When Eagles party...

When Ateneo Eagles party, dahlings, you can expect them to have more on their minds than just having fun.

"Just as the Atenean has always been a ‘man for others,’ the night more than just brought back our Loyola Heights days and giving us the chance to see long-lost friends," explained mega in-demand contractor Rene Banzon. He was talking, dahlings, about the party cum concert the Ateneo de Manila’s rah! rah! high school class of 1978 and college class of 1982 recently held at Rockwell’s popular Dish. "The concert/party was put together by Ateneo Jubilarians to benefit the Ateneo de Manila Scholarship Fund."

What a roaring affair the fundraising event was, palanggas! The Blue Eagles tripped down memory lane thanks in large part to the super performances of the band, Overdrive composed of members from high school batch ’78 and college class ’82.

Those who gamely came onstage to perform with the Crosswave band included Ana Lou Puyat-Lacson, Patty Manuel and Marissa Lopa. The Ateneans and their invitees partied way, way past Cinderella’s rushing-back-home time.

Now, you may ask, "How successful was this particular fund-raiser?" Well, of the 750 tickets sold, more than 600 ticket-holders showed up – happy news for Ateneo’s scholars and all the hotshot guys who organized the party-for-a-cause like Ateneo Alumni president Loy Labayen; High School ’78 Foundation, Inc. chairman Tony Veloso; president Jimmy Hofileña; and Ateneo Homecoming chairman, the man Rene Banzon.

Along with the hosting classes, Davao’s popular Rep. Tony Boy Floirendo; People Asia and Young Star mega executive Choy Cojuangco; Pepsi marketing director Maricelle Narciso; and PLDT marketing director Ito Ramirez; plus members of Ateneo High School Class ’77 and even Assumption High School Class ’79 had a blast.

The Ateneo de Manila Scholarship Fun "supports training programs and financially assists its high school teachers in preparation for the Ateneo de Manila General Homecoming Night in December and other activities scheduled for the year," said a contented Ateneo HS ’78 Foundation chairman, mega achiever Tony Veloso.

The Dish fund-raising concert, palanggas, was the first activity for 2003. The others will be the Ateneo/La Salle Golf Tournament, Bingo Social and All Ateneo Golf Tournament, all of which will benefit charitable causes and will further strengthen the relationships among alumni.

Ah! So cool Pepsi with a Twist; PLDT; and that mobile everyone’s addicted to, SMART (natch!) were the hot, hot major sponsors of the worthwhile and fabi happening. Other sponsors included Nestle, Philam Life and Pediatrica.

One enchanted evening

Manhattan’s Lady of Substance and Style, Lily O’Boyle, dahlings, breezed into Cosmo Manille a couple of sleeps ago. Her super pal, international world traveler, socialite and eye-catching Star columnist, Mayenne Carmona, one of Manille’s beautiful women, hosted a fun dinner bash for Lily.

The honoree, looking wow in a sexy Galliano outfit with lace trimmings, was excited to see her countless pals. The party, superbly catered by one-of-a-kind Millie Reyes of the popular The Plaza was definitely a fun summer night soiree!

The chic invitees, palanggas, included another jetsetting persona, Nene Quimson; tall and elegant Jojo Keirulf and her hubby, international businessman Henry Zabarte; sisters two, Miss Body Beautiful Annie Carmona, and porcelain beauty Marisa Carmona- Chan; spit-fire PR woman Bonjin Bolinao; Oh No, It’s Johnny Litton; ultra-glam Vicky Zubiri; el super simpatico Spanish Ambassador Ignacio Sagaz and his wife, tall Southern head turner, Aurora Lapuz-Sagaz; business magnate Cesar Baron; multi-faceted, talented Man of all Seasons, Ernest Santiago; plus others like them too nice to mention, dahlings.

Lily belongs to a rare breed of multi-talented beauties. Aside from patronizing the arts and theater in New York, she is also a renowned author of world-class coffee-table books which her own company publishes. Her latest book on Philippine gardens was an instant best-seller both locally and in the US. It features the beautiful gardens of Philippine resorts, haciendas and residences. Check it out at the book shop and you just might be a lucky collector of this and other of her interesting books.

Yes, palanggas, it’s hard to beat Lily O’Boyle’s lust for everything that is beautiful in our country.

Jacobo Zobel Polo Cup

The prestigious Jacobo Zobel Cup held another exciting season, dahlings. The Cup was first held long before World War by the late business magnate Jacobo Zobel, himself an outstanding polo player and a pillar of the Manila Polo club.

Sponsored by Prestigue Cars, Inc., the 2003 Jacobo Zobel Cup, palanggas, was held at where all the action takes place, the East Polo Field of the horsey set’s favorite stable, the Manila Polo Club, natch! The event was again marked by class and prestige, and this time featured added attractions like the latest chic topdown BMW model which was paraded on the breezy field, escorted by two top players on polo ponies.

The cup was presented to the Japanese wife of Jacobo Zobel, Sachiko Zobel and Don Enrique Zobel, the only son of Jacobo Zobel. As expected, the grandstand was packed with beautiful people all set to watch a hot game.

The low-goal exciting match between the Whites and the Reds was a terrific starter, palanggas, apres chukkers, Milon Arce, the good-looking father and son tandem of Freddie and Sonny Borromeo, Vince Bitong and Jerome Hernandez of the Whites bagged the victory cup.

Next came the super thrilling high-goal match between Los Tamaraos and Calatagan’s rah! rah! polo team. The Los Tamaraos, composed of popular Bobby Aguirre, Robert Archibald, Cooch Lynch, and Anthony Filamor prevailed over the Calatagan players, Iñigo and his son Jake Zobel, Ricky Yabut and Santi Elizalde after six breathtaking chukkers. The awarding ceremonies then took place with gorgeous BMWs parading on the polo field to the applause of the chi-chi pack.

Once over, a superb selection of yummy cocktail-finger food was served with all kinds of drinks to drown them with. This was followed by excellent Spanish hot dishes which the sponsors and invitees dug in, palanggas.

With the Blue Eagle soaring into heights this year, you can imagine what a bash it was for this gang of alumnus. Naturellement, Lily O’Boyle’s enchanting company and that of Mayenne Carmona, surely made it a week of togetherness.

Catch you around, palanggas!