Tag: play

Newsome’s great Meralco play spills over to Gilas in Riga

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Chris Newsome–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

PBA Philippine Cup champion Meralco could not be any prouder of the way Chris Newsome performed for Gilas Pilipinas in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).

And the Bolts can only look forward to how Newsome will carry himself when he resumes club duties in the next month for the season-opening Governors’ Cup, granting he does re-sign with Meralco.

“We are very proud of New,” coach Luigi Trillo told the Inquirer after Newsome and Gilas’ Cinderella run came to an end with a semifinal loss to Brazil in the Latvia side of the Paris Olympics qualifier.

Newsome came into the OQT on a high after his baseline jumper in Game 6 of the Philippine Cup Finals propelled Meralco to its first-ever PBA championship at the expense of San Miguel Beer and Gilas teammates June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez.

The PBA Press Corps Finals MVP averaged 9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals in three games in the OQT, where Gilas defeated host Latvia to eventually seal a semis berth despite a narrow loss to Georgia.

In two matches of group play, Newsome posted 10 points and four rebounds against Latvia and 13 points, four rebounds and six assists opposite Georgia.

He had five points, two rebounds, one assist and three steals in the semis against Brazil, but Gilas sputtered with just six points in the third quarter which contributed heavily to the 71-60 loss that crushed the Philippines’ bid for a first Olympic berth since 1972.

“He is a very big part of why our Gilas team did well,” said Trillo, who pointed out that Newsome “really is a leader.

“He is the vocal leader to all the players there. That guy is selfless, knows how to play the right way and is character all around,” said Trillo as the team and Newsome will finalize details of a new pact when he returns.

Gold in Asiad

Newsome belongs to a batch of players that can negotiate with other teams freely, but Al Panlilio, the former Meralco PBA board representative and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president who was with the team in Riga, said “I hope he does,” when the Inquirer asked if their prized guard will stay.

Newsome’s run of form began late last year when he played a key part for coach Tim Cone in Gilas’ successful conquest of the Hangzhou Asian Games gold medal.

That carried over to the PBA as Newsome was able to perhaps display his best season since being drafted by Meralco in 2015.



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And with a championship and a good OQT run for club and country, Newsome is having a great year. INQ

Alas Pilipinas’ Jema Galanza won’t play libero in Challenger Cup

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Jema Galanza with fellow Alas Pilipinas players Cherry Nunag and Dell Palomata. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

SCHEDULE: Alas Pilipinas at FIVB Challenger Cup

MANILA, Philippines — After initially being listed as libero, Jema Galanza is back to her original position as an outside spiker in the FIVB Challenger Cup on Friday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Two days before their knockout game against AVC Challenge Cup champion Vietnam, Alas Pilipinas coach Jorge Souza De Brito said that Galanza will no longer have to play as libero following a minor foot injury during their preparation.

“She is [doing] better and she’s ok. She will be a regular player,” De Brito told Inquirer Sports.

De Brito also bared that Dawn Macandili-Catindig will be the lone libero of Alas as Chery Tiggo’s Jen Nierva and Eya Laure didn’t train with the nationals. 

READ: Alas Pilipinas hit with reality check ahead of Challenger Cup

Alyssa Solomon, meanwhile, asked permission to skip the tournament as she needs more time to recover after leading National University’s title redemption tour in the UAAP Season 86 last May. She will likely join Alas for the SEA V.League in August.

“Solomon, as I mentioned, she is still in recovery. She requested more time since we contacted her. And the other guys did not attend,” said the Brazilian coach.

Alas battles Vietnam on Friday at 6:30 p.m., hoping to advance to the knockout semifinal on Saturday with only one of the eight participating countries — including Argentina, Belgium, Czech Republic, Kenya, Puerto Rico, and Sweden — qualifying for the Volleyball Nations League next year.

Facing a tough Southeast Asian rival, De Brito banks on Challenge Cup Best Setter Jia De Guzman and Best Opposite Spiker Angel Canino in leading the bronze medal team also composed of newcomer Bella Belen, Thea Gagate, Fifi Sharma, Sisi Rondina, Vanie Gandler, Faith Nisperos. Arah Panique, Julia Coronel, Dell Palomata, and Cherry Nunag.

READ: Alas Pilipinas women draw tough first FIVB assignment

Meanwhile, Sweden and Belgium clash in a knockout match to open the 2024 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Challenger Cup on Thursday at 5 p.m.

Sweden, the European Golden League champion, brings a formidable team led by league Most Valuable Player Isabelle Haak against European League bronze medalist  Belgium led by star outside hitter Britt Herbots and middle blocker Silke Van Avermaet.

Puerto Rico and Kenya collide at 3 p.m., hunting for the other semifinal berth also on Thursday.

Puerto Rico was among the first to qualify for the Challenger Cup, topping the North, Central America, and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation International League Final Four last year.



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Bound for Paris Olympics, Kenya boasts of the top-ranked women’s team in the African Volleyball Confederation led by captain and veteran middle blocker Trizah Atuka.

Geo Chiu to play for Japan B2 League team Ehime

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FILE–Geo Chiu.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Geo Chiu will continue his professional basketball career overseas.

After suiting up for the Taiwan Mustangs, who played against Gilas Pilipinas last week, Chiu is taking his act to the Japan B.League after signing a contract with the Ehime Orange Vikings.

Ehime, a B2 Division squad, announced the development on Sunday via a post on Instagram.

READ: Dave Ildefonso, Geo Chiu always ready to answer Gilas call-up

Chiu suited up for the Mustangs in May in the 2024 Asian Tournament, where the stocky big man posted six points and seven rebounds in an 83-78 win over the Zamboanga Valientes.

Before deciding to turn pro, the 6-foot-10 Chiu played for the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the UAAP.

In what turned out to be his final year with the Blue Eagles in Season 86, Chiu averaged 1.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

Chiu will try to help the Orange Vikings improve from an abysmal 23-37 card in the B2 last season.



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Ex-UST spiker wants to show people she can play

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Pierre Abellana didn’t get too much exposure in her two-year stay with University of Santo Tomas (UST).

But Abellana, a Golden Tigress recruit from University of San Carlos, knows that she has so much more to show and she is raring to show just that if the stars align for her to get picked in the inaugural PVL Rookie Draft.

“Personally, I am really eager to show what I can do especially since I only had a limited playing time last [UAAP Season 86],” Abellana said in Filipino in the recently concluded Draft Combine.

“We also did not achieve our goal [of claiming the championship] so I guess I would just have to get over it through this,” she added referring to UST being swept by National University in their Finals clash previously.

Abellana is among the 47 aspirants hoping to get their shot in the PVL which will conduct its first-ever Draft on July 8.

The 5-foot-6 versatile spiker was a role player in her stint with UST where she was usually tapped off the bench. Her UST career can be summed up in modest numbers: 11 points from 10 attacks and an ace, nine excellent digs and six excellent receptions.

Combine results

“I really want to prove myself because I know that other people have not seen how I really play,” she said after forgoing her three remaining years of eligibility in the UAAP.

Prior to her rookie appearance in the UAAP, Abellana displayed her talent with a 23-point outing against Adamson two years ago in the preseason tournament Shakey’s Super League Collegiate Conference.

In the recent Draft Combine, the young hitter registered a second-best standing vertical jump at 63.50 centimeters, a 299-cm vertical jump with approach, a 222-cm standing broad jump, a 6.5-second modified agility T-test and a 14.35-second 60-meter shuttle run in the Anthropometry and Fitness test.

“[The Combine] was challenging but it also shows us the extent of what we can do and what else we can do for PVL,” said Abellana who also shared that her former UST coaches were supportive of her decision to try her luck in the pros.

“[The coaches] pushed me, saying that ‘you can already apply for the draft, you can do it,’” she said while also revealing that she already wants to earn to help support her family.

Knowing that she could’ve done more to help the Golden Tigresses, Abellana said who she was excited to see at the opposite side of the court, if all goes well.



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“I want to face the teams of my previous coaches: coach KungFu (Reyes, Chery Tiggo), coach Lerma (Giron, Galeries Tower), coach Shaq (delos Santos, Cignal),” Abellana said.

“[But I am still] OK having coach KungFu as a coach, he is solid and I learned a lot from him and he made me a stronger player,” she added.

Djokovic to play at Paris Olympics, says Serbia

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FILE–Serbia’s Novak Djokovic during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics men’s singles tennis match. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

Former tennis world number one, Novak Djokovic will play at the Paris Olympics, the Olympic Committee of Serbia said on Tuesday.

“Novak Djokovic and Dusan Lajovic have fulfilled the conditions according to ATP ranking and confirmed their participation at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris 2024”, the Serbian committee said on their website.

Djokovic has not yet publicly confirmed the announcement.

READ: Djokovic looking forward to Paris Olympics in hectic 2024

At the start of June, the 24-time Grand Slam winner withdrew ahead of his Roland Garros quarter-final against Casper Ruud after a scan revealed a torn medial meniscus in his right knee.

Two weeks ago, Djokovic confirmed he had undergone an operation on his knee and that it “went well”, but gave no timeframe for his return.

Djokovic has long said he will prioritize the Olympic Games this summer as he chases an elusive singles gold.

In October last year, he said winning Olympic gold next year is one of his main ambitions, while before the clay tournaments this year he reiterated his goal.

READ: No medal for Novak Djokovic for third straight Olympics

“The Paris Olympics are very important. The Olympics have always been a priority for me,” Djokovic said in April ahead of the clay swing in Monte Carlo.

He has played four Olympic tournaments and won a bronze medal in Beijing in 2008. He has since twice come close to another medal

He lost the bronze-medal match to Juan Martin del Potro in London in 2012. He lost again to the Argentine four years later in the first round in Rio.

At the last Games in Tokyo, Djokovic lost the bronze-medal match to Pablo Carreno Busta from Spain.

At the same tournament, he pulled out of the mixed doubles bronze medal match with a shoulder injury.



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After his early exit at the Rolland Garros, Djokovic has slipped to third in the ATP rankings.

Celtics’ Porzingis returns to play for Game 5 vs Mavs

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Kristaps Porzingis #8 of the Boston Celtics speaks to officials during the second quarter of Game Five of the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden on June 17, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. Adam Glanzman/Getty Images/AFP

BOSTON — Kristaps Porzingis returned to the floor on Monday night as the Boston Celtics attempted to close out the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters before the game that Porzingis would be available and said, “We expect to see him tonight.” The 7-foot-2 Latvian drew a big cheer when he got off the Boston bench to check into the game with 6:49 left in the first quarter.

He missed his first shot, a 3-point attempt.

READ: NBA Finals: Celtics aim to regroup after Mavericks avoid sweep

Mazzulla said Porzingis, who missed the previous two games because of a dislocated tendon in his left ankle, would not have a minutes restriction.

He was cleared to play a limited role in Game 4, but never took off his warmups during Boston’s 122-84 loss in Dallas.

Porzingis had been listed as questionable Monday morning before going through an on-court workout about 2 1/2 hours before tipoff.

READ: NBA Finals: Celtics offer little on Porzingis after leg injury

The workout included shooting, some light-contact post work and lateral movement drills.

The Celtics have said that his tendon issue is unrelated to the calf strain Porzingis sustained April 29 in the first round against Miami that led to him missing 10 games.

Porzingis averaged 13.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in his first six games this postseason, including 20 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in Game 1 against Dallas.



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Angel Reese says foul on Caitlin Clark a basketball play

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Angel Reese #5 of the Chicago Sky reacts after fouling Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever during the second half  of a WNBA game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 16, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Emilee Chinn/Getty Images/AFP

INDIANAPOLIS –Angel Reese insisted all she did Sunday was make a basketball play against Caitlin Clark.

The former Iowa star agreed with her college rival.

But that isn’t likely to defuse what happens next.

After the Indiana Fever rookie wound up on the ground courtesy of Reese’s right elbow striking Clark’s head on a drive to the basket, the referees used replay review to upgrade the foul call to a flagrant-1 and almost assuredly setting off yet another debate about the contact Clark seems to be facing each game.

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

“I can’t control the refs and they affected the game, obviously, a lot tonight,” Reese said after finishing with 11 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and five fouls in the Chicago Sky’s 91-83 loss at Indiana in the WNBA. “Y’all are probably going to play that clip like 20 times before Monday.”

Naturally, it didn’t take long for the highlight to start making the social media rounds.

But regardless of whether the elbow was intentional, the result was the same — Clark taking a head shot most sports leagues want to prevent.

Clark’s response was to walk calmly to the free-throw line late in the third quarter, make both shots and help lead her team to its second straight victory before again downplaying the situation in her postgame news conference.

“It is what it is, you know, she’s trying to make a play on the ball and get the block,” Clark said after finishing with 23 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in her best all-around game as a pro. “I mean it happens and then those free throws when you have to shoot with nobody at the line are kind of hard. So I was just focusing on making those free throws.”

READ: WNBA fashionistas showcase styles at draft

Still, Sunday’s scene was quite different from the one that played out two weeks earlier between these same teams in front of another sellout crowd in Indianapolis.

Back then, Sky guard Chennedy Carter hit Clark on an inbound play that sent the unsuspecting guard to the ground. Carter was tagged with an away-from-the-ball call, which resulted in one free throw and league officials later upgraded the call to a flagrant-1.

Fever fans serenaded Carter and Reese with cheers any time either was called for a foul in Sunday’s rematch.

No, Fever coach Christie Sides wasn’t happy to see her star player hit the deck yet again, but at least this time, she thought they got it right.

“The right call was made in that moment,” Sides said. “Just make the right call in those moments, and we can move forward. But when we don’t make the right call in those moments, that’s when there’s a problem and they made the right call tonight.”



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Reese, clearly, did not agree.

“I think we went up really strong a lot of times and didn’t get a lot of calls,” she said. “Going back and looking, I’ve seen a lot of calls that weren’t made, I guess some people get a special whistle.”

Andy Murray uncertain if he’ll play in Paris Olympics

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FILE–Britain’s Andy Murray gestures to the public after playing against Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka during their men’s singles match on day one of The French Open tennis tournament on Court Philippe-Chatrier at The Roland Garros Complex in Paris on May 26, 2024. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)

Andy Murray said Sunday he was “not 100 percent sure” he will play at the Paris Olympics despite being selected just hours earlier for his fifth Games.

Murray, who has said he intends to retire later this year, was granted an International Tennis Federation (ITF) place to compete at the Games despite his lowly singles ranking of 97 because he is a former Grand Slam winner and Olympic champion.

Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski will represent Team GB in the men’s doubles and the pairing of Murray and Dan Evans has been nominated for an additional space in that competition, which will be determined by the ITF — the governing body of world tennis who run the tournament — on June 25.

The 37-year-old Murray said his participation at the Games was partly dependent on whether he was involved in the doubles, as well as singles, competition.

READ: Andy Murray named for fifth Olympics

“I am not 100 percent sure,” Murray told reporters at Queen’s Club, while dressed in a Team GB tracksuit. “It depends a little bit physically how I am doing. How the next few weeks go as well. Yeah, my plan just now is to play, but it is not straightforward.

“I’ll find out in the next 10 days or so on the doubles and what’s going to happen there. Hopefully me and Evo get the chance to play.”

Murray, who won Olympic gold at London 2012 and Rio in 2016, was one of four British male singles players selected alongside Jack Draper, Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans.

It was a landmark day for Draper, the incoming British number one, as just hours later the 22-year-old won his maiden ATP tour title, beating former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 in the final of the Stuttgart Open.

Team GB was also notified on Thursday that 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu would be in the mix for an ITF place, but she turned down the chance because of the multiple changes in surface over the coming weeks and after only recently returning from a lengthy injury lay-off.

Katie Boulter — who beat Raducanu in the semi-finals of the Nottingham Open on Sunday — was the sole female player included in the British team.



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Meralco needs to ‘play with poise’ to close out San Miguel

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Meralco Bolts in Game 5 of the PBA philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel Beermen. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Playing with poise will be of utmost importance for Meralco as it tries to close out San Miguel in Game 6 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals on Sunday.

According to Chris Banchero, the Bolts will have to play their own brand of basketball if they want to avoid a do-or-die Game 7 against the mighty Beermen.

And Meralco locked in.

There were zero celebrations in the Meralco locker room Friday night despite moving just one win away from their first-ever PBA title.

HIGHLIGHTS: PBA Finals Game 5 San Miguel vs Meralco

“This goes without saying, we know how good their team is. We have to play with a lot of poise heading into this next game, be determined and work hard,” said Banchero on Friday after their thrilling 92-88 win over San Miguel.

“We know they’ll come out and give it their all and we’ll do the same. We know we’re in no position to do anything because we haven’t done anything.”

Banchero did his job for Meralco to get the 3-2 lead after scoring 12 with four rebounds.

READ: Meralco on brink of first PBA title after Game 5 win over San Miguel

Banchero is also aware that the Beermen are well-capable of mounting a comeback blitz over them.

After all, this is the same team that accomplished the “Beeracle,” winning a title after being down 0-3 in a best-of-seven series with the now-defunct Alaska in the 2016 Philippine Cup.

“They’re going to come out as hard as they can just like they did tonight and we have to play Meralco basketball, play good defense and give it our all.”



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“Sometimes, some guys are going to get hot and other nights we’ll have balanced scoring. We just have to make sure that regardless of what we’re doing on the offense, we’re doing our job on defense.”