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MANILA, Philippines – With some of the stars loaned to the national team, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will implement a different format in its annual All-Star Game.

Instead of the usual North versus South or Rookies-Sophomores-Juniors versus the Veterans games, the country’s premier collegiate league will have a Luzon-Visayas-Mindanao All-Stars to be reinforced by selected imports going up against the Yeng Guiao-mentored RP team.

This will be the second time in PBA’s history that they will feature the Nationals in an All-Star Game. In 1998,...

MANILA, Philippines – For Burger King coach Yeng Guiao the mere presence of import Shawn Daniels, who is not yet in game shape, inside the court would make the difference for the Titans in the Motolite-Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Fiesta Cup.

“He’s (Daniels) not in game shape," said Guiao. “But we know what he’s capable of doing and he does so many things inside the court, which would bring the best out of his local teammates."

Guiao added that Daniels will offset Burger King’s lack of ceiling after the Titans, formerly...

MANILA, Philippines – Exactly a week since Talk ‘N Text won the KFC-Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup, Jimmy Alapag admitted their championship victory still hasn’t sink upon him.

“It’s just an unbelievable feeling. Until now, I can’t still believe we’ve won it," the Tropang Texters’ star guard said.

Behind Alapag, Finals most valuable player (MVP) Mac-Mac Cardona and Harvey Carey, the Tropang Texters came back from a 0-2 deficit and won the last two games of the best-of-seven title showdown to turn...

By Nelson Beltran


Kerby Raymundo

MANILA, Philippines - Purefoods stalwart Kerby Raymundo, the best performer among the big men in the national team in the Tokushima Fiba championship two years ago, may beg off from playing for the PBA-backed RP squad to the SEABA championship because of conflict in schedule with his ballclub.

The 6-foot-6 center-forward yesterday told PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios he’s having a hard time attending practices of both the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants...

Manny V. Pangilinan

MANILA, Philippines - For his unwavering support to Philippine sports, the Philippine Sportswriters Association will honor business magnate Manny V. Pangilinan as the Sports Patron of the Year in the San Miguel Corp.-PSA Annual Awards Night tomorrow at the Alegria Lounge of the Manila Pavilion Hotel.

Pangilinan, chairman of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company and the man at the helm of Smart Communications Inc., has given RP sports a big boost the last few years by way...

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

PHILIPPINE National Team coach Yeng Guiao is furious over the last-minute cancellation of his team’s two-game series against the Puerto Rican champion club team Capitanes de Aracibo scheduled for Feb. 21 and 24.

Guiao was upset over the fact that the all-pro national team had called off a series of games in Qatar for the chance to play the Puerto Rican squad, which won the Puerto Rican League’s National Superior Basketball championships in a seven-game series last year.

He accused one or two Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas officials,...

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

WHILE we can certainly understand the euphoria of Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner Sonny Barrios and the pro league’s finance people over the reported Game 7 crowd of 18,388, which included that charming basketball fan, US Ambassador Kristie Kenney, to us it was not the crowd or the revenues derived that mattered as much as the way the series was played.

It is an accepted fact that Talk N Text and Alaska Aces are not among the PBA’s most popular teams. That honor has been cornered through the years by San Miguel Corp.’s...

By WAYLON GALVEZ

For someone used to winning, Mikee Romero has set a modest target for Burger King in the coming PBA Fiesta Cup.

"Mapasok lang kami ng semis this season, it would be a good start already for the team," said Romero during the PSA Sports Forum yesterday at Shakey’s Restaurant on UN Avenue.

Romero built a dynasty in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) with his Harbour Centre squad that won six straight championships.

Now co-owner of the Titans, Romero said duplicating Harbour’s feat in the PBA would be close to impossible.

SLR, SMB, P’foods, Ginebra top picks as darkhorses


Without a glimpse yet of all the imports, the consensus among the coaches is that the top finishers in the Philippine Cup are the teams to reckon with in the 2009 Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference which kicks off on Feb. 28 with a road game in Dumaguete City.

Talk n Text, Alaska, Sta. Lucia Realty and San Miguel Beer are the prohibitive picks on the strength of their strong showing in the all-Filipino tourney topped by the Tropang Texters with a 4-3 decision over the Aces in their title showdown.

8 provincial games lines up for Fiesta Conference


THE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) once again kicks off the import-laden 2009 Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference with a sole opening game on the road pitting Burger King against Sta. Lucia on February 28.

Dumaguete City hosts the duel between the Realtors and Titans in the first of an eight-game provincial schedule slated for the season-ending tournament.
The league also opened last year's Fiesta Conference outside of Metro Manila as Coca-Cola and Talk `N Text played in Panabo City, Davao Del...