Despite being away from basketball for over a decade, Robert Jaworski’s passion for the sport has never wavered.
Jaworski, for years the PBA’s living legend, still follows the exploits of the Philippine basketball team, and thinks that the squad is close to being kings in Asian basketball once more.
“Baka mga five years na lang yan and we can become Asian champions again,” said Jaworski, a former Olympian who coached the first all-professional national basketball team to a silver medal in the 1990 Asian Games.
B-Meg coach Tim Cone insists their twice-to-beat advantage over Powerade in their PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals match-up is not a sure ticket to the next round.
Cone considers Powerade a threat that can be very dangerous if his B-Meg Llamados don’t do their job.
The Llamados, the elimination round topnotchers, take their first of two cracks at the semifinals in taking on the Tigers at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We’ll have to be sharp right at the get-go. In a short series like this, there’s a very little margin for error,” said Cone.
IN A recent interview, Barako Bull guard Willie Miller admitted his team is treading dangerous grounds.
"Parang naghinintay lang kami ng playoffs at saka doon i-tu-turn on ang game. Lalo na kaming mga beterano, dahil nga sanay na kami sa playoff atmosphere," said two-time Most Valuable Player.
"Medyo delikado iyon dahil baka hindi mag-on," he added. "Kaya nga dapat iyung desire at energy namin naipapakita na ngayon pa lang. Kapag di nangyari iyon sa susunod na laro at lalo na sa playoffs kasalanan na talaga namin."
The B-MEG Araneta Coliseum?
The historic venue may currently have a naming rights deal with SMART, but in the ongoing Philippine Cup, the Llamados have made the Big Dome their homecourt.
Believe it or not, B-MEG was a perfect 9-0 during the eliminations at the Cubao, Quezon City venue.
In the Llamados’ current eight-game winning streak, the last seven were carved out at the Big Dome.
With a 10-4 win-loss record, B-MEG only won once outside the coliseum, on November 11 at the Cuneta Astrodome, a 95-79 rout of Meralco.
Despite having the same win-loss record, Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao believes his team is the underdog when it begins its best-of-three quarterfinals battle against Barangay Ginebra on Friday.
“They have everything,” Guiao told InterAKTV. “They have the experience, the crowd and even the referees. A borderline call could always work in their favor.”
“These simply make our team an underdog. While Ginebra has been in the playoffs many times, we as a team has just started over.”
University of Cebu Webmasters coach Roehl Gomez has a definite answer when asked if Junmar Fajardo is ready for the Philippine Basketball Association.
“Pwede na,” said Gomez, a former sharpshooter who plied his trade with Alaska and Pop Cola in the professional league.
Fajardo played his last game for the Webmasters on Monday, a loss to the San Bed Red Lions in the Philippine Collegiate Champions League battle for third.
But before entering the draft for Asia’s first play-for-pay basketball organization, the 6-foot-10 standout will be honing his skills with ASEAN Basketball League expansion team San Miguel Beermen Philippines when the team kicks off its campaign in January next year.
Mark Caguioa and Alex Cabagnot are bitter rivals on the court. Off the court, however, they aren’t above sharing a light moment, as caught by AKTV photographer Paolo Papa. What were the two star guards talking about? See Picture Inside...
Barangay Ginebra waxed hot in the final period and pulled off an impressive 96-82 demolition of defending champion Talk ‘N Text in the final game of the eliminations of the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup Sunday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The Kings outscored the Tropang Texters in the final 12 minutes, 32-17, to pull away from a tight contest and end the initial phase of the tournament with a five-game winning streak for a 9-5 win-loss record.
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