Half Time

San Miguel, Sta. Lucia, Redbull, Ginebra, Talk n' Text, Purefoods, Alaska and so many other teams are only few of those teams in PBA. PBA or Philippine Basketball Association has been one of the shows I've been watching on television. I like watching the action and the thrill every time I watch any basketball game in ABC 5. It would be much more exciting if I watch live in the stadium or basketball court(hopefully). But aside from this, I want to see my favorite players in PBA. I like to meet Olsen Racela, Number seventeen from the San Miguel Beer men and Mark Pingris, from the Purefoods Chunkee Giants. And most of all, I want to see the whole team especially those from Purefoods and the San Miguel Beer men.

Before entering PBA, players such as L.A. Tenorio, Gabby Espinas, K.J. Cañaleta and many others also came from UAAP(for college varsity) and PBL(Philippine Basketball League) before going into the "Giant's Lair" as what I call PBA. There are really, really very big men in the court like Talk n' Text's Asi Taulava, Danny Siegle from the San Miguel Beer men and more from other teams. Fun and exciting, PBA not only shows action but also teamwork. They won't win if only one player is doing well or doing his best in court. For me, the best players are those from the San Miguel Beer men. Their first five players are Danny Siegle, Dorian Peña, Olsen Racela, Dondon Hontiveros, and the newest member and rookie, L.A Tenorio. They are not like those from the other teams who have very bad temper. Another player from the Beer men is Chris Calaguio. He plays so well and is also a three pointer like Dondon Hontiveros. Lordy Tugade, a new member in the San Miguel team (formerly from the Redbull Barakos). Lordy also shoots very many three points and plays great when being with Dondon Hontiveros and Olsen Racela. Another favorite team is the Purefoods Chunkee Giants. the top five players are MVP(most valuable player) James Yap, MVP 2006 Mark Pingris, Roger Yap, Ranidel de Ocampo, and Papa Jun Limpot. Although they weren't able to go into the semi- finals, they were the champions last season. There are very many Fil- Am players like Asi Taulava, Mark "the Spark" Caguioa, brothers Danny and Andy Siegle (both from opposite teams), Dorian Peña, Jayjay Washington and Rudy Hatfield have been playing for the PBA.

A team is never without a coach. Without a coach, there will be no one who'll teach them what to do and tell them things they should improve on. One of the well- known coaches for me is former San Miguel (now Ginebra) coach Joseph Uichico.

It may be odd, but I like watching basketball games. I like it when there is already tension building up in the court, and when it is in the fourth quarter and there are only two minutes left so that the team can win. Funny isn't it? Almost everyone thinks that only men watch basketball games. But they are wrong. Even though basketball is being played by men most of the time, there are also women who play basketball. I too play basketball when I am either bored or when I feel like playing. The funny thing is that I can hardly shoot the ball inside the ring. Basketball is a great game. You can test your endurance and you can make this as a form of exercise and have fun at the same time.

Basketball does not only imply on having fun but also determination, teamwork and patience. Every player is determined in his own team so that they can win. Without a determined player, and a team without teamwork,a team is not effective enough to beat the opponent and can never win. Playing is not only for winning but also to make new friends and know more people through interaction with them.

BOYS IN THE COURT

The Prince of Tennis is a popular animé I watch almost everyday. This is about a boy named Ryoma Echizen. He is considered as the "Prince of Tennis" in their school. He is a freshman in Seigaku. Small but terrible, he is very good in playing tennis and has beaten almost all of the opponents in his way. But one thing's for sure: Ryoma can't beat his father Nanjiroh, the captain of the Seigaku Tennis Club Tezuka Kunimitsu and "Tennis Prodigy" Fuji Syusuke.

Meet the boys in the club:

First in line is Inui Sadaharu, a third year in Seigaku. Inui is their "data man" or the person collecting data about his opponent. He loves making vegetable juice or health drinks (also called "Penal Tea") which he lets his teammates drink every time they commit a mistake during their practices. He is somewhat a serious type but I also find him hilarious everytime he makes this scary face when he gives the health drinks to his teammates. One of the best players and tennis genuis in Seigaku is another third year student, Fuji Shusuke. He is known as the "Tennis Prodigy". He has very good tactics when competing. I find him handsome, especially with his easy- going attitude. Actually Fuji is a very smiling person even if there are already problems during the match. Fuji likes to drink Inui's health drinks and tend to like them! He even make mistakes in purpose just to try Inui's special health drinks. Ryoma Echizen hasn't really beaten him yet. In one episode, there is mixed club day at his school. On this day, the students are not allowed to play the sport that they are in. For example, the "golden pair", Kikumaru Eiji and Oishi Shuichiro, plays volleyball. Fuji plays curling, which no one else plays. His words are, "No participants; the championship is mine". Vice captain and another best player is Oishi Shuichiro. Another third year student, Oishi is a very good player especially doubles with his partner, Kikumaru Eiji. Oishi is a good friend of Tezuka Kunimitsu. Ryoma doesn't consider him a threat because he was beaten by Ryoma already. Together with Kikumaru Eiji, they form the "Golden Pair" because of their very good partnership and teamwork. Kikumaru Eiji is an "Acrobatic" player in Seigaku Tennis Club. He does so many acrobatic stunts when playing tennis. For example is doing a summersault when receiving the ball. Other than his well known style of acrobatic play, he has his own signature smash move called " Kikumaru Beam ", which is a very high, behind the back smash that is launched either at the corner of the opponents court, or directly at the opponent. Kikumaru treats Ryoma- kun as his younger brother and has a friendly and easy going character like his friend Fuji. Eiji is the only one on the team that refers Ryoma to the name "Occhibi" or "Kiddo" while the others call him "Echizen". Another third year player is, Kawamura Takashi. I think he is a very, I mean very weird attitude everytime he holds a tennis racket and, his personality changes and then he starts speaking in English. I don't really know that much about Kawamura except for his very, very weird attitude as what I have said earlier. His attitude changes too even though he holds either a baseball bat or a flag pole! Well, anyway, after the third year tennis players are the sophomores Kaido Kaoru and Momoshiro Takeshi. Kaido Kauru, a second year in Seigaku has a very good tactic in playing tennis singles. He has already beaten Inui in the first episodes and played doubles with him too. His signature move is the "snake" (also called "The Buggy Whip Shot"), a curving forehand that keeps his opponents running. He later develops the "boomerang snake," which is a shot that swerves out of bounds, around the net pole, and back in bounds. Next in line is Momoshiro Takeshi. As Momoshiro is the closest to a true friend Ryoma Echizen can claim, the two spend much time together eating hamburgers or playing street tennis. Unlike Echizen, who is absolutely clueless as a doubles player, Momoshiro develops an affinity for playing doubles and even masters it, despite expressing a preference for singles. Momoshiro is good at "faking out" his opponents, and can be extremely sly and tricky on the courts. His ability to read the opponent's movements and to observe their viewpoints and expression allow Momoshiro to read his opponent's mind, thus he is able to guess where the ball will go and use shots that will confuse his opponents. He is also known for his "Dunk Smash". This is Momoshiro's signature move to finish off lobs; however, Momoshiro's Dunk Smash is different than normal smashes in that he uses the momentum from running to hit the smash, through perfect timing, by jumping forward, instead of the usual jumping backwards to hit a smash; thus causing Momoshiro's Dunk Smash to be twice more powerful and more effective than a normal smash. Last and the best of all is Captain Tezuka Kunimitsu. Tezuka is serious about everything he does, and he is very strict - one of his trademark phrases is "Do not let your guard down". His special moves include his "zero-shiki drop shot", his "Tezuka Zone", and his "Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami". A jealous teammate then injured Tezuka's left arm, leading to chronic problems. Tezuka shows a strong interest in Ryoma Echizen, possibly because Echizen reminds him of himself as a first-year. He plays against Echizen full-strength, despite the risk of re-injuring his arm, in order to convince him that he needs to become more than a clone of his father. He hopes that Echizen will succeed him as Seigaku's pillar of support. Youngest in the team, Ryoma Echizen has a very arrogant and quiet character. Ryoma is a new student at Seishun Academy Middle School (Seigaku) which is the school he transferred to from the United States. Although only a freshman, Ryoma's brilliant tennis skills had previously earned him a background of winning four consecutive titles in the American Junior Tennis tournaments – all in a little over a year. Due to his nearly invincible tennis play, at the age of twelve, Ryoma is already labeled as a genius. His amazingly good looks and sometimes cocky attitude has made him highly popular with girls, but he doesn't seem to notice at all. Tennis is his life.
He is an all-round tennis player with many special shots and abilities. One of Ryoma's greatest talents is his ability to learn new techniques at an amazingly fast pace.
Although he is left-handed, his famous Twist Serve is only effective when delivered from the dominant hand of his opponents (ex. he uses his right hand when serving against right handed players and vice versa). He sometimes plays the game with his right hand. This is mainly used as either a handicap for weaker opponents or as a way to test his opponents abilities. In the beginning of the series, Ryoma was not taken seriously by the other students at his school, and especially at Seigaku tennis club. Only after when he beat 2 of Seigaku's regulars did he gain respect with fellow club members. Because of his tennis skills, people are beginning to wonder about the "amazing freshman." Ryoma is a quiet kid, but he always stands up for himself and for others. If this means talking back to an upperclassman, he'll do it. He is not afraid and is always ready to push the limits. Rarely does he get angry or out of control. Much of the time, he is serious, quiet, and untalkative.
sakuno Ryuzaki, Ryoma's best female friend and coach Ryuuzaki's granddaughter, has a big crush on him, but because he is so aloof and she's so shy, he does not recognize her feelings for him and mostly treats her as he treats any other of the freshmen kids who follow and help the team. Ryoma's only goal is to beat his father, Nanjiroh Echizen.

Game?

I have been playing all of my life since I was a little girl. I’ve grown up playing “patentero”, hide- and- seek, “buwan- buwan” and many more. There are only three of us who play these games: my three closest cousins. Since we were at a very young age, we’ve been playing together. We were doing indoor games by the time we we’re in our elementary years: playing doll house or Lego. But as time passed, we’ve learned to play badminton, soccer, “takyan” and volleyball. Now, even though most of us are in the higher years of our education we do not forget those times when we played together. Until now, we play games such as “patentero”, “buwan- buwan”, badminton, volleyball and slipper game.

With the technology we have now, most of the children are already in the internet café playing online games such as RAN Online, Tantra, Audition and many more. Because of that too, I’ve been introduced by my classmates to some of these games such as Audition, RAN Online and Tantra. Now, I’m facing the threats of having to wear glasses all day. It’s not that hard to learn all about these online games because all you have to do is to let your eyes and hands coordinate. There is an advantage on playing computer games. You get to have you hands and eyes coordinate. But proportional to its disadvantage, the disadvantages on playing computer games are more than the advantage side. What I am experiencing now is that I’d have to wear correctional glasses to prevent my eyes from becoming weaker and also to prevent from wearing high graded glasses. Another is that you do not get to spend more time with your friends. And that’s what I have observed on some of my classmates especially the boys when we were in first year. Other than that, you spend too much money. But you know what? I think it is much better if we play the traditional games than to just sit in the internet cafés near our homes and spend a lot of money other than running around and not spending too much.

I have observed that at times now, there are only a few children who are playing the games which used to be enjoyed by us or by our parents and forefathers. It’s as if those games are now in the point of being “extinct”. Now, we’d have to introduce these games to the present generation and to the up coming generations. If not for my classmates who introduced me in these outdoor games, I may be one of those who’d think of the traditional outdoor games as boring. I am glad that through my classmates, I still know how to play the traditional and outdoor games.

In a child’s point in life, they’d have to be taught on our Filipino traditional games. And aside from these, computer games should be regulated because it may affect a person’s way of life and thinking. I may be in my teenage years but it has nothing to do with my playing. A person who is always young at heart will always be young. Now, my question is, game?