Despite a controversial ending, Jayson Castro showed that he can still lift his team to a victory.
Philippine Basketball Association
SMB punched the last ticket to the finals. June Mar Fajardo came big in a do-or-die Game 7 match against Meralco in the Philippine Cup semifinals. The former PBA MVP tallied 29 points and 14 rebounds in the San Miguel Beer’s 100-89 victory. CJ Perez finished with 18 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, and 5 steals while Marcio Lassiter scored 16 for the Beermen. Cliff Hodge had 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists for the Bolts.
Jayson Castro hit a clutch basket to draw the first blood in the finals. TNT escaped San Miguel Beer in the first game of the Philippine Cup finals, 86-84. The ending was controversial as Jayson Castro made a buzzer-beating jump shot to win the ball game. He scored 15 off the bench. Tropang Giga leaned on the one-two punch of Roger Pogoy and Mikey Williams, who scored 26 and 21 respectively. For the Beermen, June Mar Fajardo finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds in a losing effort while CJ Perez added 21 points and 6 rebounds.
đź“·: PBA Official Website
Converge tapped a former NBA player as reinforcement. Converge is looking to improve on its seventh-place finish in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup after tapping former NBA player Quincy Miller.
PBA D-League: Marinerong Pilipino took a 1-0 lead in the finals. Marinerong Pilipino drew first blood in the 2022 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup finals after winning over EcoOil – De La Salle University, 72-67. Juan Gomez de Liaño scored 6 of Skipper’s last 10 points and finished the 9 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals. Adrian Nocum and Jollo Go added 22 and 15 points apiece. For the Green Archers, Deschon Winston had 21 points but was shut down in the fourth quarter—scoring just two points.
Gilas Pilipinas
FIBA Asia U18: Undefeated Gilas booked a ticket to the quarterfinals. Mason Amos, who committed to Ateneo de Manila University, led the Philippine boys’ under-18 basketball team to the quarterfinals. He averaged 22.5 points in the Philippines’ first two games—112-48 and 77-61 wins over Syria and Qatar respectively. In the final group stage game against Chinese Taipei, he finished with 28 points and 6 rebounds on 12-of-20 shooting from the field and 4-of-10 from downtown in an 84-73 victory. Gilas Boys swept the pool stage and a win against Lebanon in the quarterfinals will provide a ticket to the 2023 FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Hungary.
FIBA World Cup Qualifiers: SBP released the 13-man lineup for the upcoming window. Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas released the roster of the Philippine men’s basketball team for the upcoming window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. NBA player and Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson, and Kai Sotto of NBL Australia’s Adelaide 36ers banner the Gilas Pilipinas. PBA reinforcements are Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson of Barangay Ginebra, Jamie Malonzo of NorthPort, Chris Newsome of Meralco, and Calvin Oftana of NLEX. Joining the team are Japan B.League players—Ray Parks Jr, Dwight Ramos, Kiefer Ravena, and Thirdy Ravena. Carl Tamayo of the University of the Philippines and free agent Roosevelt Adams complete the lineup. Gilas Men will face Lebanon on August 25th, then will host Saudi Arabia on August 29th.
Nenad Vucinic left Gilas and Meralco. Nenad Vucinic left the coaching staff of the Philippine men’s basketball team and the PBA team Meralco. According to Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the former coach of New Zealand’s basketball team wanted to pursue other opportunities.
Volleyball
AVC Cup: The Philippines suffered a three-set defeat against Vietnam. The Philippine women’s volleyball team fell to Vietnam in three sets in the 2022 Asian Volleyball Confederation Cup for Women—19-25, 17-25, 29-31. Kyla Atienza went solid in her national team debut as libero. Jema Galanza top-scored the home team with 13 points.
AVC Cup: The Philippines dropped to 0-2. The Philippine women’s volleyball team remained winless in the first two games in the 2022 Asian Volleyball Confederation Cup for Women after suffering a three-set defeat against taller players from China—16-25, 22-25, 20-25. The reigning Premier Volleyball League Conference MVP Tots Carlos led the Filipinas with 15 points on 13 attacks and 2 service aces.
Miscellaneous
Filoil: UAAP teams advanced to the semifinals. Teams from UAAP secured all spots in the semifinals of the 2022 Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup. National University remained undefeated in the tournament after eliminating San Sebastian College-Recoletos, 75-64. John Galinato led the Bulldogs with 19 points and 4 assists. De La Salle University weathered the monster performance by De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s Will Gozum (26 points and 10 rebounds) to its sister school home, 83-74. Far Easter University took advantage of the short-handed University of the Philippines, 72-63. Carl Tamayo, Zavier Lucero, and Henry Galinato did not play for the Fighting Maroons. Adamson University had a wire-to-wire 83-71 victory over Lyceum of the Philippines University.
More:
- Philippine Sports Commission proposed a budget of over PHP 546 million to the Department of Budget and Management for five major competitions in 2023.
- The University of Santo Tomas suffered a tough blow after losing two players before the start of UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament. Top prospect Kean Baclaan left UST Growling Tigers for the National University. He averaged 16.2 points and 5.4 assists in the PBA D-League. Gani Stevens left the program, too, after committing to play for the University of the East.
- Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena has been formally reinstated to the national team.