PLAYERS seeing action in the FIVB Men’s World Volleyball Championship must be having fun experiencing the sights and sounds of the city. But some apparently are having more fun than others.
Take those billeted near the Smart Araneta Coliseum, one of the two venues used for the world championship. After games, players from Finland and South Korea have been seen in some drinking spots around the Cubao-Araneta area in Quezon City.
On their tables are bottles of beer but, surprisingly, these are not the ones you normally associate with a jolly good evening by middle-class drinkers. These volleyball guys are gulping, would you believe, Red Horse, the drink of choice for what we call low-wage earners.
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Red Horse, for the uninitiated, packs a mean wallop that sends you to places you never imagine. After a few rounds, it's like being kicked, well, by a horse.
But foreigners, like those athletes in the current World Championship, seem to delight in imbibing this product which usually has its vast clientele in the city's depressed areas.
The visitors are reportedly hanging out in a watering hole located just across the coliseum, which serves a variety of beer and liquor, both local and imported.
Though Red Horse has become a favorite to some, others try other brands.
“Yung iba gusto rin yung (San Miguel) Pale Pilsen, pero Red Horse ang madaming order.”
Whether it comes in 500 ml or 330 ml (stallion), it doesn’t matter.
“Gustong-gusto nila yung Red Horse,” said one who had observed the drinking habits of some players and even officials.
When asked what the foreigners order for finger food, the favorites appear to be kebab, beef salpicao, sisig, crispy tadyang, nachos, and tinapa roll.
For these foreigners, however, nothing beats Red Horse - win or lose. - Gerry Ramos
Will Concepcion, Clemente follow suit?
ASIDE from Larry Muyang, also spotted at recent Converge tune-up games were Archie Concepcion and John Lloyd Clemente.
But unlike Muyang, Concepcion and Clemente are not officially with the FiberXers, at least for now.
Concepcion, who was the PBA Draft Combine MVP for Season 48, is still under contract with the Pampanga Giant Lanterns for two years and plays for Converge on a temporary basis, mostly when the FiberXers play tune-up games.
Picked at No. 37 by Blackwater during the Season 48 draft, Concepcion is already an unrestricted free agent that enabled him to sign in the MPBL.
Clemente was drafted by Phoenix at No. 39 in Season 48 but also became a rookie free agent. He is also playing for the Giant Lanterns this season in the MPBL.
Clemente is the one that is being considered to join the FiberXers, although nothing is final yet on whether he will be able to land a spot with the PBA squad. - Reuben Terrado
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