PAALAM PHILIPPINE DRAGON BOAT TEAM

courtesy of interaksyon.com

Nagdesisyon na ang Philippine Olympic Committee sa pamumuno ni Peping Cojuangco. Tanggal na sa national pool ang world champion na Philippine Dragon Boat Team. Hinihintay na lang ng mga tinanggal na paddlers at coaches na palayasin sila sa Rizal Memorial complex ano mang araw ngayon.

Nakakalungkot isipin na ang kaisa-isang koponan ng Pilipinas na world champion ay binuwag dahil naghain ito ng reklamo laban sa sinasabing tiwaling opisyal ng Philippine Canoe Kayak Federation. Imbes na isailalim sa masusing imbestigasyon ang pinagbibintangang opisyal, nagpasiya ang POC at PSC na tanggalin na lang ang nagrereklamo. Ang nakakapagtaka, pinaboran ng POC at PSC ang isang opisyal na natanggal na dati sa PSC dahil sa katiwalian. Nakakapagtaka na patuloy pa rin ang pamamayagpag ng naturang opisyal sa kabila ng record nitong paglustay sa pera ng bayan.

Mahaba-haba ring panahon ang ginugul ko sa pagsubaybay sa mga pangyayari sa Philippine Dragon Boat Team. Naniniwala kasi ako sa ipinaglalaban nila. At naniniwala ako na sila ang nagsasabi nang totoo. Nais kong magpasalamat sa buong team sa pagtitiwalang ibinigay sa akin. Naging kaibigan ko ang buong team sa pagtutok ko sa mga pangyayari. Alam ko na di pa tapos ang laban. Marami pang maaring mangyari. Maari pang magising ang taumbayan sa kawalan ng hustisya sa nangyari sa koponan. Maaring ang galit ng taumbayan ang bigla na lamang bumungad sa mga mukha ng pamunuan ng POC, PSC at PCKF isang araw.

Laban Philippine Dragon Boat Team !

ANO ANG IKINATATAKOT NG PHILIPPINE CANOE KAYAK FEDERATION ?

Hanggang ngayon, hindi makuhang isumite ng PCKF ang mga pangalan ng bagong halal nitong mga opisyal. Nuong Disyembre pa naganap ang halalan subalit hanggang ngayon, hindi ba natatanggap ng NSA Affairs ang listahan ng bagong opisyal ng PCKF.

Hanggang ngayon, hindi rin makuhang isumite ng PCKF ang mga miyembro ng bagong Philippine Dragon Boat Team. Matapos magsagawa ng try-out nuong isang taon pa, hindi pa rin naisusumite ng pamunuan ng PCKF ang mga pangalan ng bagong buong dragon boat team. Bunsod nito, hindi nakatatanggap ng allowances ang mga bagong miyembro ng Philippine Dragon Boat Team.

Hanggang ngayon, di pa rin nagpapaunlak ng panayam sa akin ang pamunuan ng PCKF. Nananatiling blocked ang aking numbero kay PCKF President Jonne Go. Pinangangatawanan naman ni PCKF Coach Len Escollante na pinagbawalan daw siya ng Philippine Navy na magsalita sa media sa kabila ng pagpayag mismo ng Philippine Navy Media Affairs na makapanayam ko siya.

Hanggang kailan kaya iiwas ang pamunuan ng PCKF sa pagsagot nang tuwiran sa mga batikos na pinupukol sa kanila ? Hanggang kailan kaya sila magtatago sa likod ng kanilang mga padrino ? Sa aking palagay, di na rin magtatagal ang pagkukubli ng PCKF. Nalalapit na ang araw ng pagtutuos sa pagitan ng PCKF at mga inagrabyado nito.

DAN PALAMI AND COACH WEISS : IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO

courtesy of www.spiegel.de

Now that Coach Weiss is out of the Azkals team, all his shortcomings as a coach are being made public. From his lack of tactical knowledge to gross disrespect for homegrown players, all are being listed to somehow justify his termination.

But what  escapes me is why Dan Palami allowed Coach Weiss to have his way. Seeing that Coach Weiss is more of a liability than an asset, if reports are to be believed,  why then did Palami continue to hold on to Weiss as Azkals coach ? Three years of tolerating all the misdeeds of Weiss as coach is much too long. And Palami certainly has the power to replace Weiss if he really wanted to at any given time.

In one report, Coach Weiss was said to have called one local player a "brown monkey". The racial insult alone should have cost Weiss his job. But the player, his teammates, sports writers and most especially Dan Palami simply ignored the insult, pretending as if it is a normal thing for a foreigner to say. I  find the insult simply offensive and unacceptable.

If there is anyone to blame, the buck stops with Dan Palami. As manager and practically the owner of the team, he allowed things to take place. The best that Palami could do is to accept his responsibility. But then again, it is, I think, too much to ask from the Azkals team manager. It is easier to blame the German coach as far as Dan Palami is concerned.

PHILIPPINE CANOE KAYAK OFFICIALS : AYAW PAAWAT

Nagsagawa ng eleksyon ang Philippine Canoe Kayak Federation bilang tugon sa kinasasangkutan nitong gulo. Ang eleksyon at pagbuo ng bagong Philippine Dragon Boat Team ang pinapalagay ng mga opisyal ng PCKF na magpapatigil sa gulo sa pagitan nila at ng kanilang tinanggal na mga atleta at coaches.

Subalit kapansin-pansin na ang mga lumang opisyal pa rin ang nahalal sa isinagawang eleksyon. Nagpalit-palit lamang sila ng posisyon. Ang dating secretary-general ay nahalal na ngayong presidente sa kabila nang kawalan nito ng kaalaman sa palakasan. Ang nailuklok na sec-gen ay may-ari daw ng lupa sa Tanay na pinapag-praktisan ng dragon boat athletes. Ang mga iba pang opisyal ng PCKF ay pawang mga pribadong tao na walang kinalaman sa canoe, kayak at dragon boat.

Ang pinakamatindi pa ngayon ay bumuo na ng bagong dragon boat team ang mga bagong halal na opisyal ng PCKF. Nakabuo na sila ng bagong line-up at balak nang isumite ito sa POC at PSC.

Ang malaking hamon para sa bagong halal na mga opsyal ng PCKF ay nananatili. Payag ba sila na pagtapatin ang kanilang bagong buo na koponan laban sa kanilang tinanggal na team sa isang one-on-one race ? At kung matalo ng mga tinanggal ang kanilang binuong koponan, payag ba sila na buwagin ang kanilang koponan at ibalik ang kanilang mga tinanggal ? Walang saysay na panatilihin ng PCKF ang isang koponan na hindi kailanman mananalo sa isang koponan na nakatambay lang at kukuyakuyakoy sa tabi-tabi.

COACH ERNIE AND MALDITAS : MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING ?

The Southeast Asian Games are over. Yet the controversies involving Coach Ernie Nierras and the Malditas continue.

For this post, I will simply focus on one of the controversies. That is, Coach Ernie's purchase of Monica Lee's airline ticket using a stolen credit card.

It is strange that Lee was able to reach US mainland without encountering any problem at all. It was only with her US domestic flight did she encounter a problem. Interestingly, Lee asked for a change in her flight schedule. She asked Coach Ernie for a change since she wanted to go home early. Had she decided to stick with the group booking, would she have had any problem at all ?

In her tweet, Lee said that Coach Ernie used a stolen card to buy her ticket. But in the same tweet conversation, she admitted that the airlines officials said that the card did not match the name of her coach. It that is so, how did she conclude that it was Coach Ernie who purchased her ticket ? And is it usual practice for a coach to buy tickets for his players ?

If the controversy is being made into a corruption case, why is the incident isolated ? To make a lot of money, Coach Nierras should have bought all the tickets of his players using stolen credit cards. And even if he did so, how will he make money ? Wouldn't he be caught red-handed anyway which could only mean his possible criminal liability and expulsion from the national team ?

The refusal of Monica Lee to file a complaint with the Philippine Football Federation is very strange as well. If she felt that she was an aggrieved party, why then does she not file a complaint with her national sport association to get justice ?

Could this controversy be a simple case of a player over-reacting to an incident ?  Could this be an issue that has been blown out of proportion ? Unless Monica Lee files a formal complaint with  PFF, this controversy is nothing more than a poor attempt to discredit a person who is extremely unpopular to a lot of people.