Manila Bulletin September 10, 2004


SPRING COOKING Oil-backed Laguna Spring toppled the Baguio Cardinals, 84-75, while Skygo-supported Tribu Sugbu (Cebu Tribes) ripped the Batangas 29ers, 82-71, Wednesday to show the way in the NBC (National Basketball Conference) national champioship.

Former NCAA most valuable player Ernani Epondulan and Mar Reyes combined for 40 points to power the Spring of NBC president Nathaniel "Tac’’ Padilla and Laguna Gov. Teresita "Ningning’’ Lazaro to their seventh win in 12 games at the University of Baguio gym.

Jojo Tangkay rediscovered his old form and joined hands with Jeffrey Sanders in leading the Tribes to a seven-game sweep of their home stand at the Cebu Coliseum.

Spring regained the North division lead in the tourney sponsored by Panasonic, Spring Cooking Oil, PCSO, Sulpicio Lines, Nature’s Spring Mineral Water, Cebu Ferries, Air Philippines, Supercat, Skygo Motorcycles, Trans-Asia, Accel and Molten.

The Tribes of businessmen Lito Gillamac Jr., Albert Tan and Dr. Kelly Viado broke away from a 38-38 halftime tie to lead 55-46 after Tangkay sank two triples and two free throws off Batangas coach Yong Garcia’s technical foul.

Sanders, who finished with 16 points, took over from Tangkay after that, pouring in 10 points in the fourth quarter as the Tribes improved their record to 9-1.

i spent the whole afternoon yesterday compiling the 2003 articles of Naning. i planned not to post it yet because i've posted an entry already for yesterday's date. after much ado and grumbling on my part, because it was such a tedious work really, i've finished the entry. now, all i had to do was click on the "save draft" button and post it another date.

then, we were called to go outside. it was our big boss' 20th anniversary in China and there was some kind of a little party to commemorate it. we were hurried up so i just turned off the monitor to hide my works.

my mind was on the entry the whole time i was in that little party. i even asked Rina just to make sure if it was just the monitor i turned off. I could not imagine if it was the CPU. all my hard work would definitely vanish into thin air. what a waste of time it would be!

we went back inside the office at exactly 6pm. we were hurrying because the shuttle bus schedule is at 6:08 and we're supposed to catch it. i'd just save my works then set off for home.

poof!

i pushed the CPU button! i momentarily freezed...feeling numb and DUMB. there went all my hard work. down the drain and into the limitless wastebasket of the world wide web.

my absentmindedness never fail to amuse me, really. i could cry.

ok... so here's my 2nd installment for my yearly feature of Ernani Epondulan's basketball career. the problem though is i'm having a hard time locating articles for this particular year. i only have one here. how i wish i'm in the philippines right now. i have clippings back there and it would really help for this entry. anyways, i'l try to find some more articles. just bear with me, ok?


geez... i still have to complete the 2001 articles! somebody help me! ;-)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




Casino Amigos clip Eagles run
The Philippine Star; 06/27/2002

CEBU – Casino Cagayan de Oro continued its amazing climb in the MBA National Conference with a vengeful 101-96 victory over Professional Davao yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.

It was the third straight win for the Amigos after dropping their first two games in the Southern Conference, pushing them closer to the Eagles, who suffered their first defeat in five games.

Nani Epondulan, last year’s NCAA most valuable player, proved to be the biggest thorn on the Eagles’ side as he fired 24 points while veteran Peter Naron ably supported him with 21.

The Amigos exacted revenge on the Eagles, who handed them a 97-87 beating on June 18 in Davao City.

Since then, the Amigos of Coach Vic Ycasiano have rebounded by downing the RCPI Negros Slashers (110-102) and the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems (100-94), respectively.

Updated 06:44am (Mla time) Sept 03, 2004
Inquirer News Service


Published on page A27 of the September 3, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer


CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Misamis Oriental, Philippines -- The Laguna Spring pulled away in the second half to rout the Cagayan de Oro Stars, 92-73, Wednesday and boost its southern campaign in the NBC (National Basketball Conference) national championship.


Former NCAA most valuable player Ernani Epondulan shot 10 of his 16 points for the Spring Cooking Oil-backed team in the third quarter to spark the breakaway of Laguna, co-owned by NBC president Nathaniel "Tac" Padilla and Gov. Teresita "Ningning" Lazaro, before a sellout crowd at the Xavier University gym.


The 6-foot-2 Epondulan opened the quarter with a jumper and then scored back-to-back triples at the 5:16 mark as Spring pulled away from 38-34 to 54-43.


Laguna bounced back from Monday's double overtime 80-82 defeat to Tribu Sugbu for a 6-4 card and solo leadership in the North division of the tournament sponsored by Panasonic, Spring Cooking Oil, PCSO, Sulpicio Lines, Nature's Spring Mineral Water, Cebu Ferries, Air Philippines, Supercat, Skygo Motorcycles, Trans-Asia, Accel and Molten.


The Stars absorbed their seventh loss in eight games.


Robin Mendoza's all-around game enabled Spring to lead from start to finish.


The scores:


LAGUNA 92-Epondulan 16, Corbin 11, Nicdao 11, Reyes 11, Capobres 10, Mendoza 9, Manuel 8, Garcia 5, Roda 4, Lingal 4, Kalaw 2, Buendia 0


CdO 73-Navales 16, Numeran 12, Sese 10, Royo 9, Culdora 7, Capati 5, Alcantara 5, Tagarda 4, Tolentino 3, Jimenez 2


Quarterscores: 24-9, 38-34, 67-47, 92-73




Laguna takes down Stars at Xavier Gym
By Rommel C. Manlosa
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
Sun Star Cebu; September 3, 2004

AFTER their recent grueling double-overtime setback, the Laguna Springs got their act together to yank the Cagayan de Oro Stars down to earth, 92-73, in the crossover phase of the NBC National Championships at the Xavier University Gym.

Ernani Epondulan sparked a big third-quarter rally that turned the close game into a rout as he scored 10 of his team-high 16 points.

As the Springs led, 38-34, at the bend, Epondulan, a former MVP with the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers in the NCAA, started to catch fire starting with a jumper and back-to-back triples that took Laguna to a comfortable 54-43 lead.

Biggest lead
The North division leader Springs posted their biggest lead of the game with ex-pro Chris Nicdao’s dunk midway through the fourth period at 79-55.

Laguna, fresh from a heartbreaking 80-82 double-overtime loss to Tribu Sugbu last Monday, got off to a sizzling start burying the Stars in the opening quarter, 24-9.

But the Stars clawed back as Randy Alcantara and crowd-favorite Julius Navales waxed hot in the second canto.

Epondulan added two rebounds and a steal in 21 minutes of play as Robin Mendoza kept the Springs from collapsing with his all-around performance that earned him nine points, on top of two rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

Laguna scored its sixth win against four losses in the tournament sponsored by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Panasonic, Spring Cooking-Oil, Sulpicio Lines, Nature’s Spring Mineral Water, Cebu Ferries, Air Philippines, Supercat, Skygo Motorcycles, Trans-Asia, Accel, and Molten.

Seventh loss
Despite the addition of former St. Benilde slotman Ronald Capati, the Stars absorbed their seventh setback against a lone 93-87 overtime win over the Baguio Cardinals last week.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Laguna Spring drowns CDO Stars in NBC
The Freeman; September 3, 2004

Cagayan de Oro City - The Spring Cooking Oil-backed Laguna Spring pulled the Cagayan de Oro Stars back to earth with a masterful 92-73 win in the crossover phase of the National Basketball Conference Championships before a sell-out crowd at the Xavier University gym here.

Ernani Epondulan sparked a big third quarter rally that turned the close game into a rout scoring 10 of his team-high 16 points.

The Spring of NBC president Nathaniel “Tac” Padilla and Laguna Gov. Teresita “Ningning” Lazaro was just ahead by four, 38-34, at the half when Epondulan, who was a former MVP with the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers in the NCAA, caught fire.

The 6-foot-2 wingman opened the third quarter with a jumper and by the time he nailed back-to-back triples with 5:16 left, Laguna is comfortably ahead, 54-43.

The north-leading Spring posted its biggest lead in the game with ex-pro Chris Nicdao’s jam midway through the fourth period, 79-55.

Laguna, who came off from a heartbreaking 82-80 double-overtime loss to Cebu Tribes (Tribu Sugbu) last Monday, got off to a sizzling start burying the Stars in the opening quarter, 24-9. But the Stars clawed back into contention as Randy Alcantara and crowd favorite Julius Navales waxed hot in the second canto.

Epondulan added two rebounds and a steal in just 21 minutes but it was Robin Mendoza, who kept the Spring from collapsing with an all-around game making nine points on top of two rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

Laguna posted its sixth win against four losses to remain on top in the north division of the tournament sponsored by Panasonic, Spring Cooking-Oil, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Sulpicio Lines, Nature’s Spring Mineral Water, Cebu Ferries, Air Philippines, Supercat, Skygo Motorcycles, Trans-Asia, Accel, and Molten.

Despite bolstering their line-up by acquiring former St. Benilde’s slotman Ronald Capati, the Stars absorbed their seventh setback against their lone win over the Baguio Cardinals, 93-87, in overtime last week.

it's for you to decide if the acronym fits...haha!

E	Explosive
R	Relaxed
N	Natural
A	Astounding
N	Naive
I	Intelligent
E	Enchanting
P	Peaceful
O	Organic
N	Normal
D	Delightful
U	Useful
L	Luxurious
A	Amorous
N	Neglected

Name / Username:

Name Acronym Generator
From Go-Quiz.com

a friend of mine once made a scrapbook for naning. it was originally her idea but i sort of helped her by cutting out newspaper articles and pictures, did some art work and agreed to let her include the poem i wrote for him. it came out beautifully, i should say. and i hope that naning is keeping it ok until now. he may not be aware of it but we put a lot of work into that scrapbook. it was a labor of love.

couple of days ago, i decided to make one online. didn't have an idea what i was getting into. hirap pala! parang ayoko na syang tapusin. haha! had to have a large dose of patience everyday, you know, to gather the articles so long buried. wala na kasi ung iba. dami kulang.

pwede ba mahiram scrapbook mo ning?

Stags vs Bombers
Manila Bulletin; 9/23/2001

SAN SEBASTIAN and Jose Rizal hammered out big wins yesterday to arrange a best-of-three championship duel for the NCAA seniors basketball tournament crown at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

The Stags tripped the Mapua Cardinals, 48-44, while the Heavy Bombers ousted defending champion St. Benilde, 99-76.

Ernani Epondulan sizzled with 35 points, including 21 in the first half when the Heavy Bomber all but clinched the finals berth by running away to a 52-32 advantage going into the final 20 minutes.

"Nagpapasalamat kami sa Diyos. Finally, nasa finals na uli kami. Nagkasabay-sabay na maganda ang laro ng mga bata," said JRU mentor Boy de Vera.

The best-of-three series starts tomorrow.


~ * ~

JRU bet leads MVP race
Manila Bulletin; 9/22/2001


Jose Rizal University stalwart Ernani Epondulan took a giant leap from 12th place to wrest the lead in the MVP race after the two-round elimination of the 77th National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball season at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

The 5'10" Epondulan, despite missing action on their last elimination match, accumulated a player all-round value of 25.30 to snatch the top spot from San Beda forward Argun Cordero.

He averages, 20.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and three steals ...


~ * ~

Bombers secure Final Four berth
Manila Bulletin; 8/28/2001

FRONTRUNNING JOSE Rizal University played steadier in the final three minutes to beat host Philippine Christian University, 87-80, and secure a Final Four seat in the NCAA seniors basketball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Ernani Epondulan scored 23 points, including six in a pivotal 13-6 run that paved the way for the Heavy Bombers' ninth straight victory.

The Dolphins absorbed their seventh loss in 10 outings.

"I give credit to the boys, talagang nag-trabaho lahat para makapasok kami sa Final Four. I also give kudos to PCU for giving a good fight," said Jose Rizal coach Boy de Vera.

"We expected a tough challenge from PCU. Pero mas determinado lang yung mga bata ko. They really went all out. Nung dumikit ng dalawa, sinabihan ko lang sila na huwag mawalan ang depensa. They know what to do kaya nakalayo uli kami," said De Vera, optimistic of ending Jose Rizal's 29-year title drought.

~ * ~

JRU's streak now 8 games
Manila Bulletin; 8/17/2001

Jose Rizal University downed San Beda College, 125-111, yesterday to remain unbeaten in eight games in the National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors basketball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Ernani Epondulan scored 22 points while Ariel Capus added 20 points on top of 10 rebounds and five assists as the Heavy Bombers repeated their 103-97 victory over the Red Lions last July 23.

San Beda, which remained in the cellar at 1-7, was only in the thick of the fight in the first half, getting most of the points from MVP leaders Arjun Cordero, Britt Carlo Reroma and James Hudencial.


~ * ~
Bombers sweep 1st round
Manila Bulletin; 8/10/2001

JOSE RIZAL University completed a sweep of the first round with a 95-90 victory over defending champion College of St. Benilde yesterday in the National Collegiate Athletics association (NCAA) seniors basketball tournament at the Rizal Memorial coliseum.

Ernani Epondulan scored 23 points, inlcuding six from the stripes in the fourth quarter where the Heavy Bombers erec-ted an 80-69 lead going into the final two minutes.

"We achieved our first goal, which was to sweep the first round. Now we have to keep our winning form and try to sweep the next." Said Jose Rizal coach Boy de Vera.

"Sana, huwag lang maulit yung nagyari last year when we swept the first round but didn't do well in the second," he added.

~ * ~
Jose Rizal goes for sweep
Manila Bulletin; 8/9/2001

Jose Rizal College eyes a sweep of the first round eliminations when it battles defending champion College of St. Benilde today in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) seniors basketball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

The Heavy Bombers of Boy de Vera met the slumping Blazers at 5 p.m.

"We're hoping for the best, which is to sweep the first round,'' said De Vera after the Bombers defeated Letran, 85-81, last July 31.

"I told my players to be ready for St. Benilde, siguradong gigil yan na makabalik dahil sa apat na sunod na talo. Kailangan na mag-ingat kami,'' said De Vera, who will bank on Ernani Epondulan, Ariel Capus, Nathaniel Gregorio, Rendeli dela Rea and John Dale Valena.

"Last year, we swept the first round but we failed to sustain our winning form in the next. Sana, huwag maulit yun this season.

~ * ~
Bombers keep clean record
Manila Bulletin; 8/1/2001

Jose Rizal University outplayed Letran College, 85-81, yesterday to remain unbeaten in six games in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Ernani Epondulan sizzled with 36 points, but Rondell dela Rea and Wynsjohn Te played the heroics for the Heavy Bombers, sinking back-to-back treys to put Jose Rizal ahead, 2-77,with 27 seconds left in the game.

~ * ~
Bombers get 5th straight
Manila Bulletin; 7/29/2001

JOSE RIZAL Univesity turned back host Philippine Christian U, 8581, last night to stay unbeaten after five games in the NCAA seniors basketball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Joel Finuliar banged in 17 points and Ernani Epondulan added 16 as the Heavy Bombers broke away from the last deadlock at 74-74 with still three minutes remaining to coast to the victory.

The Dolphins, who got a big game from Omar Asmad, Leo Gaspi and Robert Sanz, dominated the first three quarters but lost steam in the last period to absorb their fourth defeat in five matches.