The unleashing (of sort) of Calvin Abueva

Photo taken during the 2012 PBA draft where Abueva was selected 2nd overall and eventually winning ROY honors

When Calvin Abueva began eviscerating opponents in the pro league with all of his antics, we knew that there's a limit to such misaction that only the league, in some extent his own team, could ever allow. The Beast is living up to a moniker that leaned towards its more undesirable definition. He taunted the league in such time he’s supposed to pass through rookie initiation when he arrived in 2012 giving a screw you facial to the veteran hardliners. He could get the goat out of everyone else in such fashion you begin to question the amount of respect (or lack thereof) he has to the game. He has that villainous juice spewing from all direction that is poisonous enough to change everyone's perception of basketball. 

And it wasn't like the media, basketball fans, and the league itself took it easy on The Beast. He was loathed in every way he crossed paths with the league's darlings and he thrived on that negativity to fuel himself. He's taken the lead antagonist role to commensurate with the natural God-given physical gifts because it's never going to be enough that he devours you in the game. As you think about what just happened on it, it continues to haunt you all the way to your bed. He's all over you, reminding you of the mental lapse you committed because you let him into your head. For all the  maniacal carnage Abueva freed from restraint, his Alaska Aces team, whom by history is known for strutting a prim and proper and disciplined team, went through leaps and bounds in giving up that identity by loving all the crazy shits by the way of Calvin's onslaught. 

Now it struck everybody else now to realize that an ultimate heel in Abueva is being rewarded a stint in Gilas 3.0 that will unravel this September. Beau Belga almost filled in that role two years ago. But Abueva is in entirely different league.

I imagine Abueva doing his Abueva thing in the international stage with the sole purpose of making his antics as a primary asset to a beleaguered Philippine team. Only two years removed from that triumphant FIBA-Asia held here in our soil but now in dire strait of losing all the momentum because of the foolish politicking in commercial basketball. For a country reeling from a loss with an opportunity to host FIBA-World, the buildup in composing the best possible team also went down the drain with that defeat. Abueva, on one hand, posits an intriguing component with his prospective inclusion on the final line up of Gilas. He is the consummate villain which will spell advantage to a Gilas team searching for identity with the absence of its mainstays.

The corporate rivalry or bickering or simply immature display of power is already costly for this Gilas team before it actually strut its stuff. Holding off vital cogs in joining the Philippine team as if these corporate idiots bought these players’ patriotism in a contract reminded us again of the sad state of commercialized sports. It reminded us that after all the gains Philippine basketball achieved in recent memory, it will amount to nothing now because its financial backing is at the mercy of corporate’s whims. Basketball can’t be held hostage forever and what this Gilas can make do is to extract whatever it is worth juicing from the available talents in the pool. Abueva, and the rest of the new faces might be the wild cards to retool the national team and move on from this debauchery.

We always cringe on the very existence of a Calvin Abueva wreaking all sorts of havoc in a league ironically enamored for its own brand of physicality from decades back. While Abueva as a different kind of beast does skate through the borders of controlled physicality and insanity, that doesn't make his potential impact to a Gilas team will be any less great. "Antagal ng uso ng terminong bida-kontrabida" and Calvin is a shot I personally am willing to take when no one, out of expediency, is out there interested in putting the flag first before their name and the idiot franchise that pays their salary. 

The heel could be our new-age hero after all.

The dawning of the new Ginebra

Back in the glorious days of the Jaworski era, the common "tao" are seen incensed with fanaticism only explainable with a compelling history of resiliency, of utter disregard to physical limit engulfed by the fighting spirit well-associated to legendary action heroes. The histrionics it presented in a way defined the social perspective of the time—the upper class that held proprieties to the letter are disgusted with them, but the toiling masses had seen in them the reflection of their own struggle. And by glorious, I didn't mean the influx of championship hardwares the way of the people's team, rather, the grit amid the glitz of the glorious run-and-gun Ginebra squad led no less by the Philippine basketball iconoclast Robert Jaworski was what made the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) the number one pastime in the country on the pre- social media era. 

The Ginebra of old wasn't the winningest out there (and nothing had changed) except perhaps during the reign of Menk-Caguioa-Helterbrand where they put the Gin Kings on the pinnacle of Philippine Basketball for a brief period of time (4 titles in 4 years). The Ginebra in retrospect is a team composed of has beens and unheralded. Some played trying to squeeze every remaining juice they have after their illustrious playing years had pan out. Some played on a borrowed time for the opportunity to rub elbows with the firebrand Jaworski in hope to share the same limelight. They were an outcast from the glamorous and powers-that-be of pro basketball.

 But they were loved. They were expected to lose on a nightly basis but they were expected to fight nonetheless. They weren't short of the passion and flair and the nightly supply of Jaworski antics that none of the current crop of coaches could ever exude—they are the crowd darlings without the actual winning tradition. They are the benchmark of popular idolatry while fielding bench quality of players. Bal David, the gangling playmaker they call The Flash was one of their superstars. A year before he entered the PBA, he was drafted on the third round and was even left unsigned. But David, and like the rest of the unheralded pro ballers, all they ever needed was to don the Ginebra colors and let the infectious Jaworski fighting spirit catapult them to greatness.

Ginebra as a brand is linked to the underdog tag and has totally predefined its magnetic appeal from the masses. In a done to death way, the masses would always love their very own—always on the side of the underdog that is expected to lose—but it's expected to fight nonetheless before they are to eventually succumb. And it worked that way! Fans loved the scriptwriting for the resident heartbreak kid no matter the failed results. Sure, it could tease on occasional instances on championships. But it sure as hell that every crown they'll win goes down on the most memorable championship series PBA will ever collect. The Rudy Distrito off balance  that put the 1-3 disadvantaged Ginebra to the best ever comeback in the history of basketball championship. The Chris King–less Gordon's Gin that won it all led by a red hot Pido Jarencio and grizzly Terry Saldaña were all basketball memories that solidified the faith of the mammoth fanbase of Ginebra that carried over to the next generation of the never-say-die stalwarts. See these former Ginebra players wouldn't even need to crack the PBA's greatest, but what they can always boast that not most members of PBA's greatest could ever be is them belonging to that great Ginebra lore.

The never-say-die mantra was created on the mere act of defiance, of standing up to the insurmountable challenge, and for mustering the limited strength and talent to mount a fighting comeback on a regular basis. It wasn't rocket science—there wasn't any science at all! Some may call it desperation, but isn't character is best defined when faced with great adversity? That memorable Jaworski comeback after getting elbowed in the lip led a furious comeback against Northern Consolidated Cement back in the early 80's couldn't best exemplified it more to say what never-say-die was really all about. 

Through the years, Ginebra has grown accustomed as the premier attraction of the league bar none. Even after Jaworski's departure, Ginebra has grown enough on its own that the name recall will always amount to something 'palaban'. There seemed to be that undying mystique that a player may want to give it all on a regular basis despite the odds they're up against. It is as if that the player that you are amounts to nothing if by playing as a Ginebra, the only thing that mattered to you is never-say-die.

Just as Mark Zuckerberg turned Facebook as the social media platform that changed the mass media, and so did fans's approach and understanding of the game. Fans would now have a venue to vent their frustrations in every losing night. They will have people sharing the same frustrations and they will breed bashers that would compound the said frustration. It has grown into a tiring endeavor to defend the never-say-die when it's already dead when dying is just about to take place. It became hard to be rambunctious, it became hard to show swag when all we've seen was the figurative relegation to the 'kangkungan'. Suddenly, you started to question things—a lot of those that are not even worth questioning just because as the loses keep piling up, the ridicule and bashing seemed only gotten harsher and bolder for each and every season. 

For each fruitless season Ginebra has gone through since winning its last championship way back 2008, the scapegoat for the failures is always the coach—or the coaching staff at large. In theory, the reasoning of the failed campaigns are attributed to the system implemented by the coach at the helm, thus, it is being replaced as soon as it fails. At the very beginning, they had Jong Uichico ang Siot Tangquincen—both are proven champions but found themselves at the mercy of experimentation of the management. There was a time when they were designated as co-coaches of Ginebra, which accounted to the confusing dynamics of team leadership because while they are protégés of the same brilliant tactician in Ron Jacobs, they are seen with differing styles and approaches to the game. It was just a matter of time before things had fallen apart and the inevitable departure of Uichico and Tangquincen set the tone for the 'rigodon' of succeeding coaches that more seemed viewed to be coach OJT-ers. Ginebra became the haven (or graveyard) of aspiring coaches for a hit or miss gig. They were expected to lay the team's philosophy and then get undercut for another one to be installed.

Entering the PBA's 41st season, the San Miguel Corporation teams are given expectations based on a general consensus of their past season's performance. San Miguel Beer, the conglomerate's flagship franchise is being challenged to have their second grand slam in their fabled history after winning two titles in the just-concluded season. Purefoods Star Hotshots is a team that is expected to rebound after coming up short after winning a grand slam of their own two seasons ago. And Ginebra? Well they just did the unexpected.

Citing the fans's clamor for a turnaround, Ramon Ang ordered the transfer of Tim Cone to Ginebra in hope to bring Cone's unscathed winning ways to the Gin Kings. The man responsible to many of the Ginebra heart breaks. The dominant winner that made the crowd darlings always the underdog challenger. The forever foil to every success road map of Ginebra is set to become the head in its helm.  

Earl Timothy Cone, an American that grew up in the Philippine soil was a basketball fanatic of its truest of sense. He is a self-proclaimed Jaworski fanatic growing up. And when he was old enough, he became a self–taught bench tactician of the highest order. He was one diligent student of the game. But unlike his idol Jaworski, Cone relied on the burgeoning scientific approach to game during his formative years as a coach that's being drumbeat all throughout the sporting world. His twitter account description reads: Tex Winter protégé, True Triangle guy. The success of the Chicago Bulls in the 90's and the LA Lakers in the new millennium only emboldened Cone to make the triangle offense as the anti–thesis for all the fun and excitement the run-and-gun and most of the offenses that relied on on-court smarts. For him, passion and resiliency isn't enough. For him, being a great motivator can help you start things but never to finish it off. For him, high basketball IQ won't translate to wins. For him, there's always a systematic way in assembling a winning offensive and dismantling an opponent's defense. 

Yet Cone understood that his genius is under appreciated. No matter how he piles up on the championship trophies being the winningest coach in the PBA, he understood that winning more won't be the zenith to reach for his illustrious career. It's understandable that the transfer to Ginebra has brought him a different level of achievement. A satisfaction to be for once, he gets the cheer of the crowd instead of the jeer. The victories and critical acclaim all but enshrined him to the levels only enjoyed by few because the backing of the masses eluded him. He will win, and this time around, it won't be against popular acclaim. And this is his one great chance to rewrite the legacy of his career that despite of the accolades, it felt to be in need of more things. In the NBA, you will see great players transfer to competitive teams even if it meant lesser contract value or playing time just to get a shot at an elusive championship. In Cone's case, what's elusive on him was the backing of the majority, the support of a barangay that gratified to no end a lot of accomplished coaches–even if none of them has the amount of titles Cone has ever won all throughout. Cone understood all of these, that's why even if he's done a great deal of success with the second most popular team in Purefoods, the greatest coaching stint will always be the chance to lead Ginebra. 

But how he will turn things around to this moribund, insufferable Ginebra?

He will. 

He will and change will be conspicuous it will reshape the entire Ginebra brand. He will put winning as a staple requirement not just as a lip service. He will make the aggression a 'controlled aggression' ones. He will make you listen to just one voice, not like the customary multiple voices a player hears in a usual Ginebra timeout as if suffering from hallucination. He will reformat the overly loaded and crowded coaching dynamics that did more harm than good.

He will, but not overnight.

Because the entire Ginebra organization is a huge mess that it'll probably need a dozen of Tim Cones to get it stabilized. Ginebra were winners in the Jaworski era even if it looked like a bunch of players on the minimum wages. The Ginebra of today is a collection of stars that doesn't align on a constellation. With an ensemble of coaching staff that butt heads more often, they change systems more frequent than Kim Kardashian change sex partners. 

Will Ginebra utter never-say-die yet again?

Well the question really is, is Ginebra going to be a never-say-die team again? With Cone at the helm, it's hard to imagine a team under his watch become a restless, disorganized crew that would allow a situation for them to run wild and scamper. The Ginebra era will unfold on our very eyes–rebirth with an entirely different identity. A complete transformation will allow us to ponder if the Ginebra fans are ready to move on and shed off the underdog tag. Ginebra isn't exactly your league's whipping boy, but opponents like Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao couldn't put it more succinctly by saying, "They (Ginebra) will become scary again." And that's how he and together  with the rest of the league have perceived the crowd darlings. 

What affronts Ginebra now is the change for the better. They will shed off the old ways which could leave a lot of fans with bitter after taste. But they will win. And when you win, you'll soon forget how the change was hard to process at the beginning.  They will win and soon enough the throng of fans that seemed disillusioned for the past seasons will assume that Ginebra pride once again—then as a fighter, now as a winner. Like a hermit in hiatus, they will come out once again to fill the rafters of the coliseum that they temporarily abandoned in sending this message to the Ginebra management. Soon enough, it will put a new dimension to the derision of being a 'Kangkong' as something remolded into a fine dish that is ought to be. This past PBA season proved that where Ginebra becomes irrelevant, the league suffers. A dip in attendance and TV ratings only goes to show that Ginebra owes it to all of Filipino basketball fans to become significant again. Cone understood all of these, and to understand all of these takes such cerebral skills to take this challenge and knowingly recognize that to complete his evolution as a coach. As for Ginebra, this transformation is long overdue and if it's wary of the fans reacting to the change, it must figure a way first to accept it within because their resolve, adaptability and reception will usher the new Ginebra to unlimited possibilities with a winner like Cone leading and shaping it. 

Never-say-die will now be never-shall-die

FFUgay

(image copied from google)

Of Union Leadership, the Struggle of being the First, the Relevance of the Just Cause and the Peti-Bourgeois Mass Movement

WCSI Employees Candle Lighting Activity

When I began working in this industry almost a decade ago, I knew there was something amiss. My skepticism to an industry perceivably devoid of substance— no thanks to its frivolous nature and aggrandizement kept me from wholly embracing it when I started. Straight from college where the street parliament and the defiance of a grim and determined were the ways and means particularly on a State U settings, 

I got accustomed to the barefooted life of non-stop struggle and sacrifice. I was entering an uncharted territory then. I knew the culture that prevails and it will take a cultural turnaround to even dare think that somehow, the lifestyle by which this industry flourished can be injected with a jolt of activism. Yet, there wasn't turning back. And 10 years after, you can never stop dreaming!

UEWCSI General Assembly and Election last March 28. 2015

Just over the weekend, my co-employees made history in declaring ourselves the first unionized employees from a large-scale BPO company. We, the Unified Employees of West Contact Services, Inc. (UEWCSI) declared ourselves as the first to collectively position and function as a legit union—the significance of such resonates like a tidal wave right at the epicenter of the  country's financial district. We have officially broken the barrier of the Sunshine Industry that is often maligned with cultural indifference and passiveness in front of grave employment abuse. 

UEWCSI on the History and Challenges

Right at the forefront of the battle are the BPO employees whose composition of varying professional background and expertise are fast emerging to be the economy's Créme de la créme. The oft-scrutinized peti-bourgeois whose knack for utter disregard to social upheaval now gawking on its own sad state of grave employment abuse. And what exactly is surprising about peti-b as a rah rah rah type of revolutionists? Awkward, eh? But all it has come to is the realization, that they, too, is susceptible to such unjust practice. Peti-B in general is self-styled, often the mark of coziness and entitlement. The pride and stigma that comes with it makes it more appealing like the wild card it always has been. Them coming out into the open to challenge the current order is an awe-inspiring scene that's truly unprecedented, something that makes this just cause as relevant as every other upheavals we've witnessed.

What was so groundbreaking about this feat? 

The establishment of the union opens a lot of doors when it comes to employees' active participation in decision-making that allows the BPO Industry an economic environment where the massive bulk of its workforce get to lobby for its benefits as prevailing rules and regulations are created in such a one-dimensional way. For an industry that relies heavily on its workforces' voice, it was that ironic that these assets are often unused for its own protection and welfare—not to mention the alleviation of employment standards that is often dictated on a one-sided affair. What UEWCSI brought to the industry so far is a blueprint for neighboring BPO Centers to also collectively organize amongst themselves and become its representation to every policy-making endeavors— the unfortunate state of an industry that's influential yet devoid of such dynamism. 

UEWCSI Executive Committee participating on a convention
 sponsored by UNI Global Union

While these pioneering undertakings can be historically marked for its influencing effect, the struggle of engaging the industry's bigwigs equipped with cunning and devious corporate lawyers ready to dismantle any attempt for any burgeoning union power are the challenges posed for an inexperienced BPO union. Being the first has its own merit and its own onus. Be that as it may, as we are expected to struggle to grope the battles attached to unionizing, we are also expected to learn the ropes and eventually will bank on the calls for genuine demands for the ever-growing BPO Industry. The influx of support from BPO stakeholders, lawmakers and trade unions nationwide will lend its influence and organizational savvy and we can look forward on a day that a federation will emerge encompassing the entire BPO-IT Industry and the efforts we have put in UEWCSI will be the defining first blood of this so-called peti-b revolution.

FFUgay

The Poet bleeds real blood too

The pen's might can be infallible to gust of the wind and the piercing blister of the cold night

The pain can be felt just the same, the barrier the concoction of words create can not sustain where the heart ceases to motivate.

The Poet delivers the literature by which this world exist
Yet on his own quandary and vulnerability, the champion of the wordsmith
Could not create his shield to pain
He would create the stories that make the world appreciate love more than anything else yet he cannot create the antidote when attacked by it.

Stunning crimson red, thick as the rising mercury
The heart that gives it away aches for the loss and bleeds for the defeat.
The greatly The Poet bestows the artistry can be humanized too just as people struggles to everyday setbacks.

The Poet bleeds real blood too!
His is of flesh of tender where the slightest of papercut can slice through his sorrows and follies.
Not his mightiest of wordplay, not the strength of his poetry can soothe the excruciation that drains the body inside out.

This is the downfall of the brain where the emotion ceases to control
This is the submission to mourn because no matter a great mind above fighting heart kept trudging to live one more day
The Poet bleeds real blood too!
It's red, it hurts and the best of them all feel it too.

FFUgay

#Puso

When every hashtag of #Puso comes at you to obligate yourself to pound your chest for whatever reason, in theory, we think of this action as if to help pump the blood—or simply to swag the heck out of the moment that got us jumping and pumping from the magic that unravels before our very eyes. From all walks of social networking, the agitation by which the hashtag has overwhelmed us with quite a mixture of emotions, from gutter hopelessness to somewhat borderline angst and the ever-prevailing quasi-critical mode of each one of us trying to put our every two-cents worth get counted on the hashtag fora. It was #Puso that comes after Laban and Pilipinas...three words that immortalized the brave Gilas team in capturing the imagination of a 100 million-strong nation in putting up a gallant showing at the world’s stage of basketball. Needless to be reminded that it is the month of September to be actually talking about #Puso in a week's stretch, ergo, #Puso has gotten us with so much to love on a sports so endeared to us yet so elusive to place us on its pedestal.

When Gilas Pilipinas began their magical, breathtaking five-game run, no one was prepared that Jeff Chan, a second rounder pick from the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) would scorch the hoops against the towering presence of Croatian squad. Neither was a diminutive LA Tenorio, who’s smallest of small size, has executed the biggest blow (a nut blow at that) against monstrous Greek freaks. Who could dare forget him going toe-to-toe with JJ Barea? And then there was this Gabe Norwood, a legit division I player from George Mason University yet went off the radar from NBA scouts. Luis Scola has been in the NBA and the FIBA World competitions for almost half his life now but quite ironic that what most people would probably remember was that dunk over him in transition by Norwood. Sometimes, it makes you wonder why Norwood was so impressive on international tilts yet always underperformed in the PBA—you always kind of wanting more and more from him because we know what he’s so much capable of. That dunk on Scola, and for all the defensive marvels he had shown in FIBA World had only added to that enigma. The bigs combo of Andray Blatche and JuneMar Fajardo are making good use of their stint in Gilas Pilipinas. Both are outperforming quality bigs on the world stage, mostly has NBA creds stamped on their foreheads. Most observers cringe over Fajardo’s lack of playing time despite the efficiency of his contributions whenever called to play. This is mostly a credit to what The Krakken can do as a student of the game. Yet somehow, we can’t get rid of that image of him so alone while caught in the quagmire from his mother team of San Miguel for all the dramas it had endured almost costing him the MVP plum just a season ago. Fajardo is the future of Philippine basketball together with another giant in Greg Slaughter says multi-titled coach Tim Cone and he is proving every bit of it at this stage. Here’s hoping that he be spared from both the politics of sports and the lure of showbizness because this young giant has what it takes to lead Gilas in the future and perhaps knock on the doors of the NBA given the right exposure. Blatche for his part is having the time of his life. Leading the charge of the Gilas is no laughing matter especially being the key cog of the Gilas squad. Not even a slight scare of injury on his part is affordable, this is how important his presence is in Gilas. Yet after all the international competitions are done, his own reality will set in that at this very moment, no NBA team has taken him yet. With news of him being actually injured right now, one has to wonder what of this full force play level he is doing to scare away potential team that will take him in before NBA season starts? Of course you know I will reserve this at the end for Jimmy. Like he always do, Capt. Alapag would always reserve the heroics at the end game. Time and time again, he lifted the hopes of our countrymen from its hopeless state. These are the times that whenever you watch newscast, you kind of want to get the headlines be done right away so we can have the sports news to hear anything about our modern day heroes. It stops us dead on our tracks, waiting to see the highlights of the Gilas games—win or lose. This is because regardless of the results, the Gilas team that Alapag leads will sure to have their moments. That evidently, win or lose, Gilas is finding multiple ways to shock the world. The irony is that Alapag is doing an Alapag for more than a decade now in his home turf. Now that he has this opportunity to exhibit his brand of basketball leadership, this might be the last we could see him play on world stage. For all the greatness of his, the world was left with no clue of his caliber, the politics that killed the Philippine team before obscured this wealth of talent our motherland has on its disposal.

So it was basically a band of somewhat underachieving players (at least on the world level), a group of guys with chip on their shoulders forged together to form the team that is Gilas Pilipinas. They are success stories on their own right individually, but the imagination their performance created lingers in a way that the Gilas Pilipinas conquest was at least eight years too late. That maybe, it could’ve opened up doors to former National Team stalwarts like Danny Seigle, or a solid-rock but young then Asi Taulava, or even a then-primed Mark Caguioa. Philippine basketball has always been world class. Imports coming here to and from could attest to that. But word of mouth doesn’t bring you to FIBA World. It only gives you legendary footnotes. It only gives you the distinctive and be a subject of foreign fascination, a documentary material for all the craziness of us towards basketball.

And as always, we have people that are hard to impress, eager to downplay what Philippine basketball has achieved on this ongoing FIBA tournament. Fondly based on the country’s statistical world ranking, number of wins, and the argument that basketball will never be Filipinos’ sports based on our natural physique; the cynics tried so hard to cast the dark clouds on this feat and spoil the euphoria.

I’m taking a broader historical perspective in assessing their run in Seville, Spain; this despite the moral and critical merits of their participation. The appreciation of this feat goes beyond world recognition. The impact of Gilas’ performance is more of a validation to giving justice of this innate passion towards basketball. We need to have the measuring stick to gauge the progress or our international program. Asan na ba tayo? That for the greater part of the last four decades, we got stuck to a level that was only appreciated locally because of its commercialized characteristics. This and politics had kept us stagnant while other Asian neighbors grew leaps and bounds. The region where we use to impose our dominance was clearly a thing of the past. To see them on optimal performance in Spain, to see them scare the bejesus of teams that met them in Seville and left the others from different groupings in awe is victory in itself just because we have no business being that competitive at least at the world’s level. You can say that Gilas rode the coattails of element of surprise to come in as close as it can get to teams like Croatia, Greece and Argentina but you can’t say they were never scouted. They pulled off consecutive competitive games that would’ve gone the Gilas way. These are basketball programs Team USA, the perennial number one basketball country in every aspect (except puso, hehe) has gotten them sleepless nights. To say that Pinoys has this penchant for mediocrity, celebrating a ludicrous one game win and never making it to the next round is a mentality that can be mused by people who has shallow understanding of the sports—its history in local hoops in particular. Beyond the solitary win, Gilas went on to thrust Philippine basketball back to respectability once again in an unprecedented way.

#Puso, or the heart, is always to blame when things go wrong because of the absence of logic it always goes through in acting on things that matter. And this may be the reason of the chant "Puso" fittingly describes the character of our brave Gilas soldiers. They leave it all out there. Besides, what logic to be used for a world cup returnee, whose absence of 36 years they no longer knew their peers at the world stage in going up against Argentina and Greece? Who would dare use logical thinking to say that Gilas has a fighting chance to keep these powerhouses within striking distance much less an opportunity to actually slaughter these giants? The term #Puso may have been an excuse but it sure fits the bill. They fight with all heart regardless of the insurmountable odds that are cast upon them.

FFUgay

The enshrinement of Gat. Andres Bonifacio

Some lived a life in disservice of one’s self but a sacrifice for the entire nation…some, lived a fucking lie!

The United States of America (USA) prided itself to have George Washington as its first president. Part of Washington’s resume is that he led a revolution that shaped the history of the world superpower. Here in the Philippines, the textbook-recognized first Philippine president was a dude named Emilio Aguinaldo. A war escapist, megalomaniac extra-ordinaire, and with all of his ulterior machination, perhaps was the prototype modern day crook politician. Some would point it out rather accurately that Aguinaldo was the old-school sell-out that tarnished the fundamental nature of the 1896 revolution. By most historical accounts, it was Aguinaldo who masterminded the capture and eventual execution of Andres Bonifacio together with his brother Procopio on the grounds of treason. The internal strife that ripped the Katipunan into a factious division cost the downfall of the revolution and one thing led to another—that another fucked us big time that we can still feel the sting up to this very day.

Bonifacio of course is the face of the Philippine revolution of 1896. Ang Supremo to the greater number of the Katipuneros. The Great Plebeian who rose to head an underground movement from the ranks of the masses. Yet such grand title pale in comparison as to what was bestowed to both Dr. Jose Rizal, the recognized National Hero and Aguinaldo, who was the supposed first President of the country. What left of Bonifacio has always been subject to much harsh portrayal—often painted as the odd man out, one that has the lesser pedigree among them.

Ever remember arguments coming from your history teachers that the thing that went against Bonifacio’s place in history is his being an uneducated maglalako? These are the kind of urban legend that got us to believe that Gat.Andres Bonifacio was nonsense as Jose Rizal was the real deal. There are of course some demonizing propaganda against Bonifacio that when we were young we dreaded his image with a warmonger lunatic drunk with power likeliness. Then we grew up, started to discover things on our own volition because somehow, we grew suspicious of things being told about Ka Andres (same fate befell one of the revolution’s greatest general, Antonio Luna). If anything, Bonifacio represented that resilient idealism which, if you are colonizing a country as beautiful and rich as the Philippines, something you want them to unlearn from if only to convert their radicalism into subservient apathy. Boni as an icon is too much of a danger for Filipino to emulate as they seek their own identity, thus, Rizal was the convenient choice. Thrust into the consciousness of every Filipino in hopes to taper any surfacing resiliency. Because of Bonifacio’s radical orientation is what cost him to play second fiddle to Rizal, who in the contrary was the more passive libertarian whose only goal at the very most is to secure a recognition for the entire country as a mere province by the Spanish motherland (translation: an upgrade from being an emaciated colony to a province with perhaps an upgraded treatment, yet nonetheless still oppressive from the conquerors)

Bonifacio’s legend, despite of the historical attempts to downplay his stature as the father of the revolution grew even larger as more and more intellectuals dug more proof of Bonifacio’s cerebral leadership skills. These contradicted more of the textbooks’ content with which he was described as a rather incompetent war general, a self-proclaimed head of the uprising, and quite destructively, the connotation that he was an intellectual lightweight as suggested by his educational attainment. And adding insult to the injury, the history books that is propagated since the American occupation until present time portrayed Aguinaldo as the exact opposite of the paradigm that illustrated the life and ways of Bonifacio.

Representatives from Bayan Muna Partylist pushed for the realization to finally recognize Bonifacio as the country’s very first president giving credence to the accounts of historians who reinforced the belief that the Katipunan was a governing separatist state and Bonifacio then was the widely-recognized head of the movement. The Andres Bonifacio Act of 2013 seeks to enshrine him and perhaps wash away the vestiges of a demolition job cast upon the Supremo by the same people discredited his contribution to the nation-building—worst, went to the extent of maligning his legacy to suppress whatever emboldened patriotism Filipinos were starting to display back then; it was waiting to explode and putting the iconic Bonifacio to such elevated remark would only trigger the time bomb they believed

So it was about time to enshrine the Supremo that well-represented the poor man’s plight. He took the road less travelled to pave the way for freedom. Well, yes, freedom was never achieved. Well, yes, freedom is still very much out of our grasps in this modern day semi-colonial set up. But Bonifacio took us to the light and this what pissed off our conquerors—we can come up with so much angst now more than ever to put him as our very own national hero which embodies the ideals of our own—far from the pacifist nature that ultimately allowed the invasion of various countries that raped our motherland. And all happen because of the choice for our own national hero that we didn’t make.

Pac-Man fights his demon and fights our battle

Graphic thud of a face-first drop on the canvas of MGM Grand, under the swarming bright lights of the mecca of the boxing world was the collective shocking sight some 11 months ago. There on the squared ring, a fallen hero planked motionless, flocked by boxing officials and trainers alike while in the midst of a celebration of a triumphant conquistador who finally exorcised the demon of streak loses to a so-called Mexican butcher. This and all, in the sea of dropped jaws in stillness disbelief, was the scenery that for a momentary cessation, it led us to take a pinch on our skin to check the reality of the unthinkable. One man saw his invincibility faded; the other saw himself conquered his demon. In the most ironical axiom one could put up, our very own national sporting hero Manny Pacquiao met his most devastating lost to date in a fight he has all the command to win it all. And yet, in a twist of event of monstrous proportion, a perfectly timed counterpunch uncorked straight to the chin of the Pac-Man was all it took to put an earmark to this historic Pacquiao-Marquez on the precious page of the boxing lore.

 The lord of KOs got served of its own killer punches as Pacquiao was on the receiving end of a one-punch KO. The indestructible aura of the erstwhile pound-for-pound the best in the world shattered in one solid punch. Juan Manuel Marquez was that deserving perfect foil, the one that the boxing gods antagonized and deprived of all the breaks of the previous battles against Pacquiao, was, on that night of redemption celebrated to the fullest the finest victory of his own storied career. For most boxers, it was a defeat too hard to recover from. For most fans, it was the most painful thing that one can experience—even to a point of shunning the boxing news and tabloids for a while.

Eleven months removed from the tragic blemish of Pacquiao’s career, the boxer that caught everyone’s imagination will try to chastise his own demon. His own emergence from the dark path of what have been the best run of any Asian fighter in the sinful and dazzling horizon of the boxing world. Pacquiao was a relentless fighting machine, one that would bulldoze his way in reckless abandon. A devil-may-care type of fighter who does not shy away from the viciousness of the sport. Perhaps because of this trait of his is what made him to become the face of the boxing world, on such time he was busy piling up the numbers of the greats he put into retirement. On one single night, he was made no-exempt. On one fateful night, his career, too, was at risk of being withdrawn.

Setting up a bout date in Macau, on this weird fight time on November 24, 2013 to appease the time zone of North America for pay-per-view purposes, against the hard-hitting yet easy target Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios is the perfect springboard for Pacquiao. Rios is someone who’s not afraid to slug it out, who can make a perfect dance partner on an explosive tit-for-tat slugfest that could make up for an entertaining bout. The stake is not to be taken lightly, too! A win for Pacquiao could help him reboot a halted boxing career until he gets just enough steam to flirt again for a chance to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. for what could be the greatest boxing match there ever will be. Or, as most of us are possibly thinking, could ultimately force the Filipino King of the Ring to retirement as it shall beckon more than ever that such wonderful run in the boxing history will finally meet its end.

But just like our most utilized cliché in life, the Pac-Man will find a way to reemerge and become relevant again. As someone whose country was ravaged and severely hit by catastrophe of biblical proportion, Manny will become resilient again, will move forward and leave the pain of the past behind him. For all it was worth, Manny knew that he needs to put a smile once more for his countrymen bereft of all the joyous anticipation usually related to Yuletide season. He has that monumental responsibility of putting this country together that notwithstanding political affinity and biased opinion, he has to take over the unity right now being messed-up by the powers-that-be. It would only take Pacquiao some motivations to fight along, as no one in boxing history has ever fought for inside of the ring staking the pride of an entire nation. It has always been a staple side story of each of his fights being dedicated to the people he serves as a politician and the people that he represents as a compatriot. If he could only have that physical fortitude to fight forever to keep a country as divided as the Philippines, I could wish there’s some possibility to that. For that is how Pacquiao meant to each and every Filipino. Transcending every class and gender, he was given that gift to provide the people to believe collectively on just one thing—and that is winning this battle.