catching up: one

(part 1 of an n-series special)

inasmuch as i want to dwell on myself immediately, the UP men's basketball team says otherwise. thus i divert my attention into uaap season 70, where State U has become the laughingstock of media-misinformed rivals and faithful alike.

after one round in men's basketball, UP is currently the cellar dweller, having accumulated a 7-0 standing in favor of the losses. blame it on the coach, on the inexperience of the players, on the virtually nonexistent fanbase. but seriously, who would cheer for a team that loses by a bunch of points in a regular basis, that gives up right after halftime? point is, where has that FIGHT in the maroons gone? everyone understands that this is a year of rebuilding for the team, but heck, it's never an excuse for not trying.

worse thing is, the so-called ill luck of the men donning maroon are gravely overshadowing UP's achievement's in other sports. take the women's basketball team, for example, which earned a photograph in one of the University periodicals recently because they have not lost a single game in 5 tries, so far. our swimming team is bent on steamrolling any competition, and the tennis team is right on cue to contend for a gold. all that, and i haven't even mentioned the UP Pep yet.

ahh, finally got all that off my chest. i'm supposedly done for this entry, but someone commented on one of my previous papers regarding objectivity in reporting, and asked me what i thought of season 70's courtside reporters (i got to be paid for this one, dear). a reminder: i have no intention of offending any institution, just my two cents' worth (ranked them from worst to best):

NU - rizza diaz. what the heck, you are supposed to be a courtside reporter who tries to minimize personal bias as much as possible, not a live-game cheerleader. but perhaps, those are what you'd call... rookie mistakes.

AdU - aaron atayde. look, no bad blood, but in the media-hyped uaap, men play ball and women talk. and honestly, if i were a player on that bench, a girl's presence could do way better than a guy in boosting my morale. who knows, maybe you'll get more than a win. but you're good, really. you just happened to be a guy.

UST - diane querrer. ahh, so-so. considering that you patrol the bench of the reigning champions, you're doing fine. nothing spectacular, though. but you're definitely an upgrade over last year's reporter.

ADMU - vanna lim. had the blue and white not been my first love, i would've put you next to last. i know, it's hard replacing a lovable gal like lia cruz, and that you're clan's basically English-speaking, pero kung susubukan mo mang mag-Tagalog, please, ayusin mo naman, nakakahiya ka eh. even norman black's better than you, truth be told.

FEU - andi manzano. if you haven't noticed, as i go up the rankings, i become a bit more... er, biased. i put dj andi-9/vj andi right in the upper four because she somehow knows how the trade goes, and i think she's cute. but please, keep those mistakes to a minimum, and don't distort your face every now and then. you're not on radio, you're cute, and you're on TV. so smile, dearie!

UP - cathy untalan. aha! and the crowd goes wild. however, you have read about the bias thing by now. i also had to give her some leeway, you know, she replaced her excellency gretchen fullido and that her last courtside job was with the reigning ncaa champion san beda red lions. now she is with the league's carpetfeeders, no need telling you that she has a lot of adjusting to do.. but haven't you noticed how she towers above all other courtside reporters, coaches, and even some players?

DLSU - sharon yu. cute, and she wears glasses, plus she's doing really good for a rookie in coming to duty for last year's league absentees. and again, she wears glasses. i wonder how much fun those newly-shaved green dudes are having.

UE - tracy abad. the only non-rookie among all of them, she is two cuts above the rest; always smiles, never rattled, charismatic, very clear and concise, and it also helps that her team is winning. she is definitely who the others ought to look up to, season 70's best courtside dame. she also has sleek, long hair, for a bonus.

maybe next time, i'll start talking about me... that is, if the maroons give some justice in their losses, perhaps?