By the Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump mostly stuck to sports Monday while honoring the World Series champion Washington Nationals, who had a handful of players skip the White House visit.

Amid an impeachment inquiry on Capitol Hill and Washington feting its first Major League Baseball champion since 1924, Trump hugged Kurt Suzuki after the catcher put on a “Make America Great Again” hat.

Trump received a No. 45 Nationals jersey from first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, applauding the team’s first title and calling it a “comeback story for the ages.”

“Everyone fell in love with Nats baseball,” Trump said during the half-hour ceremony on the South Lawn attended by thousands of fans. “That’s all they wanted to talk about — that and impeachment. I like Nats baseball more.”

Reliever Sean Doolittle, who along with his wife has worked with Syrian refugees and military veterans and supports gay rights, did not attend the event.

Also among those not listed as attending were National League MVP finalist Anthony Rendon, outfielders Victor Robles and Michael A. Taylor, and pitchers Joe Ross, Javy Guerra and Wander Suero.

Principal owner Mark Lerner was the only member of the ownership group listed as attending.

Eighteen of the 25 players on Washington’s World Series roster decided to go, including World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg, who opted out of the final four years of his contract but could re-sign for a more lucrative deal. Fans chanted “Four more years! Four more years” at Strasburg.

The Nationals on Monday tendered qualifying offers to Strasburg and Rendon, another free agent.

Despite Suzuki trading in the Nationals’ curly “W” for Trump’s signature hat and Zimmerman thanking the president for keeping the country safe and continuing to make it the best on earth, the Nationals’ visit did not have as much political undertones as when the 2018 champion Boston Red Sox visited the White House.

They did so without manager Alex Cora, who did not attend that ceremony after citing his frustration with the administration’s efforts to help his native Puerto Rico recover from a devastating hurricane.

Washington manager Dave Martinez, whose parents are Puerto Rican, was in attendance and made some brief remarks to the delight of fans and players. Trump called it a record crowd, saying, “We’ve never had this many people on the front lawn of the White House.” The White House estimated an attendance of 5,300.

The U.S. Marine Corps band played the team into the ceremony with “Baby Shark,” which became the Nationals’ unofficial theme song as they went from 17-31 in May to World Series champions.

“It’s miraculous what we did,” NL Championship Series MVP Howie Kendrick said. “We brought a title back.”
After Trump singled out Strasburg, Kendrick, pitcher Aníbal Sánchez and other playoff heroes, players exited with the World Series trophy to the strains of “We Are The Champions.”

The Nationals’ White House visit was the latest stop on their whirlwind victory tour around the nation’s capital after coming back from a 3-2 series deficit to beat the Houston Astros in Game 7 last week.

The team paraded down Constitution Avenue on Saturday and celebrated at the Washington Capitals hockey game Sunday night.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

ATLANTA— Trae Young scored 28 of his 29 points in the second half, Jabari Parker added 19 points and the Atlanta Hawks moved past the suspension of John Collins to snap a three-game losing streak with a 108-100 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.

Young, returning after missing one game with a right ankle sprain, put on some dazzling moves in the fourth quarter to help his team overcome the loss of Collins, who was suspended earlier in the day for 25 games without pay for a violation of the NBA’s anti-drug program after testing positive for a growth hormone.

DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points, Bryn Forbes had 17 and Patty Mills 16 for the Spurs. San Antonio has dropped three of four.

The 6-foot-1 Young put on a dribbling display that stopped 6-11 LaMarcus Aldridge cold, then zipped a brilliant pass from the right-side perimeter to a cutting DeAndre’ Bembry for a dunk that put the Hawks up 95-88 with 4:52 remaining. Young had 13 assists.

The crowd roared again after Young fell backward while hitting a 3 from the right corner to make it 104-96 with 2:11 remaining.

The Spurs led by eight entering the fourth but were outscored 38-22. Young, who went 5 for 10 beyond the arc, had 16 points in the final period.

San Antonio led 45-44 at halftime with DeRozan, Mills and Parker each scoring 10 points. The Spurs were just 8 for 33 on 3s and missed seven free throws.

Young was 0 for 8 in the first half.

Parker replaced Collins, the team’s leading rebounder and second-leading scorer.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads Thunder past Magic

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder over the Orlando Magic 102-94 on Tuesday night.

Chris Paul added 20 points and six assists for the Thunder (3-4), who held their opponent under 100 points for the fourth time in seven games. Steven Adams had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Aaron Gordon had 15 points and eight rebounds to lead the Magic (2-5), who have yet to reach 100 points in a game this season. Orlando had six players reach double figures in points, including Jonathan Issac, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Nikola Vucevic had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Oklahoma City led 58-53 at halftime and managed to hold the advantage until Al-Farouq Aminu’s two free throws tied it at 81 early in the fourth quarter.

The Magic tied at 83 a couple of minutes later but never regained the advantage. They pulled within 88-87 on Gordon’s long jump shot with 4:44 remaining, but Oklahoma City used a 9-2 run over the three-plus minutes to regain control.

Both teams shot poorly in the fourth quarter, with the Thunder at 33.3 percent (7 of 21) and Orlando at 26.3 (5 of 19).

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

CHICAGO — LeBron James had 30 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his third consecutive triple-double, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied to beat the Chicago Bulls 118-112 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight victory.

Los Angeles trailed by 19 before shutting down Chicago in the fourth quarter during the finale of a three-game trip. While James turned in another brilliant performance, he was on the bench for most of a 16-0 run to begin the final period.

Kyle Kuzma, Quinn Cook and Dwight Howard sparked the Lakers’ comeback. Kuzma scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth, and Howard had a key block on Coby White during the big spurt. Cook made a 3-pointer to give Los Angeles a 94-93 lead with 8:53 remaining.

Cook finished with 17 points, and Anthony Davis had 15 points and seven rebounds. It was Davis’ first game in his native Chicago since he was acquired in a trade with New Orleans.

Chicago lost for the fifth time in six games. Zach LaVine scored 26 points, and White and Otto Porter Jr. each finished with 18. Wendell Carter Jr. had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bulls used a 16-2 run to open a 60-42 lead with 2:49 left in the first half. Carter’s two foul shots made it 63-44 with 2:10 to go.

Graham, Biyombo lift Hornets past Pacers in OT

Devonte Graham scored a career-high 35 points, Bismack Biyombo provided a huge spark off the bench late and the Charlotte Hornets battled back from a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers 122-120 in overtime Tuesday night.

Graham sank 2 of 3 free-throw attempts with 1.7 seconds left in overtime after drawing a foul on JaKarr Sampson, helping the Hornets win their third straight game.

Terry Rozier added 22 points and Miles Bridges had 18 for the Hornets (4-3).

Graham, Biyombo and Rozier combined to score 40 of the team’s last 42 points.

T.J. Warren scored 33 points on 15-of-18 shooting and Malcolm Brogdon added 31 points for the Pacers (3-4), who had their three-game winning streak snapped.

The Hornets trailed 92-78 to start the fourth quarter when coach James Borrego made an unexpected move by turning to Biyombo, who hadn’t played at all in the first three quarters.

The reserve center provided an instant spark, scoring down low to start the fourth quarter before coming up with a block against T.J. McConnell, leading to a three-point play by Rozier on a fast break. Biyombo also stole the ball at midcourt and went in for a one-handed dunk. He added several putbacks along the way, giving the Hornets a presence they badly needed on the glass.

Biyombo finished with 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks in 17 minutes.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Kristel Satumbaga

Games Wednesday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
12 noon – FEU vs Adamson (women’s)
4 p.m. – FEU vs UST (men’s)

Far Eastern University and University of Santo Tomas resume their title bids today when they clash in the stepladder semifinals of the UAAP season 82 men’s basketball at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Game is at 4 p.m. with the winner facing University of the Philippines in the second phase of the semis.

The semis was reduced into a stepladder format after defending champion Ateneo propelled straight to the finals with a 14-0 elimination round sweep.

UP enjoys a twice-to-beat advantage after finishing second with a 9-5 mark.

FEU and UST, meanwhile, had to thread through the eye of the needle to earn Final Four slots after finishing with identical 8-6 marks in the elims.

UST coach Aldin Ayo said making this far is already an accomplishment, but they are not settling for less.

“We’re still going to strive hard,” he said. “Before the start of the season, our goal is to just surpass our five wins last year. But now that we’re here, we’re not gonna stop.”

FEU coach Olsen Racela has the same mindset for his stalwarts.

“Our goal every year is really to make it to the Final Four, then we move on to the next goal. We’ve achieved our first goal, and next goal na kami,” he said.

The two teams split their two meetings in the eliminations with UST winning their first encounter, 82-74, before FEU avenged that loss with a 72-58 triumph in the second round.

But it will be a clean slate as far as the two squads are concerned, coming off from a long break.

Meanwhile, action also heats up in the women’s stepladder semis pitting the FEU Lady Tamaraws and the Adamson Lady Falcons at 12 noon.

The winning squad will clash with second seed UST Tigresses, who have a twice-to-beat semis privilege.

The National University Lady Bulldogs earned an outright finals ticket after an elims sweep highlighted by a 94-game winning streak.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By WAYLON GALVEZ

Games Wednesday (The Arena, San Juan)

4:00 p.m. – Motolite vs Bank-Perlas

6:00 p.m. – Creamline vs PetroGazz

Defending champion Creamline and back-to-back title seeking PetroGazz start another finals showdown when the two heavyweight teams clash in the PVL Open Conference Wednesday at The Arena in San Juan.

Already the first team in league history to sweep the elimination round with a perfect 16-0 card, the Cool Smashers hope to cap it with a title opposite the reigning Reinforced Conference champion Angels.

The series opener of the best-of-five showdown is set at 6 p.m.

One thing going for the Cool Smashers is they swept the the Angels during the elimination round, winning in the first round 25-19, 28-26, 25-20 – their first face off since the Reinforced Conference Finals last Aug. 24.

In the second round, Creamline played without injured superstar Alyssa Valdez in Bacolod City, but managed to score a convincing four-set win 25-21, 26-24, 19-25, 25-18.

PetroGazz won the previous Reinforced Conference crown last July at the expense of Creamline, and the Angels enter the finals as the best defensive team, particularly on the blocking department.

Jeanette Panaga and Cherry Nunag lead that defensive wall at the net for PetroGazz with an average of 2.21 kill blocks per set.

The Cool Smashers, on the other hand, are the top scoring team in the league by dominating three skills categories, including attacks with a 34.36 percent success rate and service zone of league-best 2.19 aces per set.

Creamline also emerged No. 1 in setting with norms of 6.81 excellent sets per frame behind Jia Morado and Kyle Negrito, and they are leading in reception with averages of 44.77 percent efficiency rate.

Meanwhile, BanKo-Perlas and Motolite tangle in their best-of-three battle for third at 4 p.m.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

San Miguel Alab Pilipinas coach Jimmy Alapag expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance despite a losing effort against Gilas Pilipinas in their tune-up match last Monday at the Meralco Gym.

Alab was able to make things competitive opposite the SEA Games-bound national squad before absorbing a 98-95 loss in the first of two exhibition matches before the start of the ASEAN Basketball League season.

“Tune-up games are always good barometers of just where we’re at as a team, especially conditioning-wise and rhythm-wise,” Alapag said. “But I’m really happy with what I saw.”

Fil-Americans Jason Brickman, Jeremiah Gray and Brandon Rosser, import Adrian Forbes and Louie Vigil made a good account of themselves despite missing the services of other reinforcements Renaldo Balkman and Khaliff Wyatt.

Balkman and Wyatt are expected to play in their second tune-up with Gilas on Monday at the same venue before Alab flies to Thailand later in the week.

“For us to play this first tune-up game, didn’t really know what to expect, really just wanted to get the guys out playing and running up and down. I’m really happy with the effort,” said Alapag.

The ABL’s lone Philippine team has been dealing with the lack of available tune-up games while still trying to fill its roster in time for the Nov. 17 opener against Mono Vampire in Nonthaburi, Thailand.

Alab recently added Fil-Australian Jordan Heading and his former national U-16 teammate Andrei Caracut, who recently completed his UAAP career with La Salle.

Also signed was former PBA veteran Aaron Aban while sources said Alab plans to add two more players from the collegiate ranks.

“This is really our first time playing five-on-five because even in practice we don’t have a full squad yet,” said Gray. “So we finally got to go up-and-down together as a team for the first time and we see some pretty good glimpses as a team.

“Of course, we got a lot of things to work on, but it was a good experience for us to play a team like the national team,” he added.

Alab aims to make up for its failure to defend the crown last season when it was swept by Hong Kong Eastern in the quarterfinals.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

The national women’s baseball team is setting its sights on a podium finish in the Women’s Baseball Asian Cup set Nov. 9 to 15 in Zhongshan, China.

Coach Egay delos Reyes expressed confidence that the Pinay batters have a strong chance of fulfilling such goal in the tournament which serves as a qualifier to next year’s Women’s Baseball Cup.

“Definitely malakas ang mga kalaban namin dun lalo na ang Japan,” Delos Reyes said. “Ang aim namin is that we finish within the top three at sa tingin ko naman may chance tayo.”

The Philippines was drawn in Group B along with South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, with the top two teams advancing to the Super Round.

Host China, Japan, India and Pakistan comprise Group A.

It will be the major tournament since the team was formed last year, and would have been a good preparation for the 30th Southeast Asian Games which the Philippines will host later this month.

Women’s baseball was supposed to be held in the upcoming biennial meet but was scrapped after failing to get the minimum entry of four countries.

Only the Philippines and Indonesia were able to submit entries to the tournament, Delos Reyes said.

“Sayang kasi sa tingin namin kung may SEA Games, sure gold tayo,” Delos Reyes said. “Kasi part ng preparation namin is we play them against high school and college teams na lalaki and they show potential at nakaka-catch up naman sila.”

The team will be composed of veteran and young players from the local softball scene, namely Clarice Palma, Esmeralda Tayag, Edna Severino, Charlotte Sales and Lealyn Guevarra.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — First, the black cat ran on the field.

Then the Dallas Cowboys scampered past the New York Giants.

Dak Prescott shook off an interception on his first pass and threw for three touchdowns, and the Cowboys turned three Daniel Jones turnovers into 13 points on their way to a 37-18 win over the Giants in a Monday night game that was briefly delayed in the second quarter by an elusive feline.

“Things weren’t good up to that point,” Prescott said about the game before the cat appeared. “It could only get better from there. I definitely thought about that. I guess we’ll start rolling now that the black cat’s come in bad for the Giants. It was fun. First time I’ve seen an animal run on the field that I’ve been a part of.”

Ezekiel Elliott ran for a season-high 139 yards as Dallas (5-3) beat New York (2-7) for the sixth straight time. DeMarcus Lawrence had one of the Cowboys’ five sacks.

Prescott hit Blake Jarwin for a much-needed 42-yard touchdown late in the second quarter. He added a 15-yarder to Michael Gallup and a 45-yarder to Amari Cooper in the fourth.

Brett Maher kicked three field goals, including a 52-yarder in the waning seconds of the first half that gave Dallas the lead for good after falling behind 12-3 in the second quarter. Jourdan Lewis scored on a 63-yard fumble return in the final seconds.

The win gave the Cowboys a half-game lead over Philadelphia (5-4) in the NFC East and improved their record in the division to 4-0, including a win over the Eagles.

Jones threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Cody Latimer for fading New York. Aldrick Rosas hit four field goals, but he also missed an extra point attempt that was important in sending New York to its fifth straight loss.

“You can'(t lose the turnover battle and expect to win any game,” Giants defensive back Michael Thomas said. “We’re making young mistakes, If we stop them we’ll start playing winning football. It’s not just the offense, it’s defense and special teams, too. It’s two or three plays a game where we hand the other team points.”

Rosas’ 25-yarder gave the Giants a 12-3 lead with 2:50 left, but the Cowboys scored 10 points in the final 52 seconds of the half to take a 13-12 lead.

Jarwin, who has scored five of his six career touchdowns against the Giants, rambled most of the 42 yards on the score to get Dallas within 12-10 with 52 seconds remaining in the half.

Xavier Woods intercepted a third-down pass by Jones on the ensuing series and returned it to the Giants 38, setting up Maher’s go-ahead field goal on the final play.

The teams exchanged field goals in the third quarter, with a Jones fumble forced by Woods setting up Dallas. Rosas answered for New York.

The chippy fourth quarter belonged to Dallas and Prescott, who finished 22 of 35 for 257 yards. He has thrown for 12 TDs against New York in the last four games.

Jones finished 26 of 41 for 210 yards, including a 65-yard play by Saquon Barkley, his longest reception.

“I just thought we started to play the way we wanted to play,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said of his team’s slow start coming off a bye week. “I do think we dominated them up front. Zeke ran the ball really well. That’s certainly a part of us playing our best offensive football.”

POST CAT

Before the game was suspended by the cat, the Giants were winning 9-3 and Prescott had 84 yards and an interception by Antoine Bethea on the opening play from scrimmage. After El Gato appeared, Dallas outscored New York 34-9 and Prescott had 173 yards, three TDs and no interceptions.

WORTH NOTING

Jones has dropped five in a row after winning his first two starts. The only other rookie quarterback who lost five in a row after winning his first two starts was John Elway in 1983, according to Stats.

INJURIES

Cowboys: Safety Jeff Heath left early in second half with a leg injury.

UP NEXT

Cowboys: Host Minnesota on Sunday night.

Giants: Home to play an away game against the Jets on Sunday.

Source: Manila Bulletin

The national women’s volleyball team flexed its muscles Tuesday, pulling off a 25-14, 25-18, 25-16 win over PSL Shine in the Philippine Superliga Super Cup night at the Filoil Flying V Centre Arena in San Juan.

Alyssa Valdez and Jia Morado didn’t see action, but it hardly mattered as the Nationals uncorked a well-balanced assault to register a win in the pocket tournament that serves as a warmup for the 30^th Southeast Asian Games that the country will host from 30 November to 11 December.

Mylene Paat finished with eight points to lead the way while Ces Molina and Majoy Baron tallied seven markers apiece for the Nationals, who got some help from middle blocker Maddie Madayag.

“Of course we’re happy with the win but we’re still a work in progress,” said national team coach Shaq delos Santos. “We want to keep on improving and we have to work hard for it.”

Delos Santos was pleased to see that his wards stepped up despite the absence of Valdez and Morado, who missed the first match of this three-game pocket tourney as they need to prepare for their finals game for Creamline against Petro Gazz in the Premier Volleyball League.

Jovelyn Gonzaga and Eya Laure had six points apiece while Madayag contributed three attacks, one block and one service ace and Rhea Dimaculangan had 13 excellent sets and three aces in the match that took an hour and 13 minutes to finish.

“Definitely, I’m happy, I saw what I want to see with my team, everybody stepped up,” said Delos Santos. “We need to cover up for their [Valdez and Morado’s] absence and the team did not disappoint.”

“It can’t be helped that there will be conflict and challenges but right now, with less than a month before the SEA Games, we are choosing to find ways to solve the problem instead of focusing on the problem,” he added.

MJ Philips scored seven attacks and one block for Team Shine.

 

Source: Manila Bulletin

By WAYLON GALVEZ

Games Friday (Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay City)

1 p.m. – SSC-R vs Lyceum (Jrs)

4 p.m. – Lyceum vs Letran (Srs)

 

Letran overcame RK Ilagan’s career-best 37 points, showing poise in the final moments to oust San Sebastian 85-80 in the NCAA Season 95 stepladder playoffs Tuesday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

Heroes abound for Letran, which had six players in double digits. It was, however , guard Fran Yu who made the big plays down the stretch to keep their title aspirations alive.

With the Stags threatening to turn things around in the final frame, particularly after Ilagan buried his seventh three-point basket off the glass that trimmed Letran’s lead to 81-80, Yu’s heads-up plays punctuated the resiliency of the Knights in the do-or-die encounter.

Yu first converted a fast break off a feed from Bonbon Batiller to give Letran an 83-80 lead with 59.8 seconds left.

After the two teams exchanged missed shots and turnovers, including one when Yu forced Ilagan to commit a backcourt violation, the 5-foot-10 guard got the rebound against the 6-foot-6 Jim Calma following two missed free throws from graduating forward Jerrick Balanza.

Fouled by Ken Villapando, Yu then sank two free throws to make it 85-80 with 10.2 seconds to play, which crushed the Stags’ hopes.

The win sent Letran to the second stage of the stepladder playoffs where it faces No. 2 seed Lyceum of the Philippines University in another knockout match on Friday at the same venue.

The winner will advance to the best-of-three finals series against defending three-time champion San Beda University starting Nov. 12.

The Red Lions clinched an outright finals berth after going 18-0 in the eliminations.

“I trust all my players, lalo na yung mga graduating players,” said Letran’s first-year mentor Bonnie Tan, referring to Balanza, Batiller, center Christian Balagasay and guard Tommy Olivario.

“Gusto pa nila maglaro (graduating players) so may practice pa kami. Going to the game, hindi namin naiisip yung LPU, unahin namin yung San Sebastian. We’ll talk about it sa ensayo.”

Balanza came off the bench to lead Letran with 15 points and six rebounds, Batiller contributed 14 points, Allen Mina had 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting from three-point area, while Muyang had 11 points.

Ato Ular and Yu added 10 points each.

While the 5-foot-8 Ilagan was nearly unstoppable as he made 12-of-20 from the perimeter, his partner Allyn Bulanadi was held to 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting from the field against different defenders that included Batiller.

“Inilagay ko sa isip ko na bantayan si Allyn. Sabi ko sa mga coaches ako na ang kukuha kay Allyn in the second half. Papunta sa game na ito siya lang pinaghahandaan ko kasi sobrang galing ni Allyn,” said Batiller.

Scores:

LETRAN 85 – Balanza 15, Batiller 14, Mina 12, Muyang 11, Ular 10, Yu 10, Caralipio 9, Balagasay 4, Ambohot 0, Olivario 0, Reyson 0, Sangalang 0, Javillonar 0.

SAN SEBASTIAN 80 – Ilagan 36, Bulanadi 15, Villapando 8, Calahat 7, Capobres 5, Altamirano 5, Desoyo 2, Sumoda 1, Cosari 1, Calma 0, Isidro 0.

Quarters: 23-20; 50-40; 69-59; 85-80.

Source: Manila Bulletin