The world is my country and my religion is to do good. http://ping.fm/SNDKZ

is now buying and selling cars.

By Jonas Panerio
Cebu Daily News

Game today:

Cebu Coliseum

5 p.m. – Smart Gilas vs. M. Lhuillier-Cebu Niños

PBA top pick Japeth Aguilar and the rest of the Smart Gilas RP squad put on an aerial show as they stunned the reigning Liga Pilipinas National champions M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños, 83-71, in their exhibition game yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.

Chris Tiu, the Gilas team captain and former Ateneo star, led six players in double figures with 16 points while Marcio Lassiter and JV Casio each had 14 markers. Mac Baracael had 11 while Aguilar and Dylan Ababou ended up with 10 points apiece.

The Gilas showed that they have become a better squad since being bested by the Niños, 66-72, exactly a year ago in their game held at the University of San Carlos (USC) gym. They stood up to the pressure after seeing their double-digit lead get whittled down to just four in the fourth period.

The Gilas were ahead, 67-63, after a free-throw by Ninos' new recruit Jason Dixon, when Aguilar went on a tear, first skying high for a thunderous alley-oop slam dunk off a feed by Casio. The next possession saw more of the same, only this time, Aguilar stuffed the ball off another alley-oop pass from Lassiter.

A jumper by Aguilar and a lay-up by Casio completed the 8-0 run that pushed their lead back up to 12, 75-63. The Gilas were not threatened from thereonend as they handed the Niños their first loss in 25 games. The Niños' last loss came in April of 2009, when they were bested by the Misamis Oriental Meteors in Game 5 of the Liga Pilipinas 2nd conference finals.

Early on, the Niños appeared primed to give the Gilas yet another loss as they raced to a 10-point lead, 23-13, in the first period behind the 11 points of Dixon. The lead remained at nine, 41-32, at halftime.

The winds, though, blew a different tune for the Niños in the third canto as the Gilas tied the game at 43-all after an 11-0 surge. They went on a 13-0 run later in the period to take a 61-49 lead. Starring in that run were Casio, Baracael, Ababou and Tiu as the Gilas sank four three-point shots in the third period alone.

Dixon paced the Ninos with 19 markers. They will get a crack at vengeance today when they take on the Gilas once again at the same venue.

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I guess this is a good sign that the Smart Gilas team is improving. I would hope though that next time they play against the M. Lhuillier-Cebu Niños, they would jump on them and get the lead right from the start. They should give it 48 minutes of effort in order to have a chance to win in the big leagues.

By June Navarro
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines – After dropping CJ Giles from the national team roster, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas wasted no time searching for somebody to fill the huge gap.

And soon as the 6-foot-11 former LA Lakers draftee boarded the plane bound for the United States, the Smart Gilas Pilipinas National Team has already picked former NBA players Jamal Sampson, Shaun Pruitt and Earl Barron Jr. as possible replacements.

From among the three candidates, SBP executive director Noli Eala said the 6-foot-11 Sampson, who played for five NBA ballclubs since 2002, would most likely make it.

“He’s available and interested,’’ Eala told the Inquirer. “He’s a legitimate NBA center and is probably the most versatile.’’

Selected in the second round and 46th overall in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz, Sampson belonged to a talented rookie class headed by top pick Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets, Phoenix’s Amare Stoudamire and Tayshaun Prince of Detroit, among others.

The Jazz traded Sampson, a cousin of 1983 NBA top pick Ralph Sampson, to the Orlando Magic before the 235-pound power forward-center landed to the Milwaukee Bucks where he spent most of his rookie season.

Sampson, 26, also played briefly for the Lakers, appearing in only 10 games, the Charlotte Bobcats, Sacramento Kings and the Denver Nuggets. He was waived by the Dallas Mavericks during the 2007-2008 season.

After playing 72 NBA games, the University of California-Berkeley alum posted career averages of 2.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.4 blocks in 8.8 minutes per game.

Next on the priority list are the 6-foot-10 Pruitt, who had a short stint with the Golden State Warriors, and the 7-foot Barron, Red Bull’s import in the 2005 Philippine Basketball Association reinforced conference.

Pruitt, 24, played for the University of Illinois and registered 12.6 points and 7.3 rebounds throughout his entire collegiate career.

Undrafted in the NBA, Pruitt’s professional stint took off in the Czech Republic and China before the Warriors signed him up. He was released by the Warriors last month and temporarily hooked up with Peristeri BC in the A2 Ethniki (Greek league).

Barron was part of the 2006 NBA champions Miami Heat until 2008 before signing up a US$2-million, one-year deal with Italian club Fortitudo Bologna. He was waived by New Orleans Hornets last month.

Giles, who missed last Friday’s game against Sta. Lucia Realty due to a foot injury, signed a one-year pact, which includes housing and a car plus other perks and bonuses. Gilas has been seeing action in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup as a guest squad.

``After a long and thorough evaluation of CJ’s performance in the last month, it was our decision to pre-terminate his contract and cut him from Smart Gilas,’’ said Eala.

``The coaching staff felt that he has underperformed this last month due to lack of focus and various injuries,’’ added Eala.

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It's good to know that the Smart Gilas management are constantly on the lookout for new talent such as these guys.

By WAYLON GALVEZ

Barangay Ginebra hardly missed it two key players as it streaked to its third straight win by beating the Smart-Gilas national team, 100-72, in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup Friday night at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

Ronald Tubid scored 22 points, including 10 in the torrid third quarter when the Kings unleashed a 17-4 attack that shattered a 47-47 deadlock and gave them a 64-51 advantage with 4:43 left in the period.

In that run, the 6-foot-2 Tubid scored nine points highlighted by a two three-pointers to put Ginebra, which played minus Eric Menk (fractured right pinky toe) and Mark Caguioa (strained right knee), ahead for good.

Ginebra also got 15 points from reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Jayjay Helterbrand, while two other players produced double-double figures with JC Intal making 11 points and 10 rebounds and Rico Villanueva adding 11 points and 11 boards.

Willy Wilson also had eight and 10 boards to underscore Ginebra’s depth.

“We know that Mark and Eric are not there, we’ve got to find ways to fill the spots in the next few weeks,” Ginebra mentor Jong Uichico said. “It’s good now we started healthy, hopefully they’ll get healthy soon.”

The win gave the Kings the early lead with a 3-0 win-loss card, while keeping the Nationals winless in the tournament.

Gilas also played without two of its mainstays, American import CJ Giles, who was in street clothes after he was excused to play by Serbian mentor Rajko Toroman to deal with personal problems, and injured Chris Tiu (left quadriceps).

Uichico said that it could have been different story if the 6-foot-10 Giles had played.

“Siyempre malaking bagay na wala iyong import,” Uichico said. “They’ve got a fluid offense and they’ve got shooters. All they need is experience and the physicality.”

“They’re so young, that’s right idea. Playing together and grow as a team. They can have teamwork. We need to really naturalize, it makes the game easier if we have a big guy,” he added.

The scores:
First Game
Ginebra 100 — Tubid 22, Helterbrand 15, Intal 11, Vilanueva 11, Wilson 8, Cruz 6, Mamaril 6, Baguio 6, Salvacion 6, Kramer 4, Alvarez 3, White 2.
Smart-Gilas 72 — Barroca 20, Al Hussaini 14, Casio 11, Barracael 9, Aguilar 7, Ramos 4, Jazul 3, Cawaling 2, Ballesteros 2, Ababou 0.
Quarters: 22-17, 43-38, 70-58, 100-72.

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This may be a loss but I see it as a another learning experience for Smart Gilas.

TOROMAN UNIMPRESSED?

By Julius Manicad

The Filipino-Australian pair of Sep Salinas and Matt Schemechtig quietly left Smart Gilas Pilipinas National Team for Perth, Australia shortly after facing the Singapore Slingers in an exhibition game recently.

But, chances are, they will stay there for good.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) project director Rajko Toroman said they are having hard time evaluating the performance of Salinas and Schemechtig since they also play the same position like other local amateur standouts.

The 6-foot-4 sweet-shooting Salinas was bunched in the wing position with Rey Guevara, Dylan Ababou, JR Cawaling and Aldrech Ramos while 6-foot Schemechtig is too small at the No. 2 guard position, making it impossible for him to compete with Mark Barocca, RJ Jazul, JV Casio, Chris Tiu and, probably, Chris Lutz for playing minutes.

A Marshall University standout, Lutz is set to join the team after playing out his final varsity year in the Division I of the US NCAA next summer.

Toroman, however, refused to admit that Salinas and Schemechtig will not be hired, but said they do not offer anything spectacular compared to other Gilas standouts or other prospects like Lutz, Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Marco Fajardo and Paul Lee.

SBP will make a decision in the next few days.

"Maybe in the next seven to 10 days," said Toroman, the Serbian mentor who steered Iran to a rare Olympic appearance in the 2008 Beijing Games. "They play the same position with a lot of players on the team, that’s why we’re having a difficult time deciding."

Smart Gilas faced Powerade Team Pilipinas last night in a charity game at the Araneta Coliseum. Salinas and Schemechtig, however, were not around to impress Toroman and other SBP executives.

SBP executive director Noli Eala refused to comment, saying the final decision still depends on Toroman.

In Gilas’ previous game against the Slingers — the only official game where the Fil-Australian duo saw action — Salinas and Schemechtig were way below expectation despite what Eala claimed to be a "decent performance" from the tandem.

Salinas logged only two points while Schemechtig went scoreless in few forgettable minutes.

"In (the) last game against Singapore, they didn’t play good and one of them has an injury problem and he couldn’t perform well," Toroman said.

"If these two players are better than our players, we will invite them back. If they play on the same level like Rey Guevarra, or Jazul, that will be a reason to invite them back."

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We need the best of the best out there. Being fil-australian does not automatically make them better than our local guys.

Maybe someday, they can still rejoin the team if they prove themselves worthy. I wouldn't be counting them out.

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) chairman Lito Alvarez is not losing hope in having Japeth Aguilar suit up for Burger King with only four days to go before the opening of the league’s 35th season.

Alvarez said he believes the best solution to end this row is for the Samahang Basketol ng Pilipnas (SBP), led by Manny V. Pangilinan, to intervene and advice Aguilar to finally sign with the Whopper in order for him to play for Smart Gilas as well.

Alvarez said SBP executive director Noli Eala sent a text message assuring that the SBP is the PBA’s ally and will support the league all the way.

“Noli texted me and said kakampi niyo kami, so I am banking on his word that SBP won’t offer anything to Japeth unless he resolves the issue with Burger King," said Alvarez.

Aguilar is Burger King’s controversial top overall pick in the last PBA rookie draft but decided to back out to pursue a career with Smart Gilas under Serbian coach Rajko Toroman.

This delicate issue between Burger King and the former Western Kentucky University player is yet to be resolved with the season-opening Philippine Cup ready to open on Sunday, Oct. 11.

But what surprised everyone during the league’s 35th season launching was the fact that Aguilar’s name was included in the roster of Smart Gilas, which will play as a guest team in the PBA, but the controversy added another twist when video clips of the 6-foot-9 cager from the draft and his stints in the Powerade-Pilipinas team as well as his highlight plays were deleted during the presentation.

“I was surprised when I saw Aguilar’s name in the line up of Smart Gilas even though Burger King and the (SBP) are still discussing the issue," said Alvarez.

Whether the young cager would come to terms with Burger King and pursue his PBA career, which would also allow him to play for Smart Gilas, or stick with the SBP-backed squad and face a stiff sanction from turning his back from the pro league remains to be seen.

Alvarez said the best of both worlds, which Burger King offered, remains on the table and he has discussed that with Aguilar’s parents. - GMANews.TV

“I had the opportunity of talking to the parents of Japeth and told them that why would Japeth pass up the opportunity of earning P60-million in his basketball career in the Philippines while playing both for Burger King and Smart Gilas?," Alvarez said. “It’s either double or nothing that’s his only choice."

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I hope this issue will be settled soon. Clearly, the better choice is having double the money. If that's what pleases Lito Alvarez then Japeth Aguilar should go for it.