MILAN – Matters concerning Gilas Pilipinas and other vital issues will be discussed on the table Thursday as the PBA Board of Governors holds its annual planning session for the league’s 45th season.

Members of the board along with commissioner Willie Marcial arrived in the Italian capital of Lombardy late Tuesday following a 16-hour trip from Manila for the three-day meeting that will also tackle the approval and mechanics of the first ever 3×3 draft in the league, format for the season, and the scheduling of the games for the entire year in the light of the national team’s campaign in the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 qualifying windows.

Board chairman Ricky Vargas arrived Wednesday along with Meralco board representative Al S. Panlilio to complete the delegation that also includes key PBA officials led by legal counsel Melvin Mendoza.

Panlilio also happens to be the president of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).

Members of the board who arrived with Marcial are Vice Chairman Bobby Rosales of Columbian Dyip, treasurer Siliman Sy of Blackwater, San Miguel’s Robert Non, Rod Franco of NLEX, Alaska’s Richard Bachmann, Atty. Mamerto Mondragon of Rain or Shine, Rene Pardo of Magnolia, Atty. Raymond Zorilla of Phoenix, and NorthPort’s Eric Arejola, and Barangay Ginebra’s Alfrancis Chua.

Foremost in the board’s agenda is again adjusting the schedule of the league for the entire season to give way to the country’s campaign in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers whose first window will be held from Feb. 20 and 23.

A permanent Gilas coach will likely be tackled as well following the SBP’s appointment of Mark Dickel as interim mentor of the national team for the qualifiers.

Dickel, who takes over from Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone, is expected to start conducting training for the 24-man pool, with just three weeks left before Gilas kicks off its bid in the Asia Cup meet on Feb. 20 at home against Thailand and on the 23rd against Indonesia in Jakarta.

The just concluded season was one of the longest in PBA history as it had to tweak its schedule several times to help Gilas prepare for its campaign in the FIBA World Cup and the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

Another high on the board’s agenda is the 3×3 meet as the league is looking to incorporate the tournament in the playing calendar this year, hopefully by the second week of April. PBA players represented the Gilas 3×3 men’s team that won the inaugural gold in the last SEA Games.

Likewise in the board itinerary is the possible changes in league rules, hosting of out of town games, the All-Star weekend, and possibly holding another game outside of the country just like the one the league held in Dubai last November.

The league’s 45th season press conference will be held on Feb. 25 followed by the second holding of Media Day on Feb. 27 leading to the season opener on March 1 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Kristel Satumbaga

Local top junior netter Alex Eala and Indonesian partner Priska Madelyn Nugroho inched closer to the Australian Open Juniors Championships girls doubles title after storming into the semifinals on Wednesday in Melbourne.

The fourth-seeded Eala and Nugroho survived an opening round scare and edged seventh pick Aubane Droguet and Selena Janicijevic of France 7-6 (2), 6-2 in 70 minutes.

The victory moved Eala and Nugroho two wins away from their first-ever title as a pair since playing together at the 2020 AGL Loy Yang Tralalgon Junior International last week where they made it to the semifinals.

Eala and Nugroho currently battle top seed Kamilla Bartone of Latvia and Linda Fruhvirtova of Czech Republic, who won over No. 6 Czech Linda Noskova and Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-1, 7-5.

Noskova and Selekhmeteva boast of a 2019 US Open Juniors Championship doubles crown.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jan Carlo Anolin

Joshua Pacio has revealed how he maintains his confidence despite being the ONE strawweight king at 24.

His secret: Training with teammates in Team Lakay.

Coming into the ONE: Fire & Fury main card against former strawweight champion and jiu-jitsu specialist Alex Silva, Pacio draws motivation from the fact that five of them in Team Lakay will compete in the event on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“Mga naka-training ko ay mga beasts. ‘Di nyo alam nabubugbog ako sa training, sa sparring ni Danny [Kingad], ni Lito [Adiwang],” Pacio said Wednesday during the open workout at One Esplanade in Pasay City.

“Kaya ako champion ngayon kasi binubugbog nila ako. My confidence comes from my training.”

Adiwang faces Pongsiri Mitsatit in the same division while Danny Kingad and Xie Wei battle in the flyweight bout.

Gina Iniong, the 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist in kickboxing, duels with Asha Roka in the atomweight division.

Two-time lightweight world champion Eduard Folayang and Pieter Buist clash in the lightweight division.

With all eyes on him and a title to defend, Pacio is locked in on his long-term goal as a martial artist – constant improvement.

“Champion man or hindi, bawat laban sana nag-iimprove ako. Hindi nyo makikita ‘yung Joshua Pacio last year, dapat iba ulit.”

The 24-year-old Baguio native is patterning his game to that of American Demetrious Johnson, former UFC flyweight champion.

‘Pag makikita nyo si Demetrious Johnson, bawat laban niya iba e. So that’s my goal as an athlete.”

Johnson defeated Kingad in the flyweight Grand Prix final in October two years ago, providing a strong warning to future challengers.

 

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Reuters

Vanessa Bryant has yet to speak publicly since her husband, Kobe Bryant, and daughter Gianna were killed in a helicopter crash Sunday, but on Wednesday she changed the profile picture on her Instagram account to one of her husband and daughter hugging.

The NBA legend and his 13-year-old daughter were two of nine people killed when the helicopter they were in crashed on a hillside in Calabasas, Calif., northwest of Los Angeles.

Vanessa Bryant also made her Instagram page public when she released the new profile picture. She set her account to private after the crash.

In the image, Kobe Bryant is wearing an NBA All-Star warmup shirt and Gianna is wearing a basketball jersey with the No. 24 on the back. Kobe Bryant wore No. 24 at the time the photo was taken.

Vanessa and Kobe Bryant married in 2001 and have four children together, all daughters.

Also on Wednesday, The Athletic reported that Lakers guard Quinn Cook is changing his number to honor Kobe and Gianna Bryant. Currently No. 2, Cook will wear No. 28 — the 8 honoring Kobe Bryant and the 2 honoring Gianna. The younger Bryant wore No. 2 and GKobe Bryant wore both 8 and 24 in his career. The Lakers retired both numbers after Bryant’s retirement and both hang from the Staples Center rafters.

The University of Connecticut women’s basketball team honored Gianna earlier this week by placing a No. 2 jersey on its bench. Gianna had said she wanted to one day play at UConn.

Numerous players have asked the NBA to forgo its customary requirement for players to give the league months of notice for number changes so they can honor Kobe Bryant, and thus far the league has done so.

The NBA postponed Tuesday’s scheduled game between the Lakers and Clippers — what would have been the Lakers’ first game since the crash. Instead, the Lakers are scheduled to return to the court on Friday at home against Portland.

Reporters at the Lakers’ facility on Wednesday posted photos of a soft light being shone on Bryant’s Nos. 8 and 24 painted on the walls.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

The Los Angeles Lakers, reeling from the death of team icon Kobe Bryant, “want to represent what Kobe was about” as they press ahead with the NBA season, coach Frank Vogel said Wednesday.

“We want to represent what Kobe was about more than anything,” Vogel said. “We’ve always wanted to make him proud, and that’s not going to be any different here.”

Vogel, 46, spoke to reporters at the team’s practice facility, where star players including LeBron James and Anthony Davis turned out but did not meet with the media.

Vogel said the club had a simple directive for players still coming to terms with Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash on Sunday: “You guys can speak when you’re ready, and not before.”

But the timetable for returning to NBA action is set, with the Lakers to host the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center arena on Friday.

That’s less than a week since Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people were killed when the Sikorsky S-76 slammed into a rugged hillside in thick fog in Calabasas, northwest of Los Angeles.

The helicopter was headed to Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, where his daughter was set to play a basketball game.

When the team convened on Tuesday, Vogel said, “We did some things that we thought would be therapeutically beneficial.

“We got in the gym for some team shooting work, no real practice working on anything in particular. I wanted our guys to come in mentally free but to get a sweat, touch the ball and be around each other.

“Then we had a lunch where we all just spent time together and grieved together.”

That lunch reportedly included sharing tales of Bryant, but Vogel found himself unable to offer any such reminiscences on Wednesday.

“There’s some questions I’m just not ready to answer,” said the coach, who had to ensure that every team member had been informed of Bryant’s death.

“It’s just strengthened what we’ve felt all year about our current group, which is we’ve become a family in a very short time.

“It’s something that you talk about in the NBA with your teams, but this group in particular has really grown to love each other very rapidly and we understand the importance and the opportunity we have this year,” Vogel said of a squad that takes a Western Conference-leading record of 36-10 into the game against Portland.

“This has just brought us closer together.”

Ticket prices for Friday’s game, where the Lakers are expected to honor Bryant’s memory, have skyrocketed on re-sale site StubHub.com, with seats priced at hundreds — and in some cases thousands — of dollars above their face value.

Meanwhile, federal investigators completed their inspection of the crash site and handed it over to local authorities.

Police on horseback and all-terrain vehicles were brought in to secure the area, which was becoming a pilgrimage point for fans.

The Los Angeles County Coroner said Tuesday that four of the crash victims — Bryant, pilot Ara Zobayan, baseball coach John Altobelli and Sarah Chester — had been officially identified through fingerprints.

The coroner’s office was still working to formally identify the five remaining passengers: Gianna Bryant, her Mamba Academy teammates Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester, Alyssa’s mother Keri Altobelli and assistant Mamba Academy coach Christina Mauser.

A preliminary, fact-based report on the accident is expected in 10 days, according to Jennifer Homendy of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

But a final report on the probable cause of the accident, described as a “high energy impact crash,” won’t be issued for 12-18 months.

The helicopter was not equipped with a cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder.

Nor did it have the terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS) that the NTSB had recommended be made mandatory on all helicopters with six or more passenger seats.

It’s not certain that TAWS could have prevented the crash, with Homendy saying only that it “could have helped to provide information to the pilot on what terrain the pilot was flying in.”

 

Source: Manila Bulletin

Two-time Olympian and current TNT KaTropa coaching consultant Mark Dickel has been tasked to lead the campaign of Gilas Pilipinas Men for the upcoming first window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers as Interim Head Coach.

The Philippines will be opening its campaign with a home game against 2019 Southeast Asian Games silver medalist Thailand on February 20, followed by a road game against Indonesia at the Britama Arena in Jakarta on February 23.

“In his short stint in the Philippines, Coach Mark has performed creditably well”, said Manny V. Pangilinan, Chairman Emeritus of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).

In his young PBA career that started in the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup, Coach Mark was able to help the TNT KaTropa end their five-conference absence from the Finals during the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

The 24-man pool of Gilas Pilipinas Men for the upcoming window includes three members of the KaTropa in RR Pogoy, Troy Rosario, and Ray Parks. “We want to hit the ground running for the upcoming 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers said Pangilinan.

“We all know what he did to help TNT in such a short span and we’re confident he can also move things quickly as we prepare for the first window this February”, he added. Aside from the three TNT players, also included in the pool are Kiefer Ravena and Poy Erram from NLEX, Christian Standhardinger from NorthPort, Japeth Aguilar from Ginebra, CJ Perez from Columbian, Mac Belo from Blackwater, and Matthew Wright from Phoenix.

Adding youth into the team are recent PBA draftees Isaac Go, Matt and Mike Nieto, Rey Suerte, and Allyn Bulanadi along with Justine Baltazar, Dave Ildefonso, Thirdy Ravena, Kobe Paras, Juan and Javi Gomez de Liano, Jaydee Tungcab, and Dwight Ramos. SBP intends to announce a full-time Head Coach by the second window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers sometime in November this year.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

The helicopter that crashed into a Los Angeles hillside killing NBA legend Kobe Bryant and eight others, was not equipped with vital software that alerts pilots when an aircraft is too close to the ground, officials said.

The terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS), which is designed to send a warning when a collision appears imminent, had not been installed on Bryant’s Sikorsky S-76 helicopter, the National Transport Safety Board’s (NTSB) Jennifer Homendy said.

“Certainly, TAWS could have helped,” NBC News reported Homendy as saying, adding that she could not conclude that its use would have prevented the crash.

The warning system is not mandatory on helicopters under Federal Aviation Administration regulations, despite the NTSB recommending that it be made so on all helicopters with six or more passenger seats, following a 2004 crash.

Medical examiners identified the body of Lakers star Bryant after recovering the remains of all nine of those who died in the crash near LA, officials said Tuesday.

Bryant’s body was officially identified along with three others using fingerprints, two days after their helicopter crashed into a rugged hillside northwest of the city.

Meanwhile, federal investigators finished their inspection of the crash site, handing it over to local authorities.

Images showed investigators flying drones over the accident site and manually combing through twisted, charred wreckage, which was scattered over a wide area.

Officials also used drones to replicate the helicopter’s final, fateful flight path, Homendy said.

Earlier Tuesday, the coroner’s office confirmed all nine bodies have been retrieved from the site and “transported to the department’s forensic science center” for examination.

The bodies of pilot Ara Zobayan, baseball coach John Altobelli and Sarah Chester have also been identified.

The remaining five — including Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna — have not yet been officially identified.

The death of Bryant — a five-time NBA champion for the LA Lakers and double Olympic gold medalist — has shocked the world, with tributes continuing to pour in Tuesday.

‘Pretty devastating’

Bryant, 41, was traveling with daughter Gianna and seven other passengers and crew when the Sikorsky S-76 slammed into a hillside in thick fog.

The helicopter was headed to Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, where his daughter was set to play.

Homendy described the accident as a “high energy impact crash”.

Investigators have now airlifted the helicopter’s wreckage onto trucks, which then transported it to a secure location for further examination.

An iPad, cellphone and maintenance records were found among the wreckage, along with “everything we would expect would be on the aircraft,” said Homendy.

She told journalists that the probable cause for the accident may not be confirmed for 12-18 months, when a final report will be issued.

A preliminary, fact-based report is expected in 10 days.

‘Heartbroken and devastated’

The other passengers on the flight — who have not yet been officially identified — have been named as Altobelli’s wife Keri, and their daughter Alyssa, who played basketball at the same club as Gianna.

Christina Mauser, an assistant coach of the Mamba girls’ basketball team, was also killed along with Payton Chester, Sarah’s daughter.

Mourning fans Tuesday placed bouquets of flowers at a makeshift memorial outside the gated community in Newport Beach, south of Los Angeles, where the late NBA great lived.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said a tribute to Bryant would be included in next month’s Oscars ceremony.

The star, who won an Academy Award in 2018 for animated short film “Dear Basketball,” had been honored with a moment’s silence at the Oscars nominees’ luncheon on Monday.

A petition for the NBA logo to be redesigned with Bryant’s likeness had reached two million signatures by Tuesday afternoon.

Basketball superstar LeBron James said he was “heartbroken and devastated” over Bryant’s death in an emotional Instagram post, while also vowing to continue his friend’s championship legacy with the Lakers.

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic donned a jersey bearing Bryant’s initials and shirt numbers at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne.

With the crash site becoming a pilgrimage point for fans, police on horseback and all-terrain vehicles have been brought in to secure the area.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Grief-stricken NBA legends from Jerry West and Shaquille O’Neal to Dwyane Wade and Charles Barkley were in tears Tuesday as they mourned Kobe Bryant at an empty Staples Center arena.

Superstars wept while sitting around center court, their raw emotions on display in an hour-long televised tribute to Los Angeles Lakers legend Bryant, who died Sunday at age 41 in a helicopter crash in a haunting moment for all.

“Haven’t felt a pain that sharp in a while,” said O’Neal, a teammate of Bryant on three championship teams. “It was sort of like a triple stabbing to the heart.

“The fact we lost probably the world’s greatest Laker, the world’s greatest basketball player, it’s going to be hard to get over it.”

The Lakers’ game scheduled Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers was postponed by the league in the wake of Bryant’s death, which left players devastated and inspired heartbroken fans to build a shrine of items outside the arena to honor Bryant.

“This is a sad city right now,” said West, the 81-year-old former Lakers guard and executive who brought Bryant to LA at 17 and played a fatherly role.

“Saddest day of my life. I don’t know if I can get over this. I really don’t.”

Instead of a raucous crowd cheering on both local clubs, the arena was dark and silent and deep with sorrow.

“This is tough. I’m broken. I really am broken,” said retired guard Reggie Miller, who compared Bryant’s passing to that of Michael Jackson and Lady Diana.

“We’re in the middle of a shake moment — we’re all shook. These emotions, these tears, they are real, and in my lifetime there are only so many shake moments.”

Former Miami star guard Wade, who idolized Bryant even as he played against him, struggled to cope.

“I’ve been in shock for two days and this is the first moment where it feels real. I’m shaking. I’m numb,” Wade said.

“It’s OK to be hurt. It’s OK to cry. It’s OK to share laughter. It’s OK to have emotion. It’s OK to get together and talk about memories.”

The conversation became therapy for sad players and NBA fans, O’Neal at times in teras over words he longed to tell Bryant but never will.

“It just makes me think that in life, instead of holding back certain things, we should just do,” O’Neal said.

“It definitely changes me. I just have to take time to call and say I love you. Im going to try and do a better job of talking to people instead of procrastinating.”

“Shaq” only briefly noted the feud that kept him at odds with Bryant for years, but said Bryant was like his brother and added, “You’re going to have times when things don’t always go smooth, but the respect is always there.”

‘I just feel sad’

O’Neal recalled first meeting Bryant, when teen Kobe boldly predicted, “I’m going to be the best player in the world and off the court I’m going to be bigger than (actor) Will Smith.”

Barkley learned of Bryant’s death when he left a movie and turned on his cell phone to see 75 missed calls and 100 text messages.

“I clicked on CNN and I started crying. I’m not going to lie. I just started crying,” Barkley recalled. “He was part of my basketball fabric… he was like one of my kids. I just felt pain.

“I just feel sad. That’s all I can say. I felt like I lost a part of my family… it was an honor to watch him play.”

Miller, whose only trip to the NBA Finals with Indiana ended with watching Bryant win his first title, and O’Neal hope to move from grief to celebrating.

“We have the videos, we have the pictures but more importantly we have the memories to celebrate him,” Miller said. “I want to celebrate his life.”

“It’s time for us to celebrate this man,” O’Neal said. “We don’t have time to stop and slow down. We have to keep moving.”

 

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

China’s women’s football team has been quarantined in a Brisbane hotel over fears about the deadly coronavirus after arriving for an Olympic qualifying competition, reports said Wednesday.

Queensland state chief health officer Jeannette Young said no one from the group, reportedly 32-strong including officials and staff, had shown any symptoms and that the quarantine was a precautionary measure.

“There is absolutely no risk to anyone else in that hotel or to the staff in that hotel, these people are all well,” she was quoted as saying by broadcaster ABC.

“(The team have) been extremely cooperative, as has the Chinese consulate.”

“If any of these footballers develop any symptoms we will of course be taking them immediately to one of our hospitals… to be immediately assessed and tested and isolated,” she added.

Reports said the team arrived in Australia via Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak and where the Olympic qualifying tournament was originally due to be held.

The event, which also involves Australia, Taiwan and Thailand, was on Sunday shifted out of China to Sydney, with matches scheduled to be played next week.

China’s football association said four players, including Wuhan-based star midfielder Wang Shuang, had been forced to miss the trip because they were in quarantine at home, although none was showing symptoms of the coronavirus.

It added that the team had been tested for the virus and “the results were all negative”.

In a statement Wednesday, Australian football chiefs said ticket sales had been halted after advice from medical experts that they believe the virus is contagious before people show symptoms.

It said it was working with the government and the Asian Football Confederation “to explore the ramifications of this advice and how it may affect the staging of the women’s Olympic Football qualifiers”.

The virus, which is believed to have originated in a market trading in wild animals in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, has infected nearly 6,000 people in China and killed more than 130.

Australian health officials earlier Wednesday said a 60-year-old man had been diagnosed with the virus, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the country to six.

All six have received medical treatment and are said to be in a stable condition. There have so far been no confirmed cases in Australia of human-to-human transmission.

Also on Wednesday, Australia announced plans to evacuate its citizens from Wuhan and Hubei province and quarantine them for 14 days for 14 days on Christmas Island, which is normally used to detain asylum-seekers.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Waylon Galvez

University of Perpetual Help System DALTA rallied back from two sets down to score a stunning win over defending three-time champion Arellano University, 22-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-22, 16-14, in the NCAA Season 95 volleyball Wednesday at The Arena in San Juan.

Jhona Rosal led a balanced attack for the Lady Altas with 15 points, while Jenny Gaviola and Dana Persa contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively for Perpetual Help, which improved its record to 5-1 to tie its victim Arellano – a team that triumphed in its first five games.

Arellano’s setback gave College of St. Benilde the solo lead with its 5-0 card.

Perpetual Help tightened its defense with solid blocking after collecting 12 blocks, including seven by Gaviola. The Lady Altas also committed less errors with 30 as compared to 48 by the Lady Chiefs.

“Sa blocking talaga kami nag-concentrate, after namin matalo ng first two sets, talagang yun ang sinabi ko na mag-focus ang mga players,” said Perpetual Help coach Macky Carino.

“Of course malaking panalo, malaking moral booster para sa amin, sino ba naman ang ayaw na manalo against a defending champion. Malaking bagay kasi konti na lang semifinals na, hopefully makakuha naman kami ng twice-to-beat incentive,” added Carino.

Regine Arocha led Arellano with 23 points, while Princess Bello had 16 points. Necole Ebuen was held to just six points.

The Las Piñas-based squad had a double victory after the three-peat seeking men’s team Altas remained undefeated in six matches following a 28-26, 23-25, 25-21, 25-19 romp of Arellano.

Arellano, however, averted a sweep after the Braves took the solo lead with a 25-21, 21-25, 25-22, 18-25, 15-10 win over titleholder Altaletws to raise their record to 6-0.

Source: Manila Bulletin