MANILA, Philippines - Spitfire guard Jayvee Casio floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee, and the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national squad played rope-a-dope against Al-Jala’a of Syria in a come-from-behind 85-80 win in the quarterfinals of the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

Casio was brilliant throughout the game, providing the only glimmer of light in an otherwise dim opening half that saw the Philippines trailing the Syrians, 34-41.

While Casio scored 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first half, the rest of the team shot miserably, making the rim bleed by making just 11 of 32 field goal attempts.

Former NBA first round pick Samaki Walker, meanwhile, dominated his matchup against naturalized SMART-Gilas center Marcus Douthit early in the game, scoring 16 points in the first half for Al-Jala’a. Syrian hotshot Micheal Adanly added 14 points to fuel Syria’s hot start.

But it was a different story after the halftime break, as Casio, Douthit, Chris Lutz, and Japeth Aguilar conspired in a furious 10-4 run to start the third quarter. Aguilar’s three-point play with 1:37 gave SMART-Gilas a 56-55 lead that it would not surrender for the rest of the match.

Continue reading at InterAksyon.com

The Interbasket forum for Philippine basketball is home to some of the most passionate local basketball fans, particularly of the Smart Gilas Pilipinas National Basketball Team. Because of the rabid fandom of its members, the message board has attracted the attention of basketball insiders, including officials of the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP), the country’s national basketball federation.

One such personality identifies himself only by the handle Namamangha, and is acknowledged by everyone to be an official of the SBP. Oddly, the past couple weeks, Namamangha started badmouthing Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman in the forums:

Continue reading "SBP official badmouths Coach Rajko Toroman online, as Smart Gilas descends into heavy turmoil"

I rushed to the Ninoy Aquino Stadium tonight after a long day of work in the field just in time for the tipoff of Smart Gilas versus the Jordan national team. Gilas actually played well in the first half, taking a first quarter lead and keeping in step with the taller Jordanians at halftime.

Continue reading "Smart Gilas struggles against Jordan"

Like I said a few posts back, I welcome any insight about the Smart Gilas squad, given that a lot of people really care about the promising team. A Smart Gilas insider (I know who he is, but for obvious reasons couldn’t disclose the identity) left a very interesting comment on my last post about the team. I’m republishing the most interesting parts of his comment here for more people to see:

Continue reading "Random thoughts from a Smart Gilas insider"

Like I said in the previous post, I hadn’t seen enough of Smart Gilas in Dubai, so these are more general thoughts. That said, I was thoroughly impressed with the team’s performance, and like any other Pinoy basketball fan, I am hopeful that this is the start of the team’s steady climb.

Anyway, some of my thoughts, in bullets:

Continue reading "Thoughts on Smart Gilas, after their sensational bronze-winning performance at the Dubai International Basketball Tournament"

I’m trying to find the right words to say about the very impressive win by Smart Gilas, which is hard, especially since after the game I went out drinking with j_myxx and NeekoBoi (and their awesome dad) of Patay ang Butiki, Gary of Basketball Exchange, and Toff Rada of toffrada.

Anyway, some tipsy thoughts, in bullet points:

Continue reading "Smart Gilas plasters Powerade"

I wasn’t able to tweet during the Team Pilipinas game versus Kuwait or post a quick report on it because I was out late partying with Lady Gaga last night. Just kidding. Anyway, this morning, my friends who went to the show couldn’t get over the size of her penis.

Continue reading "Fiba-Asia Championships: Team Pilipinas beats Kuwait, gears up for knock-out quarterfinals action"

The economic downturn is affecting everyone, and it has hit local amateur commercial basketball particularly hard. The Philippine Basketball League, the traditional breeding ground for Philippine basketball's rising stars, beginning their new tournament while reeling from the departure of two members (Burger King and Toyota Otis), are down to five teams.

It makes sense. Unlike the PBA, the PBL is truly borne out of love: companies pay teams to play in near-empty arenas and there is next to no one watching on television.

This is Fire Quinito's primer for each team, with a different twist: a profile of each team owner. Who are they, and what do they do? And why the hell are they still in the PBL?

Cecilio Pedro and Lamoiyan Corporation's newest team, the Licealiz Hair Doctors, are up next.

Continue reading "PBL Preview: Cecilio Pedro and the Licealiz Hair Doctors"

The new tournament of the Philippine Basketball League opened yesterday and to hype up it up, sportswriters have keyed in on the new backcourt for Licealiz (formerly Hapee Toothpaste), Chris Tiu and Jayvee Casio:

Continue reading "Chris Tiu and Jayvee Casio have a bromance brewing"