MIXED EMOTIONS AS WILLING WILLIE GIVES AWAY ITS JACKPOT PRIZE

In what could be the last episode of Willing Willie, Willie Revillame " gave " a contestant a million bucks, a brand-new car and a house and lot. The contestant from Cebu cried buckets of tears as she unexpectedly became an instant millionaire, homeowner and car owner all rolled into one.
While I am happy for the contestant, I can't help but feel betrayed. I just cannot remain blind to the fact that the game was, from all indications, rigged from the start. What are the chances of the contestant spinning the wheel and hitting the jackpot in what could be the last episode of the show ? Interestingly, Willie Revillame was caught rigging the result of one of his segments in his old show at ABS-CBN. I guess old habits are hard to die. Besides, the story of a poor contestant becoming a millionaire will serve Willie Revillame well as he goes to court tomorrow to avert a possible TRO against his show.

COACH RYAN GREGORIO UNEDITED

Coach Ryan Gregorio and the Meralco Bolts are on a hot winning streak. With three straight victories, Coach Ryan and his boys are defying early predictions that it will take a long time before Meralco starts winning. In an exclusive interview, Coach Ryan reveals the secret to his winning ways.

1. How do you find your new team so far ? Are you satisfied with the way it is playing in the current conference ?
I am very, very hard to satisfy. But we're definitely making progress. We are on target in terms of where we want to be at this point. But I'm not satisfied. I am the type of person who once in a while gets happy. But satisfied, not yet. Not until we get the trophy.

2. Are you frustrated that you don't have the same talent in your present team as with the team you previously handled ?
Frustrated, definitely not. This is one of the reasons why I opted to take this new challenge. I want to develop new players. If you notice, early on in my career, I never had MVP's right away. But we were able to develop players. So we got an MVP, Rookies of the year, Most Improved players and 6th men. Those things don't happen overnight. So, I am happy with the kind of team that I have. Talent level, probably my team is not at par with my previous team. But I think with hard work, our players will reach the same level. We're seeing glimpses of good plays from Macmac, Chris Ross and even Gabby Espinas. But we're still pushing forward. Hopefully my players will reach their full potential in time.

3. What do you see as your team's strengths and weaknesses ?
At this point, I can see that we are getting our rhythm in the scoring department from defensive stops and converting on turnovers via fastbreak. If you look at the stats of the current conference, we are in the top 3 as far as fastbreak points are concerned and no.1 in forced turnovers. We are at no. 2 in points allowed, just behind Ginebra. So, those are great stats. But those are not enough. We have to lead in two or three other categories to secure more victories. But I am happy that our stats reveal that we are doing our best on the defensive end.

4. How far do you think Meralco Bolts will go in the current conference ?
As far as possible. I don't want to put a limit in our pursuit of excellence. Building a really good team, however, does not happen overnight. It's a daily thing. So, right now, we're improving everyday. We've won our last 3 games. We're on a winning streak. It's happening earlier than I expected. We're winning despite the expectations of jaded observers that it will take awhile before Meralco starts winning. But again, through our tremendous efforts, we're making non-believers into believers. And yes, we can if we set our mind to it.

5. You seem to have the winning touch as a coach. What is your secret ?
There is no secret. The secret probably is hard work. If you work hard, you'll be rewarded. If you don't give up, you'll be rewarded. So those are the things which keep our boat afloat. But the biggest factor I think is the newfound belief of our players in themselves. I have instilled a system wherein a player's strength is maximized. And right now, my players are starting to believe in themselves. It was hard at first because most of them came off losing seasons. And if you come from losing seasons, you're confidence level is at an all-time low. I think we've addressed that. Right now, we are just having so much fun playing. Our hard work is paying off. And we are not going to stop working hard.

6. How soon do you expect Meralco Bolts to become a major title contender ?
I hope sooner than expected. It is no secret that in order to have a high caliber team, you must have the right personnel. I think we need 2 or 3 more talented players to become a force to reckon with.

7. So do you plan to trade some of your players to make the team more competitive ?
That is something that is always on my mind. I am only as good as my players. I've identified what the team needs. We need a rebounder, a lock-down defender, a shooter to improve our 3 point shooting and a guard who will set the table for us. So we've identified the areas which we need improvement on. But even if we don't have the perfect personnel right now, we've been training and developing our players. But of course, trading players to improve our roster is at the top of my mind.

8. Why do you think fans have started to identify with your team ?
It's probably because of the way we play the game. Filipinos have the tendency to root for the David in the league. So we're the David of the league right now. That's why we're endearing ourselves to the Filipino fans.

9. Your team is not the typical rookie team in the PBA which loses a lot of its game in its initial appearance. In fact, your team is winning and on a roll. Do you think that fans are inspired by your performance that's why they tend to support you ?
Inspiring is a great term. That's what I told my players. If you're going to play the game, you're not there just to get the cash. That's a very, very low motivation for everyone. Every time you play, make sure that you can inspire people to be the best that they can be. And I think that's what we're doing right now. And that's what I think fans appreciate.

THE VIZCONDE MASSACRE : WILL HUBERT WEBB BE ACQUITTED ?

After 9 years in prison, Gerardo Biong will be released from jail anytime soon. Gerardo Biong is the bodygurad of Hubert Webb who burned all the physical evidences in the celebrated Vizconde massacre. Will Hubert Webb now be the recipient of a similar release from prison ?
From all indications, Hubert Webb will be released from prison as well. But strong public opinion will force no less than the president to exert pressure on DOJ to study the case before releasing Hubert Webb.
It will be a travesty of justice should Hubert be released. Several people have said under oath that Hubert was in Paranaque on the night of the massacre. Jessica Alfaro, the security guards of BF Homes and even the maids of the Webbs told the court that Hubert Webb was in the country. Claims of the Webb family that Hubert was in the States when the crime happened simply does not make sense. One just has to ask the residents of BF Homes to realize that the Webbs are lying.
But it is Gerardo Biong himself who strongly implicates Hubert Webb to the crime. If Hubert was indeed out of the country, why would Biong bother to burn all the physical evidences in the Vizconde residence ? Why must he eliminate all the evidences if his boss was indeed a thousand miles away from the crime scene ?
It just makes me sick how some people can lie and peddle such a lie to protect themselves at the expense of a severely aggrieved party. The atrocity of the Vizconde massacre will further be heightened with the travesty of justice that is about to take place should Hubert Webb be acquitted.

COL. JEFF TAMAYO AND HIS REPORT ON THE DRAGON BOAT TEAM

Col Jeff Tamayo is the president of the Philippine Soft Tennis Association and Executive Board Director of POC. He is the sports official who wrote the report on the dragon boat time trials which was used by all the POC and PSC officials as basis in denying the Philippine Dragon Boat team a slot in the Asian Games. While he was a witness to the dragon boat's time trial performance along with other POC and PSC officials, Col. Tamayo in his report accused the members of the team of using steroids. His report as well accused the coach and handlers of the Philippine Dragon Boat team of deceiving the POC and PSC officials by submitting inferior reference times.
Simply put, I find Col. Tamayo's report too insane to be taken seriously. Members of the Philippine Dragon Boat team are subjected to drug testing in every competition it participates in. If Col. Tamayo thought that the members of the team were on steriods, he could have easily asked each members to submit urine samples immediately after the time trials. Col. Tamayo could have taken the urine samples to a reliable testing center to check whether the team really was on steroids. It is the height of irresponsibilty to accuse the team of using steriods without solid proof. Secondly, why did Col. Tamayo accuse the team of submitting inferior time references when he could have easily gotten time standards himself ? Why did he rely solely on what the team gave him ? It is his responsibilty to know if the times that the team made were competitive or not. It is the height of insanity to have the nerve to judge a performance without knowing what constitutes a superior performance.
But the greatest insanity of all is that POC and PSC officials took Col. Tamayo's report as gospel truth. Despite the insanity of the report, POC and PSC officials believed it hook, line and sinker. It just goes to show how ridiculous our sports leaders are. Sadly, the Philippine Dragon Boat team had to suffer the consequences of the insanity of the country's sports officials. The country lost at least two gold medals in the Asian Games all because of a stupid report and the people who believed it.

A GOOD SIGN DESPITE THE LOSS

Ginebra lost to San Miguel by 1 point last night. It all came down to the last play. Willie Miller managed to escape from Arwind Santos on his way to the basket. But the long arms of the San Miguel star somehow managed to block Miller's lay-up.
While the loss is truly heartbreaking, I definitely see facets of Ginebra's game that make me think that the team will make it all the way to the finals. First, Ginebra passed the ball around to spot the open man. A lot of Ginebra players made a lot of shots underneath the basket because of superior passing. Second, Ginebra had enough character to come from 14 points down to nearly steal the game away. Last night's game was different from its past six games in the fact that Ginebra was not at any point in the game leading by a big margin. In fact, it was Ginebra that was often trailing. But it had enough character to rally from 14 points down and keep the game within reach. Lastly, every Ginebra player contributed to the cause. Despite its great height disadvantage, Ginebra played with great teamwork to offset its lack of ceiling.
With these, I truly think that Ginebra will reach the finals and stand a pretty good chance of winning the championship. I will be surprised if Ginebra does not end up with a trophy this current conference.

TALE OF TWO TEAMS : THE PHILIPPINE DRAGON BOAT TEAM AND SMART GILAS

It is just insane that POC and PSC officials agreed to send Smart Gilas to the Asian Games while leaving the Philippine Dragon Boat team at the sidelines. While Smart Gilas is not at a medal contender at all, the Philippine Dragon Boat team is a gold medal prospect. While the Smart Gilas team cost POC and PSC a considerable amount of money for its trip to China for the Asian Games, the Philippine Dragon Boat team was willing to shoulder its airfare down to its uniform.
One thing going for Smart Gilas despite its minimal chance of winning a medal in basketball is that it is handled by people who enjoy cordial ties with powers that be in sports. The dragon boat team, on the other hand, is being handled by people who are at odds with POC and PSC officials. Thus, despite being world record holders, members of the Philippine Dragon Boat team were denied of their rightful place in the Asian Games.
While I certainly pray that the basketball team makes it to the next round at the very least, I can't help but hold contempt for all the POC and PSC officials who were responsible for blocking the participation of the Philippine Dragon Boat team in the Asian Games. Those responsible must be punished for the great injustice that they have inflicted on athletes who merely want to bring honor and glory to their country.

SPORTS WRITING TAKES A NEW MEANING

I got into sports writing because I want to feature stories of athletes that inspire and give due recognition to hard work. I also want to feature athletes who are often overlooked for the more popular ones. Most of the athletes I write about are those who really work hard to excel in their sport.
But I now dare to make a bold step forward. Last night, I submitted an article to my editor that will most likely get us sued. The article dares to expose the injustice suffered by the dragon boat team at the hands of top sports officials who are suppose to protect the interests of the athletes.
While I welcome conflict, it just makes me sad to realize that the world can be cruel even to athletes who work hard to bring glory and honor to the country. The rich and powerful can get away with anything they want even in the sporting world. I have always held the belief that in sports, all is fair and that hard work and excellence pay off. But my recent discovery reveals that it is not so.
I just feel that I need to make a stand on this particular issue. Fortunately, my editor shares the same view. At least, my editor is a reminder that there is still hope. There is hope as long as there are people who are willing to take a risk in telling the truth.