(Photo courtesy of Kai Sotto FB page) MANILA - Kai Sotto, seen as the future face of Philippine basketball, has entered the NBA Draft. In a statement through Instagram on Thursday, the 7-foot-3 wunderkind announced that he will join the event scheduled on June 24 (Philippine Time) in New York City. "I have declared for the 2022 NBA Draft. Please pray for and support me during my quest to fulfill my ultimate dream," Sotto said. Sotto played limited minutes off the bench for the Adelaide 36ers for most of the National Basketball League regular season, but he got more minutes in his past few games when the team already knew about his fate of making the playoffs. He averaged 7.5 points on 50 percent field goals including 38 percent from long range, 4.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.8 blocks, and 0.3 steals in a little over 15 minutes a game this season. However, Sotto averaged 14 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks a night in what could be his last two games as a 36er, both ending up
Chris Newsome (Courtesy of PBA Image) MANILA - Chris Newsome stood tallest in Meralco's balanced attack to hold off No. 1 seed Magnolia in a do-or-die Game 5 to arrange another duel with rival Barangay Ginebra in the PBA Governors' Cup finals. The seasoned guard did it all for the Bolts, canning 14.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists, and 2.5 steals in the last two games of the best-of-five semifinals which they won, 3-2. The Fil-Am guard thus emerged as the Cignal Play-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week, the last for the season-ending conference. Newsome beat out Meralco teammate Allein Maliksi in close voting for the weekly honor being handed out by the men and women regularly covering the PBA beat. The 6-foot-2 combo guard settled for 11 points, three rebounds, five assists, and two steals in Meralco's 112-93 loss in Game 4 before saving his best for last in the rubber match, 94-81. With the Bolts' season on the line, Newsome sizzled for 18 points including 11 in a t
Ginebra's Scottie Thompson (PBA Images) MANILA - Scottie Thompson solidified his status as the new face of Barangay Ginebra with a performance for the ages in yet another chapter in the franchise's fabled "Never Say Die" dictum. As the defending Governors Cup champions faced elimination owing to a twice-to-win disadvantage, Thompson poured it all and led the Kings' amazing climb to clinch a berth in the best-of-five semifinals. The do-it-all guard was simply everywhere with his near triple-double average in two do-or-die games for the sixth-seeded Gin Kings against No. 3 TNT Tropang Giga in their quarterfinals series. Thompson tallied a superb all-around numbers of 20.0 points on an efficient 14-of-27 clip, 12.5 rebounds, and 8.5 assists in two games to earn the hands down choice as the Cignal Play-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period March 16 to 19. The former NCAA MVP from Perpetual University uncorked a 23-15-8 stats line on top of two blocks in Ga
ISTANBUL - LeBron James on Monday apologized to Los Angeles Lakers fans for the team's disappointing play and promised that "We'll be better." "#LakerNation I apologize and I promise we'll be better!" James said on Twitter. Half of the 2021/2022 season already over and the Lakers have a 21-22 win-loss record in the Western Conference, including three straight defeats. The fans have been critical of their superstar guard Russell Westbrook lately for his poor shooting performance. James, on the other hand, averaged 28.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks on 51.9 percent shooting and 36.2 percent from the 3-point line this season. James is a four-time NBA champion (2012, 2013, 2016, 2020), winning titles with the Miami Heat (2), Cleveland Cavaliers, and Los Angeles Lakers. He has been playing for the Lakers since 2018. Utah ends losing streak Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets with a 125-102 score on Sunday, ending th