MANILA - San Migueltook a pivotal 3-2 lead in itsPBA Philippine Cup semifinal series against Meralco after scoring an 89-78 win in Game 5 of their series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Friday night. The Beermen outscored the Bolts, 26-12, in the third quarter to open a 67-56 lead entering the fourth. However, Meralco waxed hot to start the fourth quarter and drew to within just two, 76-78, with 3:09 left in the contest. Despite its struggles from the free-throw line, it was the charities that saved the day for SMB as the team made five free throws on top of back-to-back field goals for the game-deciding 9-0 run that sealed the win. CJ Perez led the Beermen, who can close out the series in Game 6 on Sunday night, with 25 points, nine rebounds, five assists, one steal, and two blocks. Jericho Cruz added 17 points, four rebounds, one assist, and two steals, while June Mar Fajardo chipped in 12 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and one steal. Chris Newsome fir
MANILA - Meralco Bolts took a 2-1 lead in the PBA Governors' Cup Finals after tripping Barangay Ginebra, 83-74, in Game 3 on Sunday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. The Bolts turned to their defense in the second half to take down the Gin Kings, who failed to sustain a hot offensive first half in the end. With Justin Brownlee quickly taking over, Ginebra raced to a 27-22 first-quarter lead, while the team held Meralco to just 18 second-quarter points en route to a 48-40 halftime advantage. The Bolts, however, shut down the Gin Kings in the final 24 minutes, holding them to just 26 points the rest of the way, 13 in each of the last two quarters, while getting their offensive rhythm in time. Tony Bishop finished with 30 points, 16 rebounds, one assist, two steals, and one block, while Chris Newsome added 20 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists for Meralco. Brownlee finished with 19 markers, 15 rebounds, seven dimes, one steal, and six swats for Ginebra. Already flirting
TNT 106, Blackwater 93 (Courtesy of PBA) MANILA - TNT returned to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors' Cup in style, dealing hapless Blackwater a 106-93 beating on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. With some of their key players called up to reinforce Gilas Pilipinas during the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers February window over the weekend in the same venue, the Tropang Giga quickly put their international experience to good use, holding the Bossing to just 16 points in the first quarter before erupting for 31 in the third. TNT even led by 20 points, 87-67, early in the fourth, but Blackwater tried to mount an epic comeback by cutting the lead down to 11, 96-85, with five and a half minutes left, something that coach Chot Reyes rued post game. "I told the team that these are the games that I fear the most. When everyone expects us to win, the odds are stacked in our favor," Reyes said. "I'm glad that we started fast, and then we h
MANILA -NLEX returned to its winning ways in the PBA Governors' Cup after drubbing Blackwater, 117-97, on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. In a battle pitting teams on separate skids, the Road Warriors bludgeoned the Bossing early on before stopping the latter's comeback threat early in the fourth quarter. "After a good start-we won four games-we lost three straight, so we felt that if we lose again, this will be a big hole we might not be able to come out from. So importante yung panalo sa amin (the win is important to us)," Coach Yeng Guiao said after the game. NLEX dominated Blackwater in the first quarter, opening a 34-14 lead at the end of the period. The Bossing, looking to finally put a closure to the PBA's longest losing streak, slowly put up a comeback run and came to within 12, 82-94, with 10:27 left in the fourth quarter. "We felt that Blackwater is due for a win at some point," Guiao added. "We were wary that that can
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