Alec Astorga

20 March 2017

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During this winter sports season, The Philippine Cultural Society fielded an intramural basketball team that competed valiantly in the Co-Ed division under the name PCS Gilas, in honor of the actual Philippine national basketball team, SMART Gilas. The team played a total of 5 regular season games. Here’s a quick recap for each of them:

Game 1 vs. SIR

PCS Gilas came out on top of this one, 15-12. It was a very scrappy game on both sides with a lot of fouls and a lot of turnovers.  But some clutch free throw shooting from Ino Acosta and an explosive performance from Grant Francisco helped Gilas come away with a win. Special mention should also be made of Kelsey Genuino and Savannah Gabriel’s efforts as they were forced to play the entire game due to league rules requiring two girls to be on the court at all times.  Freshman Gabe Galvez also put in a terrific effort in his first outing.

Game 2 vs. Medical School

Gilas got beat pretty soundly in this one, 48-20. Dynamic 3 point shooting from Trent Nayve and Patrick Nahhas were able to get Gilas within 14 points, but the opposition pulled away late. Julie Curry, Alexis Curry, and Monica Rigucci all played very well in their debuts. Genuino scored a big basket to start the game, a real highlight of the contest for Gilas.

Game 3 vs. #SWAG

Gilas came away with a hard-fought 23-16 win. A strong defensive effort from Acosta, Nahhas, Julie Curry and Alec Astorga helped to shut down the opposing offense down the stretch. Gilas’ offense was boosted by the shooting of Alexis Curry who hit a couple threes and some free throws in the late stages of the game. Francisco again put in another strong offensive performance which proved crucial in ensuring a close win.

Game 4 vs. Ecumenical Elephants

Gilas partook in their closest, most nail-biting game of the season here, winning 32-30 in a very high scoring affair.  Koji Alguacil led the way offensively to begin the game, and Patrick Nordstrom and Aaron Patron performed very down low and in the post in lieu of big man Oak Tesfaye’s absence. Acosta, Francisco and Nahhas again hit clutch shots down the stretch and contested a possible buzzer beater from the opponents to help make sure Gilas came out on top. Julie and Alexis Curry both had very active nights, playing the entire game against #SWAG and a lot of this game until Rigucci checked in. An all around amazing effort from Gilas in these two contests!

Game 5 vs. SIR

PCS Gilas closed out the regular season with a 28-21 win in a rematch of the first game of the season.  Francisco, Alguacil, and Nahhas were all explosive on offense. Alexis Curry again was able to hit some clutch free throws at the end of the game to see out a victory. Julie Curry played a remarkable game defensively, shutting down the opposing captain and out-rebounding the opposing center. An injury to Genuino also helped display team unity when facing adversity.  Matthew Mercado also hit a big-time 3-pointer with 2 minutes left in the game that proved to be the dagger that all but ensured a Gilas Win.

After a 4 Wins-1 Loss tally to end the regular season, Gilas was drawn into the A-League Bracket, against top competition, instead of the more fitting B-Bracket due to a lack of teams in the A division. Since Gilas had the best record of B teams, they were bumped up a division.

Playoff Game vs. Walking Buckets

Gilas lost this one big 41-6. The team was just flat out out classed by the eventual champions, who had a lot of high-end talent on their team. Francisco and Astorga provided Gilas with scoring, and Patron, David Nguyen, Nahhas, and Acosta gave the team valiant defense. Good efforts were shown by the Curry’s and Gabriel, but all of that was not enough against such a powerful opponent.

All in all the season was definitely a success.The team showed that they had lots of heart and talent. Gilas was able to win games in many different ways, showing the athletic diversity on this team. They could beat you in a tight, defensive scrappy game, and they can beat you in a high-flying, high-scoring shootout. If there’s one thing to take a way other than the fun and the memories it’s that PCS can ball!

Roster:

Alec Astorga

Ino Acosta

Patrick Nahhas

Kelsey Genuino

Savannah Gabriel

Monica Rigucci

Grant Francisco

Koji Alguacil

Julie Curry

Alexis Curry

Aaron Patron

Patrick Nordstrom

Henok Tesfaye

Matt Mercado

Gabe Galvez

Trent Nayve

David Nguyen

Rafael Colon

Kendrick Chang

Gabriel Papadatos

PCS is also competing in the GW Intramural indoor soccer Champions League under the name Azkals, again in honor of the Philippine national team. The team is currently 2-0 and closes out the regular season in April.

Stephanie Jamilla

5 March 2017

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Welcome to March everyone! (This semester is going by so quickly, huh.) Now that we’re a few days into the month, let’s take a step back and reflect on what happened in February. It may be the shortest month, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t any less packed.

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The reign of Pia Wurtzbach as Miss Universe 2015 came to its conclusion this past month, as she handed over her crown to Iris Mittenaere from France. Well, the pageant took place in Manila at the end of January, but we weren’t able to touch on it last time. Maxine Medina, who represented the Philippines, made it to the Top 6 before elimination. Prior to the competition, Miss Medina had been criticized for not speaking English very well and many encouraged her to speak in Tagalog for the Q&A portion. However, her language coach came to her defense saying, “We are second language speakers of English. Errors are normal. In this world full of critics, can we just be supporters instead?" (Side note: Our culture show’s play this year is about pageants! Make sure to keep your night free on April 15 to come out and watch it.)

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Turning now to politics and on a somewhat darker, more ironic note, Senator Leila de Lima was arrested last Thursday on the charges of accepting bribes from drug traffickers. De Lima is known for being one of the most outspoken critics of President Duterte, and yet now she is the one being accused of drug-related crimes. Money was funneled by drug dealers through her former bodyguard and driver, Ronnie Dayan. It was also revealed that the two were romantically involved. De Lima is currently being held in the Philippine National Police custodial center awaiting further action.

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Another notable event this past month was the EDSA’s 31st anniversary celebration-turned protest. For those of you who may not know, the EDSA Revolution, or the People Power Revolution, was a series of demonstrations of civil disobedience against former president Ferdinand Marcos. The nonviolent revolution started in 1983 and culminated on February 25, 1986. This led to the departure of Marcos and a re-establishment of democracy in the country. A simple wreath-laying and flag-raising at the People Power monument in commemoration of the event was planned by the government, but Cabinet officials never showed up. Instead, protesters took to the streets, decrying the burial of Marcos in Libingan ng mga Bayani or the “Heroes’ Cemetery” that occurred earlier last November. At the same time, Duterte supporters gathered in Luneta, organized by the Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte National Executive Coordinating Council (MRRD-NECC). Organizers denied it as a political display, but instead a reaffirmation of support for the current administration.

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Crossing the Pacific and coming a little closer to home, tensions remain elevated amongst Filipino immigrants. Although President Trump’s travel ban was lifted early in the month, increasingly stringent immigration laws are making many anxious. Some immigrant advocates believe President Trump is gearing up for massive deportations. This would be detrimental to the 300,000+ undocumented Filipinos currently live in the US.

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That’s all I have to report this time, and I hope this little refresher of the last 28 days gave you something to think about. Good luck to everyone who’s going through midterms and papers this next week! You got this, and Spring Break is just around the corner.