Consumers won't pay for Bolts

Meralco PBA governor and senior vice president Ramon Segismundo said the other day the funding for the Bolts basketball team will come exclusively from the power company’s stockholders without any contribution from consumers.

Segismundo allayed apprehension that the budget for the PBA franchise will be sourced through what consumers pay on their electric bills. He pointed out, in no uncertain terms, that the funds will come from the pockets of the shareholders.

An engineering graduate from UP, Segismundo said he never played for the Fighting Maroons but actively participated in campus sports. He recalled jokingly gaining a reputation in playing intramural basketball as a center who specialized in charging on offense and flopping on defense.

When Segismundo was introduced to the PBA Board a few weeks ago, he walked up to San Miguel representative Ely Capacio and confessed to being a fan of the former cager.

“I’m passionate about the game,” said Segismundo whose brother-in-law is ex-La Salle varsity cager and Olympic Village chain owner Jay Gervasio. “But my involvement with the team goes beyond basketball as my focus is corporate social responsibility. Our team is the enabling vehicle for our sports advocacy program. We’re very excited about our team.”

Segismundo welcomed newly appointed Meralco team manager Virgil Villavicencio’s arrival, saying he provides the maturity of an experienced and knowledgeable basketball executive. He also said the squad will be called the Bolts, the winning moniker in a company-wide contest where other entries included the Voltz, Megawatts and Power Masters.

The Bolts will draw inspiration from the reference to a lightning bolt or a thunderbolt – like a surge of power. When they tighten up on defense, the reference could be to a bolt as part of a lock. Whatever way the Bolts are referred to, coach Ryan Gregorio said the conscious effort will be to earn the tag as a never-say-die team.

*  *  *  *

Alaska coach Tim Cone’s wife Cristina – whose brother Eddie Viaplana was once a lethal three-point gunner for La Salle – anchored the Army-Navy South-Tri team of Muntinlupa to third place in the women’s division of the relay event of the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 in Pili, Camarines Sur, last Sunday.

Cristina took care of the run leg – the last 13.1-mile distance in the series – while Betsy Medalla swam the 1.2-mile course and Lea Palou went through the 56-mile bike trail. There were 15 all-female teams among 77 relay entries that included 28 all-male, 29 mixed gender and five corporate trios.

“It ended being a tremendously tough race,” said Cone who motored to Pili with his wife last Friday. “The heat was unbearable. It rained just after the race was mostly over. There were a lot of men’s teams with elite runners.”

Overall, the Army-Navy South-Tri team placed 17th with a combined clocking of 5:32.33. Topnotcher all-male Nike Park/Smeg Team A of Antipolo finished in 4:06.25. The No. 1 all-female team TMM-Timex of Naga City wound up ninth in the total standings with a time of 5:11.26.

Cristina negotiated the run in 2:03.37, good for second in the women’s class and 14th overall among the runners.

Cone will be the first to admit that Cristina is in much better physical shape than him. But while Cristina will outrun him at any distance, Cone has the decided edge in tennis, golf and of course, basketball.

One of Cone’s assistant coaches Dickie Bachmann was among 497 finishers in the individual category with a time of 7:15.58. Other finishers included Mt. Everest conqueror Leo Oracion at 5:38.45, publisher Ernie Lopez at 5:46.41, businessman Fernando Zobel at 5:55.07 and Sen. Pia Cayetano at 6:00.22.

*  *  *  *

Not too many fans know that B-Meg coach Jorge Gallent’s father Jorge Sr. was a former La Salle and Adamson basketball player and a jai-alai pelotari for nearly 20 years.

Gallent himself was an FEU cager whose UAAP career was cut short by a motorcycle accident where he lost his right eye in 1988. But he made a miraculous hardcourt comeback in 1992 with A&W in the PBL then worked his way to the Tanduay PBA roster under coach Alfrancis Chua in 1999-2000.

Gallent said he got a call to report to the Purefoods office in Ortigas on Monday morning last week. He was on the first hole at the Alabang Country Club and the meeting with Purefoods president Butch Alejo, PBA chairman Rene Pardo and team manager Alvin Patrimonio was set at 4 p.m. Before finishing the second hole, Gallent received an urgent text with a short message – don’t be late. He quickly packed up, didn’t bother to finish the hole and was at the Purefoods office by 3 p.m. At the meeting, Gallent was informed of his promotion from assistant to head coach by Alejo.

The scuttlebutt was Gallent and San Miguel Beer assistant coach Gee Abanilla were short-listed for the job. Gallent supposedly got the nod because of the continuity factor due to his previous engagement with Purefoods.