By Nick Giongco

Mexican Emanuel Navarrete wants to add another Filipino fighter to his growing list of victims.

Navarrete will make the fifth defense of his World Boxing Organization (WBO) super-bantamweight crown against Jeo Santisima on Feb. 22 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The fight will be underneath the world heavyweight title clash between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.

Though Santisima’s team has yet to receive the official contract, the Cebu-based puncher’s chief handler Michael Aldeguer confirmed the fight on Thursday, adding that Sean Gibbons also lent a helping hand.

Ranked No. 5 by the WBO, Santisima will enter the ring with a 19-2 record with 16 KOs and will put a 17-fight win streak on the line.

Navarrete, who sports a 30-1 mark with 26 KOs, is best remembered by Filipino boxing fans as the sane long-armed hitter who mauled the gutsy but overpowered Juan Miguel Elorde last year.

Aldeguer said Santisima had been craving for a crack at Navarrete’s WBO 122-lb title since last year.

“Santisima is training and will be ready for Navarrete,” said Aldrguer, who heads ALA Promotions.

Aside from Elorde, Navarrete’s other Filipino victim was Glenn Porras, who was also brutalized by the 26-year-old Mexican.

Santisima, 23, is hoping he won’t end up receiving the same savage treatment next month.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jan Carlo Anolin

Raymond Almazan made a surprising appearance and showed promise in Game 4 of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals at the Smart Coliseum despite nursing a left knee injury.

However, the 6-foot-8 Meralco center saw his efforts go to naught after Ginebra handed Meralco a 94-72 beating Wednesday night.

Almazan had 12 points, nine rebounds and a block in 27:51 minutes of play but his heroics weren’t enough. Even three-time Best Import Allen Durham with a stat line of 21 points, 27 rebounds and seven assists couldn’t get the win for the Bolts.

“Sabi ko sa mga teammates ko, wala na dapat pusong mamon sa amin,” Almazan told reporters. “The more na pinapagalitan ka, the more na dapat nag-step up ka mismo.”

A frustrated Almazan said he kept on reminding his teammates to go all-out in the Finals series and not to play as if they are still in the playoffs race.

He added that Meralco management is expecting a good series not a debacle.

Meralco went 32 of 86 (37.2 %) from the field and only shot 3 out of 26 from beyond the arc.

“Parang ayaw natin maglaro today, sana binigay na lang natin sa Ginebra ‘yung trophy. Kasi nagpapakahirap tayo tapos ganito lang lalaruin natin,” Almazan told his teammates.

Despite being down 3-1, Almazan is determined to finish the series and said the Bolts will give their best to bounce back in Game 5.

Cautious of his injury, the former Letran Knights hotshot needed to check from time to time if the pain still lingers on his left knee.

Defeat on Friday would mean the Bolts’ next change of upending the Kings will be in the All-Filipino Conference next season.

“’Yung mga ganung dapat na ginagawa mo sa court, ginagawa mo na ngayon – as in ngayon kasi wala nang susunod,” Almazan said.

 

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

It’s title or bust as far as coach Charles Tiu is concerned as Mighty Sports Philippines hopes to improve on last year’s podium finish in the Dubai Invitational Basketball Tournament which starts Jan. 23.

With a talented roster composed of crack foreign players, veterans and top amateur standouts, Tiu said there’s no reason why Mighty can’t win the 10-day tournament after settling for third in the previous edition.

“We better win the championship, that’s all I can say,” he said during a press conference held Thursday night at the company’s La Campana compound in Makati City.

Mighty entered the semifinals of last year’s Dubai tourney unbeaten but suffered an 89-84 loss to eventual champion Al-Riyadi of Lebanon. The Philippine club eventually claimed third with a Homenetmen in the consolation game.

“Hopefully we learned our lessons from our mistakes last year about that same Al Riyadi club that will still be competing again. I think that tournament was just one bad game, and basically that time we had like two imports.”

This time, Mighty Sports will head to the middle east with three imports, namely Renaldo Balkman, McKenzie Moore and Jelan Kendrick while former Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player Andray Blatche will suit up as a local.

Rain or Shine big man Beau Belga and former PBA guard Joseph Yeo will serve as elder statesmen to a team that includes Thirdy Ravena, Dave Ildefonso, brothers Juan and Javi Gomez de Liano and Jaime Malonzo.

Rounding out the team are Mikey Williams, Gab Banal, Joaqui Manuel and Jarrell Lim.

Kai Sotto, currently in the United States trying to pursue his NBA dream, will join the team in Dubai.

“Actually I’m very excited about this tournament because aside from getting all the future of Philippine basketball, I’ve got my personal faves also,” said co-owner Caesar Wongchuking, whose team is backed by Creative Pacific, Go for Gold, Oriental Game, Discovery Primea and Gatorade.

“Among the teams I’ve handled, this one is I’m most excited about,” added Wongchuking.

One of Tiu’s assistant is American coach Will Voigt, who recently handed Angola in the FIBA World Cup in China.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jan Carlo Anolin

Justin Brownlee just finished answering queries from the press outside the dugout and was headed to the South Gate exit of the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night.

While it is normal for fans to wait outside the gates where the games are held, this was a little different.

After the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings crushed the Meralco Bolts 94-72 in Game 4 of the PBA Governors’ Cup, Brownlee found himself mobbed by Ginebra faithful asking for selfies and autographs.

Brownlee did not hesitate.

The three-time Ginebra import, clad in post-game attire — white shirt, black shorts, a golden necklace with a yellow towel hanging on his left shoulders — was all smiles while signing shirts and props.

Nothing but love for Justin Brownlee as fans surround him after post-game interviews. Brownlee finished with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals and 4 blocks in tonight's Game 4 #PBAFinals | via @carloanolinMB pic.twitter.com/eM15q6snaf

— Manila Bulletin Sports (@mbsportsonline) January 15, 2020

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

At one point, Brownlee voluntarily walked towards the left side of the hallway, where PBA vehicles were parked, stopped, and resumed sharing light moments with the fans.

The crowd followed him until he reached the gates and the guards stationed that night started to intervene.

Right after Game 4, Brownlee sat down for a television interview after being named Best Player of the Game.

He mentioned the Ginebra fans at least thrice in the interview. And for every shout out Brownlee gave , the crowd followed through.

“First of all, I want to thank the crowd, you guys gives us great energy. Thank you,” he said. “We just gotta come out and keep fighting hard and get some energy from this great crowd.”

When asked if there was someone he wanted to greet aside from the Ginebra supporters, Brownlee again answered: “Always the fans. I don’t know — just the fans. I love you, guys. Thank you.”

Brownlee could not find a reason to be down with the fan support he had been receiving despite losing for the third straight time to Meralco’s Allen Durham in the Best Import race.

He, however, admitted that ‘it would’ve been great’ to win the elusive award

 

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Waylon Galvez

San Beda launched its title-retention in devastating fashion, crushing Letran 13-0 Thursday in the 95th NCAA men’s football tournament at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Rosi Sumudivila struck in the 11th, 38th and 54th minute for the Red Booters, who are gunning for a 22nd title.

Reigning MVP Jessie Semblante (15th, 66th), Kenneth Payosalan (56th, 59th) and Maurice Humol (90th, second half stoppage time), netted a brace while Christopher Villanueva (first half stoppage time), Keith Edulan (51st), Miguel Pasion (58th) and Reinhard Colasito (79th) also entered the scoresheet for San Beda.

Al Jun Baclason, on the other hand, made a hat-trick while Kervin Papilota had a brace as last year’s runner-up Arellano University bested Mapua, 7-1.

Regil Suplito and Miller Akiapat were also on target for the Chiefs, while Mark Chan scored the Cardinals’ lone goal.
In the last match, College of Saint Benilde blanked Emilio Aguinaldo College, 4-0.

Meantime, San Beda opens its title defense in the lawn tennis and soft tennis competition Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

The Red Netters wrested away the men’s lawn tennis title away from College of Saint Benilde in the Finals last season, as Andre Tuason helped San Beda end a two-year drought winning the MVP honors in his final season.

Behind Tracy Cheldette Llamas, a Junior Fed Cup campaigner who was named the tournament MVP, San Beda defeated St. Benilde in the championship tie to rule the women’s division.

The Mendiola-based squad was also dominant in soft tennis last season.

The Red Netters became the first-ever men’s soft tennis champion at the expense of the Blazers, with Whismark Basanal emerging as MVP, while MVP Princess Catindig had a solid performance as San Beda bested St. Benilde to annex the women’s crown.

In the juniors division, Lyceum of the Philippines University eyes a second consecutive championship.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

Japeth Aguilar showed why he was a model of consistency for Barangay Ginebra San Miguel with his performance in the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals.

The athletic big man averaged 15.5 points on 58-percent shooting with 6.8 rebounds and 3.3 blocks before Friday’s Game 5 at the Mall of Asia Arena to emerge as a likely candidate for the Finals Most Valuable Player award.

Ginebra has three chances to close out Meralco for the title with Games 6 and 7, if necessary, set Sunday and Wednesday at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

Aguilar game-saving block on Allen Durham in the series opener last Jan. 7 and a seven-block effort in Game 3 will likely convinced members of the PBA Press Corps to select him as the series top player.

Getting the Finals MVP could end up as the biggest individual award Aguilar had since turning pro in 2009.

He shared the All-Star MVP with San Miguel Beer’s Arwind Santos last March in Calasiao, Pangasinan, was a two-time member of the Mythical First Team (2016-17, 2017-18), Mythical Second Team in 2015-16 and a two-time member of the All-Defensive Team (2015-16, 2016-17).

Another possible Finals MVP is Stanley Pringle, who posted 18.8 points on 46-percent with 6.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists through four games.

After being held to 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting in Game 1, Pringle averaged of 21.7 points on 53-percent clip in the next three matches.

Pringle scored 23 points in a losing effort in Game 2 before tallying back-to-back 21-point output which resulted in victories and a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

LA Tenorio’s contribution in the previous four games were sporadic, yet he has managed to make an impact in the Finals.

Tenorio averaged 10.8 points on only 38-percent from the field but a strong showing in any of the potential title-clinching games may convince voters of handing him the Finals MVP award.

The Ginebra floor general has won the Finals MVP three times (2010 Fiesta Conference with Alaska and 2016 Governors’ Cup and 2017 Governors’ Cup with Ginebra), trailing only Danny Seigle and James Yap.

Seigle and Yap are tied for most Finals MVPs with four each.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

NEW YORK – Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James stretched his overall lead in NBA All-Star Game fan balloting to 149,564 votes over Dallas guard Luka Doncic in returns revealed Thursday.

It appears that James and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo will be captains for next month’s 69th NBA All-Star Game on February 16 at Chicago as they were for last year’s all-star contest, in which Team LeBron beat Team Giannis 178-164.

Five-time NBA Most Valuable Player James led Slovakian star Doncic by only 82,001 votes a week ago but has pulled away to pace the Western Conference with 4,747,887 while Greek star Antetokounmpo leads the East on 4,474,107.

The top vote-getter from both the Eastern and Western Conference will be named as team captains and select rosters for their own teams on February 6 from the pool of available players, regardless of conference, for the all-star contest.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

Game Friday

(Mall of Asia Arena)

7 p.m. — Ginebra vs Meralco

(Ginebra leads series 3-1)

Series Summary

Game 1: Ginebra 91, Meralco 87
Game 2: Meralco 104, Ginebra 102
Game 3: Ginebra 92, Meralco 84
Game 4: Ginebra 94, Meralco 72

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel sees no reason to feel a sense of comfort even as its legion of fans expect a grand party tonight in the potential title-clinching Game 5 of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Kings go for the kill at 7 p.m. with a chance to beat the Bolts for a third time and win a fourth title since coach Tim Cone turned the talented but underachieving squad into a legitimate contender and a champion.

Despite a commanding 3-1 lead, Cone and company are still focused on the task at hand, even if they are listed as favorites to lay down the hammer on the deflated Meralco side.

“I would love if it did, but no I don’t think so,” said Cone regarding the prospect of closing it out. “We will try our best obviously. But this team (Meralco) has shown a lot of character in the past when we played them. We know they’re capable of coming back.”

Added Game 4 star Justin Brownlee: “We definitely want to end this thing on Friday and not allow them to get any kind of rhythm or any momentum going to further this playoff, so we just gonna come out and just do whatever we got to do and just try to win it.”

Only the 1991 Ginebra team of Robert Jaworski has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit and win the championship, beating Shell in that year’s First Conference.

Cone knows how it was losing a 3-1 deficit when his Alaska Aces bowed to eventual champion Purefoods Chunkee Giants in the 2006 Philippine Cup semifinals.

“I’m well aware that a team can come back. You just can’t give them the momentum and the confidence that they’ll be searching for. So, we’re gonna have to go out and try to make a statement early in Game 5,” he said.

Meralco, embarrassed with how it played in Wednesday’s 94-72 loss, is determined to at least extend the series to a sixth game this weekend at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

“Everybody on the roster played like s***, we gotta be better,” lamented Meralco import Allen Durham. “We basically gotta have heart. It’s not even about Xs and Os on Friday. We gotta come out and have some heart, and see if we want it more.”

There will probably be no surprises from no one after Meralco inserted Raymond Almazan despite the lateral tear on his left knee.

Almazan finished with 12 points in Game 4, but his injury obviously has changed the outlook of the series in Ginebra’s favor.

Japeth Aguilar and Stanley Pringle are expected to continue their consistent showing in the series, while LA Tenorio is out to quarterback Ginebra to its 12th title in franchise history.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — At the start of the season, the Philadelphia 76ers said that they would bank their NBA title hopes on a “BullyBall” formula of physical defense and inside presence.

In a tight game in the fourth quarter on Wednesday night, that mixture worked to perfection.

Tobias Harris scored 34 points, including two big baskets in the final two minutes that proved to be the difference, as the 76ers beat the Brooklyn Nets 117-106.

The 76ers held the Nets to just 16 fourth-quarter points on 6-of-23 (26.1%) shooting.

“When we got together in the huddle before the fourth quarter, we said that we were going to have to hold them to under 20 points to win the game,” said Harris, who scored 24 points in the second half on 9-of-13 shooting.

On the offensive end, Philadelphia was 10 of 19 from the floor and took advantage of a three-guard lineup that Brooklyn was forced to use.

Ben Simmons had 20 points and 11 assists for the 76ers, who improved to 19-2 at home. On the road, the 76ers are 7-14 and have lost six straight games — a slide that has caused them to fall to the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn has lost nine of its last 11 overall and six straight away from home. The Nets were led by Spencer Dinwiddie’s 26 points and eight assists. Jarret Allen had 17 points.

“That’s been the issue for us all year,” Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “Not being able to score in the fourth quarter efficiently. It follows a trend. We played well for three quarters and had a ton of good looks. We were getting to the rim, but we weren’t finishing.”

Neither side was able to gain complete control of the game, with the largest lead being a seven-point Brooklyn advantage late in the first half.

Harris, however, gave the Sixers offensive life in the second half. With the score 106-104 with two minutes to play, Harris hit a leaning 3-pointer that rattled in just as the shot clock ran out that proved to be a back-breaker.

“I think every shot I throw up is going in,” Harris said. “But when I saw it go in, I was happy.”

Josh Richardson had 15 points and Furkan Korkmaz added 15 off the bench. Al Horford had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Sixers.

The Nets received 15 points from Taurean Prince and 14 from Kyrie Irving, who struggled in just his third game back from right shoulder impingement in going 6 of 21 from the floor and recording a minus-29 overall.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

BOSTON— The Pistons have been playing most of the past month without three starters.

They didn’t let it stop them from finding a way to get the best of one of the East’s top teams.

Rookie Sekou Doumbouya scored a season-high 24 points and Detroit snapped a three-game losing streak with a 116-103 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.

Detroit continued to be without starters Reggie Jackson (back), Blake Griffin (left knee surgery) and Luke Kennard (knee tendinitis). But Doumbouya has begun to get more comfortable lately, reaching double figures in seven of his last eight games.

“I feel like normal, just played my game and not try to do too much,” he said.

Markieff Morris matched his season best with 23 points. Derrick Rose added 22 points and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk had a season-high 21. The Pistons shot a season-best 60.3% from the field.

Andre Drummond added 13 points and 13 rebounds to post his 34th double-double of the season.

“This is probably the best win we’ve had,” Morris said. “We’ve been struggling lately. To come out and compete like we did tonight, shows us we can play with anybody.”

The Pistons opened the fourth quarter with a 17-5 run, capped by a dunk by Drummond, to take a 108-87 lead with 7:05 to play.

Boston never got closer than 12 after that. Shortly after coach Brad Stevens pulled his starters, Marcus Smart was called for a foul and ejected after arguing with an official.

It was the conclusion of a night of frustration for Boston, which has lost four its last six.

“They played well from the beginning of the game,” point guard Kemba Walker said. “They came out extremely aggressive and focused. They took that one.”

Boston was without its second-leading scorer with Jayson Tatum sidelined because of soreness in his right knee. But he is expected to travel with the team for its anticipated matchup with conference leader Milwaukee on Thursday night.

Smart started in his place.

The Pistons took advantage with Tatum out. They used a 10-0 run, capped by 3-pointer by Mykhailiuk, to build 82-73 lead in the third quarter. He closed the period knocking down a buzzer-beater from just inside the half-court line.
Rose hit his first four shots to help Detroit take an early 27-18 lead.

The Celtics closed the gap led by Hayward, who connected on five of his first seven attempts in the first quarter.

Source: Manila Bulletin