With an NBA player in the lineup, the Philippine men’s basketball team failed to win against the recent FIBA Asia Cup runner-up Lebanon. Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson carried the Gilas Pilipinas Men in their last two games.
Gilas Pilipinas
FIBA World Cup Qualifiers: Gilas overcame a slow start to torch Saudi Arabia. Down by 3 at the end of the first quarter, the Philippine men’s basketball team dominated Saudi Arabia, 84-46. Jordan Clarkson led Gilas with 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists while Kai Sotto finished with a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds. Dwight Ramos, Kiefer Ravena, and Japeth Aguilar scored 9, 8, and 8 respectively. No player from Saudi Arabia scored double digits.
📷: FIBA.basketball
FIBA World Cup Qualifiers: Arakji went clutch for Lebanon against the Philippines. The Philippine men’s basketball team fell short against Lebanon in the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, 85-81. Wael Arakji continued his stellar performance for Lebanon after finishing with 24 points while hitting clutch baskets in crunch time. Amir Saoud added 17 points and 4 rebounds. For the Gilas Men, Jordan Clarkson scored a game-high 27 points, 13-of-16 from the free throw line, and added 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Dwight Ramos had been steady all game long and tallied 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 steals.
FIBA Asia U18: No FIBA U19 World Cup for the Philippines. The Philippine boys’ under-18 basketball team faltered against hot-shooting Lebanon in the quarterfinals of FIBA Under-18 Asian Championships, 83-99. Advancing to the semifinals of the tournament is the ticket for the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup. The Lebanese quickly set the tone of the game with a 27-11 lead in the opening quarter, and the lead ballooned to 37 with seven minutes left to play. The young Filipino squad had no answer for Lebanon’s three-point shooting—made 17 of their 30 attempts. Mason Amos was checked all game long and finished with 11 points and 7 rebounds.
FIBA Asia U18: The Philippines finished 6th. In the knockout classification game against Chinese Taipei, the Philippine boys’ under-18 basketball team overcame a slow start to advance to the 5-6 classification game, 72-67. Mason Amos regained his shooting after finishing with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting and 6 rebounds. However, the Gilas Boys went cold from deep against Iran to settle to a 6th place finish in the FIBA Under-18 Asian Championships, 89-72. Amos and Earl Jared Abadam scored 22 and 18 respectively.
Volleyball
AVC Cup: The Philippines got its first win at the expense of Iran. The Philippine women’s volleyball team defeated Iran in the 2022 Asian Volleyball Confederation Cup for Women to finally get a win after three games—25-19, 25-22, 20-25, 25-14. Jema Galanza exploded for a tournament-high 21 points, including 8 in the fourth set. Tots Carlos and Michele Gumabao added 14 and 13 for the Creamline-represented national team.
AVC Cup: The Philippines punched its ticket to the quarterfinals. The Philippine women’s volleyball team booked its ticket to the quarterfinals of the 2022 Asian Volleyball Confederation Cup for Women after beating South Korea in three sets—25-18, 25-13, 25-17. The Filipinas ended the preliminary round with a 2-2 win-loss record, finishing third in Pool A that will face Pool B’s second-seeded Thailand. Jema Galanza and Tots Carlos scored 12 and 11 respectively.
AVC Cup: The Philippines missed the semifinals. The Philippine women’s volleyball team did not advance to the semifinals after losing to Thailand in 4 sets—18-25, 25-23, 20-25, 9-25. Michele Gumabao and Tots Carlos led the scoring for the Filipinas, 13 and 12 respectively.
AVC Cup: The Philippines settled for a 6th-place finish. After beating Australia in the first classification match, the Philippine women’s volleyball team suffered a three-set defeat against Chinese Taipei—26-28, 21-25, 21-25. The Filipinas finished in 6th place, an improvement from their 9th-place finish in the 2018 edition of the tournament. Ced Domingo scored 12 to lead the Creamline-represent squad.
Philippine Basketball Association
June Mar Fajardo nabbed his 9th BPC title. June Mar Fajardo beat his San Miguel Beer teammate CJ Perez in the Best Player of the Conference award in the ongoing 2022 PBA Philippine Cup. He extended the PBA record by winning his 9th BPC, seven from the All Filipino conference. He averaged 18.6 points and 13.3 rebounds per game through the semifinals.
SMB weathered Pogoy’s explosion to tie the series. San Miguel Beer tied the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup finals series, 1-1, after a Game 2 victory against TNT. CJ Perez led the Beermen with 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals, but had 7 turnovers, too. Vic Manuel went hot off the bench after scoring 20. For Tropang Giga, Roger Pogoy finished with 28 points on 6-of-10 shooting from deep.
SMB outplayed TNT in overtime to take the series lead. San Miguel Beer needed a monster performance from June Mar Fajardo to beat TNT in overtime, 108-100. The Beermen took Game 3 of the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup finals behind Fajardo’s 27 points and 27 rebounds performance.
TNT forced the series back to square one. TNT tied the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup finals series to 2-2 after beating San Miguel Beer, 100-87. Jayson Castro turned back the time to lead the Tropang Giga with 26 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. The Beermen saw themselves in a deep hole at the end of the first quarter, 9-18. June Mar Fajardo’s big double-double went to naught as he finished with 20 points and 19 rebounds.
NLEX tapped NBA veteran for the Commissioner’s Cup. NLEX tapped 34-year-old Earl Clark as reinforcement in the upcoming 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. He was the 14th overall pick by the Phoenix Suns in 2009 and played for seven seasons in the NBA.
Miscellaneous
Filoil: FEU and NU advanced to the finals. Far Eastern University and National University advanced to the finals of the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup. FEU outplayed undefeated De La Salle University in overtime, 71-67. Patrick Tchuente dominated the game with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. NU narrowly past Adamson University in another overtime game, 71-70. John Galinato went cold-blooded in clutch time, dropping a game-high 23 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. La Salle will finish the tournament with a bronze medal as Adamson begged off from competing as it has a prior commitment—an exhibition game against the University of Visayas in Surigao del Sur.
Filoil: Mythical Team. Two players from the finalists’ team have been included in the 2022 Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup mythical team. In guard positions, Royce Alforque of the Far Eastern University and the National University’s John Lloyd Clemente led their respective team to the finals. Players who completed the mythical team are Will Gozum of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Carl Tamayo of the University of the Philippines, and Mike Phillips of De La Salle University. Philipps was also named Best Defensive Player.
Filoil: NU swept the tournament. The National University bagged the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup trophy after beating the Far Eastern University in the final game, 56-46. Germy Mahinay led the Bulldogs to their first title in 10 years after finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds. NU completed an unbeaten run in the preseason tournament. John Lloyd Clemente, who scored 10, was hailed as the Most Valuable Player—averaging 13.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1 steal a game.
More:
- EJ Obiena qualified for the 2023 World Championships after ruling the 26th Internationales Stabhochsprung-Meeting in Germany. He cleared 5.81 meters but failed to clear 5.95 meters which would reset the Asian record.
- EJ Obiena took the top honors in the True Athletes Classic 2022 meet in Germany. He cleared 5.81 meters on his second try.
- Eya Laure, the UAAP Season 84 women’s volleyball top scorer, will be back for another season with the University of Santo Tomas.
- Former PBA commissioner Noli Eala has been appointed as the new chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission.