Mr. Bright-Side: The Amazing Ace Bright

Finally got to use a song title (by The Killers) in an article, and aptly used, if I may say so. The Mr. Bright-Side we refer to is Ace Bright, otherwise known as the Azkals Coordinator, for those who are clueless with the state of Philippine football.

Ace also goes by many other names, addressed in the article Mr. Bright-Side: The Amazing Ace Bright which should be an interesting read with all those photos and stories that are so amazing, we'd think they happen only in the movies. But heck no, this is the Amazing Ace's real life.

Swamping us with stories that made me forget dinner (unbelievable, huh), Ace is certainly great as he is evil (in his own words). Makes me kinda glad that one of those Azkals Sports Bar sandwiches was named after him, since he definitely deserves such tribute in fine menu print.

Now that made me hungry.

Read and rave about Ace in Mr. Bright-Side: The Amazing Ace Bright. First posted in the Azkals website, of course.

J. Anne

Honor Roll: Gaby Borja is on a Roll

If Gaby was rolling, then my brother Miji and I were probably rocking.

Gabriel Borja, defensive mid-fielder for the Under-21 Azkals Philippine National Football Team and currently playing in Brunei for the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy game, belongs to the new breed of Philippine players that we had the privilege of interviewing. It was exam week, after all, not to mention his nightly training sessions—and then he also had the Intel Science Fair to prepare for, and now he’s in Brunei. Busy kid.

Clueless about Gaby prior to our interview, I half expected a geek in glasses who never spoke words with less than 3 syllables. So naïve—I confess this disgraceful notion—but don’t blame me, it’s the school: Philippine Science High School. THE Philippine Science High School. I know, right?

There’s so much to learn about Gaby, I could probably write a term paper about him. But this should do for now. It’s long enough anyway: Honor Roll: Gaby Borja is on a Roll. First seen in the Azkals Official Website, properly maintained by my industrious interpreter and brother—among other folks behind the screen.

Who’s next? ¡a ver si adivinas! (Have a guess!)

Adios!

J. Anne

[caption id="attachment_1504" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Gaby Borja is on a Roll!"][/caption]

Carlie's Way: Break Time with Carlie de Murga

Proud of my high school Spanish, I brushed up on what I thought was muy excelente conversational Espanol in preparation for the interview with Fil-Spanish Azkals and Global FC player Carlie de Murga.

Unfortunately, my linguistic proficiency was reduced to turista level as rapid Spanish paragraphs from Angel Guirado caught me off-guard and Carlie greeted not with an “Hola!” but the strangely familiar “Kamusta ka?” With that, the Spanish came flying out of the window, as I settled with the universal language of consolation, English.

Funny and mind boggling at times, the Carlie interview was peppered with “invented” words and Espanol names I could never spell. I don’t recall any serious moments or glum expressions, since Carlie was beaming, a perfect “Magandang umaga!” fresh from siesta.

Find out more about Carlie, another sibling collaboration at Carlie’s Way: Break Time with Carlie Martínez de Murga. First seen at the Azkals official website, and here to stay.

Adios!

J. Anne

All that Misagh-ness: Catching up with Misagh Bahadoran

First seen on the official Azkals website, Catching up with Misagh Bahadoran is our first sibling collaboration.

While I do deal with a myriad of personalities on a daily basis, it's not everyday that I get to write about these interesting folks and blokes. Normally it's all about food and kitchen mishaps, but this time, it's football. Juicy news over moist cake wasn't that bad a trade-off, plus I did get that much-needed exercise.

The interview was just as hilarious as the Misagh's cover photo, and even if there was no actual curry involved, I am glad the Butterfinger survived all of Misagh's twirling and Miji's banter.

Till the next feature. Salam!

J. Anne / Jenina Gonzales