Azkals' Phil Younghusband denies he has a girlfriend

While Nonito Donaire, Jr. had made peace with his father after a two-year long misunderstanding, the newly-minted boxing champ has picked a fight with mediamen made up of sports analysts and writers.

In a video, Donito’s wife Rachel named four sports analysts and writers whom, she said, had blown the issue between Donaire and his father out of proportion. In his Twitter account, Donaire told these sports writers to stop picking on his family or else they would feel the sonic boom punch that sent his boxing opponent to dreamland.

It’s a good thing that Donaire has reconciled with his family but it’s a bad thing that he’s now picking up a fight with the media. Had they not spoken of their family problem in the first place, then the media would not have gotten wind of it and written about it. It was them who leaked to the press the misunderstanding between Donaire and his dad.

Donaire should follow Manny Pacquiao’s example. The Pambansang Kamao has had his share of misunderstandings with the media, yet Manny has remained cordial with them. Now we wonder how these sports journalists would treat him once he returns home to the country.

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Phil Younghusband of the Philippine Azkals debunked rumors linking him to Denise Oca, the daughter of character actress Melissa Mendez. Rumors had it that he has taken actress Angel Locsin, whom he asked for a Valentine’s date via Twitter, for a ride since he supposedly has a girlfriend in the person of Denise. 

But Phil insisted that Denise is a friend, adding that people should not make an issue out of a photograph of them together that appeared in the internet. If people would insist on making an issue out of all the pictures of him that had surfaced online, then Phil said he probably has a relationship with all the girls whom he has been photographed with.

Denise, through her Twitter account, also denied that she’s in a relationship with the heartthrob striker of the Philippine Azkals, which is set to compete with Mongolian football team this March 15 in Ulan Bator, Mongolia.

Denise said that she and Phil are just friends. Even Denise’s mom, Melissa Mendez, came to her daughter’s defense.

According to Melissa, whatever it is that Phil and Denise have, they have the right to privacy. Just let them be, was Melissa’s appeal.

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TV host-comedian John Lapus filed a libel case against entertainment columnist and DZMM radio host Jobert Sucaldito last Monday. The case stemmed from an article written by Jobert which said that John allegedly made a scene in a bar.

John denied having made a scene in a bar in a fit of drunkenness. Jobert, on the other hand, wouldn’t want to give further comment on the issue.

John and Jobert had a falling-out in the past but kissed and made up after two years of not talking to each other. Will this case have a similar ending?

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We had lots of fun watching the musical play Caredivas, which is the offering of PETA (Philippine Educational Theater Association) for its 43rd season. We went to see it last Sunday and we had a grand time.

Fellow writer Mell Navarro had been raving about the show and invited us to watch it. We’ve read the comments of Eugene Domingo and John Lapus on how beautiful the show is so when Mell’s invitation came, we readily said yes, even if it was on a Sunday (which is normally a rest day).

The performers are superb and the libretto done by topnotch musical scorer Vincent de Jesus (who also appears in the play) was truly fantastic and lovable. The script by Liza Magtoto is very funny yet poignant in some parts. And the direction of Maribel Legarda is likewise awesome.

We haven’t watched a stage musical of PETA since Zsa Zsa Zaturnah and we did the right thing in accepting the invitation. It was truly a musical treat.

The playbill of Care Divas says: “The term diva will no longer just refer to glass-breaking female singers or extremely demanding and fussy celebrities. PETA’s newest onstage play has redefined divas to include independent and wildly talented gay men.”

We say amen to that.

Written by Liza Magtoto with libretto by Vincent de Jesus (yes, the award-winning musical scorer) and directed by Maribel Legarda, Caredivas stars Melvin Lee, Vincent de Jesus, Ricci Chan and Buddy Caramat. 

It is now on its last weekend, March 11-13, at the PETA Theater. Ticket price is P300. The show starts at 3 p.m. but the final performance is on March 13 at 5 p.m. and tickets sell at P500.

The show is definitely worth the price of admission. You would feel the energy of the audience while watching Caredivas. It’s definitely an experience you should not miss!