Category: Uncategorized

Another stellar Nimir Abdel-Aziz showing ends in loss

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The Netherlands’ Nimir Abdel-Aziz during a VNL 2024 Week 3 game in Manila. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Another offensive masterpiece of Nimir Abdel-Aziz went for naught as the Netherlands remained winless in Manila in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Week 3.

Abdel-Aziz unleashed 37 points but the Netherlands absorbed its second straight loss to Iran, 25-22, 22-25, 25-21, 20-25, 15-10, on Thursday at Mall of Asia Arena.

The Dutch star, who poured in 38 points in their Week 3 opener loss to Brazil two days ago, had another frustrating night as they remained out of the Final Eight picture with a 3-7 record in 13th place.

VNL 2024 SCHEDULE: Week 3 Manila, Philippines leg

Netherlands coach Roberto Piazza, speaking for Abdel-Aziz, said his player won the battle but Amin Esmaeilnezhad, who led Iran with 29 points for their second straight win, led his triumphant in the war.

“Nimir, he played a good game, but suddenly, Amin played better than Nimir. So, we have to respect that way,” said Piazza of Abdel-Aziz, who fired 27 attacks, nine aces, and a block.

“I have to be honest, I feel bad because we lost against Iran. It was also our leader’s task to keep alive the dream to be in Paris 2024, so I cannot be happy. Of course, they deserve a victory in the end, so I need to say to them ‘bravo’ and I need to think about our next two games,” he added.

READ: VNL 2024: Iran makes it back to back, beats Netherlands in 5 sets

Piazza urges his wards to play better as they hope to collect points to qualify for the Paris Olympics with two VNL games remaining against Japan on Friday and Canada on Saturday.

“I already spoke with the guys. There’s no other thing to do — we have to think about us, about to show how it’s possible to stay in the game. Also, when you have nothing to [lose], the only thing that you can do is to score [world ranking] points for the team,” said the Netherlands coach.

Gijs Jorna and Silvester Meijs seek to make the most of their remaining games in Manila.

“I think we have two more games in this amazing atmosphere. We play Japan here, which is going to be great. After we play Canada, which is also doing very good. We have to enjoy it because playing in the Philippines is something special. The fans love us and love volleyball. It’s up for us to enjoy,” Jorna said. “Thank you everybody for coming. We love playing in the Philippines and keep doing what you’re doing.”



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“We kept fighting but we made more mistakes than them today. It’s really simple. And it’s really hard to win,” Meijs added. “You’re really amazing. A lot of noise which we really love, so thank you!”

Creamline taps Erica Staunton as import for Reinforced tilt

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Erica Staunton is Creamline Cool Smashers’ import for the PVL Reinforced Conference. –CREAMLINE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Creamline is bringing American wing spiker Erica Staunton as its guest foreign player in the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference in July.

The Cool Smashers on Thursday welcomed the former US NCAA player to bolster their roster in the import-laden tournament.

“We’re thrilled to announce that Erica Staunton, a dynamic 23-year-old open and opposite spiker from the USA, is joining the Creamline Cool Smashers family,” the team wrote. “Her talent, passion, and energy are sure to bring even more excitement to our team.”

READ: Creamline somehow still found way to remain on top of PVL

Staunton played for Northeastern University in Division 1 before she transferred to Georgia University.

The 6-foot-1 versatile spiker, who also has pro experience in Finland with the Oriveden Ponnistus, joins the winningest PVL club, which recently completed a historic ’four-peat’ in the All-Filipino Conference.

Staunton is teaming up with Alyssa Valdez, Bernadeth Pons, Michele Gumabao, Pangs Panaga, Bea De Leon, Kyle Negrito, and Denden Lazaro-Revilla.

The availability of Alas Pilipinas players Jia De Guzman, Tots Carlos, and Jema Galanza is still up in the air in the midseason conference as the nationals will play in several tournaments in the FIVB Challenger Cup and SEA V.League.

The Reinforced Conference title has been elusive for Creamline, which last won a championship with an import in 2018. The Cool Smashers lost to the Petro Gazz Angels five years ago and settled for bronze in 2022.

Creamline was the third PVL team to unveil its reinforcement as Chery Tiggo recently welcomed Khat Bell, while PLDT brought back Elena Samoilenko.

The top four teams in the Reinforced Conference will qualify for the Invitational Conference in September with two foreign guest clubs.



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Yukien Andrada expected to be San Beda’s new top dog

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San Beda’s Yukien Andrada. –NCAA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—If San Beda hasn’t made it clear yet, it’s now obvious that the Red Lions are determined to defend the NCAA men’s basketball crown without their previous top star, Jacob Cortez.

In fact, coach Yuri Escueta said that he may have found the Red Lions’ new high-point man.

Unsurprisingly, it was someone who already did wonder for San Beda in the form of Yukien Andrada.

“We’re not really looking for him much but the ball just goes to him,” said Escueta with Inquirer Sports.

READ: NCAA: Yukien Andrada, Jacob Cortez relish San Beda’s return to Finals

“The good thing about Yuki is, he’s smart. He knows his decision-making is right most of the time. He knows how the system is already so the role given to him as a leader is a bit bigger compared to last year. Last year, he was in the backseat in terms of leadership and now it’s needed because we have a new core.”

Andrada was one of the Red Lions’ main gunners in their Season 99 championship.

The sharpshooting forward was the second-leading scorer of San Beda last year with averages of 12.81 points and 5.63 rebounds per game.

San Beda will take a hit next season with the departure of Cortez, who averaged 15.39 points per game, but that’s where the challenge comes in for Andrada and the new Red Lions.

READ: NCAA: Yuri Escueta, San Beda prepared if Jacob Cortez leaves

“It’s going to be a challenge for him to balance that leadership role and being able to play and perform at the same time.”

Thankfully for Escueta, Andrada and his new wards are prepared to take on the challenge of making a name for themselves sans Cortez.

The problem now lies on the coaching staff and how they’d reduce their pool to the final lineup come September.



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“Here in the offseason, I use everyone, I let everyone play. There are no Final 12, 15 nor 18 yet. It’s going to be a challenge for us coaches to cut that down. It’s a blessing at the same time, a hard thing for us to decide the final lineup.”

Naomi Osaka, 3 Grand Slam winners granted Wimbledon wildcard

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Japan’s Naomi Osaka reacts after a point during her women’s singles match against Poland’s Iga Swiatek on Court Philippe-Chatrier on day four of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros Complex in Paris on May 29, 2024. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP)

Japan’s Naomi Osaka was one of four Grand Slam champions granted a wildcard on Wednesday into the main draw for next month’s women’s singles at Wimbledon.

The 26-year-old, a former world number one and twice winner of both the Australian and US Opens, will be playing in the main draw of Wimbledon for the first time in five years after becoming a mother.

So too will former Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki, who also once topped the world rankings, with the 33-year-old Dane another recipient of a wildcard.

READ: Naomi Osaka looking at ‘bigger picture’ on her tennis comeback

Wildcards are given by the All England Club to players who are not ranked high enough to qualify directly into the main draw.

Wozniacki, disappointed to miss out on a wildcard at the French Open, told Britain’s PA news agency: “I have so many special memories.

“I won junior Wimbledon back in 2005, so it’s a long time ago. There’s something so special about playing on Wimbledon’s Centre Court that you can’t replicate anywhere else.”

Germany’s Angelique Kerber, the 2018 Wimbledon champion and another former world number one who took time out from tennis to start a family, has also received a wildcard entry into the tournament, which starts on July 1.

Another wildcard announced Wednesday went to home favorite Emma Raducanu, who made her breakthrough run to the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2021 — shortly before her stunning triumph in winning that year’s US Open as a qualifier.

It will be the first time in two years that Raducanu, 21, has been on the grass courts of Wimbledon following wrist and ankle surgery in 2023.

Last week, Raducanu lost an all-British semi-final at the Nottingham Open to eventual champion Katie Boulter in what was still an encouraging start to her grass-court campaign.



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Pascal Siakam, Pacers agree on $189M, four-year contract

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Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) grabs a rebound during the second half of Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference basketball finals against the Boston Celtics, Monday, May 27, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Pascal Siakam intends to sign a four-year, $189.5 million contract to remain with the Indiana Pacers when the NBA’s offseason moratorium is lifted in early July, a person with knowledge of the talks between the sides told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because neither the player nor the club may announce the agreement by league rule. ESPN, citing unnamed sources, was first to report that Siakam decided to remain with the Pacers.

Free agency does not begin until June 30, but this agreement was not in violation of any league rules. Under terms of the new collective bargaining agreement, teams could start speaking to their own free agents one day after the conclusion of the NBA Finals. And the Pacers were clear going into the offseason that retaining Siakam was a top priority, so it was no surprise that they wanted to begin official talks quickly.

READ: NBA: Pascal Siakam finds perfect fit in Pacers’ up-tempo offense

“The first very important step is to begin recruiting Pascal Siakam in earnest,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said a few weeks ago, shortly after the Pacers’ season ended. “That will start today with exit meetings. He’s a great player. He was tremendous for us.”

Siakam — a two-time All-Star and part of the Toronto team that won the 2019 NBA title — would be in line to make about $42 million next season and around $53 million in 2027-28, the final year of the new deal.

The Pacers acquired the 30-year-old power forward in a January trade, and he quickly became a major part of the team that would reach the Eastern Conference finals before falling to eventual NBA champion Boston. Siakam shot 55% from the field and 38% from 3-point range in 41 regular-season games with Indiana this past season.

Counting his time in Toronto, Siakam averaged 21.7 points and 7.1 rebounds this past season. The Pacers will have him and guard Tyrese Haliburton — who is about to enter the start of a $245 million, five-year deal that was agreed upon last summer — as their franchise cornerstones going forward.

Carlisle said he still considered this past season to be Year 2 of a rebuild in Indiana, but he noted that the acquisitions of Siakam and Haliburton (who was traded to Indiana in February 2022) fast-tracked the plan.

“The fact that all these pieces fit well together put us in a strong position this year,” Carlisle said when the season ended.



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LA Sparks rookie Cameron Brink tears ACL in left knee

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FILE–Cameron Brink #22 of the Los Angeles Sparks reacts during the game Storm at Climate Pledge Arena on June 11, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Steph Chambers / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

UNCASVILLE, Connecticut— Los Angeles rookie Cameron Brink tore the ACL in her left knee, the Sparks announced Wednesday.

The rookie forward had to be helped off the court after suffering the injury in the first quarter of the Sparks’ 79-70 loss to Connecticut on Tuesday night in the WNBA. Brink played under four minutes and committed one foul before getting hurt.

Once over to the sideline, the No. 2 pick in the draft hobbled toward the locker room, but was forced to stop as a result of the pain. A pair of Sparks personnel lifted Brink off her feet and carried her to the locker room.

“You never think it will happen to you. And despite all the hard work sometimes it does. This is hard to fathom but I know it will only make me stronger,” Brink wrote in a post to Instagram. “I will not be derailed and I will continue to love this life — I’m not defined by basketball, but it is something that I love deeply and I will work everyday to get back to it. It’s not goodbye basketball it’s just a see you later. I’m always so thankful for your thoughts and prayers.”

READ: Caitlin Clark, WNBA rookies draw near-record crowds for 1st month

The 22-year-old Brink came into the game averaging 8.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in her first season for Los Angeles (4-11). She’s tied with A’ja Wilson for the second-most blocks in the WNBA.

“Except for the 2019 season I’ve lost a starter to injury every single year I’ve been a head coach in this league,” Curt Miller said. “You just have to have the mentality of next person up and rally around it.”

Brink is on the U.S. 3×3 team for the Paris Olympics and a replacement will have to be named for her.

“Our thoughts are with Cameron as we wish her a speedy recovery. As a result of Cam’s injury, USA Basketball will begin the process of selecting an athlete to join the 2024 USA 3×3 Women’s National Team,” USA Basketball said in a statement. “We hope to see Cam back on the court and representing the red, white and blue soon.”

It’s the second consecutive Olympics that the U.S. team will have to replace one of its original players. Katie Lou Samuelson missed the 2021 Tokyo Games after she caught COVID right before the Olympics. She was replaced by Jackie Young, who helped the team go on to win a gold medal.

The Sparks head to New York to play two games against the Liberty on Thursday and Saturday.



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Detroit Pistons fire coach Monty Williams after one season

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FILE – Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Friday, March 29, 2024, in Washington. The Detroit Pistons have fired coach Monty Williams after just one season. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)

The Detroit Pistons fired coach Monty Williams on Wednesday after just one season that ended with an NBA-worst 14-68 record.

“Decisions like these are difficult to make, and I want to thank Monty for his hard work and dedication,” Pistons owner Tom Gores said in a statement. “Coaching has many dynamic challenges that emerge during a season and Monty always handled those with grace. However, after reviewing our performance carefully and assessing our current position as an organization, we will chart a new course moving forward.”

Last season was the first in what was a six-year, $78.5 million contract for Williams — one that, at the time, was the richest ever given to an NBA coach. The team started a front office rebuild when the season ended, including the hiring of Trajan Langdon as president of basketball operations, the departure of general manager Troy Weaver and now a vacancy at head coach.

READ: NBA: Pistons’ Monty Williams not backing down after missed call

The firing continues a wildly strange run for Williams. In 2021, as coach of the Suns, he went to the NBA Finals, where Phoenix led 2-0 before falling in six games to Milwaukee. In 2022, he was the NBA’s coach of the year in runaway voting. In 2023, the Suns fired him and now, in 2024, the Pistons have done the same.

The record for total value of a coaching contract has since been eclipsed; Miami gave Erik Spoelstra an eight-year extension worth $120 million earlier this year.

This was, by any measure, a disaster of a season for the Pistons. They started 2-1 and didn’t win another game for the next two months.

A 28-game losing streak, the longest ever in a single season in NBA history and tied for the longest ever when factoring in multiple seasons, turned the season into a debacle. The Pistons’ longest winning streak was two games (done on three occasions) and the roster was constantly in flux. Detroit used 31 different players over the course of the season and 36 different starting lineups and lost 39 times by double digits.

READ: NBA: Pistons hire Trajan Langdon as basketball operations president

The vacancy in Detroit is the third active one in the NBA, with Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers still seeking coaches. The Pistons’ move comes a week before the start of the NBA draft, with Detroit set to make the fifth overall pick on June 26 — someone that should be able to further enhance a young core led by Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren.

Those players, all 22 or younger, were the only three Pistons to start at least 60 games this past season.



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“We are unwavering in our commitment to bring a championship-caliber team to Detroit,” Gores said. “We will be diligent and swift in our search for a new head coach to lead our exciting young core of players and will continue our vision towards building a best-in-class front office that will help us achieve sustainable success.”

PVL: Choco Mucho acquires Dindin Santiago-Manabat from Akari

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FILE–Dindin Santiago Manabat is now with Choco Mucho Flying Titans in the PVL. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Dindin Santiago-Manabat is taking her act to Choco Mucho after her release from Akari ahead of the PVL Reinforced Conference in July.

Multiple sources on Thursday bared to Inquirer Sports that the Flying Titans have acquired Manabat after her switch from Akari to Nxled didn’t push through.

The source, who requested anonymity, didn’t divulge why Manabat requested a release.

READ: PVL: Dindin Manabat all praise for coach, bro-in-law Taka Minowa

Manabat, along with Bang Pineda, Trisha Genesis, and Jaja Maraguinot as well as Roselle Baliton, who is now signed with Galeries Tower, were sent to Nxled, while Akari received Ivy Lacsina, Kamille Cal, Cams Victoria, and Dani Ravena a month ago.

In an attempt to fill in each other’s needs, the sister teams also switched coaches with Taka Minowa now handling the Chargers

After Manabat’s release request was granted, she found her new home at Choco Mucho which will miss former MVP Sisi Rondina and middle blocker Cherry Nunag due to their duties with Alas Pilipinas.

The 30-year-old wing spiker is already training with the Flying Titans, who settled for back-to-back runner-up finishes in the past two All-Filipino Conferences.

Manabat, who has experience playing in Japan and Thailand, has joined her third PVL team as her stay with Akari lasted for more than a year since signing in 2023, ending her seven-year stay with Chery Tiggo, which she led to a breakthrough pro championship in the 2021 bubble with her sister Jaja Santiago.

READ: PVL: Choco Mucho, Alinsunurin hope to overcome stars’ absence

Inquirer sought Akari team manager Mozzy Ravena and Choco Mucho coach Dante Alinsunurin for comments but both have yet to respond as of posting time.

In the Collegiate Press Corps awards on Monday evening, Alinsunurin bared the team was eyeing free agents and rookies to fill in the void left by Rondina and Nunag and as Des Cheng and Kat Tolentino continue to recover, but he didn’t disclose names.

Manabat, a former National University star, was the top 11 scorer in the All-Filipino Conference with a total of 112 points as the Chargers couldn’t make it to the semifinals for the past in her four-conference stay but they improved to seventh place in the past two tournaments.

Akari, which hasn’t released a statement about its trade, already played an exhibition game with their new players Lacsina and Cal and returnees Victoria and Ravena. Nxled will bank on Pineda, Genesis, Lycha Ebon, Chiara Permentilla, Jho Maraguinot, and her sister Jaja.



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Nxled holds the fifth pick, followed by Akari, while Choco Mucho will select second to the last from the 47 rookie aspirants, who will have a two-day Draft Combine from June 25 to 26 at Gameville Ballpark in Sheridan, Mandaluyong.

Brown, Tatum answer critics while leading Celtics to title

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Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum (0) hugs Jaylen Brown during the second half in Game 5 of the NBA Basketball Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

BOSTON — In 2008, the Celtics ended a 22-year NBA championship drought led by a Big 3.

Sixteen years later, they did it again following the play of a dynamic duo.

When Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were drafted third overall in back-to-back years in 2016 and 2017, they were almost instantly branded with the hopes of a franchise that was desperately chasing its elusive 18th championship.

Along the way they’ve endured criticism about their individual play and questions about whether two players with similar skill sets could co-exist.

They answered those questions emphatically on Monday night, leading to Celtics to a 106-88 Game 5 NBA Finals victory over the Dallas Mavericks to capture the franchise’s 18th championship, setting it alone among NBA champions.

READ: Celtics rout Mavericks to win record 18th NBA championship

“Getting drafted, that’s something that you dream about. But this is at the top of the mountain,” Tatum said afterward. “To be able to say we did it, that we came together and we won a championship. Banner No. 18 has been hanging over our head for so many years. To know that we’re going to be engraved in history, and it still hasn’t like registered. I’m just still trying to process it all.”

Tatum and Brown grasped their first Larry O’Brien Trophy after 107 playoff games together, the most for any duo before winning a title.

It took longer than expected, but Tatum said it was part of a process he didn’t fully understand until celebrating postgame.

“Coming up short and having failures makes this moment that much better,” he said. “Because you know what it feels like to lose. You know what it feels like to be on the other side of this and be in the locker room and hearing the other team celebrating, hearing them celebrate on your home floor. That was devastating.”

Tatum finished with 31 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds in Monday’s win. It is the third-most points scored by a Celtics player in a Finals clincher behind only John Havlicek (40 vs. Lakers, 1968) and Tommy Heinsohn (37 vs. Hawks, 1957).

Brown had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists. But he earned Finals MVP honor on the heels of a 30-point performance in Game 3 that gave the Celtics a 3-0 lead.

READ: Jaylen Brown is Finals MVP as Celtics clinch historic NBA title

“It could have gone to Jayson,” Brown said of the MVP award. “Jayson, I can’t talk enough about his selflessness. I can’t talk enough about his attitude. It’s just how he approached not just this series or the Finals but just the playoffs in general. And we did it together as a team, and that was the most important thing.”

Brown and Tatum’s journey has included five trips to at least the conference finals together, as well as a 2022 loss in the Finals to the Golden State Warriors in a series that saw Boston relinquish a 2-1 lead.

Still, Celtics ownership continued to build around them, even through shakeups that included failed free agency acquisitions of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, as well as changes to the core of the ’22 Finals teams that included trading longtime veteran Marcus Smart and former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon.

It only intensified the microscope under Brown and Tatum, said veteran Al Horford, who has played alongside them for six of his 17 years in the NBA.

READ: NBA: Jayson Tatum says past pain inspired Boston Celtics

He’s in awe of the maturity they’ve displayed at 27 and 26 years old, respectively.

“Those two guys continue to take steps forward. People all year criticizing them, all that expectation, all the pressure,” Horford said. “They did it. And they’ve done it at a young age. They led our group. I’m just very proud of those guys and to put everything aside and focus on winning.”

Brown said he’s most proud of how he and Tatum have grown together over the past seven seasons together.



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“We’ve been through a lot, the losses, the expectations,” Brown said. “The media have said all different types of things: We can’t play together, we are never going to win. We heard it all. But we just blocked it out, and we just kept going. I trusted him. He trusted me. And we did it together.”