From the Courtside: Humorous Pics from the 2007 Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open (Part 3/3)

Of course with all the pictures I took during the 2007 Bingo Bonanza Philippines, there were bound to be some pics which were kinda funny. I took the liberty of adding some funny captions. "Bato bato sa langit, ang tamaan wag magagalit."

FVR while combing his hair
During the Mixed Doubles Event...


During the Men's Doubles Event...

Look at how high Tan Boon Heong can jump...

You wouldn't believe what else happened during the tourney. It has been tagged as the case of the "suicidal rat." During the WD match between Novita/Polii of Indonesia and Zhao Tingting/Yang Wei of China, while Polii was trying to request for a break, a rat suddenly fell down seemingly out of nowhere!!! The eyewitness account (pls scroll down and look for the topic "suicidal rat") was so funny. Apparently, the rat looked like it fell from the ceiling. Imagine the consternation of the lady players upon seeing a rat inside the badminton court!!! Oh dear. I hope you guys enjoyed the pics featured above. Tata! Till the next tournament!

From the Courtside: More pics from the Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open 2007 (2/3)

As promised, I am posting more pics I took during the 2007 Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open Badminton Tournament. These pics were taken during the finals held on 22 July 2007.

Men's Singles Finals: Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) def. Chen Hong (China)

A heart-warming scene: Lee giving Chen Hong a hug after the match Women's Doubles Finals: Yu Chin Chien and Wen Hsing Cheng (Chinese Taipei) def. Pan Pan and Qing Tian (China)

Zhou Mi of Hongkong who bagged the Women's Singles Title

Mixed Doubles Finals: Lilyana Natsir and Nova Widianto (Indonesia) def. Yu Mi Hwang and Sang Hoon Han (Korea)

Finally, the Men's Doubles Finals: Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong (Malaysia) def. Zhendong Guo and Zhongbo Xie (China)

Men's Doubles Champions being awarded by Former First Lady Amelita Ramos

It was a very successful tournament. I leave you with some snippets from the very exciting Men's Doubles game. Enjoy! Have a happy weekend everyone!

From the Courtside: Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open 2007 (Part 1)

Here are some pics I took while watching the 2007 Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open Badminton Tournament at the Philsports Arena (formerly Ultra). These are from the Semi-Finals last Saturday. It was unfortunate we were only able to watch the last 3 games that day because we were late. Not our fault since it was raining so hard and my husband's car had a flat tire, so there.

A shot of the audience who trooped to the Philsports Arena despite the pouring rain outside

Zhongbo Xie of China giving a hand signal to his partner Zhendong Guo

Defending champions Susanto Njoto and Yohan Wiratama of Hong Kong (former players of the Indonesian National Team)

Another shot of the Men's Doubles game between China and Hong Kong

Yu Chin Chien and Wen Hsing Cheng of Chinese Taipei (who won that day and eventually bagged the Women's Doubles title the following day.)

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On a different note: I just finished reading Harry Potter Book 7 today! Finally, I can now function properly. Don't worry, you won't find any spoilers in this post. I just have this to say -- J.K. Rowling is such an excellent storyteller. I'm so sad this is the last installment in the Potter series.

My Most Expensive Pictures Ever

Caught your attention 'ei? Well, you have to read the rest of my post to understand.

18 July to 22 July 2007 saw the staging of the 2nd Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open Badminton Tournament at the Philsports Arena (formerly Ultra). My husband was able to watch it since Day 1. But since I couldn't get off work to watch the games with him, I had to content myself with watching the weekend games. The semi-finals was scheduled last Saturday, while the finals was scheduled last Sunday. I will be posting more pictures during the event in my succeeding posts.

Badminton fanatic that I am, I was able to convince my hubby to wait for the champion of the Men's Doubles event (Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia, now ranked #3 in the world) to emerge from the press conference room and have my picture taken with them. Here are the pics:

With Koo Kien Keat of Malaysia

With Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia

While my husband was busy taking these pictures, he felt someone's hand brush up his butt but took no notice of it since he wanted to appease my desire to have my picture taken with these world-class players. Immediately after taking these photos, his hand went to his pocket to check if his wallet was still there, but lo and behold...it was already gone!!! Some evil conscience-less person picked his pocket despite the presence of several police officers in the vicinity !!! Gggrrrr...I hope whoever did this rots in hell!!!!

Fortunately, my hubby was not yet able to withdraw so there was only a minimal amount of cash in his wallet. But it wasn't the money we were worried about but all the hassle of having to replace his ID, driver's license, ATM cards and credit card. Aside from anger at the person who did this, I also felt guilty because my hubby wanted to go home immediately but I convinced him to stay so that I could have pictures for posterity. Sheesh! If only we'd gone home immediately after the games. (Ang pagsisisi talagang laging nasa huli.) I should have listened to my "gut feel" telling me not to wait for these players and go home already. But I didn't listen. Instead, I persisted with the original plan. A lot of "if-only"s and "what-if"s.

So, yeah, these pictures truly are unforgettable and my most expensive pics ever. Lesson well learned indeed.

Badminton World Championship, memes, etc.

I had a difficult time waking up this morning. Wondered if it was related to my current condition. Hmmm, suddenly I remembered the reason why...I stayed up late watching the 2006 World Badminton Championships telecast live from Madrid, Spain. Aww shucks. Memo to self, sleep early from now on. I think I can sacrifice 7 more months of late night television in exchange for a healthy baby. It was quite funny though...I was rooting for Lin Dan on behalf of my unborn baby....hahaha. I'm so glad he won the World Championship. Bao Chunlai, Lin Dan's opponent and compatriot, is also a good player. There are other opportunities for him to win though, so good luck on his next try.

Anyway, these memes are long overdue. (Sorry Ipanema and Mita for the delay.)

First off, Ipanema requested me to name seven songs that I'm into right now. Hmm, I'm not really into music these days since I'm too sleepy to pop a CD in the player or to turn on the radio. Anyway, these are the songs that I last listened to on my cellphone/mp3 player:

1. Always Look on the Bright Side of Life - Art Garfunkel's version

2. Moon River - Louis Armstrong

3. La vie en rose - Louis Armstrong

4. What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong

5. Do you hear the people sing - from Les Miserables

6. Master of the house - from Les Miserables

7. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - Johnny Matthis

I included the last one since this song never fails to get me in the Christmas mood. And I love the voice of Johnny Matthis. :-D

Now, onto Mita's meme. She requested me to list the top 5 things to eat before you die. I had more trouble deciding on this one because my taste buds are askew these days. Previous favorites have been included in the banned list at home...well, at least until I give birth. I cannot even take the smell of sauteeing garlic and onions. Oh well, seven more months....seven more months.

Anyway, here's my own list of top 5 things to eat before you die:

1. Steamed lapu-lapu from Emerald's Garden along Roxas Boulevard. I love their fresh steamed lapu-lapu with the mixture of just the right seasonings.

2. Prawn salad from President's in Chinatown.

3. Sweet lanzones from camiguin...and it's lanzones season to boot! (Yipee! My stomach is rejoicing at the thought of these sweet fresh lanzones.)

4. Pork chop from Tasty Dumplings (they have branches in Chinatown, Wilson St., Banawe among others). Their food is reasonably priced, even for those on a tight budget. Their chops are thin, crunchy and very tasty.

5. Razon's halo halo. I just love their halo-halo. Their recipe hails from Pampanga. The leche flan on top just melts in your mouth. Yummmmmmmyyy.

I would have wanted to include lumpia from a certain shop in Quiapo. But the name of the shop escapes me at this point. Sorry guys.

Anyway, there you go. Sorry for the delay. And since these memes are long overdue, I don't think I'll tag anyone. Hope you all had an enjoyable weekend. :-D

Finally!

Many of you might be wondering the reason behind my absence in the blogosphere. Don't you worry guys, I'm still alive and kicking! :-)

Let me start my post with what happened last Sunday. I accompanied by husband to the GO! Badminton Tournament held at Powersmash Makati where he paired off with Rocky Magnaye in the Open Category.

Rocky Magnaye and Jojo Mance

They both tried their best. Unfortunately, they did not win in their cateogry. Youth simply proved superior at this point. But to me guys, you're still the best!

After the tournament, I suddently realized that I was not feeling well. Aside from the hunger pangs I was experiencing, I also felt nauseated. We decided to eat at the food court in Glorietta. Suspecting something, I asked my husband to pass by the drugstore first before going home, to which he readily agreed.

So, after passing by Watson's drug store in Greenbelt 1, we immediately went home. Upon arriving home, I fell asleep from exhaustion. I woke up at 6 P.M., went to the bathroom to pee...and to administer the home pregnancy test kit that I bought at Watson's.

After performing this test for about a year, I was already used to seeing a single line in the test kit to signal that I was not yet with child. When I finally saw 2 red lines on the test strip, I cried like crazy and felt extremely happy that God has finally granted our wish -- to have a child. I immediately went to my husband and told him the good news. He was also very happy with the news and excited too.

So that's what's been happening to me guys. For the past four days, I have been swept in this wonderful feeling of euphoria. Unfortunately, it is not without its accompanying discomfort. I always feel nausea, my taste buds are askew and I've been feeling very sleepy lately. But believe me, these are sacrifices I'm willing to make for the realization of a dream. Finally!

Importance of court surface

Tag category: Badminton 101

When my friends and I were still playing regularly at the badminton court located at the Court of Appeals, a friend of mine would constantly complain of back problems after a competitive game of badminton. I was not spared of any pain either. My feet would also ache due to the constant running I had to do.

At first, I thought the pains we were experiencing were due to the fact that we were getting older(lol!). It was only later that I found what the culprit was - the surface we were playing on was cement and it was harsh on our bodies due to the constant running, jumping and lunging we had to do. It was then that I discovered the importance of court surfaces in playing.

So far, I have seen four (4) kinds of surfaces in different badminton courts here in the Philippines, namely: (1) cement (hard court); (2) rubber mat-on-cement; (3) wooden planks flooring (wooden court surface); and (4) rubber mat-on-wood.

An example of a rubber mat-on-wood surface

Of these four, I prefer the last one, rubber mat on-wood. Cement is my least favorite surface. It has no 'give' after you perform a jump. Your body will have to absorb all the impact of that jump. A wooden surface, on the other hand, will help absorb some of the impact and will help the player 'bounce back.' Rubber mat, on the other hand, provides for a good surface since it has anti-skid properties. Due to the sudden stops and starts in a badminton game, this will help the player avoid sliding across the court after a sudden move. Obviously, a rubber mat-on-wood surface provides the best surface since it absorbs some of the shock and prevents the players from skidding inside the court. In the absence of available rubber mat-on-wood surface, I would settle for a wooden surface. I would definitely steer clear of those cement surfaces. I still want my knees and joints to be intact in my old age. :-)

Rexona Cup and MAP Badminton Tournament

Last Sunday was a very busy day for my husband and I. First off, we had to go to Club 650 Badminton Court along Libis, Q.C. for the Rexona Cup. No, my husband did not join that tournament because it wasn't open for national and ex-national players. Instead, they were part of an exhibition team, the PB Shuttlers, to be launched that day. As mentioned in my earlier post, the PB Shuttlers are composed of former ex-national champions and players who were tapped by Pinoy Badminton Inc. to perform badminton exhibition matches (ala Harlem Globetrotters style.)

I am happy to announce the PB Shuttlers received very good feedbacks during the exhibition match. They did not just exhibit their talent in the court, they also elicited guffaws and thunderous applause from the audience because of their funny, yet unstaged (*wink*wink*), antics. Here they are:

Badong "The Magician" Banquiles

Jojo "The Gentle-" Mance

Ronald "McDonald" Magnaye

Rocky "Balboa" Magnaye

After their exhibition match, we had a light lunch and proceeded to the MAP (Malaysian Association of the Philippines) Badminton Tournament held at Powersmash Makati. My husband paired off with Denden Dimarucot, the #1 varsity player of University of the East.

Jojo Mance and Denden Dimarucot

Unfortunately, they were immediately pitted against the Indonesian pair, Rudy Wijaya and Kwee Tek Min, former members of the Indonesian National Team. What can I say? They really tried their best but they eventually lost to the Indonesian pair.

Rudy Wijaya and Kwee Tek Min

Even the powerful duo of Ian Piencenaves (2006 JVC Champion) and Jaime Junio, current member of the national team, were no match against the Indonesian pair. Piencenaves and Junio even won the first set. The game went to a deciding set but was eventually won by the Indonesian pair.

Ian Piencenaves and Jaime Junio

The winners of the tournament? The Indonesian pair of Rudy Widjaya and Kwee Tek Min. Filipinos have yet to go a long way in becoming world caliber badminton players. The Asuncion siblings (Kennevic and Kennie), are one step closer since they are currently ranked #20 in the world, according to the 24 August 2006 ranking issued by the International Badminton Federation. Unfortunately, we do not have the opportunity to shine in regional tournaments because the world champions are also from Asia (China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Korea, among others.) But at least, our Filipino shuttlers are trying their best. They need more support from the government if we ever dream of bagging the World Championship, the Olympics or the Thomas and Uber Cup someday.

Tag category: Badminton Tournament ; PB Shuttlers

Introducing the PB Shuttlers

Introducing a new concept in the Philippine badminton scene...the PB (Pinoybadminton) Shuttlers. The PB Shuttlers will be composed of the following ex-national players:

Badong Banquiles - Former Philippine #1 (1988); U.S. Opens Veterans Mixed Doubles First Runner-Up (2002, 2004); Badminton Coach.

Jojo Mance - Former Philippine #1 (1987, 1989-92, 1994-95); former Assistant Coach to the RP Team(1998-2002, 2005) and Head Coach to RP Juniors Team (1996-97); Badminton Coach.

Ronald Magnaye - Former RP national player (1990-98); former Men's Doubles Champion; Assistant Coach to the RP Team (2005); Badminton Coach.

Rocky Magnaye - Former RP national player; member of the PBA Grassroots Development Program; Badminton Coach.

The PB Shuttlers will not only showcase their talents inside the badminton court, they are guaranteed to bring smiles to the faces of the spectators. Their initial exhibition match will be held at Club 650 Badminton Court (Libis, Q.C. beside shopwise), on Sunday (27 August 2006), 11:00 A.M., as part of the highlights of the Rexona Badminton Cup. If I'm not mistaken, Prime Diva (RPN 9?) and Solar Sports might be covering this event, as well as Channel 23 (for Badminton Extreme).

If you have the time and you're just near the area, please drop by and you'll surely have fun watching the exhibition.

Tag category: PB Shuttlers

BADMINTON VS. TENNIS

A friend introduced me to badminton during the summer of 2001. I was hesitant at first because the sport did not seem to be challenging at all. I would often see children on the streets playing “backyard badminton”. Tennis, on the other hand, seemed a lot more prestigious, with all the “Grand Slam” tournaments being televised, having “million-dollar” prizes and famous players landing ridiculously high-priced advertising contracts like Sampras, Hingis, Agassi and Kournikova. (Note: Remember, this was during 2001.) I would often dream of hiking off to England and watching a badminton game during Wimbledon, often considered as the most prestigious of the 4 Grand Slam Tournaments.

During that time, I made the mistake of training for badminton and tennis at the same time. What I lacked in talent, I made up for in enthusiasm. I would play badminton during the week and tennis during weekends. My hand suffered in the process. I had tendinitis on my right hand. Rest was the only cure. I could not play both sports without sacrificing my body and risking further injuries, so I had to choose between the two.

Badminton and tennis are often compared to each other. Players at opposite ends of the court aim to hit a shuttlecock (in the case of badminton) or tennis ball (in the case of tennis) over the net so that it lands inside the marked boundaries of the court, and aim to prevent their opponents from doing the same. However, unlike a tennis ball, the shuttlecock flies with a lot of drag and will not bounce significantly. Badminton is considered as the fastest racquet sports in the world with shuttles reaching speeds of up to 200 mph. Badminton champion Fu Haifeng of China set the official world smash record on 3 June 2005. The actual shuttlecock speed was measured as 332 km/h or 206 mph, faster than the Eurostar train.

The rallies of each point tend to be much longer in badminton than in tennis. This is true even though winning a ‘shutout’ match in badminton requires only winning 42 points (21-0, 21-0, in a Men’s Singles match according to the newest rule set by the International Badminton Federation), whereas in tennis it would require 72 points (6-0, 6-0, 6-0). Badminton can be physically more tiring than tennis as the time between shots can be much shorter (since the players have to hit the shuttle before it bounces, whereas in tennis, the players have to hit the ball before it has bounced twice or hit any fixtures.)

When a shot is played in tennis, the whole of the arm is used in one sweeping action, whereas in badminton, a wide range of motions is employed, from delicate flicks of the wrist and pressing of fingers to full-body smashes and clears. Speed, reaction and endurance are all important to a successful badminton player. From a fitness perspective, a close comparison can be made to squash which also has the same explosive starts. (Courtesy of Wikipedia.)

For personal reasons that will be made clear in future posts, I have chosen to concentrate on playing badminton. I recently cleaned my closet and gave away my tennis rackets to others who will put it to good use. I am not saying that one sport is better than the other. This is all about personal choices, about what kind of sports will fit each individual. After all, variety is the spice of life.