Tag: title

Carlos Alcaraz begins Wimbledon title defense

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Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz attends a training session ahead of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on June 30, 2024. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP)

Carlos Alcaraz begins the defense of his Wimbledon title on Monday as two-time champion Andy Murray decides whether or not to call a halt to his All England Club singles career.

Alcaraz, still only 21, is chasing his fourth Grand Slam title and hopes to become just the sixth man after Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to win the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back.

“I know that there’s going to be a really difficult and big challenge for me, but I think I’m ready to do it,” said the third-seeded Spaniard.

READ: Rare talent Carlos Alcaraz on way to ’30 Grand Slams’

Alcaraz faces 21-year-old Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal who had never won a Grand Slam qualifying match let alone a main draw tie before last week.

Lajal, the son of a motocross rider, has just two wins on the ATP tour in his career but if his playing statistics don’t stand out, then his dreadlocked, blond hair style certainly turns heads.

“I’ve had them for a very long time. It has kind of become a big part of me and my image. A lot of people know me just from my dreads. I think it’s cool,” said the world number 269.

This time last year, Lajal was losing a first round match at a second-tier Challenger event in the US and earning a paltry $780.

For making the first round at Wimbledon he is guaranteed $75,000.

READ: Carlos Alcaraz plays down chasing ‘impossible’ Nadal, Djokovic records

World number one Jannik Sinner, a semifinalist in 2023, starts against Yannick Hanfmann, the German world number 110.

Hanfmann has been defeated in the first round in both of his main draw appearances at Wimbledon.

Sinner got the better of him in their only meeting at the US Open in 2023 where the German won just five games in their first-round clash.

The 22-year-old Sinner won a maiden Slam at the Australian Open and then deposed Djokovic as world number one, becoming the first Italian man to reach such heights.

Sinner arrives in London having captured his first grass-court title in Halle.

‘Feel that buzz’

Meanwhile, 2013 and 2016 champion Murray will reveal later Monday if he will play singles at his farewell Wimbledon.

The former world number one underwent surgery to remove a cyst on his spine last week and admitted he still hasn’t fully recovered feeling in his leg as a result.

“It’s kind of like if you sleep on your arm funny, you wake up and you’ve got a dead arm,” said the 37-year-old.

READ: Andy Murray faces agonizing decision over Wimbledon farewell

Murray, whose 2013 triumph ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s champion at Wimbledon, is due to face Czech world number 38 Tomas Machac on Tuesday.

If he can’t make that date, he still hopes to play doubles with brother Jamie before bringing the curtain down on his Wimbledon career which began 19 years ago.

“I’m hoping maybe for a bit of closure. I just want the opportunity to play one more time out there hopefully on Centre Court and feel that buzz,” he said.

Elsewhere on opening day, women’s second seed and US Open champion Coco Gauff takes on American compatriot Caroline Dolehide.

Gauff famously made the last 16 in 2019 as a 15-year-old qualifier, defeating Venus Williams in the opening round.

However, in 2023, she was dumped out in the first round by Sofia Kenin.

‘Need luck’

World number three Aryna Sabalenka, a two-time semi-finalist, starts against American qualifier Emina Bektas, the world number 107.

Australian Open champion Sabalenka said she was not 100% fit after suffering a shoulder injury that she described as “a rare one.”

Four-time major winner Naomi Osaka tackles Diane Parry of France in her first appearance at Wimbledon since 2019.

Osaka, who only returned to the tour at the start of the year afer maternity leave, is ranked at 113 and required a wild card to play at Wimbledon.

At the recent French Open, she gave world number one Iga Swiatek a mighty scare, holding a match point in their second-round clash before the Pole prevailed.



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“People tell me I have the game for grass. I just need some luck,” said the Japanese star.

Teofimo Lopez dominates Steve Claggett to retain WBO title

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Teofimo Lopez tags Steve Claggett with a hard right during their WBO junior welterweight world title fight in Miami, Florida. Mikey Williams/Top Rank

American Teofimo Lopez retained his World Boxing Organization junior welterweight title on Saturday with a unanimous decision victory over Canada’s Steve Claggett.

Judges gave Lopez a 12-round triumph by lopsided scores of 120-108, 120-108 and 119-109.

Lopez improved to 21-1 and took his fifth consecutive victory since losing a 2021 showdown for multiple world lightweight titles to Australian George Kambosos.

READ: Teofimo Lopez announces retirement after winning light welterweight title

Claggett fell to 38-8 with two drawn after dropping his first world title bout to snap a nine-fight win streak.

Lopez defended for a second time the crown he won by defeating Scotland’s Josh Taylor last June by unanimous decision in New York. He also beat countryman Jamaine Ortiz in February by unanimous decision in Las Vegas.

Lopez, 26, says he is looking to an eventual move from 140 pounds to the 147-pound welterweight division.

Claggett, 35, stayed in front of Lopez and traded punches with the larger champion through the early rounds, pressing the attack and smothering Lopez to set the pace.

READ: Teofimo Lopez handles Josh Taylor to win light welterweight title

Lopez answered with body blows and uppercuts, matching the Canadian’s output and creating space for harder punches by rounds three and four, which Lopez dominated thanks to rocking uppercuts and quick flurries.

Lopez kept Claggett more at bay by the fifth round but the challenger stayed toe-to-toe and exchanged punches round after round.

Two powerful Lopez right uppercuts stunned Claggett in the eighth round and Lopez bloodied the Canadian’s nose in the 11th round, staying in command to the finish.



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Alex Pereira keeps title with TKO of Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303

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Alex Pereira of Brazil stands over Jiri Prochazka of the Czech Republic during a light heavyweight championship bout during UFC 303 at T-Mobile Arena on June 29, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ian Maule/Getty Images/AFP

LAS VEGAS — Alex Pereira delivered a vicious left kick to Jiri Prochazka’s head and then pounded the top-ranked challenger 13 seconds into the second round to retain his light heavyweight championship Saturday night in UFC 303.

Pereira (11-2) now has beaten Prochazka (30-5-1) twice since November to end any doubts about who reigns in that weight class.

Most of the drama at UFC 303 occurred outside the octagon in the weekend and even the hours leading up to the event.

READ: UFC 300: Alex Pereira retains title, knocks out Jamahal Hill

Officials had to act quickly after a late change was needed in the co-main event when an illness forced Brian Ortega to drop out. Dan Ige already was in Las Vegas training for another fight and wound up taking on Diego Lopes in the lightweight fight.

All three judges scored the fight 29-28 in favor Lopes (25-6) of Brazil. Ige (18-8), who is from Honolulu but lives in Las Vegas, was cheered loudly for showing up with little notice.

The UFC also scrambled to pair Pereira and Prochazka after scheduled headliner Conor McGregor’s broken toe forced him to withdraw. They were given about two weeks to prepare after Pereira had his Australia vacation disrupted and Prochazka was interrupted while at a three-day meditation retreat.

Even without McGregor, this fight could have been the richest in UFC history. A packed crowd of 18,881 that included New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, sitting next to former Green Bay Packers teammate Marcedes Lewis, watched. Lewis now plays tight end for the Chicago Bears.

Pereira and Prochazka engaged in a lengthy stare-down that carried through Bruce Buffer’s fighter introductions and referee Herb Dean’s instructions.

READ: UFC 295: Pereira is light heavyweight champ, Aspinall wins interim heavyweight title

Both fighters spent the opening round feeling each other out, but there was a strong hint of what was to come as it ended. Pereira knocked down Prochazka with a left hand, but it occurred after the bell.

Then Pereira finished the job to open the second round.

The bout was a rematch from Nov. 11 at New York’s Madison Square Garden when Pereira won the championship with a technical knockout at 4:08 of the second round to claim the vacated light heavyweight champion.



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Then Pereira cemented his hold on the belt by beating previous title holder Jamahal Hill with a first-round stoppage in UFC 300 on April 13 in Las Vegas. On the same card, Prochazka recorded a second-round TKO of Aleksandar Rakic to put himself in position for the earlier-than-expected rematch.

Mayra Bueno Silva (10-4-1) suffered a gash so big in her bantamweight fight that the ring doctor called the fight at 1:58 of the second round in favor of Macy Chiasson (11-3). Blood poured down Silva’s face, who asked to continue.

Bella Belen back for UAAP title repeat bid with NU Lady Bulldogs

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Bella Belen is returning for her fourth year with National University in the UAAP.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Bella Belen has made her fourth year of eligibility for National University official as she expressed her intention to win a third UAAP championship next year in the Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament.

Belen, who politely declined to comment about skipping the PVL Rookie Draft, finally broke her silence on Tuesday just hours after the first day of the PVL Combine with a short but meaningful message to the NU community.

“Redemption complete. We’re not done yet. Time to make it two in a row! See you next season,” wrote Belen in her Instagram post including the pictures of their triumph in the UAAP Season 86.

READ: Bella Belen, Alyssa Solomon skip PVL Draft, stay with NU Lady Bulldogs

Belen led NU’s redemption after emerging as a two-time UAAP MVP and sweeping the University of Santo Tomas in the UAAP Finals.

Determined to run it back and complete a golden repeat next year, she is staying with Finals MVP Alyssa Solomon and her batchmates Sheena Toring, Erin Pangilinan, and Lams Lamina to keep a formidable Lady Bulldogs’ roster with Vange Alinsug, Chams Maaya, and Arah Panique.

Despite the high interest, Belen and Solomon skipped the draft and opted to stay with NU with La Salle stars Thea Gagate, Julia Coronel, and Leila Cruz, Ateneo’s Roma Mae Doromal, Adamson’s Lucille Almonte, and UP’s Steph Bustrillo headlining the 47 rookie aspirants.

READ: Bella Belen, NU get perfect ending after rough start

Belen and the Lady Bulldogs lost the championship to the Angel Canino-led La Salle last year before completing a successful title-redemption tour this year also winning her second 1st Best Outside Hitter award.

The do-it-all outside spiker became the first-ever women’s volleyball Rookie MVP in 2022, leading NU to a perfect 16-0 title run for its first championship in 65 years.

Belen and Solomon, who missed the chance to play for Alas Pilipinas’ bronze medal finish in the AVC Challenge Cup, are part of the team’s training pool for the FIVB Challenger Cup, facing Vietnam in a knockout game on July 5 at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.



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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.”

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.

Postseason like almost none other for Doncic, even sans NBA title

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Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks high fives a staff member against the Boston Celtics during the third quarter of Game Five of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 17, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. Elsa/Getty Images/AFP

Luka Doncic’s first trip to the NBA Finals didn’t result in his first championship. That said, the Dallas star most definitely left his mark on these playoffs.

Doncic finished the postseason as the NBA’s leader in points (635), rebounds (208) and assists (178).

He’s only the second player in NBA history to finish the postseason as the leader in all three of those categories. It also happened last year — when Denver’s Nikola Jokic pulled off the feat.

“I’m proud of every guy that stepped on the floor, all the coaches, all the people behind (the scenes),” Doncic said. “Obviously, we didn’t win the finals, but we did have a hell of a season and I’m proud of every one of them.”

Doncic also joined another very small club, that being players to score 3,000 points in a single season. His 28 points on Monday in the season’s finale, Game 5 against the Boston Celtics, gave him 3,005 this season, including the playoffs.

READ: Doncic, Irving can’t deliver for Mavericks in NBA Finals clincher

He became the 11th player to do that. Michael Jordan had 10 such seasons, Wilt Chamberlain had five and nine other players — Bob McAdoo, Elgin Baylor, James Harden, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Rick Barry, Shaquille O’Neal and now Doncic — have each done it once.

Holiday History

Boston’s Jrue Holiday won an NBA title in 2021, then won an Olympic gold medal later that summer. He’s got a chance to do it again.

Holiday and Boston teammate Jayson Tatum will be part of USA Basketball’s squad at the Paris Games, with camp starting early next month in Las Vegas.

Holiday could be the third player to win an NBA or WNBA title, and then an Olympic or FIBA World Cup gold medal, in the same calendar year on more than one occasion. Sue Bird did it three times and Scottie Pippen did it twice.

Celtics Record

Boston’s 16-3 record in these playoffs represents the 10th-best postseason mark by a team in NBA history.

The top of that list: Golden State was 16-1 in 2017, the Los Angeles Lakers were 15-1 in 2001 and Philadelphia was 12-1 in 1983.

Also ahead of Boston’s run this season: the 1999 San Antonio Spurs, 1991 Chicago Bulls and 1989 Detroit Pistons (all 15-2), the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks and 1982 Lakers (both 12-2) and the 1950 Lakers, then in Minneapolis (11-2).

The previous best playoff record in Celtics history was 15-3, done in the 1986 postseason.

Back On Top

Move over, Lakers. Boston is back atop the NBA’s all-time list for most titles won.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ latest championship — in the bubble in 2020 — pulled the franchise into a tie with the Celtics for the most in NBA history, 17 apiece.

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

The Celtics beat the Lakers in the 1963 NBA Finals, giving Boston its sixth title to the Lakers’ five. And for the next 57 years, the Celtics remained alone atop the list of most championships.

When the 1986 season ended, Boston had 16 titles to L.A.’s nine. The championship count since is Lakers 8, Celtics 2 — good enough to give the Celtics sole possession of the No. 1 spot again.

Still Waiting

After 186 playoff games in his career, Al Horford is finally a champion — and finally off a list that he probably didn’t aspire to be part of.

No active player had appeared in more playoff games without a championship than Horford, the Celtics’ center.

Now that he’s off the list, the new leaders in playoff games played without winning their first title yet are James Harden (166), Chris Paul (149) and Russell Westbrook (122).

Nice Check

The Celtics’ players (and probably some staff) are going to get a nice check for winning the title.

Boston’s share of the NBA’s playoff pool is $12,059,435. That’s the most a team has ever won from the postseason pile of bonus money, which was a record $33,657,947 this season.

Some of that gets distributed to each of the 16 playoff teams. Dallas’ share was $5,899,422.



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The bonus pool is typically split in some way among players and staff from the playoff teams.

NBA Finals: Celtics back home with chance to clinch record 18th title

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Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) and guard Jrue Holiday react as Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) and forward P.J. Washington walk off away after the Celtics won 109-66 in Game 3 of the NBA basketball finals, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics’ catastrophic performance in Game 4 of the NBA Finals gave them a chance to clinch another championship on Monday night under the 17 banners already hanging in the TD Garden rafters.

And, coach Joe Mazzulla reminded them, that they would still have two more chances after that.

“We don’t like to lose,” Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said before practice on Sunday. “I think we are ready for Game 5. I think that’s the best answer that I’ve got. I think that we’re ready. We’re at home. And we’re looking forward to it.”

The Celtics cruised through the regular season with the best record in the NBA and then did even better in the playoffs, never trailing in a series while winning 15 of their first 17 games. They opened a 3-0 lead on Dallas, but the Mavericks avoided elimination with a 122-84 victory on Friday night — the third-biggest blowout in Finals history.

That sent the series back to Boston, where the Celtics will again try to win their unprecedented 18th NBA title — and their first since 2008. In a city that’s collected 12 championships already this century, that’s what passes for a drought.

READ: NBA Finals: Celtics take season’s worth of lessons into Game 5

“This is what we all work for,” Brown said. “We are at the precipice of completing what we set out to do at the beginning of the season. So I think it’s not difficult to get everybody in that locker room on the same page right now.”

The Game 4 loss snapped Boston’s franchise-record 10-game postseason winning streak (and also ended Kyrie Irving’s personal 13-game losing streak against his former team). Boston had been 3-0 in potential elimination games so far during these playoffs.

But the Celtics know — and Dallas surely does as well — that they still have three more chances to close out the series. All-Star Jayson Tatum said Mazzulla told his team on Sunday not to “surrender to that idea that we have to win tomorrow.”

While it’s unusual for a coach to diverge from the “one game at a time” mentality, the Celtics said the acknowledgement that they have three tries to win one game takes some of the pressure off them — pressure that may have gotten to them in their total dud of a Game 4.

“We would love to win tomorrow — more than anything,” Tatum said. “But if it doesn’t happen, it’s not the end of the world. We have more opportunities.”

READ: Jayson Tatum reflects on how being a dad changed his life and career

Irving said that the Mavericks are also trying to “enjoy the moment” and not focus on the fact that no NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in a playoff series. Game 6 would be back in Dallas on Thursday, with the potential deciding Game 7 in Boston on Sunday.

″(We are) just thinking about the goal that we have in front of us as best we can, and try not to get tired of everyone talking about the history that has not been made,” Irving said. “We got a chance to accomplish one of our goals, which is to make it back to Boston. We have another goal in front of us, and that’s to make it back to Dallas.”

That will be a lot harder if Boston center Kristaps Porzingis is available. The 7-foot-2 Latvian was listed on Sunday as questionable with a dislocated tendon in his left ankle.

Porzingis did not speak to reporters on Sunday. He practiced with the team wearing a white sleeve on his right leg, and during the 30 minutes that reporters were able to observe him on the court he was gingerly putting up shots from inside the lane, apparently taking care not to jump.

“I’m not sure where he’s at,” Mazzulla said. “But he’s trying and doing everything he can to try to put himself in position to be out there. I know that for sure.”

Porzingis missed 10 straight playoff games after straining his right calf in the first-round series against Miami. He returned for Game 1 of the finals and was a big reason for Boston’s victory, scoring 20 points with six rebounds and three blocked shots in 21 minutes.

But Porzingis dislocated a tendon in his left leg in Game 2, did not play in Game 3 and was said to be available for Game 4 “on a specific basis, if needed.” (With the Celtics quickly falling behind in a 38-point loss, he never checked into the game.)

Less of a concern is the status of Mavericks star Luka Doncic, who has been on the injury report with injuries to his right knee and left ankle along with a bruised chest. He went through the warmups for Game 2 with his torso and knee wrapped, but delivered a triple double in the loss.



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“At this point in the season, a lot of things going on,” he said on Sunday. “If I’m playing, I’m fine. No worries.”

It’s Meralco’s time to win PBA title

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San Miguel Beer center June Mar Fajardo during Game 6 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—June Mar Fajardo, as expected, displayed grace in defeat after a rare PBA Finals loss by the San Miguel Beermen in the Philippine Cup on Sunday.

Fajardo, a 10-time PBA champion, made sure to give credit where credit is due, tipping his hat to the Meralco Bolts, who closed out the Beermen in six grueling games.

“That’s really how it is. That’s how the sport is. We need to accept the losses,” said Fajardo in Filipino after a heartbreaking 80-78 loss that gave the Bolts their first-ever PBA title.

“It’s Meralco’s time to win the championship. Let’s clap for those who deserve it, let’s congratulate those who deserve the congratulations.”

Fajardo gave everything he had in the finals, finishing with 21 points and 12 rebounds in Game 6. He also made a clutch triple that would have forced overtime had it not been for Chris Newsome’s game-winning jumper with 1.3 seconds left.

READ: PBA Finals loss fuels CJ Perez to get better

The loss was Fajardo’s first loss in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals after winning in his last six trips to the all-Filipino championship round.

“While it’s painful to lose, that’s just how life is. We won championships but this time, it’s Meralco’s time. The ball was theirs. Let’s congratulate them, they played well as a whole,” said the seven-time PBA MVP, who missed a last-second 3-pointer that would’ve won it for San Miguel.

“As for us, we’ll keep our heads up. It’s not the end of the world for us, right? There’s still the next conference so we can bounce back there.”



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Meralco wins first PBA title, survives San Miguel in Game 6

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Meralco Bolts celebrate after winning their first-ever PBA title.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Call them the “Miracle Bolts.”

Against a battle-tested enemy so used to playing on a pressured-packed stage, the Bolts on Sunday stunned San Miguel, 80-78, to rule the PBA Philippine Cup.

Chris Newsome hit a fadeaway jumper with 1.3 remaining to cap Meralco’s stand at Smart Araneta Coliseum, finishing off the much-fancied defending champions in six tightly contested games.

READ: PBA Finals: ‘Nobody remembers second place,’ says Meralco coach Trillo

Allein Maliksi was just as big in the clincher, delivering 14 points to backstop Newsome’s 15 which also helped the club to its first-ever title in Asia’s pioneering pro league.

Bong Quinto had 11 points, Chris Banchero 10, Raymond Almazan nine while Cliff Hodge, Anjo Caram, and Norbert Torres pumped in six points each.

June Mar Fajardo, earlier crowned the Best Player of the Conference, tied the game at 78-all with 3.3 ticks remaining, almost willing the Beermen back and dragging the Bolts to a deciding Game 7. He finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

READ: PBA Finals: Unable to stop June Mar, Meralco still finds way to win

CJ Perez tossed in 14 points, Marcio Lassiter 11, Mo Tautuaa 10. Terrence Romeo added nine, Don Trollano seven, and Simon Enciso five off the bench.

Sunday’s triumph marks the first time Meralco was at the basketball mountaintop since ruling the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association, a precursor of the PBA, in 1971.



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