STREET SPORTS: Fun Runs in Negros

November 18, 2024

Fun runs have been organized all over Bacolod City almost every week. You have the Negros Fun Run, Bacolod City Fun Run, Lasallian Run, Kalipay Run, MassKara Fun Run and all kinds of runs.

The runs have attracted runners from all kinds of ages ranging from teenagers to senior citizens. Almost everyone I know who joined these fun runs are conscious of their time in the 3k, 5k, 10k and including the 42k marathon. They take these runs seriously and do several practice runs before the actual date of the event. They want to improve their personal times during the run. These runs are at affordable rates ranging from P500 for 3k runs to just over P1000 for more than 10k runs. You can see professional runners join and compete for cash prizes and incentives but for ordinary runners like me it is all about the bonding, camaraderie, friendship as well as a good way to divert our attention from our daily work and also it is great for our bodies. These runs usually are held during the weekdays where there is less traffic and it is car free early in the morning in some parts of the city, like the Capitol lagoon in Lacson Street. To prepare for these distance runs, one needs to take food rich in potassium like bananas, melons as well as a few sandwiches and a sports drink before these runs to avoid cramping and loss of energy.

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The PBA 4-point shot was introduced at the start of the PBA 49th season as an innovation and to attract more crowds after the PBA suffered a significant attendance dip in 2023. The 4-point line was set to be 8.2 meters or 27 feet away from the basket which makes it 5 feet away from the 3-point line. It received mixed reactions from players, coaches and fans alike with some saying it makes the game more exciting and coming back from a huge deficit like 20 points or more much more doable and detractors saying because of the extra point it will be a distraction and it will disrupt the style of a well executed play, with players launching the low percentage shot in the middle of the play instead of moving the ball around looking for a better execution or an easier shot. Chris Banchero of the Meralco Bolts made history as the first player to make a 4-point shot. So far after 1 conference of the PBA 4 point shot, the games have been exciting, and players still prefer to move the ball around and look for the high percentage shot, instead of being tempted to launch a 4-point shot from afar. And I can see the 3-point shot still being the more preferred shot to take as most PBA shooters have the shot in their range.

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The 2024-2025 NBA season is in full swing and by mid November there are a few surprises. In the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a hot start out of the gate with a 14-0 record, led by their star guards Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland and big men Evan Mobley and Jarred Allen. No one expected them to start this hot but under the tutelage of new coach Kenny Atkinson, they have implemented a fast paced style of offense. It remains to be seen if they can sustain this start. The 2016 Golden State Warriors hold the record with a 24-0 start during that year and finished 73-9. Another surprise is the Eastern Conference where only 3 teams are above 500 as of this writing, the Cavaliers, the defending champion Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic. A disappointment has been the 2021 champion Milwaukee Bucks, despite the presence of All- Stars Giannis Antetokounpo and Damian Lillard, are off to a slow start with a 4-9 record. It is the opposite in the Western Conference, where the competition is cut throat with 9 teams above .500. A pleasant surprise has been the Golden State Warriors, Not much has been expected of them after they traded 1 half of the Splash Brothers, Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks. But after adding shooter Buddy Hield and defensive specialists Kyle Anderson and Deanthony Melton to complement Steph Curry, they are currently having a 10-2 record, good for 2nd in the West behind the red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder currently lead the West at 11-2, with the high octane run and gun offense of Shai Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams. The 2024 Western conference champion Mavericks despite adding Thompson to form a big 3 with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, are starting slow out of the gate with a 5-7 record and are currently in 12th place. Let us see how this season goes with the in-season NBA Cup coming up in December.*

Pio Alessandro S. Ozoa is a graduate of BS Computer Science at USLS. A big fan of sports, especially basketball. A late bloomer when it comes to playing the game, he watches sports often on livestream often as a deviation from the stress of everyday life.