29..

Last November 2.. I turned a year older again..



Man I'm getting old.. hehe 29 years old to be exact.



Yep.. 1 more year before I hit to big 3-0.



Who wouldve thought I'd get this old fast? ;)



Since I slacked off from my triathlon training...



I had plenty of time to relax.. and get away from the very stressful tri life.



Right now, my goal and focus is to defend our gold medal at the 2nd Asian Underwater Hockey Championships this november.



Team Philippines won it at Singapore last year.



Been training and playing a lot of underwater hockey lately.



So far so good..



But of course.. I still squeeze in a little training from our triathlon program as much as I can.



I know what I'm facing this february 2009.. and its not a walk in the park.



I'm not stupid.. you must give it its due.. and must train for it..



You swim 4k.. then bike for 180kms.. and then to top it off.. you do a full 42k marathon..



All within 17 hours or less.



For some people.. finishing a 42k alone is an achievement of a lifetime..



Thats how tough Ironman is.. I know that.. and I.M. ready.

Redemption..

I waited a long time for this...

A chance redeem myself..

A chance to improve my time last year..

A chance to prove that given the proper training... I can do it.

and finally...

I DID IT!

Yup.. I admit.... I raced with a chip on my shoulder.

I promised to myself that I wouldnt talk about this anymore.. and I'm gonna keep that promise.

Except for this moment.. hehehe..

I left my old team simply because, some people on that team, said I didnt deserve to be on the team because I havent proven anything yet. That I didnt have what it takes.. unlike them. Even went as far as saying they will leave if I stay on the team. There were other issues but, those we're really petty.

Weird huh? Isnt a team supposed to develop and help their weaker players? As soon as I heard that, I left immediately. I joined that team because I wanted to get better. I dont want to be associated (hehehe..) with a team that has elitists.

Ok enough about that.. thats over and done with. Besides, I already blogged about it.. its just set in private ;)

I sacrificed 4 months of my life training for this 1 event.. The Whiterock Triathlon (WRT)... the most famous and mecca of all long-distance triathlon races in the country.

Last year, I think I raced around 10 major races. For 2008... I raced only two. The Subit Tri and the WRT. My whole "tri-career" revolved around WRT.. which became my "A" race.

My social life has definitely taken a pounding because of this. There were countless times when I was asked to go out on a weekend and I said no because we have an early bike ride or run the next day. Date with someone? Well it better be on a sunday because thats the only time that I could stay up late because the next day is our rest day. :) Hehehe..

Now for the million $ question... Why am I doing this? I think thats the question every triathlete asks himself... shouldnt I be out partying? shouldnt I be just relaxing and working? Enjoying the perks of life?

Your entire household is already sleeping... and you're out there.. in the living room.. biking and cranking your trainer. Sweating it out with nothing but the boring nightly news to entertain you..

While everyone is thinking where to have dinner or where to go after work.. you're thinking about what time you'll be able to sneak in your "1 1/2 hour moderate" run..

While everyone is preparing to go to work or have breakfast.. you wake up earlier than them because your 4 hour ride starts just when everyone in your family is "about to leave the house". And what happens if its raining? You can't call it a day and go back to sleep.. you cringe everytime you wake up on a long biking weekend and its raining because you know its gonna be you, your bike, the turbo, and the boring tv all over again.. FOR 4 HOURS. Not to mention you still have to do a 4k swim afterwards.

Missed your morning swim? Well prepare to suffer under the glaring heat of the sun.. You must swim now because you still have work to do for the rest of the day... your face gets vandalized by the tan marks left by your goggles... Sunburned? Who cares? After that you still have to go to the gym or do an easy 1 hour bike. I got so dark I already stopped using sunblock. :) No use anyway. Besides.. I'm starting to dig this whole new dark thing. hehe

So... was it worth it?

I dont know.. maybe I just liked the pain our training brought. Masochist? maybe... Motivated? You bet. Knowing that this could probably take me to the promised land.. the place that would vindicate everything.. the place where I'd find my "bulalakaw".. my friends term for a medal.

Or maybe.... I really just wanted to prove something.

I finished with a dismal 6:48:27 time last year.. Far from my 6:15 target.. I could barely walk when I got to the finish line. My legs down to my feet was cramping up.. even my toenails!

This year though, I got my target and upped my time by over an hour. I finished with a 5:43 time which was enough to get me 3rd place in my age-group. The biggest achievement of my so-called multisport career so far. Back then I was just racing to finish... now I cant believe I'm even thinking of racing for the podium.

It was a weird feeling really.. knowing that as you were on your way to the finish line.. you may have just made it... you may just have gotten your wish. You trained hard for this.. did it really pay off?

Its just something I wasnt really used to.... yet.. and I think I like it. :)

I'm also really happy for my team. The Gold's Gym Triathlon Team, now called Gold's Gym Multisport :). This team went thru hell and high water in those four grueling training months. Not only in training but also in a lot of other nasty stuff as well. Which I'd rather not talk about. I'd rather focus on making this team fly. The 2009 season will definitely be a good year for the team.

Our road to the WRT race was the best part.. all our training sessions... our crazy antics just to keep us sane.. the wild Iba, Zambales rides.. our wacky swim time trials.. the long 2 1/2 hour runs! The race itself for me.. was really just an icing on the cake.. baked to perfection :).

Whats important for me is that.. we all had an amazing finish! Everyone on the team completely destroyed their time last year by an average of 45 mins to over an hour! A fantastic result if you ask me. I guess MAO really knows what he's talking about. :)

This group always believed in me since day 1. They never doubted me.. nor questioned my abilities. They kept on telling me, I'm getting fast, getting better, etc etc.. yeah its true at first I thought its just part of the whole camaraderie thing. See coming in this whole multisport world, I always just wanted to finish the damn races... of course in my mind I dreamed of what it would be like to climb the podium but... back then.. I was really doing it simply because I wanted to... lose weight. hehehe.

This team will push you hard in training.. no question about that.. but they will also never hesitate to lift you up if you go down. Team first before everything. Isnt that what its supposed to be all about?

I got injured 1 month prior to the race. Its tough because its the same injury I got when I did whiterock last year. Same ankle.. same injury.

I've been kicking myself 'till now because I havent missed a single training session before I got injured. I was able to do everything on the program.. and was feeling really, really strong.

I managed to survive two nasty bike crashes.. got battered and bruised but still managed to do the training... and then just because of a simple "slip".. its over.. I couldnt run or even bike really hard.

Good thing I was still able to swim with the injury.. even if it meant kicking with just one foot :(. Its tough but what are you gonna do? You're already 3 months deep into the training.. you sacrificed a lot already.. are you going to let it all go down the drain? I wont. I'd rather let my ankle snap during the race... at least I tried. Thats better than doubting myself for the rest of my life. Like what the great Lance Armstrong said.. "Pain is temporary... Quitting is forever".

I missed around 3 good weeks training because of that.. just when the training was peaking and was focusing more on speed work. I could run yes... but I'll definitely be in a lot of pain afterwards. It was really a tough situation... your mind and heart is willing.. but your body just cant take it anymore.

Kudos once again to my therapist... Butch Ong and the whole Sante clinic crew.. who never gave up on my ankle.. who urged me to go on and run and dont mind my ankle because they'll take care of it. You're a miracle worker doc! and I'm happy to say that we made it!

Now on to the race...

We arrived in subic a day before the event... we checked in at our favorite place.. Playa Papagayo owned by a triathlete and a good friend, Frank Lacson. Staying in a resort managed by a triathlete has its own perks.. aside from getting triathlon designed meals.. you'll also get the benefit of having an early breakfast (restaurant opens at 4am) plus they wouldnt mind if you check out late the next day.

The Swim - I had a lot of mixed feelings before the start of the swim.. knowing that this is it... the moment we have all been waiting for... after doing my warm ups and my pre-race/training stretching routine.. I just took a deep breath and then prepared for the gun to fire. Theres no turning back. I was restless but some reason.. I was also calm. I just kept on thinking to myself.. 2k swim?? Heck, I swim an average of 10kms+ a week. How hard could this be?

At gunfire, I made the mistake of trying to draft with some of the fast-but-not-that-fast guys.. thinking I could draft off them and save some energy. But I was dead wrong. The moment we got into the water, it was like hell. I got stuck in the middle of the washing machine and lost a couple of minutes just to get my bearings straight. After the 1st lap I made a concious effort to stay on the outer lane.. where the water was calmer and I could do the last 2 laps faster. I ended up with a 43 mins swim. 3 minutes short off my target which is 40 minutes.

T1 went smoothly this time.. compared to my previous WRT.. this time I had a battle plan.. so everything went... well... normal to say the least. :)

The bike - the moment I've been waiting for... because I knew this is my strongest discipline and could really gain ground if I push hard enough.

Days before the race though, I've been bothered about the elbow pads on my aerobar.. it just keeps on getting loose everytime I hit a bump or a hole in the road. I decided not to adjust it anymore and ended up paying for it. I think I lost a clear 2-4 minutes on the bike because of that. Everytime it'll go down I'll try and force it back up. Which sometimes, almost caused me to crash.

For most of the time on the bike.. my arm was resting on the basebar itself.. instead of the elbow pads.. which was really uncomfortable.

As for my gameplan, I just stuck to it the whole way.. making sure that I was properly hydrated and was getting my nutrition. I maintained my target RPM and I managed to execute my gel and liquid plan to a T. The powerbars though were another story. See for the whole ride, we were supposed to finish 3 powerbars.. ok I thought.. I practiced this.. no problem. That was until I started chewing it! It was really tough to swallow.. especially when you're biking at race pace. I almost puked a couple of times because of it. That's probably the last time I'll eat a powerbar. I finished the bike with a time of 2h42m :) Just the time I hoping to get. Actually I didnt set a target time on the bike. I just want maintain my target RPM and let it take me to wherever. If it makes me do a 3h plus bike.. Its ok. In the end, it worked and I ended up with a very good bike split. So I guess it really works afterall. Hehehe.. Whats the magic rpm you ask? Ask TeamBB :)

During T2.. lets just put it this way.. last year.. I think I wasted almost 8 minutes here! Hehehe! After my bike last year.. I was so wasted already. So tired that I didnt know how the heck I'd be able to finish the 20k run. Hehe.. T2 was a breeze this time.. simply racked my bike.. got my t2 gear and changed. :) I blazed off t2 still feeling strong... that is until....

The Run - hehehe... yup... the run... the famous WRT run course.. where the heartbreak hills and the microwave awaits... a stretch of really tough hill climbs and a very long path of open road.. Honestly, I was feeling really good coming out of t2... I was feeling really strong.. I was feeling a slight pain on my ankles but adrenaline is taking good care of it.

I have a target pace in mind already.. which I was doing until I reached the 2.5k mark... suddenly my calves started to cramp.. uh oh.. Not again! I tried to rest and stretch it for a bit.. which worked.. for just a very short time.

I still managed to run a bit.. up to the foot of the heartbreak hills.. I really wanted to conquer it but I guess I still have a lot of dues to pay.. I almost walked the entire uphill section because of cramps and just made time on the downhills. I got second wind when I entered the base. I was able to run most of it.. that is until it was time once again to conquer the damn uphills on my way back. It was the same story.. walk.. ok brisk.. walk the entire uphill section.. and then make up for it on the downhills. This time.. even my quads were cramping. It was becoming really hard to run and stretch because if I stretch this muscle group.. the other one would cramp up because of the slack.

Frank of Playa Papagayo was right.. the remaining 2.5k left when you cross his resort would be the toughest, hardest, and most painful 2.5k of your life... I was really starting to cramp up so bad... I just kept on telling and psyching myself that this 2.5k is NOTHING... It almost just 1 loop at the UP acad oval.. how hard could this be?? 1 loop there is just our warm-up!

When I saw the Total gas station.. I just gathered everything I had and gave it a final burst.. just enough to make sure that I get to the finish line still running. :)

I'd like to take this opportunity to say big THANK YOU to everyone who supported us... to my friends who screamed their lungs out and gave me the motivation to finish the race strong... to my family who really surprised me by being there.. it was the first time they ever supported me in a race. Their presence and the fact that they're waiting for me at the finish line kept me going. When I was suffering on the run.. I just thought about my two nieces.. I wanna cross the finish line towing both of them.. should I carry them? I could but I'm afraid I'll cramp up, fall, and humiliate myself in front of everyone! Should I carry just one? Its gonna be World War 3 if I do that. Good thing when I got inside the resort.. I didnt see any of the two rascals. Turns out they got tired and went to sleep. Problem solved. :)

Now... again.... for the infamous question... was it worth it?

Given the chance.. would you do it all over again?

For those who didnt know...

When we started this mini training group of ours for WRT...

We had a slogan...

Which goes...

"One Target. Whiterock Podium. Nothing Else. "

Now.. let me add this teenie weenie bit...

Mission Accomplished. :)

Was It Worth It?

The 4 month journey is almost over... and during this whole triathlon mumbo jumbo..

I lost some friends (or who I thought to be), gained new ones, maintained respect for those who stuck by their decision, saw people crack under pressure, but most importantly.. I saw who my true friends are.

Which leads me to this blogs title.. a question I've asked myself a couple of times throught this journey... Was it worth it?

Was it worth it, seeing who will stick with you no matter what?

Was it worth it, that you stuck to your principles and did what you think was right?

Was it worth it, seeing a bunch of people despise you when youre on your back, then suck up you like a candybar when youre in front of them?

Was it worth it, leaving your old team? (i blogged about this already, its just set in private)

Was it worth it, seeing the various persona's of a human being?

Of all the times that I asked myself that question, my answer still remains the same.. and that it YES.. It IS worth it. Every damn second of it.

I had a blast throught this whole experience. It made me tougher, it centered my life, and let me know how to set my priorities straight.

When it comes to sports.. underwater hockey is still my # 1 priority. Had I not been injured, I couldve gone back sooner. Triathlon comes next.

Work is still important... and because of this training, I managed to learn how to organize my job better. Got lots of work to do? Train early to you can start working earlier and finish early. Why? So you can rest and train again the next day.

Family still comes first before everything.. even fitness.

There are far more better things in life than training and racing.

When this journey is all over.. I'll try not to look back.. and just charge everything to experience.

You got pissed on, but you survived, you built your own rock, and now its time to reap the rewards.

The next endeavour will be longer and tougher, and I'm glad I'm with the people who I want to take that journey with.

More prepared this time around.

Armed with a better program.

And most importantly, the camaraderie is stronger than ever.

We're growing steadily. With new enthusiastic people coming in and showing how they could help.

The future looks bright.

Its time to lay the foundation.. and make sure there wont be any cracks.

We have survived a lot of trials and hardships. Theres no reason we cant make this one fly.

A friend of mine once said, the stars have aligned.

And yes it has, in due time, everything will fall into place.

We just have to take that journey... one step at a time.

Subit 2008!

Dont want to start my latest post again with this...

its been awhile!

hmm its been what? almost 4 months!

Ive been wanting to write again for the longest time but I just cant seem to get my groove going..

writers block? maybe.. but i'm not a writer so how can that happen to me? :)

The past 4 months maybe the most busiest, activity filled, emotionally draining months of my life.

A lot has happened to me in that very short amount of time.

Hmm where should I begin?

Lets kick this off with last months Subic Olympic Distance Triathlon (Subit).

As usual, my time wasnt good enough for a podium finish or anything but my target prior to the race is to simply just OBLITERATE my time last year.

I clocked 3h:22mins last year and Im happy to say that I accomplished my goal and obliterated my personal record! I finished this years Subit race with a time of 2h:46mins J Not bad.. It wasn’t enough for a podium but its more than enough for me. J

Before the race start though, I made a mistake and underestimated my training buddy Julian’s knack for snoring. Ever since, he’s had a reputation of being a really loud snorer. I’ve been with him for a couple of pre race sleepovers before and found nothing wrong with it so I thought it’ll be just fine with me.

Also, prior to the day before the race, I barely got any sleep because of work. So I was thinking that sleeping before raceday wouldn’t be a problem because I assumed I already would be sleepy as hell come bed time.

But to my surprise, KABOOM! It fucking backfired! I dunno if its pre-race jitters or my buddy’s snoring or the coffee that I drank before bedtime but I couldn’t sleep!

I know it wasn’t jitters because I never had those before. So its either the coffee or the snoring. Haha.

Anyways, that totally messed up my preparation for the race. I hate to admit it but I think it DID affect my race in such a way that I didn’t get to fully recharge my batteries.

The end result? I ended up sleeping only for 1 hour prior to the race L Add the fact that I didn’t get enough sleep the other day.

I was literally feeling like a zombie before the start of the swim. I couldn’t concentrate. Deep in my mind I was pissed because I trained quite hard for this only for me to fuck it up come raceday.

When the gun was fired and we started swimming already, I was slowly losing it in the water.

I was literally dazed all throught the swim, thoughts about the fact that I didn’t get enough sleep just kept on popping in my head. Give me a floating bed and I’ll be more than happy to stop and finally get some sleep. I tried to block the negativity off a couple of times but its just didn’t work.

I ended up a full minute behind my p.r. in the swim compared to my 07 Subit swim time… and to think I barely even trained last year compared to this race. That says it all.

The bike was a totally different story though.. after I exited T1 and hopped on my bike, everything just seemed to get back in gear. I finally managed to get in a zone and pound those cranks away.

The bike seemed like a blur cause I felt really good all throught. I really think my tires made all the difference! My Argon-18 made me faster too of course.

As for the run, I think I did a 55 minute 10k run.. still a P.R. compared to my previous SubiT time but I’m still not happy with it. After feeling really well on the bike split, my legs were toast on the run stage. I wasn’t tired, I knew I could go faster, but I just couldn’t. I came to the finish line still feeling really well and good. Far from my target to cross the finish line really drained and washed up. Meaning I gave it “my all”.

But heck, its over now. Just have to pick up the lessons here and start all over again J

I totally didnt train last year and just "winged" it.. this year though, lets just say I “kinda” trained. Hehe.. hence the improvement J.

Im also very happy because I’m finally injury free! It felt really good racing without feeling any pain. Starting from my injury prone ankles, knees, and shoulders! So thank God for that.

Thanks also to my Physical Therapist who’s been very patient with me throught the whole process. Youre the best doc! Your clinic rocks!

If you’re injured or youre feeling any pain, give my P.T. a try. He’s the best. Send me a message for his info J

Phew its been awhile.

Havent posted for the longest time..

Been REALLY busy.. trying to cramp everything I can.

My triathlon training, my so-called work, and other personal matters.

Actually I'm just enjoying everything that I have and everything thats happening to me right now.

Its all been very good actually.

Really happy with my family right now. We've always been really close but right now I think it got kicked up a notch.

Didnt even bother planning anything during the holy week at all.. I just decided to stay at home and spend some time with them. Ended up doing a major room cleanup. Fixed my moms room as well. I guess my interior design frustrations kicked in.

My triathlon training is doing really well. I got this major race on May and I'm really preparing for it. Taking my training seriously as well. I just hope it pays dividends on race day.

As far as my injuries go.. My knee is pretty much ok already.. my ankle I think is 100% already. Thank you Adidas Supernova Control! I liked this shoe so much that I got myself a custom MI Adidas pair. Right now I'm having my shoulder therapied. I strained a shoulder during my last hockey game.. it also didnt help that I worked out the following day. The pain got so bad during my inclined dumbell press that I dropped one of the dumbells. Good thing it didnt hit me.

Because of that my arm was in a sling for 2 weeks! Thats gotta be my worst injury. It was so painful I couldnt even lift my arm. Well if I'll put everything into perspective and look at the bright side, that injury taught me to take these stuff very seriously.. which I did.

Even if my shoulder is ok now I still dont wanna risk injuring it again because of hockey. The Cons clearly outweighs the Pros this time. I couldnt bike (cant reach the handlebar), couldnt run as well (it hurts because of the pounding), plus I couldnt swim! For obvious reasons.

I also finally got myself a tri-bike. Its an Argon 18 Mercury decked out with my dream groupset.. Dura-Ace! Thank God for that one.

I had it fitted with a standard size cranks and 11-23 cogs. It was a move that up to now, I'm still making if its the right move or not. The size of the cranks are ok.. but I think I may have over estimated myself with those 11-23 cogs!

I'm having trouble adjusting to it. See I can from a Giant Roadbike fitted with compact cranks and 12-25 cogs. With that bike climbing the hills of sierra madre, tagaytay and bugarin was a breeze. That bike of mine (Cory) rocks!

So far I've done two long rides with my tri-bike already. All with MAJOR UPHILL sections!

I struggled a lot when I used it in one of my rides going up sierra madre. I was in uphill hell the entire time. I still finished the ride so its ok. Its just that I was WASTED after our training.

But I can see it paying dividents already. I can feel my legs now getting stronger. I think I'm gonna stick with my 11-23's for now. Besides, thats what all the pros use :) I'll try my best to train really hard and make myself worthy of those bad ass cogs size!

In other news... I got pretty pissed off when I noticed that the BELL Sweep-r helmet that I bought at this bike shop in Cartimar only last december has a CRACK! Theres this thin crack on one of the aero fins(?) at the back of the helmet.

I returned it to Velo to have it checked and do a warranty claim. The guy who talked to me (one of the sales staff) was a complete Tool! Instead of just helping me with my warranty that idiot was looking for possible REASONS and LOOPHOLES as to how the crack got there. He even told me this STUPID idea that maybe the helmet fell on the ground thats why it cracked. I told him that if it did fall on the ground it would LEAVE A MARK! I took great care of that helmet and cleaned it really well all the time. Thats why I got PISSED when I saw the crack. See i have this cheapo but really great Trek Helmet which I used for my entire 2007 training and triathlon races and up to now, IT DOESNT HAVE A SINGLE CRACK IN IT. I'll call the shop this tuesday and hopefully everything will work out fine.

Been running a lot lately as well.. I'm trying to follow my training schedule as much as possible. So far everythings going exactly as planned. I ran 15k this morning at the Mizuno Infinity marathon held at the Fort. Which turned out to be a BIG DISAPPOINTMENT.

Being sponsored by Mizuno you would think that this race will almost certainly be 100% glitch free. But the race was a disaster. Especially at the aid stations. THEY RAN OUT OF WATER! I was literally dehydrated when I crossed the finish line. Everyone was really angry because of it too. Who can blame them? I feel sorry for the first time runners. Thank God I didnt let my MOM join this race! Because a couple of weeks ago I got her to agree to join the 5k distance. Good thing she changed her mind and backed off. It wouldve been HELL for her I'm sure.

The race lacked marshalls as well, I heard a lot of runners got lost. The route was EXCELLENT though, that for me was the only redeeming factor of this race. I think this is the first time somebody used that route for a marathon.

I finished with a dismal 1:27 time. I simply didnt have the energy this morning. My form was terrible and I just couldnt find my groove. I was also stressed when I started the race because I woke up late. Something happened to my alarm clock because it didnt go off. I woke up almost 5:30am already. Good thing I made it at the start line with 3 minutes to spare. It also didnt help that I fell asleep around 4:30am already.

Its ok though because the race was just part of my training for the big camoola at subic this may. The Subit olympic distance tri.

Time to rest.

:)

PUHC Battle of the Elements Aftermath!

The 1st ever PUHC Battle of the Elements Tourney is finally over. And as the dust settled, one team reigned supreme above them all...

Team Earth defeated Air in the championship round to capture the 1st ever Battle of the Elements crown!

Never the favorites to win the tournament, Team Earth, to the shock of everyone took a quick 4-0 lead against Air in the 1st half of the finals and never looked back. Breezing thru Team Air for a 6-2 win.

The tournament was smooth sailing all the way. The two day tourney which gathered almost 50 participants from PUHC was very successful. Thanks to the stellar job of rookie tournament director Achi Michelle and her sis Jowi.

As expected, The Battle of the Elements 1st day match-ups were intense. As teams jockeyed for "playoff" positioning, no team could afford to take it easy. As a simple loss here, or a low score there even if you win the match could still cost your team a slot in the championship round.

Round 1- Team Air squeaked by Earth for a 3-2 win. Team Earth, still finding the right setup, could not match Airs offense and suffocating defense in the first half. Team Earth played better in the 2nd half but simply ran out of time. On the other side of the pool, Metal easily defeated Water 5-1.

Round 2- This is where things got a little interesting. With Fire blazing thru Team Water for an easy 4-2 win, all eyes were on the 2nd pool where Air was slugging it out against Metal. Both teams were unable to score a single goal all the way 'till the final minute of the 2nd half. That is until Metal's Team Captain Leonard found a hole in Team Airs defense, allowing him to flick the puck to his forwards and letting his team get the winning goal in the dying seconds of the game! Everybody cheered on that goal. Especially Team Earth who got their collective asses kicked by Air the previous round. Hehe..

Round 3- For Team Earth, their next match is a must-win. Because if they lose again they can kiss their championship hopes goodbye. They squared up against Metal in the final round. Finally finding the right formation and defeating Metal 3-2. Team Air easily extinguished Fire 4-1 on their final game of the night.

The 1st day ended with Team Air on top of the leader board. Having fought 3 games, they ended their campaign with a 2-1 standing. Followed closely by Earth 1-1, Metal 2-1, Fire 1-2, and Water 0-2.

After Day 1, almost all of the players were either limping or nursing a bruise or a concussion. That only proves how tough the games were. Both physically and mentally. As evidenced by fellow Earthling Roger. Who during the entire 1st day of the tourney couldn't even manage to show a single sign of happiness or even a smile because of the amount of whoop-ass that he got from the other Earthlings. Hehe.. The Gentledog also saw Air's Vice-Captain Nix at Talengs place the next day sporting at least 4 new bruises. Taleng looked wasted since shes already sick even before the tournament. The Gentledog was again nursing a bruised rib since he got kicked by Team Airs' Ram during their match up.

Going into the 2nd Day of the tourney, there was a lot of trash talking going around even before the start of the games. Which were all in good faith of course. (Baka may mapikon na naman.. hehe) Led by the Gentledog, who was readily proclaiming that night that his team would fight 3 matches that day. Meaning to say that his team will win their first two matches and would go on to the championship round... which would be their 3rd. Hehehe.. Cocky? I don't think so. Thats just part of the psy-war of Taleng and the Gentledog. Hehe.. Team Earth was never the favorite to win it all, so were just psyching-out everyone. Which we're hoping would benefit our team and give us all the positive energy that we need. The Gentledog went even as far as telling some of the Tourney organizers to have our team's shirt printed with "Champions". Hehe..

Round 1- Day 2 started with Team Air going against the undermanned Water team and Team Earth grinding it out with Fire. Team Air easily drained Water out of the pool. Lacking in key players, Team Water simply didn't have the arsenal and firepower against the highly motivated Air. Who needed just another win to get to the championship round. Which they easily got. Its just too bad that reinforcements of Water didn't arrive because they were one of the favorites to win the championship right from the start.

Team Earth's match against Fire was a slug fest. Team Earth, still adjusting with its new player Cid, who replaced Bummer in the lineup was still down by 2 points with just 6 minutes left in the second half, The Gentledog cant remember anymore if the lead was by a point or 2 but he's sure that Fire was still up with only 6 minutes left because some of Firemen were already asking the time-keeper how much time there's left on the clock. And I clearly remember the time-keeper shouting 6 minutes!!! "Shit.. Patay ako ngayon pano na yung trashtalk ko" said the Gentledog. The biggest break of the game happened came when the Gentledog accidentaly flicked the puck at Fireman Jowi. Which under the PUHC-regular-game-norm, would be an automatic stoppage of play for safety and checking purposes if the other person is alright. The Gentledog and Jowi rose up and as he was apologizing for the flick, The Gentledog noticed that the ref wasn't able to see what happened and was still letting the play continue. Some of the Firemen noticed this, got down and tried to defend their goal but to no avail since most of the Earthlings as well continued with the play. That play provided all the momentum Team Earth needed to defeat and upset the newly reinforced Fire Team 3-2.

Round 2- In the penultimate round, this is where the championship match ups would be finalized. In pool one, Team Fire, coming from an upset defeat against Team Earth, melted Metal easily. Leaving them to rust in the pool for a 2-1 victory. Team Earth, who by now found the perfect formation, rattled Team Water for a 6-0 rout.

Final Round!- It all boiled down to this... Team Earth against Air for the Championship and Metal against Fire for 3rd place! Team Earth sucked all the oxygen out of Team Air in the early minutes of the game and quickly built a commanding 4-0 lead. Already winded, there was this immediate deafening silence on the once-proud Team Air goal and sub area. Even some of the spectators couldn't believe it. Heck, Team Earth couldn't either. But still, it was a welcome surprise. By then, it was just about managing the clock and making sure that Team Air wouldn't be able to stage a comeback or have any chance to fight for the lead.

In the other pool, Team Metal, with a score to settle against Fire, got their revenge and won 3rd place with a last minute goal again! This time using their last minute heroics against the heavily favored Fire. Rounding up both the championships and the tournament.

For the P500 tourney fee, every cent of it was worth it. Not only did the PUCHers get to play for 2 days, each PUCHer will also get his/her own tourney shirt! Win or lose! Also a big THANK YOU to the tourney sponsors! (Who helped lower the tourney fee as well hehe). Where else can you get a pre-tourney gift pack, a chance to win a hockey bag, and have some snacks (with drinks to boot as well!) before the final game? ;)

Biggest props to my fellow Earthlings! Thank you for keeping my tourney win streak intact. Hehe..

To our super backs Taleng, Bummer, and Ferdie! Ayos mga kapatid! Nakadale tayo! Hehe..

To our bacolod inasal comeback PUHCer Jay Abello!

To our Sto. Niño Aleta! You did it again! Nagpakulot pa ha kaya x2 ang swerte! Hehe.. Amen!

To Roger! Na sa wakas nakangiti na nung 2nd night. At least nakabawi nung finals diba? Hehe..

To the Ambasadorrr! Bro how come wala ka pang "victory treat" for Team Earth? :) Kelan tayo?

To Meyan! Ayos ba? ;) Told yah kayang kaya natin to teammate :) Hehe..

To Cid! Who helped anchor the forwards! Thanks for the post tourney treat bro!

4 in a row. :)

Thanks for reading ;)

Being Patriotic

I've always been PRO-Philippines.

I've always been patriotic. Always thinking of ways of how, in my own little way, I can make my country better.

I love my country and I'm so proud of it.

Even when all my friends are migrating here and there... in various "first-world" countries, I'm still here.

Its not because that I can't, its just simply because I dont want to.

But then again, with the whole NBN-Senate Fiasco, its being put to the test.

I guess the million dollar question is... what can an ordinary/average Filipino do right?

While talking to a dear friend of mine, she gave me this very interesting tidbit.

In an interview with Korina Sanchez, NBN's star witness, Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr said that after Neri's testimony in the Senate he was tasked to survey the middle class to find out what they think about it. And by doing so he found out that the middleclass has 3 kinds of mindsets. I'll just post what my friend said. Besides, I bet she can say it way better than I can. Hehe..

1) yung first one was the arrogant mindset - yung mindset of
inaction. ksi daw eto yung mga tao na natatakot to lose the little that they
have. eto daw yung mga nagsasabi ng eh wala rin namang mangyayari eh.

2) tapos yung second is the insulting mindset - eto yung mga
nagsasabi ng eh pare-pareho naman yang mga yan eh. so ito daw yung mga tao
na
ang tingin ay wala nang mabuti na pilipino.

3) tapos yung third is the untrustworthy mindset - eto yung
mga
nagsasabi ng two years nalang naman eh. eto yung mga maghihintay nalang
kahit na
alam nila na may mga tao na kaya naman maglead...pwede rin na sila
yung tao na
may kakayahan maglead pero they're scared that we might demand
the same moral
rectitude from them kaya sya untrustworthy.

Man.. that struck me. Now I can say that I'm leaning towards #3. If you'll think about it, I'm sure you heard those 3 mindsets before from various people right?

Can the Filipino afford another people power? More importantly, can our country survive another event like that?

I'm afraid that if we do that again people power would lose its real meaning. What's gonna happen now? Everytime a President messes up we'll create a revolution? I dont think so.

Because by doing that, the filipinos wont learn. Thats why we have elections for crying out loud. So that we get to VOTE FOR THE RIGHT PEOPLE. Now if we voted for these idiots then we're part of the blame also.

Now going back to my question.. So what can the average Filipino do?

Leave the country? Another people power? or pray to God and just hope for the best?

Right now, I'm doing the last option and just enjoying to whole Senate NBN Fiasco.

I know theres a saying "nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa" but what can I do?

Its like the tagalized koreanovelas that we dub here in our studio. Only this one is more addicting. :)

Woohoo another P.R.!

Last sunday, I joined the Green Is Good 10k run at U.P.. and I'm happy to say that I finally broke the damn sub 50!

I clocked in around 49:30. Hehe.. barely a sub 50 but again, it still is. :)

My previous 10k P.R. was 51mins.. and that was around 2005 when I was still training with my mountaineering group. If I remember correctly I think my worst was 1:25-30. Which was my very first 10k. Hehe..

I was supposed to pace my hockey buddies but 1 min before the start I decided to try and run at a "normal" pace. Not really the pace where you'll run out of breath but more of a relaxed pace where you know you're running quite faster than your normal training run. Sounds complicated? Hehe.. Basically I just wanted know what my 10k time's gonna be this time around. I mean now that I already did a 42k run.

I didnt prepare for this run at all. Never even thought of registering for it. I just heard that my hockey buds were joining so I joined as well. I wasnt doing anything on that day anyway.

A couple of days before the race I was drunk. Hehe.. it started thursday night and then drank again on friday and then on saturday. I got home around 3am already and slept around 4:30. Slept for only 30 mins, woke up 5am, and then got ready and went to the race venue.

Quite frankly, the race was over for me in a jiffy. I guess thats what running a full marathon gives to you. It gives you swagger. Hey, what's a 10k compared to a 42 right? Hehe.. Its only the warmup.

My left knee though acted up again after the 10k. Maybe its because of the increased effort and pounding because it didnt hurt this much after my last full marathon. Right now, its feeling better (maybe because its on ice hehe) I just have to make sure I continue my therapy sessions.

Right now, conditioning wise, I'm still not at my very best. Maybe around 60%. Weight is still an issue (caused by the holiday season) plus the fact that my knees arent 100% yet. My ankle so far is feeling ok though. I'm using smaller fins now for my main sport, underwater hockey, so that also helps a lot.

At least my motivation is high. I'm focusing more on my running and conditioning. Been hittin the gym consistently for the past couple of weeks. Havent missed a beat yet so I hope this continues for the entire 2008 season. :)

Add That To The Checklist!

Last Sunday, a couple of friends of mine along with myself accomplished what only 1% of earths population has done..

Running and finishing a 42k marathon!

A couple of years back, I never thought I could ever finish a 10k marathon. What more a 42k! I still remember my very first 10k vividly. For someone who didnt have any running background, and whos lifestyle consist of only drinking and eating all day, I thought that damn marathon would never end. It looked like we were running from earth to pluto and back! I could still also remember looking at the rest of the 42k finishers as they cross the line and saying to myself.. "this guys are insane!"

Nowadays its a different story of course :)

The marathon was held at the beautiful and ever friendly triathlon place, Subic Bay. We got there early saturday morning and bunkered at my favorite resort La Playa Papagayo. That place is just awesome! Aside from the very cozy atmosphere, you also get "A1" treatment from its staff and owners. That's because the owner of the resort is a triathlete himself, so that makes things a little easier. Even if the check in/out time is the usual 12pm-12pm time, they allowed us to check in very early in the morning so we can bike and take our precious time to check out the following day.

Once we got there, we (Bong, Chock, and I) decided to bike the entire 42k route which later on proved to be one of the best decisions we did that day. By biking the route, we were able to gauge the course. Honestly, I dont know what would've happened to me in the marathon if we didnt do the quick ocular.

This has got to be one of the races that I really prepared for.. nutrition wise that is. =) Days before the marathon I was already loading up on good carbs, eating right, and getting enough good nights sleep. After our bike ride, my carbo loading didnt stop there. Haha. Bong, Chock, and I stuffed ourselves with QUALITY food all day long. Eating delicious steaks at Meat Plus (twice!)and eating also at Playa Papagayos restaurant. Come raceday morning, it was carbo loading once again. Hehehe.. A huge serving of spaghetti welcomed us at the breakfast table. Hahaha I know, i know you shouldnt eat that much anymore on raceday but what can we do? We're hungry! Hehe.. Too bad we werent able to finish the spaghetti. As we were still full from our steak binge the previous day.

Physically wise, I still wasnt 100%. Both my left knee and right ankle still hurt. It also didnt help that I was still in the process of breaking my new shoes in. I bought a new pair because I just recently found out that I was FLAT FOOTED! And to make things worse, I've been wearing shoes designed for HIGH ARCHES! As per my research and my physical therapist, that alone is a major contributor as to why I was always getting knee and ankle injuries.

About my shoe.. if you're flat footed like me and is on the lookout for new kicks, try the Adidas Supernovas! Get the motion control version. Among all the shoes for over- pronators that I tried from New Balance, Mizuno, Asics, and Nike, this is the one that I loved the most. I just hope these shoes are durable though.

I did someting during the break in stage of my Supernovas which up to now, I still regret. Instead of breaking the shoes in gradually, I went on and did a 20k training run! That caused my left knee to flare up and left me unable to run or train for 2 weeks! After my costly 20k training run my next run was the 42k marathon itself. During those grueling weeks I couldnt even run 5k without feeling any pain.

I did a 10k marathon the week after I injured my knee but I dont really consider that as training or run because I was just keeping pace with my hockey friends who were running the 10k for the very first time. Courtesy of the Gentledog of course :)

If not for my recruits, I would've just opted to rest my knee. It hurt like hell during the 10k run but I was just gutting it out because I didnt wanna demoralize any of them. Its a good thing that a couple of friends of mine from the tri-dogs decided to help me pace my recruits. That enabled me to focus on the weaker ones.

A big THANK YOU also goes out to my therapist. That guy is heaven sent. He acupuntured, electrocuted, iced, and rehabilitated my knee and ankles just in time for the 42k. I've never been a believer of alternative medicines but I now am.

Back to the marathon... the race itself was very organized. It started right on time! By 5am the 42k runners were off! Since I know the route already I was able to pace myself really well. I was really being cautious at first for fear of aggrevating my knee injury which often starts to hurt on uphill climbs. Braced with a pair of pro-wraps and LP patella supports, I was quite surprised that my knee was actually holding up. I got to the 10k mark around 57mins. Still right on target.

Before the race, we were having a discussion as to how long it would take us to finish the race. Chock was eager on beating his p.r. 4 years ago which is somewhere in the low 5's (forgot already). Julian's target is a sub 5. While for me, I just wanted to finish the damn race. I dont care how long it will take me. Bong ran as well but joined the 21k division. That was his longest run yet! 42k is next!

I was able to talk and pace with a couple of runners along the way. I was egging some of them to slow down and take it easy on the 1st few kms of the race because there's still a lot of uphill climbs waiting for us until the turnaround. Some listened and some didnt but thats ok, at least I already did my good deed for the day :). Its fun seeing and passing all the people who sprinted at the very start of the race. =)

I reached the turnaround point at 2hours 10 mins. I took my time there, making sure I was properly hydrated and ready for the final push. I walked for a couple of meters and then decided to resume running at the downhill portion. On the way back I was still feeling really well to the point that I was deciding if I should leave one of my powergels to the marshalls and ask them to give it to Chock who I met just approaching the turnaround while I was on my way back up.

I was able to pace with a fellow runner for another 10k. We ran at a steady pace hitting the 30k mark in 3h10mins. My knee was already acting up but I did a quick math and found out that if I continue this pace, I just might end up with a sub 5 marathon! That inspired me even more to ignore all the pain and just keep on running! I still have almost 2 hours to go to get a sub 5 result with only 12k left. But by then, exhaustion was slowly creeping in. I was already getting hints from my body that if I dont take it easy and finish the remaining k's wisely, I would end up getting cramps! NOT AGAIN! I dont wanna feel the torture that I felt during the run split of the 2007 Whiterock Half-Ironman triathlon ever again.

All throught the run I was praying. Thanking God for letting me do this race and asking him to give my knees and ankles the strength to finish the marathon.

During the last few k's of the run I knew that if I want to get a sub 5 result, I would have to run the rest of the race. Fortunately for me, my buddy tintin spotted me along the highway and jogged with me till the 39k mark. That helped me a lot because I was already contemplating on taking it easy and just forget about hitting what now seemed to be a very ambitous target for me.. a sub 5!

On the final push to the finish line, I saw some of my friends and they cheered me on. That gave me the final jolt of adrenaline that I needed to get the sub 5. I finished 4h:57mins. Barely a sub 5 but its still is :)

Now with regards to the 1% of the population line at the beginning... I just got that from one of the runners =). So mythbusters feel free to prove that wrong. =) It just caught my attention because it makes you realize how lucky you are.. how strong you are.. and how priviledged you are that you are able to participate on this one of a kind event.. and finishing it!

Oh before I forget.. based on the footpods and and pedometers of the other runners, as well as the organizers themselves.. the actual distance of the race was 45k. =) So all in all, not bad for an injured first timer :)

The Rundown

Man.. its been awhile since I last updated my bloggo. Things just got a lil hectic... the holidays, etc etc. I've always wanted to write something here... but for some reason I just cant. A lot of what I'm supposed to write got piled up and I just lost my momentum. Hopefully I can get everything back to normal and get my toilet ideas in full swing again.

A lot has happened to me since my last hockey tourney post. Another "first" in my life.

Actually this year has been a year of "firsts" for me. First time on a lot of things.

Lets do a quick recap. Though some of this may not mean anything to some, its a big deal to me.

1. Finally joined the auto transport show at Megamall.

- Though I didnt win anything, it was a heck of an experience. Something I'll always treasure. What made that experience special to me is the fact that a couple of years ago, I was just a mere spectator of that event. I've always kept track of my transhow life and its always nice to think about how I was just watching and drolling at those beautifil cars before. Then a couple of years later when I founded Honda Club of the Philippines, I got to know some of the shop owners and a couple of friends who joined the show themselves. Giving me the priviledge to enter the so called "forsaken realm".. meaning I finally could go across the damn rope barrier and mingle with the big fishes in the car industry. I also got to know the organizers in the process. Giving me certain perks :) Hey, it pays to know the right people :). Then this year, I just the show myself. Thats something I'll always be proud of. Seeing my car displayed there. Seeing people take pictures of my car.. hearing them talk about it and what they have to say about it was really nice. After the event, I felt I fulfilled another one of my dreams.

2. Winning at a carshow.

- Of course when you join car shows you want to win something right? Who doesnt? That has always been a big problem of mine since I started joining carshows. Its because of the fact that if you wanna win at carshow, aside from having unlimited stash of cash, you need to make your car as WILD as you can. I'm talking about bright colored paints, doors opening and closing like crazy and cars with bodykits like spaceships! Thats just not my thing. For me, I want my ride to be simple and solid. Extreme in its own way. Something everybody would want to drive and own for a very, very, long period of time. Something which I'm sure I was able to accomplish with my ride.

This year, in one of the carshows that I joined, my car was able to win 3rd place Best Honda! Woohoo! That was an awesome moment. Something that I will surely cherish forever.

3. Winning at a Car Audio Competition

- This has been one of my frustrations also because when I decided to "bling" my cars audio setup on 2005, I did it with the target and purpose of joining car audio competitions. For some reason, I just wasnt able to join any of the audio competitions that came up. Finally this 2007, I joined the EPITOMY of car audio competitions. I joined the IASCA contest at the new venue of the Custom Car and Sport Truck Show (now called the Manila Auto Salon) at the SMX complex of the biggest mall in asia. Aptly called S.M. Mall of Asia.

I didnt change a whole of my setup to begin with. I just upgraded my separates to bigger ones thats why my setup, if youll think about it, are all still "2005 specs". I won 3rd place at the rookie category! Besting out 14 other competitors in my division. Except for the 1st and 2nd which is a BMW 7 Series and a 3 series :) I'll take 3rd place anytime! Given the amount I spent on my audio setup compared to those other big wigs. Their setup alone costs twice as much as my car. Hehehe.

4. Joining the Whiterock Half-Ironman Triathlon.

- This was the race I could only dream of joining a couple of years ago. I finally did it last 2007 and it was damn good. It was a GREAT experience. I was just so happy and proud to finally be able to finish that race. I was never the sporty one when I was a kid. So for me to finish this, in a very respectable time for a first timer, is a very good thing ;) I posted my writeup about my Whiterock experience here so I dont really need to elaborate about the race anymore :)

5. Winning at a Triathlon race.

- Like the carshows, winning something at triathlon races was something that I've always dreamed of. Something that I've always wanted. That dream got fulfilled when I won 2nd place on the last triathlon race of the year, the Extri Off-road Triathlon. Thats the event I was supposed to write about but I just got caught up on a lot of things and wasnt able to muster enough time and momentum to finally do it. Till now. :)

That race will always be special for me. Not only because thats where I won my first triathlon medal, but also because thats where I decided to start taking triathlons a little more serious. That pave the way for me to join almost 90% of the races here in manila. Hopefully in 2008, with me taking my training a notch higher, I'll be able to do better.

6. Personal Life

- A lot of firsts also happened to my personal life. As much I'd love to share it here, I think its best that I just keep those things to myself. :) If I have to say something about it though, I'll have to say "Its All Good!". Because it really is. :)

Onwards to 2008! :)

Gold Rush! Team Philippines Dominates The 1st Asian Underwater Hockey Championships!

Now it can be told.. in the eyes of the Gentledog.

After all the calories gained strategizing at Mcdo..

After the countless hours deliberating the line-ups and yes.. even the design of the men’s team swimming trunks..

After all the e-groups drama and blunders..

When it comes to Underwater Hockey..

The Philippines is THE BEST in Asia.

We're the CHAMPS!

Except for a draw in the mixed division, Team Philippines from the Philippine Underwater Hockey Confederation (PUHC) dominated almost every game of the 1st Asian Underwater Hockey Championship (AUHC) held in Singapore.

The games were held at The Queenstown Swimming Complex. Located along stirling road, the complex was perfect for the 1st ever AUHC. Although the tile grouts takes a little getting used to, the pool was big and deep enough for underwater hockey. Stirling Underwater Hockey Club (SUHC) did a fantastic job organizing this event. Except for a couple of kinks here and there, which can be considered as growing pains, everything went smoothly and as planned. Next year, I hope PUHC will be able to top what SUHC did.

The games were on-time 99% of the time, the barriers did a fantastic job containing the wild underwater hockey players, there was LIVE COVERAGE of the games being shown on deck on 2 huge 50(?) inch TV’s, not to mention still having enough space for all the other players to loiter and hang around. The washrooms were big and water was never a problem also.

Going inside the venue, you'll immediately feel the competitive yet festive nature of the event. Everyone was in high spirits! It was great to mingle around and talk to other underwater hockey players from Asia. Despite the obvious language barrier, it was good that everyone knows how to speak English. In 3 days time, I think I saturated all the English in my vocabulary. Including the ones in my reserves. I was reduced to "Yup", "Uh-huh", and "Yeah" on the last day. Hehe..


Day 0 (Thursday) - Coup-de-etat!

History was made on the day we left for Singapore, not because of us but because of the coup-de-etat staged by the rebel military soldiers. While everyone was busy burying their attention at the Manila Peninsula Hotel where the rebels held their fort, most of us were busy haggling the traffic going to the airport. When I got to the airport, I can't help but feel patriotic seeing the other members of our team clad in matching Speedo sponsored, Philippine Team t-shirts.

We made quite an impression at the airport, with a number of people asking if we're part of the Philippine Team contingent that’s going to slug it out at the SEA Games. Only to see their faces turn into blank "huh?" faces when we mention that we're going instead to Singapore to play Underwater Hockey. Underwater What?!? Hehehe..

The flight took around 3½-4 hours which was honestly the longest 4 hours of my life. Not because I was afraid of airplanes but because I was butt-hungry. When I saw the flight attendants pulling the food carts I thought they we're going to serve us snacks only to find out that those damn junk foods aren’t free! 100 bucks for a freaking cup noodle?!? When I asked the pretty flight attendant why they don’t serve free snacks she just told me, "Budget flight lang po kasi Sir.. mura lang kasi yung ticket". What the hell? Good thing the flight attendant was pretty. Then as I lowered my head in frustration I saw this flag on my t-shirt and that told me everything I needed to know. Hehehe.. Say hello to our third world country :) Hehehe..

When we arrived at Singapore we just got our luggage’s and went on our separate ways. The SUHC people were gracious enough to host most of us in their houses. Some people were picked up by their kind hosts, and some like my group took a maxicab. My group decided to make a quick detour at Mustafa to have our $US converted to Singapore’s currency. We also had a quickie midnight snack at one of Mustafa’s infamous eateries. Wherein the use of serving spoons and utensils is practically unheard of. Hehe..

We got to Sam’s (our host) place around 5am already, which was really embarrassing to our kind host since he's been waiting for us since 1am. Not to mention that he's been stuck with Chock for the entire time. Hehehe.


DAY 1 (Friday) - And so it begins.. Team Philippines sets the benchmark.

For Jay, Chock, and the Gentledog (GD), the day started pretty early. Armed with just an hour of sleep, we were tasked to help our host setup the barriers. We slept at 6am and woke up around 7am and immediately went to the pool. To those who thinks setting up the barriers on our PUHC tourneys is hard enough, the barriers made by SUHC was even harder to setup. It was harder yeah but it was all worth the effort. Considering that it did its job really well. Along with some other SUHCers, we were tasked to carry the barriers, chains, and other stuff from the storage to the pool area. Which we happily agreed to do. Those barrier walls were heavy. It took two persons to carry 5 of those. Y'all saw how many barriers were used. Feel free to do the math :). The chains were also heavy as hell. Those chains weren’t the thin ones. They were HUGE. After bringing them to the pool area, we helped Sam and the rest of his Equipment & Set-Up crew put the stickers on the barriers. Then also helped them put the gazillion # of nuts and bolts together. We finished and got back to Sam’s place around 11am. By then we were talking about going to the various shopping places in Singapore. Which was put on hold because all 3 of us felt sleepy as soon as I turned the aircon on. Hehehe..

After a couple of hours recharging, the 3 of us were hungry. We went to this sorta-like hidden chicken rice place in Singapore which was recommended by our SUHCer friend Twang, which to our surprise, serves one of the best chicken rice in the whole country. We ordered a half-chicken which we finished in a record 5 mins time. We came back to this place the following day along with our fellow housemates and this time ordered the whole chicken! That didn’t last long either. Hehe.. The Chicken was that good. No wonder this restaurant got an award for having the best Chicken Rice Singapore has to offer. Sin Kee is the best!

The PUHC women’s team were barely challenged on their way to clinch the women’s championship on the very 1st day. Since Japan didn’t field their own women’s team, Team Philippines and Singapore went at it on a best of 3 format. Team Philippines won each game convincingly. Outscoring Singapore on their 1st game 14-0 and then upping the ante on the 2nd game. Finishing the game with a 15-nil win over the Singapore Women’s team. Those lucky ladies! They can now relax because they're already assured of a medal. Something which The Gentledog really wants. Selfish as this may sound but, I want the medal more than the mixed games winners certificate. Hehehe..

The PUHC men’s team also showed its strength against Team Singapore and Japan. On their 1st match against Singapore, the PUHC men’s team dominated the game with an 8-3 win over Singapore. Singapore on their 2nd game versus Japan won the game 6-4. On the last match of the day, Team Philippines overwhelmed Japan for a 14-1 victory. Though the game against Japan was a blowout, the game got really rough. Trust me, it wasn’t an easy victory. Every goal was a product of hardwork, teamwork, and determination. Everybody contributed to every goal.

It wasn’t the same for Team Philippines' X-Games division though, armed with mixed men and women players from PUHC, and playing against an all-men’s Singapore roster, the PUHC X-Games division teams lost on both occasions. Losing the 1st game 8-3 and succumbing once again to the all men’s Singapore X-games team on the 2nd game 4-3. Everything was still going as planned though because even with those 2 losses, those x-games are non-bearing matches. So technically, Team Philippines still has a perfect all win-zero loss record. GD though may have caused a commotion among the x-team players because of his suggestion that his fellow Mighty PUHCer shouldn’t play with the x-team on their 2nd game. The x-team was asking for reinforcements and Jay was telling GD that he's thinking of playing with our x-team. Given that we were going to play against Japan in a couple of minutes I told him GD’s side that he shouldn’t play there anymore but instead save himself for our final game against Team Japan. Because based on what I saw during their last match against Singapore, those Japanese players are no push-overs. Besides, why risk getting injured and wasted on a non-bearing game? Also, with your match against the very strong Japanese contingent only a few minutes away. Not to demean any of the x-game players but at the end of the day, our game is what will really count on the score sheets. What happens if someone from the men’s team got injured? What if someone from the men’s team plays all out at the x-games division and loses gas at the all men’s game? Who are you going to blame this time? Yes the term non-bearing hurts but quite frankly, it is what it is. A non-bearing game. Besides, why blame GD? He's not the team captain. If a players wants to jump in for the x-games then he/she can do so. He's just saying what he thinks is right. Also, can teams put in players from the men’s and women’s team to their x-game counterparts that easily? I dunno what the rules are about that but I still stand by my opinion. No one should underestimate any opponent. Not even Team Japan. Not even if they just have 7 players. After our game against Japan, despite the blowout victory, I think my opinion regarding that one was justified.

We all went to Kopitiam after the game for dinner. Where GD sampled their infamous cereal prawns which was costly but very delicious. After a few rounds of ice ka chang(?) for dessert, some of us headed to clark quey for a couple rounds of beer. Some of the went home already. We went to Hooters where we got our first taste of Ambassador Glenn’s generosity. This dude is one of a kind. Credit card limit size that is. Hehe.. Most of us got surprised (pleasantly of course.. hehe) that he took care of the bill that night. So in return, we made him pose between our 2 lovely girls for the evening.. Achi Michelle and Ditse (tama ba? hehe) Jowi and promised him that he will score a goal (take note) tomorrow at the mixed division.


DAY 2 (Saturday) - Domination, Determination, Perseverance, and the 1 hour dance routine.

This is the day The Gentledog dreaded the most. Because if you'll look at the rosters of the 3 Philippine Teams, our team (Phi2) had the most number of women. Phi1 had the strongest first 6 and subs (except for a few) of all 3 teams. While Phi3 had the most balanced team in terms of regular players and new player firepower. Phi2 only had The Gentledog as its male forward. The CF position was handled by Nix while the other wing position, by Nikki and Nadj. The Gentledog was sharing his with Margie. Our backs were anchored by Ferdie at the CB position along with Boy Toy Roy (more on than later.. hehe) taking care of the right back. Chari and Ines were subbing at the left back position. Backing up The Gentledog whenever he fumbles the puck. Hehehe..

Before the actual game itself, The Gentledog knew he's gonna pushed to his limits. Being the only male forward, he will be tasked to penetrate, gain ground, attack, and occasionally defend as well. Though its a task The Gentledog has no problems with, playing with a sprained ankle on day 2 is not how you wanna start facing your opponents. The Gentledog has been having problems with his 2 bum ankles for the longest time. Unfortunately for him, during one of the tune-up games with PUHC before the 1st AUHC, he sprained his right ankle pretty bad (again!). 1 week before the freaking 1st AUHC! When he woke up the morning of Day 2. His right ankle was swollen. But as always, and because of the expected earful that he will get from Nix, Chari, and the rest of Phi2 team if he decides not to play, (hehehe..) the Gentledog played. Thanks to chocks painkillers, my 6 months old ankle support, my quack quack self-medication, and a lil bit of luck, The Gentledog made it through.

Phi1 as expected blew all their opponents out. Scoring 8-1, 7-0, and 10-1 against Singapore(Sng)3, The Joey Carpio powered Sng2, and the Aussie Superstar Greg Bush powered Sng1 respectively. Against Japan though, the game wasn’t much of a blowout as we expected. Getting 7 points while letting Japan score 2 goals against them. The thrilling part here is that, In Phi1's 4 games, Ambassador Glenn was able to score a total of 4 GOALS! Yup! Count em.. 1,2,3 and 4!

Phi2 was able to get by Sng3 and the Greg Bush powered Sng 1 pretty easily. Beating them 8-0 and 8-3 respectively. Then the Phi2 girls Nix, Chari, Nikki, Nadj and Marge took the challenge of going against the stronger, faster, and rougher players from Japan to heart and helped Phi2 beat them 6-1. Joey Carpio's Sng2 squad though was another story. Even if Phi2 won 5-2, this was undoubtedly the toughest game Phi2 has ever played. Being their last game for the night, fatigue is slowly creeping up. Especially with the Gentledog.

The game was deadlocked 2-2 after the first half. The pressure was on. It was our closest game yet. They were pounding The Gentledog and the rest of my co-forwards everytime we try to attack. The game was getting rougher and more physical by the minute. Add the fact that the refs didn’t count one of Gentledogs goal attempt. Which could’ve made the score 3-2 in favor of Phi2. I swear it was a goal. I was scot-free on my breakaway and I flicked it high. Yes it was high but I was pretty sure that it hit the part BELOW the tape mark. I'm sure the other Sng 2 players saw that too because they went up as well as if I actually made the goal. I was in fact already on my way back to our goal area to prepare for the next strike. Only to find out that my goal wasn’t counted. Oh well, lesson learned.

Counted or not, its was all water under the bridge for the G.D after that. Nothing you can do about it anymore. Maybe the refs were right, maybe it wasn’t really a goal. But who cares right? It happened already. Move on. Yes, that pissed The Gentledog a hell lot, but I have to put all that behind me and just focus on our remaining task ahead. On deck, I can hear the cheers from my fellow Team Philippines encouraging us and boosting our morale. My ankle was hurting really bad already. The painkillers aren’t working anymore. Plus, G.D. was already dead-tired and worn-out. But so are my team-mates. So I cant use that as an excuse. Our starting 6 was playing without a sub for almost the entire game. Before one of the strikes, our CF Nix kept on telling GD to put what happened behind him and to just focus on winning the game. Maybe because she knows GD has the tendency to take those things personally. Sometimes way too personal that it affects his performance. But Nix was right anyway. No point crying over spilled milk.

During one point in the 1st half, with the game tied 2-2, we were all down in the water when another unfortunate incident happened to the GD. His dorsal stick broke! Talk about perfect timing! GD was shocked honestly. How unlucky can anyone get? Plus that happened after my no-goal incident. So that really stressed me A LOT. Feeling helpless without a stick, I immediately went up and screamed "Nabali stick ko!!!". I swam to our sub area as fast as I could and then just said to my teammates "Nabali stick ko!!! Pahiram stick!!!". Funny thing is, without even mentioning a word, Margie, Nikki, and Nadj (our subs that time) just held their sticks up. I had to make a quick decision on whose stick I should grab. Fortunately for me, Nikki was also using a dorsal stick. So I just ripped the stick away from her gloves and continued to play. Talk about adrenaline rush!

Inspired but still ticked off with the no goal call, G.D. and the rest of the Phi2 players gave it all they got at the 2nd half. "No way we're gonna lose this one" I thought to myself. My CF Nix has been telling us that we should win this game because if we lose, we're gonna be the 1st team in the mixed division to do so. Which is somewhat embarrassing given the fact that sometimes, we we're proclaiming ourselves to be even better than Phi1. Hehehe.. Hey.. nothing wrong with a little bit of swagger. :) We just have to make sure we back it up!

We were able to score 3 straight goals after that. The Gentledog was able to score 2 straight. Assuring Phi2 of the win. No way I or my super backs Ferdie, Chari, Ines, and Roy would let these guys score 3 straight and steal the game away from us. No way that’s gonna happen. I've always said to myself that pressure situations is where great players are born. Where the men gets separated from the boys. Its a unique and special situation to be in. Its either you crack or it makes you shine even brighter. Just imagine the thoughts running in my head before the start of the 2nd half.

1. We're tired!
2. They really didn’t count my goal?!?
3. How the hell am I going to blog about this?!? (Hehehe..)
4. If we lose this one, its gonna be a very long and embarrassing WALK going to the lounge area.
5. We're the only mixed team to lose! Yikes. That’s the fact which I'm sure we all dreaded the most.
6. If we lose, my “no-goal” will haunt me for the rest of my underwater hockey career.

After the win, we were just so relieved that it was finally over. We made it! 4-0 baby! Perfect record! Now it was time to relax and do some ref duties.

Phi3 had it the hard way. Routing Sng1 and Sng3 to a 6-3 and 8-3 victory, they were unable to get by Sng2 that easily. After their game, their scores were tied 4-4 which resulted on a draw. Giving Singapore their lone point on the standings. Their game against Sng2 was exciting. Down by 2 with a couple of minutes left, Phi3 rallied behind the rabid cheers of their fellow countrymen. My brother Mighty PUHCers Junvie and Jay held their ground and their defensive area which allowed them to score 2 straight points. The crowd went wild after they made the game-trying goal! They had a chance to win it but it just wasn’t meant to be as time ran out. Its ok though. We’ll take a draw anytime over a loss J.

As faith would have it, they still have one more team to face. Although it’s a non-bearing game, this team definitely are no push-overs. Ladies and Gentlemen I’m talking about Team Japan. Hehe.. Jay and Junvie's “Pang-himagas”. Hehehe.. If they got exhausted against their game with Sng2, just imagine how harder those 2 would have to work just to keep up with all those fast Japanese players. Man, they’re gonna be in for a treat. Hehe..

Team Japan won 4-3. After being tied 3-3 for the longest time, one of the Japanese forwards got a clean breakaway which enabled them to score the game winning goal. You just have to give it to Team Japan though. Those guys were playing their 6th game of the night already! And they ONLY HAVE 7 PLAYERS!!! Talk about stamina and endurance! They really earned GD’s respect after that. Though still inexperienced, Team Japan will surely be a force to reckon with in the future given the proper training and game sense.

After the games, we all decided to eat at Lau Pa Sat where we sampled more of Singapore’s finest delicacies. The food was good and it was pretty cheap! Some of us went home to change to party clothes for what was going to be a very unusual “gimik” night.

As soon as Chock hit the dance floor at the Hed Kandi bar and felt the music, he started dancing impromptu! No warm-ups, no pre-socializing with the other Team Philippine players! He just took the dance floor and danced to his hearts content! Not to be outdone, some of the foreign guests took the challenge of doing a dance-off with PUHC’s very own Philippine Monkey. Chock eagerly accepted their challenge and took on 3 guys which he later embarrassed. Words will not be enough to explain the craziness of Chocks entire act. It was as if he planned everything. No wonder he wore two shirts. 1 Polo and 1 Tight Fit shirt underneath. It was all part of his act. Hahahaha Polo first then hell take it off to reveal his shirt inside. Chock worked the dance floor in every way possible. Doing the worm, dancing on the corridors, and heck, even doing push ups on the chair! Hahahaha. All in 1 hour!

We decided to leave and head for Ministry of Sound (MOS) right after. The Gentledog was still tired as hell from all those games that he played. So he wasn’t really excited about it. Later on, we all just decided to go home and left Achi, Jowi, Glenn, and Idol Roy behind. Hehehe.. Where we later found out that someone did A LOT MORE than just dancing at MOS. I’d love to expound more on this but what happens in Singapore stays in Singapore. Hehehe.. You owe me bro. You know who you are. Gandahan mo stick ko ha. Hehe..

DAY 3 (Sunday) – The Finale, The Wild Party, and the Ring!

This is the day most of the men from Team Philippines was looking forward to. Because on this day, they would find out if they would go home with a gold medal around their necks. Failure is not an option. We didn’t come here to finish second place. We went here to win.

The Men’s Team first game against Japan didn’t start off as planned. The four of us (Gentledog, Chock, Jay, and Milo) arrived late. When GD and Chock got into the venue the game already started. We were 5 minutes late. Fortunately for us, we were going against Japan. When we got in the water, Team Philippines was comfortably up, 3-0. Team Captain Colet had no choice but to field in 2 reserves on the men’s team. Pulling Roger and Glenn (Yes.. Ambassador Glenn) out of the x-team lineups and into the men’s team. Wow! Roger was able to score a goal but unfortunately for the Ambassador, despite his HERCULAN efforts, it just wasn’t meant to be. But he played well enough and helped our team beat Japan.

I dunno if its strategy but we once again played Singapore just after 15 minutes! This was supposed to be a non-bearing game which we honestly could just forfeit because we were already assured of our championship slot. No more point playing Singapore 2 straight games. We could just decide that this would be the championship match and end the day early. But our Team Captain still decided to go for it. Total Domination! Clean Sweep! Nothing more, nothing less.

Singapore was able to score the first goal on both occasions, giving us a quick dose of reality check. Team Captain at one point was scolding us that we should dig deep! If we decided to stay up late last night, then we shouldn’t let our game suffer because of that.

Fortunately for the men’s team, all the Philippine players still had something left in their tanks. Although they played sloppy, well.. really sloppy, they still managed to beat Singapore’s best all men’s roster TWICE and get the Gold.

After the celebrations, everyone made their way to the banquet party at Merbau bar organized by SUHC. The party went really well! It was wild! Everyone, especially Team Philippines, were having the time of their lives. Nothing beats partying with a gold medal hanging on your neck. :)

As the celebrations continued, Chock, Gentledog, and Roger participated in this jack en poy game by Japan. You’ll take off a piece of clothing everytime you lose. Unfortunately for the 3 of us, by the end of the last round, we were also down to our underwears. Hehehe…

Almost everybody got drunk. Team Captain Colet treated each of the men’s team to a round of beer. But not to be outdone, Ambassador Glenn took care of the drinks of the ENTIRE Philippine Team! Furiously swiping his credit card in his bid to get everybody drunk and happy. Thanks Amba! Iba ka talaga!

As the program went on along with the awarding of the medals and trophies, the biggest surprise of the night happened when out of nowhere, Ferdie proposed to Nikki!!! Nikki and almost all of the girls cried their hearts out immediately. Nikki, so conscious that she doesn’t look pretty that night because she was already wasted, threw up a couple of minutes after Ferdie proposed to her. Hahahaha.. But its ok, despite smelling like puke and looking really wasted, Hehe.. everybody still congratulated her and Ferdie with gusto. I for one was very happy for those two lovebirds. Because believe it or not, The Gentledog played an instrumental part, both figuratively and literally, on how those two got together. :)

The party still went on after the proposal of course, but now everyone was really in high spirits! Just as we dominated Singapore and Japan underwater, the girls of PUHC dominated, caressed, groped, hugged, kissed, and had their pictures taken with SUHCs Aussie superstar, Greg Bush.

A lot of other things we’re happening inside and outside the bar. The Gentledog, Chock, and Beejay groped every lady that dared seat on our love nest. Hehe.. People were dancing everywhere! On top of tables, chairs, and even on the bar! Alcohol is really God's gift to mankind. :)

A lot of KISSING happened also. You name it! Enough to put Gretchen and John Estradas’ “KISSCANDAL” to shame. There was a girl to girl action, a girl to guy action of course, and heck, even GUY TO GUYY action! And also.. I dunno if I should say this but there was also a girl-to-errr-guy-err-ok-girl-ano ba talaga?!?-ok-both?? scandal! hehehe.. But what happens in Singapore, stays in Singapore :) I'm sure thats a line most of the guilty ones would agree to. :) You know who you are. Hehe.. The Gentledog included. ;)

Thanks for reading! :)