Tag: ends

Gilas ends Olympic bid, but not after showcasing elite program

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Dwight Ramos (with ball) rues loss to Brazil, but lauds the national program’s progress. —FIBA.BASKETBALL

There will be chock-full of stories and thought pieces on Gilas Pilipinas’ run in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Latvia.

The Filipinos ended their stint—and their bid to make it to the Paris Olympics—after a 71-60 loss on Saturday to Brazil in the capital city of Riga.

“I don’t know what to say. It’s funny we didn’t expect to be here but then when we got here we’d expect to win. So it’s painful that we didn’t especially having that halftime lead,” national coach Tim Cone said after the game.

READ: Gilas’ Olympic dream ends, bows out of Fiba OQT with loss to Brazil

His players, however, know they earned something from the arduous journey.

Take Kai Sotto, for example.

“I think the basketball world doesn’t give the Philippines much respect,” the 7-foot-3 big man said in an interview with the Olympic Channel.

“I think that’s our job to prove to the world [so] that teams got to respect us more,” he added.

The Philippines wowed global basketball with an 89-80 upset of World No. 6 Latvia and went on to prove that such a triumph was no fluke taking a narrow 96-94 loss to No. 23-ranked Georgia just 18 hours later.

HIGHLIGHTS: Gilas Pilipinas vs Brazil Fiba OQT semifinals July 6

“Now we know we could compete and we know we could play with European guys,” Cone said in an earlier television interview. “It’s just a matter of putting a really good game together.”

They almost did that, this time against a South American superpower ranked 12th in the world.

The Philippines took control of the first half and were up six at the break, before the Brazilians asserted themselves at the start of the third quarter to pull away.

“Them (Brazilians) going on a, what, 12-0 or 14-0 run on us to start the third quarter, was painful to watch. But there’s a reason Brazil’s 12th-ranked in the world and they proved that tonight,” Cone said.

READ: Gilas win over Latvia puts spotlight on Tim Cone’s triangle offense

It was actually an 18-0 run by the South Americans that had the Filipinos’ hopes of an Olympic stint caving in.

“[I]t just takes one night. You don’t show up and you lose. [S]o today we just didn’t play our best and Brazil just beat us,” said guard Dwight Ramos, a Gilas program fixture who finished with 13 points.

But it was also Ramos who earlier gave the Olympic Channel a perspective of what the team was able to do in Latvia.



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“[W]e’re finally making strides, hanging tough with the teams, and beating teams we shouldn’t,” he said. “I think it’s a great feeling, and the progress we’ve been making over the years—I’m glad to be a part of it from the beginning.”

Gilas’ Olympic bid ends, bows out of Fiba OQT with loss to Brazil

On: By: admin


Gilas Pilipinas’ June Mar Fajardo against two Brazil defenders during the Fiba OQT semifinals game in Riga, Latvia. –FIBA PHOTO

Gilas Pilipinas saw its dream to make it to the Paris Olympics end on Saturday night after losing to world No. 12  Brazil, 71-60, in the semifinals of the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Riga, Latvia.

A third-quarter meltdown for Gilas Pilipinas spelled the end after the Filipinos allowed Brazil to go on a crippling 24-6 run that erased whatever strong start they had to the game.

It was all Brazil from that point with its star Bruno Caboclo catching fire and fueling his team’s push for the Summer Games. Caboclo, who played for several NBA teams, finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

LIVE UPDATES: Gilas Pilipinas vs Brazil Fiba OQT semifinals July 6

Justin Brownlee, who averaged 27 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 8.5 assists in the group phase for Gilas, just couldn’t find his usual shots and was limited to just 15 points–all but three in the first two quarters.

Brownlee only found his mark again with 4:11 left to play after he picked up his fourth foul. He made a crucial 3-pointer that put Gilas within a realistic distance to make a last-ditch rally, 61-49.

Brazil, though, quickly responded with a 6-2 run making sure the Filipinos don’t get anything going.

After leading by as many as 12 in the first half, the Filipinos suddenly hit a wall in the third quarter while the Brazilians found their rhythm and quickly wrested the momentum.

Gilas Pilipinas went scoreless for more than six minutes into the third quarter.

June Mar Fajardo and

Despite the semifinal exit, Gilas Pilipinas still turned heads in Riga after stunning world No.6 and host Latvia and eliminating No.23 Georgia in the group phase.



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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!”

Irving ends skid vs Celtics, Mavs try again in Boston

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Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, center, drives to the basket against the Boston Celtics during the first half in Game 4 of the NBA basketball finals, Friday, June 14, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

DALLAS — Kyrie Irving’s personal 13-game losing streak against the Celtics is over.

Now it’s back to the parquet floor in Boston to face his former team again, the Dallas Mavericks still alive in the NBA Finals after avoiding a sweep with a 122-84 blowout in Game 4 on Friday night.

The first two road games in this series weren’t Irving’s best, the two in Dallas quite a bit better despite a Game 3 loss that left the Mavs with a deficit no NBA team has overcome to win a playoff series.

Combine that with much more of an impact from the role players around Irving and co-star Luka Doncic, and maybe the constant booing of Irving from the jilted fans in Boston won’t ring quite as loudly in Game 5 on Monday night.

Plenty of green-clad Celtics fans were planning a celebration in Texas, but the loud cheers early when the game was close didn’t last long.

READ: NBA Finals: Kyrie Irving says Mavericks change ‘starts with me’

“You saw all those Celtics fans in there tonight. They travel in packs,” said Irving, who spent two seasons in Boston. “When we go to Boston, there’s going to be a bunch of them yelling a whole bunch of crazy stuff still, but I think we’ve been able to grow and face kind of this adversity head on.

“We’re figuring out each other in a crazy way during the highest stage of basketball,” Irving said. “So it’s a beautiful thing, but it also can be chaotic if you don’t know how to stay poised through it.”

If the Mavericks are to become just the 12th of 157 teams to force a Game 6 after falling behind 3-0 — and get the title series back to Dallas — the supporting cast for Irving and Doncic will have to keep it up.

Dereck Lively II connected on a 3-pointer for the first time in his career — exactly seven months after the the second of the two regular-season attempts from beyond the arc by the 7-foot-1 rookie center.

At one point in the second half, Lively had 12 rebounds, his final total, to 16 for Boston. No wonder Dallas outscored the Celtics 60-26 in the paint, where Lively scored the other eight of his 11 points.

READ: Kyrie Irving channeling 2016 as Mavericks plot NBA Finals rally

Dante Exum hit two 3s and had another taken away when replay revealed he had stepped out of bounds. The buckets from deep were coming from so many Dallas players — 14 of 23, although those numbers were skewed a bit by the blowout — it didn’t matter that Doncic and Irving combined to go 1 of 14.

“It’s five people on the floor,” Doncic said. “So that’s huge for us. Everybody played with a lot of energy. That’s how we got to do it. We got to think the same way in Game 5 in Boston.”

Doncic scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half, while Irving had 10 of his 21 in the third quarter to help push a 26-point halftime lead to 38 before all starters were out of the game for good late in the third.

Lively’s games in the finals have somewhat mirrored those of Irving, his fellow Duke alum. The 20-year-old was mostly quiet in Boston. The two games in Dallas put him in the company of Magic Johnson as the only rookies with consecutive double-doubles in the NBA Finals.

He replaced starter Daniel Gafford earlier than in any of the previous finals games, and coach Jason Kidd said Lively just happened to be in the right spot — the right corner — when he hit the 3 to put Dallas ahead for good about three minutes later.

It’s unlikely Lively will start at this point — something he did early in his rookie season — but the crowd probably will notice when he heads to the scorer’s table for the first time back in Boston.

“If they leave me open in the corner, I’m going to get them up, for sure,” Lively said. “It’s just having that trust. Luka is going to give me the ball. As soon as I shot it, he kind of jumped for joy when it went in.”



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Irving is still trying to find some joy in Boston, and he gets another chance this season.