Before reading Gearhead’s “A series of unfortunate events at the Shakey’s V-League” part 2, you should read part 1 first. And oh, you should also know what “to accost” means as Joey Villaluz (better known as Gearhead) has become very fond of using this term:
- accost
: to approach and speak to often in a challenging or aggressive way
This “series of unfortunate events” could have happened to me or any other typical Shakey’s V-League fan out there. This is really sad and unfair. This particular incident happened last May 11 (Sunday) during game two between University of San Jose and Far Eastern University. The USJ Lady Jaguars won in 5 sets: 20-25, 25-15, 24-26, 25-17, 15-10.
Okay, you can now start reading part 2…
Rants… Episode II
When I wrote that original post about my not too pleasant experience last May 2 at The Arena, I didn’t thought it might have yet another episode. I thought knowing the rules of the game now, I can be better prepared the next time around.
That next time came last Sunday, May 11. Since it was a double header featuring the two debuting teams from the Visayas, plus Benilde who’s beginning to be favorite subjects of some of my fellow photographers… I decided I will come and watch the games. I was quite ready though at the inevitability of not being able to shoot any pics if things get any worse on their arena policies. At best I could still shoot from the bleachers, and worse of course would be that cameras are not allowed inside the arena any longer, except of course for those with Press passes.
Again, knowing full well now of the prevailing ticket prices, I made sure I bought the P80.00 ringside ticket this time. Having arrived about an hour late I was praying though that good seats would still be available inside. Although I was hoping to get a seat at the back of the players’ benches, I was just as relieved to get one at the opposite side but not too close to the net nor too far to the corners (Section A/ Row A/ Seat 12).
Problem arose quickly though as there’s one guy with a digicam taking pictures of the action from the Press area getting into most of the shots. I’m not sure he’s a member of the press or of the committee as I didn’t see him with any ID. Also, as they were issuing the tickets chronologically so there’s already one seated to my right and soon at my left also. As it was getting really cramped I decided to move to the seat at the back in Row B for more space and a better vantage point. There I stayed for the duration of the first match.
The teams of FEU and USJ-R quickly made their entrance and proceeded with their preliminary warm-ups. The FEU squad made theirs at our section of the arena. After I had snapped a couple of pictures I decided to move to the USJ-R side which up to that time is not being occupied yet. Just then a couple of my photographer friends made their way into the arena and into the Press area just below my location. As I went down closer to greet them, I also saw Michelle Simbajon up close and snapped a few shots while exchanging pleasantries with my friends.
That’s when this girl accosted me and demanded that I go back to my seat. This quickly got my ire as this is already the third time that I got accosted in the two times I was in The Arena. The first times I give it to them that they may have a reason to do so, but I felt this time it is just too much. I don’t have a Press ID so I bought my ticket to the bleacher area. They allowed cameras in so for sure taking pictures is just fine by them. I understand perfectly the need to have numbered seats at ringside, but come on, it is not as if the section is fully occupied coz actually it is half empty. And jeez… it’s just warm-up time and not even the official one yet.
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There are 39 comments to this entry
HAAAAAYYY….
YUN NAH!!!
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[...] WE’RE NOT LOOKING FOR RECOGNITION, JUST THE APPROPRIATE TREATMENT… Spike it Hard | Blog Archive » Gearhead’s ‘A series of unfortunate events at the S… 15-May-08 at 1:25 [...]
Just want to express my gratitude for SpikeItHard himself for the show of support. Di lang naman ngayon that he has given space for my site here so salamat po talaga. Mabuhay kayo! =D
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You’re welcome po tito Joey
Bad! kill em. JOKE.
haha
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hi there, ms. a***ey. hehe!
Ahaha!
hi there kuya joey! kahit imention mo name, medyo bulgar na dito un real identity ko. hehe
Nandun din ako nun kuya Joey. I saw the whole thing!… Medyo OA yung sumita sayu! Grabe ha! Nandun kana sa lower box bleachers sinita ka pa rin!
Although may mga mababait naman na bantay dun… Na magalang naman at hindi OA sa pagsita…
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actually ringside na rin siya kasi P80.00 na nga yung kinuha kong tiket. but still di pa naman ako lumalabas doon sa press area where they require an ID nga. tapos OA na nga ang dating kasi wala namang katao-tao dun sa lugar na yun. medyo nahiya lang ako dun sa ibang fotogs kasi baka arogante dating ko sa kanila nung sinagot ko yung naninita. di kasi nila alam buong kwento. kaya ayun, sa blog ko na lang binuhos buong kwento.
Wala ka naman maling ginawa dun e Kaya tama lang na sagutin mo yung nanita sayu…… OA lang talaga yung pagkakasita sayu kuya.
basta…
sana lang maging malinaw ang lahat…
ok, let the press have the courtside, but puhleeezzz, pwede naman siguro hayaan ang bleachers…
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Pwede daw… BUT you might be needing a super-haba lens na super-tiny at super-dali itago if V-League staff ACCOSTED you
With all due respect, i think that the author’s experience is an isolated case of bad judgment by league staff trying to follow orders from the V league management. As I try to analyze the situation, I think mejo nasobrahan lang sa “pag-feel” sa kanyang “authority” na manita yun staff na tinutukoy sa blog.
As far as I know:
1. The league welcomes enthusiasts like the blog author to take pictures and cover the games.
2. Cameras are STILL allowed in the arena and everyone is STILL free to take all the pictures they want. (Flash not allowed though) But…
3. Only photographers who have secured proper passes can freely take pictures along the court sides. (Just imagine if everyone with a camera was to be given special treatment and allowed to roam about that area)
I believe the above rules can’t be any stiffer than the other leagues’ so I humbly conclude that the V-League is STILL more (if not the most) photographer-friendly compared to other popular leagues.
I am in no position to speak in behalf of the Shakey’s V-League management but i know the above rules for a fact as I am there almost every game day.
Medyo “misinformation” yata ang dating ng post na ito at ang mga comments dito. Parang “pass the message” na naiiba pagdating sa huling mapasahan.
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Yeah I understand Keith… Medyo masama lang talaga yung na-experience ni kuya Joey… And your right isolated case lang yung experience ni kuya Joey… masyado lang na feel ng isang bantay na yun yung authority nya…
Yung iba namang bantay ok naman…
Isolated or not, V-League should EDUCATE their “staff” to treat fans and “amateur” photographers with respect. It’s their league, it’s their responsibility.
This is not exactly the first time V-League had a “lapse in judgment.” Last season your site used a photo from Spikeithard.Com lent by August Dela Cruz of the Phil. Daily Inquirer without permission and cropped off the watermark. The photographer (since he was from the Inquirer), got a lot of apologies from V-League’s PR. But spikeithard didn’t get any formal apologies like the Inquirer photographer did. Now, isn’t that another lapse in judgment that’s unfair to “amateurs?”
Hi Keith,
Allow me din to expound a little more on my thoughts about the recent developments.
I will half-concede that mine may be an isolated incident since I’m not always at the venue so not sure if any similar occurrence has happened. But what do we know? Baka meron ding iba pa just that wala silang avenue to narrate about it.
1-2. That’s what I said in my original post, too. We’re just thankful we were still allowed to bring in cameras… in as much as our gear couldn’t even pass the gates for other sports or venue. What rankles though is the feeling that we were suddenly relegated to the sidelines just so as to accommodate the so-called legitimate press (At least accdng. to the buzz. We’re still in the dark kasi about the real reason for the Press ID. Elims wala nyan, and sabi nung oldtimers wala din daw for the whole season last year).
And also, wala nyan sa UAAP. Still, we understand that’s the organizer’s prerogative, just that it could have been handled better or better solutions could have been applied.
3. “Just imagine if everyone with a camera was to be given special treatment and allowed to roam about that area”.
I will beg to disagree. We know it’s not entirely true coz even as the number of photogs have picked up, I never saw or heard of any incident of any photographer or a group of them being a distraction to the game or to the players. I understand though that there will come a time that a critical mass would be achieved wherein control would be inevitable. But so far, the most number I saw in The Arena was in the UAAP Finals and the recent V-League opening… and nowhere in that two occasions did they affected the game, the players or the audience in any way.
“Only photographers who have secured proper passes can freely take pictures along the court”.
May we kindly ask who are qualified to secure this passes? There’s no mention of that in the V-League site nor have seen any at the venue.
When I was asked what media outfit I am representing, I got the impression that only media personnel are given this Press passes. If that is so, that compromises your point 1 since we are welcome lang pala to shoot not really as photographers but only as regular patrons.
Anyway, I didn’t bother applying for those passes na nga knowing di naman legitimate sports site yung blog ko. I also didn’t bother squeezing in into the Press area nung day na yon coz of the lack of an ID. I just proceeded to my seat na lang in the bleachers area. Akalain mo ba naman na kahit pala sa break at walang tao eh di ka pwedeng makagalaw?
“1. The league welcomes enthusiasts like the blog author to take pictures and cover the games.
2. Cameras are STILL allowed in the arena and everyone is STILL free to take all the pictures they want. (Flash not allowed though) But…”
How? With what? A super-zoom lens? Enthusiasts are artists. V-League can’t expect them to happily take awful pictures of players as tiny as ants and proudly post them on their sites, not to mention get treated badly just because they’re “not what you call media.”
“Only photographers who have secured proper passes can freely take pictures along the court sides. (Just imagine if everyone with a camera was to be given special treatment and allowed to roam about that area)”
So HOW can they acquire those limited and most coveted “press” passes? Bloggers like Gearhead have whole-heartedly covered V-League for FREE (”pros” get paid per photo or through salary, it’s not like they’re doing that just because they love V-league).
Bloggers gave V-league free online mileage. And when I say free, I meant FREE. Companies pay bloggers just to get a link on their sites (can be as much as $21 monthly PER LINK depending on site traffic). V-League got exposure for free from those blogs. So why not issue them passes without them having to ask or beg for it?
Panoramanila, the company that produced Juday’s movie Ploning, gave bloggers “press” passes to their opening night. And to think that was a celebrity-laden event, more celebrities than V-League could probably hope for. Dell invited bloggers to their launch party. Krispy Kreme sends bloggers free donuts every now and then. Etc. etc.
These companies value even the “little ones” like bloggers and see them as NEW media. How sad that a tournament like V-League (whose fan base is mostly online anyway) would delegate them to the sidelines to give “the Press” priority.
It’s not just about “special treatment,” it’s about not isolating those who have unselfishly taken the time to promote V-League. As EriQ mentioned in a comment, it’s not like V-League is so important to offline media. Coverage in a low-viewer-rate channel, second page in a broadsheet Sports section. But ONLINE Media people like Gearhead help create a venue to keep excitement over the league alive. They deserve better.
“I believe the above rules can’t be any stiffer than the other leagues’ so I humbly conclude that the V-League is STILL more (if not the most) photographer-friendly compared to other popular leagues.”
Not really. UAAP gives passes even to online publications, not just broadsheets. Understandable if PBA or PBL don’t issue press passes to online media. Basketball is a “pang masa” sport after all, and basketball fans are more inclined to get news offline.
Hey there Keith, thanks for the enlightenment. (FYI: Keith is the man behind the new and improved v-league.ph official website. Kudos for a site that’s very informative and complete).
A blog will always be personal so everything expressed here is of course, based on our opinion and how we see things. So this is how we feel. From the ‘fans / amateur photographer point of view’. (Pero ako “feeling” photographer lang talaga, hehe). I completely understand from where you’re coming. That’s you’re point-of-view as one of the organizers.
I quoted from Gearhead’s blog word per word (with his permission of course) so I don’t think I changed the story. Did I? But I really thought of exaggerating it a bit by saying, “kuya Joey was taken to a room, stripped naked, and was hand-frisked. A 300mm lens was found inside his…, and was confiscated by the V-league management.”
Sayang,I would like to take photos pa naman.. May I suggest something? Sana payagan mga photogs to take pictures sa courtside or ringside but limited to let’s say 10 pax per event? Atleast maco-control ng organizers right? DSLR and prosumer DSLR(G9,S5is,etc) lang payagan nyo mag shoot along the courtside,un mga may digicams sa seat nalang nila.. Simply because mas marami may digicam kesa may SLR.After the game dun nalang sila payagan magtake ng pics..
@Keith: I do hope Gearhead’s case is an isolated one. Simple lang naman ang solusyon eh, how can kuya Joey get a “V-League Press Pass”? (He can be Spikeithard’s official photographer). So next time this mataray na V-league bantay approaches him, he can say “Talk to the Pass…”. (I’m exaggerating again, sorry).
So kung pwede, how should kuya Joey go about it?
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TALK TO THE PASS?…
I LIKE THAT… HAHA
Wait, so if bawal na magpic or watsoever! ung mga photogs, pano naman kung ordinary audience ka lang na gusto magpicture. bawal ba? haha.
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infernez, di naman. kaya lang, kung photog ka na walang pass… pareho na lang kayo ng pics ng audience, mas malinaw nga lang siguro.
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owwww. Okay. baka sa next game kasi ng ssc, manood ako with my v.teamates
4daloveofthegame2 ur from canossa san pablo dba? aq din grad ako ng hs dun. hehe la lang.
sino ka? hehehe^___^
hala nakakahiya! baka kilala kita. nyahahaha:) kelan ka graduate don?
Kuya joey! ano meron sa phil sports arena? andun uste db? mas maganda panoorin kesa vleague. joke. hahaha:)
yeah. cguro kilala mo q. hehe. pumunta ko once sa training nio. 2007 aq graduate.ü
haha.
teka2. Girl or Boy? 
Section? ahaha! parang kilala ko na. 
girl. ignatius ako dti. jersey # ko dti 14
Ahh. kapatid ni a**el? Hello! hehe. .kilala kita, kabatch mo ate ko eh. hehe.
toribio cup yata tawag doon. intercollegiate tournament. maganda nga kasi andun ang ust saka la salle. sumali din ang adamson tapos UP din. mainit nga lang sa philsports arena.
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ahhh. Okay. Nakita ko nga sa site mo kuya. hehe. Nakita ko din sa site ni Michael Bartolo.
DLSU won in 4 sets against UST! my God!! UST? TALO! x(
huh!? Talo UST!? nnnnnnooooooooo! pano pumunta sa philsport arena
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mei chika ako…i dunt kknow kung ngeon lng toh, or matagal na toh…hindi mu na pwedeng iview ang mga pictures sa v-league.ph kung hindi ka member…you must first log in or register…
IMBYERNA NA ITIS! GRABEH!
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haay..grbe poh un..magview aq nung isang album,,bglang lumabas dpat mag-log-in muna…
@sunev_lanreb: Yeah you’re right! You have to register and log into your account to see the v-league.ph photos. I think they have awesome photos specially yung mga galing sa fans and contributors.
I did the same thing for Spikeithard dati. Had to require everyone to register and login first before commenting. Now, this was because at that time, maraming “bashers” as well as posers kasi.
But had to do away with that eventually because: 1.) I don’t have time to approve, and 2.) less clicks means more convenient for you guys.
same here! now i don’t want to watch the games because of the new rules that they made. i used to sit at the chairs behind the banners because i really love taking pictures. but there was another incident that made me lose my interest in the game that involves lets say a person who is a power tripper.
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