By Field Level Media-Reuters

The Los Angeles Clippers signed free agent guard Reggie Jackson, the team announced Thursday.

Terms of the deal were not divulged by the team.

“Reggie is a proven playmaker and scorer, and we are looking forward to adding his experience and creativity to our team,” said Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations.

Jackson, 29, averaged 14.9 points, 5.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 14 games (10 starts) with the Detroit Pistons this season before agreeing to a contract buyout. He was completing the final season of a five-year, $80 million contract with the Pistons.

Jackson started Detroit’s final six games before the All-Star break and had three 20-point performances in that span. He played in the first two games of the season then missed nearly two months with a back injury.

Jackson averaged 12.9 points, 4.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 544 career games (342 starts) across parts of nine NBA seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Pistons. He was the 24th overall pick in 2011.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving will have surgery on his right shoulder and miss the remainder of the NBA season, the team said Thursday.

Point guard Irving tried to play through a shoulder impingement first diagnosed in November, but eventually missed 26 games.

In hoping to avoid surgery he received a cortisone injection on December 24 that allowed him to return to action on January 12.

He played in nine games before spraining his right knee in a game against the Washington Wizards on February 1.

Speaking to reporters on February 4 he said he would consider surgery if his shoulder continued to trouble him.

Irving was averaging 27.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game this season.

At 25-28 the Nets are seventh in the Eastern Conference, two games ahead of the Orlando Magic occupying the eighth and final playoff spot.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

Kiefer Ravena on Thursday clarified that Gilas Pilipinas is more focused on giving its best effort than aiming for a blowout win over Indonesia in Sunday’s 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers match in Jakarta.

The Gilas captain was reacting to comments made by fellow pool member Marc Pingris, who bared that he and Ravena told the team to come away in the Indonesian capital with a winning margin of about 30 to 40 points.

While that may give fuel to an Indonesian side that opened its campaign in the Qualifiers with a 109-76 loss at home to South Korea, Ravena said the objective was mainly to set the bar high.

“It’s just a challenge that we put up to ourselves,” Ravena said on the eve of the team’s departure for Jakarta. “We all know it’s a game. Whether you win by one point or two points it’s the same, we have one win as a team.

“But kami ang pinakaimportante siguro for us is to play hard, play the best that we can. If we play hard, maybe can beat them by 30 or 40 points. It’s not gonna be easy, (but) it’s not gonna be impossible as well,” he added.

Recent history suggests that Gilas is favored to hand Indonesia another one-sided beating.

Gilas, with an all-PBA side, defeated Indonesia 97-64 to win the 2017 SEABA Championship at the Big Dome. Later that year, a group of young pros and amateurs which included Ravena prevailed 94-55 to claim gold in the Kuala Lumpur Southeast Asian Games.

In December, the Tim Cone-mentored Gilas rolled past Indonesia of coach Rajko Toroman 97-70 in the semifinals of the 30th SEA Games at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“People think we may be overconfident of having that type of goal, but you want to set the standards high, especially for the young ones,” Ravena said. “Sinasabi palagi nila coach Tab (Baldwin) and coach Mark (Dickel) na we want to build a culture of playing hard, and giving it our best may start by winning that way.”

A win will give Gilas a positive outlook in the Qualifiers which will see the Philippines also facing Thailand and South Korea in future windows.

“Karamihan sa amin mga first time pa lang maglalaro so coming up with a big, big victory over Indonesia in a dominating fashion, hopefully will be a good start for the program. It’s going to be something na masustain pa yung mga gusto pang gawin na mga programa sa Gilas.

“So hopefully, makapaglaro kami ng maayos talaga dahil gusto namin manalo ng ganoong way,” Ravena added.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

Ceres-Negros and Kaya-Iloilo will host their home matches on back-to-back days next week in the AFC Cup at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Ceres plays Vietnamese side Than Quang Ninh on Tuesday before Kaya plays Singaporean outfit Tampines Rovers the following night.

The consecutive home games came after the AFC decided to move the Ceres-Than Quang Ninh match in Manila due to the decision of the Vietnamese government to delay all sporting activities as a preventive measure against the novel coronavirus.

Than Quang Ninh will instead host Ceres on May 13 in Cam Pha, Vietnam.

It also forced Ceres to play three straight home matches to start its group stage campaign. The Busmen are scheduled to take on Indonesia’s Bali United on March 11.

Both Philippines Football League clubs opened their AFC Cup campaigns last week with victories.

Behind two goals from Spanish striker Bievenido Maranon, Ceres blanked Cambodian champion Svay Rieng 4-0 at Rizal Memorial while second half scores from Jovin Bedic and Eric Giganto propelled Kaya to a 2-0 win opposite Shan United in Yangon, Myanmar.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jan Carlo Anolin

ONE Championship heavyweight king Brandon Vera puts his belt on the line against former Olympic wrestler Arjan Bhullar in ONE: Infinity 2 on May 29.

In a Facebook post Thursday, ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced the upcoming fights for the ONE: Infinity Series which includes Vera’s headliner in Manila.

“A typical ONE Infinity Series event features three World Championship bouts, a minimum of 12 World Champions in action, Super Fights, A-list celebrities in attendance, and much more. BOOM! LET’S GOOOOO!!!” Sityodong wrote.

During the ONE: Fire & Fury last month, Vera teased the crowd after declaring his return to the Circle for the third world title defense in the promotion.

The 42-year-old Filipino-American hopes to bounce back from his loss against Myanmar’s Aung La N Sang, the middleweight and light heavyweight titleholder, via technical knockout last October.

Vera’s opponent, the Indo-Canadian Bhullar, a gold medalist in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, represented Canada in the 2012 London Summer Olympics in wrestling.

Bhullar made a successful ONE Championship debut by defeating Mauro Cerilli via unanimous decision in ONE: Century Part II last October.

Vera also knocked out Cerilli in the first round of ONE: Conquest of Champions in November 2018.

Other matches include Christian Lee (lightweight world and world grand prix champion) against Iuri Lapicus and Eddie Alvarez versus Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev.

The first part of ONE: Infinity will take place in Jakarta in April.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Martin Sadongdong

No. 16 Seton Hall Pirates halted a two-game skid as it tamed No. 21 Butler Bulldogs 74-72 with a game-winner from junior Sandro Mamukelashvili in US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball at the Prudential Center in New Jersey on Thursday (PH standard time).

Mamukelashvili caught a lob off an inbound pass from Quincy McKnight and sank a layup with 0.6 seconds to go to beat the visiting Butler.

With the win, Seton Hall improved to a 19-7 record while Butler dropped to 19-8.

Meanwhile, unranked NC State Wolfpack shocked No. 6 Duke Blue Devils 88-66.

The Wolfpack improved to 17-9 record while the Blue Devils fell to 22-4.

On the other hand, unranked Georgia Bulldogs also scored a massive upset with a win over No. 13 Auburn Tigers 65-55.

Georgia (13-13) snapped a four-game losing skid while Auburn (22-4) absorbed its second straight loss.

No. 11 Louisville Cardinals dominated unranked Syracuse Orange 90-66, with five of its players finishing in double figures.

Jordan Nwora led the offense of the Cardinals with 17 points and seven rebounds while Malik Williams had a double-double performance with 14 points and 13 rebounds. The Louisville improved to 22-5 while the Syracuse was down to 14-12.

In other games, No. 12 Villanova Wildcats defeated unranked DePaul Blue Demons 91-71; and No. 22 Houston Cougars clobbered unranked Tulsa Golden Hurricane 76-43. (Martin A. Sadongdong)

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Waylon Galvez

Even with the postponement of the Asian Jiu Jitsu Championship next month, it’s still going to be a busy year for the Filipino fighters with a number of tournaments already in place including the qualifiers for the 2021 World Games in Birmingham, USA.

Annie Ramirez, one of the top jiu jitsu athletes in the country, said they got word that organizers have already called off the Asian Championship in Saudi Arabia.

Though the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) does not affect the Middle Eastern country, concerns were raised with regards to participation of athletes from the different nations affected by the deadly disease.

“I think they’re not affected by the virus, pero ang naging concern yata is yung mga sasali naman. So baka konti ang makapag-participate kaya na-postpone yung event,” said Ramirez.

The said Asian Championship was supposed to be a qualifying tournament for the World Games, which is set July 15 to 25. With its postponement, however, Ramirez said the next qualifier is August in Thailand.

Three other important events lined up for jiu jitsu this year.

The club event in Abu Dhabi this April is considered one of the toughest tournaments worldwide, and although participants carry different club teams, it is also a good event for national team members.

“It’s a good opportunity kasi for athletes to compete in that event kasi ang competition malakas talaga. Magandang exposure and training ang mabibigay sayo,” she said.

Next is the national team trial next month, from where athletes will be selected to wear the country’s colors in different tournaments, including the World Games and the Asian Beach Games this November in China.

Ramirez said that while the Asian Beach Games is nine month away, it remains uncertain because of the Covid-19, saying: “Matagal pa, pero dahil sa China nag-start yung Coronavirus, hindi natin masabi pa kung matutuloy ba yun or not… depende siguro sa situation.”

“But hopefully, maging OK na lahat, hopefully matuloy yung Asian Beach Games,” said Ramirez, who, together with fellow jiu jitsu fighter Meggie Ochoa, took home a gold medal in the last Asian Beach Games in 2016 in Vietnam.

The two, as well as Carlo Angelo Pena, Adrian Guggenheim and Dean Michael Roxas all won gold medals in the 30th Southeast Asia Games here.

 

 

Source: Manila Bulletin

The Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) punched its way to the honor roll list of the SMC-PSA (Philippine Sportswriters Association) Annual Awards Night, claiming the title National Sports Association of the Year.

Led by Nesthy Petecio, the Filipino pugs stamped their class everywhere in 2019 which saw them winning golds from the Asian to the world levels.

The feat earned for ABAP yet another NSA of the Year award from the country’s oldest media organization, which will honor and recognize the top sports personalities and entities from last year during its annual gala night on March 6 at the Centennial Hall of the Manila Hotel.

Team Philippines is going to be accorded with the coveted Athlete of the Year honor in the event presented by the Philippine Sports Commission, MILO, Cignal TV, the Philippine Basketball Association, AirAsia, and Rain or Shine.

Petecio, 27, was at the forefront of ABAP’s successful campaign, finally scoring a breakthrough gold medal in the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Ulan-Ude, Russia after beating hometown bet Liudmila Vorontsova by split decision in ruling the featherweight division.

Felix Eumir Marcial just fell short of matching Petecio’s gold medal feat as he settled for the silver in the same world tournament for men held in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Nonetheless, the 24-year-old native of Lunzuran, Zamboanga City became just the third Filipino who finished runner-up in the prestigious award after light-flyweight Roel Velasco (1997) and Harry Tanamor (2007).

Not to be left out was former world champion Josie Gabuco.

The 32-year-old veteran fighter went home with the gold in the ASBC (Asian Boxing Confederation) Elite Boxing Championships held in Bangkok, Thailand, defeating North Korea’s Kim Hyang Mi in the finals of the women’s light-flyweight category.

Before Petecio, Gabuco was an AIBA world women’s champion back in 2012.

The three would later banner the Filipinos’ productive stint in the 30th Southeast Asian Games in which the Philippine boxing team emerged overall champion.

Petecio, Gabuco, and Marcial made up part of the seven gold medals the national team won to beat perennial rival Thailand for the sport’s overall title.

Incidentally, the Philippine team failed to win a medal in just one of the 13 boxing events competed in the SEA Games.

Like in the world meet, the gold Petecio won was her first ever in the biennial meet after previously ending up with just a silver medal from 2011 to 2015.

For Marcial, it was his third SEA Games gold medal, while Gabuco now has a record five golds.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Kristel Satumbaga

The International Paralympic Committee has allocated one spot for the Philippine swimming team to the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, national para swimming coach Tony Ong bared on Thursday.

In a radio interview, Ong said they have received the notification last week and already forwarded it to the Philippine Paralympic Committee to facilitate the needed acknowledgments for the use of the said allocation.

With this, top Filipino para swimmer Ernie Gawilan earned the allocated berth to become the country’s representative to the Paralympics after getting the most number of Olympic qualifying points among his teammates.

He gained points at the 2018 Asian Para Games and the 2019 World Para Championships in London.

However, Gawilan needs to compete in one more qualifier to re-classify his disability.

“We are looking at competitions in Europe,” said Ong.

Ong also said they are planning to send Gary Bejino and the rest of the squad to the next qualifier with hopes of gaining more qualifiers to the Para Games.

It will not be the first time that Gawilan will be competing in the Paralympics. At the 2016 edition in Rio, the 28-year-old Davao City bet competed in the 400-meter freestyle, 100m free and 100m backstroke.

He boasted of a gold medal in the 200-meter individual medley and a silver in the 50m freestyle at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. He also won three bronze medals in the 2014 Asian Para Games in Incheon, South Korea.

Source: Manila Bulletin

 By Jonas Terrado

Unless the trade papers that will send him to TNT KaTropa have been given a seal of approval, Poy Erram is fully committed to help the NLEX Road Warriors as long as he could.

Erram has been playing the waiting game since Monday when NLEX, TNT and Blackwater agreed on a deal involving several players and future draft picks.

The PBA, at press time, has yet to approve the trade, with sources saying that the involved parties were asked to include additional pieces in order for the league to give it a thumbs up sign.

For now, Erram wants to make sure he won’t slack off while with the Road Warriors.

“Alam ko kung saang team ako, NLEX pa rin ako e,” Erram said after Wednesday’s tune-up game between NLEX and Alaska.

“Yun pa rin ang team na gusto ko. Yun pa rin ang gusto ni coach Yeng. Hanggang ngayon NLEX pa rin,” he added.

Rumors surrounding the deal surfaced that Erram had a falling out with Guiao, something the two immediately belied.

In fact, Guiao expressed that he didn’t want to part ways with Erram, saying that the decision was beyond his control.

“Just to set the record straight, wala kaming pinag-awayan ni Poy,” Guiao stressed. “We are happy with him, I think he’s happy with us. That’s not the reason for the trade.”

Guiao even hailed Erram for participating in practices and tune-up games amid the uncertainty of the trade.

“Gusto niya pa makasama yung mga teammates niya even though he knows there’s a pending development,” said Guiao. “But he comes to practice really just really doesn’t miss anything even itong game hindi niya alam kung maglalaro siya o hindi, dumating pa rin siya.”

“Wala pa rin namang lumalabas na kahit ano kaya hangga’t walang lumalabas pupunta pa rin ako ng maaga,” Erram said.

“Ginagawa ko pa rin ang daily routine ko. Siyempre ayoko naman na magtatanga-tangahan din, maghihintay-hintay din kasi mawawala rin ako sa kondisyon. Kasi if ever na di matuloy, tuloy ako sa NLEX, walang problema.”

Source: Manila Bulletin