Kathryn Bernardo: Letting that creative spark fly once more

Important note: Effective my latest blog post, everything that I post here on FB that I intend to copy at least part of into my blog will be marked with the words MORE ON MY BLOG. That's because in the last few months that I have kept a blog, I did realize the hard way that it's very diffucult to write a blog post when the inspiration simply isn't flowing. So whatever little spark comes to my sometimes-lively-yet-sometimes-lazy-or-sometimes-dead-busy mind that would prompt me to post, I definitely will here and on my blog to especially keep the latter alive and kicking.

Early yesterday evening, an unexpected event ignited a spark in me to post on this blog again. I was at SM Fairview trying to set up an appointment with a dentist for a general checkup when I had an unexpected encounter with unabashedly one of my biggest local showbiz crushes. Guess who? She is none other than Kathryn Bernardo, the so-called Teen Queen of Philippine showbusiness. She was at the aforementioned mall's entertainment center to promote her debut album Kathryn, an event that was previously unknown to me before such encounter. While her fans couldn't help but scream in delight at being able to see her and get her autograph or take a picture of her, I for one couldn't help but be amazed, though not starstruck, at the unlikely opportunity of being able to see such a true Filipina beauty in the flesh. If the late Ate Julie Vega was Philippine showbusiness' Teen Queen of the 1980s, Kathryn is definitely the one for the 2010s.

As proof of such encounter, I took a short video of her with my Jurassic-era Sony Ericsson W550i cellphone. Needless to say, the video is not necessarily of the best quality, which is one of the many reasons why I don't feel ready to share it at all. Beautiful Kathryn, who was wearing a short white dress, was several meters away from me signing autographs on the stage for her loyal fans, and I could've gotten the most out of that unexpected encounter if only I had perfect 20/20 vision. As such, I could only get a rough glimpse of her well-chiseled facial features, although I was still able to appreciate the fact that she looks just as good in person as she is in photos and publicity stills. That short encounter ended when she and her entourage exited through the mall's glass doors located to the left side of Ace Hardware store.

As short as the encounter may be, and as silly or childish sounding as it may be for some people, that encounter was a significant one for me for a few reasons. First, it taught me the value of not giving up on my dreams of someday forming my very own legendary band that would make it big not only in the Philippines but also the world over. Fame and fortune certainly weren't handed over to Kathryn herself on a silver platter as she didn't come from a showbiz family and thus had to work her way up to reach the point where she is now in a business known for its cutthroat competition. Second, I also realized that even though I may no longer be a spring chicken when I finally get to live my dream, at least there is hope while I'm still living. And third, publicity-shy as I may be, I learned that I can still choose to get out of my shell, improve my strengths and be successful in the long run. Seeing such a beautiful girl like Kathryn has constantly reminded me that my true calling, my legendary era, and the happiest years of my life have yet to come. Whether I'll be able to live up to the hype of my own creation remains to be seen as God may have other plans for me for all I know.

Thanks to that chance encounter with Kathryn, who along with fellow Pinay beauty Solenn Heusaff put the Philippines on the map of FHM UK's 10 hottest nations in the world, I was inspired to come up with a bucket list of local and foreign celebrities and even ordinary people who I would like to meet up close and personal someday aside from Kathryn and Solenn themselves. They include but are not limited to Jennylyn Mercado, Andrea Brillantes, Julia Montes, Bea Alonzo, Bea Binene, Bianca Umali, Mona Louise Rey, Vilma Santos, Nora Aunor, Lea Salonga, Megan Young, Jackie Rice, Dra. Pearl Postigo (Ate Julie's mom), June Mar Fajardo, Kobe Paras, Kevin Shields, Paul McCartney, Malala Yousafzai... Aw, bless! This list is just too long for me to put into writing here. And as I was at the mall marvelling at the beauty of one Kathryn Bernardo, I was telling her to myself that, "no matter what our differences in life orientations we may have, your Kuya Marlon still loves you very, very much. Someday, and I mean someday, we will be able to finally get to know and speak with each other. Always stay humble and be a good girl at all times."

Tragedy: From Sydney to Peshawar

Note: This is my first post in a really long while. Work, extracurricular activities and a lack of inspiration have something to do with it. Here's hoping I could post some more in the coming days or weeks.

From joy to gloom. Just came home from a team outing when I logged on to my laptop for the latest news, only to find out that during our outing, a terrorist attack on Army Public School Peshawar in Pakistan was taking place and ended up killing 141-145 people, dampening the otherwise happy mood of my day. The dead included at least 132 children between 10-18 years of age. The siege ended after the Pakistani Army were able to kill all of the six perpetrators, who all came from the Pakistani Taliban. Such a tragic follow-up event to the Sydney hostage crisis just a day earlier.

To the perpetrators of this act of depravity, words absolutely fail me. To the Pakistani Army, kudos to a job well done responding up to and beyond the call of duty. And to those who were killed, especially the children, may God guide the loved ones you've left behind and take care of all of you in his loving arms with love lots from your Kuya Marlon. :'( <3

2014 FIBA World Cup: Philippines 81–79 Senegal (OT)

Author's note: Watching the USA vs. Ukraine and Croatia vs. Puerto Rico games delayed me from posting this entry by a few hours. But better late than never, as it has always been said.

Yes indeed, you've read it right once more. That's not a typo. The Philippines, a.k.a. Gilas Pilipinas, have indeed finally won in the 2014 FIBA World Cup by getting rid of pesky Senegal in their final game of the tournament, but not before they were pushed to the limit for the umpteenth time...and this time passing the test with flying colors! Led by June Mar "The Kraken" Fajardo and the retiring Jimmy "The Mighty Mouse" Alapag, my two hands down choices for the best players of the game, the Philippines prevented a repeat of the heartbreaking losses they suffered against Croatia, Argentina and Puerto Rico by playing more consistent, solid defense and sinking timely free throws towards the end of the overtime period for the country's first victory in the FIBA World Cup (or Olympics) in 40 years. The victory, although a no-bearing one for both sides, triggered rapturous celebrations across the basketball-mad nation and messages of congratulations online for the team and the country from both foreign and local basketball fans alike. It also made sure that the Philippines maintains its immaculate all time win-loss record against Senegal in both the FIBA World Cup and the Olympics at 3-0 as we've also won against them in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics (the latter being our last Olympic appearance to date). Lastly, it was also a perfect send-off to Alapag, one of the great point guards in Philippine basketball history who is retiring from international basketball at the end of the tournament.

The last time the Philippines won, it was at the then FIBA World Championship on July 12, 1974, when the Philippine national team led by future PBA legends Ramon "El Presidente" Fernandez, Robert "The Big J" Jaworski and Jaime "Jimmy" Mariano won over then first-time participants Central African Republic, 87-86, in what was also a thriller of a game and their final one of the tournament held at the Coliseo Héctor Solá Bezares in Caguas, Puerto Rico. The win, which came during the classification stage, gave the Philippines a 2-6 overall win-loss record and 13th place while dealing the Central Africans their eight loss in as many games and relegating them to 14th and dead last. (Side note: While the Philippines will figure in two more FIBA World Cup/Championship stints, Central African Republic would never see the light of that tournament again to date.)

Those tense moments when the Senegalese were determined to join the likes of the Philippines' Group B group mates (and South Korea in the past) in the Philippine party poopers league by dealing the country another heartbreaking loss were reminiscent of the Croatia game, except that in this case, it was not Jeff Chan but LA Tenorio who missed the last second shot that would've potentially broken a 64-all deadlock and won the game outright for Gilas in regulation. Fortunately, despite Senegal parading an NBA star in center Gorgui Dieng and the loss of naturalized player Andray Blatche due to five personal fouls, Alapag and Fajardo stepped up big time with a little help from the rest of their teammates in making sure the country will not go home winless. I'm thinking right now that this game may have probably made Senegal realize that the team that is hardest to beat is the one that has nothing more to lose.

If it was the curse of Korea that Gilas ended in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, then it was the curse of the lengthy, winless FIBA World Cup/Championship losing streak that they ended with that victory over the 2013 Afrobasket third placers. And they were able to ultimately accomplish both feats without the benefit of a naturalized player in the homestretch. Does it sound like Gilas performs much better and with more heart and cohesion as a team without a naturalized player then? Hmm.

The Kraken has been unleashed, but Coach Chot failed to realize it much earlier. Had he played June Mar even more from the onset, the outcome of Gilas' first four games would've been totally different. That's one of the many lessons he, admittedly the inexperienced coach, should learn from this tournament aside from having his players play aggressively and consistently at their very best all game long to win games: You can never put a great player, an MVP type, the future of Philippine basketball, like June Mar Fajardo down.

Even hours after that historic win, I'm still on a high, even though the win would still not suffice to see Gilas through to the next round. As such, I would like to stop as soon as possible before serendipity gets the better of me and lengthens this blog entry further. But as a parting shot, I would like to say that I am optimistic that, with the new qualification format to be introduced by FIBA for the 2019 World Cup (hopefully to be held in the Philippines!), Gilas will have stronger chances to consistently qualify for every tournament since, with the future merger of FIBA Asia and FIBA Oceania, a total of seven guaranteed qualifying slots will be allotted to that new confederation. No more wild cards will be awarded with the new format, so two of those four slots have been directly awarded to the future FIBA Asia Oceania confederation.

Finally, I would like to send my congratulations to Gilas Pilipinas. You saved your best for last. From mission impossible, it became mission accomplished as you ended your campaign with a bang. For sure, the world has not yet seen the last and the best of the Philippine men's basketball team. This is only the beginning. To Senegal, thank you for being such worthy opponents by pushing us to the limit.

Maraming salamat, Kuya Jimmy, sa lahat ng naiambag mo sa muling pag-usbong ng bansang Pilipinas bilang isa sa mga pinakamagagaling na bansa sa larong basketbol. Nawa'y gabayan ka ng Poong Maykapal sa landas na iyong tatahakin sa iyong pagretiro. At sa Gilas Pilipinas, mabuhay kayong lahat at nawa'y lalo niyo pang galingan ang inyong laro sa inyong mga susunod na laban sa hinaharap!

P. S. To Gilas Pilipinas, my next missions for you, should you choose to accept them, are: First, win the Philippines' first Asian Games basketball gold medal in 52 years. Second, win the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where you will also perform even better than in the 2014 FIBA World Cup. And third, assist the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP; Basketball Federation of the Philippines) in lending support to our Philippine women's national basketball team so they could also at least reach the level of excellence you have already achieved.

2014 FIBA World Cup: Puerto Rico 77–73 Philippines

You've read it right. Gilas Pilipinas has sadly bowed out of contention for the knockout stage after losing yet another heartbreaker of a game to Puerto Rico after leading in the first two quarters. No matter what the result of their game tomorrow against Senegal and all the remaining Group B games will be, the Philippines will still have no more chance of advancing as two wins are needed to do so. LA Tenorio's breakout game of the tournament (18 points, which is more than his total score during the first three games combined) thus went for naught. Had Gilas won, he would've probably won the best player of the game award.

On my own analysis, I saw that Gilas already has what it takes to compete with their opponents at the world stage. Their only weakness is they don't have yet the character, the experience and perhaps the physical and mental conditioning to win games. In short, inconsistency became their own worst enemy. This is one thing they definitely have to work real hard on if they want to recapture for the country a fifth Asian Games gold medal, which we last won in 1962 during the Carlos Loyzaga era. Two lessons should be learned here by Gilas: One, play consistently and aggressively at your very best all game long, for there is no such thing as a safe lead in international basketball. Second, straight from the legendary Muhammad Ali, "Don't ever quit. Suffer now and be a champion for life." Simply put, play every game as if it were your last.

As much as I would like to blame the Gilas players and the coaching staff for the debacle that is the 2014 FIBA World Cup, it dawned on me however that in this competition, two teams had to go from each group at the end of the group stage. Unfortunately, one of them had to be the Philippines. And a 36-year absence from the world stage can really undo even the best team in the world.

As for Jimmy Alapag, Gary David and perhaps Marc Pingris, this could very well be the end of the line for them as far as their international careers are concerned. By the time the next FIBA World Cup in 2019 (hopefully to be successfully hosted by the Philippines like the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship!) commences, most if not all of them would've already hung up their jerseys. They'll be leaving huge shoes to fill, and here's hoping and praying they will be filled up by those who are talented, courageous and deserving enough to not only pick up from where these current stalwarts will be leaving off but also become even way better than them overall.

Is the loss to Puerto Rico a painful one? If you would ask me, it's both a yes and a no. Yes because inconsistency killed Gilas for the umpteenth time, and no because I haven't set really high expectations for them to begin with. Even before the World Cup started, I've already told myself that, no matter what happens, I will still be proud of Gilas as making the World Cup stage alone is already a huge accomplishment in itself. This despite the fact that Gilas benefactor Manny Pangilinan gave them marching orders to finish 16th or higher in the competiton, which is obviously no longer possible by this time. Surely, you can't win them all as they say, but you can definitely learn from your lessons from your losses and improve on your weaknesses while maintaining your strengths. Weaknesses aside, I'm still liking the way Gilas has developed through the years. All the team's hard work with Mr. Pangilinan's generous assistance is finally bearing fruit. With the way they have improved their game up to and past respectability, there is no way for them to go but up.

So to Gilas, let's go for the next highest position instead, which is 17th. My mission for you now, should you choose to accept it, is to go out with a big bang by beating Senegal tomorrow. Kaya huwag kayong masiraan ng loob, Gilas Pilipinas! Batid naming ibinigay niyo ang lahat ng inyong makakaya, bagama't kulang kayo sa karanasang manalo. Hindi pa tapos ang laban. Tatagan niyo ang inyong loob at ipanalo ang huli niyong laban bukas. Go for broke and give the Filipino nation something to smile about in the end!

P. S. At almost the same time Gilas lost to Puerto Rico, the Philippine Azkals somehow gave a wounded nation something to cheer about by winning big over Chinese Taipei to the tune of 5-1 in the 2014 Philippine Peace Cup. The win was made possible with two goals from Mark Hartmann and one each from Rob Gier and James Younghusband plus an own goal from Chen Yi Wei. They will go for a third straight crown for the country this Saturday night against Myanmar. I'll be there as the action happens!

2014 FIBA World Cup: Argentina 85–81 Philippines

So near yet so far. Like their first game against Croatia, that's what best describes Gilas Pilipinas' heartbreaking loss against Argentina, who came just moments away from suffering from the mother of all upsets against a team ranked 31 huge places below them in the FIBA world rankings. Gilas led by three points after the first quarter, only to lose it in the end due to their inability to defend the three-point shot and execute the correct plays. In spite of that though, never-say-die Gilas still incredibly kept the game close courtesy of Jimmy Alapag's own version of the three-point barrage. The game-turning point though came in the final seconds of the game with Argentina leading by only two when Jayson Castro, instead of penetrating the open lane or passing to an open teammate, made an uncharacteristically bone-headed play by taking an ill-advised three-pointer right in front of Marcos Mata, who is nearly two heads taller than him. Understandably, that shot was easily blocked by Mata and also led to a travelling violation called on Castro. What Castro was able to do against 6'11" Giannis Antetekounmpo versus Greece, he wasn't able to this time against the more mobile and tough defending Mata, who was merely inches away from the Filipino point guard when the latter took the shot that probably made Coach Chot Reyes' blood pressure shoot up the roof that very moment. Former NBA player Andres Nocioni got fouled and capped the Philippine heartbreak by calmly sinking both free-throws for the final count.

So stunned was I by the loss that it took me several minutes before it finally dawned on me that the miracle that never was had just taken place right before my eyes. Even if while I was writing this I'm already able to come to terms with the loss, I still couldn't find the resolve to write a longer, more detailed blog entry about this game. To summarize my thoughts, though, I realized this game was not yet time for us to beat a higher-ranked team. Puerto Rico is up next this Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Philippine time, and this is the best chance for Gilas to finally be able to score an upset.

As I was also writing this, I found out that Group B got even more interesting as Senegal just scored a miracle by beating Croatia, 77-75, thus forging a three-way logjam with the latter and the Argentines at two wins and one loss each. This could add even more pressure for our boys to win their last two games by the biggest margin possible to have any hope of advancing to the Round of 16. But with the grace of God, I know and I believe that anything is still possible. As a famous Filipino basketball saying goes, bilog ang bola (The ball is round). Here's hoping and praying now that Argentina and the Philippines both beat Senegal for both teams to have a very real chance of advancing.

Gilas still has absolutely nothing to be ashamed though of as they have earned the admiration and praise of Argentina coach Julio Lamas, who said after the game that his team's game against Gilas was "the most difficult game I had to coach in my life." And Mark Jones of ESPN said, "[The] Phillipines plays with more heart and relentlessness than any other team in the FIBA World Cup." That's the Filipino basketball player for you, dear Sirs. With a never-say-die attitude, they are often outmatched but never outfought!

I would like to end this entry right now by saying that the Argentina game has become a great learning experience for Gilas that they hope to pass on to our present and future basketball players who wish to follow in their footsteps. What I only wish is for them to play better, more consistent man-to-man defense and pass the ball around more efficiently and necessarily until finding the open man for the entire duration of any given international game. All hope is not yet lost for them, and I believe they will finally learn to win by nailing those two all-important wins and advance to the knockout stage. Hold your head up high still, Gilas Pilipinas! You have proven yet again that not only does the diminutive Filipino cager truly belongs to the league of the world's best, but also that this age is the renaissance of Philippine international basketball. Mabuhay po sa inyo at tuloy lang po ang laban!

2014 FIBA World Cup: Greece 82–70 Philippines

Just finished watching Greece vs. Philippines (Gilas Pilipinas), and the latter played another great game, especially June Mar Fajardo who is finally starting to fulfill his great promise as a dominant big man locally and internationally. And Giannis "The Greek Freak" Antetokounmpo was held to only three points after scoring 11 against Senegal. But the Greeks were simply put a much better, bigger, mobile team overall than Croatia, so much so that the former could eat the latter alive and whole when they face each other next. The only bad things however were the poor sportsmanship displayed by Greece's Ioannis Bourousis when he shoved Jimmy Alapag right after the game and Andray Blatche hurting his right knee, although it doesn't seem to be that serious and am confident that he can still play through the rest of the team's schedule.

Even way before the game started, I could already feel, even in the middle of my niece Gabby's second birthday celebration, that Gilas has a slim chance of winning against the Greeks. This given the fact that the latter walloped Senegal by 23 points the day before. Nevertheless, I still hoped against hope that Gilas can finally pull off the mother of all miracles by shaming the Hellenic warriors right on the basketball world's biggest stage. As it turned out, it seems like our brothers from the Mediterranean scouted us well, especially Jeff Chan, who they limited to just a single conversion from the three-point arc. They however still failed to dampen the never-say-die attitude of Gilas and fought them hard right up to the final buzzer. The Greek coach even at one point yelled at his players after calling a timeout for failing to put away the supposedly more inferior Gilas team early on. They also failed to contain Andray Blatche, who still got away with 21 points and 14 rebounds before being replaced towards the end of the game to prevent any possibility of aggravating his already hurting right knee. And the biggest revelation for Gilas in the tournament so far has been Fajardo, whose international game has improved by leaps and bounds since he started representing the country a year ago. He proved to be a huge thorn on the side of the Hellenics, whose lineup included three seven-footers, and even registered respectable numbers consisting of 10 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and no fouls, all in just an embarrassing 10 minutes of action (that's one point per minute!). How could you, Coach Chot? You should've given this kid at least 20 more minutes of action and could've succeeded in turning the tide in our favor!

Despite the loss, however, I am still very optimistic of our beloved national team's chances as I've learned a little later that Argentina just dropped an 85-90 decision against our first-game tormentors, Croatia. This only means that we have a very good chance of finally upsetting one of basketball's superpowers. That game will commence tonight at 11:30 p.m. Philippine time, so I'll definitely be there once again as it happens!

You may have lost to Greece, but the Filipino nation is still mighty proud of you, Gilas Pilipinas! Just keep on fighting, you're almost there! We are now starting to gain the respect of the world as we have shown that the diminutive Filipino basketball player is not to be underestimated. Patuloy lang ang laban, mga kababayan! Makakamtan rin natin ang minimithing tagumpay!

2014 FIBA World Cup: Croatia 81–78 Philippines (OT)

So near yet so far. Gilas Pilipinas nearly scored the first great upset of the 2014 FIBA World Cup. Showing virtually no signs of rookie-like jitters from being absent from the world stage for nearly 40 years, Gilas forced Croatia to a 71-all deadlock at the end of regulation after a close 37-31 halftime score, only to end up losing in overtime (yes, you've read it right: overtime) due to some questionable referee calls and non-calls that should've deservedly gone our way. One instance was what should've been a three-point foul on Jayson Castro with almost no time left in the overtime period. Croatia's lead was as large as around 15 points before Gilas' late second quarter run trimmed the deficit.

Nevertheless, it was a painless loss as the Philippines was able to send shockwaves across the whole basketball world by nearly slaying a tall, European basketball giant that is ranked 18 places above them in the FIBA world rankings, has a very proud basketball tradition, with at least two players with NBA connections in their lineup including American naturalized point guard Oliver Lafayette, and which came in second only to the legendary US Dream Team in the 1992 Olympics. While I was watching the game, I told myself that, even if they eventually lose this game, Gilas has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. They have already proven to the world that the Filipino, vertically-challenged and unheralded as a player as he is, is anything but a pushover and truly belongs to the league of the very best basketball players in the world.

Jeff Chan nearly became the hero of the game for the Philippines when he almost converted a triple from downtown right with no time left that could've won the game for Gilas in regulation. This could've probably triggered a rapturous celebration around the country and reduced some of the Croatians to tears for losing to an opponent who basketball experts believe they could beat by at least 30 big points at any given time and place and who would end up at 20th place at best by tournament's end. Looks like they spoke too soon, eh? They failed to take into consideration the heart that has made the Filipino resilient and successful. Had Gilas won that game, Andray Blatche would've probably won the best player of the game award as he proved to be just what the doctor recommended for the Philippine team. Either Jeff Chan, Marc Pingris, Jimmy Alapag or Gabe Norwood would've come in a close second to Blatche. And the basketball pundits' prediction turned out to be wrong as the Philippines' losing margin was not 30 points (or up), but 30 divided by 10!

No matter what happens the rest of the way, Gilas has already made the Filipino nation mighty proud. This early, Coach Chot Reyes has already proven that he is the right man for the job by performing his duties magnificently. of If they keep up or even raise a notch higher with playing the way they played against the Croats, I will not be shocked or surprised if they finally get to slay at least two of the other giants in their group, namely Greece, Argentina and Puerto Rico. As a famous Filipino saying goes, Bilog ang bola (The ball is round). Anything, even miracles, can happen, and Gilas has proven that belief makes miracles happen. The world should better watch out for Gilas as they've finally earned the respect of their next opponents and will scout Team Pilipinas even harder than before. Hold your head up high, Filipino! We nearly sent a supposed superpower basketball-playing nation to school. The Croatians may have won the match, but they have lost the war against us. Patuloy lang ang kapit, bayan! We can do it!

Great expectations: How Gilas Pilipinas and its individual players could fare in the FIBA World Cup and if they play in the NBA, respectively

With just several hours away from the commencement of the 2014 FIBA World Cup hostilities, I have decided to hurriedly come up with this post about my own short analysis of how the participating nations would fare in the group stages. So without further ado, here it is along with the the respective FIBA world ranking of each nation:

Group A: Spain (2), France (8), Brazil (10), Serbia (11), Iran (20) and Egypt (46)
Needless to say, this is the tournament's "group of death." It includes not only traditional powerhouses but also FIBA qualifying tournament champions in France (Europe) and Iran (Asia) as well as world number two and host country Spain. The Spaniards, needless to say, have perhaps the best chance among all competing teams of pulling the rug from under the Americans in the final game. With the Gasol brothers Pau and Marc and naturalized big man Serge Ibaka in tow, nothing could possibly go wrong for basketball's La Furia Roja (The Red Fury). Serbia, while no longer as potent as during its days as Yugoslavia, remains a formidable threat to any opposing team. France, despite missing the services of NBA veterans Tony Parker and Nando de Colo and being nearly beaten by the Philippines in the Antibes pocket tournament, is still capable of withstanding the onslaught of opposing teams and creating an upset or two. Brazil qualified for this tournament thanks to the wildcard route, but they failed to qualify outright only because its four best players (Anderson Varejao, Nene, Tiago Splitter and Leandro Barbosa) were all injured during the 2013 FIBA Americas qualifying tournament. Now with all four of them back in tip-top shape, they have made the Brazilians seem like title contenders once more. In the company of these four superpowers, Iran and Egypt, the only two teams in this group with no NBA player from the past NBA season in their rosters, are the undisputed minnows in this group and will find it nearly impossible to avoid an early exit.
Prediction: Spain, Serbia, France, and Brazil will advance from this group

Group B: Argentina (3), Greece (5), Croatia (16), Puerto Rico (17), Philippines (34) and Senegal (41)
If there is one group that could potentially be a second group of death after Group A, its this one. Argentina may be ranked third in the world, but their status could be greatly affected in this tournament with Manu Ginobili, Carlos Delfino and Juan Gutierrez being unable to play due to injuries. Nevertheless, they remain strong on both ends with Luis Scola and Andres Nocioni leading the charge for Los Cóndores (The Condors). Greece may have qualified by being selected as a wildcard entry, but that doesn't take away the fact that it is still a world beater, with 19-year-old Giannis "The Greek Freak" Antetokounmpo and Nick Calathes in the frontline of the Hellenic assault. Croatia, another bonafide world beater, will rely on the likes of Bojan Bogdanovic, Damjan Rudez and Damir Markota. Puerto Rico will be bannered by playmakers JJ Barea and Carlos Arroyo and the fiery Renaldo Balkman, making the Boricuas a quality opponent to look out for. Basketball-crazy and perennial underdogs the Philippines, better known locally as Gilas Pilipinas (literally Philippine Elegance in English), will have naturalized big man Andray Blatche leading the Big Brown Assault along with guards Paul "Angas ng Tondo/Pilipinas" (Cockiness of Tondo/the Philippines) Lee, Jayson "The Blur" Castro and Jimmy "The Mighty Mouse" Alapag (in his last tour of duty for the national team) and forward Marc Pingris. Despite losing a number of tuneup games leading to the main tournament, they have rarely if ever been outfought, earning them the respect of their opponents, including Australia assistant coach and former Chicago Bull Luc Longley. Look for this extremely gutsy squad to come up with an incredible upset or two in the group stages. Senegal, tall and athletic but wanting in firepower and skill on both ends, would have had no easy group to play in no matter how many times the draw is redone. They will need a consistent A-game from their main man, center Gorgui Dieng of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, to have any chance of making it past the group stage.
Prediction: I find this group admittedly tricky, but I think Argentina, Greece and Croatia would survive this group, with the last slot being a toss up between Puerto Rico and the Philippines

Group C: United States (1), Turkey (7), New Zealand (19), Dominican Republic (26), Finland (39) and Ukraine (45)
The Americans have never had an easy time by landing in this group. If Group A is this tournament's group of death, Group C could be the group of sleep. There is so much that has been said and written about the juggernaut that is Team USA that it is almost impossible to describe them without ever mentioning a cliché or two. Fearless forecast? They will bully-whip their groupmates by an average margin of at least 40 points, leaving the rest to fight tooth and nail for the remaining three final round qualifying slots. The Turks, beaten finalists to the Kevin Durant-led Team USA in the 2010 FIBA Worlds, will have no more Hedo Turkoglu or Mehmet Okur to protect them, but there's still NBA big man Omer Asik to guide them through. They may not be able to top this group, but they can give the Americans a run for their money. The Tall Blacks have no NBA player in their lineup, but what makes them impressive is their ability to pull the rug from under their world-class opponents, as evidenced by their miraculous fourth-place finish in the 2002 tournament. The Dominican Republic will sorely miss the services of injured talisman Al Horford, but will still have Francisco Garcia, Eloy Vargas and Jack Michael Martinez available. They appear to be a longshot to even advance past this group given the sudden improvement of Ukraine, but beating them will be no walk in the park for their foes either. Ukraine and Finland are both playing in this tournament for the first time ever, with the latter being the higher-ranked of the two, but make no mistake about it: They are worlds apart in terms of skill level. The Ukrainians have shown great progress since last year, as evidenced by their 50-point drubbing of the Philippines in Antibes early this month. Winning the title in their maiden appearance may be an unrealistic goal for them, but there is certainly lots of room for improvement for this tall, young squad. Finland, on the other hand, remains a fragile squad led by the aging 38-year-old former Atlanta Hawk Hanno Mottola. They qualified through the wild card route and are certainly not expected to see the light of the final round, but they will certainly be using this tournament as a learning experience for them to further their basketball program.
Prediction: United States, Turkey, New Zealand and Ukraine will progress from this group

Group D: Lithuania (4), Australia (9), Slovenia (13), Angola (15), Mexico (24) and South Korea (31)
Lithuania, that basketball-mad Baltic state, is the undisputed team to beat in this group. They are no strangers to world basketball domination, although they have yet to win the gold medal in this tournament or even the Olympics. Expect Toronto Raptor Jonas Valanciunas to take charge for these really tall Europeans to make a podium finish or even upset the mighty US of A. Not far behind is Australia, the Boomers from Down Under, who have consistently figured in the world stage despite basketball not being their national pastime. They may not have Andrew Bogut or Patty Mills around, but look out for the likes of Dante Exum, Aron Baynes and Matthew Dellavedova to help the team make a kangaroo leap to further prominence. The Angolans, the reigning African champions, have no NBA players in their lineup. They could very well be the Atlanta Hawks of international basketball: Successful in the group stages but get eliminated early in the knockout stages. They may make life difficult for their group mates, but they could also find it equally difficult to avoid the group stage exit ax. Mexico, the reigning FIBA Americas champion (excluding Team USA, of course), is playing for the first time in 40 years, the longest absence among all the tournament's current participating teams. The basketball version of El Tri (The Tricolors) will certainly look to NBA veterans Gustavo Ayon and Jorge Gutierrez to provide all-around leadership if they are to have any hope of making it to the knockout stages, a possibility that doesn't seem to be remote, especially considering their remarkable improvement in recent years. Good but not strong enough is what could best describe their chances of upsetting the sport's legitimate world beaters. South Korea, decidedly the weakest team in the group and perhaps the entire tournament, would have had no easy group to play in no matter how many times the draw is redone just like Group B's Senegal. Starting center Kim Joo-sung is the last holdover of the last South Korean team that saw action in this tournament before the current one, which happened in 1998. No doubt the team's most veteran member, he will be playing a big brother's role and aim to impart his past World Cup experience to the young guns in a bid to make a significant impact in this tournament. The basketball version of the Taeguk Warriors, though, will still have their work definitely cut out for them.
Prediction: Lithuania, Australia and Slovenia will make it out of this group, with the final slot to be tightly contested by Angola and Mexico

Whew! There you go, my personal analysis and prediction of the fates of the competing teams. I do admit I am no genuine basketball analyst, but based on my 25-year experience as an avid basketball fan and with the way I watched the participating teams play, I could very well foresee what may take place in the days ahead. Now here's another question: If the Gilas players (not including naturalized players Andray Blatche and Marcus Douthit) get to play in the NBA continuously for at least four years, how would they fare? To answer that, I came up with another set of (really short) forecasts of which NBA player they would more likely be playing like with a more-or-less similar style at their prime. Again, forgive me for I am not a certified basketball analyst. Here it is:

Jimmy Alapag
Best-case scenario: Damon Stoudamire
Worst-case scenario: Jim Les

LA Tenorio
Best-case scenario: Earl Boykins
Worst-case scenario: Keith Jennings

Jeff Chan
Best-case scenario: Danny Green
Worst-case scenario: Rex Walters

Jayson Castro
Best-case scenario: Damian Lillard
Worst-case scenario: Eric Snow

Gary David
Best-case scenario: Jeff Hornacek
Worst-case scenario: Anthony Bowie

Ranidel de Ocampo
Best-case scenario: Rick Fox
Worst-case scenario: Monty Williams

Gabe Norwood
Best-case scenario: Richard "Rip" Hamilton
Worst-case scenario: Dennis Hopson

June Mar Fajardo
Best-case scenario: Marc Gasol
Worst-case scenario: Kendrick Perkins or Dwayne Schintzius

Paul Lee
Best-case scenario: Jason Terry
Worst-case scenario: Bobby Hurley

Japeth Aguilar
Best-case scenario: Chris Bosh
Worst-case scenario: DerMarr Johnson

Marc Pingris
Best-case scenario: Dennis Rodman or Harry "The Horse" Gallatin
Worst-case scenario: Kenny Walker

Jared Dillinger
Best-case scenario: Goran Dragic
Worst-case scenario: Zoran Planinic

Beau Belga
Best-case scenario: Sam Perkins
Worst-case scenario: Brad Lohaus

Jay Washington
Best-case scenario: Lionel Simmons
Worst-case scenario: Mirza Teletovic

By now, I should already be sleeping as the FIBA World Cup is just around the corner. Be there when it happens! For now, I'll leave you with this official video clip of the 2014 FIBA World Cup. You've got to enjoy seeing Japeth, Gabe and Ranidel dancing along here and the pretty Filipina basketball fan at the 0:43 mark of the video! Laban Pilipinas! Puso!

Sweepless in Dubai: Batang Gilas avoids winless FIBA Under-17 World campaign–and those crabbies!

Author's note: This long-delayed post should have been published three weeks ago, but work and other personal concerns kept me out of commission once again. So, with a long vacation ahead, I'm back with a vengeance once more.

By now, every basketball fanatic in the Philippines would have been aware of the ill fate that befell our very own Batang Gilas Pilipinas under-17 team in the just-concluded 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship held in Dubai last August 8-16. To make a long story short, they lost all but one of their seven games by an average margin of around 26 points against taller, leaner opponents, with the highlight being the 64-124 annihilation they suffered at the hands of the mighty United States. This was something I for one expected, considering the fact that it was the team's maiden appearance on the under-17 world stage and their huge disparity in height compared to their opponents, who one could jokingly speculate for being players supposed to play in the upcoming FIBA World Cup in Spain but got stranded in Dubai instead. The small but gallant Pinoy kids saved their best for last though by walloping host United Arab Emirates, 115-51, to salvage a respectable 15th while relegating the latter to 16th and dead last.

The Pinoy kids losing their first six matches in a big way was painful enough. Even more painful though were the barrage of criticisms and bashing they received from Pinoy online netizens for their poor performance. As a patriot myself, I wouldn't elaborate further on what those comments contained as they are enough to make my blood boil. But in case you're wondering, most of them are highly personal attacks and plain libelous comments bordering on character assassination, something which no genuine Filipino would dare mention about his or her own country's national team, no matter how weak it is. They have been referred to by many names, but the one that caught my fancy the most was the term I myself formulated from the inner workings of my mind: "Crabbies," short for people with crab mentality. These so-called "Filipinos" (I use the term loosely) seemingly have got nothing better to do with their God-forsaken, meaningless lives than to bash their own compatriots fighting for national pride whenever they lose. And whenever their compatriots win, they will say something like, to give an example, that their beaten opponents were not that particularly strong or from a particularly basketball-crazy country. In cases of them beating strong opponents, they will say for example that they used steroids to boost their chances of winning.

The funny thing however is it seems that these mindless crabbies were born for a reason because, on the flipside, they are doing more for Filipino patriotism than genuine Filipino patriots like me could ever do. With every single bashing they make against any Filipino competitor, they have only succeeded in fanning the flames of nationalism in Filipino fans like me, leading to even stronger support for anyone from Team Pilipinas through victory and defeat. So to all the crabbies out there who dislike and mercilessly bash competitors for the Philippines, criticize and bash them all you want for as long as the devil himself desires, but you still got to give it to them. Whether you believe it or not, they earned their laurels by going through a legitimate qualification process in accordance with their own respective fields of excellence. As the late US President John F. Kennedy once said, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." As far as all of these competitors are concerned, just a handful of them have already done far more for the Philippines in a short span of time than legions of you will ever get to achieve in your own lifetimes collected together. Just keep up with your bashing, for your actions keep the Filipino fighting spirit burning even brighter.

And to Batang Gilas, on behalf of the Filipino nation, I wholeheartedly thank you for making our beloved Philippines proud by giving it its first-ever representation in this young biennial tournament. Hold your heads up high, for you may not have been able to live up to much higher expectations, but you certainly proved that we vertically-challenged Filipinos can compete with the world's best. As a frustrated basketball player myself, I pass on this cherished dream of bringing honor to our country through playing basketball not only to your Kuyas in Gilas Pilipinas but also to all of you as well, and the just-concluded FIBA Under-17 World Championship would be the start of something positively big. May you carry the experiences and lessons you have learned from this tournament to become even better professional and international senior players in the years to come. Mabuhay kayong lahat and love lots from your Kuya Marlon.

Last Home Stand: Dodging a bullet, moving forward

Tuesday of last week was a sad day in Philippine basketball as PLDT's Last Home Stand was cancelled before it even began. This led to boos and catcalls from patrons who shelled out hard-earned money just to watch our very own Gilas Pilipinas square off against a select group of US NBA players before embarking on a training camp in Miami, USA in preparation for the 2014 FIBA World Cup and the Asian Games.

Blake Griffin and Paul George weren't able to make it to the trip due to personal reasons. As it turned out, they dodged a large bullet there as everyone knows by now what happened next. As it turned out, I also dodged a large bullet there as I nearly bought a ticket to that event. What prevented me from doing so is the fact that the cheapest ticket I could possibly afford, worth PhP750, could've only afforded me the farthest seat from the court, so I decided against it and just decided to watch the proceeds on TV.

When I was finally able to watch the event on TV, I reached the part where someone from PLDT was announcing that they will refund the money of those who wouldn't be satisfied by what they will see. Some people booed and I didn't understand why at first. Then there was the interview on US coach John Lucas, and then the Gilas and NBA players squared off in a scrimmage. While I found their scrimmages and the showcase air dunkers entertaining, I immediately felt that there was something wrong with the event, and I initially couldn't understand why. And then I found the embarrassing sports headlines the next time I went online.

It would be hard for me to describe what transpired during the immediate aftermath of the memorable exhibition game that never was. But based on my observations from sports articles written online, it appears that the promoters were at fault for not being able to meet the NBA's requirements for holding the event, which was given to them months in advance.

Whatevere else, I strongly believe that this is only a minor setback for Gilas as far as their World Cup and Asian Games preparation is concerned. I strongly believe that they, as well as the US NBA players, can move on from this temporary setback and give their all-out best in the coming FIBA World Cup. Kudos to PLDT Chairman Manny Pangilinan for taking full responsibility for the fiasco and for offering to refund patrons of their hard-earned money for not getting what they paid for. Kudos as well to my fellow Filipino fans for being a generally well-behaved audience despite the boos and catcalls directed towards the players and organizers of the event. Had this taken place elsewhere, particularly overseas, this probably would've ended in a riot that would've put our country in shame in front of the world basketball community for all the wrong reasons.

Despite the fiasco, my support for Gilas will never ever wane. In fact, I will continue to give them my all-out lifetime support in all of their campaigns, locally and internationally. To Gilas' new Kuya Andray Blatche, welcome to the Philippines and Gilas Pilipinas as we begin our quest for glory starting with the FIBA World Cup. Laban Pilipinas! Puso!

Drake covers Let It Go, Manny Pacquiao style

Canadian rapper Drake, himself a huge fan of Manny Pacquiao, did a perfect impersonation of the People's Champ during the 2014 ESPY Awards. As a Filipino myself, I find this video very, very funny! Maraming salamat, Drake! You're the man!

2014 FIBA Asia Cup: It's a bronze! A new highwater mark for Gilas Pilipinas, courtesy of Paul Lee

Late yesterday, I postponed attending Mass for tomorrow so I could watch on live TV the third place playoff game between our very own Gilas Pilipinas and China for the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup bronze medal. Just as I expected, it turned out to be a nerve-wracking match as Gilas barely escaped with an 80-79 victory, courtesy of three free throws by Paul Dalistan "Angas ng Tondo" Lee with no time remaining. Living up to his monicker, the Rain or Shine guard calmly sank all charities given to him after he was fouled while shooting a three-pointer from downtown left. The win capped an outstanding tournament for Lee, who is arguably the best Gilas player of the tournament won by powerhouse Iran, Gilas' tormentor in the semifinals. (Iran defeated Chinese Taipei, who Gilas ironically defeated 78-64 in the group stages, to the tune of 89-79 to win their all-time tournament-best second-ever title.)

After several minutes of labor in giving birth to a first-ever podium finish in the tournament for the Philippines, Lee's late-game heroics resulted in a bronze medal, the country's highest-ever finish in the FIBA Asia Cup tournament to date. It thus continued a remarkable trend where the country has steadily improved in ranking with each passing tournament it participates in. With his exceptional overall display and the way he carried the team on his shoulders, Lee can now make a case for inclusion into the main Gilas lineup, a distinction he rightfully deserves. Who would've ever thought his talents are of international grade? As it turned out, Coach Chot Reyes made an absolutely right decision to include Lee in the FIBA Asia Cup final lineup as Lee turned the tournament itself into a virtual audition for him to be included in the final World Cup roster. Looks like a Filipino international basketball star is born!

The only question is who will be bumped off the 12-man roster for the World Cup. Will it be June Mar Fajardo, whose lack of quickness and aggressiveness and being extremely slow-footed and foul-prone has made him a huge liability as an international player? Or Gary David, whose shooting woes have consistently hounded him since last year's FIBA Asia Championship? Or will it be Jimmy Alapag, who has made vocal his intention to retire from international play as early as last year after the same tournament? We'll soon find out, although I'm hoping and praying for Coach Chot to make the absolute right decision in the end.

While I am joyous at Gilas' latest triumph, I am also a bit saddened by the fact that Gilas could've won the gold medal outright. This considering the fact that China had beaten Iran, 64-51, in the group stages. Had Gilas managed to properly fix their set plays on both ends of the court from the get-go during the game against Iran, they would've avoided that 55-76 shellacking and scored probably the biggest upset of the tournament. Their loss is still understandable, though, as they were not a full-strength team with only half of the original 2013 Gilas players seeing action in the tournament.

What saddened me even more than Gilas' loss to Iran though was the fact that the former's detractors in news sites like Yahoo! would stop at nothing to bring our beloved national team down. Just read their nasty comments, and you would get the idea that they are among those who suffer from the worst-ever known cases of crab mentality. The sheer vileness of their comments simply defies belief. If only they could read this, I would tell them that if I could have my way, I would make a case for them to be stripped of their Filipino citizenships and deported out of the country. Their acts are almost tantamount to treason, showing that they seriously have the makings of a quisling when, God forbid, a foreign country invades the Philippines. Lastly, I would tell them that if they don't like Gilas, the least they could do is to not watch their games or read news articles about them and refrain from making destructive criticisms against them or any other honorable person for that matter. They should hang their heads in shame, for people like them are among those who make this great country sick.

Win or lose, we Filipinos have every reason to be proud of Gilas as most of our Asian neighbors could only dream of having a world-class basketball team like ours. Even the fact that many of our players are being taken in as professional league imports by our neighbors is already an accomplishment worth boasting of.

To our brothers from the Middle East, who have been the yardstick for Asian basketball for the past 7-9 years now, congratulations for another gold-medal finish. And to Paul Lee and the rest of Gilas, hold your heads up high. We will keep on supporting you come hell or high water, for you are the pride of the Filipino nation. Laban Pilipinas! Puso!

2014 FIFA World Cup: And the winner is...and some more

Author's note: My apologies for the delay of this post. Typhoon Rammasun (Glenda here in my native Philippines) caused a massive power outage that kept us deprived of much-needed electric supply for about four days, thus also keeping me out of the Internet for that length of time.

Didn't fail to miss out all the action as it happened in the final game between Germany and Argentina for the 2014 FIFA World Cup title. Just as I hoped and prayed, European pragmatism won over South American flair for the third time in a row as Germany won their fourth title overall and their first since the reunification of East and West Germany courtesy of a thrilling extra time goal (on the 113th minute to be precise) by substitute Mario Götze. The feat made Götze the first substitute in history to score the opening or only goal of a World Cup title match in regular or extra time.

Götze, deservedly named the Man of the Match for the final, actually came in as a replacement for Miroslav Klose in the 88th minute. It proved to be a genius move for Germany coach Joachim Löw as Götze, it turned out, would knock in the title-clinching goal for Die Mannschaft right past formidable Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero, triggering raucous celebrations among German fans around the world and sheer anguish upon the Argentines and their fans.

I, for one, really prayed long and hard for a German victory, even thinking "Please, Germany. Win this one!" to myself with every German possession. Two primary reasons led to me wanting for their victory: First, it's been 24 years since the Germans last won the World Cup title, when they were still divided into East and West Germany. And second, Polish-born German Klose is now the World Cup's all-time leading scorer, having achieved that feat in the masterful semifinal win over hard-luck Brazil. So it would be fitting enough for Germany to finally win a much-deserved first title as a reunified nation and for newly-minted all-time leading scorer Klose to cap his international career with a World Cup trophy.

In a chilling throwback to the 2010 tournament, an octopus in Germany named Kleiner Paul (Little Paul in English), who succeeded the late Paul the Octopus as the resident World Cup animal seer, predicted a German victory over the Argentines. And how right was his guess...and mine too! I always had this feeling that Germany will win, but it will be no walk in the park as Argentina are a much more organized team than Brazil. Whatever else, a win is a win. And Germany, perhaps the San Antonio Spurs of football today, finally fulfilled its promise with an exciting title victory.

Argentina, while very much like Brazil in terms of being a one-man team with Lionel Messi, surprisingly proved to be an even tougher opponent than their bitter South American rivals from the east. The way they played in the final seemed to me that they radically changed their game plan to prevent suffering the same fate as Brazil. As such, they proved to be well-deserved, kick-ass opponents to the highly-disciplined Germans as they gave the latter a lot of tense moments in the match, especially in the first half where Gonzalo Higuain had two clear opportunities to score a goal. The first was when he shot wide to the left of the goal after being put through on goal by an erratic header from Toni Kroos. The second was when he had a goal disallowed later in the half after being caught offside after tapping in a cross by Ezequiel Lavezzi from the right wing.

The final proved beyond doubt that Germany is the team to beat in the world today. In their last two games alone in the just-concluded World Cup, they've already managed to outscore 11 teams that have ever participated in World Cup history. For the record, they are Angola, Bolivia, Canada, People's Republic of China, Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as Zaire in the 1974 tournament), El Salvador, Indonesia (then known as the Dutch East Indies in the 1938 tournament), Iraq, Israel, Togo, and Trinidad and Tobago. The best things about the Germans though are their topnotch national football training program, emphasis on teamwork, unwavering discipline and desire to win it all that won for them the ultimate prize in all of football. Simples.

So much for the German victory. On the other hand, I'm also saddened that other countries that have yet to win the World Cup, like Mexico (and Guillermo "Memo" Ochoa), Netherlands (and Arjen "Floppin'" Robben), the United States (and Tim Howard), Belgium and Costa Rica fell short once again. Up to this very day, the World Cup remains the sole dominion of UEFA and CONMEBOL teams. But as the saying goes, hope springs eternal. Before we know it, one of these winless teams might just take home the Holy Grail for the very first time ever come 2018. (Or perhaps even the hopefully much-improved Azkals will?!)

Now if only I could fulfill one of the things in my personal bucket list, that is for me to witness in my lifetime the Philippine Azkals and Malditas also winning the FIFA World Cup, even just once, like Die Mannschaft did. Wishful thinking alone won't do the trick, though, as this will definitely need more than just rehashing the Philippine national football program, lots of government and private funding and desire to win to make this dream a reality. To the German men's national football team and their fans, a huge congratulations to all of you for winning the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and here's looking forward to Russia 2018! Heil Die Mannschaft!

2014 FIFA World Cup: The Road to the Finals

Over the past few days (with little sleep to boot), I have been watching the quarterfinal and semifinal matches of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. As expected, all of them were slam bang affairs, with no team wanting to give in in their quest for ultimate glory except for one: host Brazil.

Speaking of A Seleção, I have had this not-so-funny feeling from the very beginning that they were a disaster waiting to happen. The signs were all there even before the start of the tournament, from the incredible pressure on the young players of a home nation expecting nothing more than a victory on home soil, to Marcelo's own goal against Croatia, to a surprising goalless draw with Mexico, to the team's uncharacteristically reckless and aggressive style of play against Chile and Colombia, right up to their tragic 1-7 defeat at the hands of Germany which is particularly interesting for me to discuss about. That defeat left them fighting for nothing more than an "insignificant" third place with the Netherlands in a match that will be held a few hours from now as of this writing.

I had the privilege of being able to watch the now-memorable match on live TV. Brazil, simply put, played badly and lost badly to Germany. The match is so lopsided that it was like watching a seasoned professional football team dismantle an untested grade school intramurals team. It was also like watching an army of soldiers armed with machine guns and bazookas massacre an army of tribesmen armed only with slingshots and arrows. Lastly, it was also like watching a sequel of the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying match in 2001 between Australia and American Samoa, which the latter lost by a record score that still stands today, 0-31. Brazil also played so badly that they would've been eliminated as early as the tournament's group stages had they been caught by their opponents playing in such a pitiful state. Even if star player Neymar and suspended team captain Thiago Silva were able to play in that match, they would have made very little to no difference at all in the outcome of the match, what with their team made up mostly of inexperienced young players (which was truly and admittedly Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari's fault, something I would further discuss later) compared to Germany's efficient team of seasoned veterans and bonafide team players.

The German victory was nothing short of a blitzkrieg. If the late great Brazilian playwright Nelson Rodrigues referred to his country's upset loss to Uruguay for the 1950 World Cup title at the Maracana stadium as Brazil's Hiroshima, then their 2014 semifinal loss to Germany could be their Nagasaki. Who knows, if ever they host the World Cup again in the future and (God forbid) lose again, that one could very well be their Tsar Bomba.

I could only imagine the Brazilians who vehemently protested the hosting of this year's World Cup for several reasons, including the amount of public money spent to enable its hosting that could have instead been used for the improvement of the country's education system, law enforcement and infrastructures, are now telling their compatriots who supported its hosting, "See, we've told you so!"

I for one cheered for Germany to win that match and correctly predicted they will. What I failed to predict though was the way they will, to use one of many hackneyed phrases, run up the score. Even I didn't see it that blowout coming. One sports journalist's comment that Die Mannschaft keeps getting better with every match they play materialized through their semifinal match with Brazil more than their previous encounters in the tournament. So much has so far been said and written about this great team, and the Brazilian greenhorns, to use another hackneyed phrase, found them too great an obstacle to hurdle and very soon realized they still have a long, long way to go before they could be a legitimate championship-contending world beater once more.

Germany's record-setting victory, which came exactly 24 years to the day since their last World Cup win in 1990 when they beat Argentina (incidentally also their finals opponent this year) in the final, could also be counted as a form of sweet revenge against Brazil for what the latter did to them in the 2002 World Cup. It could be recalled that the Ronaldo-led Brazil beat the Oliver Khan-led Germany, 2-0, in the final match of that tournament. The Germans, most especially newly-minted all-time World Cup leading scorer Miroslav Klose who played on that 2002 German team, probably had that debacle in my mind when they played their South American arch-nemeses once again 12 years later, eventually leading to that whopping victory that left Brazil shell-shocked and dumbfounded. The late Brazil goalkeeper Moacir Barbosa, pilloried by his own countrymen for the remaining 50 years of his life for surrendering the losing goal to Uruguay in the 1950 finals, could be smiling up there now that he and his teammates have finally been exonerated from further humiliation in their graves and vindicated with the fact that there is now a World Cup defeat even more humiliating than what they experienced 64 years earlier.

To paraphrase what one column in an online article aptly said, the Samba beat was destroyed by a machine with an efficiency that simply defied belief. But Brazil was also the architect of its own downfall, including but not limited to David Luiz's inability (or reluctance) to defend, Luis Gustavo's fumbling midfield moves, Julio Cesar's lack of decisiveness between the posts, Fred's painfully laughable performances, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari's exclusion of legends Kaka, Robinho and Ronaldinho from the team…well, name it, they've had it. Speaking of David Luiz, his mistakes can somewhat be excused given the fact that he's a natural attacking midfielder forced to play defender for reasons only Senhor Scolari himself knows. Kaka, Robinho and Ronaldinho, on the other hand, are bonafide World Cup veterans and proven winners on the international stage who would've served as big brothers and mentors to their national team's young guns on how to play and conduct themselves on the grandest football stage of them all. But Scolari's exclusion of all of them from the team that would've potentially rivalled the Seleção from 1970, arguably the 1992 US basketball Dream Team equivalent of football, made that impossible.

The Germany 7-1 Brazil match set all-time records which are simply too many to mention here. For a list of some of these astonishing records, you can go to this link and this one.

Now speaking of Argentina, their penalty-shootout victory against the Netherlands was anything but convincing at all. With the way they played, they should pose little to no threat at all to the Germans, who I believe will be firmly cheered for by majority of the Brazilians due to the fact that the latter and the Argentines are known to be virtual mortal enemies on the pitch. If I were the coach Alejandro Sabella of Argentina, I will better change drastically my team's game plan, lest Germany will eat them alive and whole in the final match for the title, which could potentially turn out to be a sequel of the Brazil vs. Germany semifinal match. La Albiceleste, to be more straightforward, share essentially the same strengths and weaknesses as their bitter South American rivals. They live and die with just one or two players, and in Argentina's case it happens to be Lionel Messi. As much as I love that guy, his FC Barcelona club and his compatriot Pope Francis, I'm afraid I'll have to go for the Germans here. End of.

Lastly, if the 2010 World Cup had Paul the Octopus (RIP, little buddy), then this year's World Cup has Mick Jagger. There's only one sinister twist, though: If Paul correctly predicted all winners of eight matches (including the final game), all of the teams the Rolling Stones frontman cheered for ended up losing their respective matches, leading sports media to dub him the "World Cup Angel of Doom." I have one nagging question, though: Is he for real? Or is it just coincidence that the teams he cheered for were just plain and simply bad like Brazil? There is but one thing I'm definitely sure of: If the Germans could or would pick up from where they left off against Brazil in the final, then Argentina would find themselves in no man's land, not even if Mr. Jagger cheers for the Germans to win it all.

Also as of this writing, we currently have no World Cup champion since around 6 p.m. of June 18, 2014 Brazilian time, when Spain lost badly to Chile, 2-0. This is all about to end starting at 4:00 p.m. Sunday Brazilian time (3:00 a.m. Monday here in Manila), when Germany takes on Argentina for the 2014 FIFA World Cup title in a first-ever final featuring countries of two living popes, namely Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI from Germany and Pope Francis from Argentina. Go win it all, Die Mannschaft!

My first post: My view of the 2014 FIFA World Cup so far, and that Luis Suarez

Before everything else, I would like to thank my baby brother who, through Facebook, encouraged me to create this blog to best express my inner thoughts and feelings I could hardly contain. Thank you for the valuable piece of advice, bro!

I have been watching the 2014 FIFA World Cup since Day 1, and it has proven to be as good as advertised so far. Just about all of the matches that have been played up to this point are world-class, although some of them were either sub-par or marred by lousy officiating.

Cases in point include national teams like those of England, Spain, Russia and South Korea. All of them played way below expectations, so bad in fact that the Philippine Azkals could probably beat them. The England players, for one, have been vilified back home for caring only about their pockets and playing without heart, teamwork, or patriotism whatsoever. Spain may have lost their desire for winning, what with their international successes in the past six years, having won Euro 2008 and 2012 aside from the FIFA World Cup in 2010. Russia continues to disappoint today as they did in the 2002 World Cup, although they can console themselves with the fact that they will host the 2018 edition of the tournament where they are automatically qualified and have yet another chance to redeem themselves. Lastly, South Korea are nowhere near the 2002 team that finished a fighting fourth behind eventual champion Brazil, Germany and Turkey. Despite being coached by the legendary Hong Myung-bo, one of the players from that great 2002 team, their performances of the current World Cup showed that they do not belong to the same football field as Guus Hiddink and Company. Just goes to show how difficult it is to develop a world-class champion team, doesn't it?

But perhaps the biggest disappointment of all so far could very well be Luis “Useless” Suarez. Argh! He did it again! He doesn't learn, does he? Those now-infamous gnashers of his has claimed yet another victim in Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini, the third of his brilliant yet controversial career. His latest shenanigan netted him a four-month, nine-match suspension that cost him the rest of the 2014 World Cup and all of the 2015 Copa America. By getting himself suspended for the umpteenth time, he rendered himself useless for Uruguay's Round of 16 match against Colombia, which Los Charrúas found too great an obstacle to hurdle without him and thus got eliminated to the tune of 2-0. Luis Suarez. So young, so talented yet so corrupted.

His immature act alone is vile enough, but what is perhaps even more vile is the way his teammates and some of his Uruguayan countrymen defended him despite the video evidence clearly showing him on the wrong side of the argument. In fact, some Uruguayans even wore vampire false teeth to show their admiration for him as a national hero, even though he cost his country the golden chance of winning a third-ever World Cup without him in the team's lineup. Another one is his teammate Diego Lugano, who called Chiellini a crybaby and said that the bite marks he got from Suarez were scars from an old injury.

When I read about Lugano's comments, I thought to myself, "Sure, Señor Lugano! You would be singing an entirely different tune if you were the offended party, wouldn't you? And where's your own solid evidence proving that Signor Chiellini's scars were indeed from an old injury? If you have nothing to prove other than show how inane and baseless your comments and opinions are, wouldn't it better to just keep your own biased views to yourself, lest you will come across as a fool in the eyes of the rest of the world? People like you and those defend veritable thugs like Suarez, including some of your countrymen, make this world sick!" Truly, there are none so blind as those who WILL not see.

So much for thug defenders. A very notable exception to the rule among Suarez's fellow Uruguayans is Alcides Ghiggia, the scorer of the winning goal against Brazil in the 1950 World Cup championship match. To paraphrase his comments, Ghiggia mentioned that Suarez is a kid who is sick in the head, and his act is one that is not normally done in the pitch.

Kudos to you, Señor Ghiggia! You are not only a legend of the game but also a true gentleman off the pitch and an asset to your beloved country. If more people would be thinking and acting the same way as you do, this world and not just your beloved Uruguay will be a much better place to live for all, regardless of differences in creed or color.

In a few hours from now, Brazil will be facing off against Colombia, while France will go up against long-time nemesis Germany. I for one am divided between France and Germany, but I will be clearly cheering for Colombia in the other match. I'll surely be there as the action takes place!