Celebrating with James Yap and Michela

COOL couple at the San Mig victory party

What a delight it was to join the intimate victory dinner of the San Mig Coffee Mixers  after they clinched the PBA championship last Wednesday.

My  newfound Ilonggo buddy James Yap invited me to the celebration at the Heat resto of Edsa Shangri-La.

I finally met his drop-dead gorgeous Italian  girlfriend, Michela Cazzola. James was surprised when Mic and I  started talking in French. I promised Mic I’d teach her Ilonggo (James’ dialect) and she said she would teach me Italian.

I told the fab pair they looked like  Barbie and Ken.

James and I finally got to “vodkanize.” He enjoyed every shot, having been booze-deprived during the entire PBA conference. But, of course, the superstar athlete doesn’t drink as hard as he plays.

James liked my congratulatory gift,  a gold medal bottle opener with “Winner for Drinking Excellence” engraved on it.

The cool couple is in Baguio for a much-needed vacation before the PBA season resumes on March 5.

Ever-so-humble James didn’t mind that he was not named Most Valuable Player. He has countless MVP titles, anyway. “It was a team effort,” he said. “Mark Barroca deserved to be named MVP.”

I asked  SMC Mixers’ assistant coach Olsen Racela how they beat Rain or Shine, which put up a good fight until the end. “Our championship experience was a big factor,” Olsen said. “[And] having the coach with the most wins in PBA history, Tim Cone, was a huge advantage.”

Congratulations! You’ve left our basketball-crazy country in awe.

Eyeing Carla

We at the Cinema Evaluation Board  gave Regal Films’ “Third Eye” a grade of B. Carla Abellana stood out in the movie as a distraught wife who sees ghosts. Aside from struggling with her third eye,  she has to deal with a “third party” in her marriage.

Carla is beautiful from all angles. How could anyone look pretty in horror scenes?

If she were a medium, which famous  ghost would she want to see and why? “Jose Rizal,” she quipped. “I want to know the stories behind the characters he created in his books, and his travels to Spain. I would love to have ensaymada  and hot chocolate with him.”

What about the horrors of being born beautiful? “I have to maintain a certain image,” she pointed out. “I can’t go out looking sloppy.  I have learned to live with the stares.” Ahh!  La vida Carla muy guapa!

Neighbor Yael

Sponge Cola’s main man Yael Yuzon and I fondly call each other “neighbor” since we live in the same condo building.

Yael will soon leave our place; he and Karylle are tying the knot and transferring to their conjugal home.

What made him sure Karylle was the one he’d like to spend the rest of his life with? “You know when you know,” he said. “There’s no science to it; it’s like the wind.”

His music says the rest. “I composed ‘Singapore Sling (Dahil Kilala Na Kita)’ for Karylle,” he said. “It’s  in our new album. It pretty much embodies what I feel for her.”

For their honeymoon, Yael and Karylle plan to go to England and see the prehistoric Stonehenge. As they marvel at one of the “Wonders of the World,” they will likewise savor the wonders of true love.

Buying class

Several show biz friends wonder why they get invited to the extravagant parties that a Filipino-Chinese businessman throws weekly, even if they do not know him.

Apparently, the invitations are coursed through a high-profile architect tasked to bring “Manila’s beautiful people” to the businessman’s new Forbes Park mansion.

As the evening progresses, the talk eventually leads to art, since the host is currently on an outrageous buying spree. One of my friends wonders, “How can he afford this lifestyle? Doesn’t he owe billions in back taxes?” How, indeed?

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Personal: Happy Birthday to my beloved cousins, Kara Alikpala and Terese Manalansan. Birthday cheers to my fab Ilongga sister whom I love like family, Allana Lopez-Montelibano.