Gilas Wins Over Syria, 85-80!

Down by 15 in the 2nd quarter, the Smart Gilas Nationals could have rolled over and died.

Instead, they turned to the potent offensive duo of JV Casio and Marcus Douthit and the smothering defense of Chris Tiu (?!?!), Marcio Lassiter and Chris Lutz to stage a come-from-behind win over Al Jala'a of Syria.

Gilas Down By 7 To Syria At Halftime, 34-41!

After 20 minutes of furious basketball action, the Philippines fins themselves at the wrong end of a 34-41 score.

The Nationals struggled from the field, led by Japhet Aguilar's 1-5 and Marcus Douthit's 2-6. Chris Tiu is 0-3 while JV Casio provides the lone bright spot for Gilas, shooting 5-8 from the field and 3-4 from three points.

Al Jala'a import and former Laker Samaki Walker scored 16 points in the first half, eclipsing his previous tournament high for the entire game of 11, while import Michael Madanly scored 14 points.

The Syrians led by just 2 points at the end of the first quarter but rattled off 13 quick points before the Nationals could react. Gilas has played catch-up basketball since then, pruning down a 15 point lead to just 7 by the half.  

In the second half, the Nationals will have to step it up on defense if they want to avoid getting railroaded by Walker and Madanly.

Senior Azkal Retires!

He's so old that his nephew, who plays alongside him, remembers being a kid and watching "Tito Yanti" play.

The 38 year old Barsales has proven to be one of the calming forces on the team as well as a blazing threat on offense but has finally decided to hang up his international boots amidst all the new found fame and hype for the Azkals.

Barsales, who is also a member of the Philippine Air Force Football Club (PAF-FC will most probably continue playing in the  United Football League (UFL) ut will no longer join the Azkals in their match against Sri Lanka on June 29.

Salamat guid sa tanan ng guinhimo mo, Yanti!

More on this story here.

Gilas Takes On Al-Jala'a for Ssemis Seat!

One win is all that stands between Smart Gilas and its highest finish yet in the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup in more than a decade.

Gilas emerged as the top seed in Group A after sweeping the group, beating Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad, Malaysia's KL Dragons, Iraq's Duhok and finally Jordan's ASU.

Mavs Win Game 2!

The Mavs were down by 15 with 6 minutes left.

Lebron James and Dwayne Wade were having their way in the paint against the smaller Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. Udonis Haslem and Chris Bosh were playing good defense on Dirk Nowitzki, causing him to shoot at just under 40% from the field.

Patrombon Advances In Indonesia

The Patrombon Express is picking up steam.

Jeson Patrombon, formerly the Philippines' top junior netter, defeated Thailand's highly touted Kirati Siributwong 6-2, 7-5 in the opening round of the Indonesian F2 Futures Tournament being held in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Rubio Is Coming To Town!

The Spanish Wonder Kid is about to become a Timberpup.

Ricky Rubio has reportedly agreed to join the Minnesota Timberwolves this coming season.

He was a first round draft pick of the Wolves 2 years ago but stayed on with Regal Barcelona in an effort to bring his buyout figure from 6million to 1.4million.

Sure to benefit from Ricky Rubio's arrival are Kevin Love and Michael Beasely, who will be Rubio's targets for his pinpoint passes and the Minnesota defense, who could use a long, athletic guard.

More on this story here.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Posts Nasty Open Letter For Scottie Pippen!

Kareem Abdul Jabbar was one of the best NBA players ever.
So was Scottie Pippen.

Now, these two Hall-of-Famers are at loggerheads with each other over Pippen's assertion that Jordan was the best scorer ever but Lebron might be the best player ever.

Shaq Retires!

It truly is the end of a glorious era.

Shaquille O'Neal, aka Shaq Attack, Shaq Diesel, The Big Aristotle, The Big Shaqtus, The Big Shamrock, MDE (Most Dominant Ever), has finally call it quits after 19 years.

The 39 year old Celtics center has missed almost the entire season and post season due to a balky Achilles tendon.

Here's a look at the best of Shaq.


More on this story, here.

Gilas Wins Over ASU, Takes #1 Seed!

Pesky defense. Timely offense. And JV Casio.

Those three were the biggest factors as Smart Gilas shocked ASU-Jordan 76-74 in a hotly contested preliminary match in the 2011 FIBA-Asia Champions Cup.

Gilas In Crucial Match Against ASU-Jordan!

This match may determine whether Gilas ends up in the semifinal round or ends their run in the quarterfinals.

Gilas goes up against Applied Science University of Jordan for the top seed in Group A and the privilege of playing against the 4th seed of Group B, most likely Syria.

Heat Win Game 1!

The Big Three are three wins away from the NBA Championships.

Lebron James had 24 points, Dwayne Wade had 22 points and 10 rebounds hile Chris Bosh scored 19 points to lead the Heat to a 92-84 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Gilas Wins Over Duhok, 74-64!

They shot horribly and kept turning the ball over.

But thanks to a stingy defense, Smart Gilas was still able to pull out a 10-point victory over former import CJ Giles and Duhok of Iraq.

Paragua Makes It To Chess World Cup With Last Minute Win!

It's been a while but GM Mark Paragua is heading back to the World Cup.

The three time Chess Olympiad veteran notched a win over Singaporean IM Wei Min Goh in 35 moves of the Sicilian to finish second in the Asian Zone Chess Championships.

Indonesian GM Susanto Megaranto emerged as solo champion, beating Filipino GMs Joey Antonio and Darwin Laylo in his last two matches.

More of this story here.

Devance Trade Pushes Through!

Joe Devance can finally release a sigh of relief.

The PBA Commissioner's Office has finally approved the Alaska-Air 21 trade that sends the explosive Fil-Am to the Express in exchange for Jay-R Reyes and 2 first round draft picks.

The original trade proposal was a one-for-one deal, Joe Devance straight up for Jay-R Reyes but it was rejected by the PBA for being one-sided in favor of the Express.

Gilas To Face CJ Giles-led Duhok!

They say it is the sweetest of friends that become the bitterest of enemies. I'm guessing the same goes for former naturalization candidates who get kicked off for disciplinary reasons.

CJ Giles, a one-time naturalization candidate for Smart Gilas, takes on Marcus Douthit, the man who ultimately took his place in a match more anticipated for the offcourt drama than the in-game action.

Gilas is aiming for their third straight win and a sure quarterfinal seat while Duhok is trying to avoid their a third loss that could put their quarterfinal hopes in jeopardy. Giles scored 28 points in their 12 point win to the KL Dragons, who lost to Gilas by 31 points.


Gametime is set at 8pm.


More on this story here.

Mahram Falls To Al-Riyadi, 76-73!

In the end, it came down to two superstars duking it out.

Fadi El-Khatib, the superb Lebanese superstar outgunned fellow superstar Samad Bahrami of Iran, leading Al-Riyadi of Lebanon to a 3 point win over defending champion Mahram of Iran.

And Then, There Was One Bidder Left!

How do you have a bidding with only one bidder?
Let's ask the PBA.

The pull-out of ABS-CBN from the bidding process means that the PBA airing rights are TV5's for the taking.

But PBA Commisioner Chito Salud clarified that TV5 still needs to make a marketing and financial presentation before they can be named the PBA's official coveror. TV5 is reportedly offering a five year deal.

More on this story here. 

Gilas Pulls Away in 2nd Half Against Malaysia!

On paper, it looked like an easy out. But for 2 quarters, the Westport KL Dragons more than held their own against Smart Gilas.

Then Asi Taulava made his move.

Thee Dragons got outmuscled and outhustled by Taulava, Chris Lutz and MacMac Baracael and Mark Barroca as Gilas turned a 1 point halftime deficit into a 31 point victory, 95-64.

Monster Japhet Aguilar Dunk Against Al-Ittihad!

Japhet had a lot of rim rattling dunks and this was just one of them.

Enjoy!

Smart Gilas Spanks Al-Ittihad, 101-69!

Asi Taulava and Marcus Douthit warming up

When the Saudis trotted out a lineup that looked big and powerful, everyone in the Philsports Arena took a big gulp. Japhet Aguilar looked positively thin opposite Serbian reinforcement Vladislav Dragajlovic while JV Casio and Chris Tiu were dwarfed by the stocky Saudi guards.

Then, in the very first play of the game, Tiu delivered a perfect alley-oop pass to Aguilar, who slammed the ball home. That set the tone for the game as the Gilas players played aggressive basketball to cop their first win in the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup.