By Reuel Vidal

OTHER than basketball, another sport near and dear to my heart is body building. I used to be, ahem, seriously into body building during my younger years and I have continued to follow the sport ever since.

So I was really glad to hear Antipolo City Mayor Nilo Leyble say he will back the sport of body building as a tool to help develop and train the youth of the city. The mayor said body building is an excellent sport for the youth to engage in to learn values like discipline, sportsmanship and the importance of hard work.

?Ang sport na body building ay makakatulong sa kabataan dito sa Antipolo. Matututo sila ng kahalagahan ng pangangalaga ng kanilang pangangatawan at malalayo sila sa masasamang bisyo tulad ng drugs,? said Mayor Nilo during the swearing in of the members of the Antipolo Federation of Body Building Clubs recently.

Guest of honor during the ceremony was reigning Musclemania Universe overall and middleweight champion Jerick Ternida, whom I?ve known for many years.

I first met Ternida in 2003 when as Health and Fitness editor of Manila Standard (not yet Manila Standard Today), I covered him when he first won the Musclemania Philippines middleweight and overall title to earn the right to compete in Musclemania Universe.

Every year since 2003, Ternida made the long journey from the Philippines to Miami, Florida, to compete in Musclemania. He won his weight class twice and earned his Musclemania Pro status with his recent victory in the overall.

Ternida has set lofty goals for himself. He says he wants to develop body building as a valid career path for the Filipino youth.

?I want to change things here in the Philippines so that Filipinos can excel in sports like body building?not just boxing. I want to promote the sport. I?ve become famous because I came home with a world-class level title in the USA. Now, I must continue to earn the respect of my fellow sportsmen.?

Mayor Nilo pledged his support to the club and promised to organize more body-building activities, especially for the youth.

?I congratulate the newly elected officers of the Federation of Body Builders of Antipolo. I will support your move to strengthen the promotion of this sport in our city,? he said.

There are many body-building enthusiasts in Antipolo City and the formation of the federation will go a long way in promoting the sport.

?Antipolo has many talented young men in body building with its many gyms especially in Lower Antipolo. Some of the clients patronizing these gyms want to improve. Now is the time to promote this sports program,? said Boyet Mari?as, a gym owner and member of the federation.

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Alaska Aces? Jeffrey Cariaso was given the Philippine Basketball Association award for his 5,000th assist. In the basketball world of superstars, the award cites the unselfish action of a player to help others to score instead of scoring himself.

At this point in his 15th-year career in the PBA, Cariaso is doubly proud of this award. He explained in an interview that: ?It?s good, particularly it?s a different feeling because it?s you willing to share the ball as to be a willing teammate. So it is something that I am proud of and it is nice to be acknowledged.?

As a veteran in the league, Cariaso sees his role changing through the years to his present position. He admits ?that is an aspect that I guess you naturally put more emphasis in as you get older in your career.?

Even coach Tim Cone acknowledges Cariaso?s role in their games as a veteran leader. Cariaso says he enjoys the role because, ?It?s something that is coming natural for me, so encouraging the guys, talking to the guys, that is becoming second nature for me.?

Cariaso accepts the role as part of his life after all the years in the PBA. ?It?s, I guess, part of the developing and improving myself as a player and as a leader,? he said.

The ongoing final games Cariaso sees as the big opportunity for team players to prove themselves again. He must, with his teammates, ?try to work hard and to get back to where we are now, you never know when you are able to come back, when you are going to reach the finals again, so why not just put everything on the line and then we will see what happens.?

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If you want to find out how I sound like please tune in to the KBP Best Sports Program on the radio, MBC Sports Center, 6:30 to 7 p.m., every Sunday, over the no. 1 radio station in the country dzRH, 666 on your AM dial. And for comments, questions and non-violent reactions please send your e-mail to reuelvidal@yahoo.com or reuelvidal@gmail.com.