PBA-Online! - Philippine Basketball Association Latest News

Burger King ships do-it-all forward Santos to San Miguel

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 05:56:15 -0500

MANILA, Philippines � Arwind Santos finally got his wish to play for San Miguel Beer, the winningest team in the history of the Philippine Basketball Association.

Burger King team manager and incoming board chairman Lito Alvarez confirmed to GMANews.TV that they have already agreed to send the 6-foot-4 forward to the Beermen after their third-place finish in the ongoing Motolite-PBA Fiesta Conference.

The Beermen are still playing the Ginebra Gin Kings in the best-of-seven championship series.

None among the officials confirmed the trade although a highly-placed source revealed that Santos will be shipped in exchange for three players � 6-foot-9 Samigue Eman, 6-foot-5 burly forward Ken Bono and veteran shooting guard Chris Calaguio.

But Alvarez said they are still negotiating with San Miguel as to who are the players they will be getting in exchange of the former Far Eastern University stalwart, who wound up as bridesmaid for the MVP plum for two consecutive years.

“We’ve agreed to send Arwind to San Miguel right after the battle for third place," said Alvarez. “Right now, pinag-uusapan pa namin kung sino yung kapalit."

Santos has long expressed his interest to play with San Miguel. He played for Viva Mineral Water and Magnolia, San Miguel’s farm team in the Philippine Basketball League and won championships on top of individual accolades.

In search of a PBA title, Santos may finally get his chance to win it this time with the power-packed Beermen, the winnigest team in pro league’s history with 17 championships. He will join a squad that has superstars like Dondon Hontiveros, veterans Danny Ildefonso and Olsen Racela, slotmen Mick Pennisi and Dorian Pena, guard Mike Cortez, and up and coming superstars like Marc Pingris, Jay Washington, Bonbon Custodio and Jons Villanueva.

The Beermen, who are still battling the Ginebra Gin Kings for the best-of-seven championship series, also have Danny Seigle and Lordy Tugade, who are both on the injured list.

Asked about his thoughts on this new development, Burger King coach Yeng Guiao said he was not aware that Santos’ transfer to San Miguel has already been approved.

“I have no knowledge about this," said Guiao. “Maybe it’s management to management negotiations." - GMANews.TV

Miller wants out of Alaska

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:21:00 -0500

WILLIE Miller doesn’t want to play for Alaska anymore. But before he could get his wish, the Aces must first acquire a corresponding player or set of players they want.

Danny Espiritu, Miller’s agent, yesterday confirmed that his two-time MVP has revealed to Alaska his intentions of bolting from the ball club, which he helped win a championship and play for a fourth franchise finals since entering the PBA in 2001.

Espiritu said that Miller is ‘no longer happy’ with the Aces, whom the former Letran star guided to the 2006-07 Fiesta Conference championship over his former team Talk ‘N Text.

“He’s not happy anymore with Alaska. Worse, napagbibintangan pa siya ng mga ibang tao kapag masama ang laro niya. He’s a two-time MVP and brought championships to his teams,” said Espiritu.

Espiritu and Miller had already talked with Alaska’s board representative and current PBA chairman Joaqui Trillo about Miller’s release. But Trillo said, according to Espiritu, that Alaska will first have to find a suitable replacement for their franchise player.

Coach Tim Cone said in a text message yesterday that Alaska will not part with Miller. “Not on the block, not traded. Teams are calling us but we’re not biting. We are not certainly shipping him.”

Purefoods and Coca-Cola reportedly are the teams interested in Miller, the first guard to win the MVP twice.

The 2008-09 season has been an unmemorable one for the Aces. Voted as the Best Player of the Conference in the Philippine Cup, Miller failed to steer Alaska to the championship, wasting a 2-0 series lead and losing to the Tropang Texters in seven games.

Then, Alaska couldn’t find the right import in the Fiesta Conference. It ended up at ninth spot, just a shade above Barako Bull and failed to make the playoffs.

Meantime, Miller will have to concentrate on being part of the Powerade-Team Pilipinas that will see action in the William Jones Cup that begins on Saturday in Taipei. His role in that ball club will be crucial since two guards -- Ryan Reyes and Jay-Jay Helterbrand -- won’t be seeing action because of respective injuries.

Journal.com.ph

Freeman comes up big as SMB ties Finals series

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:14:15 -0500

San Miguel import Gabe Freeman scored on a putback and made two charities while Brgy. Ginebra counterpart David Noel missed three freethrows as the Beermen escaped with a 106-104 win in Game 4 to even their Best-of-7 Finals series at two games apiece in the 2008-2009 Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.

Freeman finished with game-highs of 23 points and 21 rebounds, Dondon Hontiveros chipped in 19, Mike Cortez 18 and Danny Ildefonso 15 as the Beermen avoided a 1-3 deficit and get the series back to even ceiling.

“Not taking anything away from Ginebra because they played really hard and they shot very well. But we're not getting any breaks from the refs,” San Miguel coach Siot Tanquincen said, partly referring to the 28 fouls called against them.

“Konting kanti kami, foul agad ang tawag. Pag nakanti mo kahit balahibo lang nila, nasa foul line na sila,” he said. “Pero it's human nature. We just have to deal with it.”

Jayjay Helterbrand, who earlier in the evening was named the 2008-2009 PBA MVP, topscored for the Kings with 22 points to go with his 4 rebounds and 6 assists. He was not able to finish the game though after suffering a minor injury. Noel also finished with 22 points along with 18 rebounds. Erik Menk continued his good form with 21 points in just 19 minutes while Ronald Tubid and Rafi Reavis added 10 points apiece.

Game 5 will be held on Monday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Scores:

San Miguel 106 - Freeman 23, Hontiveros 19, Cortez 18, Ildefonso 15, Villanueva 9, Washington 9, Pena 7, Pingris 6, Racela 0, Pennisi 0.

Brgy. Ginebra 104 - Helterbrand 22, Noel 22, Menk 21, Tubid 10, Reavis 10, Baguio 9, Salvacion 5, Lanete 2, Mamaril 2, Wilson 1.

Quarters: 24-26, 47-46, 71-73, 106-104.

Helterbrand leads PBA 2008-2009 Season Awardees

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:56:43 -0500

Here are the 2008-2009 PBA Season Award Winners:

Most Valuable Player
Jayjay Helterbrand

Mythical 5
Jayjay Helterbrand, Mark Cardona, Arwind Santos, Jay Washington, Asi Taulava

Mythical Second Team
Willie Miller, Dondon Hontiveros, Gabe Norwood, Kelly Williams, Jay-R Reyes

Rookie of the Year
Gabe Norwood

Most Improved Player
Jonas Villanueva

Defensive Team
Arwind Santos, Billy Mamaril, Asi Taulava, Wynne Arboleda, Ronald Tubid

Sportsmanship Award
Ryan Reyes

Motolite Pangmatagalan Player of the Year
Willie Miller

Noel gets triple double, leads Ginebra to 2-1 series lead

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:53:06 -0500

David Noel registered his first triple double with 32 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists and Eric Menk scored 16 points in 17 minutes as the Brgy. Ginebra Kings overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to beat the San Miguel Beermen, 116-103 in Game 3 of the 2008-2009 Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference Finals at the Araneta Coliseum.

Ronald Tubid added 13 points, Cyrus Baguio 12 and Sunday Salvacion 11, as the Kings, shooting 43.3% (13-of-30) from the three-point region, grab a 2-1 series lead.

After trailing 48-61 in the first half, the Kings outscored the Beermen, 68-42 in the sevond half, including 40-25 in the fourth.

“We shot ourselves in the foot. We can't expect to give up 40 points in one quarter and win,” he said.

“If we play our defense, it's not gonna be an issue,” he maintained. “We've got enough people to fill up what is needed. If we, as a unit, don't defend it's gonna be difficult for us.”

Gabe Freeman paced the Beermen with 25 points and 19 rebounds. Jay Washington added 22 but only 4 came in the second half. Mike Cortez contributed 15 points, Dondon Hontiveros 12 and Mick Pennisi added 10.

Scores:

Brgy. Ginebra 116 - Noel 32, Menk 16, Tubid 13, Baguio 12, Salvacion 11, Helterbrand 9, Wilson 8, Reavis 7, Mamaril 4, Lanete 3, Intal 1, Artadi 0.

San Miguel 103 - Freeman 25, Washington 22, Cortez 15, Hontiveros 12, Pennisi 10, Villanueva 9,Pena 6, Gonzales 4, Eman 0, Racela 0.

Quarters: 21-29, 48-61, 76-78, 116-103

Fight with PBA fan earns Ildefonso, Pingris one-game suspension

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 04:45:44 -0500

MANILA, Philippines - San Miguel will have two key players missing on its bench when it plays Barangay Ginebra in Game 3 of the Motolite-PBA Fiesta Cup Finals Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.

For figuring in an endgame altercation with a fan, Danny Ildefonso and Marc Pingris were both slapped a one-game suspension by PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios.

The suspension takes effect in Game 3 of the Finals currently tied at 1-1.

On top of it, Ildefonso was also fined P30,000 for charging to the fan at ringside moments after the Beermen's 95-78 win over the Kings in Game 2 Friday night.

Pingris meanwhile, was also slapped a P10,000 fine for coming to the aid of Ildefonso.

The two were summoned at the Commissioner's Office Saturday morning to air their side on the incident.

Both Pingris and Ildefonso profusely apologized to the PBA, viewers and the fans. At the same time, the two expressed their intention to personally apologize to the fan that they attacked.

This marked the second time this conference a big name PBA player was fined by commissioner Barrios for assaulting a fan.

Sta. Lucia's Marlou Aquino was earlier fined P20,000 for a similar incident, although the Sta. Lucia center was spared from being suspended.

GMANews.TV

Beermen get back to even series, thumps Kings in Game 2, 95-78

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:09:27 -0500

Best Import awardee Gabriel Freeman asserted himself inside the paint, bucking foul trouble to score 23 points and grabbed 17 rebounds while Marc Pingris was almost unstoppable in the fourth quarter as the San Miguel Beermen evened the Best-of-7 series with a 95-78 drubbing of the Brgy. Ginebra Kings in Game 2 of the 2008-2009 Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.

Jay Washington contributed 17 points and Dondon Hontiveros 14 as the Beermen made sure they didn't get into an 0-2 hole.

"The lesson we got is that we really have to keep our composure whatever the situation is. We can't show any mental weakness. We have to be strong every step of the way. It's a given that they would have the crowd on their side," said SMB coach Siot Tanquingcen.

"Basically, we just came out more prepared tonight," said Tanquingcen.

"We're mentally prepared and obviously we're able to defend better. We were badly beaten in rebounding in Game One and that's one concern we made sure to take care of," Tanquingcen added.

Import David Noel had 20 points and 8 boards to pace the Kings. Jayjay Helterbrand chipped in 15, Ronald Tubid 12 and paul Artadi 11.

Scores:

San Miguel 95 -- Freeman 23, Washington 17, Pingris 14, Hontiveros 14, Villanueva 8, Ildefonso 6, Racela 4, Pennisi 4, Pena 3, Cortez 2, Eman 0, Gonzales 0, Calaguio 0.

Ginebra 78 -- Noel 20, Helterbrand 15, Tubid 12, Artadi 11, Baguio 7, Reavis 5, Mamaril 3, Salvacion 3, Menk 2, Lanete 0, Intal 0.

Quarterscores: 20-22, 50-44, 71-64, 95-78

Helterbrand, Freeman, Fiesta Conference's Best

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:12:31 -0500

Jayjay Helterbrand, Brgy. Ginebra's starting point guard, was awarded the Best Player of the Fiesta Conference for the second straight year after spearheading his team's rise to the finals.

Prior to getting the award, he has conference averages of 17.68 points per game, #1 among locals, on 42.1% FG shooting, including 40.2% from beyond the arc (4th) and 85.1% FT shooting (5th). He also is averaging a 3rd league-best 5.18 assists and 4.09 rebounds in 22 games, playing 36.45 minutes per game.

Helterbrand also leads the league in three-pointers made with 70.

San Miguel import Gabe Freeman, on the other hand, won the Best Import award.

Freeman, the energeting and hardworking forward, has conference averages of 22.83 ppg on 51.7$% FG shooting and 74.6% from the line, and 15.28 rebounds in 32.39 minutes per contest, playing 18 games overall.

Kings draw first blood, 102-96

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:04:56 -0500

Paul Artadi set the tone of the game with three three-pointers in the first quarter and Jayjay Helterbrand scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half as the Brgy. Ginebra Kings Held off a late rally by the San Miguel Beermen, opening the 2008-2009 Motolite PBA Fiesta COnference Best-of-7 Finals series with a 102-96 win at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Kings never trailed after taking a 32-22 lead late in the first quarter and led by as much as 18 points before holding on for the win.

"Naka-swerte. We shot pretty well at the start then our defense worked in the second half. Naka-sagot kami sa opensa ng San Miguel when they started to get streaks," said San Miguel coach Jong Uichico.

"We like that situation na maka-una. Baka hindi kami nakasabay kung sila ang naka start ng malakas," Uichico added.

"We're not mentally prepared to play this game. It's not an excuse. Lahat lang talaga, from the coaches to the players, not prepared mentally," rued San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen.

"We let them convert 40 percent from the three-point area and get the offensive rebounds when they missed their shots. Our defense shouldn't stop in having them missed their shots. We should only stop when we already get the ball," Tanquingcen added.

"We're still in the drawing board. It so happened that what we talked about and what we planned works in this game," said Uichico.

"We like this situation, winning Game One. But a first game is just a first game. It takes four games to win and we know the talent of San Miguel. They can be so overpowering that we really need to exert extra effort," Uichico added.

Cyrus Baguio finished with 17 points, Ronald Tubid 14 and Artadi and import David Noel contributed 13 points each in a balanced scoring attack for Brgy. Ginebra.

Jay Washington topscored for the Beermen with 19 points. Jonas Villanueva finished with 18, import Gabe Freeman had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Mike Cortez and Dondon Hontiveros chipped in with 12 apiece.

Scores:

Brgy. Ginebra 102 - Helterbrand 21, Baguio 17, Tubid 14, Artadi 13, Noel 13, Salvacion 9, Lanete 5, Mamaril 4, Intal 2, Menk 2, Reavis 2.

San Miguel 96 - Washington 19, Villanueva 18, Freeman 16, Cortez 12, Hontivoeros 11, Racela 7, Ilderfopnso 4, Pena 4, Pennisi 3, Pingris 2.

Quarterscores: 26-22, 53-41, 81-65, 102-96

Burger King cop 3rd Place

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:57:19 -0500

Arwind Santos scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, leading six other players in double figures as the Burger King Whoppers cop third place with a 132-118 win over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the 2008-2009 Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.

“A third place is, I think, a good enough performance for this team at this point,” assessed Whoppers coach Yeng Guiao, who joined the team only before the season-ending conference started and saw his team undergo more manpower changes in its course.

“This is only my first conference with this team and half of it is new, so the room for improvement is really big for this team.”

Things can only get better, Guiao added, since they own the top pick in the Rookie Draft set August 2 and they intend to use it on 6-foot-9 Japeth Aguilar, should the latter be included in the list of hopefuls.

“The way I see him, he will be the next dominant big man in the league, without a doubt,” said Guiao of the former Ateneo Blue Eagle and Western Kentucky U Hilltopper who has been very impressive in his initial practices with the former’s FIBA-Asia-bound national team.

“We put together a combination of veterans in Gary (David) and Arwind with newcomers like Aaron (Aban) and Mark (Yee). Rookies Beau Belga and Erick Rodriguez also performed way beyond expectations,” he said. “This team can only get better.”

The Elasto Painters, who missed the services of Gabe Norwood, Jay-R Reyes and Rob Wainwright, was led by Mark Isip and Ryan Arana who both established career-highs with 29 and 22 oints respectively.

Scores:

Burger King 132 - Santos 27, David 17, Daniels 16, Rodriguez 15, Aban 13, Sharma 13, Yee 10, Billones 8, Belga 6, Arboleda 4, Cruz 3.

Rain or Shine 118 - Isip 29, Arana 24, Laure 17, Lewis 14, Andaya 9, Tang 8, Ibanes 7, Salangsang 5, Dulay 3, Ejercito 2.

Quarterscores: 36-23, 71-50, 101-80, 132-118.