By JONAS TERRADO

NLEX and Columbian yesterday faced off with a pair of university teams from South Korea as part of their early buildup for the season opening PBA Philippine Cup which kicks off March 1.

The Road Warriors defeated Seoul-based Korea University 88-78 while the Dyip downed Dankook University, also located in the South Korean capital, in the pair of scrimmages held at the Upper Deck Sports Center in Ortigas.

Poy Erram scored 21 points while rookie AC Soberano, drafted in the second round of PBA Draft, and Jericho Cruz added 12 and 10 points to lead NLEX to a convincing win over Korea University.

CJ Perez posted 25 points, rookie Roosevelt Adams hit 18 and Glenn Khobuntin added 13 for the Dyip in defeating Dankook.

NLEX is seeking to bounce back after losing to NorthPort in the Governors’ Cup quarterfinals despite claiming the top seed in the playoffs.

Coach Yeng Guiao will have Kiefer Ravena for a full season after making his return from a lengthy FIBA suspension in the previous conference.

Columbian barely missed the playoffs in all three conferences last season, with Perez playing the starring role. (Jonas Terrado)

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jan Carlo Anolin

Brandon Vera graced the ONE: Fire & Fury  Friday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay with an important announcement — “The Truth” is ready to defend his heavyweight title.

Mixed martial arts action will return to Manila on May 29 at the same venue, headlining Vera’s match in ONE: Code of Honor as per ONE’s official website.

After Team Lakay’s Danny Kingad’s unanimous decision victory over Chinese foe Xie Wei, the 42-year-old ONE heavyweight king took center stage and announced the comeback fight against a still unnamed challenger.

“That heavyweight title is ours. Sa atin ‘yun,” the 42-year-old Filipino-American said, drawing cheers from the crowd.

“We have people challenging me thinking they can take our belt from us. I encourage, lahat ng ating kababayan [to watch], all our Filipino athletes to get on the card.

“Pataasin natin ang gating bansa. May 29, let’s show the world why Philippines is awesome.”

This will be Vera’s third world title defense in the promotion, hoping to add another first round knockout in his record.

In December 2014, Vera stopped Igor Subora of Ukraine in the first round to take the title and came back the following year with a knockout win against Taiwanese Paul Cheng.

“The Truth” defeated Japanese grappler Hideki Sekine via technical knockout in December 2016 and had another knockout victory against Italian striker Mauro Cerilli.

Vera’s quest, however, came to a halt after yielding to Myanmar’s Aung La N Sang, middleweight and light heavyweight title holder, via technical knockout in the second round last October.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jan Carlo Anolin

Joshua Pacio has defeated all former champions in the ONE strawweight division. So what’s next for the 24-year-old champion?

Downplaying his performance in the split decision win against Brazilian challenger Alex Silva, Pacio vowed to improve his all-around skills for the next fight — whoever that is.

“Naka-focus ako ngayon sa kung paano ko pa papa-level up ‘yung skills ko,” the Team Lakay champion said.

“Rematch man o sino man ‘yung next, para sa akin ibang Joshua Pacio ‘yung mapakita ko sa next.”

The 24-year-old Baguio native, who holds a 16-3- record in mixed martial arts, has toppled all former strawweight champions starting from Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke of Thailand, Japanese fighters Yoshitaka Naito and Yosuke Saruta to Silva.

The win also made Pacio, who submitted fellow Filipino Rene Catalan in the second round via arm triangle choke last November, the first fighter to defend the strawweight title back to back.

In the five round thriller, Pacio, an efficient striker, displayed prowess in the ground game and matched the jiu-jitsu mastery of Silva.

The 37-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelter  lured Pacio on the floor but the wiser champion refused to do so and admitted to resorting to playing safe.

“I think he’s waiting for me to make a mistake. ‘Yung mga galing ng mga blackbelt, isang mistake mo, kukunin ka kaagad.

“Kung magii-scramble ka, mag-e-explode ka, nandoon ‘yung submission. So dahan-dahan ‘yung pag-escape ko para hindi makuha lalo na ‘yung arm triangle niya sa akin.”

At one point in the opening round, Pacio caught Silva’s left leg and eyed for the submission but failed.

Pacio’s improvement in ground game drew praises from Team Lakay mentor Mark Siangao.

Silva, however, found it hard to accept defeat and said he will review the match: “I don’t want to take a decision like that because I feel I had the fight.”

The Brazilian challenger later admitted that Pacio’s signature striking and developing ground game had impressed him.

“He’s a tough kid and he deserves to be on top of the division.” (Jan Carlo Anolin) ###

Source: Manila Bulletin

NEW YORK (AFP) – Swiss center Clint Capela, benched by a heel injury, has been the subject of transfer talks by the Houston Rockets as Thursday’s NBA trade deadline approaches, according to multiple reports Monday.

The 25-year-old from Geneva, who played in France as a youth, was a first-round pick of the Rockets in the 2014 NBA Draft and has averaged 12.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots over 334 games for Houston.

ESPN and the Houston Chronicle say the Rockets seek an outside shooter and are willing to part with Capela, who has missed the team’s past three games.

The Rockets have gone 3-0 in the span using a lineup of players 6-feet-6 (1.98m) and under, a small lineup that has allowed for fast-paced play but left Houston suffering in rebounding.

At 31-18, the Rockets rank fifth in the Western Conference but are only three games behind the second-place Los Angeles Clippers.

ESPN mentioned Capela interest from the Atlanta Hawks, who at 13-37 share the worst record in the Eastern Conference with Cleveland, and says the club has also looked at New Zealander Steven Adams of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Minnesota forward Robert Covington could be the sort of wing player the Rockets covet, but Houston might need to involve a third team to provide the assets in players or draft picks to make such a deal work for the Timberwolves.

Capela, whose contract is set to pay him $51.3 million over the next three seasons, is averaging 13.9 points, 13.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots a game this season.

The Chronicle says Rockets sources call the conversations about Capela ”business as usual” as the trade deadline nears.

Houston’s James Harden, seeking a third consecutive NBA scoring title, leads the league with 35.7 points a game while backcourt partner Russell Westbrook has added 26.4 points a game.

Source: Manila Bulletin

 

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The NBA’s two All-Star teams will wear jersey numbers honoring the memory of Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna in the mid-season showcase, and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James had a simple reason for going with Gianna Bryant’s No. 2.

”Zhuri,” James said, referring to his own five-year-old daughter.

James spoke movingly on Friday of the joy Bryant had found since his retirement in life as a family man and father of four daughters.

”It felt like these last three years were the happiest I’ve ever seen him,” James said.

The numbers are among the planned All-Star weekend tributes to Bryant and Gianna, who were among nine people who died in helicopter crash on January 26.

The team captained by Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo will wear the No. 24 that Bryant wore in the later stages of his 20-year NBA career.

Memories of Bryant are sure to be everywhere for the rest of the season, but James said the Lakers are finding their way forward.

”Today was the start of a new week,” James said as the team trained at their practice facility in suburban El Segundo. ”We got a great workout, great practice today.

”We continue to focus on what needs to be done to continue to win ball games and get better and be as great as we can be. So it was a good day for us today.”

But it hasn’t been easy, and James said the Lakers continue to lean on each other as they try to get to grips with Bryant’s death.

”There is no way any individual can do it on their own,” he said.

”The week that we had, the week that we’ve all had.

”You have to lean on somebody in order to gain strength. That’s the only reason we’re all able to get through it together.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Kristel Satumbaga

 

The country’s top junior netter Alex Eala propelled her International Tennis Federation world junior rankings to a career-high No. 4 this week following her successful title stint at the Australian Open Junior Championships over the weekend.

The 14-year-old scholar of the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy jumped five notches from No. 9 last week after winning the girls doubles crown with Indonesian partner Priska Madelyn Nugroho and a third-round finish in the girls singles.

Her title feat made her only the second Filipino Grand Slam champion after Francis Casey Alcantara, who won the Australian Open boys doubles title in 2009.

“The win was very unexpected,” said Eala in an interview with Radyo Pilipinas. “It’s really hard to believe that I’ve come this far, but I try not to dwell on what I have now. I’m looking forward to more tournaments.”

That means joining more pro circuit events, including a still unnamed $25,000 ITF event some time in March.

Eala said they have to confirm the plan first with the Rafa Nadal Academy.

Getting pro stints will help firm up Eala’s status this early to make more future Grand Slam appearances – and possibly more Grand Slam titles.

However, she will still continue to join junior tournaments including the pre-Grand Slam event of the Roland Garros in May.

“It’s not easy to be in the court there. I get so nervous, but eventually I need to deal with nerves and still think straight during the matches,” she said.

Eala had come a long way from ending the 2018 season at No. 248 to as high as No. 13 last October.

She started this year at No. 9.

Eala left for Mallorca, Spain on Tuesday to resume both her studies and training at the academy.

 

END IT.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

Team Standings W L

Mono Vampire 9 4

Alab Pilipinas 8 4

Taipei Fubon 9 5

Formosa 8 6

Black Bears 7 7

Singapore 5 6

Kuala Lumpur 4 5

Wolf Warriors 5 8

Hong Kong 3 7

Saigon 2 8

Game Tuesday

(MABA Stadium, Kuala Lumpur)

8 p.m. — Kuala Lumpur vs Alab Pilipinas

Consistency remains an issue for coach Jimmy Alapag even as San Miguel Alab Pilipinas visits the Kuala Lumpur Dragons with a chance to win its third straight game in the ASEAN Basketball League at MABA Stadium in Malaysia.

Alab will bank on its two hard-fought overtime victories and keep within striking distance of the league-leading Mono Vampire in the 8 p.m. match against a Dragons side that has lost its last three outings.

Alapag said they “don’t make it easy on ourselves” after Alab survived Mono 100-92 last Thursday in Nonthaburi before needing another five-minute opening period Sunday night to edge the Singapore Slingers 86-77 in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

“That’s really our challenge at this point of the season, is finding that consistency and how we play,” said Alapag, whose team improved to 8-4 despite coming off a rollercoaster January.

The Philippine side went 3-3 during the previous month, its other wins coming at the expense of the Taipei Fubon Braves and Hong Kong Eastern while losing to the Macau Wolf Warriors, Singapore and Mono.

Alapag lauded his team’s resolve in the last two games, something he hopes can be sustained as Alab enters the halfway mark of the ABL regular season.

“We’ve been really up and down the last few weeks,” he said after beating Singapore. “But coming off the game in Thailand and not really having much preparation for this Singapore game, I thought the guys’ energy and focus for the most part was really, really good.

“It’s just something that we have to sustain going forward,” added Alapag.

Alab led 52-41 at the half but saw Singapore climb back behind Leon Kwek and import Xavier Alexander to take the lead.

But Alab banked on Jason Brickman, imports Sam Deguara and Nick King, Lawrence Domingo and Jeremiah Gray to see off the Slingers.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Nick Giongco

Japanese bomber Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue swears he know his Filipino rival and fellow three-division titleholder John Riel Casimero by heart.

In fact, Inoue sums up Casimero in four ways: Aggressive. Hard-punching. Dangerous. Wild.

Inoue, holder of the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation bantamweight titles, meets Casimero, ruler of the World Boxing Organization crown, on April 25 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

During a press conference in Tokyo, Inoue expressed his readiness to collide with his second straight Filipino foe in Casimero as he is coming off a savage outing against Nonito Donaire late last year.

In fact, Inoue has commenced a crucial stage of his buildup for the unification duel with Casimero, telling the Japanese media that he is already started sparring.

Even though he suffered a fractured orbital bone against Donaire, who he beat in a thrilling encounter, Inoue revealed that it has healed completely.

Inoue (19-0 with 16 KOs) is favored against Casimero (29-4 with 20 KOs) but admits he is up against a livewire opponent.

Casimero became the WBO king four weeks after Inoue’s rousing victory over Donaire when he battered the rangy and heavy-handed South African Zolani Tete in three rounds in Birmingham, England.

Prior to his destruction of Tete, Casimero captured world titles at light-fly (108 lbs) and fly (112 lbs).

For Inoue, beating Casimero would be a landmark moment for Japanese boxing as it would make him the first Japanese to hold three title belts at the same time.

To prime up for Casimero, Inoue will uproot his Japan training camp early so he can spend the last three weeks on US soil.

Before finding a home at bantamweight, Inoue also won world titles at light-fly and super-fly (115 lbs).

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON – NBA scoring leaders James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo powered their teams to decisive NBA triumphs Sunday while Detroit snapped a five-game losing streak by rallying past Denver.

Houston star Harden scored 40 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out nine assists as the Rockets defeated visiting New Orleans and rookie star Zion Williamson 117-109.

Harden, on pace for his third NBA scoring title in a row with 35.6 points a game, hit 12-of-24 shots from the floor, 7-of-15 from 3-point range, and all nine of his free throws.

“We want to finish these games up before the break and come back with some momentum,” Harden said.

“When we hit our stride it’s going to be pretty scary. We’re still trying to find it and we will.”

Greek big man Antetokounmpo scored 30 points, exactly his season scoring average, while pulling down 19 rebounds and passing off nine assists to spark the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks over the visiting Phoenix Suns 129-108.

Khris Middleton added 25 points for the Bucks, who improved the NBA’s best record to 42-7, while Devin Booker led the Suns with 32 points.

“We all depend on each other and we just want to continue to get better each night,” said Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez, who had 17 points and nine blocked shots.

The Rockets, outrebounded 63-43, used a smaller lineup with Swiss center Clint Capela injured, taking full advantage of the speed, passing and playmaking skills of Harden and Russell Westbrook, who contributed 22 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

“Be healthy and continue to keep our good spirit up, we’ll be all right,” Harden said.

The Rockets, fifth in the Western Conference at 31-18, committed only seven turnovers compared to 21 by the Pelicans, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds from Williamson.

The highly touted NBA newcomer played a season-high 32 minutes after making his debut only two weeks ago due to a knee injury that sidelined him for three months.

“Beast,” Harden said of Williamson. “He has a feel for the game. He’s strong. He’s going to be really great.”

The Pelicans, led by 28 points and 12 rebounds from Brandon Ingram, went 10-of-33 from 3-point range, missing their last 33-point shots after the middle of the third quarter.

“They play at a very high pace, very fast and they put up a lot of 3s,” Harden said. “We just had to keep up with them, make sure we contain their dribble penetration and offensively just do what we do.”

Andre Drummond scored 21 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as the Detroit Pistons rallied from 21 points down early to defeat visiting Denver 128-123 in over-time.

Reggie Jackson came off the bench to score 20 points while Detroit reserve Bruce Brown added 19 as seven Pistons scored in double figures.

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic of Serbia had a triple double with a game-high 39 points plus 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a losing cause as Denver fell to 34-16, third in the West.

At 18-33, Detroit stands 11th in the Eastern Conference, four games behind Orlando for the final playoff spot.

Champs win streak at 11

The defending champion Toronto Raptors, led by 31 points from reserve Terence Davis, stretched their win streak to 11 games by defeating visiting Chicago 129-102.

At 36-14, the Raptors have the third-best record in the NBA, trailing only the Bucks and the West-leading Los Angeles Lakers.

Cameroon star Pascal Siakam scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Raptors. Thaddeus Young led Chicago with 21 points.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

MELBOURNE – Novak Djokovic put Roger Federer on notice as he won his 17th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and warned he was going all-out for the Swiss’s record of 20 — and his mark for weeks as world number one.

Djokovic, who came through a mid-match slump to win his eighth title in Melbourne, is relentlessly totting up the victories that could soon end the debate over who’s the greatest in history.

The five-set victory over Dominic Thiem was his eighth in eight finals in Melbourne, putting him alongside Federer and Nadal as the only men to win the same Slam eight times.

It makes Djokovic, 32, the first man in the Open era, and only the second in history, to win Grand Slam titles in three different decades — and as a not-insignificant bonus, returns him to world number one.

In an ominous sign for his rivals, the Serb has started the year unbeaten with Wimbledon, the French Open, the Tokyo Olympics and the US Open all lying in front of him as tantalising opportunities.

He is clear-sighted about his goals: overtaking Nadal’s 19 Major titles and Federer’s 20 to become the all-time Grand Slam king, and outdoing the Swiss master’s record 310 weeks in the top ranking.

Djokovic has so far clocked up 276 weeks as number one and could pass second-placed Pete Sampras’s 286 in April, and Federer’s 310 on October 5.

“Obviously at this stage of my career, Grand Slams are the ones I value the most. They are the ones I prioritise,” said Djokovic, adding “there’s a lot of history on the line”.

“Grand Slams are one of the main reasons why I am still competing and still playing full season, trying to obviously get the historic number one (record). That’s the other big goal,” he said.

‘Huge win’

With five Major titles in just over two years, and unbeaten by Nadal and Federer at the Grand Slams since 2014, there’s no question who’s now the leading member of the Big Three.

The latest rankings tell the story at the top of men’s tennis: Djokovic is number one, Nadal, one year older at 33, is second and 38-year-old Federer is a relatively distant third.

Seven-time Major winner Mats Wilander said Djokovic’s win in Melbourne sets a marker for a year in which he could sweep all before him.

“At the end of the year, we could have two players on 20 or two on 19 or even more because Novak can win all four,” he said.

“This is a huge win for him going forwards. A loss here would have been very difficult to get confidence and come back.

“But the door is open for him to start climbing through it and talk about being the greatest ever.”

As he jets out of Melbourne, his name etched yet again on the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup, Djokovic warned that his confidence and expectations were soaring.

“I’m super-happy with the way I started the season. It kind of sets the tone for the rest of the year,” he said.

“To start off the season with a Grand Slam win significantly boosts your confidence and your expectations are quite high for the rest of the season.

“But whatever happens, this season is already successful.”

Source: Manila Bulletin