eMboys 2011 Christmas reunion

It has always been a tradition of our high school class to get together during the Christmas season once a year - to celebrate camaraderie and all that shit. HAHA. Since we graduated back in 2006, we never missed a year. Check out the teaser (yes we really had one) made by Brian Del Rosario.

we considered Mike Magsy's birthday bash as our "reunion" in 2008

Mike's 21st birthday

More after the jump!

TD Kuya Teaser video

Next King Eagle

Ateneans are definitely in a giddy whenever they think about the chances they have in winning a four peat in the UAAP next season. I wouldn't be surprised. I've been gone from the school for around 5 years now - as I've studied in UP for college then even ended up teaching in a rival school - but my support for the blue side has never ceased. And yes, I get all excited about the prospects of a 4-peat next year.

If you guys don't know, only two players will graduate from last year's line up - Eric Salamat and Jumbo Escueta. Malaking kawalan ba sila? Yeah, definitely. But look out, we have 6 new players coming in. Greg Slaughter (a 7-foot beast transferee from Cebu), Mark Tallo (a star point guard from the high school ranks in Cebu), Gwynne Capacio (a star forward from DLSZ now joining the blue side), Ael Banal and Von Pessumal (Ateneo high school standouts who played as great complements to the next player) and of course, Kiefer Ravena.

These days, Kiefer is a household name amongst Ateneans. Never have I seen much attention on a high school prospect perhaps since Mr. BJ Manalo. Not to exaggerate but he's like our modern day LeBron. Take note, he's not even a league MVP. That's because he keeps on winning the important one: the finals MVP.

Check on this. A lot has been said about Kiefer's beginnings in basketball but I guess this video of him playing back when he was 11 or 12 year old would give you a good picture.

And here he is now:

Playing point guard, shooting guard or even small forward at 5'11. Dunking the ball during fastbreaks, shooting the three (contested!), finding the open man and slashing through defenders for an easy lay-in. All that with a very high basketball IQ.

Watch out guys, Ateneo may just rule UAAP basketball for at least, 5 more years. OBF.

Top Ten for 2010! :)

2010 just ended and a brand new year just commenced. A lot of things happened in the year 2010. There were so many milestones, changes, new people, in new places and even new ventures. I can damn guarantee you that 2010 was one heck of a year and definitely topped all 22 years of my life.

As a quick trivia, our family doesn't do any age old new year traditions - no fireworks, no torotots, countdowns and whatnot. We simply pray the rosary precisely at 12mn then go back to our rooms. :) This yearly thing keeps me in check and definitely reflective in silence and yeah, in boredom. And as such, every year, I make sure I look back at all the blessings I've received. Thus, here are the top 10 things I'm very thankful for 2010 :)

10. "Daang matuwid" dominates the elections

The May 2010 elections marked the first time I voted for national government positions. That's a big jump from the usual class officers then student council elections I'm used to voting for. HAHA.

From the very start, I knew who I was going to vote for and I was confident that my bet, Noynoy would win. Yeah, you can cast a stone on me if you want to - especially those who never wanted and never will like the fact that a guy like Noynoy ended up to be our president. But hey, he is our president and I am happy that he is.

I know this guy does have his shortcomings. He doesn't have a masters degree or even a doctorate to boost his credentials. He doesn't have a long list of experiences and/or achievements.

But yes, I bet you guys will mention the name that he carries. To me, it was more than just the AQUINO bloodline/name. It was his responsibility to protect that name and the love for the country that he inherited. That incorruptible state of mind that we ourselves always wanted. Sa ayaw at sa gusto ninyo, we have a president who's blazing the straight path. :)

9. School Pride :)

Despite the fact that I'm athletically-challenged (if there is such a term), I am an avid fan of sports - especially if my alma mater/s are on the winning end. Thankfully, the teams I cheered for this year all won championships. :)

Ateneo won both Juniors' and Seniors' UAAP Basketball championship. Take note: for the third straight year!!! :) Sweet sweet double three-peat! :)

Now let's not forget the UP Pep Squad for reclaiming the UAAP Cheerdance competition crown :)

UP and Ateneo reprezent!

Hopefully next year I'll be cheering for the green side every now and then. :P

8. Highschool never ends

This is actually a late entry for this list. Had this high school-high the other day - eMboys Christmas 2010 reunion. :) Definitely, a lot of things have changed since the last reunion. Lalo na since high school graduation. It's actually cool to know that most of my classmates back then are mostly law or med students. Mga half pa lang kaming nasa workforce pala. :) Watch out guys, the eMboys just might run this country in the future. :P

7. SugarStop

It all started while my friends and I were walking around Eastwood waiting for a movie. We all needed some extra cash. We all needed some sources of income aside from our allowances/salaries. Thus, SugarStop came to be! :) 2010 will mark as the year this venture came to life and I'm claiming it, big things are coming for this venture in 2011. :)

6. Tagged as Sir Tonico

Yes, that's how I get called these days. I spend my early mornings in Taft teaching - or in better words, educating the minds of college students. I actually never thought I'd have this chance so early in my career but an e-mail followed by a phone call, then a teaching demo earned me the opportunity to teach. :) If you guys know me well, it has always been my dream to teach. Thus, I'm living my dream. Hope all things work out this trimester :)

5. Agency Life

That's me right there living the agency life. Most people say that life in an advertising agency or in a marketing research firm is living life like a prostitute. I must admit that working for my company hasn't been easy. Stress. Overtime. Panic. Information overload. All that mixed up with the honor of working in multinational company like mine. :)

I must say that I'm very honored to be part of the MRM team. More than just the milestones that the team has garnered, it's being part of a team that I can call my family in the workforce. Because of these people, I'm having a good time at work. Maybe it's the fact that it's my first job. But I'm pretty sure this group is special. :)

4. My Passwords

It took some time until the four of us got together. This was like our first complete picture after more than a year. I don't want to be cheesy but these guys and I go way back. Thankfully, we're complete once again and rockin' it. And yes, these are the other people behind SugarStop - which all the more makes it sweet.

Cheers to more adventures with you guys. :) We've come a long waaay. :D

3. Weekends and Holidays

Never have I appreciated weekends and holidays this much until I joined the workforce. I just realized why there are such things in the calendar. :) These non-working days have kept me sane amidst the stressful life of balancing work and school. Other than using these weekends and holidays to sleep and energize, marami rin akong narating - now with my new found adulthood freedom. HAHA.

I've partied hard on several friday nights. :)

and went out of town with friends as well! :D

tagaytay with password

Kim and Yaw's wedding in Baguio

Although it's been said that there will be less long weekends for 2011, I'm looking forward to more adventures with my friends this year. :)

2. I earned my BS Stat Degree!

FYI, I graduated last April 2010. :) Not only did my graduation mark the end of my college life, but it marked the start of my life as part of the labor force. I definitely felt so honored to wear that sablay and receive my award and diploma early this year. It really was a big milestone for myself as I move on now with my corporate life. I've got to admit, I miss my college friends and living the isko life.

1. One big happy family

This year, our family grew slightly bigger as my brother and his wife Kim bore a child - Zia Charlize Maningat. Ever since she was born that faithful morning, she's been our family's bundle of joy. :) She's the first "girl" in the family and that all the more makes her special.

Take note guys, Zia's my inaanak! That makes her doubly special to me!!! :D

As I always say, I'm having the time of my life. 2010 just started everything. I know 2011 will be epic - as well as 2012, 2013... and so on and so forth. All these stress and fatigue that I'm feeling are all worth it. Never have I felt so happy and blessed in my life.

Happy new year everyone!

ang sarap ulit ulitin

champions once again

Was a bit bummed about the fact that I had tickets for game 2 but I couldn't use 'em because the game was on a thursday. I even joked around that I was hoping that there would be a third game but seriously, I wanted it to end right there and then. Everyone knew that this FEU team is no push-over. That they are a lot more dangerous than the Warriors we faced last year.

And so I followed the game via Twitter. Talk about being social-media savvy. I made sure I followed the right Twitter accounts. Uaap sports, TJ Manotoc and the Ateneo twitter accounts kept me updated. So while "working", I kept my twitter logged in and refreshed every now and then. I remember tweeting something like "Ryan Buenafe looks like he's going to carry the team to the championship." during the third quarter. And boy he did. When it was already down to the last two minutes, I left my desk and watched it with other Atenistas in the office at one of the rooms with a television.

I witnessed the "shot". A few plays before the "shot", Kirk and Emman screwed up by losing the ball and letting RR Garcia get away with free throws. From then on, I wanted the ball in the hands of Ryan Buenafe. And so with 30-40 seconds left, right after a near turnover, the Eagles put the ball in the hands of Ryan. He was way beyond the arc and with the shot clock about to expire, I just knew he was going to make something happen. And boy he did. Pulled up and shot it in the face of Cruz. KABOOM! DAGGER THREE!

Game over. We're going to have a three peat. Whatta game. All that hype about Ryan coming in from the three-peat San Sebastian Staglets was finally affirmed at the biggest stage of UAAP Basketball. I remember watching this guy play for the Staglets and he was a man among boys. He had triple doubles here and there. I even heard that he was once late for a game because he woke up late. He wore his jerseys right out of bed, went to the game, came in the middle of it, won the game and even got a triple double. And after that magnificent game 2, I know he's going to dominate the UAAP next year. As my kuya and I claim, when he turns it on, no one can beat the Eagles. Ryan Buenafe is your next King Eagle.

More than just the offensive onslaught by number 13, Ateneo kept themselves in the game because of its defensive prowess. RR Garcia was just shackled all game. Now FEU can win all of the individual awards but the chip is ours.

It was another great day for Atenean pride. As my non-atenean officemates commented, "Champion na naman ateneo, hassle". HAHA. Yeah, I've got to agree that when Ateneo wins the chip, a lot of attention really is generated. That's why I love it. HAHA. What makes this one sweeter is the fact that the Juniors also won a three-peat. We are ruling UAAP basketball!

Really excited about the prospects of a four-peat. With Greg Slaughter, Gwynne Capacio, Ael Banal, Von Pessumal and probably the phenom Kiefer Ravena joining the team next year, there's no doubt the team will get better. But for now, let's savor this one! Another year of bragging rights yow!

And look, even Erap, who's a drop-out from Ateneo joined the party.

GO ATENEO! ONE BIG FIGHT!

Destiny. Supremacy. Dynasty.

To the bonfire! :)

Credit goes to Fabilioh.com and Getblued for the photos.

a statement

Watched my first uaap game this season. Luckily, it was another ateneo-lasalle battle. Supposedly it was going to be so competitive like their game in the first round. I wanted something like that to happen. Apparently, as I've expected, it was a blowout. I even remember telling my brother Luis before the game, "tatambakan ng ateneo ang lasalle. wait and see."

And I predicted it right. Ateneo led by double digits right from the first quarter. It felt like last year, when Ateneo was so invincible that a blowout was in mind going into any game. This year, seeing a big blowout against La Salle definitely showed a lot of promise for this year's Hail Mary team. :) Cheered my lungs out as always. :)

Now even if I bleed blue, I need to start being objective when it comes to Ateneo-Lasalle games. Hehe. I'll be affiliated with the other side soon. :P

watch out for this guy

That's Kiefer Ravena for you guys. How often does a player dunk in a juniors' game? This guy isn't even a 6-footer. I watched the video and he did it in stride. He didn't need a full court run to have enough hops for this.

Hopefully we'll be seeing this guy in the seniors' team next year.

One Big Fight!

Big game today! :)

Credits to Alyson Yap for the photo and http://nonoyforpresident.blogspot.com/ for the lead.

congrats to narvy!

I've already posted this on facebook but this is definitely blog-worthy. :)

"Three Filipinos have made the country proud by graduating with flying colors from a university in Geneva.

Frances Raquel Narvaez, Robert William Narvaez, and Obed Pantoja were among this year’s 4 summa cum laude awardees of the Webster University.

Ms. Narvaez, a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology, minor in Media Communications, had a final grade point average of 3.99/4.0.
Mr. Narvaez, a BA International Relations with emphasis on Refugee Studies and minor in French and Computer Science got a GPA of 3.9/4.0.

Pantoja, a Bachelor of Science in Finance, had a grade of 3.9/4.0."

Click here to read the full article :)

Robert William Narvaez, a high school classmate of mine, made us all proud by graduating Summa Cum Laude in BA International Relations from a university in Geneva.

Lupit mo pards! Congratulations!

Just like every high school class, us eMboys of 2006 have really come a long way since graduating from the Ateneo four years ago. Can't wait for our next reunion! Cheers! :)

champions of uaap basketball

last september 25, 2008, the Ateneo Blue Eagles were crowned with the UAAP Season 71 Men's Basketball Championship. Congratulations to the team and to the community for the very successful season! Finally, the Championship has come back to Loyola!

in exception to the game against FEU, this season for the eagles has the word perfect written all over it. although the team didn't necessarily blow out all its opponents this year, ateneo won 16 out of the 17 games it played. what's more impressive is how they did it: playing defense and as a team. other than the championship itself, the team also received its affirmation through the league awards where 6 of them received at least one.

Rabeh Al-Hussaini - Most Valuable Player, Mythical 5 member, Jollibee Champ of the Year and Most Improved Player.

Chris Tiu - Mythical 5 member, PSBank Maasahan Player of the Year

Nonoy Baclao - Defensive Player of the Year, Finals MVP

Eric Salamat - KFC Court Colonel of the Year

Ryan Buenafe - All Rookie Team, Rookie of the Year

Nico Salva - All Rookie Team

all these players belonged to just ONE team. and what's amazing is that among these players, only Chris won't be playing next year. Rabeh still has room to improve and will be coming back next year. Nonoy became the cornerstone of the team's defense. his finals mvp award just vindicated the defensive mind-set of the team. Ryan Buenafe didn't play like a rookie all year. the scary thing is he still has 4 years to play. i saw this guy play back in ncaa, he was a monster. now that he has one uaap championship, he'll be gunning for four more.

most of the credit should go to Coach Norman Black. it may have took 4 years before he won this long overdue championship but the development of his program and the players definitely was worth the wait. he is definitely such a gem for the Ateneo community. how often do you see a 6 foot 5, American basketball coach hug his players like they were his children and tell them that he loves them? he definitely worked out his black magic and motivated the team well.

spoke to my prof (who happens to come from the Ateneo High School like me) the other day. i dont remember what he told me exactly but he sort of said that ateneans like us who enter UP still has the privilege to cheer for Ateneo. well that's quite true. and it's quite cool. because by heart, i am still part of the Ateneo community that's all out when it comes to cheering for my alma mater. sarap maging atenistang iskolar ng bayan. champion na nga sa cheerdance, champion pa sa basketball.

it doesn't end here. my true alma mater (the ateneo high school) bagged the UAAP Juniors Championship yesterday. wuhoo. congratulations blue eaglets!

ONE BIG FIGHT!

ateneo finishes the first round on top

after a heartbreaking loss against FEU last thursday, the Ateneo Blue Eagles bounced back with an impressive win against the team that beat them in the uaap season 69 finals. with the win, ateneo finishes the first round of season 71 with a 6-1 win-loss record, with both FEU and DLSU losing to NU and UE, respectively, both going down to 5-2. UST, on the other hand, drops to 3-4, a half a game below the .500 mark placing them outside the current final four picture.

the game was a game of spurts from both teams but ateneo seemed to control the pace of the whole game. it was usually the blue eagles trying to pull away from the tigers but the tigers from espana kept coming back, usually at striking distance. the eagles almost let a game slip away again with the tigers taking the lead with around 2 minutes left after a Khasim Mirza 5 point swing, putting them ahead by 3 points, 51-54. after a timeout, ateneo finally pulled away with a 13-0 run using great plays and excellent defense, led by Nonoy Baclao's 4 blocks. they ended the game with a run that almost left the tigers scoreless for the rest of the game, scoring only a three when the game was already decided. the final score was 64-57.

Nonoy Baclao only scored two points but had 10 rebounds and 4 blocks, about 3 of them in the crucial minutes of the game. Jai Reyes stepped up big time with his scoring this time, giving ust the dagger three off a Chris Tiu assist. Rabeh Al-Hussaini played another big game with 16 points and 6 rebounds, now a formidable MVP candidate after a 33-20 game. expect norman black to continually pound the ball inside to Rabeh for his now-unstoppable jump hook.

i thought this was also going to be a showcase of top rookies namely Ryan Buenafe and Clark Bautista. Ryan Buenafe finally looked like a rookie when he made some bad decisions late in the game. i think he was a bit distracted with Dylan Ababou hounding him on defense. still, he scored about 12 points. the only way the tigers stopped him was by fouling him. Clark Bautista on the other hand only converted on one three after his "birthday" last game when he scored 18 points, all from the three-point line. i heard that Bautista was actually on ateneo's team B but suddenly enrolled in UST. maybe he thought that he won't be able to play much because of ateneo's crowded back court, which i think is true. i think it's a good career move for him.

the First Round of Season 71 ends with a bunch of upsets. (well, if you consider the w-l records of the teams coming into games) FEU won against UE and Ateneo. UP won against Adamson! i actually thought Adamson was a really strong team with Galinato leading the way. now UP is making some noise! yeah. UE made things complicated by beating La Salle. then now NU beat FEU (the team i almost thought could win it all this year, playing much inspired basketball).

woah. so much parity in the UAAP. coooooL! this year looks like a combination of the previous two seasons, when a losing team may just win it all in the end while there's a logjam of teams in the top 4!

Go Ateneo. Go UP.

Now i really want one of those adidas ateneo jackets for my birthday.