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Reyes, Cone to handle North and South squads, respectively

THREE San Miguel Beer stalwarts and one of the top contenders for the season’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award lead the fans’ choices as possible starters for the North and South teams seeing action in the PBA All-Star weekend later this month.

Jay Washington and Dondon Hontiveros got the most number of votes from PBA fans to start for the South squad of coach Tim Cone during the initial counting of ballots, while Beermen teammate Marc Pingris and Talk `N Text star guard MacMac Cardona...

MANILA, Philippines - By proving that he is one of the current crop of players with versatile game, Barangay Ginebra’s Ronald Tubid was chosen as the Motolite/Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week honors for the period March 23-30.

Tubid showed what he can do inside the court during Saturday's match between the Gin Kings and Barako Bull in the PBA Fiesta Conference.

In that game, Tubid scored a career-high 29 points, the same output by import Rod Nealy, giving Ginebra a 111-103 triumph over the Energy Boosters at the Panabo Cultural and Sports Center in Davao.

By Nelson Beltran

MANILA, Philippines - Burger King forward Arwind Santos emerged as early top contender for the Best Player award in the Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference by figuring prominently in most of the stats departments in the initial stage of the season-ending tourney.

Santos led all local players in scoring, placed second in blocks and was No. 6 in rebounds in the first four weeks of action in the tourney.

Another BK stalwart Gary David, Philippine Cup Best Player awardee Willie Miller, Talk n Text’s Jimmy Alapag, Ginebra’s Jayjay Helterbrand,...

MANILA, Philippines - Coca-Cola may be down collectively as a team in the Motolite-PBA Fiesta Cup. But main man Asi Taulava is up there individually as far as personal statistics are concerned.

The 6-foot-9 man-mountain emerged as the only local player to average in double figures in both scoring and rebounding as the import-laden tournament reaches its halfway mark.

Taulava averaged 15.83 points and 12.6 rebounds in six outings for the Tigers, while dishing out four assists per game to rank at no. 8 among local players.

Unfortunately, the Tigers are at the cellar...

Texters avert another endgame collapse on Cardona triple

Thanks to Macmac Cardona's clutch plays at the finish, Talk n Text avoided what could have been another heartbreaker.

Cardona came through with a three-point play and a triple in the closing seconds, and the Tropang Texters averted total collapse, salvaging a 124-122 win over the Alaska Milk Aces in the Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference at the Astrodome Friday night.

The Tropang Texters blew away a 19-point lead early in the fourth but survived, getting back on the winning track after bowing...

By Musong R. Castillo

MANILA, Philippines—The format for the next Philippine Basketball Association season will be tackled on Monday and Tuesday when the board holds a planning session in Cebu.

A possible stint as a guest team by the Smart Gilas Pilipinas squad is also in the agenda as the RP squad, mentored by Serbian Rajko Toroman, starts its buildup for several international events next year.

“We’re going to look at the feasibility of having the national squad compete as a guest team by next season, in the same manner that the PBA did with past...

By Nelson Beltran


Ginebra’s Rod Nealy slips past San Miguel Beer’s Mick Pennisi and Wesley Gonzales in this file photo in the Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference encounter.

MANILA, Philippines - Ginebra coach Jong Uichico said they would evaluate the performance of Rod Nealy during the Lenten break and decide whether an import change is necessary to put the Gin Kings back in the hunt for a second straight PBA reinforced crown.

“Nealy’s contract isn’t guaranteed...

By Waylon Galvez

There is reason for San Miguel Beer coach Siot Tanquingcen to be happy these days.

Despite a depleted roster with five key players on the injured list at the start of the season-ending conference, the Beermen are currently leading the pack with an unbeaten 6-0, win-loss record in the Motolite-PBA Fiesta Cup.

“Of course we’re very happy with the way things are going for our team. We never thought of having an unbeaten record, all we want is to be as competitive as we can this conference,” Tanquingcen said.

San Miguel...

MANILA, Philippines - Snubbed for a slot in the Powerade-Team Pilipinas, MacMac Cardona will have the coming PBA All-Star weekend to show he deserves to get a second look from national coach Yeng Guiao.

Cardona emerged the top choice to man the backcourt of the North team that is set to clash with the nationals in the April 22-26 annual spectacle.

Based on initial counting of fan ballots, Cardona appears to be a cinch for a starting role in the North squad of coach Chot Reyes after he paced all players in his position with 10,598 votes.

The former La Salle mainstay...

By Nelson Beltran Updated March 29, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Barangay Ginebra ended a five-game losing skein in style last night, clobbering Barako Bull, 111-103, in a Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference road show at the Panabo Multi-Purpose, Tourism, Cultural and Sports Center in Panabo, Davao del Norte.

Rod Nealy, Ronald Tubid and Jayjay Helterbrand scored at least 23 points each as the Kings played with sustained firepower, getting some relief with a first win in 24 days.

Nealy, Tubid and Helterbrand took turns in anchoring a hot Ginebra charge, carrying...