Two sports which are looking to make a noise in the 30th Southeast Asian Games serve as special guests in the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday at the Amelie Hotel-Manila.

Kickboxing and beach volleyball will discuss their respective campaigns during the biennial meet two weeks from now in the session presented by San Miguel Beer, Braska Restaurant, Amelie Hotel, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).

The Samahang Kickboxing Pilipinas is going to be represented in the 10:00 a.m. session by secretary-general Atty. Wharton Chan, coaches Donnie Geisler and Glenn Mondol, together with athletes Karol Maguide, Ruel Catalan, and Rex De Lara.

The beach volleyball team meanwhile, will be led by Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons.

PSA members are enjoined to attend the session being livestreamed via the PSA Facebook page fb.com/PhilippineSportswritersAssociation and aired on a delayed basis over Radyo Pilipinas 2 from 1-2 p.m. and later at 6:30 p.m

 

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

Coach Yeng Guiao compared his NLEX Road Warriors to a second-hand automobile that rolls smoothly as they continue their dream run in the PBA Governors’ Cup.

“Puro surplus lang ‘tong mga piyesa natin dito,” Guiao said after the Road Warriors erased another huge deficit to escape with an 86-85 thriller over the defending champion Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok Sunday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

“At least yung makina namin gumagana naman. Puro reject at surplus, pero yung puso nila brand new,” added Guiao.

Guiao is finally enjoying his best conference since moving from Rain or Shine three years ago as NLEX kept its hold on top in the tournament at 8-1, and in the process secure a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.

The fiery mentor said NLEX has made things work with help from players who were discarded by their previous employers.

“Sila Philip Paniamogan at sila Bong Galanza mga reject lang ng PBA yan. Pero nagpapakita sila,” Guiao said of the two former Kia players who at one point were relegated to the MPBL before NLEX took a chance at them last year.

“Si Kenneth Ighalo nga nung nag-trade kami, isinama lang si Ighalo. Parang lollipop lang siya na isinama. Libre,” said Guiao in jest.

Ighalo was part of a 2017 trade involving Alex Mallari from Mahindra in exchange for Eric Camson and Glenn Khobuntin.

“Si Mike Miranda nga reject lang ng TNT yan. Si Jericho Cruz tinapon lang ng TNT yan. Si JR Quiñnahan tinapon din yata ng NorthPort yan e,” added Guiao.

Of course, the motor won’t be running smoothly without quality parts, namely import Mike Harris, Kiefer Ravena and Poy Erram. Cruz, who was shipped from TNT last June, was the hero of Sunday’s win when he scored a putback off Ravena’s missed free throw and later Erram’s tip-in with a second left.

The comeback came after Magnolia was poised for a lopsided win and led by 26 at one point. But NLEX slowly narrowed the gap, setting up a thrilling finish.

It was the second time NLEX erased a huge gap after coming back from 28 down to stun Barangay Ginebra San Miguel with a 113-111 overtime triumph in Dubai last month.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Nick Giongco

World champion Carlos Yulo of gymnastics and EJ Obiena of athletics are assured of receiving more than the usual from the Philippine Sport Commission (PSC) as they gear up for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

PSC chairman Butch Ramirez said Filipino athletes who will make the Olympic grade need not worry about getting financial assistance from the government.

“We will be funding (them) well,” said Ramirez.

The Tokyo Olympics will take place from July 24 to Aug. 9 with the Philippines, once again, embarking on a quest to end its hunt for the gold medal.

Ramirez said the PSC will draw solid support from Pagcor and Malacañang in assuring that Filipino Olympic aspirants are armed to the teeth by the time they vie in Tokyo.

So far, Yulo and Obiena are the only qualified Filipino athletes, having passed the Olympic grade when they competed in recent months.

Yulo earned his ticket after winning in the world championships while Obiena got his after topping a tournament in Italy.

There should be several coming from boxing with world champion Nesthy Petecio and Eumir Felix Marcial and other standouts vying in the Olympic qualifying in Wuhan, China in February.

Olympic qualifying events for all the other sports are also down the pipeline with the months leading to the Tokyo Games loaded with events meant to qualify athletes.

Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz of weightlifting and 2018 Asian Games gold medalist Margielyn Didal of skateboarding are likewise on the brink of making it.

Source: Manila Bulletin

Humbled the last time out, Team South seeks not just redemption but domination of a side that is likewise keen on bucking the odds and proving its worth again in The Duel ­–North vs South which gets going Wednesday at the Sta. Elena Golf Club in Laguna.

That should guarantee a spirited battle right in the first pairing of the opening foursomes where the Southerners vow to reassert their might and impose their will early for the momentum needed in such kind of a duel that puts premium both on team play and on individual skills.

Blessed with a roster bannered by some of the country’s top guns, South coach Charles Hong believes they have the edge not just in cohesion but also in personnel which he hopes to use to the hilt to fuel another successful title drive in the country’s version of the Ryder Cup put up by ICTSI.

“Our thoughts are to build on the chemistry our group has,” he said. “We have new players but the core is intact and a lot of our guys just came from wins on the tour which should build our confidence.”

Truly, South boasts of three players who won four of the nine titles disputed in this year’s Philippine Golf Tour, led by multi-titled Tony Lascuña, who closed out the milestone 10th season of the circuit with back-to-back victories at Apo and South Pacific.

Reymon Jaraula also scored a breakthrough at Pueblo de Oro while Jhonnel Ababa dominated the field at Del Monte.

Put in reigning Philippine Open champion Clyde Mondilla and veterans Jay Bayron, Elmer Salvador, former Masters titlist Jerson Balasabas, Albin Engino, Zanieboy Gialon, Arnold Villacencio, Nilo Salahog and Rene Menor, a former PGT Asia leg winner, North coach Cookie La’O indeed has a lot of work to do as far as pitting his talents against their powerhouse rivals is concerned.

But with the right combinations and motivation plus poise, the North side proved it can be done, stunning their rivals with strong starts in the foursomes and four-ball then holding sway in the singles to pound out a three-point win at John Hay last year.

That enabled North to close in on South in the biennial event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. at 2-3 but the latter is itching to get back at the former and re-stamp its class with its stellar cast.

But La’O also expressed confidence with his mix of talents, spearheaded by last year’s PGT OOM winner Jobim Carlos, former PGT Asia leg winners Justin Quiban, James Ryan Lam and Joenard Rates, former Phl Open champion Gerald Rosales, rising stars Ira Alido and Keanu Jahns and veterans Michael Bibat, Mars Pucay, Jun Bernis, Fidel Concepcion and Eric Gallardo.

 

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Kristel Satumbaga

Game Thursday

(Olivarez gym, Parañaque City)

12 noon – Olivarez vs Diliman

 

Diliman College denied Olivarez College 82-72 yesterday to forge sudden death for the PG Flex Linoleum-Universities and Colleges Basketball League title at the Olivarez gym in Parañaque City.

The Blue Dragons bounced back from a 64-62 Game 1 loss last week to keep their title-retention bid alive in the best-of-three finals series.

Robbi Darang exploded for 25 points including five triples while adding three boards and six assists for Diliman.

Abdoulaye Niang and Johnnel Bauzon also stepped up with 12 points each apart from a combined 12 boards.

The Blue Dragons went to work early 25-15 and went full blast in the third after outscoring the Sea Lions, 27-18, for a 61-47 edge.

Olivarez threatened in midway the fourth period with an 8-point run spearheaded by Jayboy Solis to cut the deficit 67-59, but Diliman recovered with Kevin Gandjeto at the helm.

Gandjeto poured all his eight points in the fourth period while hauling four boards.

Four players scored in double figures for Olivarez but couldn’t bring the title early.

Solis and John Lester Maurillo had 18 and 15 points, Yani Elie finished 12 and Kim Seigue posted 10 in futile efforts.

Game 3 will be on Thursday at the same venue.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

The Luzon Cup got an additional boost with the Philippine Sports Commission lending its support to the boys under-12 football tournament set Nov. 21 to 24 at the Jose V. Yap Sports Recreational Park in San Jose, Tarlac.

PSC Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez expressed his support to the competition organized by Negros Occidental Football Association President Ricky Yanson which will pit 15 teams and Bukidnon.

Bukidnon recently won the Mindanao Cup held in Davao City.

Ramirez also pledged to have the regional grassroots tournament stage its national championship at the Rizal Memorial Stadium and sponsor a football trophy to the winning team.

“This is our way of giving additional support and help continue whatever progress has already made,” Ramirez said during Monday’s launching at the Century Park Hotel.

The Central Luzon Football Association has also joined NOFA and the PSC in staging the event held through Yanson’s “Football Para sa Lahat” project.

“Our dream is to support more tournaments and activities for all age groups,” Yanson said. “We want more Filipinos to enjoy football. And we believe more football development programs will eventually mean more lasting success in the international arena.”

Also gracing the event were CLFA General Secretary Ed Flaminiano, Gawad Kalinga’s Marlyn Importante and coach Alvin Ocampo of La Salle.

Source: Manila Bulletin

Lucio ‘Bong’ Tan Jr., namesake son of tycoon Lucio Tan, passed away Monday morning at a hospital in San Juan where he was rushed after collapsing during a basketball game in Mandaluyong last Saturday.

He was 53.

As words of mourning and sympathy poured from the sporting community, many of whom knew him personally, like former University of the East player and San Juan councilor Paul Artadi and PBA commissioner Willie Marcial, one of his closest friends during the mid-90s lamented Tan’s passing with deeper emotion.

“I was so shocked by the news,” said former Stag Pale Pilsen coach Alfrancis Chua. “Kundisiyon siya, maingat sa food, saka wala namang bisyo. Hindi ako makapaniwala.”

Tan put together the Pilseners basketball team in 1995 and, with Chua, whom he had met earlier at the PICAA, as head coach and amateur stars like Marlou Aquino, Bal David, Jason Webb, Chito Victolero and Mark Telan as core, swept the three-conference Philippine Basketball League season.

Tan’s partnership with Chua would produce seven PBL championships in 10 final appearances.

“Matagal din ang pinagsamahan namin sa Stag and Tanduay,” said Chua, who coached Tanduay Rhum when Stag switched brand names as it took the big leap to the Philippine Basketball Association in 1999.

Their tandem would immediately result in a runnerup finish in the All-Filipino Conference that year, and although they eventually went separate ways, the two basketball-loving buddies had stayed in touch.

“I’ll be paying my last respects to him with coach Itoy [Esguerra, Stag assistant coach back then],” said Chua, who also attested to Tan’s unparalleled love for the sport.

“Sobrang mahal talaga niya yung basketball, pati na rin yung mga nakasama niya.”

Chua bared that Tan had summoned scores of collegiate players he had known but who didn’t make it to the big league and hired them at [the family-owned] Fortune Tobacco Corporation for various jobs.

“Binigyan ni Bong ng trabaho lahat. Tapos naglalaro sila kasi they had a big league there,” Chua said.

Artadi, who played for Esguerra with the UE Warriors, was among the first to go on social media with confirmation of Tan’s passing.

“My deepest condolences to my boss Lucio ‘Bong’ Tan Jr. You will be missed,” Artadi wrote on his Facebook account.

Marcial also expressed deep sadness.

“Nalulungkot ako,” Marcial told FOX Sports Philippines. “Very active kasi yan supporting teams in the PBA, D-League, MPBL and UAAP. Nakakagulat kasi very fit yan, naglalaro ng basketball, nag go-golf, kaya nakakabigla talaga yung pagkamatay niya.”

Younger sister Vivienne Tan said in the family’s statement:

“His untimely passing leaves a big void in our hearts…Bong was a son, husband, father, friend and, most importantly, our elder brother whom we all relied on for advise, counsel and leadership.” (TST)

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

Game Saturday
(Binan Football Stadium, Laguna)
5 p.m. — Ceres vs Kaya

Titleholder Kaya-Iloilo and Philippines Football League champion Ceres-Negros forged a title showdown after contrasting wins Sunday in the Copa Paulino Alcantara semifinals.

Kaya ended the dream run of Mendiola FC 1991 3-0 at the Aboitiz Pitch in Lipa City, Batangas while Ceres edged Stallion-Laguna 4-3 at the Binan Football Stadium.

The two clubs will meet on Saturday in Binan, Laguna for the right to capture the second staging of the cup competition named after the great Filipino striker who played for Barcelona in the early 20th century.

Kaya is already assured of a spot in next year’s AFC Cup regardless of the result due to Ceres’ entry to the finals.

The second AFC Cup slot is given either to the Copa champion or the runner-up in the league competition. Kaya placed settled for runner-up honors behind Ceres in the league season.

Kenshiro Daniels, Masa Omura and Darryl Roberts all scored in the second half as Kaya overcame a Mendiola side that made it to the semis despite a fifth place finish in the PFL.

Over in Binan, Stephan Schrock and Mike Ott each had a brace to give Ceres the win despite trailing 2-0 in the first 15 minutes on scores from Edris-Nasser Najim and Abou Sy.

Ceres remained undefeated after 24 matches in all competitions, moving one step closer toward completing a league and cup double for the first time in club history.

Source: Manila Bulletin

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pascal Siakam had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Fred VanVleet finished with 23 points and 10 assists and the Toronto Raptors snapped the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with a 113-104 victory Sunday night.

Chris Boucher matched his career high with 15 points for the Raptors, who have won three straight and six of seven. The defending NBA champions played without two key regulars after losing starter Kyle Lowry to a broken left thumb and top reserve Serge Ibaka to a sprained right ankle, but Toronto still rallied in the fourth quarter and hung on late for its 10th consecutive win over the Lakers.

Anthony Davis scored 27 points and LeBron James had 13 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds in his 85th career triple-double, but the Lakers lost for the first time since opening night against the Clippers.

Toronto led 104-92 with 3:50 to play on Terence Davis’ third 3-pointer after a rally by four reserves and Siakam, but Kyle Kuzma hit back-to-back 3-pointers while LA scored eight straight points. The Lakers then missed four consecutive 3-pointers with the chance to pull even, and Siakam threw down back-to-back dunks on the fast break to seal it.

Norman Powell scored 14 points while starting in Lowry’s spot for Toronto.

Davis and James both had big games, but the Lakers’ supporting cast wasn’t helpful and their team defense didn’t look nearly as sharp as it had been in recent games. Kuzma scored 13 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.

Danny Green went scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting in 27 minutes for the Lakers, who signed him to a two-year free agent deal in the summer. The sharpshooting veteran won a ring with the Raptors last year while shooting a career-high 45.5% on 3-pointers during his sole season in Toronto.

Siakam got off to a 3-for-15 start from the field, preventing him from matching his 44-point effort at New Orleans two nights ago. But he excelled in the second half, particularly in a lineup including four reserves as Toronto jumped to its first double-digit lead of the night early in the fourth quarter.

Toronto opened the fourth with a 17-6 run led by nine points from Boucher, the undrafted Canadian who was on the last two teams to win the NBA title.

Source: Manila Bulletin

MIAMI (AP) — Dion Waiters has been handed a 10-game suspension by the Miami Heat, with the team citing multiple examples of conduct detrimental to the team as the reason for his second banishment of the season.

The suspension was announced Sunday. It comes three days after Waiters, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, was treated for a medical emergency that started on the Heat charter flight Thursday night from Phoenix to Los Angeles.

Waiters, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the team nor the player has confirmed details publicly, ingested at least one cannabis-infused edible and had a reaction serious enough that medical attention was required when the plane landed in Los Angeles.

“We are very disappointed in Dion’s actions this season that include the very scary situation on Thursday night, and grateful that the outcome wasn’t worse,” the Heat said in a statement.

Waiters was also suspended for Miami’s season opener after a series of incidents in the preseason and conflicts with coach Erik Spoelstra. His reaction on social media to the first suspension was also not well-received by Miami officials, and Waiters has not appeared in any of the nine Heat games so far this season.

The 10-game suspension, which will likely cost Waiters at least $834,483 in salary, began with Miami’s loss at the Lakers on Friday.

The earliest he could return to Miami’s lineup would be Dec. 1, when the Heat visit Brooklyn. But that would seem most unlikely, and Waiters’ future with the franchise is in serious doubt.

It’s unclear what, if any, contact he will have with the team during the suspension.

Waiters is in his fourth Heat season, the on-court portion of that best remembered by his game-winning 3-pointer to beat Golden State 105-102 on Jan. 23, 2017 — part of Miami’s 30-11 finish that season after an 11-30 start.

He was rewarded that summer with a four-year contract worth $47.3 million, plus about $5 million more in possible incentives for playing a certain number of games. Waiters has yet to even get close to that bonus money, and he would have needed to play in 70 of Miami’s 73 remaining games to claim the extra $1.1 million at stake this season.

That is obviously not going to happen.

Waiters has never made more than 46 appearances in a year since coming to Miami. He’s been in only 120 games with the Heat, missing many because of ankle injuries and surgery on his ankle and foot.

Waiters is a career 13.2-point scorer and has averaged 14 points per game while with the Heat.

Miami is off to a 6-3 start without Waiters this season, and play their next five games against teams with records currently below the .500 mark.

“We are proud of how our players have started the season,” the Heat said in Sunday’s statement. “We expect all of our players, including Dion, to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards, and to show professionalism and respect for their teammates, the team, the fans and the NBA community.”

Source: Manila Bulletin