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Marte Sta. Cruz always dreamed of becoming a famous basketball player. That dream was shattered forever when he lost his left foot after the LRT Recto station was bombed in 1997.

Marte had another dream though. He dreamed of meeting his favorite basketball player Jojo Lastimosa of the Alaska Aces in person.

Trivia: Olsen Racela is only the second guard in PBA history after Sonny Jaworski and one of only nine players to have played in at least 800 games.

Wow.

So what are the factors in Rodericko Cesar Escueta Racela’s long and successful career?

Factor Number 1: Being Virtually Injury Free.

The PBA Press Corps, the group of sportswriters who regularly cover the PBA games, is all set to stage its annual awards on Sept. 27 at The Alegria of Waterfront Manila Pavilion.

The awarding of the Baby Dalupan Trophy to the Coach of the Year is the highlight of the semi-formal affair set to start at 7:30 p.m.

Other awards to be given are the Executive of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Mr. Quality Minutes, Comeback Player of the Year, Referee of the Year and the All-Rookie Team.

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will start entertaining RENEWALS (only) of its Privilege Membership Card (PMC's) on Monday, September 14, 2009.

For the 2009-2010 season,  PMC prices will be P6,000.00 - special ringside (Patron A & Lower Box A&B in Araneta Coliseum) P4,000.00 - courtside (Patron C & Lower Box C in Araneta Coliseum) P2,000.00 - lowerbox (Upper Box A in Araneta Coliseum) for BOTH Cuneta Astrodome and Araneta Coliseum.

We are all lucky to have had Cory Aquino, the former president and the mother of Philippine democracy, touch our lives and inspire us one way or another.  James Yap was fortunate to have felt her motherly love first hand.

NBA Generations Line-up

September 11, 2009 7:30 P.M. - Araneta Coliseum

Wesley Gonzales set out on a mission one fine Monday morning, not knowing what to expect and what to do in it.  It was actually more nerve-wracking than any championship game he’s had in the past.  It was a challenge he’s never been faced with.  But he came out of that mission interminably grateful and forever changed.

Now a few PBA fans looked baffled when the sixth overall pick was named in the 2009 PBA Draft last August 2.  Who is Mike Burtscher?  There were hardly any surprises in the Draft until his name was called.  Even the ones who knew of him were shocked to hear the Alaska Aces pick him over so many other up and coming ballers.

But Burtscher is out to prove his worth and live out his journey that is quickly taking him to the top, but has dragged him deep into the dark valleys.

There is such a wealth of young talents trying to penetrate the PBA this coming Draft day that it becomes arduous to keep track of the prospects.  Japeth Aguilar, Rico Maeirhofer, Chris Ross, Jervy Cruz, Ogie Menor and others make up an inventory of players already part of the basketball fan’s consciousness, stars of the amateur and the semi-pro ranks included.  But what about the ones who are under the radar?  The darkhorses’ fans might not know much about yet.  The next Topex Robinson, Mark Yee, Jeff Chan.

TAIPEI – If this were a film, it would have gone by the title: “Saving Point Guard Ryan.”
 
As it is, the clock is ticking for the injured Ryan Reyes and, conversely, for somebody from among the Powerade-Team Pilipinas Twelve.
 
National coach Yeng Guiao made it clear Saturday that it will be Reyes’ call – not Guiao’s – whether or not to reinsert him into the national team that will fly to Tianjin, China on Aug. 4 for the 25th FIBA Asia Men’s Championship.