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Maicah Larroza has added motivation heading into PVL Draft

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PVL Draft aspirant Maicah Larroza from La Salle during the Draft Combine. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Maicah Larroza has some extra motivation heading into the inaugural PVL Rookie Draft with her La Salle teammates Thea Gagate, Leila Cruz, and Julia Coronel among this year’s top prospects.

Gagate is set to be ZUS Coffee’s choice for the No.1 pick and Cruz and Coronel are expected to be picked, but Larroza is not taking it as a source of additional pressure, but rather as motivation.

“Of course, added motivation because they’re my teammates, I also want to play at their level,” said the versatile aspirant, who enjoyed with her batchmates in the two-day Draft Combine at GameVille Ball Park. 

LIST: Applicants for the first ever PVL Rookie Draft

“I really enjoyed this PVL Draft Combine, especially knowing that some of the players I used to compete against were there. I felt very comfortable and the process went smoothly for me.”

Larroza, a substitute wing spiker in her playing years for La Salle, is bringing all the things she learned from coach Ramil De Jesus, who fully supported their decision to enter the PVL draft.

“Coach Ramil always teaches us about discipline, determination, hard work, and perseverance. He encourages us to explore constantly and reminds us to enjoy the things we love,” she said.

READ: PVL: Petro Gazz looking at best available players in the draft

“I told my coach, ‘, I’m going to enter the draft,’ while I was still wearing my toga. We attended the thanksgiving event to say goodbye properly, and we parted ways on good terms.”

Now that she’s moving on to a new chapter of her career, Larroza offers her versatility as she can play on both ends as spiker and libero. 

“It depends on the team that picks me whether I play as an outside hitter or libero. I’ll embrace any role they give me,” Larroza said. “I can offer my teammates the assurance that they can rely on me every time I step onto the court, whether leading the offense or defense.”



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Steph Curry, LeBron ‘excited’ to join forces for Paris Olympics

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FILE–LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors headline Team USA’s Paris Olympics team. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images/AFP 

NBA superstars LeBron James and Stephen Curry are “excited” by the prospect of joining forces as the United States chases a fifth straight gold medal at next month’s Olympics, USA coach Steve Kerr said Thursday.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar James and Golden State Warriors ace Curry will finally line up in Team USA for the first time in Paris after facing off against each other in 52 games during a 15-year rivalry in the NBA.

USA and Golden State coach Kerr said Thursday the two basketball icons were relishing the prospect of teaming up.

READ: LeBron, Durant, Steph Curry lead Team USA for Paris Olympics

“LeBron and Steph are really excited to play together,” Kerr said. “I’ve talked to both of them about this idea of being together after going against one another with such high stakes over the years.

“They obviously fit really well together. I think the idea of Steph playing off the ball and LeBron pushing it in transition, that’s pretty intriguing.”

Curry has a 29-23 winning record against LeBron in the NBA, with a 17-11 record in playoff meetings.

Last season, the duo featured in one of the games of the year, combining for 82 points in a double-overtime thriller which saw the Lakers narrowly defeat Golden State 145-144.

READ: Team USA has to ‘come to play’ in Paris Olympics, says Carmelo

“It’s something I’ll be able to talk about with my grandkids, about being able to compete with one of the greatest players to ever play the game,” LeBron said of Curry after that instant classic.

Kerr said Curry and Lebron will aim to gel over the course of a training camp which begins in Las Vegas next week before a warm-up game against Canada on July 10.

The USA squad also has pre-Olympic games in Abu Dhabi and London before their opening group game of the Olympics against Serbia on July 28 in Lille.

“They’re really excited to compete together for the first time and to find over the course of the practices and the friendlies some of the nuances that they can really exploit and explore, to just to see where they can have an impact for each other,” Kerr said.

James and Curry are part of one of the most powerful USA teams ever to take part in the Olympics, with a roster that also includes the likes of Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum and Joel Embiid.

“Our roster is obviously laden with stars and players who have accomplished so much,” Kerr said. “And what I love about these guys is they want to accomplish more.



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“They want to win an Olympic gold medal, and that’s why they all signed up for this.”

Alex Eala misses out on Wimbledon main draw

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FILE–Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala fails to advance to the Wimbledon main draw. –VENETO OPEN via ALEX EALA FACEBOOK

MANILA, Philippines—Alex Eala missed out on the chance to advance to the Wimbledon main draw after falling to New Zealand’s Lulu Sun, 7-6(3), 7-5, in the last round of the qualifiers late Thursday.

The Filipino tennis ace just needed one win to get to the main draw, which would’ve made her the first Filipino to make a pro Grand Slam appearance.

Eala outlasted higher-ranked Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia and French bet Jessika Ponchet to advance to against Sun.

READ: Alex Eala closes in on Wimbledon main draw after big win

Sun, the world’s no. 123, proved to be too much for the 19-year-old Eala and it showed late in the first set.

Eala, an Asian Games bronze medalist, took an early commanding 5-2 lead over Sun to move just one win away from winning the opening set.

However, Sun came storming back and took a 6-5 lead en route to the first set win.

READ: Alex Eala eyes another fruitful year starting with Australian Open

The same story happened in the following set, with Eala winning two straight games to open the second before Sun retalited to keep the Filipino bet at bay.

It was not the first time that Eala fell short in the last round of the Grand Slam qualifiers and failed to make it to the main tournament.

Eala also fell short of making it to the French Open main draw last month after losing in the final round.



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Bronny James, LeBron’s son, taken by Lakers with 55th pick

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Southern California’s Bronny James brings the ball up the court during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Washington in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/File)

It was the dream that LeBron James first floated a few years ago, the notion of playing in the NBA alongside one of his sons.

And it’s a step closer to reality now.

Bronny James — the oldest son of the NBA’s all-time scoring leader and four-time champion — was drafted Thursday by the Los Angeles Lakers, the team that his father has played for since 2018. Bronny James was taken with the No. 55 overall pick, deep in the second round and with only three picks remaining in this year’s draft.

Adding further intrigue to the move: LeBron James can become a free agent next week, which means he could choose to leave the Lakers and sign elsewhere.

The draft move doesn’t guarantee that father and son will actually play in a game together, nor does it even guarantee that Bronny James will be on the Lakers’ roster next season. But it certainly raises the possibility that it could happen in what would be an NBA first — a father-son on-court duo in the league simultaneously as players. There have been about 100 instances in NBA history of players joining the league after their fathers played, but those always came at least five years after the father’s career ended.

But LeBron James’ incredible longevity — he’ll match Vince Carter for the longest career as an NBA player ever this coming season, which will be his 22nd in the league — makes the father-son duo possible.

“With the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA draft, the Los Angeles Lakers select Bronny James from the University of Southern California,” NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said in announcing the pick, making the moment official for the 19-year-old, who was born just before the start of his father’s second NBA season.

Bronny James is a guard, one who was listed at 6-foot-4 on Southern California’s roster but measured at 6 feet, 1 1/2 inches at the draft combine. That would make him one of the shortest players in the NBA, but his athleticism and defensive ability helped give him this opportunity.

He played one year of college basketball at USC and averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last season. He played in 25 games, missing the start of the season after needing a procedure last year to fix what was diagnosed as a congenital heart defect, which was found after he went into cardiac arrest during a summer workout.

A panel of doctors cleared Bronny James for NBA play last month.

Day 2 of the draft saw 24 other players get taken before Bronny James, though none of them — not even close, really — got the attention that the No. 55 selection received, for obvious reasons.

The 55th pick rarely turns out to be a player who captures a slew of attention. The best 55th pick in NBA history would be current Miami Heat guard Patty Mills, selected in 2009 and someone who has scored 7,893 points in his 15-season career.

Some other notable No. 55 picks include Marc Iavaroni, Mark Blount, Kenny Gattison and E’Twaun Moore. There’s never been a No. 55 pick that was an NBA All-Star, an All-NBA player, an All-Rookie team player or an All-Defensive team pick.



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Last season’s No. 55 pick, Isaiah Wong, scored exactly two points for Indiana as a rookie. Add up every No. 55 pick ever, and their NBA career scoring total is 28,364 points — more than 12,000 points less than LeBron James has scored in his career.

Alex Eala closes in on Wimbledon main draw after big win

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FILE– Filipino tennis player Alex Eala in the WTA Veneto Open. -VENETO OPEN/RAFA NADAL ACADEMY

Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala just moved a win away from entering the main draw of Wimbledon.

Eala beat Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia, 1-6, 7-6(9), 6-3 in a marathon match in the second round of the Wimbledon qualifiers on Wednesday, pushing her closer to a pro Grand Slam debut.

Eala battled back from a first-set loss and saved eight match points to force a decider against her higher-ranked opponent, who was seeded No. 14 in the qualifiers.

READ: Alex Eala hits biggest pro career win at Madrid Open over world no. 41

Now standing in the way of a historic Wimbledon stint is Lulu Sun of New Zealand. Their match is at 7:30 pm on Thursday.

Sun won 6-4 4-6 7-6 (6) Czech Republic’s Gabriela Knutson to advance against Eala.

Eala, the first Filipino to capture a singles’ Grand Slam by ruling the 2022 US Open girls singles, opened the Wimbledon qualifiers with a  7-6, 6-4 win on Tuesday over France’s Jessika Ponchet.

In May, the 19-year-old Eala also closed in on a main draw berth in the French Open but yielded to Julia Riera of Argentina in the final round.



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Teams begin plotting PVL Draft strategies

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It’s been hailed as a landmark moment in the Premier Volleyball League, one that could improve the league’s balance in the long run.

But after two days of the Draft Combine, it’s time for teams to make serious decisions.

“I think there’s a lot of talent. As I’ve said before I came to the Philippines, there’s a lot of talent in Philippine volleyball,” Godfrey Okumu, an assistant coach for Galeries Tower, said on Wednesday.

That rich mix of talent will need sorting out for the PVL’s first Rookie Draft in league history, with only ZUS Coffee declaring outright that it is selecting Thea Gagate with the No. 1 overall pick. Capital1, which has the second overall pick, has been mum on its choice. “I’m just looking at the height and if the player will fit our system,” said Capital1 coach Roger Gorayeb. “Players grew up in different systems so it would be great to find someone who can adjust easily [to our system].”

“We have a target that we’re discussing and we’re studying if we will benefit [in selecting] her,” added the veteran coach, who refused to name the player or her position.

Scrimmage

Galeries, picking third, is also playing its cards close to its chest, although the team has made its priorities clear.

“In our team, we hope that the person we will get will come in settled and get to know the team better,” Okumu said. “That’s the most important thing, building the team together. With the people who are in and the people coming in.”

A total of 47 rookie hopefuls participated in the Combine.

Day 2 saw the participants scrimmage with free agents at Gameville Ball Park, giving teams one last opportunity to gauge the skills of the players and their potential fit with the squads.

“[The combine was] definitely a big event for us … because we need to fill a lot of slots at ZUS,” said Kiara Cruz, Strong Group’s head of volleyball operations on Wednesday. “We see great potential from these players even aside from the likes of Thea Gagate ganyan, Leila Cruz. There are NCAA players and players from other places as well and they’re something to look out for.”ZUS has only six players under contract: St. Benilde products Cloanne Mondoñedo, Gayle Pascual, Michelle Gamit and Jade Gentapa, along with Dolly Verzosa and Mary Joy Onofre.

The Combine was valuable even for those picking late in the rounds.

“We get to see the capabilities of those who are not really that well-known,” said Creamline coach Sherwin Meneses, whose club will select last in the first round.



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“For the coaches, it’s important we get to see players personally,” said Choco Mucho coach Dante Alinsunurin, whose Flying Titans will pick before the Cool Smashers at No. 11.

After ZUS Coffee, Capital1 and Galeries Tower, Farm Fresh will be on the block with the fourth pick. The first round will then go on with Nxled, Akari, Cignal, PLDT, Chery Tiggo and Petro Gazz making their selections before Choco Mucho and Creamline.

Sean Chambers ‘perfect’ as Gilas assistant, says Tim Cone

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Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone adds Sean Chambers (third from the left) to his coaching staff. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—There’s another connection brewing inside Gilas Pilipinas’ camp en route to the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia.

Coach Tim Cone has added another long-time colleague to his coaching staff in the form of Sean Chambers.

Chambers and Cone had an Alaska connection built way back from 1989 to 2001 with the former as an import and the latter as the head tactician.

So when Gilas found themselves shorthanded in the staff department with LA Tenorio being busy due to Ginebra duties, Cone had no hesitations in bringing in Chambers.

READ: Gilas coach Tim Cone praises ‘ageless’ Alex Cabagnot

“Sean came at the last minute. He stepped in. He played with me for 13 years, he knows me personally as well as anybody I’ve ever met,” said Cone after Gilas’ 74-64 win over the Taiwan Mustangs at Philsports Arena on Monday.

Cone also revealed that it took some “begging” from him to the Far Eastern University, which has installed Chambers as the Tamaraws’ head coach for the upcoming UAAP season.

“We begged him and we begged FEU. Thank goodness, he said yes and FEU said yes,” explained the Ginebra mentor.

During their time together in the early 90s, the tandem of Cone and Chambers went on to win six PBA titles including a Grand Slam in the 1996 PBA season.

READ: Gilas coach Tim Cone says Scottie Thompson presence ‘irreplaceable’

It was also under Cone’s tutelage that Chambers won the Best Import award during the 1996 Governors’ Cup and the “Mr. 100%” Award in the 1991 season with the now-defunct Milkmen.

Now with the tandem on full display in the Gilas’ coaching staff, Cone is satisfied to have one of his former players calling the shots who knows how to play his own system.



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“He knows our system, he knows the Triangle, so he’s just the perfect guy. If you have been around him, he’s one of the most valuable people around you,” Cone said.

Kai Sotto join Koshigaya Alphas

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Kai Sotto finds his newest home at Koshigaya Alphas in the Japan B.League.

MANILA, Philippines—Kai Sotto has found his new home in the Japan B.League.

Weeks after his departure from the Yokohama B-Corsairs, the Koshigaya Alphas announced that they have acquired the services of the 7-foot-3 Filipino big as they are promoted to Division 1.

“The Koshigaya Alphas have reached an agreement with Kai Sotto (formerly of the Hiroshima Dragonflies) for the 2024-25 season… At only 22 years old, but also noticed by the world, the Philippine representative big man will be the new guardian of the Alphas,” wrote the team in an Instagram post on Friday.

Sotto, meanwhile, shared that he’s just as excited as the Alphas to start a new chapter in his B.League journey.

READ: Kai Sotto continues to shine in B.League return after Gilas stint

“I’m looking forward to being a part of the Koshigaya Alphas. The Alphas have been promoted from B2 and will want to prove that they can compete in B1,” said the Gilas big.

“I also chose Alphas to grow more and become a better player. [I’m] excited to see the city of Koshigaya. I’m especially looking forward to seeing the fans!”

In Sotto’s final stint with Yokohama, where he played after a loan clause with his former team Dragonflies, Sotto posted norms of 12.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in 34 outings.

READ: Kai Sotto bound to dominate Asia, believes Gilas coach Tim Cone

He helped the B-Corsairs finish with a 24-36 record.

The Alphas, though, will have to wait a few more days to start training with Sotto as he is currently on national duty with Gilas Pilipinas.

As of writing, Sotto is in Istanbul, Turkey for a couple of friendlies before Gilas’ Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament.



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He finished with nine points and nine rebounds in his last outing with the national team in their win against the Taiwan Mustangs, 74-64, which the Alphas must have watched intently.

Knicks to acquire Mikal Bridges in trade from Nets

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Mikal Bridges #1 of the Brooklyn Nets warms up before the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center on March 05, 2024 in New York City. Mike Lawrie/Getty Images/AFP

NEW YORK — Mikal Bridges is being traded by the Brooklyn Nets to the New York Knicks, where he will join Jalen Brunson and his other former Villanova teammates, two people with knowledge of the details said Tuesday.

The first trade between the New York rivals since 1983 will put Bridges in the lineup alongside Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, players who helped the Wildcats win two NCAA championships and were the core of a Knicks lineup that reached the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals last season.

READ: NBA: Knicks must weigh whether if being healthy enough is good enough

The Knicks will pay big to get him, with ESPN reporting that they are sending Bojan Bogdanovic to the Nets along with four unprotected first-round picks and one protected pick.

The deal was confirmed to The Associated Press under condition of anonymity because it is not yet official.



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Fil-Canadian libero makes case for roster spot in PVL combine

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Fil-Canadian libero Aleiah Torres during the PVL Rookie Draft combine.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino-Canadian libero Aleiah Torres excelled in several tests in the first-ever PVL Rookie Draft Combine, achieving a group-best 50 reps in the one-minute pushup and recording the fastest time in the modified agility T-test with 5.98 seconds on Tuesday at GameVille Ball Park in Mandaluyong City.

The Brock University product is among the 47 aspirants hoping to earn a roster spot from the 12 PVL teams in the inaugural Rookie Draft on July 8 at Novotel.

Torres, whose parents lived in Cavite and Tarlac before she was born and raised in Canada, applied for the draft, wanting to be part of the PVL’s growth and emergence as one of the country’s top leagues.

“I really like watching the teams here. The crowd’s really exciting. Everyone’s always involved when they’re watching the games,” she said. “I just thought it is super exciting and being able to play in the Philippines is just super special for me since I have lots of family here.”

In fact, Torres is hoping to meet Petro Gazz’s reigning All-Filipino MVP Brooke Van Sickle, Choco Mucho star Sisi Rondina, and her fellow Filipino-Canadian Savi Davison of PLDT.

READ: Almonte hopes to redeem self in PVL after down final year with Adamson

The 5-foot-4 libero, who started playing volleyball at 12 years old, is bringing her championship experience from Canada to the PVL.

“I played club volleyball and then I played in a university at Brock. I played for the varsity team there. We were really successful, we won three championships so hopefully I can bring my experience and my winning championship and mindset to whatever team I get drafted to,” Torres said.

READ: Unheralded player from Marinduque chases PVL dream

Torres, though, is tempering her expectations in the upcoming draft. All she can promise if a team drafts her is her athleticism, steady floor defense, and high volleyball IQ.

“I don’t really have too many expectations. I just came to have a lot of fun and play really good volleyball. Hopefully, I can contribute to whatever team I get drafted to and just experience everything that the Philippines has to offer,” she said.

“I think as a libero, I can read the game really well especially from the backcourt, playing defense and seeing what my teammates should be doing up in the net. I’ll let them know how many hitters they have or attack, what’s open for them. So, I think I really have high IQ on the court, good leadership, and just I think I’m really fast so I like to chase down some balls.”



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