By WAYLON GALVEZ

Games Today (Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay City)

10:00 a.m. – San Beda vs CSB-LSGH (Jrs)

1:00 p.m. – Lyceum vs San Sebastian (Jrs)

4:00 p.m. – Letran vs San Sebastian (Srs)

The road to the finals will continue for one team and end for the other as the stepladder playoffs begins for Letran and San Sebastian College-Recoletos via a do-or-die in NCAA Season 95 today at the Cuneta Astrodome.

This is the second stepladder affair in the NCAA in three years after defending champion San Beda completed an 18-0 sweep of the eliminations, which gave the Red Lions an outright finals spot.

The Letran-SSC-R is set at 4 p.m. after semifinal matches in the juniors division.

Top seed San Beda Red Cubs, armed with a twice-to-beat bonus, meets College of St. Benilde-La Salle Greenhills Greenies at 10 a.m., followed by the 1 p.m. match between No. 2 Lyceum Junior Pirates, also with a twice-to-beat advantage, and No. 3 SSC-R Staglets.

The two collegiate teams earned playoff berths for finishing in the top four – Letran at No. 3 and SSC-R at No. 4.

The winner takes on No. 2 Lyceum of the Philippines University in another do-or-die on Friday to determine the second finals berth. The winner moves to the best-of-three series against San Beda.

Game 1 of the finals is set Nov. 12 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Letran and SSC-R split the head-to-head in the eliminations.

The Stags came through with a 102-101 win in overtime in a first round duel that saw RK Ilagan and Allyn Bulanadi combine for 43 points – a game where coach Egay Macaraya served a one-game suspension last August 20.

However, the Knights came back with a convincing 99-82 win in the second round last Sept. 20.

The encounter saw five Knights score in double digits led by 15 points apiece from Larry Muyang and Bonbon Batilier, 12 points each from Fran Yu and Jerrick Balanza, and 11 from Jio Ambohot.

Letran coach Bonnie Tan said their win gave them the opportunity to correct their mistakes and lapses from their first round loss, and he hopes to stick with the same defensive game plan against SSC-R.

“Our focus is on defense, yun ang palagi ko naman sinasabi sa mga players ko. Depensa kami ng maganda, maganda din ang pwedeng kalabasan. That’s what we plan to do against San Sebastian,” said Tan.

“Of course nandyan si Bulanadi, Ilagan… maraming threat sa kanila. Pero kung malilimitahan namin yung top scorers nila, I think we have a chance,” added Tan, whose team allowed Bulanadi to score 20 points but held Ilagan to eight points in their second round match up.

On the other hand, Macaraya said it’s going to be a team effort for them to beat Letran.

Though he missed their first round encounter, Macaraya pointed to the determination of his players in beating Letran. Aside from missing their head coach, the Stags defeated the Knights despite the exit of six players due to foul troubles in the fourth quarter and OT period.

 

“Kung magtulungan walang imposible. Nagawa naming talunin ang Letran sa ganung sitwasyon. So malaki ang tiwala ko sa mga players na kaya namin na manalo in this do-or-die game,” said Macaraya.

Source: Manila Bulletin

 

By WAYLON GALVEZ

Gilas Pilipinas mentor Tim Cone has added NLEX playmaker Kiefer Ravena to the national training pool preparing for the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games after the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) got the approval from the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc).

The addition of Ravena came after the national team lost veteran guard Jayson Castro, who  was ruled out for two months due to an ankle injury.

“I believe the SBP has got him,” said Cone after Gilas’ tuneup game against SMB Alab-Pilipinas Monday night at the Meralco gym in Pasig City. “My understanding is that the SBP has approved.”

“Although if he makes the final 12, that’s another question,” said Cone.

Ravena has already won four gold medals with the national team in the SEA Games starting in 2011 as a rookie for the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the last in 2017 before he turned pro.

Ravena said he got a call from the Gilas management to report to practice. Though he did not play, Ravena said he was able to observe and absorb several plays.

“I’m very grateful for this opportunity to be called up even though nothing is final yet,” said Ravena. “I’m just hoping, trying to be added value to the team. Hopefully I can help the team.”

Gilas Pilipinas held on to beat Alab Pilipinas in the tuneup match 98-96.

PBA’s reigning five-time MVP June Mar Fajardo led the national team with 21 points, shooter Roger Pogoy added 15 points, while Stanley Pringle and Vic Manuel contributed 10 points apiece.

Despite the win, Cone was not impressed with Gilas’ performance, particularly on the defensive end.

“At times we were pretty and at times we were really ugly. The team we played was really talented, they’re really good,” said Cone.

“Our challenge at this point is to make sure we’re not an all-star team. We have to be more than that – a bunch of good players playing together. That’s what all-star teams are, bring a bunch of guys, they have limited practice, they go out and play. They don’t have any concept in terms of defense.”

That setup is unacceptable to Cone.

“We want to get beyond that. We don’t want to be an all-star team. We need to be better than that,” he said.

The national team will play ALAB again on Monday, and a pro team from Taiwan on November 18, less than two weeks before the SEA Games, which is set Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

TNT KaTropa is hoping to secure newly-acquired rookie Ray Parks Jr. to a long-term deal once his contract expires at the end of the PBA Governors’ Cup.

Team manager Gabby Cui said TNT plans to offer Parks a contract worth “whatever his fair market value is” once they talk about the specifics at least before the end of the current conference.

The son of the late seven-time PBA Best Import Bobby Parks currently has a two-conference contract which he signed with Blackwater last April.

“That’s why we want him for TNT,” Cui said when asked of the contract situation. “But specifics? No. Of course, not. Wala pang specifics.”

The PBA Commissioner’s Office on Sunday approved the trade that sent Parks to the KaTropa in exchange for Don Trollano, Tony Semerad and a first round pick in the 2021 Draft.

Parks attended his first practice Monday at Kerry Sports Manila in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, and the KaTropa are hoping to put him up to speed before his debut Friday against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.

“Basta yung attitude niya coming in is he wants to help the team,” said Cui. “He’s very positive and he had a good practice kanina. We’re looking forward to more practices kasi siyempre bago siya. Yung sistema, he has to learn.”

Meanwhile, the move to TNT has revived Parks’ chances in the race for the Rookie of the Year.

Under league rules, a player will have to play at least 70 percent of the team’s game during the three-conference season in order to be eligible for any individual awards.

Parks played 23 games for the Elite since making his PBA debut in the Commissioner’s Cup last May.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

Chris Banchero immediately got an idea of what seemed like as endless possibilities after attending his first practice with Magnolia since the trade that rocked the PBA during the holiday break.

“We just did a little scrimmage here,” Banchero said following the afternoon session held at the Ronac Art Center in San Juan. “I’m pushing the ball down the floor and I got Paul Lee on the other side and we got Mark Barroca trailing and I got Romeo Travis here.”

The bulk of talent the Hotshots has is among the things that excites Banchero, whose nearly five-year stint with the Alaska Aces officially ended last Sunday when the PBA Commissioner’s Office gave the deal a go.

Magnolia had to bid adieu to role players Rodney Brondial and Robbie Herndon in order to get Banchero, who joins a loaded backcourt that includes Lee, Barroca and Jio Jalalon while reuniting with former Aces teammate Travis.

It also allows Banchero to flourish under a lesser role than do the heavy lifting that he did for most of his time with Alaska.

“I got a lot of guys around me so I don’t have to do much. I just got to make the right plays and just get my opportunity. So we got a lot of good players over here and I’m excited to play with them,” he added.

There’s probably a sense of regret as Banchero leaves the Alaska franchise after almost five seasons.
Banchero came close to winning at least one championship in five finals appearance, only to feel disappointed in the end.

“I’m very grateful for everything they did for me the past five years,” said Banchero, who expressed his gratitude to Alaska team owner Fred Uytengsu, Team Governor Dickie Bachmann, sports development manager CK Canapi and the coaching staff.

“But it’s a new chapter in my career and I’m very excited. I think it was time for me to move on. You know, I was one of the last guys from the original core the past five years so I’m excited and it feels like I got a new life and I’m excited about that, the feeling of excitement to come and play basketball again.”

One of Banchero’s title defeats with Alaska was against Magnolia in last season’s Governors’ Cup Finals, a series that didn’t start after a hilarious moment that saw a reporter mistakenly calling Magnolia coach Chito Victolero as “Coach Banchero.”

“Maraming salamat ha. Talagang magkamukha naman talaga kami, di naman kami nagkakalayo,” Victolero said in jest during that pre-Finals press conference.

Almost a year later, Victolero is pleased to with another key asset that he hopes would help in Magnolia’s chances of a repeat in the season-ending conference.

“Talagang pinagusapan namin ni Chris na yung changes sometimes kailangan yun para mag-grow ka pa lalo,” he said. “Limang taon din siya sa Alaska and I think mas excited siya ngayon at mas makakatulong sa kanya kasi nasa ibang environment naman siya, iba yung mga makakasama niya.

“It’s almost a year since we faced Alaska in the Finals and alam naman natin kung anung kanyang gawin ni Chris. At yun ang maitutulong niya sa amin, yung energy na dinadala niya sa Alaska before,” Victolero added.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

The pair of trades that rocked the PBA during the All Saint’s Day break could set the stage for a wild and wooly race for the twice-to-beat advantage given to the top four teams after the Governors’ Cup eliminations.

Co-leader TNT KaTropa is hoping to get things back to normal following the acquisition of star rookie Ray Parks Jr. from Blackwater while defending champion Magnolia hopes to make a late surge after obtaining Chris Banchero from Alaska.

Parks and Banchero officially moved to new teams after the PBA Commissioner’s Office approved the deal Sunday night. Both players attended their first practice for TNT and Magnolia on Monday.

TNT is tied with NLEX at 7-1 with Parks set to make his debut against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in a key battle for playoff positioning Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Banchero debuts for Magnolia Wednesday against Phoenix Pulse at the Cuneta Astrodome with a chance to improve its 4-4 slate.

All three teams of Manny V. Pangilinan are in a good position to secure the quarterfinal bonus with NLEX on even terms with TNT and Meralco in third spot at 6-2 following its 101-77 rout of Ginebra over the weekend.

Meralco has slowly emerged as a title contender after back-to-back wins that began with a 127-99 demolition of San Miguel last Oct. 27 with the recent acquisitions of Allein Maliksi and Raymar Jose coupled with the dominant showing of import Allen Durham.

Ginebra fell to a tie for fourth with Grand Slam-seeking San Miguel Beer at 5-3, leaving them and fellow San Miguel Corporation squad Magnolia to battle it out for the other spot in the top four, barring a slip-up by at least one of the three MVP squads.

Parks hopes to get a fresh start at TNT after his second conference with Blackwater ended with a series of inconsistent numbers on the points and assists departments.

Surrounded by a talented lineup powered by import KJ McDaniels, Troy Rosario and Roger Pogoy could be the boost Parks needs.

Meanwhile, Banchero will turn from foe to ally almost a year after being on the losing end of 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals that saw Magnolia beating Alaska in six games.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Nick Giongco

LOS ANGELES—After guiding Filipino world boxing champion Jerwin Ancajas for two weeks, nutritionist Jeaneth Aro is flying back to the Philippines this time to help in the preparation of top athletes vying in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

Aro arrived here on Oct. 18 as part of Team Ancajas, whose scheduled eighth defense of the International Boxing Federation super-flyweight crown got scrapped at the last minute.

Ancajas was supposed defend against Jonathan Rodriguez of Mexico, who didn’t show up, forcing Top Rank to reset the southpaw’s fight and possibly move it to Dec. 7 in Puebla, Mexico.

“I have to be there to supervise the diet of (Rio Olympics silver medalist) Hidilyn Diaz and the national amateur boxing team,” said

Aro, referring to the SEAG set Nov. 30-Dec. 11.

Aside from the country’s elite athletes, Aro also handles the dietary requirements of several PBA squads.

Aro’s presence in Ancajas’ corner is vital to the fighter’s pre-weighin preparations.

During her two-week stay with Ancajas in Redondo Beach, she personally shopped for the food that Ancajas ate.

Not only that.

Aro likewise cooked Ancajas’ meals all day, from breakfast, pre-training snack, lunch and dinner.

With Aro all tied up with the SEAG athletes, she won’t be around should Ancajas’s fight in Mexico next month pushes through.

Still, Team Ancajas will get tips and pointers from Aro from the Philippines in the runup to a fight probably against Miguel Gonzalez of Chile.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Kristel Satumbaga

Olivarez College silenced University of Batangas in the last 68 seconds and came away with an 83-79 victory yesterday to clinch the second championship berth in the PG Flex Linoleum-Universities and Colleges Basketball League at the Olivarez gym in Parañaque City.

Olivarez will face Diliman College in Game 1 on Thursday in a rematch of last season’s finals.

Trailing 79-77, the second-seeded Olivarez Sea Lions drained six straight points in the decisive closing minute.

An Ace Lavariaz jumper tied the game at 79-all and Kim Siegue hit the go-ahead basket with 41 seconds left.

A ball-handling turnover by the Brahmans doomed their bid as Yani Elie sank two free throws.

The Sea Lions enjoyed a twice-to-beat advantage but yielded to the fourth-ranked Brahmans 89-80 last Monday. (Kristel Satumbaga)

Rey Barcuma led Olivarez with 17 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Jayboy Solis chipped in 16 points, seven boards, five assists and five steals.

Lance de Leon and Siegue also contributed with 11 points each, while Elie added eight points and 12 boards.

 

Source: Manila Bulletin

 

AUSTIN (AFP) – Lewis Hamilton clinched his sixth world title, but not in the style he hoped for on Sunday when he finished second behind his triumphant Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas in an eventful United States Grand Prix.

The 34-year-old Briton fought with ferocious determination to win from fifth on the grid, but was unable to resist the Finn, who started from pole and, with a two-stop strategy, had fresher tyres in the critical final laps.

After leading twice, Hamilton was passed by Bottas with three laps remaining and then resisted Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to take his 150th podium finish and his 31st successive finish in the points.

It sealed his sixth title, leaving him one adrift of Michael Schumacher on seven.

Hamilton added the 2019 title to previous triumphs in 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018.

”I can’t believe it, thanks a lot,” Hamilton said over the team radio as he moved out of a tie for five titles he held with Argentina’s Juan-Manuel Fangio.

He added: ”It’s just overwhelming if I’m really honest. It was such a tough race today, Valtteri did a great job. As an athlete I feel as fresh as can be. We’ll keep pushing for the rest of the season.”

”I didn’t know if it would be possible but I worked as hard as I could here with my team back at the factory. My mum, dad, step-mum and step-dad and my family are here and it’s an honour to be here with six titles with those greats.

 

”My dad told me when I was like six or seven never to give up and that’s kind of the family motto.”

It was Bottas’s fourth win of the season and the seventh of his career.

”It’s a good win,” said the Finn. ”Personally, I failed on my target this year, but Lewis deserves it. He’s had a good season.”

Hamilton parked his Mercedes in a space ”reserved for the champion” before leaping into the arms of his family and friends.

Verstappen finished third ahead of Charles Leclerc of Ferrari — some compensation to team boss Mattia Binotto on his 50th birthday following the early retirement, with broken suspension, of Sebastian Vettel — with Alex Albon fifth in the second Red Bull.

Daniel Ricciardo was sixth for Renault ahead of the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg in the second Renault and Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat.

On a perfect blue-skied day, the race began with an explosive rush uphill towards Turn One, Bottas taking full advantage of his pole position with a flawless start.

Behind him, Verstappen pulled alongside Vettel to take second while Hamilton followed and took advantage of both Ferraris.

”I must have damage,” reported Vettel. ”I didn’t hit anything, but I have under-steer like crazy.”

By lap five, he had tumbled to seventh, but worse followed when his car’s suspension failed, the right-rear collapsing as he went through Turn Nine.

Vettel’s exit left Hamilton chasing Verstappen who pitted early, on lap 14, for a set of hard tyres.    One lap later, Bottas came in, also for hards, and Hamilton inherited the lead. The Finn was soon past Leclerc to claim second as the Silver Arrows led the field.

 

Source: Manila Bulletin

 

PARIS, (AFP) – Novak Djokovic says he is ready for the ”big task” of trying to win the ATP Tour Finals in London and claim the year-end world number one spot for a record-equalling sixth time.

The 16-time Grand Slam champion sealed his fifth Paris Masters title on Sunday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Canadian Denis Shapovalov, but will be usurped by the injured Rafael Nadal at the top of the rankings on Monday.

Nadal said he will fight until it is ”impossible” to be fit for the start of the season-ending championships on November 10.

If the Spaniard does not play or fails to win a round-robin match at the Finals, Djokovic must claim two group-stage victories and make the final to pass him.

Djokovic would also be sure of the year-end top ranking should he win the tournament and Nadal does not reach the semis.

”There’s always a chance that I win all my matches in London, that I play well. I have done it in the past, and I like playing there,” said the 32-year-old, who has won five ATP Finals titles.

”But it’s (an) extremely difficult task considering who my opponents are going to be.

”You’re playing (a) top-10 player every single match. So that’s a big task on my end that I have to focus on.

”And as a consequence, of course, if I manage to get the year-end number one, that would be fantastic.”

Djokovic is bidding to equal Pete Sampras’ record of finishing six years as the world’s best player, while Nadal is looking to achieve the feat for the fifth time.

”It is a motivation and a goal every day,” said Djokovic. ”It is a goal that I have as a professional tennis player to win as many Grand Slams as possible and also to be number one worldwide for as long as possible.”

The 33-year-old Nadal could have ended the race for top spot by winning the Paris title, but he withdrew before his semi-final against Shapovalov with an abdominal muscle strain.

 

Djokovic has enjoyed yet another fantastic season, winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon among his five titles.

That looked a long way off when his comeback from a long-standing elbow injury suffered a setback last year with a shock French Open quarter-final defeat by Italian Marco Cecchinato.

But he has since added four major titles, having also claimed the 2018 Wimbledon and US Open crowns.

Djokovic — who is closing in on Nadal, who has 19, and Federer, with 20, on the all-time list of Grand Slam titles — says he is hoping to play on for as many years as possible.

”I would like to play tennis for a long time. I don’t know how long that is going to be, but I wish to really play pretty long.

”So hopefully you’ll be seeing me around for many more years.”

Djokovic’s victory on Sunday delivered his 34th Masters title and his 77th on the ATP Tour in total.

 

Source: Manila Bulletin

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – LeBron James delivered his second straight triple double as the Los Angeles Lakers won their fifth game in a row for the first time in over a year with a 103-96 victory against the San Antonio Spurs

James finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists for the Lakers, who have missed the playoffs six seasons in a row and went the entire 2018-19 season without winning five consecutive games.

The Spurs kept it close in the fourth thanks to Dejounte Murray’s 16 consecutive San Antonio points. He made a layup with just over four minutes to play to tie the contest 90-90. Los Angeles then went on a 9-2 to hold off the Spurs down the stretch and get the victory.

”It was about us and how we could execute on the offensive end which we did,” James said. ”We got great looks.

”We take so much pride on defence. We want to try to keep their guys uncomfortable. We held a great offensive team to 40 percent shooting and under 100 points.”

Anthony Davis finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who are trying to rebuild their team around James, who also had a triple double two nights earlier against Dallas.

Avery Bradley added 16 points while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Dwight Howard had 14 points each. Howard also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who improved to 5-1 on the season.

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel was especially pleased with the play of journeyman reserve player Howard, who is with his fifth team in the last five seasons.

The former first overall draft pick by Orlando in 2004 is past his prime as a starter in the league and appears to be more comfortable coming off the bench.

”He’s bought into his role on this team… he is dominating on the defensive end,” Vogel said of the 33-year-old Howard.

Murray produced 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who lost at home for the first time in four games this season.

Rudy Gay and Derrick White added 16 and 12 points, respectively, off the bench, with DeMar DeRozan scoring 14 points and Bryn Forbes hitting for 12 for San Antonio.

Kyle Kuzma’s 38-foot buzzer-beater allowed the Lakers to finish the second quarter with a 10-0 run and take a 56-43 lead at halftime.

Gay’s jump shot from near half court at the end of the third quarter gave the Lakers a 77-72 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Elsewhere, Luka Doncic also recorded his second consecutive triple-double as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 131-111.

Doncic, of Slovenia, finished with 29 points, 14 rebounds and 15 assists for the Mavericks, who trailed 73-69 with 4:52 remaining in the third quarter before dominating the rest of the game.

The 20-year old Doncic is the youngest player in NBA history to have back to back 25-point triple doubles. It is the 11th triple double of his burgeoning career.

Doncic shot nine-for-17 overall and five-for-10 from three-point range to reach his 29 points. His 14 rebounds were the third most of his career and his 15 assists tied a career best.

He also had 15 assists in a triple double performance against the Lakers on Friday night, a game in which he suffered a head injury after being blindsided by the Lakers’ Howard.

Latvia’s Kristaps Porzingis chipped in with 18 points, Jalen Brunson 14, Seth Curry 13, Boban Marjanovic, of Serbia, and Tim Hardaway 12 apiece, and Dorian Finney-Smith 10 for the Mavericks, who have alternated wins and losses in their last five games.

Kevin Love had a team-high 29 points, while Tristan Thompson added 11 points and 12 rebounds for Cleveland, which led by as many as eight in the first quarter.

 

Source: Manila Bulletin