The Manila Times

Magnolia braces for battle as SMB parades new import

- JOSEF T. RAMOS PBA MEDIA BUREAU PHOTO JOSEF T. RAMOS

bad for your health?

Tell that to the marines … er … to J. B. Mauney, a 140-pound cowboy who rides 1,800 bull for living the past 13 years.

J. B. as in James Burton, can be seen with a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth a couple of hours before seeing action in competitio­ns he takes part in.

“Well, hell, it’s a stressful profession,” he told Erik Brady of in a story published on September 26.

Mauney smokes Marlboros, which he calls

makes the cigarette move in his mouth with a long trail of ash hanging on precarious­ly, like a cowboy to a bull.

He was in a makeshift locker room in the bowels of a basketball arena at George Mason University in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, getting ready for another premier series stop on the Profession­al Bull Riders tour.

Mauney is a two-time world champion and PBR’s most popular cowboy, as measured by merchandis­e and social media, Brady reported.

J. B. said bull riding is all he’s been doing in his entire life. “They put me on a sheep when I was three.”

Mauney (pronounced Mooh-nee) rode his

now, though some days his body feels more like 81. And before the night is out, this will be another of those days.

Mauney’s tattooed torso offers a jumble of sayings and symbols. “Carpe Diem” reads one. “It Is What It Is” reads another. “Born to Ride” reads the one across his shoulders. He’s got 16, by his count – branded, like a bull.

“I did a lot of questionab­le things when I was younger,” he deadpans.

He’s won more than $7.2 million in prize money, the most in western sports history.

hasn’t busted.

Only last year, Mauney tore his right arm almost completely off, which needed a screw with 13 anchors in his right shoulder. They said the skin was the only thing holding it on. All four rotator cuff muscles was tore off at the bone. Bicep, tendon, labrum, everything. Broke the ball in three places. They had to take pieces of the ball out.

He wasn’t complainin­g though. Only his way of explanatio­n. “Part of the game,” Mauney would say. “You ride these bulls for 13 years you’re going to break a lot of (expletive).”

Mauney raises bulls of his own on his North Carolina ranch. “Some of them are mean, some of them are nice. Just like people.”

J. B. clarified though that that he said about a stressful profession was just a joke. He doesn’t do stress.

“I don’t worry about a whole lot,” he related. “People ask me, ‘Well, how do you prepare?’ I don’t.”

Truth is, Mauney doesn’t prepare strategy for his rides. Doesn’t work out at the gym. Just goes out and wings it, an old-school cowboy competing against young stars who lift weights, eat right – and don’t smoke.

He’s been to a gym once, he confessed. “That was to buy a membership so I could have a tax write-off.”

The bulls he raises are aggravatin­g, but he likes them. They’re like having an 1,800-pound three-year-old kid. They break everything.”

That includes him, of course. He tells a story about the week before he was going to turn pro. A bull stomped him and he broke all the ribs on his right side. Had a lacerated liver and bruised kidney, too.

“They said it could have killed me,” Mauney says. “They said it would be six to eight months before I could ride again. I told them they were crazy. I was working at a ball bearings plant and that was enough to make anyone decide they were going to have hell trying to throw me off.”

Bulls can throw him, sure, but not doctors, although last year he listened to one who said his arm wouldn’t heal right if he didn’t stop smoking. So he quit cold turkey for four months – and started up again the day he was cleared to ride.

Mauney wakes up happy every day,” his wife, Samantha Lyne Mauney, who was

about an hour before showtime remarked.

She’s got an ironclad rule for their ranch: No smoking in the house. Mauney spends most of his days outside anyway, raising cattle and riding and roping and all the rest.

Ranch work trumps workouts.

“He’ll quit smoking,” Samantha, a champion barrel racer herself said. She comes from rodeo royalty. Phil Lyne, her father, won all-around cowboy championsh­ips at the National Finals Rodeo back in the day.

The Great American Cowboy, a 1973 documentar­y about her father’s rivalry with another rodeo star, won the Academy Award for best documentar­y feature in 1974.

Now she’s married to her own great American cowboy with whom she has a seven-year-old daughter, Bella, from a previous relationsh­ip. Samantha is pregnant and this time it’s a boy.

Asked when she thinks her husband will quit smoking, Samantha retorted: “He’ll stop smoking when he quits riding.” MAGNOLIA seeks for its fourth win in five games when it faces San Miguel Beer, which is fortified by a new import at 6: 45 p. m. tonight in Season 43 Philippine Basketball Associatio­n Governors’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

“I think this game is a test of our character right now that we are in the middle of the conference,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero.

LOS ANGELES: Boston Celtics Gordon Hayward said just getting back on the court Friday (Saturday in Manila) felt like a victory after scoring 10 points in his

“Been waiting a long time to lace back up and get out there with the guys,” said Hayward, who suffered a scary leg injury in the Celtics’ season opener last October 17.

“I don’t think I was playing my best basketball. But I was having fun out there.”

Despite Hayward’s return, the Celtics dropped their NBA preseason opener to the Charlotte Hornets 104-97 on Friday at the Dean E. Smith Center arena in Chappel Hill, North Carolina.

in Cleveland in which he broke his

“We need to work on the consistenc­y on both ends of the floor especially our defense. We also need to adjust quickly on the game because they have a new import and it might be an advantage or a disadvanta­ge to us because we do not know yet how he plays. But I think my players are ready for this battle and we will survive if we play consistent­ly together for 48 minutes,” added Victolero.

Hayward started at forward for the Celtics alongside Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Kyrie Irving.

“I missed him,” said Irving of Hayward, who wasted no time scoring

18,000. Hayward delivered an easy grabbing an offensive rebound. He

just over 20 minutes of playing time.

Irving, who suffered a 2017-18 season-ending injury on March 11 when he hurt his knee, also made

nine points.

“I thought there were a lot of great talking and teaching points in this game,” said Boston coach Brad Stevens. “It’s a reminder of how hard it is to win in this league.”

Jeremy Lamb scored 15 points for Char-

France’s Tony Parker made his debut with Charlotte, after 17 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs.

Parker missed all three shots he attempted and went scoreless on the night.

Cody Zeller scored 13 points and Kemba Walker made 12 for the Hornets.

Brown hit for 14 points and Marcus Morris had 12 for Boston.

Boston led by as many as 20 points in the

from three-point range overall.

Charlotte used a huge third-quarter run to enter the fourth trailing 84-81.

Boston got back up by four with six minutes remaining in the game, but the Hornets closed it out on a 17-6 run, which was highlighte­d by a pair of dynamic dunks from rookie Miles Bridges.

“I’m just proud of the guys, proud of how they stuck in the game,” said Hornets new head coach James Borrego. SCORES:

Adamson 63 – Manganti 14, Sarr 11, Ahanmisi 11, Camacho 8, Espeleta 4, Lastimosa 4, Zaldivar 4, Mojica 3, Colonia 2, Bernardo 2, Magbuhos 0, Pingoy 0, Catapusan 0.

NU 58 – Ildefonso D 14, Joson 11, Rike 8, Ildefonso S 6, Morido 6, Galinato 4, Yu 3, Gaye 2, Tibayan 2, Clemente 2, Diputado 0, Gallego 0, Sinclair 0.

Quarter Scores: 11-10; 26-21; 43-35; 63-58

ATENEO 85 – Kouame 20, Ravena 11, Go 8, Asistio 8, Belangel 7, Nieto Mi 6, Nieto Ma 5, Daves 4, Tio 4, Wong 3, Andrade 3, Navarro 2, Black 2, Mamuyac 2, Mendoza 0

UST 53 – Subido 19, Cansino 15, Akomo 9, Huang 6, Lee 2, Mahinay 2, Cosejo 0, Marcos 0, Zamora 0, Bataller 0, Lagumen 0, Agustin 0

Quarter Scores: 19-10, 37-18, 61-35, 85-53

Magnolia is jumping into the fray upbeat after scoring a 92-76 win over Rain or Shine recently. Paul Lee and import Romeo Travis scored 22 points each in that game.

The Hotshots are aiming for back-to-back wins against the Beermen tonight.

The Beermen, holding a 2- 2 win- loss record and playing without the injured June Mar Fajardo would likely depend on the 6’ 11 rookie Christian Standhardi­nger and new import Kevin Murphy AZ Reid.

(3-4 win-loss record) eyes to extend its winning run when it meets the still winless Northport squad (0-5).

Marqus Blakely had a near triple-double of 26 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists plus

they beat Rain or Shine. that replaced

 ?? AFP PHOTO AFP ?? ADAMSON University remained unbeaten in five games after beating National University ( NU), 63- 58, in Season 81 University Athletic Associatio­n of the Philippine­s men’s basketball tournament on Saturday at The Arena in San Juan City.The Falcons are more cunning today than when they escaped University of the Philippine­s, 69-68, through the game-winning shot of Sean Manganti last Wednesday. Manganti led the Falcons with 14 points, four assists and two steals, while Cameroonia­n Papi Sarr finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Jerrick Ahanmisi also contribute­d 11 points for the Falcons. Adamson coach Franz Pumaren attributed the win to their airtight defense. The Falcons registered more steals (7-5) and blocks (6-0) than the Bulldogs. “I guess we are in this position because our defense kept us afloat. We held them to just 58 points,” said Pumaren. Sean Dave Ildefonso posted 14 points to lead NU. Gordon Hayward No. 20 of the Boston Celtics goes to the basket against the Charlotte Hornets in the third quarter during a preseason game at Dean Smith Center on Saturday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.In the second game, Ateneo De Manila University was powered by the towering Kakou Kouame to an 85-53 rout of University of Santo Tomas for an improved 4-1 win-loss record.Kouame finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds while Thirdy Ravena had 11 points to lead the Blue Eagles.The Growling Tigers’ win-loss record fell to 1-3. Magnolia’s import Romeo Travis defends against Rain or Shine’s Dexter Maiquez (12) while Beau Belga looks in a Season 43 PBA Governors’ Cup game at the Araneta Coliseum recently.
AFP PHOTO AFP ADAMSON University remained unbeaten in five games after beating National University ( NU), 63- 58, in Season 81 University Athletic Associatio­n of the Philippine­s men’s basketball tournament on Saturday at The Arena in San Juan City.The Falcons are more cunning today than when they escaped University of the Philippine­s, 69-68, through the game-winning shot of Sean Manganti last Wednesday. Manganti led the Falcons with 14 points, four assists and two steals, while Cameroonia­n Papi Sarr finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Jerrick Ahanmisi also contribute­d 11 points for the Falcons. Adamson coach Franz Pumaren attributed the win to their airtight defense. The Falcons registered more steals (7-5) and blocks (6-0) than the Bulldogs. “I guess we are in this position because our defense kept us afloat. We held them to just 58 points,” said Pumaren. Sean Dave Ildefonso posted 14 points to lead NU. Gordon Hayward No. 20 of the Boston Celtics goes to the basket against the Charlotte Hornets in the third quarter during a preseason game at Dean Smith Center on Saturday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.In the second game, Ateneo De Manila University was powered by the towering Kakou Kouame to an 85-53 rout of University of Santo Tomas for an improved 4-1 win-loss record.Kouame finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds while Thirdy Ravena had 11 points to lead the Blue Eagles.The Growling Tigers’ win-loss record fell to 1-3. Magnolia’s import Romeo Travis defends against Rain or Shine’s Dexter Maiquez (12) while Beau Belga looks in a Season 43 PBA Governors’ Cup game at the Araneta Coliseum recently.

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