Two cups

It’s barely three months to go before the Davis Cup tie between the Philippines and Japan, which will be hosted for the first time by Cebu specifically Lapu-Lapu City as this will be held at the Plantation Bay Resort and Spa.

The Memorandum of Agreement for the hosting was signed yesterday and during our recent visit to Plantation Bay, resort GM Efren Belarmino said that work on the court will start very soon.

Currently, the resort has two hardcourts, which will be converted into one clay court to allow for room for the bleachers that would be set up for the audience.

The bleachers though will not be a permanent structure and can be used in other sporting venues in Lapu-Lapu City.

Tennis reminds me so much of those years that we spent at the Atlas Mines in Toledo where the recreation centers were the only places to go to at night.

Many of our fathers played tennis, which was the reason why we would also gather near courts to watch them play.

What excites me most this March is that this tournament shall influence many parents to get their children into sports.

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Hosting major international events can really boost a country’s economy even if it has to spend so much money to build new facilities or spruce up existing ones.

The recent vote to pick the hosts of the 2018 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup was a showcase of how countries have poured a lot of resources to convince the officials that they deserve to host the biggest single sports tournament of the world.

Russia has been picked to host the 2018 edition of the quadrennial tournament while in 2022 it will be Qatar.

I was monitoring the moments prior to the vote by being hooked to Agence France Presse (AFP), of the wire services that The Freeman is subscribed to.

Early Thursday evening (Phl time), I noticed that not only the sports and government personalities of the countries bidding to host the World Cup were sent there, but almost everyone, who can help prove that they are the best choice.

Russia sent several of its super models, who probably showed what kind of beautiful people that the fans would meet if the former bastion of Communism would be picked to host.

After the Olympics, I look forward to following the action in the World Cup even way before when football wasn’t that popular in this country.

It probably helped to get me and many of friends interested in the tournament that our school had a football field and we’d play the game quite often and not only during physical education classes.

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MILESTONES: Happy birthday greetings go to Marvy Pineda, Mia Franco-Baguio, Suzette Hormillada, and Randy Caluag, who are all celebrating today.

Advance greetings go to Dr. Geraldine Alcarez-Co, radio personality and Banat News entertainment editor Ryan Mark Borinaga, Alfred Reyes, and Jerry Rapes, who are turning a year older tomorrow.

More power to all of you!