Stan Vs Stan: The Battle Between Hardcourt Superstars

Christian Standhardinger. Stanley Pringle.

These two stars, along with NBA superstar Jordan Clarkson, shone the brightest for Team Pilipinas in the last Asian Games, where the team placed 5th, 2 places higher than in 2014.

As we now move on to the fourth FIBA qualifying window, Gilas will fall victim to harsher eligibility rules that impact mainly Fil-foreign players like Pringle, Standhardinger, and even Greg Slaughter.

Ian Lariba: Gone Too Soon

Photo courtesy of Ian Lariba's Twitter @supersaiYAAAN ‏

This morning, the Philippine sports scene was rocked on its heels with the news that table tennis phenom Ian "Yanyan" Lariba has passed away due to leukemia.

It was shocking, though not a surprise, because of so many reasons:

She was young, just 23 years old, not even at the prime of her life yet, and yet had accomplished so many things most of us would never be able even dream of.

She was an Olympian, a world class athlete in a sport we are not known to be very adept at, a trailblazer, a flagbearer.

She was not just an athlete but was an UNDEAFEATED three time champion as well as a three time MVP.

She was a college graduate, a friend, an inspiration.

May you rest in peace, Ian Lariba. Thank you for your service to the nation.

The South Korea Curse, As Explained In NBA Terms

So yes, it has happened again. South Korea has once again broken the hearts of the Philippine national basketball team, as well as its millions of rabid followers.

It has happened so often and so painfully to us that, in every basketball tournament we play, we live in fear of the Korea Curse.

But much like any curse, there is a logical and rational explanation behind it. We just need to understand it. So here's my take on the Korea Curse, as explained through the NBA landscape.

One, South Korea is International Golden State.
You have to admit, the always-a-green-light, freeflowing, three-point shot hoisting, pinpoint passing, long range bombing system of Korea is reminiscent of the Golden State Warriors' system...except Korea's been doing it since the 60s.

Asian Games 2018: Gilas Vs South Korea

Tomorrow, we get to face the basketball team that has been responsible for so many heartbreaks for Pinoy fans: South Korea. It's a match up that's been hyped up so much the past few days that it's hard to find an angle to discuss that hasn't been discussed yet.

And yet here I am. For this article, we'll look at key match ups to look out for in tomorrow game:

Key Match Up #1 Jordan Clarkson/Stanley Pringle vs Kim Sun-hyung/Lee Jung-hyun/Heo Ung
The Gilas starting backcourt is some kinda amazing and should dominate their South Korean counterparts, who are all solid but not spectacular.  Clarkson/Pringle are deadly on both sides of the floor and will pose the biggest problems for South Korea.

Pinay Power Fuels Asian Games Medal Flurry

What do Hidilyn Diaz, Pauline Lopez, Agatha Wong, Divine Wally, Juvenile Crisostomo, Rinna Babanto, and Janna Oliva all have in common?

They are all Pinay medal winners in the 2018 Asian Games...and are repsonible for 5 of our 6 medals to date (August 24, 2018).

Olympian weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, of course, gave us our first (but hopefully, not our last) gold medal while the rest gave us bronze medals in taekwondo and wushu.

Not to say, of course, that our men's teams have not been doing well. In fact,  our men's poomsae team composed of Dustin Mella, Jeordan Dominguez and Rodolfo Reyes, Jr are also on the board with a bronze medal but for the most part, it is our Pinay athletes who have fared better in the competitions.

We still have more chances at medals courtesy of our ladies as Meggie Ochoa and Kaila Napolis (jiu jit su) for podium finishes this afternoon. Let's wish our ladies luck and hope that the power Pinays keep shining golden!

The 2018 Asian Games (Day 3): Three Bronzes

It's only the third day (officially) of the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta and Team Pilipinas already has 3 bronze medals, courtesy of taekwondo (poomsae) and wushu.

The Philippine men's team composed of Dustin Mella, Jeordan Dominguez, and Rodolfo Reyes, Jr. fell to China in the semifinal round while the women's team made up of Faye Crisostomo, Rinna Babanto, and Janna Oliva were bumped of by a very cohesive United Korea team.

Wushu's Agatha Wong copped the third bronze for the Philippines with a scintillating performance in women's all-round taijiquan/taijijian event.

Impression: The Philippines is a darkhorse in most of the event in these disciplines. We're good enough to hang with the big boys of the sport but maybe not yet good enough to beat them But it's also a good indication of the development of both taekwondo and wushu in the country, as we've consistently been able to show good performances here. I expect a couple more medals to come from wushu and taekwondo.