The last time Dondon Hontiveros was on the court against basketball players from Jordan, the game ended in heartbreak for millions of Filipino basketball fans. The Philippine national basketball team was defeated by Jordan in the 2007 FIBA-Asia Championship, slamming the door on the medal hopes of Hontiveros, his teammates, and his countrymen.

It’s unclear if the hotshot from Cebu still harbors any bitterness from that loss, but with his performance on Wednesday night, it wasn’t hard to imagine him carrying a chip on his shoulder. Hontiveros scored 23 points -- pouring in six three-pointers -- to lead SMART-Gilas Pilipinas to a hard-earned 76-74 victory over Applied Science University, which featured stars Sam Daghlas and Zaid Abbas, members of the Jordan team that beat the Philippines in 2007.

Continue reading at InterAksyon.com

QUARTERFINALS SCHEDULE
Friday, June 3

2 p.m. Lebanon (Al-Riyadi) vs. Iraq (Duhok)
4 p.m. Iran (Mahram) vs. Saudi Arabia (Al-Ittihad)
6 p.m. Philippines (SMART-Gilas) vs. Syria (Al-Jala'a)
8 p.m. Jordan (Applied Science University) vs. Qatar (Al-Rayyan)

For what seemed like an eternity in the third quarter, the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team was so bad it couldn’t hit water if it fell off a boat. Fortunately for the throng of Filipino fans who showed up at the Philsports Arena, Mark Barroca caught fire in the fourth quarter to lead the team to a 74-64 victory over a surprisingly competitive Duhok squad of Iraq.

Barroca poured in 8 of his 14 points in the final period, sparking the team after a nightmare third quarter that saw Iraq cut a double-digit SMART-Gilas lead to three by the end of the period. He scored six straight points after Iraq made its last run, pushing the Philippine lead to 14, 74-60, and putting the game out of reach.

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Trailing by 1 point at halftime against the Westsports KL Dragons of Malaysia, a disappointed Rajko Toroman had a simple message for the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national squad:

“We’re a better team than this.”

Continue reading at InterAksyon.com

I’m filing reports on Smart Gilas in the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup for InterAksyon.com, the official news website of TV5. If you’ve been following this site from the very beginning, you’d appreciate the delicious irony of me covering the team for a website of a media company owned by Manny Pangilinan himself.

Anyway, yeah, click here for my report on tonight’s spanking of Saudi Arabia, starring the much-maligned Japeth Aguilar himself. Hopefully he’ll continue to play this well when the competition gets better. Also, check out the schedule, ticket, and TV info if you wanna see the games yourself.

Venue: Philsports Arena (formerly Ultra), Pasig City
May 28 to June 5, 2011

PARTICIPATING TEAMS

GROUP A
Jordan (ASU)
Malaysia (WKL DRAGONS)
Irag (DUHOK)
Saudi Arabia (AL ITTIHAD)
Philippines (SMART GILAS)

GROUP B
Lebanon (AL RIYADI)
Qatar (AL RAYYAN)
U.A.E. (AL SHABAB)
I.R. Iran (MAHRAM)
Syria (AL JALAA)

Continue reading "2011 FIBA-Asia Champions Cup: TV coverage, schedule, ticket information"

The Smart Gilas Pilipinas national team has competed twice before in the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup since the squad was first organized, and could now be considered veterans of the tournament. Only months after it was formed, Gilas saw action in the club competition in 2009 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Powered by former import CJ Giles, the team ran off to an impressive 3-1 record in the preliminary round of the tournament. But the team lost wind in the knockout quarterfinals round, bowing to the Al-Arabi team of Qatar. The team managed to win its last two consolation round games to salvage fifth place.

The team traveled to Dubai for the 2010 edition of the tournament. Gilas barely made it past the preliminary round with a 1-3 record, before losing to Lebanon’s powerhouse Al-Riyadi team. The national team won its final game to finish seventh in the competition.

Continue reading "Foreign teams’ coaches wary of Smart Gilas ahead of 2011 FIBA-Asia Champions Cup"

Since the end of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, the Internet has been abuzz with blind items and rumors about trades that were being discussed by teams around the league. The first domino fell last night, as Waylon Galvez of the Manila Bulletin reports that the Alaska Aces have sent do-everything forward Joe Devance to the Air 21 Express in exchange for the talented if underachieving Jay-R Reyes, pending approval from Commissioner Chito Salud.

Continue reading "Alaska trades Joe Devance for Jay-R Reyes"

Ever dream about busting a move with Azkals heartthrobs James and Phil Younghusband right before the big match? Or maybe you want to hear Chieffy Caligdong and Ian Araneta’s sweet Hiligaynon accent? Or perhaps you just want to stalk goalkeeper Neil Etheridge as he’s coming out of the showers?

Continue reading "Here’s your chance to hang out with the Azkals at their World Cup qualifier"

I’ve been a fan of SLAM since high school, and up until a few years ago I still bought the magazine every month, until the hefty price tag (~P500-P600 a pop) made me reassess its place in my life’s list of priorities.

Continue reading "SLAM Philippines out now!"

After conquering the American sporting landscape, Manny Pacquiao now seems hell-bent on exporting his brand of pop music to the stateside audience. ABS-CBN is reporting that the pound-for-pound king that he had been invited to guest star on the hit television musical Glee:

In an interview with ABS-CBN News reporter Gretchen Fullido, Pacquiao admitted that he was invited to guest on Glee but had yet to receive confirmation about the offer. Pacquiao, who counts singing as one of his many passions, said he wants to guest on the musical show.

Even Pacquiao's wife, Jinkee, and friend, Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson, are all in favor of Pacquiao's Glee guesting.

Continue reading "Manny Pacquiao to guest star on Glee?"