By Agence France-Presse

Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 34 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks over the New Orleans Pelicans 120-108 on Tuesday.

Antetokounmpo hit 12-of-17 from the floor and 9-of-13 free throws while adding six assists, a steal and a blocked shot as the Bucks improved their NBA-best record to 43-7 thanks to a 42-24 scoring edge in the third quarter.

“I had a good game but I could get better,” Antetokounmpo said. “Closing down the third quarter, we didn’t do a good job. We got sloppy.”

The Greek star still feels the sting of losing to Toronto in last year’s Eastern Conference final and failing to lift the Bucks into their first NBA Finals since 1974, three years after Milwaukee won its only title.

That’s why chasing the NBA one-season best record of 73-9 by Golden State is not the Bucks’ major goal.

“It’s going to be good if we win 70 games. All that hard work is going to pay off,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s going to be even better if we get better every game and play for the championship.”

Brandon Ingram led the host Pelicans with 32 points, while 19-year-old rookie star Zion Williamson had 20 points despite 5-of-19 shooting from the floor with seven rebounds and five assists.

“I’m happy he’s going to be out there and help his team win,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s good playing against him. It’s going to be a great duel for a lot of years.”

In Los Angeles, the Lakers got 36 points, nine assists and seven rebounds from LeBron James and 18 points from Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma as the hosts rolled over the San Antonio Spurs 129-102.

The Lakers improved the best record in the Western Conference to 38-11, 3 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Clippers.

James sank five 3-pointers in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter to stretch the Lakers’ lead from 87-77 to 108-87 and seal San Antonio’s fate.

“LeBron came out and hit five straight threes in 3 1/2 minutes, he got the lead for us and closed out the game early,” Davis said.

“We just want to come out and make sure we play defense every night.”

DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with 28 points.

NBA scoring leader James Harden, chasing a third consecutive NBA scoring crown, poured in 40 points, passed off 12 assists and grabbed nine rebounds to power the Houston Rockets over visiting Charlotte 125-110.

Harden could match the third-longest run of scoring titles in NBA history, behind only the record seven seasons in a row of scoring crowns won by Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.

Serbian center Nikola Jokic scored 29 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and passed out nine assists to spark the Denver Nuggets over visiting Portland 127-99. Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers with 21 points.

Source: Manila Bulletin

The man behind the success of Team Philippines in the 30th Southeast Asian Games will have his share of the limelight in the SMC-PSA (Philippine Sportswriters Association) Annual Awards Night.

Team Philippines Chef De Mission William ‘Butch’ Ramirez is going to be honored with the Executive of the Year honor during the March 6 gala at the Centennial Hall of the Manila Hotel for being at the helm of the country’s successful campaign in the biennial meet.

Ramirez, who’s also the chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), is credited for steering the Philippines in regaining the overall championship of the SEA Games after 14 years.

The 1,115-strong Filipino athletes won a record haul of 149 gold, 117 silver, and 121 bronze medals, the most the Philippines ever had since it began participating in the meet in 1977.

Incidentally, Ramirez was also the PSC chief when the country first clinched the SEA Games overall title in 2005.

Ramirez joins an elite company that has been bestowed with the same award previously by the country’s oldest media organization headed by president Tito S. Talao of the Manila Bulletin. The list includes the likes of Manny V. Pangilinan, Ramon S. Ang, Wilfred Uytengsu, Hans Sy, Ricky Vargas, Chito Salud, Jude Echauz Dan Palami, and Philip Ella Juico.

Ramirez joins the entire Team Philippines on centerstage during the awards night also presented by the PSC, MILO, Cignal TV, Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), Rain or Shine, and AirAsia as it will be the recipient of the prestigious Athlete of the Year award.

The country’s sportswriting fraternity will also be handing out trophies for the President’s Award, Executive of the Year, and the National Sports Association (NSA) of the Year.

Other awards include Ms. Basketball, Mr. Volleyball, Ms. Golf, Mr. Football, and Coach of the Year.

There will also be recipients of Major Awards, Lifetime Achievement Award, Tony Siddayao Awards, MILO Junior Athletes Award, and citations to be led by the SEA Games gold medal winners.

Meanwhile, sports personalities who passed away last year will also be accorded with a posthumous recognition.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Kristel Satumbaga

Adamson University squeaked past Ateneo de Manila behind the efforts of Jeremy Guarino 79-76 to complete the Final Four cast in UAAP boys basketball on Wednesday at The Arena in San Juan City.

Guarino knocked down a three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left to steer the Baby Falcons to their eighth victory in 14 games and forge a tie with the Blue Eaglets at third to fourth places.

Ateneo, however, took the No. 3 seeding owing to a better quotient. They joined National University-Nazareth School and Far Eastern University into the next phase.

Guarino finished with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists and teamed up with John Figueroa, who sizzled with a double-double of 26 points and 21 rebounds.

The duo outshone the efforts of Josh Lazaro and Francis Lopez, who merged for 37 points and 26 boards for Ateneo.

Lopez attempted a buzzer-beating trey with hopes of sending the game into overtime but failed.

With Adamson’s triumph, University of Santo Tomas’ bid of a playoff for the remaining semis berth flickered out despite its 95-87 victory over De La Salle-Zobel.

The Tiger Cubs settled for fifth at 7-7 with John Lina’s 25-point, 16-rebound production. Jacob Refuerzo-Cortez and Rafael Biag chipped in 21 and 10 points.

La Salle Zobel finished the double-round elims with 3-11 near the bottom.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

The New York Knicks said Tuesday they have split with team president Steve Mills, leaving general manager Scott Perry to oversee the struggling club just two days before the NBA trade deadline.

Mills, who had been in the role since July 2017, has directed the Knicks to a woeful 61-200 record since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, including a 15-36 mark this season.

“I’m disappointed we were unable to achieve success for New York,” Mills said in a statement released by the team.

The Knicks, who have had three different coaches under Mills’s tenure, haven’t managed a winning season or reached the playoffs since 2013 and they have won only one playoff series since 2000.

“Steve and I have come to the decision that it would be best for him to leave his role as president of the New York Knicks,” Knicks owner Jim Dolan said. “We thank Steve for his many years of service to our organization.”

The Knicks are 13th in the NBA Eastern Conference, 7 1/2 games behind Orlando for the last playoff spot.

Mills took over after 11-time NBA champion coach Phil Jackson parted ways with the Knicks after they went 80-166 from 2014-17 without reaching the playoffs.

The Knicks said Mills was expected to be nominated to the board of a sports-only ownership group to be created by a planned spinoff of entertainment holdings by the club’s ownership group.

Multiple reports have had Dolan interested in Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri, but he is under contract to the reigning NBA champions through next season.

Despite having abundant money during last year’s free agency signing period, the Knicks were unable to land top talent, particularly stung by losing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to the city-rival Brooklyn Nets.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence-France Presse

Former Slam Dunk Contest champion Dwight Howard, NBA All-Stars Damian Lillard and Trae Young and Toronto’s Pascal Siakam are highlight entrants into the All-Star Saturday Night festivities announced Tuesday by the league.

The 35th Slam Dunk event, 34th 3-Point Contest and 17th NBA Skills Challenge will top festivities on February 15 in Chicago on the eve of the 69th NBA All-Star Game.

Eight-time All-Star Howard, who returns to the contest after 11 years, won the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk crown with a series of innovative dunks that included donning a Superman cape for one slam jam spectacle.

The 34-year-old Los Angeles Lakers center, who helped the US team capture 2008 Olympic gold at Beijing, will compete against Milwaukee’s Pat Connaughton and former dunk contest runners-up Aaron Gordon of Orlando from 2016 and Derrick Jones Jr. of Miami from 2017.

The last time the Slam Dunk event took place in Chicago was in 1988, when hometown star Michael Jordan won his second title in a row in a dazzling display that edged out Atlanta’s Dominique Wilkins.

Defending champion Joe Harris of the Brooklyn Nets will try to become the first back-to-back 3-Point Contest winner since Jason Kapono in 2007-2008.

He will be challenged by Portland’s Lillard and Atlanta’s Young, who will test their skills from beyond the arc before playing in the All-Star showdown the next night.

Five-time All-Star Lillard ranks third in NBA, scoring at 29.8 points a game and second in 3-point hoops with 192, while Young — fifth in league scoring at 29.2 points a game — has made 156 3-pointers in 46 games after making the same number over 81 games last season.

The field for the two-round, timed shooting competition also includes Washington’s Latvian forward Davis Bertans, Charlotte’s Devonte Graham, Chicago’s Zach LaVine, Sacramento’s Buddy Hield and Miami’s Duncan Robinson.

Cameroonian playmaker Siakam of the defending champion Toronto Raptors is among five All-Stars in the Skills Challenge, an obstacle-course competition testing agility, passing, dribbling and 3-point accuracy.

Other All-Stars in the event include defending Skills Challenge champion Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, Miami’s Bam Adebayo, Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis and Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton.

Also in the field are past champions Patrick Beverley of the Los Angeles Clippers, Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets and Derrick Rose of the Detroit Pistons.

Beverley, the 2015 winner, is a Chicago native, as is Rose, who won in 2009 as an NBA rookie and later became the 2011 NBA Most Valuable Player while competing for Chicago.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

Game Sunday
(Sta. Rosa, Laguna)
7:30 p.m. — Alab Pilipinas vs Saigon

San Miguel Alab Pilipinas was handed a 91-63 beating by the Kuala Lumpur Dragons on Tuesday in the ASEAN Basketball League at the MABA Stadium in Malaysia.

Alab encountered a bad start while having no answers for Malaysia import Will Artino to suffer the second worst loss of its rollercoaster campaign in the regional league.

Coach Jimmy Alapag’s squad was denied of a third straight win to fall in third place at 8-5, trailing Thailand’s Mono Vampire (10-4) and the Taipei Fubon Braves (9-5).

The Philippine side dropped to 4-4 since winning four of its first five games.

Contributing to the loss was the 17 turnovers committed and a 35-percent shooting clip by Alab.

Import Nick King scored 13 points but shot 6-of-19 from the field while Fil-American point guard Jason Brickman was held to just two points and six assists by his former team.

Artino led the way for Kuala Lumpur with 24 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks while Tian Yuan Kwek added 16 points and seven boards.

Alab shot 6-of-17 and had five turnovers in the first quarter, allowing Malaysia to take a 24-14 advantage.

The scores:

KUALA LUMPUR 91 — Artino 24, Kuek 16, Davis 14, Bell 14, Lepichev 12, Ting 5, Chin 3, Sim 3, Wong 0, Tem 0.

ALAB PILIPINAS 63 — King 13, Williams 11, Deguara 10, Domingo 8, Caracut 7, Heading 5, Gray 4, Ganuelas-Rosser 3, Brickman 2, Vigil 0, Rangel 0, Aban 0.

Quarters: 24-14; 43-31; 67-45; 91-63.

Source: Manila Bulletin

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Paul George found his groove just in time to help the Los Angeles Clippers pull off a 108-105 NBA victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.

George, who made just two of his first seven shots, drained four of his last six as the Clippers rallied from a 15-point second-quarter deficit to snatch the win.

Trailing by nine points at halftime, the Clippers out-scored the Spurs 31-19 in the third period to take an 85-82 lead.

After a back-and-forth battle in the fourth the Clippers emerged with the win by three.

”We don’t care if it’s a blowout or it’s a close one — we need to learn how to do both,” said George, who also pulled down 12 rebounds and handed out eight assists as the Clippers, second in the Western Conference, improved to 35-15.

Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 22 points and his one-handed dunk — off a pass from George — put Los Angeles up by two with 1:35 to play.

George drained a jump shot with 13.7 seconds left to give Los Angeles a 106-102 lead, the Spurs responding with a three-pointer from Patty Mills before Lou Williams made two free throws for the Clippers to seal it.

”Defense is key,” said George, who left the game with his nose bleeding in the third after taking an elbow from DeMar DeRozan but returned in the final period.

”I think defensively we got in a nice little zone and offensively it comes down to us making good shots.

”I just found a rhythm,” he said of his own late surge. ”I was able to see the ball go down … that’s all it took.”

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 13 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter for the Spurs, but DeRozan, who scored 26, came up empty in the final period.

In Miami, Jimmy Butler exploded for a season-high 38 points against his former team, doing enough damage to sit out all of the fourth quarter of the Heat’s 137-106 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Butler’s aggressive game helped the Heat overcome the early departures of injured Tyler Herro and Meyers Leonard — who had to be helped from the floor with sprained left ankle.

With Boston’s 123-115 victory over the Hawks in Atlanta, Miami and the Celtics both finished the night with records of 34-15 — eight games behind Eastern Conference leaders Milwaukee and 1.5 behind second-placed Toronto.

”I felt great,” Butler said. ”More than anything I’m super-happy that we got the Dub (W).”

Bam Adebayo added 18 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists for the Heat, who scored 41 points in the third quarter to blow open the game.

In Atlanta, the Hawks rallied to pressure the Celtics late, but rookie Grant Williams came up with a couple of big baskets down the stretch — including a driving layup with 37.6sec remaining that pushed Boston’s lead to six points.

Jayson Tatum scored 28 points for Boston, connecting on 10 of 20 shots from the field including five of nine from three-point range.

Gordon Hayward added 24 points and Jaylen Brown had 21 for the Celtics, who led by as many as 13 before the Hawks — led by 34 points from Trae Young — slashed the deficit to three points with less than four minutes to play.

The Golden State Warriors, coming off a 131-112 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, kept things rolling with a 125-117 victory over the Wizards in Washington.

Alec Burks came off the bench to score 30 points for Golden State, who had six players score in double figures to withstand a 43-point performance from Washington’s Bradley Beal.

Davis Bertans added 19 points for Washington while Thomas Bryant and Japan’s Rui Hachimura — back in the starting lineup after missing 22 games with a groin injury — scored 11 points apiece.

Source: Manila Bulletin

Games Wednesday

(The Arena, San Juan)

8:30 a.m. – Mapua vs LPU (Junior’s)

10 a.m. – Mapua vs LPU (Men’s)

12 noon – Mapua vs LPU (Women’s)

2 p.m. – EAC vs SSC-R (Women’s)

3:30 p.m. – EAC vs SSC-R (Men’s)

5 p.m. – EAC vs SSC-R (Junior’s)
By WAYLON GALVEZ

Defending three-time champion Arellano University rebounded from a shocking defeat recently with a 25-14, 26-28, 25-19, 25-16 win over Letran t move closer to a Final Four spot in NCAA Season 95 volleyball Tuesday at The Arena in San Juan City.

Regine Arocha powered the Lady Chiefs with 19 points and three service aces, while Necole Ebuen, last season’s MVP, and Carla Donato added 13 and 12 points as Arellano moved up to solo second with a 6-1 card.

The Lady Chiefs rallied from a 24-19 deficit with five straight points that leveled the score at 24-all in the second set.

The Lady Knights, however, held their poise to level the match at one set apiece.

Arellano was not to be denied, though, as it dominated the next two sets to win the game.

Lady Chiefs coach Obet Javier was not satisfied with this team’s performance due to their numerous errors.

“Nanalo ka pero hindi ganong kasaya kasi ang dami pa ring lapses ‘yung team,” said Javier, pointing to the team’s inconsistencies, particularly in the second set which they lost.

Letran’s setback dropped the team to fifth spot with a 3-3 card, trailing San Beda (4-2) by a game in the race for the last semifinals berth.

Chamberlaine Cuñada tallied 16 points and Julienne Castro had 10 points and 10 digs for the Lady Knights.

In men’s play, Jesrael Liberato had 17 points, including three blocks, as Arellano made short work of Letran 25-22, 25-12, 25-17 for a 5-2 card.

Arellano also extended its perfect juniors run to seven following a 25-12, 25-21, 23-25, 25-20 conquest of Letran.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By NICK GIONGCO

Olympic chief of mission Nonong Araneta said on Tuesday that the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak is messing up the timetable of Filipino athletes gearing up for berths to Tokyo 2020.

“The health and safety of our athletes are our utmost concern,” said Araneta as he prepares to review the program and budget proposal of 16 national sports association leaders aspiring to send their athletes to the Tokyo Olympics.

Tokyo2020 is scheduled July 24 to August 9 with Araneta, whose appointment as CDM was made possible by Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) Bambol Tolentino, the POC and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) at the forefront of the preparations.

Araneta said 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist and recently-crowned World Cup queen Hidilyn Diaz and other rising weightlifters are eyeing to set up training camp in China “where the facilities are excellent and our relationship with them is fine”

“But as of the moment, we have to find another venue where they can train,” said Araneta.

The coronavirus epidemic has scrapped and postponed big major events across China and it is not clear when the situation not only in China but across the globe would return to normalcy as cases are soaring and deaths are beginning to mount.

Last Jan. 24, the 16 NSAs beat a deadline imposed by PSC chairman Butch Ramirez for them to furnish his agency documents detailing their respective Olympic programs.

Athletics, aquatics, basketball (3×3), boxing, cycling, golf, gymnastics, judo, karate, kayak, rowing, skateboarding, table-tennis, taekwondo, triathlon and weightlifting were identified as NSAs with talent aiming to make the Olympic grade in various tournaments in the coming months.

ABL GAMES RESET

Fifteen games of the ASEAN Basketball League have been rescheduled due to travel restrictions caused by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

The league said yesterday that the affected games originally scheduled from Feb. 8 to March 1 are those from Hong Kong Eastern, Macau Black Bears and the Macau Wolf Warriors. The three teams are located in areas where several countries have imposed temporary travel bans.

One of the games rescheduled is San Miguel Alab Pilipinas’ home meeting with the Black Bears on Feb. 16 at the City of Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Laguna. (With a report from Jonas Terrado)

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Dhel Nazario 

A mural spanning an entire basketball court in Barangay Ususan in Taguig City was repainted by various talented artists as tribute to immortalize the late NBA legend, Kobe Bryant.

Bryant  visited the same court in 2016 when he shared hoops knowledge to young ballers of Taguig as part of his Mamba Mentality Tour  following his retirement after a 20-year NBA career.

The five-time NBA champion was a frequent visitor of Taguig.

Bryant first stepped foot in Taguig in September 2007 at the Nike Park in Bonifacio Global City for his Supernatural Asia Tour where he interacted with school children during a basketball clinic.

He returned in July 2011 in Barangay Pinagsama where he also visited and greeted youngsters during a basketball training camp.

It was followed by a final appearance in Barangay Ususan in 2016. During the same visit, Bryant returned to Nike Park in BGC for his Mamba Mentality Tour.

An exhibit in honor of Kobe has also been set up by the city government at the Ususan Covered Court where fans may visit and reminisce his legacy in basketball.

Source: Manila Bulletin