Hiphop, collegiate basketball and squash

Episode on August 9, 2008 Saturday, 8:30 p.m. Hip Hop Last week, “Philippine All Stars", was declared champion in the 2008 World Hip Hop Championship held in Las Vegas. The group was able to beat contenders from 33 countries, a proof that when it comes to dancing, Filipinos are world - class. In the Queen City of the South, Cebu, hip hop has become one of the dance crazes. In fact, the Team Cebu City Dancesport which is an organization that offers free dancing lessons to street children, have now included hip hop among their classes. Meanwhille, in Metro Manila, the number of gyms offering hip hop classes is increasing not only because of its popularity, but it is said to be an effective way of losing weight. Miss Bikini World Philippines 2008 Elena Lopena can attest to this because this is how she lost wieght. Collegiate Basketball On July 24, FEU Tamaraws’ power forward Marnel “Macmac" Baracael was shot inside FEU. The authorities are looking into the angle of Baracael's possible involvement to basketball game fixing. Game fixing is no longer a new issue. Just last year, College of St. Benilde’s star player, Paolo Orbeta, was also linked to game fixing. However, despite the controversies, the support for collegiate basketball remains unwavering. Because of its popularity and increasing fan base, some basketball players like Chris Tiu have gained celebrity status. Squash Many Filipinos now spend their money carefully over food, due to increasing prices of commodities. To respond to this problem, the government offered food alternatives that are not only cheap but also nutritious. They launched “Kalabasa Pancit Canton", a type of noodles which is made from mixed squash and flour. Aside from pancit canton, there are other foods that can be made from squash, such as pasta, cheesecake, soup and macaroons. But not all squashes are edible . In Agdao, Davao farmers grow squash thrice the size of a basketball. The squashes from this province are produced and carved for decorative purposes only. Some are made into pumpkin displays for occasions like Halloween.

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Hiphop Nito lamang nakaraang Linggo, nagkampyon ang “Philippine All Stars" sa 2008 World Hip Hop Championship na ginanap sa Las Vegas. Nilampaso nila sa dancefloor ang kinatawan ng 33 bansa. Patunay lamang ito ng galing ng mga Pinoy sa pagsasayaw, maging ng hiphop. Sa Queen City of the South, sa Cebu, hiphop ang isa sa mga patok na patok na sayaw ngayon. Sa katunayan, ang sikat na Team Cebu City Dancesport, sinama na rin nila sa kanilang dance lessons ang pagsasayaw ng hiphop. Dito naman sa Metro Manila, nagkalat na sa mga gym ang mga hiphop dance classes dahil hindi lang pang-indak ang hip-hop. Pwede na rin daw ito ngayong pampapayat! Ito nga raw ang sikreto ni Miss Bikini World Philippines 2008 Elena Lopena kung bakit sya pumayat at napanatili ang kanyang seksing katawan. Collegiate Basketball Noong July 24, binaril sa labas mismo ng kanilang unibersidad ang power forward ng FEU Tamaraws na si Marnel “Macmac" Baracael. Ang isa sa mga tinitingnang anggulo ng mga awtoridad, baka raw may kinalaman sa game fixing ang pagkakabaril kay Baracael. Hindi na bago ang isyung ito. Dahil nang nakaraang taon din, nasangkot sa kontrobersya ng game fixing ang dating star player ng College of St. Benilde na si Paolo Orbeta. Sa kabila ng lahat ng kontrobersyang ito, nananatlli pa ring mainit pa ang pagtanggap at pagsuporta ng karamihan sa collegiate basketball. Pinagkakaguluhan at tinuturing pa ring celebrity ang mga sikat ritong basketball players katulad ni Chris Tiu. Kalabasa Dahil sa patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin marami na naman sa mga Pilipino ang nagtitipid pagdating sa pagkain. Kaya naman ang gobyerno, may hinahaing alternatibong pagkain na bukod sa mura na…masustansiya pa…ang “Kalabasa Pancit Canton!" Pancit canton na hinaluan ng kalabasa ang arina! Bukod sa pancit canton, may iba pa palang putahe na maaaring gawin mula sa kalabasa. Pwede ritong gumawa ng pasta, cheesecake, soup at macaroons! Pero hindi lahat ng kalabasa, kinakain. Tulad na lang ng mga kalabasa sa Agdao, Davao kung saan triple ang laki ng mga ito sa basketball. At ang mga kalabasang ito, kadalasang pinangdi-display at inuukit. Ginagawa ring pumpkin tuwing Halloween!