Rigmarolers Settle for 4th

Out of sheer sportsmanship, the Kumbento88 Rigmarolers played out their last game for this season's KBBL last Saturday. And we eventually ended up losing to the younger Batch 93 and settle for 4th place after failing to defend our crown.

The first half saw a nip-and-tuck ballgame with the Rigmarolers, which played with only exactly five player during that entire half, trailing by only two points at the halftime break.

The 3rd quarter saw two substitutes arriving to relieve the visibly exhausted players of the Rigmarolers. But Batch 93 was still able to pad their lead to around 10 points by the end of the quarter.

With fatigue and exhaustion finally catching up with the relatively senior players in the match-up, Batch 93 capitalized on the lack of manpower of their opponents and broke the game wide open by the start of the 4th quarter. Batch 93, thus officially snatched 2nd Runner-Up honors via a 20+ rout over the Rigmarolers.

And as with our previous KBBL games, win or lose, celebration at Ravalos followed right after the game. Talks of a unified powerhouse team for the Rigmarolers next season are already being floated. And everyone seems to be just as upbeat on the prospects of reclaiming our crown come next year.

PS: We weren't able to watch the end of the Championship Game that followed immediately after our Battle for 3rd. It was already Game 2 of the Best of Three Series between the young and visibly improved Batch 99 and the title-hungry Batch 90, the team that "ousted" us in the semifinals. Batch 99 won Game 1, and with the looks of how the game was being played, with Batch 99 already erecting a huge 20+ point lead by the end of the 1st quarter, it was only a matter of time before Batch 99 cops the crown for the 2nd KBBL Championship. That is unless, of course, Batch 90 finds a way of controlling the dominant big men of Batch 90 - like maybe if Batch 99's big men got thrown out or suspended? Otherwise, it's a back-to-back Cinderella finish for Batch 90 this year. Oh well, as Alicia Keys would sing it - what goes around comes around.

Meron Akong Ano

Meron akong ano.
Meron akong kwento.

Nung unang semi-final game ng K88 Rigmarolers laban sa Batch 90, dumating si Chunky tapos na ang 1st half. Sabi ng committee di na raw sya pwede maglaro dahil late na sya. FIBA rule daw yon. Syempre umangal tayo dahil parang bigla-bigla na lang ipapatupad yang mga rules na yan, eh buong season naman bine-bend yang mga lintik na rules na yan. Halimbawa na lang eh yung default time ng mga teams at mga uniform ng mga players. Pero binatuhan nila tayo ng rason na FIBA rule daw yon na di na pwede maglaro ang player pag dumating after ng 1st half. At nung panahon na yon eh wala naman tayong dalang FIBA rulebook/manual para ikumpirma yung sinasabi nila. Kaya pinabayaan na lang natin. Natalo tayo pero ni hindi tayo nag-file ng protesta para i-challenge yung hindi nila pagpapalaro kay Chunky. Malakas loob natin na di talaga tayo kaya talunin ng Batch 90 pag kumpleto tayo. Babawian natin sila sa susunod na laro. Twice-to-beat naman tayo eh.


Meron akong ano.
Meron akong isa pang kwento.

Rubber match game natin laban sa Batch 90. Ang manalo, pasok sa Finals. Maaga dumating mga players natin. Ayaw nang maulit yung nangyaring pagbabawal maglaro pag na-late. Syempre, ano pa ba mangyayari? First quarter pa lang nilamangan na natin agad ng malaki ang kalaban, 20-9. Kumpleto tayo eh. Pero sa kainitan ng laro, sa isang rebound play, naumangan ng siko ni Chunky yung isang makulit na player (oo, sobrang kulit kahit tanungin nyo pa si Bimbo) ng Batch 90 dahil tinulak sya nito.

Technical foul. Tama yon. Pero hindi naman tumama yung siko. Dahil kung tumama yon, malamang iba na ang sinusulat ko ngayon sa inyo. Malamang naghahagilap ako ng suporta mula sa inyo para sumama sa amin na dalawin sa ospital yung nasiko ni Chunky sa mukha.

Anyway, balik tayo sa kwento. Syempre angalan ang nangyari, lalo na si Chunky. Pero di sya nagmura sa referee. Di nakuntento yung referee, binigyan ng isa pang technical si Chunky. Syempre dalawang technical equals thrown out sa laro. Eh di lalong nag-init ang tumbong ng mga Rigmarolers. Angal tayo syempre. Wala namang ganyanan.

Napikon yung referee. Naghubad. Nagsayaw. Joke. Naghubad lang pala ng t-shirt sabay nag-walk out.

Natigil yung laro natin laban sa Batch 90. Uwian na muna. Pag usapan na lang uli kung paano gagawin sa larong ito sa meeting na gagawin sa mga araw na darating.


Meron akong ano.
Meron akong nabalitaan.

Ilang linggo nang laging nauunsyami yung ni-reset na laro natin laban sa Batch 90. Una, di dumating yung referee. Sumunod, may gagamit sa gym ng PCC kaya di pwede. Pero sa Sabado, go na raw talaga yung laro. Eh di magaling.

Pero may dagdag na balita. Nakuha ko mula sa text ni Chunky ngayong umaga lang. Di raw sya paglalaruin sa game sa Sabado.

Watdapak?!?

Tinext ko si Chunky. Ano basis ng suspension? Wala nga raw sinabing dahilan. Plano natin mag-file ng pormal na protesta. Pero kailangan din muna natin malaman kung ano yung opisyal na rason kung bakit suspended si Chunky.

Alam ko yang sportsmanship-sportsmanship ek-ek na yan! Pero naman! Sobra na naman yata yan. Pumayag na nga tayo nung di nila pinaglaro si Chunky dahil late daw dumating nung 1st game. Pero ngayon sa ginagawa nila, sana sinabi na lang nila nung simula pa lang na guest team na lang tayo dahil sa sobrang lakas natin at di na tayo pwede manalo uli ng championship.

Di ba nila naisip na kung championship lang talaga ang habol natin sa ligang ito eh di na tayo nagbuo ng dalawang teams? Di ba nila naisip na hinati pa nga natin yung mga players natin dahil ang objective talaga natin dito eh mapagbigyan lahat ng gusto maglaro sa batch natin? Na kung isang solid na team lang ang ipapasok natin eh baka maging katawa-tawa yung resulta ng mga laro dahil parang isinali mo yung US Redeem Team sa PBA?


Meron akong ano.
Meron akong naalala.

Nung isang taon, Batch 90 yung nakalaban natin sa Championship. Sa mga nagpunta noon, naalala nyo pa ba yung mga drums na dinala pa natin panggulat sa Batch 90? FYI, ginaya ng Batch 90 last game yun. May dala din silang drums. Ang problema, sa atin nila ginawa. Eh tayo kaya nauna gumawa nun sa kanila. So walang dating sa atin dahil wala yung elements ng surprise at originality.

Malamang naaalala pa nila kung paano natin sila tinalo sa championship nung isang taon. At naaalala ko pa rin naman kung paano tayo nagsama-sama para ipakita sa Batch 90 ang pwersa ng K88 Rigmarolers.. Kasama pati mga asawa at anak. Sama-sama. Solid!

Kating-kati na itong Batch 90 na bawian tayo. Pero may laman kaya para sa kanila kung manalo sila sa atin na di tayo kumpleto? Masarap kaya para sa kanila kung manalo sila laban sa atin na wala yung isang main player natin?

Ewan ko sa kanila. Basta ako proud ako na kasama ako sa Kumbento88.


Meron akong ano.
Meron akong pakiusap.

Paglaruin man si Chunky o hindi sa Sabado, pakiusap ko sana na manindigan tayo. Against all odds – ang sarap ng plot para sa semifinals game na ito.

Manalo man o matalo tayo sa Sabado, pakiusap ko sana sumuporta tayo. Gaya nung isang taon. Gaya nung sama-sama tayong tumahak ng daan papunta sa kampeonato.

Gulatin uli natin ang Batch 90 sa Sabado. Maingay ang drums, kung magdadala nga sila ulit nun sa Sabado. Pero mas astig kung pupunuin natin ng manonood yung PCC gym habang sabay sabay tayo sumisigaw para sumuporta sa team natin. Daanin natin sa sindakan. Daanin natin sa paramihan. Daanin natin sa paingayan. Tayo lang ang may kakayanan na gumawa nun. Tayo lang ang natatanging batch na kayang sumindak ng ganun.

Magsuot tayo ng asul. Mas solid yung kulay natin, mas ok.

At matapos yung laro sa Sabado, isang bagay ang pinaka-sigurado – tayo pa rin ang nangungunang batch ng Kumbento!

Sabado. September 13, 2008. 6PM. PCC Gym.

Siguradong andun ako sa Sabado. Ikaw?

Arnold In Coron

Click on the pic to view the entire album

Coron, Palawan

Click here for the complete story.

KBBL Semifinals

Last Saturday, the Kumbento88 Rigmarolers-B lost to Batch 90, the very same team we beat in last season’s championship series.

We were outplayed, outhussled, outcheered, and even outdrummed by the same opponents we pulverized just a few months ago.

I arrived at the game late due to traffic in the Ortigas/Floodway area. The 3rd quarter of the semifinal game, where our team has a twice-to-beat advantage, was already well under way when I entered the PCC gym.

But it was not only me who arrived late during that game last Saturday. Our main big man, Chunky Ramos, also arrived late with the 3rd quarter already underway due to a previous commitment he had to attend to. (Note: Nagninong si Chunky sa kasal. Repeat: Nagninong, hindi nag-abay!)

It wouldn’t have been a big problem that Chunky was late for the game since the opponents were just leading by a very manageable margin by halftime. We could have easily overhauled that lead as we have previously done so in the past.

But the problem was the tournament committee refused to let Chunky play, citing a FIBA ruling that any player arriving at the game after the 1st half of play is not eligible to play for the remainder of the ballgame anymore.

This was the same committee which tolerated various violations in game schedules, player uniforms, and other trivial matters. This was a friendly tournament after all. Allowances were to be given to achieve the ultimate goal of the tournament, which is brotherhood.

But rules are rules, they say. We just did not want to argue further, or put the game under protest. All in the spirit of sportsmanship.

We lost the game. But Batch 90 did not beat us.

They cannot beat us when we are complete as a team – from the starters to the relievers, to the role players, to the coaching staff, and more importantly, to the numerous supporters showing our undying batch spirit.

They can once again bring on the drums this coming Saturday. We just have to bring the full force of Kumbento88 to drown out their beats.

We are the defending champions. No one can be louder. No one can be prouder.

Support you team! Be there at the PCC gym on Saturday, August 23, 2008, 7:30PM. No excuses for being late this time. Destiny will not wait for us.

Bing In Italy

Click on the pics to view the entire albums.

Venice

Florence

Pisa

Vatican

Rome

Batchmate In A Coma

lifted from my email sent to our yahoogroup

I was also able to contact Cedric Sta. Ana's sister, Eileen, yesterday thru text and got the message that they shall be removing Cedric from the ICU today. I cannot assume to pretend that I know how the family feels at these moments. But what I do know is that Cedric's sister is very glad when someone from his brother's batch contacted them even just thru text to offer their support.

Last Friday, Jeff and I were exchanging texts as we were planning to arrange a visit to Cedric. But it being a Friday, time went by so fast and by the end of the day, no plan was actualized. And I knew that the next 2 days, being a weekend, would be as equally hard for us to organize a visit to the hospital. But today, let's not waste another day with our usual excuses. A batchmate is fighting for his life. No, let me rephrase that, a batchmate is hanging on for his life. Let us show him and his family that his brothers here in Kumbento88 are here to support him in whatever way we can. Nalalagas na tayo. But this is the sad reality of life that we have to face. And it would be better if we face this as one - showing support to one another.

I haven't known Cedric personally as we didn't become classmates in my whole stay in PCC. But with the recent events bonding our whole batch as one, does it even matter? Let's pay him a visit at The Medical City later tonight. Anyone is welcome to join us. But I particularly request those who know him personally to come with us. I gather that he was in Eagle in his 4th year in HS, just in case some of his classmates forgot. Let us show support. When you come to think of it, the basketball game that got us united in support last year was very trivial when you compare it to the support we are asking from you now.

This is the Game of Life. A teammate is badly beaten entering the last 2 minutes. What do you do?

Note: For those planning to pay Cedric a visit, he is currently at Room 441 of The Medical City in Pasig.

KBBL Standings

Below are the team standings for the 2nd Season of the Kumbento Boys Basketball League as of Saturday, 28 June 2008 (3rd game result not included):

Manolo Juntura - RIP

lifted from Manny Tria's email to the egroup dated 6/21/08


Another One Bites The Dust

One of our batchmates passed away yesterday morning due to cancer - Manolo Juntura. He's currently interred at Arlington Pasig and shall be buried on Tuesday 24-June-2008. Your prayers will be of great help for his soul.

7 Things You Most Probably Didn’t Know About Joey

1.) Bugoy’s
Joey’s first experience in entering a beerhouse was way back during our college years in a God-forsaken place in Junction, Cainta called - for lack of a more enticing name for a beerhouse - Bugoy’s. And Joey had a “girlfriend” in that place, a girl who said she wanted to change "cotchum" (costume).

2.) Santolan Beerhouse
Another beerhouse story, this one proved to be a more exciting and adrenaline-pumping experience. Together with Rey Carlo and Gary D, Joey asks for the bill as they have already decided to leave. Rey Carlo got fed up waiting for their bill to arrive and chooses to leave without paying. Gary D follows him outside. Not wanting to be the one left to pay the bill by himself, Joey follows the two outside who were already running away by the time he got out.

3.) Bangga Victim
Last day of school when we were in 3rd Year HS, Joey was together with Rey Carlo on their jeepney ride going home. As Joey got off the jeepney by the entrance to Dona Juana, he didn’t see the approaching jeepney from the other side about to hit him. With Joey’s white polo soiled and ripped from his pavement-rolling accident, Rey Carlo brings Joey to the hospital. We never knew about this accident until the start of classes in our 4th Year.

4.) Transformers
We all know Joey to be very dependable on many things. But sports isn’t exactly one of his specialties. We can still recall the horrific images of Joey doing the forward roll and backward roll during our gymnastics lessons in PE. Joey is John Michael Cruz’s rival for the Optimus Prime title in gymnastics. You can almost hear the Transformers sound effects whenever they roll. And please, never ask Joey to do a lay-up in basketball.

5.) Flawless
Before Osang was nicknamed as the Flawless Queen, Joey was our original "Wow Legs!" title-holder. FYI, Joey has no "balahibo" on his legs. Too bad, he’s also got a very big "balakang" to be a sexy star.

6.) Stink Bomb
Now it can be told. It was Joey who "detonated" the stink bomb during our Social Studies class with Miss Aguilar during our 2nd Year in HS. Joey can never deny it since we were even able to smell remnants of the stink emanating from the sole of his leather shoes during our Practical Arts classes afterwards.

7.) Tight-Fit Shirt
On the eve of our Feb 08 Reunion, the batch shirts to be distributed the following day arrived. Members of the organizing committee started fitting the different sizes to see which size fits them best. Joey gets a size Large, saying that XL might be too big for his frame. The following day, he realizes the futility of his denial and accepts the fact that Large is too small for him. He replaces it with an XL, but never heard the end of it from Jeff Sulit.

Despedida Pics

Below is a link to the album for some pictures taken from last Saturday's despedida for Joey.

Joey's Despedida

Joey's Despedida Video

For those who missed the premier showing of this video we especially prepared for our President Joey Manalad last Saturday at Ravalos, here's your chance to view and enjoy it.

An Invitation

Everyone is invited to join us as we bid farewell "for now" to our K88 President Joey Manalad this Saturday, 7 June 2008.

Venue is at Ravalos Food and Music located at Mercedes corner Sandoval Ave. in San Miguel, Pasig. Party starts at 8PM but doors open at exactly 6PM for the early birds who would want to make the most out of this celebration. K88 Rigmarolers Team A shall also be having a game at the PCC gym on Saturday. So everyone who's playing or watching the game is expected to celebrate with us at Ravalos later that night.

There shall be food, drinks, music, games and the usual K88 funfare. After all, this is our "Kuwentuhan! Kantahan! Kampayan! Part 2". If you thought our celebration last February was "bitin", then complain no more. This party is the extension of that merry-making celebration.

Join us as we thank Joey for all of his efforts in keeping K88 strongly united after 20 years. And let us bid him and his family good luck as they take on a new journey in the Land Down Undah.

That's already this Saturday, guys. Be there!

Rigmarolers B Suffers 1st Defeat

It was a game of two of the undefeated teams in the 2nd Season of the KBBL. And the game started out slowly for the K88 Rigmarolers Team B. With the team’s starting center Jun “Chunky” Ramos and starting forward Randy “Buffalo” Javier both arriving late for the game, the opponents from Batch 99 raced off to an early 8-0 lead at the start of the ballgame.

With the Rigmarolers eventually warming up themselves into the ballgame, they immediately caught up with their opponents after a momentum-breaking time out. Thanks to the timely shooting of the team’s resident 3-point sniper Jay “The Mouse” Cruz. When the halftime buzzer sounded, the ballgame was already tied.

With Bimbo “The Answer” Bersalona applying his magic lotion on his legs at the start of the second half, he leads the charge, together with Javier in building up a ten-point lead midway into the 3rd Quarter.

But the opponents were not to give up that easily. Not with the help of the game referees who had a lot of questionable and inconsistent calls and non-calls during the whole of the second half of the ballgame. But the Rigmarolers also had their share of blunders with their lack of focus on some crucial stretches of the game, including missing 4 out of 5 freethrows with barely two minutes remaining in regulation, which could have practically sealed the game’s outcome in favor of the Rigmarolers. Regulation ended with the score again tied, thus requiring the 5-minute extension period.

The start of the overtime period saw the Rigmarolers race to an early 4-6 point cushion which they were able to protect up until the last two minutes.

Then the unthinkable happened.

With the Rimgarolers still ahead by 2 points with barely one minute remaining, Batch 99 got ready to take two freethrows on a foul given up by the Rigmarolers. One of the referees called a technical foul on Ramos for a delay-of-game infraction when the latter kicked the ball out of frustration. Batch 99 sinks 3 out of the 4 freethrows given them. And then they score another 2 points on another possession. Thus, the Rigmarolers’ 2-point lead became a 3-point deficit within the blink of an eye.

But the defending champions would not give up that easily on this ballgame. In the ensuing play, the team sets up Bersalona for a 3-point shot which swooshes the bottom of the net. With the ballgame again tied, Batch 99 tries to score in their next offensive play in vain as the Rigmarolers’ defense held itself up steadily. Collaring the rebound, the Rigmarolers pitch a fastbreak pass to Bersalona who races up against two defenders. Using his body as a shield, Bersalona executes a body-contact-inviting layup which, unfortunately, bounces out of the ring paving the Batch 99’s last attempt to win the ballgame. With the Rigmarolers’ team defense still in disarray as a result of the previous fastbreak attempt, Batch 99 scores on a running jumper by one of their players as the final buzzer sounded. Thus, Batch 99 steals the game from the Rigmarolers with a 2-point winning margin.

Farewell for the mean time, but see you all in 2013

(lifted from Joey Manalad's email to the egroup)

With anxiety and excitement, I wish to bid farewell to all K88 in the Philippines. My family and I are set to leave for Melbourne, Australia this June.

After our successful 20th Anniversary celebration last February chaired by Jeff Sulit, we have already taken steps to formalize and legalize our organization through the Kumbento ’88 Alumni Association, Inc. Thanks to the following incorporators who joined me to have our organization be formally recognized by the Securities and Exchange Commission:

Arnold Martinez
Jeff Sulit
Jay Ravalo
Rey Munsod
Gilbert Gatchalian
Peewee Ligot
Jun Lara
Regan Bernabe
Andrew De Guzman
Jay Cruz
Cocoy Del Prado
Erick Cruz
Dennis Palacio
Noel Acosta

I bequeath unto Arnold Martinez the chairmanship of our activities to celebrate our 21st Anniversary. Let us thank him for accepting the task of not only keeping us together this year but also initiating efforts for our group to start the much needed funds for our future projects – the culmination of which will be on 2013. Cocoy Del Prado shall be his co-chair. Part of our 2008-2009 activities is the currently running 2nd Season of KBBL. Thanks to Chunky Ramos for unselfishly spearheading this. May we keep the championship trophy this season.

Farewell for the mean time, but see you all in 2013!

Cheers and long live,

Joey

Ravalos Food and Music

As I open the door to the air-conditioned bar, I see Jay sitting by the table in the middle with his Mom.

“Good afternoon po,” I smiled at his Mom while I shook Jay’s hand.

Jay introduces me to her mom to which she replies, “Oo, naaalala ko palagi siya sa atin nung reunion ninyo.” And I thought my usual bashful self was stealthy enough for parents not to notice me in gatherings of a rowdy bunch like our batch’s.

It’s the blessing of Ravalos Food and Music, Jay’s latest business venture and, as I would find out a bit later, a dream-come-true for this budding entrepreneur.

Jay and I sit by the table near the entrance door. I was purposely early since I told Jay that I also had to leave early ‘coz I had another commitment later that night. And for the first time, I think, someone has beaten out the dynamic duo of Bong Estrada and Cocoy Del Prado for the Early Bird title of coming to Ravalos.

“Naglagay ka na rin pala ng LCD TV,” I notice as it is the most visible addition to the bar’s interior from the last time we hang out there.

Jay shares his thoughts on how he envisions the bar to feel like – a sports and music resto-bar seamlessly fused into one. There’s the billiard table in the middle that was installed a week earlier which the Rigmarolers got to “baptize” with their friendly nine-ball matches after their opening day games at the KBBL. The drum set and guitars have already been set by the stage, just waiting for the band which would provide rocking music on weekends. And now, another addition which I initially failed to notice was a black piano by the corner to provide acoustic music on some nights. To spice up the interiors of the place, Jay displays his electric guitar collection, which numbers to around a dozen, by the wall greeting one’s entry, accentuating the party atmosphere of the place. Then, as I mentioned earlier, there’s the LCD TV on which I hope to watch some Manny Pacquiao fights or some NBA play-off games very soon – some suggestions to which Jay was passionately receptive to. He really wants this bar to be the ultimate hang out place.

But right now, there is Santana exhibiting his guitar-playing wizardry on DVD being played on the LCD screen. Min (Jay’s sister and the other half of Jaymin Breadhouse, for those who do not know her yet) arrives with a glass of blue drink that she invites us to take a sip of. Not that I didn’t trust her, but I am usually wary of alcoholic beverages with such funky colors. They seem so inviting to the taste as their appearance looks to seduce you like a pretty girl in a pastel-colored skimpy dress, only to knock you out of your wits once you taste its concealed alcoholic kick when you drink it straight up.

I was more interested with the food. The booze can come later anyway. This is a blessing after all. And with the reputation of the Ravalos, not only in good food (Jaymin’s uberly famous Garlic Bread is a testament in itself), but also with hosting parties such as our reunion, I knew we were in for a treat. (I would have my chances to taste the different items on their menu in the days to come, but for now I have only tried their beef tapa and it is definitely recommended for the discriminating taste.)

Jay’s mom, whom I had the pleasure of talking with later that night, is truly glad with the recent turn of events in Jay’s social life. With Jay having been re-acquainted with some long-lost batchmates, and volunteering to host the latest reunion of the batch last February, Jay’s mom feels glad that he has reconnected with a good set of friends who would not lead him astray. Of course, I tried to conceal my comments and contrasting reaction. But given that I was talking with a truly loving mom, I just let it be. Somehow, some of us already feel like being adopted children to the Ravalo extended family (what with the weekly sessions we spend at Jay’s place). Some of us even jokingly tell each other that we are somehow expecting Jay’s mom to finally remind us one day pretty soon that we should remember that we should also go home and spend time with our respective families. But at Ravalos, we are family.

Looking back at our student years in Kumbento, it isn’t really surprising that Jay decided to put up this venture. Music has always been in his blood. He wasn’t the Freddie Aguilar of our batch for nothing. Memories of old singing contests dating back to our grade school days when Jay would usually be pitted against the likes of Bong Estrada and Eric Aprecio come flooding back to our minds. And do you still remember that it was Jay, together with his best buddy in high school, John Andrew De Guzman, who composed our Graduation Song? And unknown to many, it was also music that Jay turned onto during the dark moments of his life. Music became his outlet, his refuge, his creative channel to be able to get back on the right track. And now, Ravalos Food and Music becomes his way of paying back to music which hasn’t really left him all his life. It is a dream-come-true for him. What could be better, right? A business venture about something that is really closest to your heart.

It is good, clean fun that Jay stresses he wants to promote at Ravalos Food and Music. And I couldn’t agree with him more. The previous tenant of the building (which Jay also owns, by the way) has made the place known for a different type of bar – the type where GRO’s serve men and sing videoke with them. Of course, we wouldn’t be familiar with such places that are the breeding grounds for immorality, would we? And Jay would definitely want Ravalos to erase that image of the place and replace it with a new concept of a hang out. Still fun, but the clean, wholesome, and even family-type of fun. And anyone who knows Jay quite personally wouldn’t be surprised with his thrust towards wholesome, family fun. He has been a very active member of the Marriage Encounter community for quite some time now. And he is just living out what he believes in.

So, whether it is music that you are into, or you just want to have a taste of good food and relaxing ambiance, or you just wanna hang out and play a game of nine-balls with your buddies, Ravalos Food and Music is the place for you. Food and drinks are great and are available at very affordable prices. And the place is very accessible for most of us who just live in Pasig.

Come to Ravalos Food and Music where we are family.

Now, who says being wholesome cannot be fun?

Del Prado Powers Team B Win

It was a career game for Cocoy “Robin” Del Prado last Saturday evening as he powered the Kumbento88 Rigmarolers Team B to a win over their Team A counterparts.

Scoring 2-for-2 from beyond the 3-point arc, Del Prado, who started for the first time this season for the Team B Rigmarolers, established his career-high of six points in a game that can be best described as a friendly scrimmage.

“Parang batya nga yung tingin ko sa ring kaya bumato lang ako nang bumato sa three-points nung nalilibre ako,” Del Prado explains at the post-game interview.

“Sa susunod nga, sabi ko sa kanya, subukan niyang bumato pagdating pa lang nya sa half-court kung ganun siya kaswerte,” says Bong “Batman” Estrada, the other half of the dynamic duo, during the post-game celebrations at Ravalo’s Food and Music.

It was the second straight win for the Team B Rigmarolers while Team A is still winless in two games.

“Di bale, babawi na lang kami sa susunod na game namin. Malas lang ng susunod na makakatapat namin dahil makikita nila ang ngitngit ng Team A,” declares Homer “The Hair” Abaya as he fixes the strands of his bangs. Abaya is Team A’s latest acquisition during the off-season in a trade with Batch 87. Batch 87 demanded nothing in exchange for Abaya.

(fiction... well, kinda)

Pictures from the game can be seen at the album below.

Team A vs Team B

It's A vs B on Saturday

Maybe it was scheduled with the fear that we might manipulate results if our two teams faced each other in the latter part of the tournament. And so the inevitable is going to happen this Saturday, 5:30PM at the PCC Gymnasium.

It's K88 Rigmarolers Team A versus K88 Rigmarolers Team B.

After the game, one team is gonna come out a winner. But nobody is going home a loser. Ravalos Food and Music for the usual post-game celebrations. See yah!

KBBL2 Opening Game Pics

Click on the album below to view the pics

KBBL Season 2 Opening

Don't worry, Iric. Next time I'll make sure na Team B naman ang kukunan ko ng pics during our game. Lugi na nga tayo sa exposure dito sa Team A eh.

K88 Teams Opening Day Results

The two teams of the Kumbento88 Rigmarolers opened their campaigns for the 2nd season of the Kumbento Boys Basketball League in contrasting fashion.

K88 Team A fell short on its opening day game against Batch 87, the same batch they faced in last season’s Battle for 3rd. It wasn’t the same Batch 87 team, however, that our Team A faced this time as Batch 87 decided to field in just one solid team this season to strengthen their chances with a more solid line-up.

Team A’s lack of cohesiveness proved crucial as they faced a Batch 87 team with a deeper bench rotation and armed with familiarity with each other coming from years of playing with each other on a weekly basis. Rumors of Team A being disgruntled with its self-appointed head coach (should I still make a “Da Who” blind item on this one?) are brewing as the team, which on paper seems to be the more formidable of the two K88 teams, hopes to improve on its fourth place finish last season.

With Batch 87 deciding to unify their teams into one, Kumbento88 becomes the only batch to field in two teams this season. But that is not to say that the basketball talent of the Rigmarolers has been spread too thin with its division into two teams. And it was readily proven with Team B’s win over Batch 90 in the following game.

In a rematch of last year’s finals contest, our Team B faced a reinforced Batch 90 team. With Batch 90 seemingly abandoning their kick-out plays of last season in favor of a more inside-penetration type of ballgame, their shooters were not able to get their groove early on. The Rigmarolers, in contrast, delivered on a variety of inside-outside plays and successfully defended the shaded area on the other side. The first half saw the Rigmarolers build a 7-point lead highlighted by a three-point shot by Cocoy “Robin” Del Prado. (Why Robin? Another possible entry for “Da Who”.)

The second half of action, however, was a totally different story. With the Rigmarolers having finally shaken off the rustiness of the off-season break, and its role players, along with some rookie acquisitions, fitting into the system, the team made a decisive run in the 3rd quarter to establish some double-digit leads going into the final canto. Rebounds collared by Team B’s big men Chunky “You-Can’t- Bring-Me-Down-With-Just-An-Elbow” Ramos and Iric “The Enforcer” Balog anchored the fastbreaks led by last season’s MVP Bimbo “The Black Superman” Bersalona literally running rings around his helpless defenders.

Batch 90 made a few crucial plays in the middle of the fourth but the hustle plays of players like Joey “Mr. Quality Minutes” Bidong continued to frustrate the opponents’ efforts. A minor altercation happened in the fourth when one of the opponents felt he was given a hard foul by our resident enforcer Iric . The initially cool-headed Rod “Vintage” Vagilidad tried to pacify both players who readily accepted the fact that all is part of the game. An unnecessary comment, however, from a player from Batch 90’s bench caused Rod to blow his top (what top?), and in turn had to be pacified by the cooler heads in our team (believe it or not, Chunky was one of the cooler heads in that instance).

Game ended with The Rigmarolers ahead by a comfortable margin (around 10 points, I think. Who cares? As long as we won, right?). And the team celebrated at Jay Ravalo’s newly-constructed bar along Mercedes Ave. (Watch out for a thorough write up about Jay’s bar later in this blog.) Over dinner and a few drinks, and in between some friendly games of billiards (yes, this is a complete hang-out place for those who haven’t been there yet), the team had a few discussions on the present line-up of teams for this season’s KBBL, the adjustments each of our teams need to make, and some plans of an all-boys outing in the beautiful island of Boracay.

Now, aren’t you excited about the events of this season?

Opening of KBBL Season 2

The Kumbento Boys Basketball League opens its second season this Saturday, 26 April 2008 at 3PM.

The Kumbento88 Rigmarolers are the defending champions of this league after last year's successful campaign. And the same as last year, we shall be fielding two competitive teams for the tournament this season.

Our two teams are both seeing action on Saturday against Batch '87 and Batch '90, a re-match of last year's finals (and battle for 3rd) protagonists.

We expect a tougher competition this season as a total of nine batches are competing for the crown. And in line with this, there shall be a final practice session tomorrow (24 April) at 6:30PM (venue TBA) where the composition of the line up for our two teams shall be finalized.

If you are a player, be there at our practice tomorrow. The venue shall be texted to you by Chunky as we would prefer this practice session to be closed-door exclusively for our batch. You'll never know when the other batch's spies are out there to scout our intricately designed plays for this season.

And if you are not a player, but choose to support our teams in this campaign, there shall be a pep rally at the PCC grounds on Saturday right before the opening ceremonies. This shall be led by our playing cheerleader Cocoy Del Prado. Please do not bring your pompoms, balloons and bass drums yet. Since these are just the opening games of the season, we would not want our opponents to surrender into submission this early.

And if you have no interest in basketball whatsoever, and are still waiting for the opening of the first Kumbento Boys Group Games Tournament, just be there. Have fun and join us in our post-game celebration.

Win or lose, it's the booze we choose. (Tama ba yun Wawet?)

Defend the crown! Go Rigmarolers!

Kumbento '88 Alumni Association, Inc.

Dear all,

I wish to inform everyone that we have now started the initial steps towards the registration of our group in the Securities and Exchange Commission as KUMBENTO '88 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION INC. For info, we have already reserved this name in SEC.

As the next-best-step after the successful 20th Anniversary Reunion of Kumbento '88, this will pave the way so that we can already have a legal representation in order for us to pursue our higher goals of raising funds – be it in scholarships, sports and other worthy activities with a core purpose of reinforcing further the K88 brotherhood to culminate towards a five-year time capsule for PCC's Centennial Anniversary in 2013 which also is our Silver Anniversary year.

In this note, I am personally inviting you to form part of the initial composition of the BOARD OF TRUSTEES for the Kumbento '88 Alumni Association Inc.

Should you accept this invitation, you as an incorporator / trustee, shall help manage the affairs of the organization, including coming up with policies and guidelines, and managing its funds. As your name and signature shall be in our incorporation papers, we expect that by joining the Board of Trustees, we can rely on your active participation in the activities that the organization will set in the near future.

A meeting will be called as soon as we are able to complete the fifteen trustees. Please do let me know if you are up to the challenge and I hope you can reply to this email by Wednesday, April 2, 2008.

Cheers and Long Live K88!

Joey Manalad
K88 President (de facto)

Master Rapper

Yo! Yes, Yes, Yo!
Yo! Yes, Yes, Yo!

The clapping of the hands was in unison, serving as the guiding beat. We were all in a line that was slowly forming into a semi-circle. And in the middle was the star, the entertainer rapping his heart out.

Yo! Yes, Yes, Yo!
Yo! Yes, Yes, Yo!

Ask anyone from our batch, and I am pretty sure that this particular scene would rank among the more memorable recollections of our graduation. His act may even outrank Ferdie’s valedictory addresh, or Edmund Fullido’s stage strut.

Yo! Yes, Yes, Yo!
Yo! Yes, Yes, Yo!

I don’t remember what he was saying in his rap anymore. I’m not even sure if I was able to hear him clearly at that time. But we didn’t care. We didn’t care whatever it was he was mumbling, or should I say rapping about. What we cared about was the spontaneity of the moment. It was graduation practice at the PCC grounds. That only meant that classes were already over. Exams and other requirements were finally done with. And we were just waiting for that glorious day when we would all be able to receive that much-coveted diploma.

Yo! Yes, Yes, Yo!
Yo! Yes, Yes, Yo!

It was that careless abandon which we felt we were entitled to after four years of toiling it in high school. And he represented it through his display of rapping prowess, or lack of it, depending on your standards and opinion. But as I said, who cared? He was definitely enjoying himself. And so were we.

Yo! Yes, Yes, Yo!
Yo! Yes, Yes, Yo!

After all these years, we still do remember the vivid memories. And most probably, until we have that grand reunion come our silver jubilee, this subject shall inevitably pop up in our reminiscing drinking sessions. And maybe by then he will even provide us with an encore.

Yo! Yes, Yes, Yo!
Yo! Yes, Yes, Yo!

Take a bow, Master Rapper Mon Agner.

The Poetry of Tears For Fears

by Gary C. Devilles

I’ve been a literature teacher for quite some time and ever since I started teaching poetry or other genres I never failed to incorporate songs or popular culture in my pedagogy because primarily, I find a lot of artists or musicians poetic and that secondly, teaching literature through popular culture makes things more interesting for students such that they realize that the songs they enjoy are not far from the literary pieces they struggle to understand in terms of poetic devices or conventions.

One of my favorite artists is Tears for Fears. Back then when we were in high school we were captivated by their music and the strange dance maneuver of Roland Orzabal. Of course, I wasn’t really paying much attention to their lyrics then, probably because of my limitation and second I was more concerned with their melody. If it’s danceable, then most likely it’s good. The 80’s is the age of new wave and people were less concerned with poetics than body language. Now, of course we don’t dance as much. We are more comfortable listening to the 80’s music through our mp3s and iPods and this is when we begin to pay attention to what they were saying and try to make sense of what the songs meant for us then.

Consider Tears for Fears’ album, The Hurting, where almost all the songs in this compilation reflect the tedium, rebellion, and angst experienced in our youth. The first stanza of the song The Hurting sounds like a de profundis or a crying out loud of the soul who experiences pain from the depths of hell:

Is it an horrific dream/ am I sinking fast/could a person be so mean as to laugh and laugh/ On my own/ could you ease my load/ could you see my pain/ could you please explain the hurting/.

The persona here or the one perceived speaking in the song is asking these rhetorical questions addressed to someone who is probably not there since the line, on my own, explains explicitly his or her condition of isolation. In the Greek Tragedy this is called Agon (hence the word, agony, as a derivative of this Greek word agon), the articulation of character’s dilemma and problem. Alienation or isolation is one of the oldest problems articulated in drama and poetry and yet in this song we confront again this problem as though it is something new. This effect of seeing something old as new is known in poetry as defamiliarization, the effect of making the familiar unfamiliar. As one proceeds with the song, one learns that the pain is caused by one’s inability to communicate or understand other situation as articulated in the lines that goes:

Could you understand a child when he cries in pain/ could you give him all he needs/ or do you feel the same.

Such inability to communicate or failure to understand necessary leads to confusion with what one thinks and feels as the song continues with

All along you’ve been told you’re wrong when you felt it right/ and you’re left to fight the hurting.

The song actually ends powerfully with the resolution that fighting is futile and that acceptance of pain and suffering seems like a necessary process or stage that everyone goes through as the third stanza reveals that one has to feel pain and sorrow, touching pain and surrendering to it just like a child does. Perhaps the answer to the lingering problem of loneliness is not in being with someone since psychoanalyst Carl Jung once said that loneliness is not inimical to relationship. One can still feel alone even with others and the constant search for answers becomes the paramount condition of human existence. One asks questions because one continues to live.

Touch the hurt and don’t let go/ get in line with the things you know/ learn to cry like a baby / then the hurting won’t come back.

However, existential questions articulated in The Hurting become more critical in the song Mad World where the loneliness of persona is much more palpable and brought about by the inanity of lack of purpose and sense of direction. The French has a term for this kind of condition, which they call ennui and the ennui in this song is workaday world that seems caught in an endless circle of deceit:

Bright and early for their daily races/ going nowhere, going nowhere/ and their tears are filling up their glasses/ no expression, no expression/ hide my head and I want to drown my sorrow/ no tomorrow, no tomorrow.

This experience of tedium and ennui becomes more problematic as the song in the end reveals that such experience starts much early in life, when children are made to feel good and yet their teachers fail to understand what’s going on with them:

Made to feel the way that every child should/ sit and listen, sit and listen/ went to school and I was very nervous/ no one knew me, no one knew me/ hello teacher tell me what’s my lesson/ look right through me, look right through me.

If teacher-student relationship in grade school can be alienating, it is not surprising that almost all form of social filiations, lovers and even familial are not spared from this trauma and as such becomes the running theme almost in all songs in this compilation. Pale Shelter talks about one’s insecurity despite the provisions given to the persona, and in Ideas as Opiates, security in one’s beliefs becomes a comfortable excuse or relief when in fact admitting almost instinctively that belief is quite arbitrary:

And lies spread on lies/ we don’t care/ belief is our relief/ we don’t care.

One cannot even resort to memories as possible source of solace. If in TS Elliot’s Cats (became a musical and famous for the song Memory) one can invoke memory as the reason for being granted another life, for Tears for Fears memories fade and the scars still linger:

The more I talk/ the more I say/ the less you seem to hear/ I’m speechless in a most peculiar way/ your mind is weak/ your need is great/ and nothing is too dear/ for you to use to take the pain away/ memories fade.

This song may as well an echo of the song Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel in the late 70’s where the persona speaks to darkness as an old friend and sees people talking without listening. We cannot be certain whether Roland or Curt was influenced by the critical stance of the artists in the 70’s, but their songs in this album really captured what it meant to be alone, to live in a dog-eat-dog world, to suffer from the maddening crowd. Almost twenty five years ago, we were dancing to these tunes, couldn’t care less if they are saying something more. Now that we are beginning to feel the grip and extent of what they were saying, I wonder if we can still dance the way these songs were rendered before. Or shall we be forever be in an ironic situation as the song Start of the Breakdown tells us:

We love to laugh/ love to cry/ half-alive/ we love to go slow when we’re dancing for rain/ dry skin flakes where there’s ice in the vein/ and we love to cry/ half alive.

The song asks, is this the start of the breakdown. Can anyone provide an answer?

The world keeps spinning for Julia Fordham

by Gary C. Devilles, Correspondent, Manila Times

Like the troubadours of yore and the romantic poets today, renowned pop-jazz artist Julia Fordham reminds us once again of our myths and ideals about love, warning us of what love may cost, and promising us of the grandeur love brings. This season of romance, Ayala Malls brings Fordham to the Philippines in a rare concert series.

Fordham has recently completed her tenth album, China Blue, which marks a high point in her 20-year career. "I started at 16," she says, "joining bands and playing music and dropping out early from school to concentrate on being a musician." Her first album, Happy Ever After, was an instant hit. Listeners all over the world immediately liked her songs since these captured the essence of the eighties—the enigmatic and flimsy relationships as expressed in the song Invisible War and the innocent musing or the reflective stance of people back then in Where Does The Time Go.

In China Blue, we encounter Fordham seeking once more an inner dialogue with herself only this time more cognizant of a world that has changed dramatically. She says this album speaks of a sense of personal completion and one of the songs included, titled For You Only For You, strangely articulates this experience of moving on and taking hold of one's emotions. As the song goes, one may cry like a river over and over again for heartaches. But one should remember that a sea of love runs deep in veins. The singer intimates that the capacity to love almost always outweighs the pain of broken relationships and unfulfilled desires. She echoes what philosopher Roland Barthes said about lovers and beloved—that the beloved may be privileged to be desired and adored but ultimately it is the lover who becomes more in touch with his humanity.

When Fordham was asked about what she could tell Britney Spears if she will be able to talk to her, she says she only has sympathy for her. "I would want Britney to run away from the maddening crowd and the media that constantly make a circus out of her life. Actually I don’t like to read gossip magazines especially if the stories in them are painful." Fordham understands what it meant to be under the brutal surveillance of a watchful eye being a public figure herself.

She reminds us not to be overwhelmed by the world we live in and that despite the "bad hair days" or what her sister would call as "cake days", one should be reminded of the palpable fragility of our existence that is better spent with someone who really matters as expressed in the songs, Holiday and I Want To Stay Home With You. Fordham confesses that she loves the simple things such as afternoon tea with friends and family at home. "I have this wonderful set of tea cups," she volunteers, "and my house is this cozy space with wooden floors and ceiling, located near a hill I always love to trek."

The Manila Times asked Julia her reason for releasing China Blue via NovaTunes, an independent Internet company. "The world is constantly changing," Julia opines, "and one cannot just fight back or ignore such force. We all know that a lot of recording companies are closing and this is creating a tremendous pressure over artists to be more creative in terms of marketing." The songs in her album can be bought by downloading them.

Regarding the viability of this marketing strategy, she says that the problem of piracy is one that cannot be easily solved by simply promoting the original. In the age of mechanical albeit digital reproduction, the challenge for the artist is still to be able to sell as this is a source of livelihood without totally controlling the very instrument of production. After all, the success of an artist can also be gauged from the "replicating potential" and "reinterpretation" of his or her work.

Fordham lauds local singer Nina for doing a very good job in her rendition of her Love Moves in Mysterious Ways. This for her is also a measure of an artist’s popularity. Ultimately for Fordham, such marketing strategy of releasing work through the Internet is also a philosophical and political conviction on her part as an artist that strives to be independent with only her audience in mind. She feels her commitment to music and the people who love her should not in anyway be hindered by the business aspect of the music industry.

There are ten songs in this album that tell us who to love, what to do if betrayed, and how to cope if we fall out of love. Indeed, we are constantly in love— searching, longing, losing, and pained by love as the song The World Keeps Spinning tells us. The hypnotic and seductive poetry of Julia Fordham in this collection also discloses that despite the overwhelming feeling of being in love, the world continues to spin beyond the reach of time, with no finality, but with a future that we can only call an assurance. One poet says that the heart is a landmine, and in the Glorietta Mall as Julia Fordham croons everyone with China Blue, bidding us like lost lovers and absent friends, with a breeze that sends a sad tune as the song goes, our hearts explode from within.

Name Calling

It was a time when Personal Computers here in the Philippines were as rare as Plasma TV’s in our present time. It was the mid-80’s and only the privileged had PC’s in their households. And Wawet was one of those privileged kids who had them in their home. And they didn’t only own one PC. The lucky bastard had three of them. Yup, they had three PC’s that they use in their home at a time when PCC couldn’t even include computer subjects in our high school curriculum.

And so, one fine Saturday afternoon, Eric Joson, Regie Fronda and I planned to pay Wawet a visit in their home in Marietta to get a chance to play some computer games on their PC’s.

As we were already approaching Wawet’s house, we realized that we had some sort of, umm, a name problem. You see, back in those days, Wawet wasn’t called Wawet in PCC. He was called either ‘Hilario’ or ‘Faustino’. (Calling him Wawet wouldn’t come until our college days in the Ateneo.)

You know how we were in high school. We sometimes called our classmates by their whole first names, or their whole first and second names (Rey Carlo, John Michael – my wife calls it the telenovela-double-name syndrome as in the case of Dingdong Dantes’ character who was always called ‘Carlos Miguel’, to be spoken in one breath) or by their family names (Pueblo, Atillo, Balajadia, Bersalona).

In Wawet’s case, everybody in PCC called him either ‘Hilario’ or ‘Faustino’.

But which was which? Was Faustino his first name? Or was it his family name? If we rang their doorbell and his Dad answered, whom shall we ask for? Hilario or Faustino? It would have been an awkward conversation if something like this happened.

“Nandyan po ba si Faustino?”, we would ask.

“Ahh, mga iho, sinong Faustino? Lahat kami dito sa bahay na ‘to eh Faustino ang apelyido.”, his Dad would have replied.

That would have been embarrassing.

So before ringing their doorbell, Eric, Regie and I had some discussion on two concerns. One, which name is which. And two, who among us would be the one to ask in case it wasn’t Wawet who comes out of the gate.

I am not quite certain how we were able to resolve the name problem. Maybe we just based it on Wawet’s class number. He was positioned before Regie Fronda in our class number. Ergo, his family name couldn’t have been Hilario. As to who was assigned to ask the question, I already forgot.

Luckily, when we rang their doorbell, one of Wawet’s sisters answered us and we asked the correct question:

“Nandyan po ba si Hilario?”

A Class Section By Any Other Name

by Gary C. Devilles

To dismantle the idea of a pilot section is to dismantle elitism and elitism is part of the bigger problem of factionalism and fascism. Philosopher Hannah Arendt says that it is wrong to accuse only Nazis of fascism since in truth, fascism exists in varying degrees and contexts. In my case, my experience of elitism happened in schools. When I transferred to a private school, I knew already its implication. Some of my friends even construed it as a form of social mobility, since the divide between private and public school is symptomatic of class conflicts. It is not that in public school elitism does not exist. In Bagong Ilog Elementary School, we were already told that we belong to a “pilot” section, honors class, special education, etc. Pilot section is already a form of dividing between “us” and “them”. So when I went to PCC, I knew somehow that my education comes with a price tag or a label. I may not exactly be aware of the political economy of our education but I was being indoctrinated to this ideology of “brand-consciousness,” in so far as our society labels, categorizes, or polarizes us into black and white, public or private, elite or hoi polloi.

The branding does not stop in the type of schools, once admitted to PCC, I realized that branding goes all the way to sections, cultures, and codes. In public schools, sections are numbered but in PCC there were names, like Lakandula, Soliman, Humabon, Sumakwel, Dumangsil, Sikatuna, Lapu lapu and Kalantiaw, all names of pre-colonial heroes, except that I only recognized Lapu lapu of course (It was only when I was teaching history in Ateneo that I learned some of these heroes were actually fakes or fictive but back then no one cared or bothered to know these names, for they are after all just names). In grade 6 we would have pre-colonial titles of nobility like Gat, Lakan, Rajah, Hari, Hadji, Sultan, and Datu. It’s a good thing this Filipinization stopped in grade school and when we entered high school our sections were more cosmopolitan like Cardinal, Robin, Eagle, Oriole, Hawk, Lark and Falcon (For the life of me, I couldn’t imagine having the Filipino equivalents like Maya, Kuwago, Pato, Langay-langayan, Kulasisi, Sabukot, Manok, Uwak, Tagak, and Banoy). Sophomores were names of planets like Jupiter and Saturn, juniors were names of scientists like Galileo and Copernicus, and seniors back to epic heroes like Lam-Ang and Bantugen. In high school the practice was that we would carry our section until we graduate but do we ever stopped that these names mean nothing other than the arbitrary signifiers to meaningless signified? How does one essentially see through a Lark or Falcon, Jupiter or Mars, Ibalon or Lam Ang?

Branding extends to our daily lives with the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and even the things we use. Hotdog is Swift or Purefoods. Before Jollibee or McDonalds, we had Kramburger or Jester. The well-to-do classmates dine in Shakeys from time to time but for the rest we usually settled for turu-turo. In cafeteria, we have Slush Puppies drink but I was more loyal to Aling Patring’s Iskrambol. Ice Cream would be Magnolia or Presto. Gums would be Bazooka Joe or Tarzan. Soft drinks would be Pepsi or Coke. For notebooks and bond paper we have Sakura or Cattleya, Steadler or Bensia for pencils and erasers, Bic or Scribbler for pens. For shoes the fashion was Haruta, an imitation of Bass, but others would wear Bandolino and Greg. The sneakers of my classmates would be Tretorn, Standsmith, or Chuck Taylor but mine was Marlboro (which unfortunately until now I’m trying to figure out how in the world a shoe got its name from a cigarette brand). Underwear of course would be Hanes but mine was YC (Remember their famous jingle ad that goes like “YC Bikini Brief, YC Bikini Brief for a man who packs a wallop?). These brands definitely mediate our choices but no one at that time tried to see if these choices are really indicative of freedom or are we being constrained more by these limited choices. Aren’t all these just pomp and circumstance, pageantry, and advertising? How much of the brand can really hold on to its essential attributes? Today these brands are quickly replaceable and dispensable. Nobody remembers Olympia typewriter or Pocketbell anymore and I wonder how many artifacts or objects will be obsolete in the near future. I tell my students that they maybe proud to be Ateneans but in the final analysis, isn’t Ateneo’s rank 375 out of 500 universities all over the world? How proud can you get with that picture? Sad that education nowadays is very much extended marketing.

Sections or brand names reveal how commodified our culture is. If we could only dismantle brand consciousness the way Germans broke the wall that divide them before, then perhaps things would be easier as admitting that a rose by any other name is still a rose. But the enigma of brand is part of a long history of our subjection for which power is intrinsically linked. Right now we address ourselves as one nation or one people, but the truth is our geographical condition makes it difficult to recognize similarities and affinities and we become more enamored by our differences. Dismantling brand consciousness is an enormous task of self-reflexivity and critical discernment. Hence, transcending sections pilot or otherwise becomes a political will and collective action. This is not a task for “pilot section” alone, everyone as Joey said should move beyond the comfort zones and familiar circles. But if we can achieve it in our batch then there is no need to be surprised if we could do it in the grand scheme of things in the future. The reunion is definitely a good start although we have to admit that much work is still to be done if we are to dream big and extend our communities imagined or real. This country deserves more from the fascistic tendencies of our government officials. For the meantime, a drink is always a good to start things up, have fun and be reflective. The ancient Greeks call such gathering as symposium. They drink and philosophize. We may not be Greeks or Germans, but hey, San Miguel or Carlsberg isn’t that bad either. Cheers to us all!

K88 Reunion Bulletin No. 17 - Fund And Expense Report

by Jeff Sulit
20th Year Homecoming Chair

Dear All,

We would like to thank everyone for the support to our most recent successful 20th Grand Reunion.

As we have committed in the past, we will be transparent in the fund generation as well as the utilization of the fund gathered.

Before anything else, we would like to acknowledge the following people who volunteered to be Special Patrons on the day of our reunion:

FATHER ERICK SANTOS
DENNIS PALACIO
JOEL ANGELES

We truly appreciate your generosity and support. Same goes to those who have been previously acknowledged, many, many, many, thanks.

Final tally of the attendees, its not 99 anymore but after the review of the registration sheet as well as the pictures, it was 101 warm bodies who at one time or another was present at Jay's place last February 16.

*Attached is the Fund and Expense report I prepared and reviewed/audited by Cocoy, Jay and Arnold and approved by Joey.

Once again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the outpouring support you gave.

The remaining fund will be our seed money to facilitate new fund raising activities as well as the proposed setting up of a foundation for our batch. This excess fund will definitely be not enough to accomplish these forthcoming activities, but with your continued support we can proceed not only in setting up the foundation and facilitate fund raising activities for the Grand Centennial Homecoming but also to realise some long-term projects that is currently being planned.

Again, we thank you and long live K88.

Sincerely,



_________________________________
The Organizing Committee
Kumbento 88: TWENTY RIGMAROLIN' YEARS
February 16, 2008

*Attachment was sent thru the K88 Email Distribution List.

Thanks

by Jobet Lara

Fellow Rigmarolers,

Hoorah! to all PCC High School batch 1988. Congratulations to all of us for making our 20th year celebration a success. Pictures, videos and posts on our yahoogroup show how much excitement and adrenalin filled our celebration. I saw it and felt it.

I just had my chemotherapy session 2 days before our party so I had to take my steroids (chemo drugs suppress adrenalin). Steroids pump up adrenalin back to my veins to make me strong and enable me to move about. Without steroids, siguro di ako
naka-attend ng celebration natin.

Ako lang siguro naka-steroid during our celebration. But I'm sure the same adrenalin rush was felt by everybody at the party.

I also take this opportunity to thank everybody for all the continued prayers and support. I thank specially Joey Manalad and Jeff Sulit, members of the committees who organized the celebration, and of course, our generous patrons and sponsors for sharing with me their blessings to support my medical treatment. I will have my next chemotherapy session come February 28.

Thanks very much and God bless us all!

K88 Reunion Videos Part 3

The Arrival




Square Rooms + Beatles Medley

K88 Reunion Videos Part II

The Night Before




Hernan's Alma Mater Song




Jeff Sulit's Speech




Joey Manalad's Roll Call




Audi and Regan Singing Ako'y Sa 'Yo




Chunky and Gary Singing Ipagpatawad Mo




Jay Ravalo Singing Come Together

Time to crush the term PILOT like the Berlin Wall

by Joey Manalad
Kumbento88 President

pi•lot [pahy-luh t]
–adjective
serving as an experimental or trial undertaking prior to full-scale operation or use: a pilot project

Noong grade 3 ako, ang sabi nung teacher ko ay pagbutihin daw namin kung sakaling mailagay kami sa pilot sa susunod na taon. Hindi ko naman naintindihan kung ano ang ibig niyang sabihin sa salitang pilot. The following year, I learned from my other classmates that it was the same message given to them by their grade 3 teachers. Noon ko lang nalaman na pilot na pala yung section na ‘yon, and our teacher, Ms. Cruz officially informed us that Sapphire was THE pilot section.

Honestly, I never felt the difference from the grade 3 class to this new one in grade 4. If not for the official announcement by the class adviser, I really wouldn’t know the difference. Ganun din naman ang atmosphere – maingay, makukulit ang kaklase, may iba’t-ibang subjects, may iba’t-ibang teachers, pareho lang basically. Siguro ang medyo pinagkaiba lang ay mas malakas ang boses nung nagre-recite kapag may itinanong yung teacher. Yung tipo bang huling sagot na niya kaya todo-bigay na ang pagsagot sa isang napaka-simpleng tanong ng teacher.

Over the years, unti-unting na-establish na kapag pilot pala, this is supposed to be the “cream of the crop” and I suppose, students from the other sections somewhat look up, if not envy our class. Or worse, they probably thought of ganging up on us once in a while. The sharp stares we get along the Carlos Building corridors, the ugly side remarks we hear in the canteen during recess time, are just some few things that made me uncomfortable being in the pilot class. Unti-unti ko nang nararamdaman na may kakaiba silang nakikita sa pilot. Hey, wala namang ganyanan. Sa tingin ko, pare-pareho lang tayo ng pinagdaanan. I should know, I was one of the pranksters of the pilot class. Ang kulit ninyo sa section niyo ang siyang kulit din namin dun sa loob ng pilot class namin. Walang pagkakaiba. We answer the same periodical exam questions inasmuch as we buy the same yema from Mrs. Chavez. I don’t think na mas sinasarapan ni Mrs. Chavez ang yema niya dahil ibebenta niya ito sa pilot class. And I also don’t think papatulan namin ang yema niya kung mas mahal niyang ibebenta ang mga ito sa amin dahil taga pilot kami. Talagang pareho lang.

Another year passed and I was with Grade 5 - Lapu-lapu, then Grade 6 – Sultan. Noong high school, I was with 1st Year Cardinal, then 2nd Year Cardinal. As you and I already know by this time, 3rd Year saw the disbanding of the original pilot. Robin became the pilot class while Cardinal became one of the regular sections. Yung detalye nitong kuwentong ito ay isinulat na ni Gary Devilles , paki-balikan na lang.

One good thing that came about with this disbanding of the original pilot was the warming up of poles for those from the other classes who finally met and made good friends with people who used to stay in their comfort zone in the pilot class. Isa na ako doon. At least kahit papaano, naipakita ko na wala namang kakaiba sa amin. Pareho lang. “Burog” din ang tawag namin kay Mr. Roberto, “Bitoy” kay Saguisag, “Superman” si Mr. Soriano. Of course we give high regards to the original owner of the moniker “noo”, no less than our dear high school principal, Mr. Antonio B. Cruz. Sino ba ang hindi nakurot ni Lelith Adriano? Pero siguro yung sakit ng kurot ni Lelith ay depende na lang kung gaano kalaki ang atraso mo sa kanya, or kung gaano ka niya ka-crush. Peace Lelith!!! Pero definitely, walang pilot-pilot dito. At ika nga ni Arnold, we buy the same 2-pc. Barbeque with rice sa canteen and dip the same choco flavorings sa ice cream ni Mang Alex. Talagang pareho lang.

Fast forward circa 2000. Whenever we have K88 gatherings, whether big or small, di pa rin naaalis ang issue ng pilot at non-pilot. Other people are still aloof blending with the “taga-pilot”. Yun bang tipong parang bakang manunuwag or kabayong maninipa. Walang ganon sa batch natin kaya’t iwaksi na natin ito sa isipan natin. Our recent success in the 1st Kumbento Boys Basketball League is one tangible proof that barriers have finally been removed. Our players were in various shapes and sizes and yes, came from a good mix of our various sections from High School - - some came from Hawk, Oriole, Robin, Lark, Eagle, and Cardinal. During our reunion last Saturday, ninety-nine K88 warm bodies came up and were proudly counted during the big event. Masaya ang lahat, kitang kita naman sa mga uploaded pictures, hindi ba? Unfortunately, 20 long years after we moved on, mayroon pa ring nagbibigay ng pilot label. Wala na nga lang sigurong sharp stares and I am sure the remark was done in a jesting context. But please let us put a closure to this. Wala nang pilot at non-pilot. We should act and move as one, as Kumbento ’88. Huwag na nating lagyan nang ganitong label ang samahan natin. Malalim na ang pundasyon nito at sa tingin ko ay hindi na ito matitibag nang kung anumang pagsubok.

Just to share to you one story from Mrs. Bulangit that I really paid attention to in High School was the story of the Berlin Wall - - the barrier that separated the West Berlin from East Berlin for 28 long years from 1961 until its demolition in 1989. As she discussed in class in 1988, the Berlin Wall was still up.

If I still remember right, West Germany developed into a western capitalist country while East Germany established an authoritarian government. Despite its progress, the East still looked up to the West as it gained political freedom. The Berlin Wall served as a barrier to prevent the Easterners to cross the border and reunite with the Westerners. The fall of the Berlin wall paved the way for the German reunification.

Let us learn to appreciate history and apply its good lessons. It is time to crush the term PILOT like the Berlin Wall and let the Easterners in us join the Westerners of the batch in whatever context you may wish to put it. Let us move on as one and rigmarole if you want; just never add another brand to the only brand we will forever know– THE Kumbento ’88.

K88 Reunion Videos

Bong Estrada Singing Melt With You




Bing and Hernan Singing Salamat




Mrs. Memoracion's Speech




Father Erick's Speech




Miss Carina Santos' Speech

1000 beats per minute

A Balikbayan's reunion point of view

By B Espiritu

As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in front of my computer in San Francisco, savoring what’s left of my last day off from work, after a long plane ride back from Pasig City. Indeed, the past few days have been filled with so much excitement among the Kumbento 88 members. The reunion went by so fast I find it hard to express in detail what had happened during that time, but I’ll try to recount a few of the moments I could recall.

Since our plan to attend the 20th year reunion was mostly unannounced, Manny Santana suggested that one of us get out of the car first, and since we had thought there was a slight “leak” in his whereabouts more than my whereabouts (Gary Devilles and Boyet Valencia saw us at Serendra the day before), he came out and walked towards Jay Ravalo’s place – and sure enough a lot of people were surprised to see him. I waited a few minutes, being the drama queen that I could be at times. 1000 beats per minute – that was how much I felt my heart was pounding as I finally came out of the car and walked on. I could feel a shiver all over my body as I walked – that was the last thing I could remember before reaching the front gate of Jay Ravalo’s place.

What had gone through my mind prior to going to the reunion had vanished. I was afraid of not knowing anyone anymore and though there were a few faces I couldn’t recognize at first, somehow I was reminded of who they are. I remember seeing Antonio Lara, Marvin Malonzo, Erick Cruz, and Regan Fronda (who I had to admit I didn’t recognize at first). I was also afraid of not being recognized, but that proved to be wrong since I felt like I had a warm reception (fit for a king!) even before reaching the front gate. I even got hugs from the two presidents – of our batch (Joey Manalad) and of the 20th year homecoming (Jeff Sulit).

My good old friend adrenaline had gotten the most of me throughout the afternoon and evening. I wouldn’t normally get up and sing on stage – but I did. When I heard “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and realized it didn’t have the vocals, I just couldn’t contain myself and had to seize the opportunity. After all, Father Erick did say that we should make the most of our lives, and I didn’t want to wait for my turn to sing anymore. I knew at times I was out of tune and my voice was scratchy since I’ve been battling a cold, but I think the risk was worth it! Being able to sing with a live band had also been a dream of mine, and I think Jay Ravalo, Gilbert Gatchalian, and Noel Acosta made that dream a reality, even for just a few hours – thanks guys!

Throughout the night of music, drinking, and chatting, I think I found myself mostly relaxed, but filled with happiness and excitement that I couldn’t explain. I felt like I reunited with a long, lost family. It was a night when I felt my “what if’s” have been answered (there’s too many to mention). I also felt that I had put any remaining ill-feelings towards people aside and at least just have fun. I felt a sense of closure for the burden that I felt I’ve been carrying for the last twenty years, and now think of it as what makes life worth living. The reunion that I thought I would dread going to has suddenly turned out to be one I would look forward to and smile about when I think about.

As I’m writing this, the only thing I dread is the fact that tomorrow I’m back to work and that the weather forecast calls for occasional rain. But thinking of the past few days I’ve spent with all of my high school buddies still makes me smile and hope – it’s going to be a sunny day anyway.

K88 Grand Reunion - Pasasalamat

by Jeff Sulit
20th Year Homecoming Chair

Wagi!

Wagi ang Batch 88! Sa mga humigit kumulang na 96 batchmates na dumalo nung Sabado, masasabi natin na tayo ay nagwagi sa ating adhikain na ituloy ang kapatiran ng ating batch.

Isang karangalan para sa akin ang pagiging Homecoming Chair para sa ating 20th year Grand Reunion. Kund hindi sa mga sumusunod na ka-batch natin, hindi ko kakayanin at hindi ganito ang kalalabasan ng Kwentuhan, Kantahan at Kampayan natin nung Sabado.

Para kay Joey Manalad, ang ating batch president, salamat at binigyan mo ko ng pagkakataon na iorganisa ang Reunion na ito. At sa pagiging punong abala sa sponsorhip at fund raising committee.

Para kay Cocoy Del Prado, sa pagiging co-chair sa reunion na ito. Salamat bro at marami kang nahikayat na pumunta.

Para kay Jay Ravalo ang ating Grand Patron. Salamat ng marami sa pagiging bukas palad mo sa kapakanan ng ating batch. At sa iyong pamilya na buo ang suporta din sa ating batch.

Para kay Arnold Martinez, punong abala sa ating batch shirt, web page at blog spot. Pasensya na at naatasan ka muling maging official photographer.

Para kay Bong Estrada sa pag-asikaso sa ating mga kinain nung Sabado at sa mga oras na ginugol para sa praktis bilang vocalista sa K88 Band.

Para kay Noel Acosta at Gilbert Gatchalian, kasama si Jay at Bong, sa pagbigay ng walang kapantay na live performances at sa mga di mabilang na oras sa pag-eensayo.

Para kay Ericson Mercado, sa ginawang artwork na naging backdrop natin at back cover ng souvenir program.

Para kay Jobet Lara, sa iyong pagdalo kahit alam namin na mahirap sa kundisyon mo sa ngayon.

Para kay Jun Lara, sa pag buo ng programa nuong Sabado, pasensya na at di natin nasaikatuparan ang mga larong pinaghandaan.

Sa mga nag-distibute ng ating tickets at nangolekta ng mga proceeds, Joey, Cocoy, Jay, Chunky, Rod, Rey Carlo, Jun Lara, Eric Gonzales, Eric Cruz, Regan Bernabe, Gatchi, Noel, paki personal email na lang ako kung meron akong hindi nabanggit na pangalan- ipagpaumanhin na lang po.

Sa lahat na tumulong ng pinansyal kahit alam natin na mahirap ang buhay ngayon, kayo ay naglaan para sa reunion at outreach natin.

Para ka Cesar Menguito, Regan Bernabe at Marvin Malonzo sa pagasikaso sa ating mga special guest.

Sa ating mga special guest, Father Eric, Mrs. Memoracion at Ms. Carina Santos - salamat at kayo ay nakarating, isang karangalan ang muli kayong makapiling.

Para kay Eric Cruz, punong abala sa registration at distribution ng batch shirt.

Para kay Rey Munsod, sa pagiging official solo pic photographer natin kahit na ako ay walang solo pic.

Para kay Boyet Valencia, sa pagiging emcee natin.

Sa lahat ng dumalo nung Sabado, kahit malayo ang pinanggalingan, kahit na meron mga trabaho, kahit na meron mga lakad pamilya, kahit meron emergency, kahit meron pinagluluksa, kahit meron ibang pagkakaabalahan ay ginusto pa rin makapunta sa ating Reunion.

Special mention kay Manny at Bing na sumorpresa sa lahat. Kay Hernan na despite sa mga nangyari ay pinili pa rin makapiling muli tayo.

At kay Iric Balog, condolence ulit bro.

At sa mga kasamahan ni Jay Ravalo na tumayong parking attendant, waiter, taga-kabit ng streamer, taga bili ng inumin, taga tilad ng lechon.

Ito lamang ay nagpapatunay na kung tayo ay tulong tulong walang bagay na impossible.

Tuloy natin ang paghahanda para sa ating 25th year at pagiging proud host of PCC's Centennial Celebration.

Ulit, maraming maraming salamat sa inyong lahat.

Huggable Is Back

by Erick Cruz, K88 Yahoogroup moderator

What can I say? First things first this monday morning...

He was once forced to leave our group....
He was once forced to contemplate on his feelings towards our brotherhood....

But, he is nonetheless a true blue blooded K88 member....

And he is BACK!!!

Let us welcome with lots of hugs our dear Huggable Hernan!!! - who seems to be the only one who still knows the lyrics to our alma mater song