PBA Scores, News and Updates

[kingjames24szupladoh]

MANILA, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra is bringing in two-time PBA Best Import winner Gabe Freeman to take over from Leon Rodgers in the team’s hopes of averting further skid in the PLDT Home TVolution PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Team sources said Freeman, a champion import in the PBA and in the Asean Basketball League, is flying in at the latest Wednesday, ahead of the Kings’ crucial game against the Globalport Batang Pier Friday.

The Kings are now in precarious situation, having lost two of their first three games in the short one-round elimination phase.

The management and the coaching staff have apparently decided they could go nowhere with Rodgers.

Rodgers has proved to be a real scorer, but that’s because of his being a ball hog to the detriment of his teammates and the team

“The flow of the play stops with him. The locals can’t get into the groove because the ball is always in Rodgers’ hands,” a team insider said.

“And he shies away from contact, opting for lower-percentage shots from the outside,” the source added.

Numbers don’t lie.

On Sunday against San Mig Coffee, Rodgers scored 35 points as he accounted for 33 of the team’s 69 field attempts. LA Tenorio had the second most number of attempts with 11.

A week before against San Miguel Beer, he scored 33 points on 34 tries.

The Kings are now hoping Freeman to be their savior.

Freeman’s drawback is he will be the shortest import at 6-foot-5.

“But he’s very familiar with the PBA and the brand of play in the league. He’s done that before. We’re hopeful he can cope,” said The STAR source.

He had a short tour of duty with Barako Bull in the 2012 Commissioner’s Cup featuring imports of unlimited height.

The prolific Mesa Community College product took the league by storm in the 2009 Fiesta Conference, leading San Miguel Beer to the championship.

He emerged Best Import winner in that tourney and then again in the same conference the following year where the Beermen lost to the Alaska Milk Aces in the finals.

A little later, Freeman led the Philippine Patriots to a successful title run in the initial ABL season.

He’s wiser at 28 as he suits up with the Ginebra Kings.


From pbaddits.me

[Zurca]

Dozier saves the day as Alaska snaps losing slide (03/17/14)

MANILA, Philippines - Rob Dozier scored key baskets late in the game to help the Alaska Aces break out of a tight encounter against the Air21 Express, 88-78 in the PLDT Home TVolution PBA Commissioner's Cup on Monday, March 17 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The reigning Commissioner's Cup Best Import scored 8 of Alaska's final 16 points to help the defending champions eke out a come-from-behind win and get out of the cellar.

The Aces snapped a two-game losing slide to improve to 2-3 while the Express went down to 2-2.

Rob Dozier topscored with 23 points and 9 rebounds while Sonny Thoss added a double-double, chipping in 14 points and 12 boards.

"It feels like a mountain. It's super big," said Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo after the match.

"I though in the first few games we were playing with frustration; there's a big bullseye on our chest."

With the game last tied at 70 apiece in the final 6:17, the Alaska Aces banked on their import, who scored 6 in a 12-4 run that pushed Alaska comfortably ahead, 82-74 with just 1:10 left.

The Aces also defended Air21 well, preventing any field goal in a span of 5 minutes before Mac Cardona hit a basket to make it 76-82.

But free throws by Dozier and a key block on the other end shut the doors on the Express; RJ Jazul and Sonny Thoss pushed the lead up to 10 just before the final buzzer sounded.

It was a tight affair with both teams combining for 10 deadlocks and 8 lead changes.

Scores:

Alaska - Dozier 23, Thoss 14, Abueva 13, Casio 10, Jazul 10, Hontiveros 6, Baguio 6, Dela Cruz 2, Espinas 2, Manuel 2, Reyes 0.

Air21 - Yeo 19, Lamizana 16, Taulava 11, Cardona 10, Borboran 9, Villanueva 5, Ramos 4, Burtscher 2, Atkins 2, Jaime 0, Poligrates 0.

Quarter scores: 19-16, 38-41, 61-62, 88-78.

From Rappler.com

[Zurca]

PBA set to honor 40 greatest players of its first 40 years. Who should be on list?

PLANS are afoot to honor the 40 greatest players in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) when Asia's first professional cage league celebrates its 40th anniversary next season.

League officials have confirmed that a Forty Greatest PBA Players list is being eyed to highlight its 40th anniversary celebration next season, which would be the first time the PBA will come out with such an honor since honoring the top 25 players of its first 25 years back in 2000.

The Top 40 list, once done, will be a chance for players who stood out over the past two decades to join the esteemed list - a pool of candidates that includes stars like Danny Ildefonso, Mark Caguioa, James Yap, Danny Seigle, Asi Taulava, Eric Menk, and Willie Miller.

In the past, the league gathered its present and former commissioners - namely Leo Prieto, Rudy Salud, Rey Marquez, and Jun Bernardino - to pick the 25 Greatest Players.

According to PBA operations director Rickie Santos, the group decided to make former MVPs automatic selections to the esteemed list and deliberated on the rest of the choices.

Members of the 25 Greatest Players list are Johnny Abarrientos, Ato Agustin, Bogs Adornado, Francis Arnaiz, Ricky Brown, Allan Caidic, Hector Calma, Philip Cezar, Atoy Co, Jerry Codinera, Kenneth Duremdes, Bernie Fabiosa, Ramon Fernandez, Danny Florencio, Abet Guidaben, Robert Jaworski, Freddie Hubalde, Jojo Lastimosa, Lim Eng Beng, Samboy Lim, Ronnie Magsanoc, Vergel Meneses, Manny Paner, Alvin Patrimonio, and Benjie Paras.

All those players are now considered shoo-ins to the Top 40 list.

This time, the league said it plans to convene a 'council of elders' to come up with the selections, although it is still not sure if the only surviving former commissioners - namely Sonny Barrios, Noli Eala, and Marquez - will be invited to join current chief Chito Salud in the proceedings.

One man being eyed to join the selection committee is Jaworski, largely regarded as the most popular player in league history. The 'Big J,' an official said, has already been sounded off about the plan when he turned up for Game Six of the Ginebra-San Mig semifinal series in the last Philippine Cup.

The former Ginebra coach expressed his willingness to take part in the proceedings, a league official said.

If the next selection committee follows the same criteria, players like Caguioa, Yap, Taulava, lldefonso, Menk, and Miller will be seeded into the list along with fellow former MVPs Jayjay Helterbrand, Jimmy Alapag, Kelly Williams, and Arwind Santos.

From SPIN.ph

[Zurca]

Ginebra decides to stick it out with misfiring Leon Rodgers after evaluation

BARANGAY Ginebra will be looking to bounce back in its next few games with the same intact lineup.

That should be good news for Leon Rodgers - for now.

After a careful evaluation conducted by the team’s coaching staff, assistant coach Juno Sauler said Ginebra has decided to stick it out with its misfiring import while trying to "improve from within."

“There’s no need yet to change import," Sauler, who has taken on a more "active role" in the team in the PBA Commissioner's Cup, said. "Basic lang what we need to correct, little things lang like nung last game.

“We lost to two very good teams, San Miguel Beer and San Mig Coffee. It’s just within ourselves. It’s adjusting to changes. We have to be more consistent. We have to improve on our defense, rebounding and field goal shooting,” added the reigning UAAP champion coach.

Asked if import Leon Rodgers was part of the evaluation, Sauler said yes.

“Of course, lahat naman under evaluation. Leon, yes. Lagi naman namin siyang ini-evaluate,” said Sauler, adding that reports of Ginebra plans to bring in former Best Import awardee Gabe Freeman were "totally untrue."

“We are sticking it out with him. Next game namin. It’s still Leon Rodgers ... I don’t know the news about Gabe Freeman. Totally untrue!”

Sauler bared he has a shortlist in hand in the event Ginebra decides an import change is necessary. However, he insisted the coaching staff agreed that a switch isn't needed at this time.

Another source bared that Freeman is "out of shape."

“If the need arises, then we will have to come up with names. But at this point, there’s no need to change Leon. The coaching staff has discussed that already,” said the De La Salle coach.

Sauler, however, admitted that the coaching staff is cognizant of the high number of shots Rodgers takes - as well as his miserable shooting percentage - in his first three games.

The three-time MVP of the Dutch league has made just 31 of 83 shots in his first three games, including a 6-of-28 clip from beyond the three-point arc.

Sauler said the Ginebra staff has already talked to Rodgers about it, although he insisted the rest of the Gin Kings remain very supportive of the volume shooter.

“Yes, napapansin namin 'yun and we already talked to him. Hindi naman galit ang teammates niya. In fact, full support pa nga ang lahat sa kanya,” said Sauler.

However, one Ginebra star Spin.ph has talked to clearly isn't too happy.

Asked on what ails Ginebra right now, he said, "He’s the only one scoring. So what else can we do?”

From SPIN.ph

[2013rev2013]

Embattled Kings eye former NBA vet; Aces rebound, derail Express

MANILA, Philippines - Rod Dozier dished out his best game so far in his PBA return and helped anchor Alaska Milk’s strong finish en route to an 88-78 win over Air21 in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Dozier showed up Herve Lamizana, while Sonny Thoss, Calvin Abueva, Jvee Casio and RJ Jazul also stepped up as the Aces checked a two-game skid and improved to 2-3 halfway through their stint in the short elimination phase of the mid-season tourney.

Dozier came through with timely hits in the fourth quarter where Alaska outscored Air21, 27-16, to hand the Express a second loss against two wins.

“We really have to have the guys to buy in on what we’re doing. The past games we’re breaking down in terms of game plan,” said Alaska coach Luigi Trillo.

“We played our defense,” Trillo also said on the biggest key on their conquest of the Express. “The other side is excited. It’s been long since they’re winning.”

True enough, the Aces toughened up on defense, shackling down in particular the Air21 frontline tandem of Lamizana and Asi Taulava.

Dozier, the reigning Commissioner’s Cup Best Import, logged 23 points and nine rebounds, four blocks and two assists as against Lamizana’s 16 markers and 10 boards. Taulava was held down to 11 markers.

Still, the two teams engaged in a fierce battle marked by 10 deadlocks and eight lead changes.

The Express led, 62-61, going into the fourth quarter.

Dozier fired a trey in the closing seconds as Alaska took the first quarter at 19-16 then Air21 surged ahead at the half, 41-38, on a crucial binge by Joseph Yeo in the second period.

Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra is now considering to tap in former NBA player Darnell Jackson as replacement to Leon Rodgers.

Jackson, a three-year NBA veteran with stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Sacramento Kings, is in town, brought in by the Meralco Bolts.

However, Jackson reportedly refused to join the Bolts’ practice session yesterday with Brian Butch still under contract as the Meralco reinforcement.

Jackson, apparently, now wants to void his own deal with Meralco.

Earlier, Ginebra had considered bringing in Gabe Freeman but failed to get in touch with the two-time PBA Best Import awardee.

“Malabo na rin since we’ve heard that the he last played was in November in Mexico,” said The STAR source.

 The scores:

Alaska 88 – Dozier 23, Thoss 14, Abueva 13, Casio 10, Jazul 10, Hontiveros 6, Baguio 6, Dela Cruz 2, Espinas 2, Manuel 2, Reyes 0.

Air21 78 – Yeo 19, Lamizana 16, Taulava 11, Cardona 10, Borboran 9, Villanueva 5, Ramos 4, Burtscher 2, Atkins 2, Jaime 0, Poligrates 0.

Quarterscores: 19-16, 38-41, 61-62, 88-78

From http://www.philstar.com/sports/2014/03/18/1302254/embattled-kings-eye-former-nba-vet-aces-rebound-derail-express

[Zurca]

Abueva, Santos headline PBA All-Star reserves

MANILA, Philippines - The PBA has released the list of stars who will complete the cast of the PBA All-Star team that shall go up against Gilas Pilipinas on April 6 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Reigning PBA Most Valuable Player Arwind Santos and Rookie of the Year Calvin Abueva leads the seven reserves. Santos will play in his 7th All-Star game; he is also the reigning All-Star co-MVP with Gilas Pilipinas' Jeff Chan.

San Mig Super Coffee Mixers' Joe Devance and Peter June Simon - who played key roles in the PBA Philippine Cup finals - are also part of the list. Completing the cast are KG Canaleta of Talk 'N Text, Marcio Lassiter of San Miguel, and Sonny Thoss of Alaska.

They will join starters Greg Slaughter, Chris Ellis, Mac Baracael, Mark Barroca and James Yap.

Reigning three-point champion Chris Tiu of Rain or Shine will defend his crown against a competitive field which includes Mac Baracael, Larry Fonacier, Jayson Castro, Mac Cardona, JVee Casio, Ryan Buenafe, Mac Macapagal, Gary David, Marcio Lassiter and James Yap.

In the skills challenge, Air21's Jonas Villanueva will be tested by JVee Casio, Willie Miller, LA Tenorio, Terrence Romeo, John Wilson, Paul Lee, Mark Barroca, Jayson Castro, and Sol Mercado.

Lastly, high-flying dunk champion Chris Ellis of Barangay Ginebra will have to come up with better tricks as challengers like Justin Melton, Arwind Santos, Japeth Aguilar, Rey Guevarra, Cliff Hodge and Calvin Abueva out there to try and steal his crown.

The PBA Greats vs Stalwarts, featuring a mixture of active players and retired PBA stars, will be the weekend's curtain-raiser. The Greats are composed of Atoy Co, Freddie Abuda, Vergel Meneses, Franz Pumaren, Johnedel Cardel, Rey Guevarra, Terrence Romeo, JVee Casio, Willie Miller, Cliff Hodge and Jonas Villanueva.

Bogs Adornado, Dickie Bachmann, Noli Locsin, Jeffrey Cariaso, Richard Del Rosario, Justin Melton, Ronjay Buenafe, Sol Mercado, Chris Tiu, Mac Cardona and John Wilson meanwhile banner the Stalwarts team.

The PBA All Star weekend takes place from April 3 to 6.

From Rappler.com

[Zurca]

PBA Power Rankings Weeks 1-2: Talk ‘N Text is reloaded

MANILA, Philippines - Parading a fully-loaded and healthy lineup, the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters have zoomed to a 4-0 start in the PLDT Home TVolution PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

With a complete roster, TNT scored their best start since the 2013 PBA Philippine Cup where they went on to win it all.

Gilas Pilipinas mainstays like Jayson Castro, Ranidel De Ocampo, and Jimmy Alapag are at the forefront of their early success as they top Rappler’s Power Rankings for this week.

1. Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters (4-0)

Game of the week (GOTW): The Tropang Texters battled toe-to-toe with the San Miguel Beermen on March 14, putting huge leads in the first half before surviving a late run behind Richard Howell and Jimmy Alapag, 107-99.

Next key game (NKG): Coach Norman Black’s troops will take a 4-day break before plunging back to action against the Meralco Bolts on Friday, March 21. They will have to check Brian Butch, who likes to shoot from everywhere on the court.

2. San Mig Super Coffee Mixers (2-0)

GOTW: Fresh from a Philippine Cup crown, it looks like the Mixers are again on track for a title run, winning their first two games in style. Against Ginebra on March 16, import James Mays had a colossal night, scoring 29 points and grabbing 29 rebounds for a 90-80 win.

NKG: San Mig’s mettle will be tested in a rematch of the Philippine Cup championship when they face Rain or Shine on March 22, Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

3. Air21 Express (2-2)

GOTW: The Express limited Josh Dollard to just 12 points to conquer Barako Bull on March 14. They led by as much as 35 points with guys like Asi Taulava, Mac Cardona, and Jonas Villanueva all getting into the groove. Herve Lamizana had a listless first half but exploded for 20 in the third quarter to help their cause.

NKG: The Express will try to extend their winning ways when they face the Meralco Bolts on Sunday, March 23 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

4. San Miguel Beermen (2-1)

GOTW: San Miguel trounced Ginebra San Miguel, 112-96 back with Josh Boone, who had 32 points and 21 rebounds in what would be his swan song for the Beermen. SMB totally outclassed Ginebra in a battle of crowd favorites. However, they were stopped by the TNT crew in their next meeting.

NKG: To get back on track, the Beermen must play sharp against a dangerous Rain or Shine crew on Marc h 19, Wednesday, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

5. Meralco Bolts (2-1)

GOTW: Behind a clutch three-pointer from import Brian Butch, the Bolts edged Barako Bull in a nerve-racking encounter, 104-99 to move to the upper half of the standings at 2-1.

NKG: Meralco will engage in a tough battle with league-leading Talk ‘N Text on Friday, March 21 at the Cuneta Astrodome with hopes of dealing the Texters their first loss. Butch must capitalize on his range to lure TNT bigs outside.

6. Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (1-1)

GOTW: The PBA Philippine Cup runner-ups wasted no time to recover from a loss against Barako Bull, waylaying Alaska 92-78 behind six triples from Jeff Chan who finished with a team-high 24 points.

NKG: San Miguel Beermen will try to deny Rain or Shine of a winning streak when they collide on Wednesday, March 19 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

7. Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (1-2)

GOTW: Barangay Ginebra fought neck and neck with San Mig Coffee, trailing by only 1 at the start of the fourth period. However, they lost steam in the end and got badly outrebounded in the offensive glass, as they fell, 80-90. Import Leon Rodgers was criticized after for taking too many shots, leading to speculations that other imports will come over and replace him.

NKG: Globalport Batang Pier is Ginebra’s next assignment on Friday, March 21 at the Cuneta Astrodome. Though winless, Ginebra must be wary of the physicality of Globalport’s bigs.

8. Barako Bull Energy (1-3)

GOTW: Barako Bull relied on 17 fourth quarter points from import Josh Dollard to come from behind and upset Rain or Shine, 110-106 on March 9. The scoring machine tallied 44 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in their lone win so far.

NKG: Barako Bull tries to avoid getting buried in the standings when they clash with San Miguel Beermen on Saturday, March 22 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, a tall task to overcome.

9. Alaska Aces (2-3)

GOTW: A strong finish from Rob Dozier gave Alaska their second win in five games, finally breaking out of a slump as they edged Air21, 88-78.

NKG: The other Aces however, like Dondon Hontiveros and Cyrus Baguio have been noticeably missing, just putting 12.5 PPG combined. Fortunately, Alaska will have lots of time to regroup and come out as a stronger team; they will return to action on March 29 in an out-of-town affair against San Miguel in Binan, Laguna.

10. Globalport Batang Pier (0-4)

GOTW: The Batang Pier’s golden chance of handing new head coach Pido Jarencio his first win went to waste against Meralco, when they failed to defend Brian Butch’s go-ahead triple that proved to be the telling blow.

NKG: Globalport’s next two games are tough. They shall lock horns with Ginebra on March 21 at the Cuneta Astrodome and will next face San Miguel on Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. How they will fair against two powerhouse squads is a tough question for Jarencio’s troops.

From Rappler.com

[Zurca]

Air21 releases Herve Lamizana, to replace with Witherspoon

MANILA, Philippines - PBA Import Herve Lamizana has been released by the Air21 Express on Wednesday, March 19.

Lamizana's agent Sheryl Reyes confirmed the news to Rappler, stating that "it was a mutual decision of Herve and the team as he did not fit the system of Coach Franz Pumaren." Reyes added "he is leaving in good faith and is very thankful of the opportunity. As he said, 'Some good things do come to an end.'"

Reyes added that Pumaren is in search of an import who is a big-time scorer.

Lamizana is known for his defense, leading the league in shot blocks with 3.75 per contest. However, his offense was inconsistent, as shown in scoreless first halves against Globalport and Barako Bull. He averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds in four games with the Express (2-2) in the Commissioner's Cup, per pba-online.net

The native of the Ivory Coast won’t be out of action for long, however, as he’s already fielding offers to play in Puerto Rico, where he had previously entertained offers before coming to agreement with the PBA. Reyes said that her client is thankful to the Air21 management for the opportunity to play overseas.

Set to replace Lamizana is Wesley Witherspoon, a 24-year-old graduate of Memphis who has played for the Austin Toros, Rio Grande Vipers and Erie Bay Hawks in the NBA D-League over the last two years. The 6-foot-9 forward also tried out once for the San Antonio Spurs but was waived eventually.

Witherspoon tweeted last night, "ANYBODY KNOW THE LANGUAGE SPOKEN MOST IN THE PHILIPPINES?," a question that he'll soon find the answer to.

Witherspoon averaged 9.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16 contests for the Hermine Nantes in the 2013-2014 EuroLeague.

From Rappler.com

[Zurca]

Chris Ross has career game as San Miguel Beermen down RoS (03/19/14)

MANILA, Philippines - Marcio Lassiter was the first to hit a triple for the San Miguel Beermen early in the first. Then Chris Ross followed Lassiter's lead with his own trey. Not long after Ronald Tubid and import Kevin Jones joined the three-point party.

Over at the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters camp, import Alexander McLean opened the game with a trey. Beau Belga and Paul Lee would not allow themselves to get left behind as they nailed long range shots as well.

That was the story of the game between Rain or Shine and San Miguel on Wednesday, March 19 in the PLDT myDSL Commissioner's Cup.

San Miguel won the shootout, however, 112-107, when the dust settled after 48 minutes of intense basketball.

The Beermen shot the lights out at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, draining 6 triples in the second - to lead at the break 56-61 - and 5 treys in the third as well. Their hot shooting resulted in 15 long range bombs all game long.

But the biggest three of all came from 2013 PBA Most Valuable Player Arwind Santos (19 points) with 1:26 left in the game. It was a go-ahead trey, 105-104, that turned the tide in favor of the Beermen, who weathered Rain or Shine's payoff period storm.

Chris Ross then made good on his defense-offense tactic in the ensuing play, anticipating the Rain or Shine passing lane for the umpteenth time to complete a steal and the resulting breakaway layup for a slight cushion, 107-104, with 44.6 ticks left.

The Painters had no antidote for Ross' active hands and his career high 22 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists and 5 steals.

"We expect effort from Chris Ross every time, he's the captain of our team," said active consultant Todd Purves. "It's just more about consistent effort from him, that's what I really appreciate from him from a defensive standpoint. So when he has a good shooting night, it's just an icing on the cake."

Rain or Shine came alive in the third with 31 points built by 5 triples. Belga shot 4 of 5 from rainbow country for his 12 points to try and help his team but with only 3 players scoring in double digits as opposed to the offensive explosion of the Beermen, their chances were all but gone.

"They're so resilient, they're so well-coached and they're so mentally tough that they would fight back every single time," Purves commended coach Yeng Guiao's troops.

The Painters were down by as much as 16 at the 7:22 mark of the third before they slowly trimmed the deficit in the fourth as the Beermen seemingly cooled down somewhat. They eventually took the lead on a McLean triple, 101-98, with 4:13 to play. McLean finished with 33 points and 14 rebounds for the Painters.

His counterpart Jones had nearly the same output with 33 markers and 15 boards.

San Miguel's Sol Mercado also did not play tonight due to a groin injury as the Beermen rose to 3-1 in the standings, while Rain or Shine slipped to 1-2.

Scores:

San Miguel 112: Jones 33, Ross 22, Lassiter 19, Santos 19, Fajardo 11, Duncil 3 Tubid 3, Kramer 2, Maierhofer 0, Hubalde 0, Lutz 0.

Rain or Shine 107: McLean 33, Lee 13, Belga 12, Chan 9, Arana 8, Almazan 8, Tiu 8, Norwood 8, Rodriguez 4, Uyloan 2, Teng 2, Cruz 0, Tang 0, Tang 0.

Quarterscores: 27-26, 56-51, 88-82, 112-107.

From Rappler.com

[Zurca]

Joining PBA rookie draft still the main option for Chris Banchero, says agent

CHRIS Banchero will still be available for the PBA Annual Rookie Draft even if he decides to pack his bags and play in Europe shortly after his stint in the upcoming PBA D-League Foundation Cup.

Marvin Espiritu, who represents Banchero, said on Thursday the option to play in Europe is just there although on a long-term basis, the Boracay Rhum guard is still setting his sight on playing in Asia’s first ever play-for-pay league.

“Sa ngayon focused lang naman si Chris sa Boracay para sa second conference ng D-League, pero some time after June, pag natapos ang D-League, then pag-i-isipan na niya ang mga options,” Espiritu told Spin.ph.

“Puwede naman kasing maglaro lang siya ng two months sa Europe kung merong liga dun, pero babalik din agad siya dito kasi priority pa rin niya siyempre ang PBA (draft),” he added.

The former Seattle Pacific college standout has other options at hand, including a possible direct-hire option with Blackwater, which has a pending application to become an expansion franchise in the PBA.

Banchero gained prominence after playing for San Miguel in the Asean Basketball League (ABL), where he helped steer the Beermen to the championship last year.

The Beermen swept the Indonesia Warriors during the championship series with Banchero being adjudged as Finals MVP.

He eventually emerged the No. 1 overall pick in the first-ever Rookie Draft of the D-League draft joining Boracay Rhum.

From SPIN.ph

[Zurca]

PBA applicant Blackwater Sports receives 'very irresistible' offer to join ABL

JUST days before Blackwater Sports officials meet with Commissioner Chito Salud for a pre-board recommendation meeting, a new twist - very interesting one - happened in its bid for a PBA application.

One of three major companies seeking to become expansion teams in Asia's first professional cage league, Blackwater Sports has received what team owner Dioceldo Sy described as an "irrestible offer" to join the PBA's rival Asean Basketball League (ABL).

“Yes, there was an email sent to us Friday morning," Sy, owner of the successful Ever Bilena cosmetics chain, told Spin.ph. "And it was a very irresistible offer from the ABL.”

Spin.ph got hold of a copy of the email, which was signed by ABL’s chief operating officer Ridi Djajakusuma and sought to open negotiations for possible entry to the regional league not only of Blackwater but also another Philippine basketball club, Mighty Sports.

What was not contained in the email, Sy said, was an offer for Blackwater to join the ABL without having to pay a franchise fee.

“No franchise fee. That’s why it’s a very good option for us,” said Sy, who, along with representatives from NLEX and Kia Motors, will meet with Salud on Monday to defend his financial statement, which is part of the screening process for PBA applicants.

PBA expansion teams are mandated to pay a franchise fee of P100 million.

While acknowledging that entering the PBA is his top priority, Sy, a former chairman of the PBL, said joining the ABL will also bring a lot of benefits in terms of media exposure to his company.

"If we are approved by the PBA, backseat muna ang ABL. Pero 'pag tayo ay hindi pinalad sa PBA, then we will consider that," said the soft-spoken businessman.

“Joining the PBA is great, but being in the ABL offers a lot of potential for our company, too, to expand further. Southeast Asia ang market nun, plus ESPN pa ang TV coverage,” Sy added.

Sy bared that the ABL offer was sent to one of his assistant coaches at Blackwater Patrick Aquino, who is a friend of Malaysia Dragons coach Ariel Vanguardia.

“Very aggressive sila. Marami silang ginagamit na emisaryo to talk to us,” said Sy.

Whatever happens, the Ever Bilena president also declared that their participation in the coming PBA D-League Foundations Cup, where they are the defending champions, will be their last in the amateur league.

“Move on na kami. We feel we have enough machinery to come up with a formidable team. Who knows, we have mapped out our plans for the team we are forming,” said Sy, who hinted that they will do everything to bring top amateur cagers like Chris Banchero to any league they will play in.

The ABL has failed to kick off for its fifth season on time as it continued its search for new franchise holders from the Philippines following reigning champion San Miguel Beer's decision to disband its team.

ABL officials have tried to negotiate with San Miguel Corporation, Manny Pacquiao, the Manny V. Pangilinan group, Cebuana Lhuilier, and other top basketball companies in the country, but a deal had been elusive.

Mighty Sports, on the other hand, can also be an interesting partner for ABL as the company is a popular basketball backer that parades former PBA stars like Kenneth Duremdes, Rodney Santos, and Marlou Aquino in leagues around the country.

From SPIN.ph

[kingjames24szupladoh]

nice win BGSM


The Scores :

GINEBRA 113 - Rodgers 33, Caguioa 15, Helterbrand 14, Tenorio 11, Aguilar 10, Baracael 9, Mamaril 7, Ellis 6, Slaughter 5, Urbiztondo 2, Reyes 1.

GLOBALPORT 107 - Brock 36, Cabagnot 16, Macapagal 14, Matias 10, Romeo 10, Washington 7, Nabong 4, Ponferrada 4, Chua 2, Garcia 2, Custodio 2, Salva 0, Salvador 0.

Quarterscores: 25-28, 53-52, 87-78, 113-107




For the last 3 years, Ginebra has remained perfect in Cuneta

sana sa cuneta nalang palage laro ng Ginkings haha .

Ginebra Astrodome

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Talk 'N Text stays immaculate after Meralco drubbing (03/21/14)

MANILA, Philippines - Not even Brian Butch's intensity and three-pointers from the parking lot were enough to keep the Meralco Bolts afloat against the stingy defense of the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters on Friday afternoon, March 21 at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Talk 'N Text shut the doors on Meralco's offense to pummel them with a 91-68 win and in the process maintain their win-loss card squeaky clean at 5-0 in the PLDT myDSL Commissioner's Cup.

"I thought today was an example of a very good defensive effort on our part," explained head coach Norman Black. "Our defensive game plan was a little bit complicated going into this game because of the talent of Brian Butch, because of the fact that he's an outside shooter and he's not really a power player."

The Bolts zoomed to an early 9-2 lead on some aggression from Anjo Caram and a pair of very long range off-the-glass bombs from Butch. Meralco had the right idea in the early goings of the first by trying to set the tone of the game with aggressiveness.

But that 9-2 lead was all they wrote as Talk 'N Text came storming back before the Bolts could even capitalize on the latter's slow start, ending the first canto on top at 28-24.

The second period was even worse for Meralco as they never scored again from the 5:28 mark all the way to halftime, with the Texters keeping their prey right where they want them with just a measly 9-point second frame output. The Texters led 43-33 at the break.

But the defense-oriented team of Black was not done yet.

Harvey Carey got on a roll in the third and scored 9 of his 11 points to help Talk 'N Text build a 68-49 edge heading to the fourth, where it was simply cruise control for the lone team at the top of the standings.

"If it's one thing I'm really happy with this conference so far is the fact that we are not really shooting the basketball that well from the field but we're still winning games with our defense," Black remarked.

Meralco heaved triples in the fourth to try and overturn the biggest lead of the game, a 24-point deficit, 79-55, with 8:01 left after a very convincing Jayson Castro fake and fly by drive to the hoop for the two points. Too bad for them Talk 'N Text also caught fire from that distance with 8 triples all game long.

Second chance points, 23-15, resulting from a 61-50 Talk 'N Text advantage on the boards killed Meralco as well.

The disparity in field goal percentages (41.7% for Talk 'N Text and 31.5% for Meralco) also seemed to make the loss all but inevitable for the Bolts, who now sport a 2-2 slate.

Balanced scoring was also the name of the game for the Tropang Texters with Ranidel de Ocampo leading their team with 15 points.

Richard Howell contributed 13 markers and 22 boards as well.

"Good team effort on our part," Black noted. "We had a lot of balance offensively."

Meralco's offense, on the other hand, was carried by import Butch with his 16 points and 20 boards. John Wilson and Gary David added 11 and 8 points, respectively.

With a 5-0 slate, some would say Talk 'N Text might be peaking too early, much like the San Miguel Beermen (then Petron Blaze Boosters) or Barangay Ginebra during the previous Philippine Cup.

But Black believes this shorter conference, with just a single round robin for eliminations, means it is a sprint and not a marathon. He's also not concerned about too early wins.

"If you look at our schedule, it's important for us to try and get as many wins as possible because of the way the way the schedules are set up and also allow us to have 8 days off at the end of the elimination round," Black explained. "So whatever success we're having now we want to continue to have that success."

Scores:

Talk 'N Text 91: De Ocampo 15, Castro 14, Fonacier 14, Howell 13, Carey 11, Canaleta 9, Williams 7, Salamat 2, Baclao 2, Alapag 2, Reyes Ro. 1, Reyes Ry. 1, Aban 0, Reyes J. 0.

Meralco 68: Butch 16, Wilson 11, David 8, Caram 5, Hugnatan 5, Mandani 5, Ildefonso 4, Hodge 4, Salvacion 3, Dillinger 3, Al-Hussaini 2, Guevarra 2, Bringas 0.

Quarter scores: 28-24, 43-33, 68-49, 91-68.

From Rappler.com

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Mark Caguioa provides the spark for Ginebra revival in win over GlobalPort (03/21/14)

MARK Caguioa led from the front to lead a revival for Barangay Ginebra in a 113-107 win over GlobalPort on Friday night in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Astrodome in Pasay City.

The former league MVP had 15 points, 14 rebounds, and three assists and, more importantly, showed the way in a more efficient performance that allowed the Gin Kings to bounce back from back-to-back losses to San Miguel and San Mig.

The last of Caguioa's baskets - a breakaway layup after successive misses from the three-point zone by a desperate GlobalPort - sealed what was only the second win in four games for the league's most popular ballclub in the import-spiced conference.

Even under-fire import Leon Rodgers got into the act, scoring 33 points in a more consistent shooting performance. Those points included a clutch jumper and two free throws that sparked a 6-3 run that opened a 108-100 lead for Ginebra, time down to one minute.

The Batang Pier, however, were far from finished, getting as close as 106-109 on a three-pointer by rookie Terrence Romeo before two LA Tenorio free throws and Caguioa's layup sealed GlobalPort's fifth loss in as many games under coach Pido Jarencio.

The win also stretched Ginebra's win streak to nine at the Astrodome, where the team has not lost for the past three years.

"Sa second half, we reminded them to play defense, pero again, kailangan pa rin naming i-improve ang rebounding namin," said Ginebra coach Ato Agustin.

The scores:

Ginebra 113 - Rodgers 33, Caguioa 15, Helterbrand 14, Tenorio 11, Aguilar 10, Baracael 9, Mamaril 7, Ellis 6, Slaughter 5, Urbiztondo 2, Reyes 1.

GlobalPort 107 - Brock 36, Cabagnot 16, Macapagal 14, Matias 10, Romeo 10, Washington 7, Nabong 4, Ponferrada 4, Chua 2, Garcia 2, Custodio 2, Salva 0, Salvador 0.

Quarterscores: 25-28, 53-52, 87-78, 113-107

From SPIN.ph

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Tim Cone among those left fuming by 'terrible' delayed airing of PBA first game on TV5

FANS of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) were left disappointed again as the first game of Friday’s Commissioner’s Cup doubleheader was not shown on either TV5 or Aksyon TV 41.

The curtain raiser at the Astrodome interestingly, pitted Talk `N Text and sister team Meralco, both under the Manny V. Pangilinan (MVP) group.

Instead of showing it live, the game will be broadcast on a delayed basis at 11 p.m. on TV5.

But in an earlier story ran by Spin.ph, TV5 sports manager Vitto Lazatin said the live telecast of PBA games in TV5's sister channel on the UHF band was discontinued under a new TV schedule agreed upon by the league and its broadcast partner.

So instead of PBA games, Aksyon TV aired the NCAA 'March Madness’ game between top seed Florida and 16th-ranked Albany.

Instead, the non-airing of the Talk 'N Text-Meralco game on Aksyon TV has left fans mad.

As expected, cage fans showed their displeasure about the latest PBA television schedule on various social networking sites.

Spin.ph's Facebook page has also been deluged with complaints from fans.

“PBA lang libangan nmin ayaw nyo pa ilabas,” said one on Facebook.

“Badtrip replay na lang ang first game ng pba... ncaa march madness ang pinalit,” wrote another on Twitter.

“Di ako makapaniwala hinahayaan lang ng PBA na di mapalabas ng live. Sira na pba nyan sa mga fans,” said another.

Even San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone expressed disappointment on Twitter about not seeing Friday's first game live on television.

“Not being able to watch the first game live is really, really terrible. Who stays up to 11pm to watch the replay?” Cone tweeted.

The agreement had TV5 increasing from five to seven the PBA games it brodcasts live a week, and the simulcast on Aksyon TV was removed to avoid confusion among fans, Lazatin said.

“The directive na we have seven games live na on TV5, so para wala nang confusion sa viewers the games are now aired on TV5 na lang,” said Lazatin.

From SPIN.ph