Rico Martin's world of words

Smart Gilas-Pilipinas buried India NT, 78-57

riber — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 14:14:11 +0000

from mb.com.ph

GUANGZHOU — The shorthanded Smart Gilas national basketball team breezed through India, 78-57, Sunday but faced more problems other than injuries to key players in the 16th Asian Games.

A shock 88-87 win by Qatar over previously unbeaten Japan forged a knockout match between Gilas and Chinese Taipei on Monday.

Serbian coach Rajko Toroman said Qatar changed the equation entirely.

“Instead of being assured of the quarterfinals win or lose against Chinese-Taipei, we now have to play a knockout match,” Toroman said.

Going into the last day of the eliminations, Iran, Japan and Qatar have identical 3-1 win-loss records while Smart Gilas holds an even 2-2 slate.

Despite a 1-3 card, Chinese Taipei can still advance to the quarterfinals with a victory over the Filipinos. The winner-over-the-other rule applies in a tie between two teams.

Down to only seven healthy players, Toroman needs to bring out the best from everyone to get past Taiwan, a solid three-point shooting team.

Apart from Japeth Aguilar who has been sent home due to knee injury, Solomon Mercado has not played the last two matches due to foot problems.

Marcio Lassiter, JV Casio and Chris Tiu are also playing hurt and would be performing less than 100 percent against Chinese Taipei.

“Some of them might not play tomorrow,” Toroman confided. “We have no choice. We’ve got to fight through this adversity.

Against India, the Filipinos started tight and were unable to settle the game early.

Up, 31-30, at the half, the Filipinos ripped the game apart in the third quarter with 12 unanswered points to take a 48-34 lead.

Indian top gunner Jagdeep Singh was taken out of the game with an elbow injury with four minutes gone in the third quarter.

“Without him (Singh), we couldn’t compete against the Philippines,” said Bill Harris, India’s American coach. “Our bench is not deep enough and because of the intensity of Philippines’ defence, we can’t handle the pressure.”

Fil-American Chris Lutz played 32 minutes as Tiu and Casio spent most of the second half on the bench. Lassiter, still recovering from an assortment of injuries even before the tournament started, saw action for eight minutes and made two points.

“Lutz has not been playing well. I needed him to regain his confidence so I kept him on the floor,” said Toroman who also benched Kelly Williams and Asi Taulava the entire fourth quarter.

“I know tomorrow is going to be a tough game. We will try to go as far as we can and concentrate on every game,” said Lutz who had 10 points.

A quarterfinal match with either China or South Korea could not be avoided even if Gilas hurdles Chinese-Taipei.

In a battle of unbeaten squads Sunday, China whipped the Koreans, 76-66.

Toroman, however, won’t go far beyond Chinese-Taipei which gave Iran a scare before bowing, 73-72, Sunday.

The scores:
PHILIPPINES 78 — Casio 18, Tiu 13, Lutz 10, Taulava 10, Barroca 8, Williams 7, Baracael 6, Slaughter 4, Lassiter 2, Ballesteros 0
INDIA 57 — Singh J. 14, Singh Y. 10, Bhriguvanshi 10, Mishra 6, Shan 6, Pereira 6, Koroth 2, Coimbatore 2, Rathee 1, Singh K. 0, Jat 0
Quarters: 21-14, 31-30, 63-41, 78-57

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Smart Gilas Pilipinas defeats Taiwan NT in overtime

Smart Gilas ends Jones Cup bid with loss to Lebanon NT

Smart Gilas pounds young Taiwanese in the opening of Jones Cup

Errors proved costly for Smart Gilas-Pilipinas against Japan

riber — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 16:41:26 +0000

from mb.com.ph

GUANGZHOU — Former national coach Chot Reyes believes that Smart Gilas has a strong chance of taking third place in its group despite its narrow 60-58 defeat to Japan Friday night in the 16th Asian Games at the Huangpu gymnasium.

“We need to win our last two games to avoid China in the quarterfinals,” said Reyes who is now one of the assistant coaches of Serbian mentor Rajko Toroman.

Reyes said there’s still a remote possibility of the Filipinos figuring in a tie for second spot, but they need to take care of business one game at a time.

The Filipinos battle India on Sunday before winding up their elimination matches against Chinese-Taipei on Monday.

Reyes noted that Gilas beat Japan in most of the departments, including a 43-35 edge in rebounds.

“Both teams shot poorly, but what hurt us were the 19 turnovers,” Reyes said.

The Japanese, who picked up their third consecutive win, converted 14 points off Gilas’ turnovers.

Gilas co-skipper Chris Tiu, who only had five points on 1-of-6 shooting, said they had a hard time executing their offense.

“Japan played a different zone defence and we got confused. That’s why we made mistakes in passing the ball,” said Tiu who was 0 of 4 from rainbow territory. “I hesitated to shoot three-pointers because I didn’t want to rush it.”

Marcio Lassiter was Gilas’ top scorer with 13 points while Kelly Williams had 12.

“I think I was good enough in this game. But no matter whether I got how many points, our team didn’t win. That’s nothing,” said Lassiter who accounted for two of Gilas’ five three-pointers.

Japan was led by Takumi Ishizaki who had 16 points, but it was former Phoenix Suns player Yuta Tabuse who held the team together.

“He (Tabuse) is our point guard and team leader. He didn’t score many points because he led the defensive play of our team,” said Japan’s American coach Thomas Robert Wisman.

Wisman said Japan still needs to improve its offence to go to the semifinals.

The Japanese shot 37 percent from the field, slightly worse than the Filipinos’ 38 percent, but had more attempts on the floor, 62-58.

The game was marked by three deadlocks and six lead changes.

The Filipinos opened the final quarter with a 6-0 run capped by Andy Barroca’s jumper to seize the lead, 49-48, but the Japanese responded with a 9-2 salvo to build a 58-54 lead going into the last three minutes.

Kelly Williams missed two free throws, but made up for it with a field basket following a Japanese missed basket on the other end of the floor.

Down, 56-58, with less than a minute remaining, the Filipinos had a chance to take the lead but Marnel Baracael’s heave on top of the key missed its mark.

The scores:
JAPAN 60 — Ishizaki 16, Takeuchi K. 11, Tabuse 9, Takeuchi J. 8, Sakurai 6, Hirose 4, Ito 4, Amino 0, Okada 0, Yamada 0, Takeda 0.
SMART GILAS PH 58 — Lassiter 13, Williams 12, Casio 10, Baracael 7, Taulava 5, Tiu 5, Slaughter 4, Barroca 2, Lutz 0.
Quarters: 14-9, 30-29, 48-43, 60-58

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Smart Gilas Pilipinas defeats Taiwan NT in overtime

Smart Gilas ends Jones Cup bid with loss to Lebanon NT

Smart Gilas pounds young Taiwanese in the opening of Jones Cup

Gilas 5 bounces back, thrashes Qatar

riber — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 16:53:38 +0000

from gmanews.tv

GUANGZHOU – Smart-Gilas Pilipinas buried a forgettable performance against Iran with a 90-68 trashing of Qatar for its first win in Group F in the 16th Asian Games men’s basketball competition Wednesday at the Huangpu Gymnasium here.

The twin guard combo of JV Casio and Chris Tiu sparked the PHL 5’s impressive start while the second unit, led by Marcio Lassiter, sustained the momentum as the Nationals stayed in the hunt for a quarterfinals berth.

Casio fired a game-high 22 points, 15 coming in the first half where the Philippines shot 50 percent from the field (20-of-40) to take a commanding 49-28 halftime spread, and was never seriously threatened by the taller and heftier Qataris.

Lassiter added 13 while Tiu and Greg Slaughter contributed 12 points apiece for the PHL 5, which will face Japan Thursday at 9:30 p.m.

Mac Baracael and Asi Taulava each had 10 markers for coach Rajko Toroman, whose wards bounced back from a 48-65 loss to the Iranians on Tuesday.

Behind Casio and Tiu, the Filipino dribblers took an early 10-3 lead before Slaughter came off the bench to stretch their advantage to 23-14.

The Qataris, who beat India in their first game, 97-48, scored the first six points of the second period to get back in the game, 20-23.

But Casio sank a three-pointer that ignited a sizzling 26-8 run. He ended that scoring rampage with another triple, and the Filipinos enjoyed a 21-point bubble at the turn (49-28).

Qatar never got the opportunity to unleash a rally in the face of the Filipinos’ stifling defense.

PHL 5’s lead reached as high as 27 points, 81-54, on Greg Slaughter’s one-handed slam off a feed by Casio, who had five assists in the game.

The Filipinos outrebounded the taller Qataris, 45-27, and shot 47 percent from the field, 35-of-75, compared to Qatar’s 22-of-61 shooting (36 percent).

Targuy Ngombo led Qatar with 18 points but shot 5-of-16 from the field. He was a non-factor in the first half when the Philippines gained early control of the game. – JVP/KY, GMANews.TV

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Smart Gilas Pilipinas defeats Taiwan NT in overtime

Smart Gilas ends Jones Cup bid with loss to Lebanon NT

Smart Gilas pounds young Taiwanese in the opening of Jones Cup

Smart Gilas – RP Team defeated Kuwait NT

riber — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 16:48:31 +0000

from philstar.com

GUANGZHOU – Smart Gilas Team Pilipinas has remained optimistic it can contend for a medal though barely making the main draw with a scrambling 76-69 win over fellow unseeded rival Kuwait in a knockout game Saturday night.

Coach Rajko Toroman is confident the Nationals will improve, advance to the quarterfinals “then anything is possible.”

“Everything (we did against the Kuwaitis) was wrong but the important thing is that we’re in the game. Going to the tournament proper, I think we’ll play better because this team just needs time. I strongly believe that we can reach the quarterfinals and anything can happen from there,” Toroman said.

The Nationals faced the dim prospect of outright elimination Saturday, needing a decisive fourth-quarter run to fend off the tough challenge of the small but gritty Kuwaitis.

“I’d said before that it would be tough because it’s a knockout game. Kuwait surprised us they played much better than we expected. We’re the exact opposite. We couldn’t find way how to play against zone and we gave up many things to our opponent,” said Toroman.

“It’s tough to play that game. We’re overeager maybe because the pressure was heavy on us,” said team captain Chris Tiu.

Though smaller on most match-ups, the Kuwaitis fought the Filipinos on even terms on practically all fronts of the game and led by as many as nine points in the first half.

“We should have outrebounded them because we were a bigger team but we really couldn’t find the rhythm,” said Toroman, disappointed the Kuwaitis tied them in rebounds with 41 each.

“We played better against Dongguan and Guandong (in earlier tune-up matches). But it’s really difficult to play with this team. We couldn’t use our offenses against them,” Toroman also said.

Tiu thought the Kuwaitis were tough match-ups for them with their frontcourt players having long range offense and quicker at the posts versus Asi Taulava and Greg Slaughter.

The Smart Gilas team skipper said Taulava and Slaughter could hold their own better with the bigger Arab teams.

Toroman also mentioned the lack of chemistry and injuries to Taulava, Marcius Lassiter, Sol Mercado and Japeth Aguilar.

Aguilar sat out the game due to a knee injury he suffered in their tune-up game versus the Dongguan Leopards Thursday.

“We need time because we have PBA players who have just joined us. They had just two games with us,” said Toroman.

“Marcio was our best player in the game and yet he didn’t practice for three months because of an injury. He also needs time to make adjustment,” Toroman added.

The Serbian mentor sees a better showing right in their first game in the main draw versus Iran at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Huangpu Gymnasium.

“I know exactly how strong they are. We will play much, much better. We will play a very high level game,” said Toroman of their game against his former team which he steered to the 2007 Fiba Asia championship.

NOTES: The guessing game here is whether Iranian hotshot Samad Nikkah Bahrami will play or not. He missed their stint in the recent Turkey World Championship due to an injury but he’s here, serving as Iran’s flag bearer during the opening ceremonies. “I believe he’ll play. He’ll try to help his team,” said Toroman of Bahrami, among the region’s best players who averaged almost 20 points a game in the 2008 Beijing Olympics…North Korea topped Hong Kong, 78-71, in another knockout tussle Saturday night, advancing to the main draw where it’s curiously bracketed with South Korea…Smart Gilas team assistant coach Chot Reyes made an arrangement through a friend allowing the whole team to watch the Pacquiao-Margarito fight in a Mexican bar here… Smart PLDT has spent P300 million supporting athletes from five different sports in the last two years with the giant telecommunication corporation hopeful it would reap the dividends in the 16th Asian Games here…“We’re really hopeful now is payback time,” said Smart PLDT top executive Ricky Vargas…Smart Gilas Team Pilipinas, the national boxers, the taekwondo jins, national rider Marites Bitbit and the Angana brothers of wrestling are those athletes being funded by Smart Gilas…During the sendoff ceremonies back in Manila, Smart PLDT chairman Manny Pangilinan urged the Nationals to make the country proud… From his Hong Kong office, the telecommunication tycoon traveled by land to watch the opening ceremonies Friday and the Smart Gilas-Kuwait game Saturday.

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Smart Gilas Pilipinas defeats Taiwan NT in overtime

Smart Gilas ends Jones Cup bid with loss to Lebanon NT

Smart Gilas pounds young Taiwanese in the opening of Jones Cup

RE: komento ng isang foreigner..grabe to!! : it depends on how you will react:me i am STILL A PROUD fILIPINO

riber — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:12:23 +0000

This is in response of my friend to an email of a certain Foreigner who admittedly married a filipina but hates our race.

I am sad too…and the fact that this seems to escape people like below.

Some people were killed in cold blood.

It was one of the worst things that can happen to somebody else in a foreign land…

to be killed by a complete stranger for such a petty cause, and the fact that the PNP, SWAT team,

and some college students were taking pictures of the bus like it is a tourist spot makes me want to puke.

This is a time for mourning, learning, and rising above that incident.

This event DOES NOT DEFINE who we are as a nation.

I am still proud to be a Filipino and feel pity for people who write articles like below.

People like those who write below articles are know-it-all who were not raised in the Philippines.

They have no idea how hard it is to struggle over poverty, fight government corruption in your day-to-day transactions,

deal with natural calamities, provide for your family, and try to have the best life has to offer, all with the resiliency of the Filipino spirit.

They did not have to grow up with three hundred years history of Spanish, Japanese, and American oppression.

Their culture did not give them the opportunity to rise over every adversity life can imagine to throw to my 90 million countrymen all over the world.

They did not need to undo hundreds of years of brainwashing, that we are good-for-nothing, even unable to manage our own country.

BUT, they do not have the indomitable nature of each Filipino who still manage to smile, to be cheerful in each mundane task.

Yes, I think I am not a bad person.

Regardless of race, people are innately good and it takes a combination of factors to turn into an evil person.

Yes, we are the ones who clean your house, clean your toilets, and take care of your children and parents in their old age.

Yes, we are the one who toil in silence in the hot and humid deserts, with a smile at the thought of our families back home in the Philippines.

Yes, we are the smiling waitresses, bellboys, secretaries, and in every possible service-oriented job you can find.

Because Filipinos are caring, nurturing, and the most emphatic people you may meet in your entire life.

We are the ones who smile in spite and despite the MAJOR MAJOR problems we wake up to each day. =op

We are a land of happy people who go through several natural, physical, mental, psychological and spiritual typhoons a year…

We go through life in spite and despite the realities we face..

Most of us marry for love, not money…and even those who marry for money nurse an ambition it will turn into love.

Because Filipinos are resilient, sweet, and good-natured regardless of status in life.

What one Filipino did and the failure of the few to rise up to a challenge,

should not define the nameless millions, who make the world a better place every day in every way.

If people like below let their prejudice against us define who we are;

If all they see is idiocy and stupidity without doing anything to help improve the situation;

If they sustain the dependency of the few “batugan” in our country;

If they see the mistakes but not the beauty of my country…

then I pity them because they will never see how wonderful life is with the cheerful Filipino character in their midst.

In and out of the Philippines, Filipinos provide the warmth and care the world needs..the positive attitude we all strive to achieve.

This is more important..and in my thirty one years of existence, I do not have anything MAJOR MAJOR to regret (thanks VENUS RAJ! So proud of you!) =op

PINOY AKO,PINOY! MABUHAY! =OP

Yunlangpotenkyu,

Kanna

Kumakalat sa internet…. Panu ba ipagtatangol ang pinoy…marami ay totoo…..

kir106 on August 25, 2010 at 1:47 pm

As a white person married to a filipina and father to two half dutch / filipino children, I feel for Philippines. I have sadness but I also have frustration and anger towards filipino culture (in some cases, filipino behaviour is idiotic)…because I see it in my wife, in my in-laws and her relations.

To most foreigners, we see and understand the bad things in filipino culture (and yet filipinos do not understand nor see the bad in themselves, why because you filipinos think that you are good people because you are catholics or born-agains….let me tell you, there are bad catholics and there are bad born-agains).

This sad story just highlights the idiotic nature of filipino culture and how it impacts on the filipino society. This bad side of the filipino culture was displayed over the world (via cable tv and internet, however we have ABS-CBN so we watched it live). I will try and explain in english and broken tagalog:

Idiot 1: stupid filipino negotiator
The filipino negotiator only talked for about 30 minutes then gave up. That is not how you do or practice negotiation skills in hostage situations. In other parts of the world, most negotiators do it for 48 hours. They give the hostagetaker lots of food and water to drink and talk to him all the time. The logic behind this is after 12 hours (of eating and drinking), they need to pee or poo (kailangan wee-wee at tae), so he have to get out of the bus, that’s when you need to attack him. Have you tried to talk on the phone when ebs is starting to come out? Its very hard. This is a technique filipino negotiators need to learn. Yes, the hostagetaker was given food…but it should have been more over a 48 hour period. After 48 hours, susuko din ito.

Idiot 2: stupid swat team with a hammer
There was a stupid swat team who was hammering the window with a long and heavy piledriver hammer. After 3 attempts he got tired, he needed to let go of the hammer and give his gun to his partner so he can rest. Well, next time try to work out in the gym, do some weights and jog to get fit. Sobra taba pagod agad.

Idiot 3: emergency lock out on hydraulic doors
All tour buses have an emergency lock out for the hydraulic doors. It’s located under the bus near the underside of the door. I saw on TV that they were trying to find out where the lock out is…instead the tababoy swat hammered the door, what did it do…nothing, it’s still remained close and he got tired somemore. In other parts of the world, the tactical response group practice everyday on how to attack or seige a hostage situation, they study all type of vehicles (airplanes, buses, trains, boats etc) and practice how to attack these positions. They study were the entry and exit are, where emergency doors are and how to stop these vehicles (just ask the Israel Tactical response group, they do this every day). Next time, study the layout of the bus first. Filipinos tend not to worry about what may happen, they only act when it is happening.

Idiot 4: Roping the door
Another swat team (the tababoy swat team have to be substituted he got tired) tried to rope the door and pull it using the Isuzu police truck…what happened? The rope broke….hellllloooo…..hydraulic doors are designed to stand against a lot of force and pressure. A rope made of abaca won’t open it.

Idiot 5: The bystander boy who got shot in the leg
A bystander got shot in the leg. Well, what do you expect? The swat team should have quarantined and sanctioned the area. Example: put a ribbon or barracade saying “Crime Scene” just like you see in the movies….or is the PNP to poor to buy one of those. Al bystanders should realise that they are not part of the event and if something happens to them it is their own fault. Buti nga sayo, buhay ka pa !!

Idiot 6: Throwing tear gas into the bus
It is idiotic to throw tear gas into a bus when nobody knew how many people were still alive. Of those dead people, I wonder how many died of tear gas suffocation. Of course, PNP will not admit it, they will say that the hostagetaker killed them. I do not trust filipino autospy. Filipinos tend to fake documents or stories to make them look good (it’s called ‘saving face’). As far as the PNP is concerned, the hostagetaker killed them and no other investigation is required.

Idiot 7:Firing into the bus
This is one of the most serious idiotic actions they did. Firing into the bus also creates ricochet (banda-banda). I wonder how many got killed because of this? Like number 6, PNP will not admit it.

Idiot 8: Swat team entering after the tear gas
This idiotic act is the one that made me laugh (and I am sure all tactical response group in the world will be using this as a “don’t do” training video because of its ‘kenkoy’ effect). Two swat teams enter the bus after they put the tear gas…what happened…they have to asked for help from the people outide to get them out because they cant breath…why…because they forgot the gas mask. Next time do an inventory of equipment you need in case of emergency

Idiot 9: The treatment of the brother and family of the hostagetaker
It was seen on TV that the wife, daughter and brother of the hostagetaker were treated poorly. Nobody helped them, not even the media. No person tried to help the family. In most society, a group of people will form a circle around the family to help them…nobody did that for them. Where is the people power…Philippines have done it before, why didn’t they do it then? No one offered help to the wife and the pregnant daughter, they saw their father killed in front of them. That is no way to treat people….for a country who claims to be ‘mapagmahal’, catholic and christian that was an utter embarrassment.

Idiot 10: Corrupt police
The hostagetaker wanted to clear his name because he was charged with corruption. Corruption…in the Phillippines….that’s news to me (sarcastic)!!! One policeman charged with corruption is not going to make a difference. Catching small corruption is not going to make a difference….the real corruption happens at the top of filipino government (ie Marcos, Erap, Arroyo).Us foreigners laugh at filipino stupidity because you do not learn, you get rid of Marcos because he was bad and corrupt, but still vote for Imelda and her children to become congressman and governor, give them a second chance to be corrupt again……so, nothing changed. That’s Corruption….and ‘katangahan ng pilipino’. In other countries, police treat one another like brothers and help them when they need it. It did not happen here.

Idiot 11: Media and dead people
This is the most idiotic and unacceptable behaviour that was displayed to the world. Filipino media is to be blamed for this. Respect and sensitivity should have been excersised by the media. They showed (in close up), the dead body of the hostagetaker hanging from the door with blood and brains dripping from the head, the dead body of a child and other dead bodies with blood being taken out of the bus. This should not have been televised. The relatives of the dead will not want it televised but the filipino media did. This is not good. Respect for the dead should have been observed.

Idiot 12: Laughing sniper
The sniper was interviewed by the media and he seemed to be happy and laughing when he told the reporter how he shot the hostagetaker in the head and that he was proud he killed him. The wife, daughter and father of the hostagetaker (watching from their province) will obviously will not want another person to hear how proud they were when he shot their husband / father. I hope that the sniper have a son, father, brother and I hope one day someone will shoot them infront of him and I want to know how he feels then.

CONCLUSION:
This will only give filipinos a bad name overseas. It will also affect filipinos who are born overseas, eventhough they have nothing to do with this, they will be judged of what filipinos in Philippines did.

For filipinos trying to get a visa to Canada, USA, UK, Europe etc…forget it…you will be judged by their immigration office for this kind of event. They already know that most filipinos are likely to be TNT and this backlash will make it even harder for filipinos to get visa.

Ganti on DH
I am sure, that Hong Kong / China will go on a massive revenge on filipina DH in hong kong. I am sure of it. HK and Chinese only see filipinas as lowly people who’s only role is to clean houses. PS: chinese people don’t know that Europeans look at them as lowly immigrants who clean toilets in europe….ganti din.

Ganti on japayuki
Also, Japanese people will take revenge on japayukis in Japan. Japanese people already treat filipinas like dirt and they will even treat them even worse because of this. Japanese people to not take filipinos in high regard…japanese only see filipinos as dirt people who will do anything just to get money (ie be japayuki in japan).

Ganti on OFW in Saudi
I’m sure too, that OFW in Saudi will also feel the revenge of people there because of this.

I am sure that my children will be teased and bullied at school because of this. My children, regardless of being half-white are still brown in colour, with black hair (but with blue eyes) and people know they are half-filipinos.

So filipinos in Philippines, your stupidity in your country is also ‘hawa-hawa’ to other filipinos overseas…they get judged by what you filipinos in Philippines do to yourselves or to others.

Internet order filipina brides will always get foreign husbands, unfortunately for filipino lalaki, there is no such thing as internet order filipino husbands (I never seen white woman with filipino husband), as more filipina marry foreigner more filipino lalaki are left behind in philippines (my wife said she does not like filipino lalaki because they are ‘tanga’…..I know she married me for money and greencard so she can send dollars to her batugan parents and batugan brothers, batugan cousins and batugan kapitbahay)….so, the only hope for Philippines is for half-foreigner and half-filipino children, half is better than stupid full-blood filipino.

Lebanon defeats Smart Gilas-Team Pilipinas in the Opening of Stankovic Cup

riber — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 13:30:47 +0000

from fibaasia.net

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Hosts Lebanon carried too much firepower and left Philippines gasping for breath early in their Group B game to win the clash between two of the most popular basketball nations in the world on Saturday.

Lebanon won 74-59.

Fadi El Khatib returning from an injury lay-off was fielded sporadically, but played without much discomfort, and was as usual obviously a hit among the crowd. But the 31-year-old Lebanese star guard showed enough composure guarding against flamboyance and played well within himself, and more importantly according to coach Tab Baldwin’s offensive plays.

“I’m definitely out of touch, but physically I am back,” El Khatib said.

El Khatib played 13 minutes and scored 4 points, collected 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

“Our goal is a good performance at Turkey (in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, to which Lebanon have earned a wildcard). Therefore, I am positive of getting fully back into form very soon,” he said.

Baldwin too had words of satisfaction, but was realistic in his assessment of the situation.

“We all know Fadi has a great heart as a player, and it definitely showed today. But as was obvious he is yet to get his touch and rhythm,” Baldwin said.

“But considering the fact he is back on court and trying out his best is an encouraging sign for us on our path to Turkey,” he said.

Rony Fahed led Lebanon’s scoring with a game-high 23 points, scoring 17 of them in the first half to put the hosts in control.

Fahed’s back-to-back three-pointers set the ball rolling early in the game for Lebanon and hosts didn’t have to worry too much after that.

Philippines did attempt a fight back in the third quarter bringing the score to as close as 38-51, but a couple of technical turn-overs turned the tide Lebanese way.

Ali Mahmoud who had a subdued first half came into his own in the second and finished with 12 points.

Joseph Casio with 15 points and Marnel Baracel with 14 points were the leading scorers on the Philippines side. FIBA Asia

The Scores:

Lebanon 74 – Fahed 23, Reda 12, Mahmoud 12, Fakhreddine 7, Vroman 7, Stephan 5, El Khatib 4, Rustom 2, Samaha 2, El Nour 0, Kanaan 0.

Philippines 59 – Casio 15, Baracael 14, Ababou 8, Taulava 7, Barroca 7, Lassiter 6, Tiu 2, Ballesteros 0.

Quarters: 18-11, 31-20, 51-40, 74-59

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Smart Gilas Pilipinas defeats Taiwan NT in overtime

Smart Gilas ends Jones Cup bid with loss to Lebanon NT

Smart Gilas pounds young Taiwanese in the opening of Jones Cup

City of Dreams

riber — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:08:30 +0000

♬ Dream, dream dream dream, dream, dream dream dream ♬

Macau, City of Dreams

When I met you, all of my dreams came true.

You know why? Because all I ever dreamed of is you. ♥

I love you so much chingching..

Photo taken using Sony DSC T-700

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Missing Old Times

Happy 46th Month! ♥

♥ Masaya ako pag kasama kita ♥

Blackberry Banned in UAE

riber — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:48:45 +0000

by Sam Churchill – dailywireless.org

More than a million BlackBerry users may have key services in Saudi Arabia and the UAE cut off due to encryption issues, reports Reuters. BlackBerry’s Messenger application has spread rapidly in the Gulf Arab region but because the data is encrypted and sent to offshore servers, it cannot be tracked locally.

“Certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns,” the United Arab Emirates’ Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said in a statement.

The UAE said it would suspend BlackBerry Messenger, email and Web browser services from October 11 until a fix was found, while industry sources said Saudi Arabia had ordered local telecom companies to freeze Messenger this month. The UAE, home to Gulf financial hub Dubai, said it would halt BlackBerry services until an “acceptable solution” was developed and applied.

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Qatar Aqua Park

Summer Fun Park a Hit with Families

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riber — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:41:55 +0000

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Summer Fun Park a hit with families

riber — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 10:35:12 +0000

by Reynald Rivera – peninsulaqatar.com

DOHA: Ten days after it opened, the Doha Summer Fun Park is proving to be the leisure destination for families in Qatar, recording 40,000 visitors on the first seven days, according to the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA).

The visitors are not just from Qatar but also from neighbouring countries such as Saudi Arabia, said QTA Chairman Ahmed Al Nuaimi.

The big number of visitors, though, doesn’t translate into profits for businesses occupying the 70 stalls in the sprawling Qatar Exhibition Centre.

“Business is not that good most of the time, except on Thursdays and Fridays,” said Jeck, a shopkeeper from Dubai-based Qingfeng Trading, which sells bags, footwear and toys.

“Many people come to window shop and only a few buy our products,” she said, adding they sold around 10 bags a day. In demand are their trendy bags which are sourced from Taiwan and other countries, costing about QR150. The different toys they offer are tagged at QR40 to QR60.

There are shops selling cosmetics like perfumes, sold in Damascus Gate, which has a presence in most Gulf countries including Oman, Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar. The Syria-based shop has a wide selection of perfumes, almost hundred varieties, most of which are cheap imitation perfumes, the most expensive of which are priced at QR50.

It is hard to tell the difference between the original designer perfumes Calvin Klein, Chanel, Dunhill and Gucci and the 70ml imitation bottles sold in the shop.

At an average the shop’s revenue reaches QR2,000 to QR3,000 a day, according to Ammar, the owner of the shop.

“Still it’s not that good considering the rental fee which is a thousand a day. I just hope that when Ramadan comes, business would pick up,” he said, adding the present business trend was normal considering the fact that many people had gone overseas for vacation.

Ammar said perfumes were a favourite item during Ramadan apart from sweets, which he sells in another shop at the venue.

Aseef of Vishruti which specialises on bangles, bracelets, rings, necklaces and other accessories says business is just average.

“We have good customers in Qatar but in terms of our income these past few days, it’s just normal,” he said, adding their income on a Friday when the amusement park has the most number of visitors is around QR4,000.

Their products sourced from diverse countries such as India, Nepal and the Philippines cost from QR10 to QR200 and are made from brass, silver, glass and semi-precious stones.

Aseef is of the same view that business would improve during Ramadan.

Shoppers can also buy ready-to-wear clothes mostly for kids and ladies, textiles, spices, jewellery and abayas at the pavilions.

With the reduced prices of the amusement rides implemented by the QTA four days ago, more people, especially children, avail of the rides provided by Dubai-based Freij Entertainment. However, the more expensive rides, most of which are thrill rides, are the ones which attract more people. Priced at QR15 the rides include City Hopper, Tagada Disco, Crazy Wave, Musik Express and Bumper Cars.

That is not surprising though since these thrill rides offer exhilarating experiences which fills teenager’s thirst for thrill.

“I have already tried the City Hopper three times tonight but I’m not yet satisfied, never will,” said 15-year-old Assad, who said he had been coming back to the Fun Park almost every day ever since it opened.

Asked what drives him to keep venturing on the rides, he said the different feeling he gets every time.

Precautionary and safety measures are being imposed for the thrill rides such as installing height measuring boards and warning signs. Children’s height must not be below 140cm to be allowed to ride City Hopper and Tagada while for Crazy Wave the minimum height for riders is 120cm. Pregnant women and those with serious health problems are warned against the rides and the organisers see to it they are prepared in case of accidents. Most of the family rides are priced at QR10 including Choo Choo Train, Formula 1, Carousel, Aladdin, Circus, Motor Show, Pony Express, Tower, Caterpillar and Kiddie Ride.

The cheapest rides are the ones for smaller children which include Ferris Wheel, Pirate Ride and Swinger.

There are also over a dozen video/simulation games and prize/redemption machines for QR5 per game at the Fun Park’s Video Games Corner. Terminator Salvation, The Fast and the Furious, Street Basketball, Spider Box and I-Target are some of the more famous games.

Yesterday, the tropical-forest themed food court was filled with people having a taste of the wide array of delectable food offered at the 15 stalls offering fast food and pastries as well as Asian and Gulf specialities.

Some of the food establishments present at the food hall are Sterling, Asian Traditional Restaurant, Tandoor Express, Southern Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Bombay Chowpatty, and Cinnabon.

A lot of customers who want to beat the hot temperatures were seen thronging the Cinnzeo Gelato which offers a variety of ice creams. Food prices are affordable with regular meal priced at QR18 while large meal costing QR25.

There are also food items coming for QR5 and QR10. Many children thronged to see the performances and activities including plays, clown performances and games staged by a Lebanese entertainment company. The events were enjoyed by the children for their interactive nature requiring participation from the young audience.

Running until September 14, the park is open from Saturday to Wednesday (3pm to 12 midnight) and Thursday and Friday (3pm to 1am). During Ramadan, it will open from 8pm to 2am and during Eid holidays from 12pm to 12am. Entry to the park is free.

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Qatar Aqua Park

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Qatar’s Phone Numbers to Expand by a Digit to Meet Growing Demand