Tag: betting bonus

Germany beats France, stays in Final Eight hunt

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Gyorgy Grozer of Germany during a game against France in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Week 3 in Manila.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — György Grozer stepped up for Germany with 21 points to stun France, 25-23, 25-27, 25-20, 25-23, to keep their Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Final Eight bid on track on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.

The 39-year-old Grozer, who wasn’t part of last year’s Germany team in the VNL to focus on the Olympic qualifier, continued to prove that age is just a number as he led a balanced attack to beat contender France and improve to a 4-5 record for ninth place behind No. 8 Cuba (4-4).

“For me, this is my first game after a long time for the season to finish so of course, I have my mistakes still and it’s not going around but we are working on [it],” said Grozer after pounding 18 kills, two aces, and a block. 

VNL 2024 SCHEDULE: Week 3 Manila, Philippines leg

“I think today we did already really great things like [in] the team. We were fighting. In important moments we didn’t put down our heads, we stayed strong and we were fighting against really really strong team so I am glad that we won today.”

It’s Grozer’s first time to play in the Philippines and he’s loving the experience, playing in front of an ecstatic crowd.

“It was really great. I was really surprised and happy that we had so many fans today here and I mean, two different teams played [today] like France and Germany and there’s a great atmosphere in the gym,” said Grozer, who retired twice from volleyball in 2016 and 2020 but still decided to keep on playing. “I was really enjoying and thanks to all the Filipino fans who are supporting us and pushing us. It’s really great to play here in the Philippines.”

The Germans prevented the French from forcing a decider after fighting back from a 19-21 deficit in the fourth set. Lukas Maase took charge to give Germany a 23-22 lead but his error tied the set anew. Moritz Reichert and Grozer delivered the finishing blows for their second straight win coming off a Week 2 win over Turkey.

READ: VNL set for Manila leg with Japan and USA headlining

Maase and Reichert delivered 12 points each. Tobias Krick and Tobias Brand added 10 points, as setter Lukas Kampa’s playmaking led to five double-digit scorers.

Seeking to make it to the final week in Poland, Germany battles Canada in less than 24 hours on Thursday at 11 a.m.

France remained in fifth place with a 6-3 record tied with Japan as Jean Patry carried the team with 20 points off 17 attacks two blocks and an ace. Trevor Clevenot had 16 points to backstop Patry.

The French Spikers try to bounce back against Iran on Friday at 11 a.m.



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Give men’s league a chance

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Retamar–MARLO CUETO/INQUIREr.net

The sport of volleyball has enjoyed a sudden rise in popularity, with the women’s UAAP and PVL leagues drawing record-breaking gate attendance.

Unfortunately, however, the men’s tournament have yet to receive the same attention from fans, something which young and talented national team setter Owa Retamar, who just wrapped up his playing years in the UAAP with National University (NU), hopes to be able to affect change.

“We know that here in the Philippines, when you say volleyball, people think about the women,” Retamar told the Inquirer after being named by the Collegiate Press Corps as the UAAP men’s volleyball player of the year on Monday night in Pasig City.

“The fans want longer rallies and intervals, but in the men’s (leagues) we have faster exchanges and faster kills and that’s how people see men’s volleyball,” the 22-year-old playmaker said.

Retamar was the unquestioned leader of the Bulldogs during his tenure at National. The team has also been the most dominant collegiate force in the men’s UAAP of late, recently pocketing a fourth consecutive championship under coach Dante Alinsunurin.

With his collegiate stint over, Retamar, who was also a part of the men’s national team that bagged the silver medal in the 30th Southeast Asian Games in 2019, is taking his act to Cignal in the Spikers Turf where he hopes to bring over NU fans.

“I hope we can be given the chance of gaining crowd support,” he said of the men’s pro league, which he also hopes would inspire the next generation of players.

“Since we first joined the national team, we have been doing everything we can to help bring more attention to the men’s volleyball team,” Retamar added. “We are doing what we are doing for the next generation to carry on, and we will improve the sport so they can take volleyball further.

“So I am happy and I feel proud, even though there is a bit of pressure and we rarely rest.” INQ



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Jaylen Brown is Finals MVP as Celtics clinch historic NBA title

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Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, center, raises the MVP trophy after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Jaylen Brown was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Monday as his Boston Celtics polished off the Dallas Mavericks four games to one to earn a record 18th championship.

“It was a full team effort,” Brown said as he accepted the Finals MVP trophy named for Celtics legend Bill Russell.

The 27-year-old averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists in five Finals games and delivered a strong defensive effort against Dallas star Luka Doncic, the regular-season scoring leader.

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

“I share this with my brothers and my partner in crime Jayson Tatum — he was with me the whole way so we share this together,” Brown said.

The Celtics claimed their first title since 2008. They had reached the finals in 2022 only to come up short against the Golden State Warriors and last season they agonizingly failed to get back to the championship series, falling to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.

On a mission this season, the Celtics won a league-leading 64 regular-season games.

They swept the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals — Brown earning MVP honors in that series, too.

READ: Celtics will win NBA title if Tatum, Brown focus on details, not emotions

Brown, in the first year of a mammoth five-year, $286 million contract extension with the Celtics, earned his third All-Star nod, but it was Tatum, not Brown, most often pointed to as the team’s top star.

Snubbed for All-NBA honors and by selectors for the US Olympic basketball team for Paris, Brown now has the honor he really craved — an NBA title — and the Finals MVP to go with it.

Brown, who was taken third overall in the 2016 draft, shared a long, heartfelt embrace with Tatum as the final moments of the 106-88 clinching victory ticked off.



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Brown said he’d left doubts from previous playoff misses go this season.

“I never hung my head,” he said.

PH athletics with record number of bets in Paris Olympics

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French Gendarmes walk past a banner for the forthcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games outside The National Assembly – Assemblee nationale in Paris on May 5, 2024. AFP

With three more track stars sure to qualify, Philippine athletics has written a piece of history even before the Paris Games get off the ground.

Hurdlers John Cabang Tolentino and Lauren Hoffman are just counting the days before their acceptance notice for the Games arrives along with sprinter Kristina Knott with less than two weeks before the qualification ends as they join pole vault ace EJ Obiena in the world’s fashion capital.

Robyn Brown, the women’s 400-meter hurdles Asian champion, could even bring the qualifiers of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) to five.

“They still have to compete in a tournament or two before the qualification window closes. The list of those who made it to Paris will be released a week later,’’ Patafa President Terry Capistrano told the Inquirer.

Flagbearers

Meanwhile, boxers Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio will carry the Philippine flag in the parade of nations in the opening ceremony.

Paalam and Petecio, who both secured silver medals in the previous Olympics in Tokyo, were designated flagbearers by the Philippine Olympic Committee for the opening rites set July 26.

Tolentino, the Spain-based Filipino record holder in the men’s 110-m hurdles, is ranked 28th out of 40 qualifiers in his event with one more race to go at the Meeting Madrid in Spain on June 21 prior to the June 30 deadline set by World Athletics.

Hoffman, sitting at 34th with 40 Olympic slots in the women’s 400-m hurdles, will wrap up her slot in the prestigious Czeslaw Cybulski Memorial in Poznan, Poland, on June 23.

Sending four to five Filipino athletes from track and field is an unparalleled feat no Philippine Olympic delegation has done in a century of participation in the global sports showcase.

So far, the highest number of track and field athletes to the Olympics was three—hurdler Eric Cray, marathoner Mary Joy Tabal and long jumper Marestella Torres—during the 2016 edition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. INQ



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PBA: Newsome’s ‘most significant’ shot seals crowning moment

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Meralco Bolts’ Chris Newsome during Game 6 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Not only did Chris Newsome claim his first PBA championship, it was also his shot that made it happen.

With the title on the line, Newsome took matters into his own hands and drained a jumper with 1.3 seconds left that also delivered Meralco its first-ever PBA title.

“Probably the most significant one up there. It’s up there, for sure,” said an ecstatic Newsome.

“I’ve had plenty of game-winners and big shots but that one for the championship, to seal it, I think that one makes it really, really special. I’m excited to go back and watch the game when I get the time.”

READ: PBA: Chris Newsome repays Meralco ‘faith’ with title-clinching shot

After June Mar Fajardo tied the game at 78 with 3.3 seconds remaining, Meralco turned to Newsome, who flourished in the game’s most pressure-packed moment and drilled a corner jumper with 1.3 ticks to go.

“Whenever your team believes in you, it’s huge. Whenever it comes to those moments, specifically, that’s on them for trusting me.”

“They see the work I put in every single day, my teammates see it too so for them to trust me, it means a lot.”

READ: Finals MVP Chris Newsome leads Meralco breakthrough PBA title

Newsome ended up with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals to cap off a stellar PBA Finals campaign.

To no one’s surprise, Newsome bagged the Finals MVP award averaging of 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists after six games.

“I don’t want to let them down but at that point, it’s just about being courageous, brave and understand that it’s bigger than just me. That shot wasn’t just me, it was for the team, the organization, for everybody.”



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Team USA faces ‘mountain to climb’ as VNL unfolds in Manila

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USA team captain Micah Christenson during a press conference ahead of the VNL Week 3 in Manila. –PNVF PHOTO

VNL 2024 schedule: Week 3 Manila, Philippines leg

MANILA, Philippines — Team USA braces for a tough climb to the Final Eight of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) as it plays crucial games in its first stint in Manila for Week 3.

All eyes are on the Americans as they play at Mall of Asia Arena for the first time in the Philippines’ third straight hosting of the prestigious world tournament.

“It’s a pleasure to be here. It’s our first year here. We felt a lot of love online and on social media from Filipino fans so to finally be here and experience it in person is a real pleasure,” USA skipper Micah Christenson said. “We’re excited to experience it all.”

Christenson, the reigning VNL Best Setter, knows his team is facing the daunting task of making it to the Top 8 as they are currently in 12th place with a 3-5 record.

“I think we’re trying to just improve and get better. We’ve got a bit of a mountain to climb in terms of qualifying for the finals,” he said. “But we brought our climbing gears so we’re going to try our best to get up there.”

READ: ‘Great expectations’ ahead for Japan in VNL Manila leg

USA coach John Speraw, meanwhile, said is awe of the Philippine volleyball’s popularity that they will finally get to experience it in Manila, where the FIVB Men’s World Championship next year will also be held. 

“We were talking about the fact that we had not had an opportunity to come to the Philippines yet we were looking forward to that day. Here we are so we’re excited to be here and grateful for the opportunity to experience it,” Speraw said.

“I’ve heard so much about which is the support of the Philippine fans and how much volleyball has grown here in this country. And certainly a precursor to the world championships next year.”

The USA will debut in Manila on Wednesday against Iran at 7 p.m. after the 3 p.m. game between France and Germany.

“We’re trying to have our best week of VNL and play our best volleyball this summer and as we look to continue to improve with the ultimate goal in mind. We’re excited to get out and compete and see all the fans,” said the USA coach.

The Top 8 teams will qualify in the VNL Final Round in Poland. The league is also serving as the final volleyball tournament before the Paris Olympics with five tickets based on the FIVB World Rankings up for grabs.



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Only seven countries – USA, host France, Germany, Brazil, Japan, Poland, and Canada – have booked their Olympic seats so far.

The Netherlands and Brazil open the VNL Leg 3 on Tuesday at 5 p.m., followed by the main game between Japan and Canada at 8:30 p.m.

Carlo Paalam, Nesthy Petecio to carry PH flag in Paris Olympics

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FILE–Nesthy Petecio.–POOL PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Boxers Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio will carry the Philippine flag in the parade of nations at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Paalam and Petecio, who both secured silver medals in the previous Olympics in Tokyo, were designated flag-bearers by the Philippine Olympic Committee for the opening rites of the global sports showpiece on July 26.

The 25-year-old Paalam got the silver after a split-decision defeat to Galal Yafai of Great Britain during their men’s flyweight finale three years ago while Petecio, 32, earned the distinction as the first Filipino woman boxer who reached the podium in the Olympics.

READ: Carlo Paalam hurries to be 100 percent battle-ready for Paris Olympics

Carlo Paalam qualifies for Paris Olympics

FILE–The Philippines’ Carlo Paalam reacts after winning against Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zoirov during their men’s fly (48-52kg) quarter-final boxing match during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo on August 3, 2021. (Photo by Luis ROBAYO / POOL / AFP)

The silver finish of both Paalam and Petecio plus the bronze medal of boxer Eumir Marcial in the middleweight division broke the country’s medal drought in the sport since Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco claimed a silver medal in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games.

A total of 15 Filipinos have already booked their spots in Paris headed by pole vaulter EJ Obiena, gymnasts Carlos Yulo, Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo, Levi Ruivivar and weightlifters Vanessa Sarno, Elreen Ando and John Ceniza.

READ: Hard work continues for Nesthy Petecio after clinching Paris Olympics berth

Joining them are fencer Samantha Catantan, rower Joanie Delgaco and boxers Hergie Bacyadan, Aira Villegas and Marcial.

Several more athletes from athletics and swimming are expected to qualify after the Olympic qualification door closes on June 30.



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Junior PGT starts Visayas swing in Iloilo

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Young golfers from Iloilo City and surrounding areas get the Visayas swing of the Junior Philippine Golf Tour (JPGT) Series I going Monday at the age-old layout formerly known as Sta. Barbara in Iloilo.

Tiffany Bernardino looms as the hometown bet with the biggest chance as she campaigns in the 13-15 girls’ division even as championship trophies in the 8-9, 10-12, and 16-18 for boys and girls will be contested throughout the week at the course now known as Iloilo Golf Club.

Players earn points based on their performance in each tournament, with no limit on the number of events they can enter in a series. However, players in the Visayas and Mindanao swings will have only their two best results counting toward the final rankings for the 72 spots in the JPGT Match Play Championships at The Country Club in Laguna in October.

“I am excited to play at Iloilo’s historic golf course. My focus will be hitting the fairways and greens. I need to trust my game and play as best as I can. Hopefully I’ll be able to figure how to conquer the long fairways,” said the 13-year-old Bernardino.

Those playing in the Luzon will have four of their best tournaments counting for the final match play rankings.



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Charles Barkley says next season will be his last on TV

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FILE – Charles Barkley arrives at the NBA Awards on June 24, 2019, at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

Charles Barkley said Friday that next season will be his last on TV, no matter what happens with the NBA’s media deals.

The Hall of Fame player has spent the last 24 years working as a studio analyst for TNT, which could lose the rights to broadcast NBA after next season.

But no matter where the games end up, Barkley won’t be following.

READ: Charles Barkley sticking with Turner, ends LIV talks

“There’s been a lot of noise around our network the last few months and I just want to say I’ve talked to all the other networks, but I ain’t going nowhere other than TNT,” Barkley said while working on NBA TV’s NBA Finals postgame show.

The NBA’s current deals with ABC-ESPN and Turner Sports expire after next season and the league has been talking with NBC, ESPN and Amazon, among other networks and platforms, about what comes next.

Commissioner Adam Silver said last week he hopes new long-term deals will be completed shortly.

READ: 76ers unveil statue honoring Charles Barkley

Barkley and broadcast teammates Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith have discussed their uncertain future on their popular “Inside the NBA” studio show.

Barkley would seemingly draw interest from any network televising NBA, but the 61-year-old has decided that 25 years will be enough and he will “pass the baton,” hopefully, to a TNT teammate such as Vince Carter or Jamal Crawford.

“But I have made the decision myself no matter what happens, next year is going to be my last year on television,” he said.



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Amid expectations, Shaina Nitura focused on getting better

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Adamson’s Shaina Nitura.–Photo from SGVIL

MANILA, Philippines — Shaina Nitura ended her high school career with another perfect championship run with Adamson in the Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational League.

Expectations are higher for Nitura after capping off her high school career with an unbeaten title run with the Baby Lady Falcons in the UAAP Season 86 girls’ volleyball tournament along with an MVP award before moving up to the collegiate ranks.

All eyes are on her, but the blue-chip rookie chooses to focus on helping the Adamson women’s team, which missed the UAAP Final Four last season.

“I’ll just be who I am. I don’t really care much about what others think because the more I stress over that stuff, the more I think about college coming up, and the more I stress, the worse I play. So, I’m just gonna focus on getting better as time goes on.”

READ: Adamson caps dominant stint with Shakey’s Girls volleyball crown

Nitura is grateful to have high school coach JP Yude, who will continue to guide her at the collegiate level with her graduating teammates Mary Grace Del Moral and Felicity Sagaysay.

“I chose to stick with Adamson and our coach. I’m really lucky because having a coach like him is rare. I can’t really put it into words, but all I know is he’s something else. God works through him to guide us and bring out our true potential.”

Yude praised the winning legacy left by Nitura in the high school ranks but he wants his longtime player to keep her feet on the ground as she continues to scratch the surface of her potential. 

“I’m really happy that the Lord gave her that talent, and she’s using it in such a positive way, bringing her teammates along with her with her attitude. Honestly, I’m always encouraging her because her attitude towards the game is something rare.”

“I always remind her that even though she’s achieved that much, she still needs to be humble, she needs to work all the time, not let pride get to her head, she needs to work every time to be a good example to her teammates and to lead them too,” he added.

Yude is elated to have Nitura in time for the Lady Falcons’ rebuild but losing three key players also poses a tough challenge to his high school team.



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“A big loss awaits us in the coming UAAP, but we’ll work hard for it. I know those who will remain will step up even more because their Ate Shai will be leaving,” he said.