MANILA, Philippines – Ever the fiery competitor, San Beda's Robert Bolick wants the best Lyceum has to offer when the Red Lions and Pirates clash in Game 2 of the NCAA Season 94 finals, and that is CJ Perez. 

Perez, the reigning NCAA Most Valuable Player, was sidelined in Game 1 after being slapped with a one-game suspension for failing to formally inform the league of his application in the upcoming PBA draft. 

Because of this, Bolick and the Red Lions coasted to a 73-60 victory in the series opener of the best-of-three finals last November 6 to move within one win from clinching their fifth title three-peat and 22nd overall in school history. 

But as Perez returns for Game 2 on Monday, November 12, at the Mall of Asia Arena, Bolick braces for a battle. 

"Siyempre, gusto ko 'yung best niya," Bolick said of the returning Perez. "Gusto ko 'yung pinaka-best niya para ma-compete ko 'yung gusto ko."

(Of course, I want his best. I want his very best so I can compete the way I want to.)

"Gusto ko kasi mag-compete eh, so kung ano 'yung pinaka-best niya, 'yun 'yung gusto kong makita on Monday. Siyempre, pag makakalaban ka sa magaling na player, gusto mo may matutunan ka rin. 'Yun 'yung gusto kong mangyari.”

(I really want to compete, so I want to see his very best on Monday. Of course, when you battle great players, you want to learn lessons as well. That’s what I want to happen.)

Lyceum and San Beda split their two meetings in the elimination rounds, with the pro-ready Perez and Bolick expectedly leading both their teams.

For Bolick, ending his NCAA career would be a lot sweeter if he unceremoniously ended Perez's as well. But he knows it wouldn't be that easy at all.

"Siyempre, 'di magpapatalo rin 'yun kasi last year din niya tapos ayaw din niyang maging last game niya ['yung Game 2]. But for us, gusto naming last game niya 'yun. 'Yun 'yung maganda eh.”

(Of course, he wouldn't want to lose because it's also his last year and he doesn't want Game 2 to already be his last game. But for us, we want that to be his last game. That's the better way.) – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Ateneo reasserted its dominance in the UAAP Season 81 swimming competitions by sweeping the men's and women's crowns on Sunday, November 11, at the Rizal Memorial Swimming Pool.

Behind two-time Olympian Jessie Khing Lacuna, the Blue Eagles bested De La Salle and University of Santo Tomas with 475 points to extend their reign to 5 years for a sixth championship overall.

Lacuna won his seventh and final gold in the meet in his final collegiate swim in record-breaking fashion, clocking at 2 minutes and 2.69 seconds in the 200m butterfly, resetting the old mark of 2:03.93 he made in 2014.

In his 5 seasons in the league, Lacuna, who captured his fourth Most Valuable Player plum, bagged a total of 33 gold medals.

Ateneo, with reigning Athlete of the Year Chloe Daos leading the way, was also dominant in the distaff side. It stamped its class over University of the Philippines and De La Salle with a total of 530 points to make it two in a row in bagging its fifth title overall.

Daos, who emerged as MVP for second straight year, also completed a seven-gold sweep in the women's category, capping a banner campaign by topping the 200m butterfly with 2:21.42. 

Season 79 MVP Aldo Batungbacal also capped his collegiate career by breaking a new league record in the lung-busting 1,500m freestyle with 16:35.33 that erased his own mark of 16:42.42 set last year.

He also shattered his own 200m breaststroke record with a time of 2:21.75, surpassing his 2:22.95 clocking in 2016.

Aki Cariño, Giancarlo Silva, Getty Reyes, and Jethro Chua have also set a new UAAP record in the 4x100-meter medley relay with 4:03.49 to eclipse the old mark of 4:03.86 registered two years ago.

The Green Tankers, who won two golds in the final day courtesy of Red Silvestre in the 50m backstroke (27.88) and 50m freestyle (24.35), wound up 2nd with 382 points, while the Growling Tigers have 180 points.

The other gold medalists from the Lady Eagles were Andrea Ngui, who clocked in 27.58 seconds in the 50m and the 4x100m medley relay team of Courtney Grey, Hannah Castañeda, Sarah Alvina and Suzanne Himor with 4:43.92.

The Lady Maroons, who won a gold in the 200m breastroke courtesy of Pricila Aquino (2:49.46) settled for 2nd place with 352 points, while the Lady Tankers from Taft made it to the podium with a 143 point-tally.

De La Salle's Sacho Ilustre and Ateneo's Dara Carreon were named Rookies of the Year in the men's and women's divisions, respectively.

On Saturday, Lacuna topped the 200m freestyle with 1:53.40 and struck gold in the 50m butterfly in 25.71 seconds, while Daos ruled the 200m freestyle clocking 2:10.53 and won the 50m butterfly event in 29.52 seconds.

Batungbacal clocked in 1:06.50 to snatch the gold in the men's 100-meter breaststroke.

Gray emerged victorious in the 100m backstroke with 1:08.79, while Raegan Gavino claimed the 400m individual medley gold with 5:22.18.

Ateneo quartet of Shaye Uy, Alliah Tan, Castañeda and Ngui took home the gold in 4x50m freestyle relay with 1:54.39. 

De La Salle-Zobel, meanwhile, achieved a golden double in the juniors division, winning the boys' and girls' division championships. 

Bright Akhuetie wins UAAP Player of the Week

So far, the arrival of Bright Akhuetie has paid massive dividends for the University of the Philippines.

Touted as a dominant force from his days with Perpetual in the NCAA, the Nigerian anchor's presence almost certainly assured the Fighting Maroons of a much-needed game changer on both ends of the floor in Season 81.

One thing is left on their to-do list, though, and that's to end a 21-year Final Four drought.

UP is still engaged in a dogfight with two other teams for a semifinals seat, and on Saturday, the six-foot-eight big man took it upon himself to make sure that they'll move on the cusp of reaching that goal.

A monster 25-point, 18-rebound double-double by this year's frontrunner for the MVP award seemed to do the trick for the Maroons as they finished with a flurry to kick UST out of contention, 83-69.

His outstanding performance rightfully earned him the Chooks-to-Go Collegiate Sports Press Corps UAAP Player of the Week award.

This citation may seem like it's been long overdue for Akhuetie, whose stellar play throughout the season has not gone unnoticed.

In 13 games, he's put up prolific averages of 19.1 points, 14.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks while shooting a blistering 60.7 percent from the field.

He bested Far Eastern University's Arvin Tolentino and Kenneth Tuffin, National University's John Lloyd Clemente, Ateneo's Thirdy Ravena and Adamson University's Sean Manganti to nab the weekly feat given by online and print writers covering the beat.

NU now 12-0, FEU clinch semis berth

NU moved two wins away from an outright Finals berth, while FEU became the second semifinalist on Saturday, November 10, in the UAAP Season 81 women's basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Kaye Pingol topscored for 17 points, Ria Nabalan chipped in 16 points while reigning MVP Jack Danielle Animam had a double-double effort of 14 points and 13 rebounds as the Lady Bulldogs extended their perfect run to 12 games following an 89-59 rout of University of the East.

Clare Castro had 21 points and 10 boards while Fatima Quiapo and Valerie Mamaril teamed up for 29 points as the Lady Tamaraws downed winless UP, 80-66, to advance in the semis for the second straight season at 9-3.

Eyeing for its fifth straight crown, NU has stretched its record winning streak to 76.

The Lady Warriors and the Lady Maroons fell at 2-10 and 0-12 records, respectively.

The Scores

FEU vs UP 

FEU (80) – Castro 21, Quiapo 15, Mamaril 14, Bahuyan 7, Adriano 7, Vidal 6, Taguiam 5, Hortaleza 3, Payadon 2, Bastatas 0, Abat 0, Dugay 0, Antonio 0, Arenas 0, Rebleza 0.

UP (66) – Ordoveza 15, Amar 14, Cruz 12, Gonzales 10, Medina 9, Rodas 4, Larrosa 2, Ferrer 0, Rivera 0, De Guzman 0, Bascon 0, Hidalgo 0, De Leon 0.

Quarterscores: 21-17, 42-31, 60-54, 80-66.

NU vs UE

NU (89) – Pingol 17, Nabalan 16, Animam 14, Camelo 12, Itesi 11, Cac 5, Cacho 4, Ceño 3, Harada 3, Fabruada 2, Canuto 2, Del Carmen 0, Goto 0, Bartolo 0, Layug 0.

UE (59) – Cortizano 32, Requiron 10, Ganade 8, Pedregosa P. 6, Pedregosa A. 2, Ordas 1, Francisco 0, Nama 0, Borromeo 0, Fernandez 0, Strachan 0, Ebeza 0, Sales 0.

Quarterscores: 28-28, 55-37, 76-45, 89-59.

NU secures back-to-back golden double 

NU had another golden double by ruling both divisions of the UAAP Season 81 taekwondo tournament on Friday, November 9, at the Blue Eagle Gym.

The Lady Bulldogs completed a perfect season, winning all 6 fights to annex their third consecutive crown.

After a stunning season-opening loss to Ateneo, NU won 5 in a row capped by a 4-3 win over La Salle in the final fight to become back-to-back men's champions.

Despite the graduation of twin sisters Rhezie and Rheza Aragon, the Lady Bulldogs were able to remain in the throne behind season MVP Angie Dayag and Rookie of the Year Veronica Garces, who won golds in the welterweight and finweight divisions, respectively.

Middle/heavyweight Aideleen Flores was the other gold medalist for NU, which has won 18 consecutive contests dating back from 2016.

"Malaking factor 'yung pagkawala nina ate kambal (the Aragons), kasi malaki 'yung naiaambag nila every season. Pero si sir Jeff (Figueroa) po, nag-double time kami sa training, talagang ibinuhos po namin 'yung training sa isang taon," said Dayag, who is on her third season with the Lady Bulldogs.

(The loss of the Aragon twins was a big factor because they always contribute a lot every season. But with sir Jeff Figueroa, we exerted double time in training and we really poured everything to training in one year.)

In the final fight, NU bested University of Santo Tomas in a duel of undefeated teams, 5-2, to remain on top. The Tigresses settled for 2nd place with a 5-1 card.

The 3-4 defeat to the Blue Eagles to open their title-retention drive was not the end of the world for the Bulldogs.

"Noong natalo po kami, nag-iyakan po kami. Pero 'yun ang naging wake-up call namin kaya bumawi kami sa mga ibang kalaban namin. Ibinuhos namin para mag-back-to-back kami," said Kurt Barbosa, who bagged the Rookie-MVP award to go with the finweight gold.

(When we lost, we all cried. But that was the wake up call for us that's why we made it up by beating our other opponents. We poured everything in order to go back-to-back.)

NU was actually tied with UST at 5-1, but the España-based squad was relegated to 2nd place after the Tigers lost to the Bulldogs, 1-6, in the second day of the tournament.

Raymond Caño was the other men's gold medalist for NU in the welterweight division.

Also winning the Rookie of the Year honors in their respective divisions are La Salle's Akila Gabrielle Boloto, who also snatched the women's lightweight gold, and Ateneo's Harley Santos, who topped the men's flyweight category.

Other gold medalists in the men's division are Ateneo's Aaron Agojo (bantamweight) and Paul Cham (featherweight), UST's Juan Miguel Ramos (lightweight), and La Salle's Alvaro Aranton (middle/heavyweight).

In the distaff side, Ateneo's Pauline Lopez (featherweight), La Salle's Lovely Jean Avanceña (finweight), University of the Philippines' Beatrice Gaerlan (bantamweight) also won golds.

UAAP Media cruises to 3rd win

UAAP Media streaked to its third straight victory with an 118-104 romp of season host National University Wednesday night, November 7, in the UAAP Season 81 Goodwill Games at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Guest players RK Ilagan, Allyn Bulanadi, and Anton Altamirano shone as the Chooks-to-Go-backed Scribes remained unbeaten.

Ilagan was scorching hot from deep, drilling 11 of his 17 three-pointers to lead the UAAP Media with 41 points, 8 assists, 4 steals, and 3 rebounds while fellow Golden Stag Bulanadi provided the muscle with his monstrous double-double effort of 30 points and 11 boards to go with 3 assists and 3 steals.

Altamirano added 8 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in the winning effort.

Tiebreaker Times' Arnold Cagang was also solid for the Scribes with 25 points, while ESPN5's AJ Bolando and Rappler's Mix Gatpandan gave quality minutes, teaming up for 9 points.

UAAP Media also drew significant contributions from Spin.ph's Christian Jacinto and Randolph Leongson, Inquirer's Sherwin Vardeleon and Tristan Tamayo, ESPN5's Yo Sarmenta and Tiebreaker Times' Joaqui Flores.

Playing-team manager Mel Macasaquit of Chooks-to-Go also made his debut for the Scribes.

Isaac Lim paced the hosts (1-1) with 35 markers while Kevin De Castro added 21 points and 20 boards. Homer So and Julio Veloso contributed 19 and 13 points, respectively.

The Scores

UAAP Media 118 – Ilagan 41, Bulanadi 30, Cagang 25, Altamirano 8, Bolando 5, Gatpandan 4, Macasaquit 3, Jacinto 2, Vardeleon 0, Tamayo 0, Sarmenta 0, Flores 0, Leongson 0.

NU 104 – Lim 35, De Castro 21, So 19, Veloso 13, De Mesa 8, Chua 4, Taclas 4.

Quarters: 30-26, 63-46, 83-75, 118-104.

– Rappler.com

MILAN, Italy – Cristiano Ronaldo scored as Juventus bounced back from its midweek Champions League defeat from Manchester United with a 2-0 win over 10-man AC Milan in Serie A on Sunday, November 11, as Gonzalo Higuain missed a penalty before being sent off for the hosts.

Mario Mandzukic headed in the opener in the eighth minute at the San Siro with Ronaldo adding a second on 81 minutes as Juventus maintained its six-point cushion ahead of the international break.

It got the defending seven-time Serie A champions back on track after suffering their first defeat of the season from United following two late goals despite Ronaldo's stunning volley.

"Winning tonight was the only way to put aside what happened in the final 5 minutes of the Champions League game," said Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri. 

"It was important to win without conceding a goal and to regain the six-point advantage over Napoli who are having an excellent championship."

A third loss of the campaign, however, saw AC Milan drop out of the Champions League places behind Lazio, which moved back into 4th despite a 1-1 draw at Sassuolo.

Inter Milan's seven-match winning streak ended with a 4-1 defeat at Atalanta, with Luciano Spalletti's side losing second place to Napoli, which came from behind to beat Genoa 2-1 on Saturday.

Juventus has 34 points from 12 games – 6 ahead of Carlo Ancelotti's Napoli with Inter a further 3 behind.

"I'm very happy, especially for the team, because playing away to Milan is always very difficult," said Ronaldo.

"It was important to win, because Napoli beat Genoa last night and we had to keep our distance."

Allegri's side rarely looked threatened by AC Milan with Mandzukic rising highest to nod in an Alex Sandro cross to dampen spirits among the 75,000-capacity crowd at the San Siro.

The Croatian World Cup runner-up could have made it two shortly after, meeting a cross this time from Ronaldo but Milan skipper Alessio Romagnoli blocked.

Higuain returned from a back problem to face his parent club but it was to be a nightmare outing for the forward who had been loaned out to Milan last summer to make space for Ronaldo.

The Argentine missed a penalty awarded after Medhi Benatia handled in the area 5 minutes before the break with Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny tipping the ball onto the post.

Ronaldo tested Gianluigi Donnarumma in the AC Milan goal early in the second half before finally blasting in 9 minutes from time for his first goal at the San Siro.

Minutes later, Higuain saw red after shouting at the referee in frustration after a foul on Benatia, and was led off the pitch in tears.

"I told him not to exaggerate, to calm down and not to risk a major penalty," said Ronaldo of what he told Higuain on the pitch.

"He was nervous, he was losing, but we must not blame him, he didn't say anything."

Inter stumble 

Earlier on Sunday, defender Gianluca Mancini scored for a third consecutive game as Atalanta dominated Inter Milan at home in Bergamo.

Mancini headed home in the 62nd minute to add to Hans Hateboer's eighth-minute opener, with Berat Djimsiti and Alejandro Gomez sealing all 3 points for the hosts late on.

Inter captain Mauro Icardi had equalized when he slotted in a penalty just after the break, but his side finished with 10 men after Marcelo Brozovic was sent off two minutes into injury time.

Roma got back to winning ways with a 4-1 success over Sampdoria to move up to 6th, within 3 points of the Champions League places behind Lazio and AC Milan.

Rock-bottom Chievo earned a 2-2 draw at home against Bologna to move onto zero points, having had 3 deducted for false accounting.

But coach Gian Piero Ventura told players he was quitting after the game, as he did not believe he could save them from relegation.

Elsewhere, Empoli got its first win since the opening match of the season, beating fellow strugglers Udinese 2-1, which it joined on 9 points. – Rappler.com

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – WWE Crown Jewel, WWE's controversial Saudi Arabia show, is finally done. They finally got through it.

If you didn't bother to go catch the show, there isn’t really a reason to get all caught up – unless, of course, you're a hardcore Brock Lesnar fan, because the only impactful thing that happened on the contentious event is the Beast Incarnate becoming the new WWE Universal Champion. I guess, for whatever reason, it just isn't Braun Strowman's time yet.

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Strowman's loss was to set up a heroic redemption story in the future, though. Baron Corbin, the Constable of RAW, cost the Monster Among Men the match. That leaves Lesnar open to a wide range of challengers, but the first thing he has to do after winning the title is to deal with WWE Champion AJ Styles a week from now at Survivor Series. (More about that in a while.)

Other than the Universal Championship match, nothing big happened. The World Cup was won by an interfering Shane McMahon, making it mean less than it did going in. Triple H suffered an unfortunate injury in the main event, effectively derailing any future plans involving Shawn Michaels in the ring. AJ Styles is still the WWE Champion. The Bar are still the SmackDown Tag Team Champions.

An interesting theory goes that the WWE actually didn't bother trying to save Crown Jewel from the controversial circumstances they found themselves in – they knew the core audience left watching the event was comprised of Saudis, the same people they got this deal for anyway. If Strowman (and by extension, Samoa Joe) would have won the title at Crown Jewel, his first ever world title win would always be marked with this terrible asterisk. If someone like Rey Mysterio won the World Cup, it would have been tainted as well. 

Maybe it really was better off this way. Well, if you still chose to watch Crown Jewel, I'm not really judging you. The company will do whatever it wants to do, whether we protest or not, whether we boycott or not.

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Anyway, here's the other thing: Survivor Series is a week away. WWE and their creative team have been so myopic and consumed with trying to make both Evolution and Crown Jewel stand out on their own that they totally forgot to write substantial stories for Survivor Series. This is why the show defaulted to its Bragging Rights role, making it the second year in a row it's become a proving ground as to which brand is better.

On one hand, it's still not a bad idea on paper. It wasn't last year, and in a vacuum, it isn't terrible this year. Making it a RAW vs. SmackDown brand war sets it as a template that could be used to create easy drama every year. 

On the other hand, however, the brand war has to be for something substantial for it to really mean something. I said this last year and I'm repeating it this year, because I still don't see any stakes other than brand supremacy. What's the point? Everyone knows SmackDown is still a better show than RAW anyway, so if they must divert attention away from that it's got to be for some real marbles. Put the WrestleMania main event on the line or something.

And on the other other hand, they still had two weeks left to write and build a story to Survivor Series. That's just negligent and inexcusable, because they could've built up both Survivor Series and Crown Jewel. Yes, it would've been a little confusing, but I don't see why the Survivor Series stipulations couldn't have been announced much earlier and slowly built up in the background while everyone focused on Evolution and Crown Jewel.

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They could have at least already announced the champion versus champion matches for Survivor Series while promoting Crown Jewel and Evolution. That way, the title matches on both these gender-exclusive shows could have carried a little more weight because everyone already knew they would be affecting a future matchup. 

Instead, these matches feel like the company merely stumbled into them and modeled the elimination matches after what the top champs already started.

It's worth noting that at this point, only 205 Live has a match on the Survivor Series card that actually has a decent buildup. Mustafa Ali has been crawling his way to a shot at the Cruiserweight Championship for months now, while Buddy Murphy has been the dominant champion. They're left in their own little bubble, so they have more control on how they tell their stories.

Anyway, the next week is crucial for the WWE in determining whether Survivor Series will be a must-see show, or just another should-pass Monday morning event.

*****

Do you listen to podcasts? Would you want to listen to a local podcast about pro wrestling? If the answers to those questions – especially that last one – are yes, then you should check out the cleverly-named Smark Gilas-Pilipinas Podcast, featuring PWR General Manager Stan Sy, wrestling writer and Wrestling God Romeo Moran, and all-around multimedia person and former voice of PWR Raf Camus! On this week’s episode, Stan and Ro discuss Crown Jewel, Evolution, and NXT UK! Listen to it here or on Spotify! – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The San Beda Red Lions have added another milestone to their dynasty after sweeping the Lyceum Pirates, 71-56, in Game 2 of the NCAA Season 94 Finals at the Mall of Asia Arena on Monday, November 12.

The Red Lions have now completed another three-peat after nabbing their 22nd overall title and 11th in 13 years.

Coach Boyet Fernandez is now a 5-time NCAA Champion, leading the graduating Big Three of Robert Bolick, Javee Mocon and Donald Tankoua to one more title at the close of their NCAA careers.

CJ Perez opened a spirited Lyceum charge in the 4th quarter and cut the San Beda lead to 4, 51-47. However, Clint Doliguez and Javee Mocon answered with huge back-to-back threes to go up 10, 57-47, with 7:38 left in regulation.

After defensive stops on both ends, Season 93 Finals MVP Donald Tankoua extended the lead to 13 off a putback, 61-48, with 5:04 to go. 

Tankoua and Clint Doliguez drove home the dagger with back-to-back putbacks under the last two minutes, 66-50.

Javee Mocon finished his NCAA career as the Finals MVP, leading the team with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 5 big blocks on a 4/8 (50%) clip from downtown. Donald Tankoua added a 13-point, 16-board double-double in a full 40-minute grind while Robert Bolick chipped in 4 markers and a game-high 12 assists, albeit on 1/11 (9%) shooting from the field.

The returning CJ Perez led the last Pirates' stand with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Jaycee Marcelino followed up with 13 markers, 4 boards and 4 dimes while missing his twin Jayvee to an apparent injury. Mike Nzeusseu anchored Lyceum with 11 points and 13 boards. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Magnolia pulled off an escape act against Barangay Ginebra, 101-97, to gain a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-5 semis of the 2018 PBA Governors' Cup at the Araneta Coliseum on Monday, November 12. 

The Hotshots saw their double-digit lead vanish late but proved the better team in the endgame to move one win from securing a finals berth and denying the Gin Kings a third straight title in the season-ending conference.

Import Romeo Travis messed with a triple-double of 25 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals and knocked down a crucial freebie with a second left that gave Magnolia enough breathing room to fend off Ginebra. 

The Gin Kings trailed 83-95 midway through the 4th quarter before erecting a 14-4 run – highlighted by back-to-back Sol Mercado and LA Tenorio triples – to narrow the gap to 2 points with under 30 seconds left. 

Paul Lee had a chance to make it a two-possession game for the Hotshots but split his freebies and kept the comeback door ajar for Ginebra, 100-97. 

However, the Gin Kings failed to capitalize as Tenorio and Brownlee missed back-to-back triples with Travis corraling the offensive board and drawing the foul to get to the free throw line.

Just like his pal LeBron James ealier, Travis missed both of his foul shots but immediately compensated for them with an offensive rebound and a made freebie that pushed Magnolia's lead to 4 with a second left. 

Ian Sangalang finished with 17 points and 4 rebounds, Paul Lee chalked up 14 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds and Rome dela Rosa had 11 points in the win. 

Brownlee had 31 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists for Ginebra, which will try to force a Game 4 when the two teams meet again on Game 3 on Wednesday, November 14, at the same venue. 

The Scores

Magnolia 101 - Travis 25, Sangalang 17, Lee 14, Dela Rosa 11, Barroca 9, Jalalon 8, Reavis 6, Melton 5, Simon 5, Herndon 1.

Ginebra 97 - Brownlee 31, Tenorio 15, Aguilar 15, Slaughter 14, Thompson 7, Mercado 7, Mariano 4, Chan 2, Caguioa 2, Ferrer 0.

Quarters: 21-18, 47-46, 75-68, 101-97.

– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas resumed its preparation for the Asian Qualifiers of the 2019 FIBA World Cup with arguably the best roster assembled in recent memory. 

Reigning 4-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo and 7-foot-1 wunderkind Kai Sotto were in attendance as the national team's buildup for the fifth window of the Qualifiers went underway on Monday, November 12, at the Meralco Gym. 

Twelve of the 20 pool players selected by head coach Yeng Guiao were present in Day 1 as Team Pilipinas slowly geared up for its home games against Kazakhstan and Iran on November 30 and December 3, respectively. 

Fajardo was joined by San Miguel teammates Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter and Arwind Santos in the practice. 

Gabe Norwood, Beau Belga, Poy Erram and Matthew Wright – players who saw action in the last window – were also in attendance. 

Meanwhile, returning from their 3-game FIBA suspension are Gilas mainstays Jayson Castro and Troy Rosario. 

Gilas cadet Ricci Rivero also answered Guiao's call-up. 

Stanley Pringle and Christian Standhardinger, who would be vying for the squad's naturalized player spot, have yet to arrive as of posting time. 

Magnolia's Paul Lee and Ian Sangalang and Barangay Ginebra's LA Tenorio, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter were not present due to their semifinals game in the 2018 PBA Governors' Cup. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The NCAA Season 94 awarding ceremony was supposed to be the best moment of graduating Perpetual Altas big man Prince Eze.

He hauled in 4 awards in total to close out his career: an All-Defense Team selection, a Mythical Five award, the Defensive Player of the Year plum and most importantly, the Season 94 MVP trophy.

However, as his name was called for the fourth and final time, Lyceum fans in attendance who were waiting for the start of the NCAA Finals Game 2 against San Beda booed Eze and hoisted numerous pictures of disqualified candidate CJ Perez.

Eze fired back at the doubters of his trophy haul.

"I won the MVP. If you think you are better, come and get it," he said. "CJ is MVP last season, but I could've been MVP last season but I didn't get to the Final Four. I had to work harder."

Perez was supposed to be the MVP runner-up with a 58.28 player all-around value (PAV) but his suspension from Game 1 of the Finals disqualified him from all award races, per NCAA rules.

With or without Perez in the races, Eze is still the MVP with a 61.39 PAV.

Eze was the two-way rallying force behind Perpetual's charge to the Final Four, finishing with monster averages of 17.9 points, 16.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks.

However, the Altas ran straight into the walls of the San Beda dynasty, which eliminated them en route to the NCAA Finals.

"I mean life is not fair. Some people get what they don't deserve," he continued. "We have to deal with what we have. What our coach keeps on telling me, no excuses. You have to get something from what you have."

"It's here now," he said as he picked his 4 trophies one by one, looking for the MVP award.

If Eze had his way, he would have wanted Perez to still be in the race with him.

"If you want it more, you have to work for it," he said. "I wish CJ was here with me. He's a great player and he's hard for me to guard. He really put his team on his back."

Amid the positive end to his NCAA career, Eze only had one regret.

"Last season. I wish I skipped last season" he quickly answered. "I wish I skipped last season and played from this season to next season."

Clearly, the competitive Eze is still raring to legitimize his stand as the league's best, even though he already is. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – For the 11th time in the last 13 years, the San Beda Red Lions are the NCAA champions after sweeping the Lyceum Pirates for the second-straight season, Monday, November 12.

Javee Mocon finished his NCAA career with 4 seniors' championships and nabbed the Finals MVP award after dropping a team-high 16 points and 5 blocks to go with 11 rebounds.

Robert Bolick, meanwhile, made up for a dismal 1/11 (9%) shooting night by dishing a game-high 12 assists and wrapping up his NCAA stint with 3 titles in the bag.

Amiable head coach Boyet Fernandez also collected his fifth NCAA title in his first three-peat with the team.

Fernandez was expectedly all smiles in the post-game interview, but turned serious for a while after being asked about the controversial CJ Perez suspension issue.

And he had a fiery response to people saying they couldn't win while Perez is leading the Pirates.

"Did you remember that we beat LPU in the second round with CJ there? And he only scored 9 points against us, right?" he said.

"'Di naman kasalanan ng San Beda na ma-suspend[si CJ] (It's not San Beda's fault that CJ was suspended) because it's already in the rules, and if we discuss everything here, I think LPU will already realize that they're at fault with that."

San Beda was inevitably dragged to the issue after Perez was suspended for Game 1 of the Finals for failing to formally inform the NCAA of his application to the PBA draft.

But Coach Fernandez wanted to clear things up that their side wanted no part of that controversy at all, even though they've already proved last year that they can sweep Lyceum with Perez there.

Even Lyceum head coach Topex Robinson believed their adversaries had nothing to do with it.

"Again, it's not the fault of San Beda. We never even joined the voting, we didn't even [join] at the deliberations," Fernandez said.

"But again, you also have to give credit to my players because without my players, we'll not win that Game 1. To be honest, what they're saying that [we] cannot win without CJ fueled us because my players played well, come to think of it. Don't take that away from my players."

Perez played well in what would turn out to be his final game in the NCAA, tallying 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. This only validated San Beda's Game 2 win even more.

"They played really hard for that game. This game, that's really their mantra," Fernandez said. "Let's prove to ourselves that we can beat LPU with CJ there. And they showed that today. Hopefully, it will erase everything." – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Kai Sotto and Ricci Rivero's inclusion in Gilas Pilipinas' 20-man pool for the fifth window of the World Cup qualifiers is not just solely geared towards their development.

National team head coach Yeng Guiao bared that the two promising young stars have a chance to secure a spot in the final 12-man lineup if they can prove their worth among their much experienced peers. 

"Meron, meron (There is)," Guiao said when asked if Sotto and Rivero can make the roster that will take take on Kazakhstan and Iran on November 30 and December 3, respectively, in back-to-back home games. 

"Actually, the reason they're here is they're one of the guys with the opportunity to fight for a slot in the 12-man lineup." (READ: Sotto, Fajardo in action as Gilas prep resumes)

"So kahit na sabihin natin na ang basic purpose natin is for their development, who knows? Hindi natin alam baka magpakita sila." 

(Even if we say that the basic purpose is for their development, who knows? They might show us they deserve a spot.) 

Sotto is the youngest in the bunch at 16 years old but he easily stands out with his towering 7-foot-1 height. He is the tallest in the talented pool comprising of PBA giants Greg Slaughter and June Mar Fajardo. 

Rivero, meanwhile, has already been part of the senior team's pool before. He was tabbed by Guiao for Gilas' Asian Games buildup but did not make the cut in the final 12. 

Although chances of seeing the Sotto and Rivero suit up for Team Pilipinas in the World Cup qualifiers are slim, Guiao believes it could still happen. 

"I'm not discounting that possibility. It might be a little bit remote but it's still a possibility." – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Romeo Travis pulled off a LeBron James as Magnolia moved towards the cusp of clinching a finals berth in the 2018 PBA Governors' Cup. 

The American import almost cost the Hotshots their 101-97 Game 2 semis win over Barangay Ginebra after missing two crucial freebies before making up for them with a clutch offensive board and a made foul shot.

Magnolia held a 100-97 lead in the final 20 seconds and needed at least a free throw to completely fend off the the Gin Kings. Travis, who was sent to the line, had two chances to make that happen.

But to Ginebra's amusement, he missed both of them. 

Fortunately for the Hotshots, Travis immediately corralled the offensive board and split his foul shots to make it a four-point game and eventually, seal the win for his side. 

Interestingly, that sequence was close to what happened to close pal James, with whom he played high school basketball with at the famed St. Vincent-St. Mary, earlier on Monday, November 12. 

James also muffed two free throws in crunchtime before delivering a go-ahead putback dunk to lift the Los Angeles Lakers past the Atlanta Hawks, 107-106. 

{source}

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bron missed both FT&#39;s... but answered with a dunk  <a href="https://t.co/8XbHjxmJxg">pic.twitter.com/8XbHjxmJxg</a></p>&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1061845462859210752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

{/source}

"I actually watched the game. I may have jinxed myself," Travis told reporters with a smile. 

"He had a second chance, I had a second chance. He made the most of it and I made the second free throw and we ended up winning the game." 

A Magnolia loss would have knotted the best-of-five series at 1-1 and shifted the momentum to the Gin Kings, who now have their backs against the wall and will try to avoid getting swept. 

"I missed 3 and luckily they came in pairs and I'm thankful to make the last one to seal the game. I'm just thankful for second chances," Travis added. 

"Everybody don't get them so I'm thankful for the second opportunity to seal the game."

Up 2-0 and with an opportunity to unceremoniously end Ginebra's campaign for a third straight Governors' Cup title, Travis and the Hotshots go for the kill in Game 3 on Wednesday, November 14, at the Araneta Coliseum.

"We're going to try and close out the series the best way we know how and just keep playing Hotshots basketball, which is team. Team above all. Our new mantra is believe, and that's what we're trying to do – just believe." – Rappler.com

WASHINGTON, USA – Wayne Rooney says he is honored to make a final appearance for England and happy for manager Gareth Southgate to decide his playing time Thursday, November 15, against the United States.

Former Manchester United star Rooney, in video comments released Monday by his Major League Soccer club DC United, detailed his excitement at earning his 120th cap for England in his farewell match, a friendly against the Americans at Wembley Stadium.

"Playing on the squad for this game and see some old teammates, see Gareth and the coaching staff, and then obviously to play at Wembley for the last time will be a great moment," Rooney said.

"To see old teammates, coaches and be around them for a few days, but also to see the fans – it'll be great to pull on the England shirt again in front of the fans in almost a way of me saying thank you to the fans for the support you've shown me over my time playing for England."

England's all-time men's goals leader came to MLS in July, lifting DC United from the bottom of the table to the playoffs in his first campaign. United were ousted by Columbus in their post-season opener earlier this month.

England's Football Association set up the Rooney tribute with proceeds going to youth charities.

"Obviously it's a huge honor for the FA to grant me this game. It's an important game, obviously. The money will be raised for children's charities, which I think is really important," Rooney said.

Rooney, 33, has scored 53 goals in 119 England appearances since making his debut for the Three Lions on February 12, 2003. He has not played for England since a 3-0 victory over Scotland at Wembley on November 11, 2016.

"I have to admit I don't know how much I'm going to play, whether that's from the start or whether that's the last few minutes," Rooney said.

"I'll speak to Gareth before we meet up. Whatever he wants me then to play I'm happy to do so."– Rappler.com

NEW YORK, USA – Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic of the Los Angeles Galaxy was named Monday, November 12, as Major League Soccer Newcomer of the Year, defeating England's Wayne Rooney among others for the award.

Ibrahimovic won in a balloting of MLS coaches and players plus a media panel with an average of 36.36% support to 32.25% for DC United captain Rooney. Mexico's Carlos Vela of Los Angeles FC was third on 13.47%.

Ibrahimovic scored 22 goals and added 10 assists in what was only the third 20-and-10 season in MLS history. The Galaxy went 9-2 with four drawn when the Swedish icon scored a goal.

With a roundhouse volley kick to score against Toronto FC on September 15, Ibrahimovic netted his 500th career goal, joining Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as only the third active player to reach that lofty milestone.

Ibrahimovic failed to lead the Galaxy into the playoffs but his career has already included titles with European giants FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan. 

He has also netted a record 62 goals for Sweden, with star turns in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.

Rooney, who scored 12 goals in 21 appearances for DC United after joining the club in July and lifting them from the cellar to the playoffs, won the nod in voting from club technical staff – 34.31% to 28.43% over Zlatan.

But the Swede edged Rooney in player balloting 34.99 to 30.90% and decisively took media voting 45.65% to 31.53%.

Newcomer of the Year recognizes players in their first MLS season but with prior professional experience, making Rookie of the Year candidates ineligible. – Rappler.com

LONDON, United Kingdom – Novak Djokovic sent out a warning to his rivals at the ATP Finals on Monday, November 12, brushing aside big-serving John Isner 6-4, 6-3 to launch his bid for a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title in style. 

Earlier, in the same Guga Kuerten group, Alexander Zverev made it six consecutive wins against Marin Cilic in a contest at London's O2 Arena featuring scores of unforced errors.

World number one Djokovic, though, was playing a different game, appearing little troubled by the howitzers coming off the giant Isner's racket – breaking his opponent three times and not conceding a single break point on his own serve.

In stark contrast to second seed Roger Federer, who produced an error-strewn performance in defeat to Kei Nishikori on Sunday, Djokovic hit just six unforced errors and won 86 percent of points on his serve, making a mockery of the apparent challenging nature of the playing surface.

"The match was great, obviously," said the 31-year-old. "I had three breaks of serve of John which is sometimes mission impossible but I managed to be at the right place at the right time.

"I held serve well, I backed it up from the baseline, I played very solid and didn't give him many opportunities."

Speaking about the court conditions, he said: "It takes a little bit of time really to get yourself adjusted to the surface... it takes a lot of rotation, takes a lot of spin. When you serve well, also it accelerates through the court."

With Cristiano Ronaldo watching on, the top seed broke Isner in the 5th game of the first set to establish a stranglehold and never looked like allowing the American 8th seed back into the contest, breaking twice more in the second set to win in 73 minutes.

The Serb is a red-hot favorite to draw level on six titles at the season finale with Federer, who faces an uphill task to reach the semi-finals after his loss in his first round-robin match.

Djokovic, who replaced the injured Rafael Nadal at the top of the rankings  last week, has stormed up the charts this year following elbow surgery and a period of indifferent form, winning Wimbledon and the US Open along the way.

Since the start of Wimbledon he has now won 32 out of 34 matches.

Zverev triumphs  

Earlier, Zverev kept his nerve at the key moments to beat Marin Cilic 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/1), recovering from a break down in each set.

The 30-year-old Cilic, who has a reputation for faltering under intense pressure, broke first but the German hit back, going on to edge the tie-break.

In the second set, the Croatian again drew first blood but third-seed Zverev, 21, responded immediately and dominated the tie-break to seal the match.

There were a total of 78 unforced errors in the contest – with Australian Open finalist Cilic hitting 46 of those – as both players struggled to adapt to the court conditions.

"The court is difficult," said Zverev. "The court is very fast. And it's very high-bouncing as well. So, it's more difficult than in other tournaments, so everybody has to kind of find their rhythm in the first match. "

The ATP Finals are contested by the eight players who have accumulated the most ranking points over the season and is in a round-robin format, with the best four players reaching the semi-finals.– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Azkals are all set for their 2018 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup campaign with returning veterans and new faces donning the country in the Final 23 lineup. 

Stephan Schrock gets his long-awaited call-up and is aiming to lead the Philippine national men's football team to redemption after previous edition's early exit from the group stage. 

Another Filipino-German will reinforce the Azkals' arsenal as 22-year-old John Patrick Strauss from 2. Bundelisga's FC Erzgebirge Aue will prove his worth in his Philippine debut. (AFF Suzuki Cup: Stacked Azkals lineup looks to impress)

The world-renowned Sven-Göran Eriksson will also be making his debut as the head coach of the Philippines who will be vital in leading the Philippines to its dream of Southeast Asian football supremacy. 

The Philippine Azkals will open their campaign against Singapore on Tuesday, November 13, 8 pm at Pana-ad Park and Stadium in Bacolod. 

Southeast Asian Premier League sensation and Filipino international Neil Etheridge will be able to keep for the Azkals in their first two games as he is set to return to Cardiff at the end of the FIFA International break. 

Bangkok United FC's Michael Falkesgaard and Davao Aguilas FC's Patrick Deyto will be ready to fill in for Etheridge starting on their game against powerhouse Thailand on Wednesday, November 21. 

Ateneo Blue Eagle Jarvey Gayoso  made the squad as a reserve forward and is the youngest player joining the team in the biennial regional cup tournament.

 – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – San Beda Red Lions star point guard Robert Bolick exited the NCAA on top of the world.

After a two-game sweep  of the Lyceum Pirates for the second year in a row last Monday, November 12, Bolick ended his 3-year stint as a 3-time champion.

He was already a champion in his lone year in 2015 with the UAAP's La Salle Green Archers, but it was in the NCAA where he truly blossomed into a star.

As such, the King Lion only had the best of praises for his alma mater on social media.

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border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div><div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BqGqlMNhZGs/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Dear SAN BEDA! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to play the game that i love i was struggling, hurt, lost but you found me and gave me the chance to showcase what i can do! I will forever be grateful for what you did to me, you gave a benchwarmer a chance, you stood by me through ups and downs and I’m so happy and proud to play for SAN BEDA UNIVERSITY this will always be my home and comfort! Thank you so much! To my teammates coaches boss mvp guards teachers janitors my family friends this is for you! nothing more to say! To all my haters i love you guys! Please Keep hating  To God be the Glory!!! Nothing more to say  #3PEAT KINGLION SIGNING OFF! </a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/babesbolick/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> robert lee bolick</a> (@babesbolick) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2018-11-13T02:42:19+00:00">Nov 12, 2018 at 6:42pm PST</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script> {/source} 

"I was struggling, hurt, lost but you found me and gave me the chance to showcase what I can do!" he said. "I will forever be grateful for what you did to me. You gave a benchwarmer a chance. You stood by me through ups and downs and I’m so happy and proud to play for San Beda University!"

Bolick then gave thanks to everyone, from top benefactor Manny "MVP" Pangilinan to the school janitors and even his haters.

With the King Lion now signing off from the NCAA, he's reportedly set to take his talents to the PBA, where he is touted as a top 3 draft pick. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – When University of the Philippines and De La Salle University tip off their high-stakes match on Wednesday, November 14, it will be the biggest UAAP game for the Fighting Maroons basketball program in the last two decades.

A win guarantees UP a spot in the Final Four round and would mark the Maroons’ return to the UAAP playoffs for the first time since 1997. It would also secure UP the No. 3 seed and a Final Four date against the twice-to-beat Adamson Soaring Falcons, who are No. 2.

A win for the Green Archers would give DLSU the same reward and a chance to make the UAAP finals for the third straight year.

With so much on the line for UP, it’s no secret that both pressure and excitement are mounting for head coach Bo Perasol and his boys.

When Perasol returned home in 2016 to coach his alma matter’s basketball team after a relatively successful 3-year stint with the Ateneo Blue Eagles, he made it a mission to change UP’s basketball program and turn it into something successful.

In each year Perasol has been UP’s head coach, the Fighting Maroons have increased their win total in the UAAP, but have yet to make it to the Final Four. A victory over DLSU, which UP secured in their round one encounter, would change that and, in many ways, validate the head coach’s mission when he took over.

Although unconfirmed by management, there are those who believe Perasol and the Maroons need to make the Final Four this season in order for the head coach to return in 2019. When asked by Rappler about this, Perasol debunked the rumors.

“I don’t even think of this as an employment. I could actually leave anytime. There’s really no pressure from the admin. What’s really keeping me to push harder is personal na kagustuhan (personal hunger for success),” he said.

Since University of the Philippines is a state university, Perasol’s contract is year-to-year and open-ended, which means long-term security isn’t written down in ink. Yet for the 45-year-old former UP varsity player, he sees his job as service and an act of “loyalty” to the school.

“Serbisyo na maibalik yung pride nang school.Alam naman ng school at lahat na ang program namin, it came from nothing. Ang pressure is coming from ourselves na we want this to happen for the community and for us.”

(It's a service to bring back the pride of the school. The school knows this and all our programs came from nothing. The pressure is coming from ourselves that we want this to happen for the community and for us.)

Although this season’s roster is the best UP has had in years, it’s fair to point out the Maroons find themselves in unfamiliar territory in terms of what’s on the line.

La Salle’s basketball teams are constantly in the UAAP championship picture and many of the Green Archers’ current players have been in high-pressure situations like how Wednesday’s game will be. UP, on the other hand, finds itself in control of its own Final Four destiny for the first time in ages.

Perasol is very much aware of that critical bit of context.

“We’re going to feel excitement, stress… there's no precedent eh. No experience, unlike La Salle, Ateneo, FEU, Adamson. They’ve been there for the longest time,” he said.

“We just have to make sure that all of us, first of all, we truly believe that we can achieve this. Second, when we go [on Wednesday], we go as a team. Trusting each other… What made us be here in this situation is the effort for everyone.”

The Maroons’ 67-61 win over the Green Archers in the first round should give the team confidence. At halftime of that game, DLSU led by 4, 33-29, before a 22-12 3rd period for UP gave them momentum of the contest. The Maroons’ lead ballooned to as much as 14 in the 4th period before they were able to hold off the late-game rally by La Salle, which cut the lead to as low as one.

MVP leader Bright Akhuetie had 19 points and 19 boards to lead UP in the victory, while Juan Gomez De Liaño had 17 points and 6 assists and converted two clutch baskets late to secure the win.

There are also stark differences for when both teams face off again, aside from the higher stakes on the line. Unlike their first meeting at the start of October, DLSU will now have team captain Kib Montalbo and 6-foot-8 Kiwi big man Taane Samuel on Wednesday.

Montalbo isn’t the type of player to stuff the stat sheet, but his presence on the court has always been a plus for the Green Archers thanks to his intangibles. The presence of Samuel, who returned from a Jones Fracture against Ateneo and made an instant impact, should give an already loaded La Salle frontline even more deterrence against Akhuetie.

Despite that, Perasol still likes how his team can fare against DLSU.

“I think we could match up well with them… what's important is we have to assert what we have been doing. At the same time, we have to play good defense against what La Salle’s doing also. At this point, it doesn’t matter what our matchup is against them.”

When both teams met the last time, UP was a desperate team looking to end a 3-game slump. This time, the Maroons are on a roll after securing morale-boosting wins against NU and UST. Nevertheless, past records and stats go out the window when massive repercussions will be determined by just one game.

Even more so for UP, which faces its moment of truth versus the Green Archers. Furthermore, the Maroons will have the chance to prove to everyone and, more importantly, themselves, how far the program has come since Perasol’s initial goal of eliminating their losing culture.

“Every winning team has a game like this that would define, or that would make [us] step a level-up,” he said.

“With us, hindi pa. Hindi pa namin napagdaanan ang mga ganon klaseng laro (With us, we haven't found [a game that would define a winning team]. We haven't gone through a [high-pressure] game like this.) We’re trying to get out of here as victors.”– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Aldin Ayo's first season with University Santo Tomas hasn't even finished yet but the Growling Tigers' mentor is already looking ahead at Season 82. 

"Madami [ang madadala namin next season]. For a start, makakapag-ensayo na kami nang matagal na kumpleto, Siguro we’re going to take a two-week break lang after ng November 14, siguro we’re going to start practicing ng first week ng December," said Ayo. 

"We’re going to start early because iyon 'yung hindi namin nagawa." 

(We're going to bring a lot of learnings to the next season. For a start, we're going to practice longer together. I guess we're going to take a two-week break after November 14 then start practicing first week of December.)

UST bowed out of Final Four contention in the most unfortunate fashion as super rookie Cj Cansino was injured during a must-win match against University of the Philippines, and the Tigers never recovered from their tough loss. 

After further evaluation by the doctors, Cansino was found to have torn his left ACL and will undergo surgery on Thursday. 

"He had a good season," said Ayo about the rookie who will miss the team's final game against defending champions Ateneo Blue Eagles.

"Hopefully he learned a lot and we’ll make sure that he’ll be ready for next year." 

As early as now, Ayo's schedule is jam-packed with mentoring UST basketball's team B and visting all the school's grassroots programs. 

Don't be surprised to see the NCAA and UAAP champion coach sitting with Tiger Cubs coach Bonnie Garcia as Ayo has been tapped as a consultant for UST in the UAAP juniors basketball tournament. 

"Na-miss ko kasi magturo sa 12-under, sa 15-under doon kasi ako galing. Nagi-start ako doon, tinuturuan ko 'yung mga bata," reminisced Ayo. 

(I miss teaching 12-under and 15-under teams because that's where I came from. I started there by teaching the kids.) 

Despite all the setbacks, Ayo is still proud of his Growling Tigers for a good season as they managed to overcome their cellar-dweller standing in the last two seasons. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas' present 20-man pool may be touted as the greatest assembled Philippine squad in recent memory but that remains to be proven on the hardcourt. 

That's how head coach Yeng Guiao simply put things to perspective as he quickly downplayed the "greatest" tag given to the current edition of Team Pilipinas. 

"Nakakanerbiyos tawaging greatest Philippine team," Guiao said with a hearty laugh as the Nationals began Day 1 of their buildup for the fifth window of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers on Monday, November 12.

(It makes me nervous when we are called the greatest Philippine team.) 

"Hindi naman siguro (I don't think so). I think that will only be proven with the accomplishment that you're able to achieve."

Guiao's sentiments hold true, especially since the Philippines has yet to secure its spot in the World Cup. 

Gilas, which has piled up a 5-3 record after the 4 previous windows, currently sits at 3rd place in Group F. Only the Top 3 teams from Group E and F will be assured of a World Cup berth. 

However, that didn't prevent Filipino basketball fans and pundits to shower praise to Team Pilipinas due its abundance of talents. 

PBA giants June Mar Fajardo and Greg Slaughter could team up for the first time in the Philippine team while 7-foot-1 prodigy Kai Sotto, who is just 16 years old, could debut for the senior squad. 

Former national team veterans LA Tenorio and Arwind Santos have been added to the fold while Jayson Castro and Troy Rosario rejoin the Philippine squad after serving their FIBA suspensions. 

Of course, there are Paul Lee, Alex Cabagnot, Matthew Wright, Marcio Lassiter, Scottie Thompson, Gabe Norwood, Japeth Aguilar, Beau Belga, Poy Erram, Ian Sangalang and Gilas cadet Ricci Rivero. 

Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle, meanwhile, vie for the team's naturalized player spot. 

"On paper, malakas siya pero tignan natin kung ano 'yung magiging resulta. It puts a little bit more pressure on us but ganoon talaga," Guiao added. 

(On paper, the team really is strong but that remains to be seen depending on the results. It puts a little bit more pressure on us but that's what it is.) 

Setting the immense pressure aside, the fiery mentor admitted he is just a normal basketball fan who has only dreamed of seeing the formation of the best Philippine team ever. 

"I'm also a basketball fan. If you separate it (being a coach from a fan), parang ito 'yung matagal mo nang pinapangarap, matagal mo nang ini-imagine, ngayon naging totoo. So I'll enjoy that moment," Guiao said. 

(I'm also a basketball fan. If you separate being a coach from a fan, this is like what you've been dreaming and imagining for a long time and now, it has become a reality. So I'll enjoy that moment.) 

"And at the same time, I have a responsibility as head coach to make the most use out of it, mapaganda natin 'yung samahan na 'yun." 

(And at the same time, I have a responsibility as head coach to make the most use out of it and help tighten the bond.) 

Gilas' mettle will be tested as it hosts Kazakhstan and Iran on November 30 and December 3, respectively, at the Mall of Asia Arena. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Alaska doused cold water on Meralco's fiery run to even their best-of-five semifinals series in the 2018 PBA Governors' Cup with a 100-95 win in Game 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena on Tuesday, November 13. 

The Aces just had enough gas left in the tank to halt the Bolts' blistering seven-game winning streak and avoid teetering on the brink of elimination by knotting the series score at 1-1. 

Mike Harris delivered 37 points, 19 rebounds and 2 steals while Simon Enciso fired 23 points off 5 triples for Alaska, which almost squandered a 20-point lead but regained its bearings when it mattered most. 

The Aces were comfortably ahead 66-46 in the 3rd quarter before the Bolts slowly trimmed their deficit to single digits behind import Allen Durham and Nico Salva.

Meralco continued to claw its way back in the 4th quarter and eventually narrowed the gap to just a whisker, 95-96, with 15 seconds left off a clutch Chris Newsome triple.

But the Bolts' valiant stand ended there as Baser Amer missed a potential game-tying triple and JVee Casio and Enciso sank all of their 4 foul shots to secure the win for Alaska. 

Chris Banchero flirted with a triple-double of 13 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists while Vic Manuel and Noy Baclao chipped in 7 and 6 points, respectively, in the win. 

Durham paced the Bolts, who lost for the first time in a month, with 24 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds while Salva saw his personal-best tying 20 points go down the drain. 

Amer finished with 14 points, Reynel Hugnatan had 12 while Mike Tolomia added 10 markers in the loss. 

The Scores

Alaska 100 - Harris 37, Enciso 23, Banchero 13, Manuel 7, Baclao 6, Racal 5, Casio 4, Exciminiano 3, Teng 2, Thoss 0.

Meralco 95 - Durham 24, Salva 20, Amer 14, Hugnatan 12, Tolomia 10, Newsome 6, Caram 4, Canaleta 3, Faundo 2, Dillinger 0, Ballesteros 0.

Quarters: 23-21, 47-40, 74-60, 100-95.

– Rappler.com