A Busy Off Season

The first quarter of the year is usually quiet for the big leagues of sports in the Philippines. This is when the teams take a break, rest, recover and still manage to play games in other smaller leagues. It’s also a time to continue training and the busiest part of them all: recruit and rebuild.

The sports pages have been filled with a lot of off the court news about teams looking to rebuild and recruiting players from all over, including Cebu. In the local scene, it’s been confirmed that De La Salle University will have Ben Mbala of Southwestern University (SWU) after the schoolyear is over. His recruitment was like a soap opera/reality show that included the usual denials, teasers and eventual confirmation. It even included an official statement from the SWU management. This only added to the excitement about La Salle’s serious rebuilding program that also saw them nab high school standout Kib Montalbo of St. John’s Institute of Bacolod City, with no less than Danding Cojuangco leading the welcome committee.

On a smaller scale, Coaches Ricky Dandan of U.P., Koy Banal of Arellano and Bo Perasol of Ateneo de Manila are three of the more high profile coaches who have visited Cebu more than once in the past four months. Scouts of NU, FEU and Adamson have also been spotted having dinner or coffee with visiting high school prospects and their parents. This is as serious as it gets. But while it may sound as bad news for Cebu, it’s also actually a complement to Cebu Basketball. This proves that we’re slowly but surely making noise again in the sport. The downside is that the local collegiate scene isn’t as aggressive in the recruiting wars as their Manila counterparts. Cebu doesn’t have the kind of deep pockets that Manila colleges have. Coach Jamike Jarin was also here to recruit blue chip prospects, but for a different team, the Philippine Under 16 national team. The last U16 national player that Cebu produced was Renzar Henry Asilum two years ago. Koko Pingoy (FEU) and Kris Porter (ADMU) also made the Philippine U18 team in 2012.

In the pro scene, the PBA has been “rocked” with major trades that have involved most of the teams. When the next conference kicks off next week, new faces will be the norm. Among the more press-breaking trades see Sol Mercado now sharing the spotlight with Willie Miller and Gary David at Globalport. But that’s not it. Japeth Aguilar, easily the off-season’s most controversial cager, was also acquired by the Mikee Romero owned franchise. Aguilar will be very much in the spotlight since he went public about asking for a trade from Talk N Text and demanding for playing time. For someone who hasn’t proven much so far in the PBA, that’s a lot of talk. It also puts more pressure on him to deliver asap. The bad news here is that if takes it upon himself to look good on the court, he might end up breaking the teamwork needed to win. Note that the next conference features imports with no height limits, thus making Aguilar vulnerable and second fiddle to the import-giants. It’ll be interesting to see how he’ll prove himself. There were more trade talks that involved the likes of Joseph Yeo, Kerby Raymundo, Noy Baclao and others, but nothing has developed so far. But this doesn’t mean the trades won’t end there. In this season of wheeling and dealing, anything can happen before the next conference starts.

Football has also been busy with off season activity, something that we never heard of before in the news. Biggest names? At the very top, Azkals coach Hans Michael Weiss was still thinking about the six month (only) contract extension that was offered by the PFF. Talk about pressure. Six months? And I thought we were satisfied with him and his long term programs. Consistent? Chieffy Caligdong is no longer with the Air Force, believe it or not. The Barotac hero has always been an Air Force guy and talks about a transfer floated when he planned to migrate to the U.S. to join his wife who works as a nurse there. But before he leaves, he’s playing for the Green Archers United. Will this be the final act of his career? Ex-national player Freddie Gonzales has moved from Pachanga FC to Meralco Loyola Sparks, while Anto Gonzales moved from Loyola to Pachanga. OJ Clarino is no longer with Stallions and is also with Pachanga. Jason de Jong joined Stallions after a short stint in Indonesia. Chris Greatwich signed up with Kaya FC (from the U.S.). Joshua Beloya is now with Cinderella team Ceres FC from Kaya. Matthew Hartman is back with Loyola after serving time suspended. And these are just a few of the major moves. When did you ever hear about football moves like this before? Never. This just proves that football has really picked up and it’s all good for Philippine football.

So who said that nothing happens in the offseason? With all these, we can’t wait to get the real season started.

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Time-out: Happy birthday to Danny Cerence and the pride of Lilo-an: Paul Desiderio. >>> You can reach me at [email protected].