Team Noypi

Philippine Azkals came up 3-3 draw against Hongkong (2011 Long Teng Cup)

2011-09-30T06:08:00.000-07:00

TAIPEI, Taiwan (UPDATED) - The Philippine Azkals settled for a 3-3 draw with Hong Kong in their opening match in the Long Teng Cup.

Hong Kong stormed ahead early through goals from Lee Wai Lim and Cheng Lai Hin.

The Azkals fought back, with Phil Younghusband converting a penalty to make it 1-2.

Chieffy Caligdong struck the equalizer in the 44th minute.

The Azkals took the lead again through a Caligdong goal in the second half.

The Philippines continued their attacking runs but were the recipient of several contested offside calls.

Caligdong also limped off from the match because of a leg injury in second half.

The Azkals looked set to book an upset until Hong Kong made it 3-3 through a Au Yeung Yiu Chung goal off a rebound in a freekick.

The 2 sides were reduced to 10 men in the dying minutes of the match after Jason de Jong and So Loi Keung were given red cards for fouls.

The 2011 Long Teng Cup is taking place in Chinese Taipei.

ABS-CBN will air the game on delayed basis through Studio 23 at 9:30 p.m.

De Ocampo steps up for the Philippines win over Chinese Taipei

2011-09-23T18:20:00.001-07:00

WUHAN (FIBA Asia Championship) – Ranidel De Ocampo has produced the game of his life at the right time, helping guide the Philippines past a determined Chinese Taipei and into the FIBA Asia Championship Semi-Finals for the first time since 1987, and a step closer to their first Olympics since 1972.

The 29-year-old power forward had 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in less than 10 minutes as the Philippines turned a nine-point deficit into a 54-48 lead. De Ocampo would finish with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists in what he rated as perhaps his best ever performance for his country.

“If it’s not the best it’s definitely one of the best,” said De Ocampo, who is playing at his first continental championship after debuting with the national team in 2001.
“I am just so happy to be playing at a FIBA Asia Championship, and I am so happy for my country.”

De Ocampo had been a solid contributor for his country over the first six games of the tournament, averaging 6.5 points and 4 rebounds per game in nearly 17 minutes per contest.
But with Taipei looking on the brink of a big upset in the second quarter of their Quarter-Final, De Ocampo decided it was his turn to step up.

He said it was a scenario he and the team were well prepared for.
“We talked before the game, no matter what happens – we go down by six or we go down by eight – we have to stay focussed and keep our composure,” he explained.

He and his teammates did exactly that, overwhelming Chinese Taipei 95-78 to book a date with Jordan in the Semi-Finals.

As always, Marcus Douthit led the way for the Philippines with 37 points and 10 rebounds, while Marcio Lassiter accumulated 13 points and eight boards. Tseng Wen-Ting (20 points), Chen Hsin-An (14 points) and Lin Chih-Chieh (10 points, seven rebounds, five assists) never stopped trying for Chinese Taipei, who will now face Iran in a classification game.

The first quarter was a see-sawing affair played at breakneck speed, with Taipei taking a 23-19 first quarter lead despite 10 points from Douthit. Chen had eight points of his own in the first term, and big man Tseng joined the party, racing to nine points and giving Taipei their 37-29 lead.

De Ocampo lifted and Joseph Casio proved the spark the Philippines needed, scoring two quick baskets to launch a 16-5 run to finish the half and give his team a three-point lead.

When De Ocampo scored seven quick points to start the third quarter the game quickly got out of Chinese Taipei’s reach. The margin was 13 at three quarter time before the Philippines comfortably saw off every Taipei challenge in the final quarter.

De Ocampo said another thing driving the team on is all the support they are receiving from back home.
“I want to thank all the Filipino supporters and basketball fans,” he said, before sending a message back to the Philippines.

“Nothing is impossible. We just have to keep praying and hoping that we make it to the finals.”

And what about the Olympics, dare he think of London just yet?
“That would be great. Everybody in the world knows about Filipino boxers, then they would find out about Philippines basketball too!” he said proudly.

“You never know. Even though we are an undersized team we have the heart

Philippines beat Syria and advance to the Quarterfinals

2011-09-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

WUHAN, China (26th FIBA Asia Championship): Unlike the other games naturalized center Marcus Douthit was in prime form early in the game, but for the third night running, Philippines had to fight back a deficit before beating an enthusiastic Syria 75-52, thus winning all their three engagements in Group F on Wednesday.

China the only team to beat Philippines in this competition are engaged in a battle of wits with Japan and should the hosts win as expected by the capacity crowd at the Wuhan Sports Center, Philippines line up against Chinese Taipei in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Douthit was in prime form scoring a dozen – out of a team-high 20 – in the first quarter but there was very little contribution from others.

Syria seized the opportunity ran some good offenses of their own went ahead with a 7-0 run across the first quarter break and led by nine points at the end of the first half.

“We had a dream run. They were missing too many chances and we were not missing many. I wish we could have continued it,” said Syria coach Goran Miljevic.

“But they started pressing us hard in the second and we didn’t have a solution,” he added.

“Just that our shots were not going in. We were missing some simple lay-ups,” said Philippines coach Rajko Toroman.

“I wanted to play a different plan today giving as much result as possible to Jimmy (Alapag) and Kelly (Williams), but it didn’t work,” he said.

Eventually, Toroman used all his players for almost nine minutes each, and all of them scored.

Filipino win hands Japan their first defeat

2011-09-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

WUHAN, China (26th FIBA Asia Championship): Philippines ran a 26-12 third quarter – which included a 10-0 run which brought them back into the reckoning in the game – that eventually helped them beat Japan 83-76 thus handing the latter’s first defeat in the competition here.

Naturalized center Marcus Douthit (pic above) poured in 19 of his 25 points and collected 12 of his 18 rebounds – both game-highs – in the second half to spark yet another Filipino rally that might have just helped them get a “better cross over draw in the quarterfinals.”

Japan ran the floor hard early and seized the initiative with a 15-0 run that went across the first quarter break.

But a woefully dipping rate of conversion from the foul-line and an increasingly growing in cohesion and cohesion Philippines put paid to the Japanese hopes of remaining undefeated in the competition.

Kelly Williams, one of the PBA imports in the Philippines team sparked a 10-0 run – capped by Marcio Lassiter’s crisp long-ranger – bring the Smart Gilas back into the reckoning.

Japan managed to remain even, but only till a 14-2 run – this time with Douthit leading from the front and Jimmy Alapag setting the Wuhan SC ablaze with a fiery three-pointer – put Philippines in control.

Rajko Toroman’s team never fell back after that.

“The key was we stopped Takuya Kawamura,” Rajko said.

Japan’s most charismatic basketball face in recent face was restricted to a dozen points – six of them in the third quarter – as the Hayabusa struggled with their rebounds and free-throws.

“You can’t think of winning with a 57% conversion in free-throws,” rued Japan coach Tom Wisman.

Japan went to the foul-line 28 times, but only 16 of them were successful

Douthit leads Philippines to win over Jordan

2011-09-19T06:40:00.000-07:00

WUHAN, China (26th FIBA Asia Championship): Naturalized center Marcus Douthit raised the bar of his performance to the next level in the second half, and with the ‘just cleared’ Marcio Lassiter playing a very good second fiddle, Philippines rallied from a first half stutter to beat Jordan 72-64 in a pivotal Group F game on Monday.

Jordan ran the floor, and rolled the dice, for the entire first half and even seemed to head towards what would have been an unsurprising victory.

Sam Daghlas (white jersey in pic above) shelved all doubts about his injury and led the Jordanian offense from the front with 9 points in the first quarter, but would go on to add only as many over the next three quarters.

Douthit (blue jersey in pic above) on the other had rose in performance and confidence as the game progressed.

The 211-cm Providence alumnus who had merely 4 rebounds and as many points in the first half, went on to lead the game in scoring – with 19 points – and rebounds – with 15 collections.

The form, or the lack of it, of these two players was a synopsis of the way the pendulum swung in the game.

“I think we showed a lot of character,” said Philippines guard Chris Tiu, who dished out a game-high 4 assists.

Philippines’ cause received a shot in the arm, when Lassiter – along with Chris Lutz – was cleared to don the Filipino colors.

The 188-cm guard made his appearance at the start of the second quarter, and went on to score 14 points – six of them in the third quarter, when Philippines began their rally.

“I think this was the biggest win of life, considering the circumstances,” said Philippines coach Rajko Toroman.

“We are not mentally as tough as we have to be,” rued Jordan coach Tab Baldwin.

“I know I am saying this for the second game on the trot, but then that is what it is,” he added.

“We didn’t what we had to on Marcus. In the first half managed to keep him under check, but we lost the grip as the game went on,” Baldwin said.

Philippines beat U.A.E. in their first game of the Olympic Qualifier

2011-09-15T06:17:00.001-07:00

Philippines had only 10 players cleared to play on their roster, but all of them played for at least 10 minutes and all of them scored as the SEABA champions raced off to a 92-52 win against United Arab Emirates in Group D on Thursday.

“I think we showed a lot of character to win today,” said Philippines coach Rajko Toroman.

Marnel Baraceal (pic above) scored 15 points to lead the Filipino scoring which had three more scoring in the double digits.

Asi Taulaval, a long standing PBA import in the Philippine NT, had a double double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

“This game warmed us up well for tomorrow,” said Toroman speaking of the game against China.

“I hope we can go at them full strength. But we will not give up without a proper fight,” he added.

UAE coach Zoran Zupcevic was rather nonchalant about the defeat.

“We lost to a very good team. There’s no doubt on that,” he added.

Hussain Ahmed’s dozen was the highest for the Emirians.

Tim Cone is the new Head Coach of B-MEG

2011-09-14T08:46:00.000-07:00

A B-MEG team that has all the tools for a season of redemption is

simply too tempting to resist and Tim Cone is only human.

It is not too surprising therefore for the multi-titled tactician

to choose the Llamados over others who also wanted his services for

the coming PBA wars.

"I did look at the other teams, their offers and gave them all a

very deep thought. Then I looked at B-MEG and knew it was the best

 fit for me," Cone said after meeting his new team Wednesday.

"With the exception of three players, B-MEG is a veteran group, has

been playing along for a long time and everybody right down the line

made me feel so welcome," added Cone. "Also, the opening (for a head

coach) was available. Turned out what most thought along was right,

that it was the logical choice for me."

There were other reasons why Cone chose B-MEG over at least four teams

and others "outside the PBA"who have been courting him. Foremost is the

opportunity to coach a team spiked with the likes of James Yap, Kerby

Raymundo, Marc Pingris and rookie Mark Barroca.

"It's one thing I considered closely," admitted Cone, adding he arrived

at his decision only "two days ago."

The coach spent his first 22 years with Alaska, winning 13 titles –

including a season sweep in 1996 – with the Uytengsu franchise. He

resigned two weeks ago, purportedly to seek new challenges.There will be

a lot of that in the Llamados.

B-MEG is coming off a disappointing season where it wound up no higher

than fourth, mostly due to an assortment of injuries that plagued most

of its players.

Except for Jonas Villanueva, who will be out for at least the season-

opening Philippine Cup, the rest have healed, including Kerby Raymundo

and Rico Maierhofer, who will banner a frontline that also has Pingris,

Rafi Reavis and Joe Devance, Cone’s former stalwart with Alaska.

"I'm sure they're eager to come out and atone for the last season," said

Cone, before adding what he has in store to stoke the fire within the

Llamados.

"I'm known as a short rotation-guy, one who uses eight, nine players at

most," he stated. "I'm sure it will promote competition within the team.

They have to perform to be inserted into the game.

"B-MEG has a very strong nine-man core and it will be interesting to see

how the players fight it out for the last three slots."

Cone was formally introduced to the Llamados Wednesday noon by no less

than San Miguel Purefoods president Butch Alejo, team representative to

the PBA Board Rene Pardo and team manager Alvin Patrimonio at the Ronac

gym in Ortigas.

"We feel honored he chose us and, at the same time, he also felt B-MEG

can help him in his main drive for new challenges and opportunities in

his coaching career," related Pardo.

"Excited lahat. Maganda at very warm ang reception sa kanya," said

Patrimonio following the two-hour session spent mostly with Cone

introducing the players to his famed triangle offense. 

"Nag-walk through na kami ng triangle kanina," related James Yap, team

co-captain with Roger Yap."Very challenging yung sistema, pero mukhang

okay sa amin."

The coaching carousel within the San Miguel Corporation group also got

affected since Cone will be bringing in two of his former players,

Johnny Abarrientos and Jeff Cariaso, to work as his assistants along

with Koy Banal and Richard del Rosario. 

Art de la Cruz has been shifted back to Ginebra while Rey Evangelista

has retired. Jorge Gallent, who handled B-MEG last season, reportedly

has another assignment waiting for him. "I'm sure San Miguel will take

care of him," said Cone of his predecessor.

Abarrientos has worked as skills coach in Ginebra and Cone wants the

1996 MVP to hone Barroca, another former Far Eastern U product. 

"This is Johnny's first full-time assistant coaching job and it will be

fun to watch how he works with Barroca," mused Cone.

Cariaso is being brought in for another matter. 

"Jeff is Jeff. As has been proven in his many years with Alaska, he is

the ultimate team player, gets along with everybody. He will be the glue

and leader of our team," said Cone.

In another development, Raymundo inked a new two-year contract extension

with B-MEG, which guarantees him P350,000 a month for the coming season.

"Saka na namin pag-uusapan kung puwede na siya sa new maximum (P420,000

a month) next season,"related Pardo. (NC)

New Philippines Azkals Goal Keeper to Replace Neil Etheridge

2011-08-28T00:40:00.000-07:00

A NEW member of the Philippine Azkals national football team will most likely take the place of Fil-British goalkeeper Neil Etheridge when the team sees action in the Long Ten Cup next month.

Roland Mueller, a Fil-German goalie, who plays for MSV Duisburg in the second division Bundesliga league, is coming over this weekend to start training for the Azkals. Mueller is one of two newcomers, whom coach Hans Michael Weiss is tapping for the Azkals. Mueller will be available for team inspection when the Azkals resume training in the coming week.

The Azkals will have joint practices with the national under-23 team, which is now in the final phases of its tryouts. After the Azkals lost their home-and-away encounters with Kuwait in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, Etheridge informed the coaching staff that he may not be available for the Long Ten Cup and the Southeast Asian Games due to his commitments with Fullham.

The 23-year old Mueller, who is from Cologne, may also wind up playing for the nationals in the coming 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia. The Long Ten Cup will start on Sept. 30 in Taipei, with the Philippines set to meet teams from ChineseTaipei, Hong Kong and Macau. Peter Atencio

UFL Cup: Angel Guirado has signed for Global F.C.

2011-08-15T05:51:00.000-07:00

MANILA—Bracing for what could be the most competitive season yet in the United Football League, Global FC and Kaya FC have tapped members of the Philippine football team to beef up their roster for the UFL Cup kicking off Oct. 2.

Global, the defending UFL Cup champion, snapped up Fil-Spanish striker Angel Aldeguer Guirado to strengthen its squad that already includes Azkals forward Misagh Bahadoran. Already formidable with Azkals skipper Aly Borromeo and defender Anton del Rosario in the fold, Kaya FC shored up its defensive line with the acquisition of Jason Sabio and added more attacking teeth by tapping Nate Burkey. Kaya has also hired former national team mentor Juan Cutillas as head coach.

“The competition will be very strong this season,” said Football Alliance chair Santi Araneta, who also owns Kaya FC. “We expect better quality and exciting games.”

Araneta said talks with a television network are near completion to pave the way for the UFL games to be aired live for the first time in history.“This will change the landscape of Philippine football,” said Araneta.

The 26-year-old Guirado has been without a club since last June after his contract with CD Ronda in the Spanish third division expired.

Guirado, who agreed in principle to join the team after meeting with manager Dan Palami, sees playing in the UFL as an opportunity to help raise the profile of the fledgling league, which has been riding high on the success of the Azkals.

“I am happy with the direction of the team that Mr. Palami is putting up,” Guirado said through his cousin and interpreter, Rafa Garcia.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed and Guirado said this was only secondary when he made his decision. “What’s important is I could help and be able to experience playing in the Philippines,” said Guirado, who has already scored three goals in five matches for the Azkals.

SEABA U16: Philippines complete tournament unbeaten

2011-08-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

FINAL RANKINGS

	Team	Win-Loss
1	Philippines	4-0
2	Malaysia	3-1
3	Indonesia	2-2
4	Singapore	1-3
5	Laos	0-4

Note: The top three teams from Banting will qualify for the 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship to be played in Nha Trang City (Vietnam) from Oct 18-28.

BANTING, Malaysia (2011 SEABA U16 Championship): Having clinched the title on Friday itself, Philippines went about their business at a languid pace yet registered a facile 70-52 against Singapore and hosts Malaysia brought the curtains down on final day of inconsequential proceedings beating Laos 83-56 to conclude the 2011 SEABA U16 Championship on Saturday.

Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia – in that order – had already qualified to represent SEABA in the 2nd FIBA Asia U16 Championship to be played in Nha Trang City (Vietnam) from Oct 18 – 28.

Chris Vito and Arv Tolentino led Philippines’ scoring with 13 points each.

Lim Liang’s 11 points was Singapore’s highest.

Chua Jiang Sheng led Malaysia with 22 points and Tan Kang had 14 rebounds.

Khamphay Inthavixay and Phommasone each had 14 points for Laos.

Philippines finish 3rd Place in 2011 William Jones Cup

2011-08-14T15:40:00.001-07:00

TAIPEI CITY, Chinese Taipei (William Jones Cup / 26th FIBA Asia Championship): Marcus Douthit poured in a game-high 28 points, and collected 11 rebounds, as SEABA champions Philippines beat hosts Chinese Taipei 82-72 in the third place play-off in the William Jones Cup on Sunday.

“Our target going into this tournament was No. 3 and we did it,” said Philippines coach Rajko Toroman.

“We need this game, we need this win," he added.

“We need this for our confidence because it leaves a bad taste in the mouth after our bad game against Iran,” the Serbian said about the defeat in the semifinals.

Marcio Lassiter added 16 points and Dondon Hontiveros had 13 for Philippines, who played some solid basketball right from the word go.

Chien Chia-Hung led the hosts’ scoring with 26 points and Chen Shun-Hsiang added 13 points.

Philippines Dragon Boat Warriors win 5th gold

2011-08-08T06:13:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Dragon Boat Federation team triumphed once more in the International Dragon Boat Federation World Championships in Tampa Bay, Florida.

The 'Dragon Warriors' won the last event of the world championships, the 500-m event in the men’s small boat division. Their latest victory gave the Dragon Warriors their 5th gold medal, bringing their total haul to 7 medals – 5 golds and 2 silvers.

In heat 1 of the event, the Dragon Warriors defeated Japan and Trinidad and Tobago with a time of 2:38 to advance to the finals. In the finals, the Filipino paddlers once again stamped their class, smoking Australia, Japan, Italy and Puerto Rico to take the gold.

Australia placed second in the event while Japan came in third. The Dragon Warriors also set new world records in all of the events that they won: the 1000-m men's event, the 200-m men's event, the 500-m men's event, the 200-m mixed event, and the 500-m mixed event.

Community support

The Filipinos in Tampa Bay went all out in their support of the Dragon Warriors. Everyday during the week-long competition, Filipinos cheered on the Dragon Warriors in every event that they competed in. The Filipino community also brought food and drinks for the champion athletes. The Dragon Warriors were grateful for the support that their fellow Filipinos gave them.

Admiration from opponents

Even the Dragon Warriors’ competitors could not help but be amazed at their achievements. "Phenomenal team. We kept trying to keep with them, we aspire to be like them," said a member of the Trinidad and Tobago team. "They are our heroes."

The Dragon Warriors will stay in Tampa Bay for 2 more days. They are set to fly back to Los Angeles on Wednesday, and are scheduled to arrive in Manila on Friday morning.

Smart Gilas pound Chinese Taipei, silenced the Taiwanese home crowd

2011-08-07T09:24:00.000-07:00

CHINESE TAIPEI – Smart Gilas Pilipinas overpowered Chinese Taipei, 90-78, amid spotty officiating to remain unscathed in the William Jones Cup at the Hsinchuang Stadium in New Taipei City here.

Cheered on by a small but loud, flag-waving Filipino crowd, the Nationals, who stunned reigning back-to-back champion Iran, 73-59, in the opener, leaned on naturalized Marcus Douthit, who imposed his will inside, and a defense that silenced the Taiwanese and the predominantly hometown crowd to nail their second straight win.

The Filipinos, who are seeking to become the fourth team to emerge champions here since the Northern Consolidated Cement, San Miguel and Centennial team won here in 1981, 1985 and 1998, respectively, broke loose with big runs in the stretch bridging the third and fourth quarters for a 19-point cushion that they sustained for the win.

"We played well in this game, we know Chinese Taipei is a very good team and I haven't remembered they have this strong team than this in three years I've been watching them in the Jones Cup," said Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman.

The 6-10 Douthit pounded his way to 23 points to lead the team, but it was Smart Gilas' rebounding and perimeter defense that Toroman felt sealed it for them.

"Our strategy is not to let them take open shots from the three-point line and we did very well. We also controlled the boards," he said.

The Filipinos, who finished fourth here last year, outrebounded the hosts, 40-32, while holding the latter to just nine triples, including three when the game was already decided, after making 11 in a 99-72 win over Japan the day before.

It was Smart Gilas' third win over Chinese Taipei since a 96-93 overtime win here last year and an 82-73 triumph in the Guangzhou Asian Games also last year.

A lot of curious calls were slapped on the Filipinos. One instance was when Japeth Aguilar was called for a goal-tending violation after he tapped the ball when it was still on the rim on a missed foul shot by I Chieh Su, even though FIBA rules allow it as long as it hasn't hit the board or on the downhill path.

Curiously, the game officials not only counted the foul shot, they also gave the Filipinos a point penalty. And that is not counting the ridiculous number of fouls called on Smart Gilas, which totaled 30. It also resulted to 31 of the 33 foul shots given the hosts not in the act of shooting. "Horrible," said Douthit when asked of the officiating.

Smart Gilas started to break away late in the second quarter when Douthit and Aguilar tore the host team's reed thin interior defense to go into the break with its biggest lead of the half, 49-36. It would have been a bigger margin for the Nationals if not for the outrageous fouls called by referees here in favor of the Taiwanese.

There was even one instance when Douthit was called for a personal foul for just standing up midway in the first quarter. Douthit didn't like the call apparently and kept on complaining on the ref, who quickly slapped him a technical foul.

After the Jordanians, the Filipinos will have a little breather as they battle the lightweight Malaysians at 3 p.m. tomorrow before facing off with another undefeated team in the South Koreans at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Smart Gilas will then collide with winless UAE at 3 p.m. on Thursday before closing out its elimination round campaign against Japan at 5 p.m. on Friday.

The semifinal round is scheduled on Saturday while the championship and battle for third place on Sunday.

Earlier, Jordan smashed Malaysia, 93-63, and South Korea whitewashed United Arab Emirates, 102-54, to seal their second straight victory and a share of the lead.

The Jordanians, who won this event from 2007 and 2008, hurdled UAE, 91-72, while the Koreans blasted the Malaysians, 110-50, in Saturday's opener.

Jones Cup notes: The Miami Heat's Lebron James is scheduled to fly here on Thursday as part of his Nike Tour and will hold some basketball clinics...Odds makers gave Smart Gilas a 12.5-1 favorite to win over the host team. Sports lottery, of course, is legal here...Meralco Bolts coach Ryan Gregorio arrived this morning to assume his role as one of Toroman's assistants...Taipei's No. 4 player, a long-haired 6-10 Wen Ting Tseng, was recruited by Shanghai Sharks owner Yao Ming, who recently retired in the NBA, to play in the coming Chinese Basketball League season.

The scores:

Smart Gilas Pilipinas 90- Douthit 23, Aguilar 12, Casio 10, Hontiveros 9, Lassiter 9, Lutz 9, Tiu 8, Baracael 8, Barroca 2, Taulava 0, Ababou 0

Chinese Taipei 78- Hsin 17, Wen 14, Chih 13, Cheng 9, Shou 8, I Chieh 7, Chin 6, Tsung 2, Chia 2,Douglas 0, Po 0, Hsueh 0

Quarterscores: 21-17; 49-36; 72-58; 90-78

Golden Dragons: Pinoy rowers pad total to 4 golds and 2 silvers

2011-08-07T07:07:00.000-07:00

The medals just keep stacking up for the Cobra-Philippine Dragon Boat Federation team at the 10th World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Tampa Bay, Florida.

The Filipino rowers added a gold medal in the premiere mixed small boat competition and a silver medal in the All-Comers premiere mixed small boat competition in the 500m events on Saturday, bringing their total haul to 4 golds and 2 silvers.

Despite lack of government support for the trip because of a dispute between the PDBF and the Philippine Olympic Committee, the team has now won medals in all events they have entered.

They easily overtook their rivals from the preliminaries all the way to the final round clocking in at 02.36.119 in the 500m mixed small boat competition.

Trinidad and Tobago (02:38.809) settled for silver. Rounding up the top 3 were the paddlers from Hungary (02:39.635), who took home the bronze.

Meanwhile, in the 500m all-comers competition, the Filipino rowers settled for a silver medal, finishing by about two seconds behind Germany. Macau brought home the bronze.

The Cobra PDBF Team will have a crack at a possible 5th gold medal in the final day of the World Championships Sunday afternoon (early Monday morning Manila time).

PHILIPPINES pull off king-size upset over two times FIBA Asia Champions IRAN in Day 1 of the 2011 William Jones Cup

2011-08-06T06:08:00.000-07:00

Before tip-off, members of the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team gave their rivals from Iran dried mango packages as part of the traditional friendly exchange at center court.

The Iranian basketball players proceeded to throw the gifts from the Philippine team to the crowd. But it was the two-time defending champions who received a rude awakening after the opening tip, as SMART-Gilas shocked the Iranians with a dominant 73-59 win at the start of the 2011 Jones Cup campaign Saturday in Taipei.
Naturalized player Marcus Douthit outplayed his counterpart, NBA veteran Hamed Haddadi, Japeth Aguilar showed solid presence on the defensive end while small men Mark Barroca and JV Casio played bigger than their size as the Filipinos pulled off a king-size upset over what had been the best national team in Asia for the past several years.

Douthit, a former draftee of the Los Angeles Lakers, finished with 24 points and 11 rebound, and for at least one game, proved to be a better fit with his team than Haddadi. Haddadi has spent the past three seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies, but his re-entry to the team looked like it might have disrupted the Iranian team’s chemistry.

Apart from playing solid defense on the 7-foot-2 Iranian, Douthit was also able to beat his counterpart off the dribble on several occasions. At one point, Douthit found himself isolated against Haddadi and breezed by the slower Iranian center for a nifty baseline move.

Douthit’s presence coupled by Aguilar’s tenacity on the defensive end energized the rest of the Filipinos, who also got solid support from the countrymen who trooped to the Sinjhuang Stadium in New Taipei City to cheer for the team.

Aguilar, an ultra-athletic 6-foot-10 forward, swatted five attempts and proved to be an intimidating force inside the shaded lane. The Filipino defense was so solid that for a seven-minute stretch in the third period, Iran was held to just a single field goal.

With Douthit and Aguilar taking care of business down low, the SMART-Gilas guards were able to run their rivals to the ground. Two thundering dunks from Douthit and Aguilar pushed the Philippine team ahead, 54-38, heading into the fourth quarter.

The Iranians battled back in the final period to cut the lead to eight, 54-62. But six straight points by Casio and Chris Tiu put the game away for SMART-Gilas. Iran, which swept the competition last year, seemed to take the Filipinos lightly. The possible upset looked imminent as early as the first period when SMART-Gilas opened the match with a quick 9-2 run. A jumper by Barroca gave the Philippines to a 15-7 lead at the 4:26 mark.

Haddadi came off the bench midway through the first period to give the Iranians a semblance of control, but the Filipinos were able to take away whatever advantage the behemoth had by ganging up on him. Although Haddadi was able to produce 25 points, the rest of his squad were not able to make significant contribution, with only Mahdi Kamrani scoring in double-figures with 18 points.

The scores:

SMART Gilas-Pilipinas (73) – Douthit 24, Barroca 13, Casio 11, Baracael 8, Aguilar 6, Tiu 4, Lassiter 3, Hontiveros 2, Taulava 2, Lutz 0, Ababou 0.

Iran (59) – Haddadi 25, Kamrani 18, Davarpanahfard 7, Sohrabnejad 3, Veisi 2, Kardoust 2, Nabipoor 2, Davari 0, Davoudichegani 0, Barogh 0.

Quarterscores: 17-12; 37-30; 54-38; 73-59.

2011 Jones Cup broadcast schedule on AKTV on IBC-13 (New Schedule)

2011-08-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

Saturday, August 6

Philippines vs Iran (live) – 5 p.m.
South Korea vs Malaysia (delayed) – 7 p.m.

Sunday, August 7

Japan vs Iran (live) – 5 p.m.
Philippines vs Chinese Taipei (live) – 7 p.m.

Monday, August 8

Jordan vs Philippines (delayed) – 5 p.m.
South Korea vs Iran (delayed) – 7 p.m.

Tuesday, August 9

Malaysia vs Philippines (delayed) – 5 p.m.
Japan vs South Korea (delayed) – 7 p.m.

Wednesday, August 10

Philippines vs South Korea (live) – 5 p.m.
Jordan vs Japan (delayed) – 7 p.m.

Thursday, August 11

United Arab Emirates vs Philippines (delayed) – 5 p.m.
South Korea vs Jordan (delayed) – 7 p.m.

Friday, August 12

Philippines vs Japan (live) – 5 p.m.
Jordan vs Iran (delayed) – 7 p.m.

Saturday, August 13

Jones Cup semifinals game 1 – 5 p.m.
Jones Cup semifinals game 2 – 7 p.m.

Sunday, August 14

Jones Cup battle for third – 5 p.m.
Jones Cup championship game – 7 p.m.

Philippines Dragon Boat Team bags gold at World Championships in Florida

2011-08-05T06:17:00.000-07:00

MANILA—Is being under-supported enough push to become a world champion and even a world-record holder? Ask the cash-strapped Philippine Dragon Boat team as it let the paddling do the talking.

The team splashed its way to a third world title in the biennial International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) 10th World Dragon Boat Championships by winning the Premier 1000m event (small boat) in Tampa Bay, Florida Friday.

On the final round of, the Filipinos’ 4:57.13 clocking set a new world record for the event. Australia won the silver medal (5:00.09), while Hungary captured the bronze (5:03.71) in the race no. 27 in day two of the 10th Worlds.

The win in the 1000m Premier event (small boats) is Philippines’ first gold medal at the 2011 Worlds thus far.

A small boat in dragon boat parlance has up to 10 paddlers while, a standard boat has up to 22 paddlers. The Philippines won two gold medals at the 2009 Worlds in Prague, Czech Republic in standard boats (not small boats, as reported earlier by this contributor)—the 200m Premier Mixed and 200m Premier Open categories.

It was reported that the Filipinos will compete in small boat events—and not on standard boats, which means the the paddlers will not defend their world titles in the 200m Premier Mixed and 200m Premier Open categories using standard boats.

But a schedule of the races, though with many blanks yet to be filled, found on the Internet showed that the Philippines is competing in small boat events. In the preliminary round (race no. 24 of scheduled races for the day), the Philippines topped the race with a 4:50.79 clocking with Australia (5:02.59), and Hungary (5:09.87) behind.

2011 Jones Cup broadcast schedule on AKTV on IBC-13

2011-08-04T08:10:00.001-07:00

Saturday, August 6

Philippines vs Jordan (live) – 5 p.m.
South Korea vs United Arab Emirates (delayed) – 7 p.m.

Sunday, August 7

United Arab Emirates vs Philippines (delayed) – 5 p.m.
Japan vs Malaysia (delayed) – 7 p.m.

Monday, August 8

Jordan vs Iran (delayed) – 5 p.m.
South Korea vs Malaysia (delayed) – 7 p.m.

Tuesday, August 9

Philippines vs South Korea (delayed) – 5 p.m.
Japan vs Jordan (delayed) – 7 p.m.

Wednesday, August 10

Philippines vs South Africa (live) – 5 p.m.
Iran vs Japan (delayed) – 7 p.m.

Thursday, August 11

Japan vs Philippines (delayed) – 5 p.m.
Malaysia vs Iran (delayed) – 7 p.m.

Friday, August 12

Philippines vs Malaysia (live) – 5 p.m.
Japan vs Korea (delayed) – 7 p.m.

Saturday, August 13

United Arab Emirates vs Jordan (delayed) – 5 p.m.
South Korea vs Iran (delayed) – 7 p.m.

Sunday, August 14

Philippines vs Iran (delayed) – 5 p.m.
South Africa vs Japan (delayed) – 7 p.m.

Nepal to Host 2012 AFC Challenge Cup Finals

2011-08-03T06:17:00.000-07:00

The AFC, through its Competitions Committee and Exectuive Committee, has provisionally approved the offer of the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) to host the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup last week. ANFA beat out the Maldives and Palestine to have the chance to host this biennal event. Interestingly, the previous three editions of this competition took place in the Indian subcontinent (Bangladesh in 2006, India in 2008, Sri Lanka in 2010). Of course, the ANFA needs to follow the official criteria set by the AFC.

The AFC Challenge Cup is a competition geared for the emerging member associations of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). This edition, scheduled on March 3-18, will have the following countries as participants; Palestine, The Philippines, India, Turkmenistan, Maldives, Tajikistan, North Korea and Nepal. The winner will qualify for the 2015 Asian Cup that will held in Australia, where they will face Asian powerhouses such as Japan, South Korea and Australia to name a few.

If you recall, in order to qualify for the finals, the Azkals played the games in Myanmar, where they beat Bangladesh 3-0 after battling the host country Myanmar and Palestine to draws 1-1 and 0-0 respectively. This competition also served as the international debuts for AGF's Jerry Lucena and Angel Guirado (then of Club Deportivo Ronda), as well as Kaya FC's Yannick Tuason and Global Smartmatic's William Guerridon. It also turned out to be the final competition for Air Force Rider's Yanti Barsales, as he later announced his retirement from international football in a brief conversation with Roy Moore when after they clinched the UFL season earlier this June.

2011 33rd William Jones Cup [Aug 6-14 Taiwan]

2011-07-31T02:54:00.000-07:00

August 6
13:00 - South Africa vs. Iran
15:00 - South Korea vs. UAE
17:00 - Philippines vs. Jordan
19:30 - Chinese Taipei vs. Japan

August 7
13:00 - South Africa vs. South Korea
15:00 - UAE vs. Philippines
17:00 - Japan vs. Malaysia
19:00 - Iran vs. Chinese Taipei

August 8
13:00 - UAE vs. Japan
15:00 - Jordan vs. Iran
17:00 - South Korea vs. Malaysia
19:00 - Chinese Taipei vs. South Africa

August 9
13:00 - Iran vs. UAE
15:00 - Japan vs. Jordan
17:00 - Philippines vs. South Korea
19:00 - Malaysia - Chinese Taipei

August 10
13:00 - UAE vs. Malaysia
15:00 - Philippines vs. South Africa
17:00 - Iran vs. Japan
19:00 - South Korea vs. Jordan

August 11
13:00 - South Africa vs. UAE
15:00 - Malaysia vs. Iran
17:00 - Japan vs. Philippines
19:00 - Jordan vs. Chinese Taipei

August 12
13:00 - Philippines vs. Malaysia
15:00 - South Africa vs. Jordan
17:00 - Japan vs. South Korea
19:00 - Chinese Taipei vs. UAE

August 13
13:00 - Malaysia vs. South Africa
15:00 - UAE vs. Jordan
17:00 - South Korea vs. Iran
19:00 - Philippines vs. Chinese Taipei

August 14
13:00 - Jordan vs. Malaysia
15:00 - South Africa vs. Japan
17:00 - Iran vs. Philippines
19:00 - Chinese Taipei vs. South Korea

Kuwait Al-Azraq defeat Philippine Azkals, out of World Cup campaign

2011-07-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

The Philippine Azkals put up a good fight against the formidable Kuwait Al-Azraq in the game held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Thursday night, July 28. But, in the end, the Kuwaitis beat them, 2-1 (5-1 final aggregate score).

The Kuwaitis had enjoyed a 3-goal advantage over the Azkals from the first leg. The lone goal scored by the Azkals was courtesy of Fil-German Stephan Schrock, who, along with Azkals team captain Aly Borromeo, had missed the first leg due to a suspension.

With their loss, the Azkals are out of the running for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Bad Kuwaiti fan finds a way to distract Philippine Azkals Goalkeeper

2011-07-26T07:16:00.000-07:00

A Kuwaiti fan was caught using a laser pointer to distract the Philippine Azkals Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge from guarding his post. The incident happened last July 23, 2011 in Kuwait during the World Cup Qualifiers Round 2 Leg 1 match of the Philippines versus Kuwait. Very bad Kuwaiti man indeed!

NBA All-Star Selection defeat the Smart Gilas Philippines

2011-07-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

Compared to the PBA selection, the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team was expected to be more competitive against Kobe Bryant and his band of basketball superstars. That proved to be true, although the Philippine team still fell short against the SMART All-Stars, 98-89.

The nationals started off very gamely, with forward Japeth Aguilar finishing with a thunderous jam early in the 1st quarter. They would stick close for most of the period, before the NBA players closed off the first quarter with a 6-0 run to break the game wide open, 28-16.

The SMART All-Stars would lead by as much 21 points in the game, as they were able to get into transition often in the 3rd quarter. However, their chase for the highlight plays that the fans asked for proved to be the cause for a small collapse, allowing SMART-Gilas to get as close as eight points, 92-84, with 2:30 to go in the game.

Despite SMART-Gilas coach Rajko Toroman’s assertions that they wanted to win, he waved the proverbial white flag soon after that as he pulled Marcus Douthit from the game in favor of rarely-used Jason Ballesteros in the closing minutes. The naturalized center had energized the team in the fourth quarter with several big plays, including a huge putback dunk off of a missed Marcio Lassiter three-pointer.

The game was considerably chippier than the SMART All-Stars matchup with the PBA selection on Saturday night, with SMART-Gilas committing several hard fouls on their American guests. NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant, in particular, was introduced to the hard hits of veteran Asi Taulava and looked visibly frustrated for the first time in the two games. Dondon Hontiveros also played Bryant physically in the fourth quarter, although the SMART All-Stars playing coach seemed to take it in stride, flashing a good-natured smile afterwards.

But the game was not without its lighter moments, as the NBA stars obviously wanted to please the crowd. Egged on by the enthusiastic crowd after the ball was stuck between the backboard and the shot clock, JaVale McGee attempted to tip it off himself instead of waiting for the arena staff to poke it off with a stick. As awestruck as the Filipino fans were of their NBA idols, they went completely bonkers when pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao made his entrance early in the fourth quarter. He would visit the NBA stars during a timeout and spent time conversing with Bryant and the rest of the team before play resumed.

The crowd was only too happy to respond, raining down cheers of “C-P-3! C-P-3!” for the New Orleans guard. Chicago Bulls superstar Derrick Rose received similar treatment as the crowd chanted “M-V-P! M-V-P!” as he took a pair of free throws in the fourth quarter, but he disappointed his fans by missing both shots. But the loudest cheers — at least for basketball players — were reserved for Bryant himself, as the crowd pleaded for him to put himself back into the game.

The oddest chant, though, occurred with four minutes to go in the game and the All-Stars leading 90-80. Perhaps praying for a miracle upset, the crowd erupted into familiar chants of “defense” as they cheered the effort of the hard-charging home team.

There were also a lot of dunks, on both sides. Douthit, Aguilar and Kelly Williams all showed off their athleticism for SMART-Gilas as did Tyreke Evans, James Harden and the rest of the SMART-All-Stars. McGee, who scored 25 points against the undersized PBA selection the night before, was held to just 16, including just three in the first half as he was defended by the 6-11 Douthit. Bryant and Durant combined to score 21 points in the first half, when they pulled away from their local counterparts.

Jayvee Casio scored 16 points for SMART-Gilas, Douthit scored 14 points and Chris Lutz added 12. Hontiveros hit three shots from beyond the arc and finished with 11 of his own. He would later have the privilege of receiving Bryant’s jersey as he made an exchange with the NBA superstar.

Source: INTERAKSYON

Kobe, Durant, Mcgee star the Smart NBA All-Stars dunkfest over PBA Selection

2011-07-23T09:32:00.000-07:00

The SMART All-Stars led by Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul romped to a 131-105 win over a selection of Philippine basketball players on Saturday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum. But despite the lopsided scores, everyone in the venue – including the NBA superstars’ victims – went home happy after the game highlighted by thunderous dunks and above-the-rim action.

Washington center JaVale McGee stole the show from his more heralded teammates, scoring 25 points and leading the stunning display of aerial artistry. Durant added 22 points off vicious dunks and trademark fade-away long bombs.

But the biggest cheers in the arena were reserved for Bryant, the SMART-All Stars’ playing coach. The Lakers’ superstar, who did not play in the fourth quarter when the game had already been decided, was serenaded by chants by the Filipino crowd egging him to put himself back in the game.

Bryant ended with only 12 points, which might as well have been the loudest 12 points in the history of the game. The 32-year-old guard turned back time, throwing down three sensational alley-oop slams as if he were still a hotshot 18-year-old rookie, including a reverse dunk off a Chris Paul pass off the backboard in the second quarter.

It was one of many highlights of the night for Filipino fans, who packed the coliseum to the rafters and went bonkers after every dunk from their NBA idols. Despite playing the part of the Washington Generals for this exhibition match, the PBA selection started off gamely, with Arwind Santos scoring the first basket – and the first slam dunk – of the game.

The PBA stars even took several early leads in the opening period, as Santos led the charge with ten points. But Durant quickly caught fire, scoring nine points to put the SMART All-Stars ahead, 30-26, at the end of the first quarter.

The Oklahoma City forward continued his onslaught in the second quarter, adding eleven points to his total, while his Thunder teammate James Harden and McGee caught fire. The NBAers ended the half with a 66-50 lead. After a halftime break featuring a three-point shootout where Paul and James Harden beat LA Tenorio and Larry Fonacier, all hell broke loose in the third quarter, as the SMART All-Stars put away the game for good.

Bryant scored on two alley-oops coming off passes from Paul and Durant, before feeding Rose for a two-handed alley-oop jam of his own, which prompted the capacity crowd to chant “M-V-P, M-V-P” for the Most Valuable Player of the 2010-2011 NBA season. Harden added some footage to his highlight reel too, going coast to coast for a rock-the-cradle reverse jam.

Human pogo stick, McGee, meanwhile, made himself an easy target of alley-oop passes from his teammates, before bringing the house down with a couple of coast-to-coast jams, showcasing breathtaking athleticism that had perhaps never been seen before by a Filipino audience.

The SMART All-Stars led107-78 heading into the payoff period, and the dunkfest continued in the fourth quarter, with Harden, Tyreke Evans, and McGee continuing to strut their stuff while Bryant chilled on the bench. Despite the beatdown, the PBA players were visibly happy sharing the court with their idols. Bryant himself was impressed by the performance of the locals, who were led by Santos with 25 points.

Source: INTERAKTV

Ginebra trades Willie Miller to Air21

2011-07-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

Patricia Hizon reports on Twitter that the PBA has already approved a trade involving Barangay Ginebra and Air 21. The Gin Kings sent two-time Most Valuable Player Willie Miller to Air 21 in exchange for KG Canaleta and a 2012 draft pick.

Since being acquired from Alaska for Cyrus Baguio last season, Miller was lost in Ginebra’s crowded backcourt rotatio, which also features Mark Caguioa, Mike Cortez, and the comebacking Jayjay Helterbrand. Earlier reports said that the stocky guard was unhappy with his lack of playing time with the league’s crowd favorites.
Meanwhile, Ginebra fans never quite embraced Miller, whose up-and-down performances were a source of contention. In a performance that continues to frustrate the Gin Kings faithful to this day, the enigmatic scorer had just two points in Ginebra’s game 6 semifinal loss to San Miguel in the Philippine Cup, which eliminated the Gin Kings from finals contention.

Source: InterAKTV