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TNT will play Barangay Ginebra without an import in a PBA Commissioner’s Cup nightcap game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tomorrow but the Tropa is going all out to win, no matter what. San Miguel Beer takes on Phoenix in the opener of the Christmas Day twinbill treat for fans.
Believe it or not, the PBA’s hottest team at the moment is a so-called “independent,” meaning unattached to either the San Miguel or MVP groups. Phoenix has raced to a 6-1 record, brandishing a five-game win streak and with four games to go in its elims schedule, is in strong contention for a top four quarterfinals berth in the Commissioner’s Cup.
It’s been a long journey from Tonga to the Philippines for Asi Taulava. When he arrived here to play for Blu Detergent in the PBL in 1997, there were doubts as to his ethnicity. Was he actually half-Filipino? Taulava was deported in the wake of suspicions of fake Fil-foreigners claiming blood lineage in 2000. Sonny Alvarado, Rob Parker and Al Segova were exposed as impostors, shipped out and never heard of again. But Taulava fought for his rights, returned in 2001 and later brought his Filipina mother Pauline Hernandez to appear before a panel of immigration interrogators to argue his case. He was eventually cleared by the Department of Justice.
Mark Magsayo’s reign as WBC featherweight champion was short-lived and he hardly warmed his seat on the throne last year. He was defrocked after six months and hasn’t gotten over the pain. Now, Magsayo is campaigning as a superfeatherweight and his mission is to win a second world title before next year ends.
MANILA, Philippines — The PBA is scoreless in six games so far in EASL’s inaugural home-and-away season with five of the losses on the road. TNT and Meralco are the PBA’s reps in the eight-team tournament which is billed as “Where Champions Clash.” The best of the best in East Asia are vying for the $1-million first prize with the Final Four set to reel off in March.
There’s a reason why the Banals were destined to be devout Christians. It all stemmed from their name which translated from Pilipino to English, means holy. From coach Joel down to his grandson Noah, Christianity and basketball are the center of their lives.
Sportung chaneLa Salle coach Topex Robinson will be the first to admit that the Archers couldn’t have won the UAAP men’s basketball championship without his core staff. Assistants Caloy Garcia, Gian Nazario, Mon Jose, Oliver Bunyi and JB Sison weren’t just stand-ins or props. They were active participants in the coaching process from scouting to viewing to game-planning to communicating with the players on how to execute on both ends.
The PBA has adopted several rules from the NBA playbook but it’s far from a one-way street. When the NBA instituted the play-in system two years ago, it introduced the double-chance system which is actually the twice-to-beat advantage that’s been long in effect in the PBA. And when the NBA rolled out the in-season tournament this year, it brought in the concept of the quotient which has also been an age-old practice in breaking ties in the PBA.