Alvin, Allan to play vs NBA greats

ALVIN PATRIMONIO and Allan Caidic lead the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) greats team that will battle National Basketball Association legends in the 2009 NBA Asia Challenge on September 11 at the Araneta Coliseum.

The other PBA greats on the team are Benjie Paras, Kenneth Duremdes and Ronnie Magsanoc. They will be joined by active players Wynne Arboleda, Arwind Santos, Sonny Thoss, Willie Miller, Japeth Aguilar, Joseph Yeo, Dondon Hontiveros, Enrico Villanueva, Jay-R Reyes and Marc Pingris. They will be coached by Yeng Guiao.

THE TIANJIN AFTERMATH: PBA AT CROSSROADS

If the PBA can find 15 players willing to undergo extensive training, stay together for a prolonged period of time to bond and create chemistry among them, and be proud enough to wear the Philippine flag on their jerseys, then it could go right ahead with the SBP in exploring the possible fruits of a renewed partnership.

If not, then the PBA should take a deep bow, having served the country from 1990 during the Beijing Asian Games where it won a silver – the highest finish by a PBA-backed, no-Fil-foreign player in an international competition, and let the SBP run the show. But in the event the pro league does find 15 from its backyard who are willing, then the SBP might want to help its cause by sending along a seven-foot naturalized player to spice things up for the RP team in-wating.

Otherwise, without that man in the middle, all this is idle talk, all dreams just wistful and wishful thinking, and all effort and support – as Coca-Cola’s JB Baylon continues to commit – destined to go down the drain.

GUIAO’S RP TEAM PROPOSAL TO GO THROUGH PBA BOARD

TIANJIN – Powerade-Team Pilipinas coach Yeng Guiao’s call for the PBA to stay involved in forming the national team, endorsed earlier by Sta. Lucia Realty governor Buddy Encarnado, is about to reach a bigger audience. PBA commissioner Renauld ‘Sonny’ Barrios said Sunday, on the eve of the national team’s closing game against South Korea in the 25th FIBA Asia Men’s Championship, that he will seek the opinion of the board of governors on what direction to take.

Barrios: PBA should continue lending players to nat’l team

"With what the SBP is doing and with the input of coach Yeng (Guiao), perhaps if we all talk together as Filipinos wanting to do good for the best for Filipino basketball, then we can most likely achieve something more than what we have achieved so far. "

– Sonny Barrios, PBA commissioner

Yeng’s plea reaches

TIANJIN. – Powerade-Team Pilipinas coach Yeng Guiao’s call for the PBA to stay involved with the national team, endorsed earlier by Sta. Lucia Realty governor Buddy Encarnado, is about to reach a bigger audience.
On Sunday, Commissioner Sonny Barrios said he will seek the opinion of the board of governors on what direction to take.

Guiao’s call for PBA to stay involved in nat’l team gains ground

TIANJIN — Powerade-Team Pilipinas coach Yeng Guiao’s call for the PBA to stay involved in forming the national team, endorsed earlier by Sta. Lucia Realty governor Buddy Encarnado, is about to reach a bigger audience.
PBA commissioner Renauld "Sonny" Barrios said Sunday, on the eve of the national team’s closing game against South Korea in the 25th Fiba-Asia Men’s Championship that he will seek the opinion of the board of governors on what direction to take.

RP five worth the investment

TIANJIN, CHINA— Even after Powerade-Pilipinas’ unexpected eighth-place windup at the Fiba Asia qualifier here, Coca-Cola executive JB Baylon said his company would gladly back another national five again.
“Definitely,” Baylon told the Inquirer when asked if Powerade would be willing to bankroll the RP team’s participation in such a tournament again. “The exposure we got (with the team) was worth every cent we invested.

Barrios open to RP pool of PBA cagers

TIANJIN, China – PBA Commissioner Renauld “Sonny” Barrios on Sunday said he’s open to the proposal of coach Yeng Guiao to maintain a pool of PBA players for future international meets and will get the consensus of the PBA board of governors once they're home.
Barrios is deviating from his previous announcement that the Powerade-Team Pilipinas that finished eighth in the just-ended FIBA-Asia event will be the last team to be formed and trained by the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Stags shoot for 10th straight win

Games on Monday(The Arena, San Juan City)10 a.m. - San Sebastian vs AUF (Jrs)11:45 a.m.- Jose Rizal Perpetual Help (Jrs)2 p.m.- San Sebastian vs AUF (Srs)4 p.m.- Jose Rizal vs Perpetual Help (Srs)

Perfect 10.
That’s what San Sebastian College tries to achieve on Monday when it tangles with Angeles University Foundation in a battle between the leader and cellar dweller at the start of the second round of the 85th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.
Even if coach Ato Agustin decides to rest most of his starting unit, including their No. 1 scorer in Jimbo Aquino, the Stags should find no problem beating the Great Danes.

Korea drops RP to 8th

TIANJIN — It wasn’t a buzzer-beating three-point shot, but the game-winning basket by South Korea felt like a dagger in the back from not too long ago.
The ghost of a heartbreaking loss seven years ago came back to haunt the Philippines Sunday as South Korea’s Yang Dong-Geun scored on a fast break layup with 1.7 seconds left after Powerade-Team Pilipinas missed three straight attempts, lifting his team to an 82-80 victory and a seventh place finish in the 25th FIBA Asia Men’s Championship here.

UAAP: Ateneo crushes DLSU, 81-65

Manila- Ateneo reaffirmed its mastery over La Salle with an 81-65 crushing Sunday at the jampacked Araneta Coliseum.
The Blue Eagles claimed solo lead at 8-1. The Green Archers, who dropped to 4-5, skidded to three straight losses for the first time since Franz Pumaren took over as coach in 1998.

PBA still best source of RP players, says Guiao

TIANJIN – Powerade Team Pilipinas may not be the last all-PBA selection playing in international competition after all.
That’s if Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and the Philippine Basketball Association can come up with another agreement calling on pro players to represent the country again in future international competitions.

Two-point loss to Korea reminiscent of '02 Asiad debacle

TIANJIN – The Busan nightmare haunted Powerade Team Pilipinas again as it dropped a heart-breaking 80-82 setback to South Korea at the close of the 25th FIBA Asia Championship here yesterday.
The Filipinos missed three field-goal attempts in the last 11 seconds then Yang Donggeun attacked the RP defense for the game-winning shot as the Koreans salvaged seventh place in the 11-day competition among 16 Asian nations.

Pumaren not giving up on beleaguered team

MANILA, Philippines - For the first time under Franz Pumaren’s watch, La Salle is on a three-game skid.But Pumaren, who has steered La Salle to five UAAP championships in the last 11 years, yesterday insisted there’s no reason to panic.
“There’s always a first time,” he said following an 81-65 loss to Ateneo, which also dealt the Taft-based squad a bitter loss exactly a week ago. La Salle lost to Adamson last Thursday, and from a 4-2 record seven days ago, the Green Archers are suddenly down to 4-5.
But Pumaren is not the type of coach who’d lose hope on his team.

Jr Warriors reach Passerelle quarterfinals

MANILA, Philippines - The University of the East Jr. Red Warriors upstaged St. Anthony School, 61-51, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the BEST Center Passerelle basketball tournament Saturday at The Arena in San Juan.
The win was the third for coach Mark Herrera’s Team B, which also routed Malate High School, 70-49, and Don Bosco Makati, 60-40, losing only to La Salle Greenhills for a 3-1 win-loss mark.

Eagles give Archers sound beating

MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo, which needed an extra period to stop La Salle last week, needed just two quarters this time to virtually dispose of its archrival.
The Eagles dished out their best game in the season and romped away with an 81-65 rout of the Archers to regain the solo lead in UAAP seniors basketball tournament before a record crowd at the Araneta Coliseum yesterday.