MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Malaysia scored the first two points of the ballgame, and that became the only time the Philippines trailed in 3 games so far in the 2017 SEABA Championship.

June Mar Fajardo erased that deficit in 17 seconds with a 3-point play and another demolition job commenced as Gilas Pilipinas manhandled Malaysia, 106-51, on Mother's Day Sunday, May 14 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum here.

"Well today was all about our mothers," said head coach Chot Reyes. "I told the team before the game to play the way that would make their mothers proud. It's apt that we're playing this game on Mother's Day."

At halftime, Gilas players handed out roses to loved ones and fans in the bleachers to commemorate Mother's Day.

Andray Blatche and Troy Rosario led the scoring this time around with 13 points apiece with the naturalized center adding 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

Terrence Romeo, who entered the game to much applause and buzz for the third straight game, wound up with 12 markers and 7 assists. Matthew Wright also had 10 points as every single Filipino made it on the scoreboard.

Young guard Jio Jalalon had the lowest scoring output with just two points but he tracked down 8 rebounds and dished out 5 assists on top of two steals. The Star Hotshots rookie is currently leading the tournament in assists with 6 a game.

The hosts seemed more fluid against a Malaysian side whose defense they were wary about. But they also faced a level of physicality and aggressiveness that was significantly higher than their last two opponents.

The Malaysians adopted that kind of assertive play from Filipinos themselves.

"This is the team that played in the D-League, and that's where they learned how to get tough, to be physical," Reyes said.

All but one of Malaysia's 12 players have at some point played for the PBA D-League's Blustar Detergent Dragons squad, which lost all 9 of their games in the most recent Aspirants Cup conference and are a combined 2-19 for two conferences so far.

"That's why we were prepared for that. We told them these guys will get up in your grill and pressure you. We were looking for a lot of layups and backdoor cuts to counter their pressure."

Yee Tong Heng and Chun Hong Ting finished in double figures for Malaysia with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Gilas rolled to a 3-0 record, tied with Indonesia for first place. Malaysia dropped its third consecutive contest.

The team with the best record will win this tournament and qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup in August and the Asian Qualifiers in November.

Gilas takes a break on Monday before taking on Thailand on Tuesday, May 16 at 7 pm. 

Meanwhile, Indonesia and Vietnam picked up victories earlier in the day against Thailand and Myanmar.

Indonesia squeaked past Thailand with a narrow 60-59 victory while Vietnam overpowered an overmatched but enthusiastic Myanmar, 77-44.

Myanmar showed more spunk after a severely lopsided loss to the Philippines two days ago, putting on a show that rallied Filipino fans behind them.

Scores:

Philippines (106): Rosario 13, Blatche 13, Wright 12, Romeo 12, Pogoy 10, William 10, Abueva 9, Malicsi 7, Aguilar 7, Almazan 6, Fajardo 5, Jalalon 2.

Malaysia (51): Heng 12, Ting 10, Liaw 8, Chin 6, Ang 5, Teo 5, Mak 2, Chan 1, Choong 1, Choo 1, Ong 0, Liew 0.

Quarter scores: 36-17, 61-26, 88-35, 106-51.

– Rappler.com

MADRID, Spain - The fight for the La Liga title will go down to the last day of the season after convincing wins for Real Madrid and Barcelona on Sunday, May 14 left them locked together on 87 points at the top of the table.

Madrid remain in the driving seat after the European champions saw off Sevilla 4-1 as they have two games remaining to Barca's one.

However, Barca remain on top thanks to their better head-to-head record with Neymar scoring a hat-trick as they also won 4-1 at Las Palmas.

Madrid visit Celta in their game in hand on Wednesday and then travel to Malaga, whilst Barca host Eibar on the final day next Sunday.

Sevilla's defeat at the Bernabeu also guarantees they will finish fourth and Atletico Madrid, who drew 1-1 at Real Betis, qualify automatically for next season's Champions League in third.

At the bottom, Sporting Gijon joined Granada and Osasuna in being relegated despite winning 1-0 at Eibar as Deportivo la Coruna secured safety in a 0-0 draw at Villarreal.

"It is a long road. We know to win the league in Spain is not easy," said Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.

"Every day we are getting closer, we keep winning but there are two games to go and we need to keep doing what we have until now."

However, the fact two of Barca's 4 league defeats this season came at the two sides Madrid have still to visit gives the Catalans' boss Luis Enrique hope.

"We have one game left and the objective is to win it," he told TV station Movistar.

"If we have lost (there) then any team can."

Sevilla have now won just 3 of their last 13 games as their season has petered out to a disappointing end.

However, they gave Madrid more than a few scares at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Nacho gave the hosts the lead in controversial fashion as he curled home a quick free-kick with the Sevilla defence caught unawares and their protests towards referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco falling on deaf ears.

That goal meant Madrid broke Bayern Munich's European record for scoring in consecutive games as their streak now stretches to 61 games.

Ronaldo reaches 400

Sevilla fired their first warning shot when Stefan Jovetic smashed a shot against the post from the edge of the area.

However, moments later it was 2-0 as Sergio Rico could only palm James Rodriguez's effort into the path of Cristiano Ronaldo to score his 400th Madrid goal.

Jovetic then saw a fine chipped effort come back off the bar and was denied by Keylor Navas when played through by Joaquin Correa as Sevilla continued to threaten.

And they finally got back in the game through Jovetic's neat finish from outside the box 3 minutes into the second-half.

Yet, just as the hosts' nerves were becoming frayed, Ronaldo appeared once more by crashing home Toni Kroos's cut-back to restore Real's two goal lead.

And Kroos rounded off the scoring himself by prodding into the far corner 6 minutes from time.

Barcelona kept the pressure on despite a series of defensive absences that meant Brazilian 21-year-old Marlon Santos was handed a full debut in the Canary Islands.

The visitors still hand all of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar to call on up front and the latter two combined to give Barca a 2-0 half-time lead.

After wonderful passes from Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta, Suarez squared for Neymar to open the scoring.

The roles were reversed two minutes later as Neymar's chip freed Suarez to dink home his 36th goal of the season.

Pedro Bigas momentarily gave Las Palmas hope just after the hour mark.

But Neymar headed home Ivan Rakitic's cross and then sealed his first hat-trick of the season 19 minutes from time when he slotted in Jordi Alba's through ball. – Rappler.com

MADRID, Spain – Rafael Nadal's flawless record this season continued as he outgunned the impressive Dominic Thiem to win the Madrid Masters for a fifth time 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 on Sunday, May 14.

The Spaniard is now 15-0 on his favored surface this year having also picked up his 10th title in Monte Carlo and Barcelona in recent weeks.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion is now strong favorite to add a 10th French Open crown next month as he romped to victory on home soil for the loss of just one set all week.

Victory also moves Nadal above Roger Federer to 4th in the world rankings.

"I am aware that if I am fit and I can play well, I have the capacity to win important titles and achieve my goals," said Nadal.

Thiem was also a victim to Nadal's supreme form in the final in Barcelona two weeks ago, but there was little for the 23-year-old to be dispirited about as he pushed Nadal all the way in his first Masters series final.

"Sometimes against the best players in the world, the best ever player on this surface, you even lose when you play well," said Thiem, who also rises to a career high seventh in the rankings.

"Now that I did it once, playing really well in such a big tournament, the next step is to maintain this level next week."

Nadal disposed of Novak Djokovic for his first win over the Serb for 3 years on Saturday and victory saw him level Djokovic's record of 30 Masters Series titles.

Thiem didn't finish his semi-final against Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas until after midnight on Sunday morning.

However, that lack of recovery time didn't show as Thiem struck the first blow by breaking the Nadal serve to move into a 3-1 first set lead.

Thiem handed the break back by netting a simple volley for 3-3, but showed admirable resistance to battle back from 0-40 when serving to stay in the set a 4-5 to force a tie-break.

Both had their chances in the tiebreak as Thiem again fought back from 3-5 down to have two set points of his own only to be denied by two punishing Nadal forehands.

And eventually it was Nadal who prevailed with his fifth set point when Thiem fired long.

"Anything could have happened at the end of the first set," added Nadal.

"I think I played well in the important points at the end of the first set. I saved a few set points playing some good shots with my forehand and after that I went for it."

The marathon first set lasted a minute under an hour-and-a-half and seemed to drain Thiem's belief as well as his energy resources as he was broken to start the second set.

Nadal had to stave off a break point on his own serve to consolidate the break for 2-0.

4 games without a point against the serve followed as Nadal closed in on victory.

Thiem again showed impressive poise to battle back from two match points down at 3-5 to force Nadal to serve out for the title.

The Austrian had his chance too to get right back in the match with 4 break back points, but couldn't take advantage as Nadal finally secured victory with his 4th match point. – Rappler.com

AFC Cup ASEAN Zone semifinals
 
Global Cebu vs Home United
7:30 pm Tuesday, May 16
Rizal Memorial Stadium
LIVE on Fox Sports
 
Johor Darul Ta'zim vs Ceres Negros
8:45 pm Wednesday, May 17
Stadium Tan Sri Dato' Haji Yunos, Johor Baru, Malaysia
LIVE on Fox Sports 1

This week Ceres and Global will attempt to go where no Filipino club has gone before: beyond the first knockout stage of the AFC Cup. 

Last year Ceres and Kaya were the two Filipino clubs who reached the knockout stage. But both stumbled at that hurdle, with Kaya getting walloped by Malaysian powerhouse Johor Darul Ta'zim and Ceres falling at home to Hong Kong outfit South China. 

The format is different this year, with the top 4 ASEAN clubs from the group stage in one bracket, and the ties are now two-legged aggregate goals contests at this phase instead of one match. 

After this week's games Global will face Home United in Singapore on the 30^th of May and Ceres hosts JDT in Panaad the day after. The series winners proceed to the two-legged ASEAN zone finals, which will be between the two Filipino teams if they both win. 

Global is riding high. The club representing Cebu in the PFL won Group F with 15 points, the most of any ASEAN side. They also are still enjoying the glow of a pulsating home upset of JDT last month. That defeat against the Malaysian giants and 2015 AFC Cup champs will give them plenty of confidence.

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In their last competitive match two weekends ago they beat JPV Marikina 2-1 in their PFL opener. 

But Global have some issues: Brazilian central defender Wesley Dos Santos is unavailable for this match because of accumulated yellow cards. That will likely mean that Dennis Villanueva will scoot back from central mid to partner Amani Aguinaldo in the heart of the defense. 

Misagh Bahadoran is reportedly unlikely to start. He is still recovering from a knee injury. But if the Azkal is anywhere in the vicinity of 70-80% it is likely he will have a run-out on Tuesday.

The other concern is the sudden departure of coach Toshiaki Imai. The avuncular Japanese veteran guided Global into the knockout stage but has abruptly returned to his homeland.

Assistant coach Marjo Allado will likely be the interim head coach on Tuesday but Singaporean mentor Akbar Nawas, a former Tampines Rovers coach, will serve as technical consultant on a short-term basis according to this report.

Global has been changing coaches often of late. They began the 2016 season with Leigh Manson at the helm. Then John Burridge replaced the Scot near the end of the championship season. Burridge left soon after, and Kenichi Yatsuhashi came in but lasted a week and half before Imai arrived in January. Counting Allado, that is five coaches in less than a year.

But Global veteran Matt Hartmann is unfazed. 

“Team spirit is high and everyone is enjoying and training well. We got the highest point in all 3 (ASEAN) groups so we are confident going into the semis.” 

Hartmann can count on stars like Shu Sasaki, Darryl Roberts and Pika Minegishi on his team but he gives credit to one unsung her for the team's success. 

“My personal standout is Jerry Barbaso,” says Hartmann. “All his hard work often goes unnoticed. He's a key player and doesn't get enough credit to be honest.” 

Barbaso, the right back from Dipolog, has been with Global ever since the early days of the UFL. 

Global's opponents Home United are currently third in their domestic competition, the S League. They saw an 7-game unbeaten streak end last weekend with a 3-2 loss to Tampines Rovers. They are captained by Singapore international goalie Hassan Sunny. 

Ceres have fewer apparent issues. According to team officials they are at full strength with no injuries nor suspensions. 

AFC Cup allows the insertion of new players into the roster but only for the ASEAN zone final, according to team manager James Dinsay. That means their new pick up, striker Omid Nazari, cannot yet be fielded for these two matches against JDT. Nazari made his debut for the busmen on May 6 in their inaugural PFL game, a battling 1-1 draw at Kaya Makati. 

The lynchpin of the Negrense team is midfielder Manny Ott. When he was suspended for the away group game against Felda United in April the team succumbed to a 3-0 defeat. But since then Ceres has turned up the heat with a 6-2 home thrashing of Hanoi and a handsome 4-2 win over Tampines in Singapore earlier this month.

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As this excellent analysis from the AFC website shows, Ott's command of the center of the park is crucial to the team's success.

But Ceres will need to trot out their A Game against the wealthy Malaysian powerhouse that, as usual, is lording it over the Malaysian Super League standings with 27 points from 12 matches, 6 clear of Pahang, the second-place club. 

Their Argentinian striker, Gabriel Guerra, has found the next 7 times in this AFC Cup campaign, tied for best in the competition alongside Ceres forward Bienve Marañon. The Spaniard will need to be on song for the Bacolod-based side along with Iain Ramsay and all the other Ceres weapons. 

Ceres will also need to recapture their winning ways on the road. That loss to Felda in April was their first ever on the road in actual AFC Cup play. (They did lose in Maldives once in a qualifying playoff previously.) 

JDT's home ground will no doubt be packed with their rabid fans who are used to seeing them win there. This year the Southern Tigers went 3-0 at home in the AFC Cup, allowing just one goal and scoring 10. Global were roughed up there 4-0 in March. 

The task is daunting, but Global and Ceres can't be counted out. – Rappler.com

Disclosure: Bob Guerrero is the media officer for FC Meralco Manila.

Follow Bob on Twitter @PassionateFan.

MANILA, Philippines - Batang Gilas continues to show who's boss in the SEABA Under-16 Championship tournament as they clobbered Indonesia, 96-73, Monday, May 15 at the Smart Araneta Colisuem.

The Philippine team started strong, limiting Indonesia to shooting only 13-of-48 attempts in the first two quarters of the match. As expected, Batang Gilas also dominated in terms of rebounds with a total of 55 combined boards.

Though Batang Gilas owned the game from start to finish, coach Michael Oliver is unsatisfied with the performance his boys displayed.

Batang Gilas managed to maintain a 30-point advantage early in the second half but as it lost its aggressiveness during the third quarter, Indonesia rallied to trim the lead to 21 markers in the last canto.

"They (Batang Gilas) became lax especially when they saw their opponents were smaller than them," said coach Michael Oliver. "The players felt that they were too ahead and assumed Indonesia was just going to give the game away. They also got lucky with their outside shooting."

Team Philippines' paid the consequence for its lack of intesity and let Indonesia slasher Alexandre Felix connect two treys in the first few minutes of the final quarter to cut down the Batang Gilas' lead to 20 points.

According to coach Oliver, the team challenged Indonesia's pressure defense instead of passing relays, "We don't have short passes anymore. That's why we committed a lot of turnovers."

Speed was also a factor that limited Batang Gilas from totally crushing its opponent as majority of the Indonesians are smaller than the Philippines' pool of players.

"We have a lot of work to do," coach Oliver said.

Mclaude Guandana lifted the Batang Gilas in his first triple-double in the tourney: 19 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Christian Calimag made his presence felt the entire match and contributed 17 marker and two boards for Team Pilipinas.

Shooting guard Felix scored 18 points while Darrly Sebastian pinched in 16 markers, 4 steals and 5 rebounds for Indonesia.

Batang Gilas will face Thailand for its next game on Wednesday, May 17.- Rappler.com

Scores:

Philippines (96) - Guadana 19, Calimag 17, Sotto 12, Cortez 10, Lina 9, Fortea 8, Pascual 6, Padrigao 4, Tan 4, Lazaro 3, Go 2, Chiu 2

Indonesia (73) - Felix 18, Sebastian 16, Kotaro 8, Patiara 7, Hady 5, Bonfilio 5, Fernanda 4, Fawwaz 4, Rovert 4, Linduaji, Olindo 0, Tarigan 0

Quarter Scores: 33-17, 58-28, 77-51, 96-73

NEW YORK, USA - The New York Yankees retired former captain Derek Jeter's No. 2 jersey before a packed Yankee Stadium and a star-studded group, including family, former teammates and other Major League Baseball legends. 

Jeter becomes the 22nd Yankee to have his number retired, and his No. 2 will now be immortalized in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park alongside Babe Ruth's number 3 and Lou Gehrig's number 4.

"I got a chance to play for a first-class organization and in front of the greatest fans in the history of sports," Jeter said.

"When you play here in New York for 20 years, I learned that time flies, memories fade, but family is forever. And I'll be eternally grateful to be part of the Yankees family."

The Yankees presented Jeter with a 14-karat white gold ring that listed his achievements. Jeter was also given a framed replica of the plaque that will  be placed in Monument Park during an emotional ceremony that took place prior to the Yankees game against the Houston Astros. 

His famed number two is the last single digit to be honored. 

Jeter spent two decades with the Yankees and finished his career as the team's all-time leader in hits (3,465), games played (2,747), at-bats (11,195), doubles (544) and stolen bases (358).

He spent 13 years as the team captain, making him the longest tenured captain in franchise history.

Jeter is also the fifth member of his championship teams to have his number retired, joining Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams.

Others on hand to witness Jeter's number retirement included, Hideki Matsui, longtime manager Joe Torre, Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson and Dick Groch, the area scout who signed Jeter. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Terrence Romeo's appeal continues to transcend geographic and cultural borders.

The 25-year-old guard again received the rockstar treatment following Gilas Pilipinas' 106-51 shellacking of neighboring Malaysia in the 2017 SEABA Men's Championship on Sunday, May 14 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum here.

Romeo was seen granting photo opportunities to several Malaysian players on the court – one of whom was tagged as his lookalike on the sole basis of the Malaysian sporting blonde hair much like Romeo did in the past.

"Nagulat ako. 'Yung iba, sabi sa akin na idol ako, so nakakatuwa na kahit taga-ibang bansa, iniidolo tayong mga Pilipino (I was surprised. Some said I was their idol, so I felt happy that even those in other countries look up to us Filipinos)," said Romeo, who put up 12 points and 7 assists in the Philippines' third consecutive victory.

"Masaya ako na nakakapag-inspire rin ako ng ibang players sa ibang bansa. Sana makalaro ko ulit sila darating pa na panahon." (I'm happy to be able to inspire other players abroad. I hope I could play against them again in the future.)

It wasn't just Romeo. Big man Raymond Almazan also received some love when he was approached by center Kek Thai Chan for a photo.

"Idol niya raw ako eh, pinapanood niya raw ako," said Almazan, who was flattered by the gesture. "Sabi niya 'I want to take a picture with you.' Sabi ko 'okay, okay.'"

(He said he idolized me and that he watches me play. He said 'I want to take a picture with you.' So I said 'okay, okay.')

This isn't the first time Romeo captured international attention. There was also the #RomYu craze during the 2015 Jones Cup, where Romeo earned himself a ship name with Taiwanese reporter Jenny Yu.

Meanwhile, forward Matthew Wright also had a mini-reunion with his old Malaysian old teammate Wei Hong Choo, whom he played with in the Westports Malaysia Dragons, winning the ASEAN Basketball League title in 2016.

Coming in, Wright treated the game just like any other and did not hold back.

"I think it was only one teammate and I just didn't really feel anything. It was just another game for me," said Wright, who had 12 markers.

"I do cherish that we did win a championship last year but this is a new year and I have a new team so I have different priorities, different focus now. But it was good to see Wei Hong [Choo] out there as the main guy, he worked hard [and] we used to go at it in practice. I'm happy to see that he's improved." – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – After Batang Gilas whipped Indonesia in a 96-73 rout, coach Mike Oliver proceeded to the post-game press conference for an interview.

It would be expected that a veteran coach would be all smiles as he entered the media room following a 23-point victory.

But the Batang Gilas coach appeared alongside the game's best player Mclaude Guadaña with a blank face, an expression usually associated with the statement, "We lost."

Both coach Oliver and Cuadaña settled down. The first question was thrown, and Batang Gilas coach expressed his dismay.

"Medyo super relaxed tayo eh. Yung mga guys, medyo relaxed tayo, feeling natin kayang-kaya natin yung kalaban dahil nung nakita, medyo maliit," said coach Oliver. "Nawala yung intensity at yung aggressiveness noong lumamang na tayo ng malaki."

(We were relaxed. The guys, we were kind of relaxed, we felt like we could really take out the opponent because they were smaller. The intensity and aggressiveness disappeared when we established a big lead.)

Batang Gilas pushed their advantage at 36 points, 71-35, in the third quarter but witnessed it trim down little by little until the Indonesians cut the lead to 20 points with 9:21 left in the game.

“Chinallenge kasi nating yung trapping defense ng Indonesia. Instead of mag-relay passing tayo, ginawa natin mag-direct pass tayo sa ilalim right away, so wala na tayong short passes,” shared coach Oliver who has been mentoring Batang Gilas since 2015.

(We’re challenging Indonesia’s trapping defense. Instead of relay passing, we did direct passing so we didn’t have short passes.)

This resulted to Team Philippines’ 26 turnovers committed in the entire game in which they allowed Indonesia to commit 12 steals.

In Batang Gilas’ next game against Thailand on Wednesday, May 17, coach Oliver explained that the team will continue improving their offense.

"Iwo-work out natin yung press break kasi ang Thailand pume-press din, pressing team din sila (Thailand)” said coach Oliver. "Kaunting adjustment on our offense dahil medyo naging free-wheeling type ang offense namin kanina, hindi kami masyadong nakapag-run ng plays."

(We will work with our press breaks because Thailand is also a pressing team. A little adjustment also on our offense since the team is building a free-wheeling type of offense earlier. That’s why we weren’t able to run plays.)

Since this batch of Batang Gilas is labeled as one of the most gifted teams in terms of height, adjustments need to be done in order to outrun the opponents.

“Talagang mismatch ‘yung speed natin sa kanila dahil meron tayong medyo matataas na players,” said coach Oliver. “Yung nga ine-explore namin ng coaching staff, na kung hindi tayo makabasay sa mga small forwards and centers nila, baka mag all-small din tayo, if ever.”

(There is really a mismatch in speed because we have tall players. What the coaching staff is exploring right now is that if we can’t play with their small forwards and centers, then we might resort to an all-small lineup if ever.)

Compared to Batang Gilas’ first game wherein they massacred Singapore by 66 points, a win is still a win but coach Oliver doesn’t want to be complacent.

“We have a lot of work to do.”

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines will aim for win number 4 against Thailand on Tuesday, May 16 when Gilas Pilipinas comes off a one-day break in the 2017 SEABA Men's Championship at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Tip-off is at 7 pm.

Gilas is looking to fine-tune its execution and avoid relaxing in the face of weaker adversity, though the Thais will likely pose more of a challenge compared to the Philippines' previous foes.

Get blow-by-blow updates through Rappler's live blog below.

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– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – In a tournament where Gilas Pilipinas is an overwhelming favorite, Filipino fans here can afford to support other struggling teams and players, especially those who are entertaining to watch.

One such player is Myanmar's Aung Wana, who caught the home crowd's attention with his boundless spunk, bold nerves, and unapologetic showmanship – the brand of basketball that Filipinos absolutely love.

The 22-year-old forward hailing from Sagaing, 3.5 hours north of Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw, posted a team-high 21 points plus 4 rebounds in a 77-44 losing effort to Vietnam on Sunday, May 14, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

It was Myanmar's second consecutive blowout defeat in the 2017 SEABA Championships after first being pummeled by the Philippine team. But the heavy underdogs showed a different side of them against Vietnam.

Led by Wana, Myanmar played aggressive basketball on Sunday and displayed a fiestiness that, had you not been paying attention to the scoreboard, gave off the impression it was a closely contested game.

The 5-foot-11 Wana showcased dribbling moves and passes like those you'd see on casual barangay leagues across the country. He kept looking for his teammates and his shot, going 7-of-16 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers.

He also vigorously tracked down loose balls and at one point late in the game, with the result already in hand, even crashed into the courtisde VIP seats.

Wana's best highlight came in the second half, when he swiped the ball away and raced down the court for the breakaway layup. But before finishing the solo fastbreak, Wana dared to look back at a Vietnamese chasing him.

But Wana didn't just look back to see how far away the opponent was. He stared the Vietnamese down as he ran with the ball, clearly taunting him, before laying it in.

The entire arena broke out in cheers and laughter, including Gilas' naturalized center and former NBA player Andray Blatche, who was sitting courtside enjoying the show and cheering Wana on. He even gave Wana a standing ovation.

"He feels so proud for that, even Blatche cheered for him," Wana said through one of his teammates serving as translator.

Wana's notoriety quickly grew as the game wore on to the point that everyone was up in arms in anticipation each time he let a shot fly.

{source}

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wana for threeeeeeee!!  Everyone here, even Andray Blatche, is enjoying this guy&#39;s play and celebrations <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SEABA2017?src=hash">#SEABA2017</a> <a href="https://t.co/k7PozUXJsS">pic.twitter.com/k7PozUXJsS</a></p>&mdash; Jane Bracher (@janebracher) <a href="https://twitter.com/janebracher/status/863697947581534208">May 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

{/source}

Wana is a full-time national team player for the young Myanmar squad. He learned to play basketball at age 13 with the help of a coach in his region. He said he feels blessed to be competing in the Philippines and against a team like Gilas.

"He learned so much from the Philippines, like stamina, their set play, and their power," the translator said.

Myanmar's learning curve continues after it got thrashed again by Thailand, 102-35, on Monday. Wana managed 10 points against the Thais.

Myanmar will next face Singapore on Tuesday. – Rappler.com

SYDNEY, Australia - A controversial commercial by an Australian sports betting company featuring disgraced sprinter Ben Johnson has been slammed by the government for glorifying drug cheats.

The 90-second advert by gambling firm Sportsbet introduces Johnson, at a desk surrounded by a medal and a trophy, as the 1988 Olympic gold medallist while attempting to make light of the scene by superimposing "*For 48 hours" below the fallen star.    

"When it comes to performance enhancement Ben really knows his stuff, which is why he is happy to endorse Sportsbet's new juiced-up Android app," the narrator says, claiming the firm's phone betting application was putting "the roid into Android".

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Australian Sports Minister Greg Hunt blasted the ad as "sending a message that cheating’s okay and should be rewarded and laughed at and glorified".

"They’re glorifying a drug cheat and they’re paying a known drug cheat a huge princely sum of money," he told radio station 2GB late Monday.

"So it’s an insult to clean athletes and, frankly, my view is they should pull the ad and they should pay the same amount to junior sport as they paid a known drug cheat."

Johnson was stripped of his 100-meter gold medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics after testing positive for steroids. 

The Canadian is joined in the advert by a range of drug-cheating stereotypes, including a cyclist in a yellow jacket, a muscular swimmer and a Hulk-like body builder.

The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority said it had registered an official complaint.

"This advert makes light of the use of performance enhancing drugs in sport and sends the completely wrong message that the use of drugs in sport is normal," the doping watchdog said in a statement.

"This advertising campaign belittles the achievements of clean athletes and denigrates those who work to protect clean sport across the world."

Sportsbet laughed off the controversy.

"The outrage is so severe you could roast a marshmallow on it," the firm said on its website.

"There was just one problem with all of this public outrage though. The public didn’t seem to be outraged at all. In fact, people kinda liked it," Sportsbet added, pointing to dozens of social media posts endorsing the commercial. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines' penultimate match in the 2017 SEABA Championships is Vietnam on Wednesday, May 17, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum here.

Tip-off is at 7 pm.

The Vietnamese have only one win so far in the tournament. Gilas Pilipinas, on the other hand, will be gunning for win number 5.

Meanwhile, Batang Gilas continues its U16 tournament run after a one-day break with a match-up against Thailand at noon.

Get blow-by-blow updates through Rappler's live blog below.

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– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Japeth Aguilar exploded for a tournament-high 23 points and 5 rebounds, leading the Philippines to a 108-53 drubbing of Thailand in the 2017 SEABA Men's Championship on Tuesday, May 16 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Aguilar did much of the damage, leading a decisive 33-12 surge in the second quarter to turn a 4-point first quarter lead to another demolition job for the superior Filipinos.

The Barangay Ginebra forward made all 10 of his field goal attempts, which included highlight dunks and a 3-pointer, in just 17 minutes of play. His only miss of the night came from the free throw line, where he went two-of-3.

"Japeth played a hell of a ball game," coach Chot Reyes praised the 6-foot-9 Aguilar, who has been on the national team since 2009. "The second unit with Terrence Romeo, Calvin Abueva, and Japeth gave us the separation we needed in this ball game."

Calvin Abueva, who has been productive this tournament, posted 15 points on 5-of-9 shots and dished out 6 assists. Guard Terrence Romeo added 11 markers while naturalized center Andray Blatche registered 11 points with 7 rebounds.

June Mar Fajardo was one point shy of a double-double with 9 markers and 11 boards.

Gilas struggled offensively in the opening quarter and at one point conceded an 8-7 lead to the Thais, who gave the Filipinos a different look compared to its previous foes.

"Well we talked about it, my first words in the pregame is we will be tested in this ball game. Thailand is playing very well, they're long, they're athletic, and they're well-coached. They do a great job of packing the shaded lane defensively and use their length to close out on shooters," Reyes explained.

"We knew we would struggle, we would get tested in this game. Sure enough we had 18 points in the first quarter. But you know when we got used to their length, we were able to make some adjustments. We also had 5 turnoverss and only 3 assists in the first quarter so it wasn't a good offensive performance."

Those 18 first quarter points were the fewest Gilas scored in the tournament so far. They averaged 33 points during the opening periods of their previous 3 games. But the Philippines cruised after its second quarter recovery, leading by as many as 59 points late in the fourth.

Teerawat Chanthachon topscored for the Thais with 16 points plus 7 rebounds.

Reyes said his specific instructions were to shut down shooting guard Chitchai Ananti, who played in last year's Stankovic SEABA Cup tournament where they nearly upset the Gilas cadet team twice.

(READ: Pogoy looks forward to facing Thai team that nearly beat them in 2016)

The defensive game plan was successful as Chitchai went scoreless and attempted only 3 shots in over 15 minutes. Prior to this game, Chithai normed 24 points and shot 37% from the field. He also averaged 6.5 rebounds and two assists in 31.5 minutes through two games.

"We felt that he was Thailand's top scorer. He can flat out play and he scores in a lot of ways so we challenged our defenders to lock him down," Reyes said. "RR pogoy did a great job at the start of the game hounding him, and we wore him down with multiple defenders."

This is Gilas' fourth consecutive victory and they inch closer to securing a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup and Asian Qualifiers later in the year. Thailand fell to a 3-2 record.

The Philippines' next opponent is Vietnam on Wednesday. 

Scores:

Philippines (108): Aguilar 23, Abueva 15, Blatche 11, Romeo 11, Fajardo 9, Malicsi 8, Wright 7, Rosario 6, Castro William 6, Jalalon 6, Almazan 4, Pogoy 2.

Thailand (53): Chanthachon 16, Muangboon 7, Klahan P 7, Samerjai 7, Ghogar 6, Sunthonsiri 4, Klahan C 2, Dasom 2, Boonserm 2, Ananti 0, Jaisanuk 0, Lodliang 0.

Quarter Scores: 18-14, 51-26, 80-43, 108-53.

– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Milan Melindo wasn’t going to dwell on “what could have beens” as he prepared for his third – and possibly final – attempt at winning a world title.

The 29-year-old from Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, came up with an extraordinary suggestion at the gym 3 weeks ago: spar 22 straight rounds with 7 or 8 different sparring partners. To put into perspective how old school that approach is, the last time a championship fight had been scheduled for at least 20 rounds was in 1941, when Joe Louis defended his heavyweight title against Abe Simon with a 13th round knockout.

Melindo figured that if he could fight 22 rounds, then he could fight the 12 good rounds he needs to take the IBF junior flyweight championship from Akira Yaegashi this Sunday, May 21, at Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo, Japan. 

“I need those 22 rounds because my opponent is a brawler; he always comes forward punching so I need a lot of stamina and I need to know I can take the punches also,” said Melindo (35-2, 12 knockouts).

He counted former world title challenger Rocky Fuentes and rising junior bantamweight Jonas Sultan among those in the marathon sparring session at ALA Gym in Cebu City. He also mixed in some amateurs for their speed and work rate, reminding himself of their youth comparable to the 34-year-old Yaegashi (25-5, 13 KOs).

“It was a good sparring,” remarked his trainer, Edito Villamor. “Good for his stamina, legs and arms and his quickness.”

Sultan, who aside from being quick of hand and foot is also two divisions larger, was also left impressed. “He is my favorite sparring partner because Milan has hand speed, is a very stylish boxer and aggressive fighter.”

Hard luck fighter

Despite not having yet won a world title, he’s earned recognition from  years of being featured on ABS-CBN’s Pinoy Pride series. And early on, first as a strawweight before floating between flyweight and junior flyweight, he looked like the real deal, utilizing his combination punching and sublime skill to defeat former world champions Muhammad Rachman and Carlos Tamara. But in two world title fights – against unified flyweight champ Juan Francisco Estrada in 2013 and IBF junior flyweight champ Javier Mendoza in 2015 – he was on the wrong side of the scorecards in tough stands.

His two fights after the Mendoza fight – a split decision against late replacement Victor Emanuel Olivo and a technical decision over Maximino Flores where he came in nearly 5 pounds overweight – made promoter Michael Aldeguer of ALA Promotions question whether Melindo still had the desire to be a top fighter.

But after Melindo outworked Thai Teeraphong Utaida in November to win the interim IBF title, Aldeguer has seen an improvement in Melindo’s attitude.

“Milan has straightened it out. He had a good showing last November and he proved that he’s still very hungry,” said ALA president Aldeguer. “He didn’t even go back to his family last Christmas because he wanted to stay focused because he knew that the fight with Yaegashi was going to be on the horizon already.”

While Melindo has been through some tough fights,  the 34-year-old Yaegashi has had his share of wars too. He’s faced champions Eagle Kyowa, Kazuto Ioka, Edgar Sosa and Pornsawan Porpramook in his 12-year career, and was stopped in back-to-back fights by Roman Gonzalez and Pedro Guevara in 2014. Yaegashi sustained a torn rotator cuff in a tougher-than-expected fight against Jose Martin Tecuapetla last year, which led to Melindo fighting for an interim title. His willingness to exchange punches means Melindo will get his chances to land punches. 

“It’s advantage to me because I will not chase him because he will go with me; he will get inside. That is advantage to him also because he is a brawler so he needs to be close to me,” said Melindo, who estimates he had an astonishing 600 amateur fights from the age of 6 before turning pro in 2005. 

“Maybe I can use the Ioka style, always jabbing and then counterpunching and body punches, which are his weakness. If we have only one strategy, we will lose. But if he can take the punch, maybe I will change the style.”

Edito Villamor, who will work Melindo's corner with co-trainers Edmund Villamor and Michael Domingo, is optimistic that Melindo will make good on this opportunity.

“We hope that Milan can deliver our game plan during the actual fight without any pressure on his mind,” said Villamor.

The fight will air on a slight delay in the Philippines, at 8 pm Sunday, May 21, on ABS-CBN Sports and Action. Melindo hopes what makes it to TV is good news for fight fans back home.

“It’s not only important for me but also for my country and my stablemates and to Sir ALA, my manager. It’s important for me to make them proud, to all ALA fighters, that they can build confidence also if I win this fight,” said Melindo. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Jio Jalalon is getting possibly the best mentorship from none other than Asia's best point guard Jayson Castro in the 2017 SEABA Championships here.

The 24-year-old Star Hotshots rookie playmaker is roomed with the veteran Castro at Crowne Plaza Hotel, where the entire Gilas Pilipinas national team is staying for the duration of the tournament. The setup is similar to what Castro had when he roomed with the retired Jimmy Alapag abroad in the past.

Their conversations inevitably include basketball and aspects of Jalalon's game to improve on. The former Arellano University standout also gets tips from another guard, Terrence Romeo.

"About [being] aggressive and defense, na next time sana 'di na ako mag-foul trouble agad kasi kailangan dumepensa 'pag wala sila eh," he shared with Rappler. (About being aggressive and defense, that I should stay away from foul trouble because I need to play defense when they're not on the court.)

The mentorship appears to be working so far with Jalalon currently leading the tournament in assists with 5.5 a game through 4 outings and playing an average of 15.3 minutes.

His assist-to-turnover ratio is at 7.3, which means Jalalon has done a good job at both distributing the ball and taking care of it.

"Alam ko 'yung role ko dito sa Gilas kasi lahat naman sila nakaka-shoot so ako na lang 'yung nagcre-create lagi," he said. "'Pag wala sila Kuya Terrence, si Jayson, ako na lang 'yung nagcre-create. Defender and creator ako dito."

(I know my role here in Gilas because all of them can shoot so I'm the one creating. When Terrence and Jayson aren't there, I create. I'm a defender and a creator.)

Castro is happy with Jalalon's performance so far and appreciative of his eagerness.

"Maganda. Alam naman natin 'yung kayang gawin ni Jio. At the same time fit siya sa system na dribble-drive. Sa defense naman, kaya niyang i-pressure court-to-court. Maganda, sana magtuloy-tuloy," said Castro.

"Sabi ko nga 'pag meron ka, hanapin mo rin 'yung shot mo para mag-isip 'yung depensa. Nakikinig naman. At kita mo naman na kaya niya."

(He's doing well. We all know what Jio is capable of. At the same time he's a fit for the dribble-drive system. On defense he can pressure court-to-court. It's good, I hope it continues. I told him that if he has an opportunity, he should look for his shot, too, so the defense will keep guessing. He listens. And you see that he can do it.)

Not too long ago it was still Castro learning from Alapag and LA Tenorio. Now, he's passing on the wisdom and growing into the role of grooming one of his future relievers.

"Kasi nung 2015, 'di pa rin ako 'yung pinakamatanda. Ngayon talagang ako na 'yung one of the veterans. Kailangan kong i-guide talaga at the same time turuan kung ano pang dapat ituro sa kanila."

(In 2015 I still wasn't the oldest on the team. Now I'm one of the veterans. I need to guide them at the same time teach them what is needed.)

Jalalon will take this experience back with him to the PBA, but also in the future as part of Gilas Pilipinas.

"Siyempre malaking experience para sa akin 'yun kasi magagawa ko rin 'yun pagbalik ko sa PBA kasi international 'to. Iba na. Hindi ko sila makakalimutan (Romeo and Castro), tsaka 'yung mga sinasabi and 'tinuturo nila sa akin."

(Of course this is a big experience for me because I can still do all of this back in the PBA. This is an international tournament. It's a big deal. I won't forget them and all they've taught me.) – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – It sometimes doesn't feel like it because he's often a quiet figure but Japeth Aguilar has been with the Philippine national men's basketball since 2009.

And over that span of time, he's steadily morphed into a leadership role he now holds as Gilas Pilipinas goes through the 2017 SEABA Championships.

The 6-foot-9 big man earned the praise of longtime national team coach Chot Reyes after a breakout performance against Thailand on Tuesday, May 16.

"He's been here from the start of the Gilas program but he's only [30], there's a lot of basketball left in Japeth," Reyes said after the 108-53 victory, the latest in a string of blowouts in this tournament by the more superior Filipinos.

"More than the longevity, it's his maturity. In the previous games he was content with playing a support role, setting screens, and rebounding. When Thailand did a good job on our other offensive weapons, Japeth came through."

Aguilar posted a tournament-high 23 points and 5 rebounds. The Barangay Ginebra star made all 10 of his field goal attempts, which included highlight dunks and a 3-pointer, in just 17 minutes of play. His only miss of the night came from the free throw line, where he went two-of-3.

Aguilar sparked a decisive 33-12 surge in the second quarter to turn a 4-point first quarter lead to another lopsided affair.

Before Tuesday night, the fourth game of the tournament, Aguilar averaged just 7.3 points and 4.7 rebounds.

"Patient lang talaga. Hindi ko nga hinahanap 'yung score. Kaso 'pag nakukuha ko, libre naman ako," Aguilar said of his performance. 

(I was just patient. I wasn't looking to score. But whenever I got the ball, I was free for a shot.)

"Lahat ng mga tira ko, almost near the basket, kaya crashing the boards, offensive rebounds, saktong napupunta naman sa akin 'yung bola," he added.

(All my shots are almost near the basket, so I was crashing the boards, going for offensive rebounds, and the ball happened to get into my hands.)

Coming in with the second unit, Aguilar said, was key to how he played.

"Siguro coming off the bench ako, medyo nakikita ko 'yung nangyayari, kung ano 'yung kulang. Kasi close game nung umpisa tapos parang medyo kailangan ng team to get going."

(Maybe because I'm coming off the bench so I see what's happening and what's lacking. It was a close game at first and the team needed to get going.)

Prior to the huge second quarter run, Gilas Pilipinas had been struggling for some offensive rhythm. It resulted into just 18 points in the first quarter, the fewest Gilas scored in an opening period the tournament so far. They averaged 33 points during first quarters of their previous 3 games.

Aguilar has seen a number of iterations already of Gilas Pilipinas, including the 2013 FIBA Asia silver medal team and the 2014 World Cup squad. 

At 30 years old, he is now expected to be more vocal and share experiences and wisdom to the up and coming members, along with longtime Gilas teammate Jayson Castro.

Reyes is seeing Aguilar's evolution now, and his taking over Tuesday night was deservedly commended.

"That's how the team is built. We want to make sure we have a lot of weapons at our disposal, and [on Tuesday night] Japeth was the most lethal of them," Reyes said.

"I think it's just the continuing maturation of Japeth." – Rappler.com 

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – 3-0.

Batang Gilas is back in shape as they conquered Thailand, 113-46, in the SEABA Under-16 tournament on Wednesday, May 17 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The win gave Batang Gilas a flawless 3-0 record, and they are now just a win away from securing a slot in the FIBA Asia tourney.

Team Philippines leaned on Christian Calimag and Rafael Go's 20 points apiece while Mclaude Guadana poured all his 16 points, 6 dimes and 3 rebounds. 

Angelo Cortez also shone bright with his double-double stint, 10 markers and 10 boards as well as big man Geo Chiu who contributed 10 points and 8 rebounds for the Batang Gilas.

Forthsky Padrigao erupted early in the first quarter with two treys and 3 steals to clinch a 9-0 rally. The Zamboanga-native Padrigao finished with 13 points, 8 steals and 8 assits for Team Pilipinas.

6-foot-11 center Kai Sotto also put on a show as he went for a slam with 6 minutes remaining in the second quarter to give Batang Gilas a 45-15 advantage.

Miguel Pascual closed the third quarter with a three-pointer to keep Batang Gilas ahead, 80-48. 

Batang Gilas' also defense limited the Thai's to only making 14-out-43 two-point attempts while pushed them to commiting 32 turnovers in the entire game.

"We talked about defense in the dugout because we became lax in our previous game so to keep the intensity going, from the start we instructed our players to go fullcourt man-to-man instead of a formation (play)," said a satisfied coach Mike Oliver.

According to coach Oliver, Sotto's presence in the court paved way for the guards to work on their outside shooting. Since he wasn't a starter for the past two games, it is high-time to put the big man into work.

"We had several three-point shots because the attraction of defense is focused on him (Sotto) which is good for us," said Oliver.

True enough, Sotto's presence was felt as Calimag's overwhelming 20 points came from the rainbow territory when he connected 4-out-of-6 three point attempts.

Despite the big win, the game's best players Go and Calimag shared the team won't commit the same mistake they did during their match with Indonesia, "We still need to focus, we'll need to follow the system and be consistent. We need to be aggresisve."

Batang Gilas also displayed improvement in terms of turnovers as the Philippines only posted 17 errors compared to their last game which they committed a total of 27 turnovers.

On the other hand, Thannatorn Kamwised chipped in 9 points while Chatabodin Kinnaret had 8 markers for Thailand.

Batang Gilas will face Malaysia for their final game in the tournament on on Thursday, May 18. – Rappler.com

PARIS, France – Two-time champion Maria Sharapova will miss Roland Garros this year after the French tennis federation denied her a wild card, FFT president Bernard Guidicelli said on Tuesday, May 16.

The former world number one, who only returned from a 15-month doping ban last month, will sit out the French Open, which she won in 2012 and 2014, for the second year in a row.

"Nobody can deprive her of her two titles at Roland Garros, but today I can't grant her the wild card requested," Guidicelli said on Facebook Live. "The titles won here, she won within the rules without owing anything to anyone."

"While wild cards exist for players returning from injury, there is nothing for a return from a doping ban," he (Guidicelli) added.

The 5-time Grand Slam champion was banned for two years for using meldonium, with the penalty later reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport which ruled she was not an intentional doper.

After the ban expired on April 26, the Russian returned to competition at the Stuttgart Open, reaching the semifinals, and progressed to the last 32 of the Madrid Open, too late to earn herself a qualifying spot for Paris.

"I am very sorry for Maria, and very sorry for her fans. They might be very disappointed and she might be disappointed. But it is my responsibility and my mission to respect the high standards of the game to be played without any doping," said Guidicelli.

'Very controversial'

The federation chief had hinted Sharapova would not be welcome after agreeing with comments made by Andy Murray in March, in which the Briton said she should have to work her way back to the top.

"Integrity is one of our main commitments. We can't decide to increase funds in the fight against doping and then...(invite her)," Guidicelli said at the time.

"I know the media dimension of Maria and I'm measuring the expectations of the public and sponsors, but in all conscience it didn't appear possible to me to go beyond strict application of the world anti-doping code," he explained on Tuesday. "The code doesn't have rules regarding wild cards. These invitations are given at the discretion of the organisers."

French Open tournament director Guy Forget had earlier said the decision over whether Sharapova would receive a wild card was going to be "very controversial".

"Some say she shouldn't get it, others say she served her time," tournament director Guy Forget told the BBC.

"As you talk with players, it's very controversial. So no matter what happens, there will be a lot of questions around that wildcard."

Sharapova's absence leaves the women's French Open field wide open with Serena Williams, a 3-time champion in Paris, sitting out the rest of the season as she prepares to give birth to her first child.

Sharapova is though guaranteed a qualifying spot at Wimbledon next month after winning her opening match in Rome, and she could earn a slot in the main draw if she reaches the semifinals of the event she has won 3 times. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Philippines is now a win away from the 2017 SEABA Championships gold after a 107-52 annihilation of Vietnam on Wednesday, May 17 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum here.

Gilas Pilipinas is now tied at 5-0 with Indonesia and will vie for the gold on Thursday, May 18, in the last match of the tournament.

Matthew Wright exploded for 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from deep while Raymond Almazan and Calvin Abueva each had 16 points. Almazan and Abueva also split 12 rebounds between them.

For the fifth game in a row, there wasn't much in the way of challenges for the national team, save for their personal battles against complacency and maintaining discipline on both sides of the floor.

"Obviously, it's a competition and the essence of sport is you can never be sure," said head coach Chot Reyes.

"That's why we keep harping on the fact that we shouldn't take anything for granted, and we'd like to think everything we've done at this point is to get us ready for this game tomorrow."

Indonesia has been pegged to be the team that can give Gilas the most trouble in this tournament where the Filipinos are far more superior than their Southeast Asian neighbors.

The anticipated clash also became more appealing with Indonesia's two imports already given the go signal to compete. Jamarr Johnson and Arki Wisnu both saw action for the first time against Myanmar on Wednesday.

It's in the interest of preparation for the two imports that Reyes opted to sit the Philippines' own naturalized big man Andray Blatche against Vietnam. Blatche also tweaked his hamstring on Tuesday but Reyes said he thinks "it was just a mild strain so hopefully he will be 100%."

"From the start, we knew Indonesia is going to be the toughest opponent, so we can only find ourselves here," Reyes said.

"They're getting ready as well and they're raring to go as well. They have a couple of guys who are very, very fresh, that's why we made it a point to rest Andray and get him fresh as well."

While it was the goal to "keep our discipline and retain good habits and not fall into bad habits," Gilas Pilipinas still had potholes in certain stretches where they were lackadaisical with their movements. This led to the Vietnamese taking some advantage.

Thanh Nhan Nguyen topscored for Vietnam with 11 points off the bench, while Van Hung Nguyen and Minh Han Trieu chipped in 9 points apiece.

Vietnam was another overmatched foe for the Philippines, which led to Wednesday night's Filipino crowd making their own entertainment.

During several instances in the second half, the crowd goaded the Vietnamese into forcing shots by prematurely counting down the shot clock – to the amusement of Jayson Castro and even Vietnam's American coach Donte Lavar Hill.

Scores:

Philippines (107): Wright 19, Abueva 16, Almazan 16, Rosario 12, Jalalon 10, Malicsi 8, Pogoy 7, Castro William 7, Aguilar 5, Romeo 4, Fajardo 3.

Vietnam (52): Nguyen T 11, Nguyen V 9, Trieu 9, Le N 8, Tran 7, Le P 4, Nguyen H 2, Dang 2, To 0.

Quarter scores: 28-16, 53-29, 89-40, 107-52.

– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines was unable to pull away in the first quarter against Thailand on Tuesday, May 16, managing only a 4-point lead after 10 minutes of play.

Under ordinary circumstances that would have been acceptable – a good thing even, if up against the likes of China or Iran. But in these parts of the basketball world, that signaled danger for Filipinos.

Tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan, longtime Gilas program patron and chair emeritus of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, saw that uncharacteristic quarter as an indicator of how the country's Southeast Asian neighbors are steadily catching up.

"I wasn't afraid of the team losing. Pero ang dapat na lesson doon eh nag-i-improve ang Thailand (But the lesson there should be that Thailand is improving)," Pangilinan said after the contest.

"One quarter, medyo dikit. Four points lang 'yun. Siyempre malabo na tayo [matalo] 'cause we're the better team. But, in succeeding teams, hindi mangyayari 'yun. (One quarter, it was close. It was only 4 points. Of course I thought we wouldn't lose because we're the better team. But, in succeeding teams, that won't happen.) They'll be tougher, they'll be bigger, they'll be better. We have to be ready for that as well."

The Filipinos, however, recovered from that sluggish first quarter versus Thailand and went on to blow them out 108-53.

The Philippines is currently enjoying massive superiority in the 2017 SEABA Championships with Gilas Pilipinas on pace to secure the lone qualifying spot for the FIBA Asia Cup.

They picked up their fifth straight victory on Wednesday, May 17, against Vietnam. Sweeping the tournament would earn Gilas the gold.

Gilas has now won its last 5 games by an average margin of 63.8 points. It's been a show of dominance that was expected from the onset, with a solid lineup boasting a healthy mix of veteran experience and rookie fervor, versatility, and size, plus naturalized center Andray Blatche.

Many labeled the lineup as "overkill," considering it's usually the cadet team that competes in SEABA competitions. But Pangilinan refused to risk it, knowing neighboring countries are making headway in the quest for an upset.

"Kasi 'pag natalo 'man tayo dito sa SEABA napakalaking pinsala. Kasi 'di tayo makakalaro sa FIBA Asia (If we lose here in SEABA it would cost us so much. We wouldn't be able to play in the FIBA Asia tournament), which will imperil our chances of qualifying for the Olympics," Pangilinan reasoned.

"The winner of SEABA will also be one of the 16 teams in the qualifying tournament for the World Cup in China in 2019. So much is at stake. So we should really send the best team we could get."

Gilas is currently on a collision course with fellow undefeated team Indonesia for the final game of the tournament on Thursday, May 18, which would determine the champion.

Indonesia took care of Myanmar, 123-50, for a 5-0 record, while the Philippines pushed back Vietnam, putting them at a tie in first place.

The game is expected to be competitive with the Indonesians getting back into the fold their two imports, Jamarr Johnson and Arki Wisnu, who have both been given clearance to play only since Wednesday.

In the same vein, the game should be a gauge of just how big the gap still is between the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia.

"It will be a good game. Doon mababanat 'yung team (That's when the team will be stretched)," Pangilinan offered. "Again, maybe the same lesson with Thailand. Certain countries in Asia are [rising]. We can't just pretend that we will continue our lead." – Rappler.com