I LIKE you, you’re funny.”
That was one of the first things Mark Bretherton, then the vice president of the Cebu Football Association, told me when we had a brief chat more than a decade ago.
I think it was after a press conference for the Aboitiz Cup and the then Cebu International School (CIS) superintendent and I, together with the school’s athletic director went to have a snack to talk about football.
The talk shifted to current events and someone mentioned that in Canada, there’s a prison where inmates get to play golf.
“Who the hell stays in prison that has a golf course,” Mark asked.
“Maybe people who cheat at golf,” I said.
That was what got him laughing. Over the years, I’d see Mark regularly in CFA events as there was only a handful of the board members who showed up during that tumultuous period of Cebu football that ironically saw the game grow exponentially.
Jonathan Maximo was the CFA president at that time and it was also under their term that the Aboitiz Cup morphed into an Aboitiz Festival and an Aboitiz University League, which were quite a hit if I remember it right.
He also asked me cover the CIS team when it played in the International Schools Athletic Conference in Baguio and in Laguna. The competition was intense and I remember CIS doing well in basketball and football, despite fielding mostly the same players.
Two days ago, Eleazer Toledo, who had a stint as CIS coach, told me the sad news. Mark passed away last week, a victim of a hit-and-run incident in Kuwait, where he was based.
According to Toledo, who now handles the University of Southern Philippines Foundation, CIS will hold a memorial for its former superintendent
May you rest in peace, Mark.
FIBA WORLD CUP. I think it’s safe to say that millions of Filipinos will be glued to the TV at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 31 when Gilas Pilipinas takes on Italy in its first game in the Fiba World Cup. For 40 minutes at least—barring an overtime—we can forget about political division and cheer as one for the country’s most beloved team.
Sure, Italy is going to be faster, stronger and is favored but we all know what Gilas Pilipinas battlecry is.
“Puso.”
I won’t be surprised if they’ll all give us a nice surprise in the first game day of the Fiba World Cup.
Go Gilas!