Student Athlete

Yesternight, I was with my South Spiral friends at Taste Asia at the Mall of Asia for the Oktoberfest 120 Bloggers Party.

My friends and I came around a quarter before seven (7) when there was virtually no people around yet. I took some pictures and waited for the party to start.

This was the second bloggers party that I went to and as expected, it was a blast!

Taste Asia offered us good food. Bloggers feasted and drank loads of San Miguel Beer!

There were numerous contests and San Miguel was so generous in giving prizes. Cellphones and MP3 Players were raffled away last night, including jackets and ice buckets. My friends Jason and Jay was about to leave when Jason was called in and won an ice bucket. That made them think twice to leave early. Haha!

Sorry, my cam’s not working fine last night. I know it’s a bad shot.

The house was rocked when Moonstar88 jumped in and joined us, they sang good music which includes Torete. We were four feet away from the band and my camera was busy recording their music. Too bad my camera died on me, though.

As the party ended, we asked Maychelle Baay of Moonstar88 if we can have a picture with her and we’re glad she did not refuse. She’s so accommodating and she’s all smiles.

San Miguel really knows how to put a party, they even had us bring home some cans of beer and a bag of chips. Though I do not drink, I really enjoyed the party!

Big thanks to Ma’am Aileen Apolo, Taste Asia at the Mall of Asia, Mall of Asia, Moonstar88, and San Miguel for that fun night! Sa mga sponsors ko rin nga pala - Nike. Joke!

That’s it for now, until then, stay fit!

It’s been ages since I got someone to interview for Student-Athlete.

Good thing I found the perfect subject today. Today’s featured student-athlete is Claire Kathleen Yu, she plays for the Ateneo Blue Eagles Table Tennis Team. Get to know more about this hardworking student-athlete through these short notes.

Name: Claire Kathleen Yu
Birthday: November 5, 1989
Weight: 110 lbs.
Height: 5′4”

College Team: Ateneo de Manila University
Former Clubs: Forehand Backhand Institute

How and why did you start playing your sport?
My dad made me play with the robopong while he was playing table tennis with his friends.

Were you a varsity player during your elementary and high school days?
I wasn’t.

How much do you usually spend playing sports?
I don’t know. Hahaha!

Where do you usually play?
Ateneo

What do you do when you’re not playing sports?
Study, sleep, and eat.

What are your greatest achievements/awards as an athlete?
Had lots of awards from target shooting (not from pingpong) haha.

What’s your course? Are you enjoying it? When you were a kid, what do you want to be? Are you fulfilling it? Or do you have plans of fulfilling it in the future?
BS Computer Engineering. No, I’m not enjoying it anymore.

Is it hard balancing academics and athletics at the same time? How’s your studies?
Yes.

The Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Blue Paddlers and Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT) Table Tennis Team had a tune-up game at the Blue Eagles Gym last Tuesday, September 24.

It so happen that one of their Women’s player, Vivien Jazel Tan, was featured as a student-athlete here in my site. I asked Vivien if it was possible for our teams to have a friendly game. I’m glad that their coach, Mr. Floyd Lobaton, agreed and accepted my invitation.

The Blue Paddlers were very friendly and it was fun playing with them. We even had a picture taken after our game.

(l-r)*Di ko kabisado names - to be edited*,Claire Yu, Galwin Fabian, Marvin Carreon, Patrick Chan, Aieo Tan.

Sadly, it was our lone picture of the group but our rookie, Marvin Carreon, managed to ask Vivien to have a shot with him. Haha!

uyyy.. kilig!ü

To the Ateneo Blue Paddlers and Coach Floyd Lobaton, thank you! Good luck and God bless in the UAAP Table Tennis Tournament. Stay fit!

My site, Student Athlete, is a finalist in the 2008 Philippine Blog Awards. For bloggers out there who wish to watch the awarding, I’ve embedded a live stream video here. Enjoy!

Free video streaming by Ustream

It’s official. Awards for this season’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Basketball Tournament was released yesterday, Saturday, by host Mapua.

Allan Mangahas of the Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT) was named Rookie of the Year in this season’s National Collegiate Athletic Association Basketball Tournament. Allan tops all rookie in points and in minutes played. Mangahas, the younger brother of James Mangahas of De la Salle - Manila, helped the Cardinals beat the San Beda Red Lions last Friday at the Cuneta Astrodome.

University of Perpetual Help’s Center Raffy Ynion took the Most Improved Player Award. Ynion played for the Atlas this season averaging 8.6 points per 22.4 minutes.

Meanwhile, San Beda Red Lion’s Center Sam Ekwe bags his second (2nd) Most Valuable Player Award. He edged Jason Ballesteros of San Sebastian Stags because of a new league rule that allows only players from Final Four teams to qualify for the top individual award.

Jason Ballesteros on the other hand, received the Defensive Player Award. Ballesteros averaged 3.4 blocks per game.

This season’s Mythical Team includes Stag’s Ballesteros, Lion’s Ekwe, Bomber’s Hayes, Cardinal’s Neil Pascual and Knights’s Jazul.