tina; 79 By Al S. Mendoza ATCHE Tina Pasaoa-Rivera has passed on, a sad news I received by e-mail from her son, Noel.  I give the floor now to Noel in a bid to preserve the purity of a touching obituary from a…

Magnolia victory caps SMC ‘Grand Slam’ By Al S. Mendoza AS usual, several heroes emerged from Magnolia’s victory in the just-ended Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup. Those who stood out were Romeo Travis, Paul Lee and Mark Barroca. Of course, the natural biggest hero of them all was coach…

How to correctly deal with Simbang Gabi By Al S. Mendoza TODAY, December 16, is the start of Simbang Gabi. Called Dawn Mass in English, Simbang Gabi has been a tradition observed religiously yearly by the Catholic faithful. This ritual calls upon you to go to Church and hear Mass….

With Blatche back,Gilas still has a chance  By Al S. Mendoza  GILAS Pilipinas had the height against Kazakhstan. In that game, the PHLTeam didn’t only have the “Twin Towers” in 7-footer Greg Slaughter and 6-foot-10 June Mar Fajardo. Truth is, the duo even got beefed up by Japeth Aguilar, whose…

The mentor and the student By Al S. Mendoza   BAGUIO CITY—God permitting, I will be here up to December 15. It is in fulfillment to a commitment etched in stone: Act as Rules Man when requested to do so. It’s been that way since I was asked to referee…

Oh, no, not again! By Al S. Mendoza   THERE we go again. In the recent Gilas Pilipinas tune-up with Jordan, things got physical once more. But before push could come to shove, Jordan found it prudent to abandon the game. In short, the Jordanians walked out. Well, you could…

Discipline abroad but not here By Al S. Mendoza   IN Sydney and Auckland, the major cities from Deep Down Under, they have this so-called 12 Demerits system. It is a traffic scheme that catches road law violators through cameras placed in streets and highways. Danny Isla, migrating to Auckland…

Appreciating Sol’s Sydney sojourn & reunion By Al S. Mendoza   SYDNEY—Hi, mate! This city, booming and bursting to the seams but still sparse of population that makes it still very lovably livable, continues to charm me even as this was already my sixth visit here since 1985. A highlight…