Up in boxing, down in basketball By Jesus A. Garcia Jr. UNLIKE in basketball where our national team lost badly in the FIBA Asia World Qualifying Championships held in Tianjin, China last week, our international boxers, two out of three, again showed their dexterity and brought honor anew to our…

Beleaguered again By Jesus A. Garcia Jr. EVERYTIME a Filipino boxer fights a Mexican, especially in a world title fight, Filipino friends of mine from here and abroad tease me about whom I will pick to be the victor of the match. Having both Filipino and Mexican roots, I’m always…

Yellow By Jesus A. Garcia Jr. I WAS not a fan of the color yellow before. My favorite color is red, which I label as a symbol for warriors and gallantry, particularly if you talk about sports competitions. In fact, the French-made bike that I used to win my three…

Contador, the conquistador By Jesus A. Garcia Jr. THE buzzword now in the cycling world is Alberto Contador, the newly crowned 2009 Tour de France champion from Spain. It’s his second conquest of the world’s oldest, longest, toughest and most prestigious bicycle race. He did it first in 2007.  He…

RP five slumping anew By Jesus A. Garcia Jr. RECORDS show our national basketball team’s best finish in the Olympics was a fifth place in 1936, when the games were held in Berlin. That was skippered by our kabaleyan from Lingayen, the late senator Ambrosio Padilla. It’s the best finish…

Sta. Barbara’s top sportsmen: Velasco and Marlou By Jesus A. Garcia Jr. BEING a public servant of the town of Sta. Barbara, Mayor Reynaldo Velasco regularly meets with us, the local media people. Another of the town’s famous personalities, PBA superstar Marlou Aquino, is also used to facing the press….

Run Arthur Run By Jesus A. Garcia Jr. RUNNING was a part of my training during my cycling heydays. In fact, many other athletes who don’t compete in running like boxers, cagers, swimmers and tennis players, to name a few, also run because it is believed to improve, nimbleness of…

Can Armstrong do it again? By Jesus A. Garcia Jr. BY the time you read this piece, the three-week 2009 Tour de France already commenced and maybe two or more stages had already been finished. This year’s center of attention is the comeback of seven-time winner Lance Armstrong. And the…

Politics in sports getting worse By Jesus A. Garcia Jr. YOU and I are aware that on May 13, 2008 the world basketball governing body, FIBA (international basketball federation), already withdrew its recognition of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) and declared Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) as the…

Why Pitaki cyclists can’t win a Tour By Jesus A. Garcia Jr. THIS piece was supposed to be written right after the 2009 Padyak Pinoy held May 8-15. But due to some constraints owing to my trip to America, I had to defer writing this – what really happened to…