The Varsitarian

THE FIRST thing she did after pocketing the last ball was to sit down. And then, everything began to sink in – she had just made history.

UST’s Rubilen “Bingkay” Amit will forever be remembered as the first female Filipino cue artist to win a world champion. She trounced 48 of the world’s best to capture the World 10-ball title at the SM City North Edsa last June 2 to 6.

“I didn’t think of the winning part when I was on the game. My mindset was to play the game the way I practiced it,” said UST’s College of Commerce’s top cue master in 2000 and 2001.

Starting with dad

Amit, a 27-year-old accountancy graduate, was introduced to the pool table by her dad in their home province of Cebu. Eventually, her father and daughter’s billiard quests outside their home prompted Amit’s mother to buy them a table.

She wanted them home without keeping the young Amit from her budding pastime. read more »

THE BIG boys are gone, but if there’s one thing this season’s Tigers are not lacking, it’s fighting spirit.

Coach Pido Jarencio described his wards as one hungry pack whose intense desire could make up for their relative inexperience as a team and low ceiling.

But conscious of the handicap, he made no prediction on whether UST could finally make a return trip to the Final Four and ultimately get the job done.

“Even if we’re undersized, these players are fighters—they refuse to quit,” he said in Filipino.

Jarencio was apparently getting his confidence from the way his crew performed in pre-UAAP tune-ups during the summer. He particularly saw promise when UST, fielding a small lineup, barged into the finals of the 2009 Millennium Basketball League (MBL).

The MBL was no inter-barangay tilt. It’s the real deal where the Tigers got to compete with ex-PBA stalwarts. At the very least, Jarencio said the experience was invaluable. read more »

Pathetic defense crashed the Tigers’ title hopes as they bowed to Lyceum-Showa, 73-91, in the Millennium Basketball League (MBL) finals at the Lyceum gym last June 23.

In contrast, Lyceum’s offense was fluid and its defense solid to keep the Dickies-backed Tigers frustrated for most of the game.

“Our defense was terrible that’s why our offense was directly affected and we found it hard to shoot,” Tigers’ team captain Dylan Ababou admitted.

The Tigers had problems patrolling the middle and boxing out Lyceum’s Jerwin Gaco and Chris Aqualaful.

Still, they came within 10 in the fourth quarter, 59-69, courtesy of the steady sniping by MBL MVP  Allein Maliksi and Khasim Mirza.

But Lyceum’s own duo, Allen Disuntarum and Dondon Villamin brought back the bubble to 15 points, 59-75. UST got no closer than that the rest of the way.

Early pull-away  read more »

EXPECT no big man from among the Tigers from recruits for the coming UAAP season. But coach Pido Jarencio expects his rookies–none of them standing above 6’3”–to play tough and play big.

The new heirs of the Growling Tigers’ monarchy will be rookies Darrel Green, Marco Cam, Rushdy Hadi, Eduard Aytona, Jerick Teng, Aljohn Ungria, Andrew Felix and Aljon Mariano.

Marco Cam

Jersey No. 21

Height: 6’0”

Position: Forward

PBA/NBA icon: Ron Artest of Houston Rockets

Previously playing for the San Sebastian Junior Stags, the 19-year-old Cam has the wit of setting-up unselfish plays for his teammates. Chalking up points in the assists department, he can also shoot from the rainbow country and penetrate the basket despite the sturdy defense played by the opponents.

Aljohn Ungria

Jersey No. 17

Height: 6’1”

Position: Center/Forward read more »

WITH a new head coach leading the charge for the Tigresses, will a miracle come along to convert their Season 71’s penitential third-place finish into a championship title?

Coach Julie Amos speaks in practical terms, focusing how a new system can potentially send the squad to a title finish this year.

“Since I just started as a new coach, we are on a transition and are still working on the new training,” she said.

Amos highlighted the importance of a deep bench, especially for a running team such as the Tigresses. Lack of supporting players that can step up was a problem for the team in the past.

“We are extending the bench so that if the top five players get exhausted, we still have many reserve players (that can) play,” she said.

She said she was excited to coach the team because the players were responding well to her system and new teammates. read more »

TWO MILLENNIA have passed since St. Paul was born and yet his works continue to strongly influence the world today.

As such, Pope Benedict XVI dedicated 2008 as the “Pauline Year,” a year meant to emphasize the significance of St. Paul’s teachings in the present time.

This June 29, the Pauline Year comes to an end with the Pope delegating seven cardinals as his special envoys for its closing ceremonies in different Pauline sites around the world—Spain, Jerusalem, Malta, Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, and Lebanon. This day also celebrates the feast of St. Peter, the first Bishop of Rome.

The celebration was proclaimed by the Holy Father “in order to listen to St. Paul and learn today from him, as our teacher” as stated in his homily for the opening of the Pauline Year last June 2008. read more »

FOLLOWING the introduction of its own YouTube Channel, the Vatican has launched its newest webpage www.pope2you.net featuring different applications to bring the Gospel to the technology savvy generation.

In his Message for the 43rd World Communications Day last January, the Pope encouraged the young people to take on the responsibility of evangelization in the digital world. However, he stressed the responsible use of new technologies in fulfilling this mission by giving utmost attention on the quality of the content disseminated through these media.

Pope2You serves as an online hub for four functionalities of social network, electronic media and other web portal services.

The site includes the Vatican YouTube page introduced in January, where users are given access to videos and audios of the Holy Father’s pastoral activities and other news on the Catholic Church. read more »

THE NEW interactive portal of the Vatican City “Pope2you.net” uniquely features “WikiCath,” a webpage that contains some of the Pope’s inspirational messages on how the youth should view cyberspace. But the page should not be mistaken for Wikipedia.org, an online encyclopedia whose contents are supplied by users.
Here are some of Benedict’s thoughts on cyberspace:

•    In today’s computer world, the word “digital” refers to everything that is represented by numbers or works by manipulating numbers. But the Pope has gone beyond the technicalities of the “digital age,” saying that this concept is not merely an instrument to serve its purpose but rather a means to create deeper relationships among people who use anything digital in their everyday lives. read more »

INAYA ako ng magaling kong Ate sa Quiapo dahil magkikita raw sila ng mga kabarkada niya. Bukod sa libreng pamasahe at pagkain, bibigyan niya pa raw ako ng pera at siya pa ang gagawa ng mga takdang-aralin ko. Dahil sa mga magandang pangako niya, nagpauto naman ako. read more »

SA PANAHON kung kailan ginagapi ng kasamaan ang kabutihan, kailangan ng mundo ng isang bayaning magliligtas sa sangkatauhan na walang hinihinging kapalit o pagkilala.

Pinatunayan ito ni Bob Ong sa kanyang ika-pitong libro, ang Kapitan Sino (Visprint Inc., 2009), kung saan sinasabi niya na ang bawat isa ay may likas na kakayahang tumulong at maglingkod sa kapwa gamit ang sariling abilidad.

Si Ong ang nasa likod ng mga akdang ABNKKBSNPLAko?! at Bakit Baliktad Magbasa ng Libro ang mga Pilipino na kinagiliwan ng mga mambabasa dahil sa magaan nitong tono at nakaka-aliw na pagsasalarawan ng mga pang-araw-araw na gawain ng mga Pilipino. Ang mga akda ni Ong ay nagsimulang sumikat sa Internet kung saan una niyang nilathala ang kanyang mga sulatin sa website na Bobong Pinoy. Isinara ang naturang website noong 2001.

Sa kanyang pinakabagong libro, pinakilala ni Ong ang mekanikong si Rogelio Manglicmot bilang si Kapitan Sino, ang superhero na “mas matibay pa sa orig”. read more »