Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Dennis Orcollo wins US One-Pocket title


The Philippines' consensus Number One Pool player added yet another prestigious title to his glittering resume last Monday.

Dennis Orcollo claimed the US One Pocket championship with a 5-3 finals victory over American Corey Deuel. The final win capped a glorious unbeaten run in the Rio All-Suite Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada for the former world 8 Ball champ.

It was a sweet day also for another Filipino as Carlio Biado bagged third place. The La Union-born shooter from Quezon City had the distinction of eliminating former champ Scott “The Freezer” Frost deep in the Loser's Bracket.

Orcollo wins US$7,500 for his week's work. Biado takes home US$3,300 while another Pinoy, Francisco Bustamante, banked US$1,500
.
Two other Pinoys, Warren Kiamco and Amang Parica, also finished in the money, as did Filipino-born American Santos Sambajon.



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Monday, July 22, 2013

Gilas schedules tune-up vs. dangerous Kazakhstan

In the run-up to the opening of the 27th FIBA Asia Championship, host team Gilas Pilipinas plays two more warm-up games, taking on a PBA select team Wednesday at the MOA Arena and the Kazakhstan squad Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Kazakhstan is an interesting assignment, considering this central Asian team is a potential matchup for Gilas Pilipinas in the quarterfinal round of the Asian world qualifier slated Aug. 1-11 at the MOA Arena and at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

While the home team is grouped with Jordan, Chinese Taipei and Saudi Arabia in Group B, Kazakhstan is bunched with Bahrain, India and Thailand in Group D.

The tall team from the former Russian republic is tipped to find its way to the knockout stage where it may cross paths with Team Philippines.

That’s the forecast since Gilas Pilipinas is likely to finish first or second in the A-B side while the Kazakhs can well make the do-or-die stage as third or fourth qualifier from the C-D bracket.

A tall team with decent outside gunners, Kazakhstan is the No. 1 team from Central Asia which once finished third in the Asian Games and fourth in FIBA Asia Championship.

ALSO READ: 'A great experience' - Reyes

The Philippines beat Kazakhstan for the bronze medal in the 1998 Bangkok Asiad but the Kazakhs got back at the Filipinos, also in the fight for bronze, in the next Asiad in Busan.

In 2007, the Kazakhs made it two in a row versus the Filipinos, beating the Phl team in their Jones Cup meeting in Taipei.

In the succeeding FIBA Asia tourney in Tokushima, Japan, the Philippines failed to make it past the preliminary round while Kazakhstan went all the way to the semifinals.

The Kazakhs, however, dropped to ninth in 2009 in Tianjin and didn’t compete in Wuhan in 2011.

After a four-year absence in Asian basketball, Kazakhstan looks to return with a bang, reinforced by Euro League veteran Jerry Jamar “Triple J” Johnson under Italian coach Matteo Boniciolli.

Equipped with tall frontcourt players and able wing guys, the Kazakhs filled a vacuum in their backcourt in naturalizing Johnson, the star guard of the Astana team in the Kazakh league.

Kazakhstan has become a lot dangerous with the addition of the Rider University Hall of Famer who has carved a niche in Euro basketball with worthy tours of duty in Turkey, France, Belgium, Lithuania and now Kazakhstan.

Johnson brought his act to Europe after missing the final cut with the LA Clippers for the 2006 NBA season.



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Thursday, July 18, 2013

‘Ready for FIBA Asia’: Gilas result against Tall Blacks impresses Rajko Toroman, Tim Cone


The Philippine national men’s basketball team stood toe-to-toe against the best of New Zealand basketball, yielding a close one-point loss to the Tall Blacks in a closed-door session on Thursday.

New Zealand is ranked 18th in the FIBA World rankings, with China as the only Asian country higher on the list.

So the result left former national coaches Rajko Toroman and Tim Cone impressed as the team gears up for the FIBA Asia Championship.

“It was a very good game for Gilas. That means they are ready for FIBA Asia,” wrote Toroman in a text message to InterAKTV.

Toroman, who currently serves as coaching consultant for Barako Bull, piloted the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team to a fourth-place finish in the same tournament two years ago in Wuhan, and he is confident this present team can surpass that feat. With his vast international experience, he has been a sounding board for Gilas coach Chot Reyes before the team left for New Zealand.

“Their close call was very impressive,” added Cone, whose Philippine Centennial Team won the country’s last medal in a top-level regional competition in the 1998 Asian Games. Cone also attended a couple of practices to provide a set of “fresh eyes” for Reyes.

“You have to really like the way the team is coming along.”

Tall Blacks edge Gilas five


GILAS-Pilipinas ended its New Zealand campaign with a close 76-77 setback to the Tall Blacks, NZ’s national squad, Thursday.

“Lost to NZ national team, 76-77. Tall Blacks have only been practicing for three days and missing a couple of guys. But we played well,” said Gilas coach Chot Reyes on his Twitter account.

“More importantly, we played physical. Two of their guys bloodied, one limped off, all accidental, of course,” he added.

The loss capped the Nationals’ six-game training stint, their final tuneup for the Fiba Asia Championship which gets going on Aug. 1 at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.

The Filipinos, who are expected to fly home this weekend, lost three of their last four games.

Skipping the previous two games to rest an ailing back, naturalized center Marcus Douthit had 28 points and 14 rebounds against the Tall Blacks, who are ranked 18th in the world.

Gilas posted two consecutive wins against the Hawke Bay Hawks in Napier but lost a pair of close games against the NBL All Stars (85-86) and the Wellington Saints (96-100).

On Wednesday, the Nationals downed the Super City Rangers, 95-77

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Wesley So wins Philippines' 1st Gold medal in 27th Universiade


Chess Grandmaster Wesley So of Webster U, registered the Philippines’ 1st ever Gold Medal in the World University Games also known as the Universiade. The 27th Summer Universiade held in Kazan, Russia from 6-17 July 2013 comprised of 27 sports events with chess that debuted during the 2011 Summer Universaide in Shenzhen as an optional sport, was participated this year by chess players from 46 countries. The chess tournaments were held in Kazan Equestrian Complex from 9-15 July. 


Seeded 3rd in the 9-round Swiss ‘Standard’ Men’s Chess event, Wesley So, scored 6.5/9 (4-wins, 5-draws, no-loss) and tied with 8 others, a 9-way tie for 1st place, with GMs Andriasian Zaven(ARM)2620, Li Chao B(CHN)2686, Ma Qun(CHN)2584, Matlakov Maxim(RUS)2665, Zhou Jianchao(CHI)2572, Alekseev Evgeny(RUS)2714, Tomczak Jacek(POL)2564 and Sjugirov Sanan(RUS)2647. 

After the tie-break points have been computed, again, Wesley So tied for 1st place overall with GM Zaven Andriasian. An Armageddon playoff ensued to determine the Gold medalist where Wesley So was to play black (after losing the toss coin and Andriasian chose to play white). So forced the 2006 World Junior Chess Champion Zaven Andriasian to resign on the 51st move, an inevitable mate on the next move by black. Andriasian settled for Silver while Li Chao (the 2011 Gold medalist) took the Bronze. 


With this feat, Wesley So, now do have a FIDE ‘Standard’ Live rating of 2709.6 or a 2710 come August 2013 FIDE rating publication. He gained a +1.6 in ELO points. His Rating performance (Rp) of 2714 validates his hyper-GM (2700+) status. 

This also bring his streak to 63 games ‘No-Loss’ record in official FIDE rated ‘Standard’ Chess events. 


On the Women’s Chess event, the Philippines lone participant, Mary Israel Palero from Holy Cross of Davao College, scored 3.5/9 (2-wins, 3-draws & 4-loss), finished tied at 52nd-61st and placed 55th overall in the 71 players women’s division. 

Monday, July 15, 2013

Gilas loses squeaker to NBL selection

After winning its first two matches in New Zealand, Gilas Pilipinas dropped a close 86-85 decision against a selection of players from the National Basketball League (NBL) New Zealand yesterday at the Pettigrew Green Arena in Napier.

The national team, preparing for the FIBA-Asia Championship next month, played a select team that featured three American reinforcements in Antoine Tisby, Marcel Jones and Kareem Johnson, as well as former New Zealand national team member BJ Anthony.

The defeat hardly mattered at all for coach Chot Reyes since it was just a friendly match, but he was obviously frustrated by the so-so showing of naturalized center Marcus Douthit.

''Dropped a close one to the NBL Select squad, 86-85. @DouthitMarcus still struggled, but @japethaguilar35 & d Kraken played great,'' said Reyes through his Twitter account @coachot, referring to Japeth Aguilar and June Mar Fajardo.

Reyes son, Josh Reyes who is one of the Gilas Pilipinas assistant coaches, said the Nationals had trouble managing their fouls late in the game.

''Fell short this time. Controlled most of the game until our bigs started to foul out or get in foul trouble. Great game though. #gilaspilipinas,'' said Reyes through his own account on the popular networking site, @josh_reyes.

''This NBL selection is really big. We'll be in for a tough battle. Nice!,'' Reyes said prior to the game.

Gilas Pilipinas won its first two games, both against the Hawks Bay, 82-78 last Thursday and 73-70 last Friday. The national team will still play three more games, including one against the 'Tall Blacks' or the national team of New Zealand.

The FIBA-Asia Championship, which serves as the qualifying tournament with the top three countries earning berths in the World Championship next year in Spain, is set Aug. 1 to 11 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

SMART GILAS-PILIPINAS WINS FIRST NEW ZEALAND GAME


Smart-Gilas Pilipinas, the Philippine national men’s basketball team won its first game in its New Zealand tour on Friday when they conquered the Hawkes Bay Hawks, 82-78, at the Hastings Sports Centre in Napier. 

“Their imports played great, even outplaying Marcus Douthit, but our three-point shooting was sharp,” Reyes was quoted by interAKTV. “We need to work on our defense though.” 



It was the first assignment for the Philippines in the New Zealand tuneup games. It was also the first time the team played together since the final 12 roster was announced by Reyes. 

The final composition of Gilas-Pilipinas team is made up of naturalized center Marcus Douthit, Jimmy Alapag, Jayson Castro, Ranidel De Ocampo and Larry Fonacier of Talk ‘N Text, Rain or Shine’s Jeff Chan and Gabe Norwood, Ginebra’s LA Tenorio and Japeth Aguilar, GlobalPort’s Gary David, San Mig Coffee forward Marc Pingris and rookie June Mar Fajardo of Petron Blaze. 

Veteran international mentor Tab Baldwin coached the Hawks and he had helped the Philippine team in its preparation for the coming FIBA-Asia on August 1-11, 2013. Baldwin has several foreign stints as mentor of New Zealand, Jordan, and Lebanon. 

The two teams Gilas and Hawks will play against each other again the following day, with their second game a closed-door encounter. Gilas will finish their matches in Napier on July 14 when they face an all-star team from the National Basketball League, including top local players reinforced by imports at the Pettigrew Green Arena. The match, which will be open for public viewing will serve as the curtain raiser for the NBL finals. 

The Philippine team will have a one-day break to travel to Wellington and play against the Saints, the team groomed to win the NBL title, on July 16 at the Te Rauparaha Arena. Then Gilas will have its final game opposite club teams on July 17 at the St. Kentigerns School Gym in Auckland, when they face the Super City Rangers. 

The Philippines' final battle will be versus the formidable Tall Blacks national squad in New Zealand on July 18 once more in a closed-door game. 

The Gilas play schedule of three straight games followed by a one-day break before another three straight games was patterned after the first two rounds of the FIBA Asia Championship which Team Pilipinas will follow. 

In the FIBA-Asia, the Philippines faces Saudi Arabia on August 1, Jordan on August 2, and Chinese Taipei on August 3. After a one-day break, Gilas will advance into the second round playing against teams from Group B, with three succeeding games in three nights against probable qualifiers Japan, Lebanon, and Qatar. 

The cancellation of the invitation to play and defend the crown at the William Jones Cup in Taiwan prompted coach Reyes to let the national team engage in a series of games with one day rest. The 10-day New Zealand trip simulated the Asian tournament schedule.