The STANDS - Philippine Daily Inquirer Sports Newsletter

 

February 16, 2024

The San Miguel Beermen are your PBA Commissioner's Cup champions.  (AUGUST DELA CRUZ)

Hey there sports fan, Here's a basketball-related trivia question: Shaquille O’Neal is the third NBA player whose number was retired by three franchises, the other two being Wilt Chamberlain and who else? Make a guess. We'll give the answer later. San Miguel Beer is a champion for the 29th time in PBA history. The Beermen annexed the PBA Commissioner's Cup last Wednesday, turning back Magnolia, 104-102 in Game 6 of their best-of-seven series. CJ Perez was named Finals MVP during the awards ceremonies, but not before getting an earful from coach Jorge Gallent earlier in the game. If you need a complete recap of the Finals, you can find everything you'll ever need—from stories, to photos to videos—in one place. Seriously, everything.  If you need a breather from all that nervy Finals action, though, you can check out a few Valentine's-themed stories we have for you.  It's about love. And more love.

La Salle will rest its defense on a new-look squad.  (CONTRIBUTED)

Meanwhile... The UAAP women's volleyball team is about to get started and La Salle kicks off the season's schedule as it opens its title defense against dark horse Adamson. The Lady Spikers have been hit with several departures of key players but they're still pumped up for their trophy-retention bid.  There will be a lot of challengers, inbcluding young squads like University of the East and University of Santo Tomas, who will either try to crawl out of last season's rut or rebuild on a strong finish last time around.  What we're up to next: We are now wrapping up nominations for the Inquirer Sports Awards slated in March and we will announce the list of names and teams by the end of this week. Also, we will be on ground in the UAAP, bringing you features and sidelights from opening weekend. We're also going to get into the groove of our coverage of Gilas Pilipinas as it prepares for a couple of very important windows. Number of the Week: 10 Number of titles won by San Miguel Beer superstar June Mar Fajardo so far.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “At the end of the day, they are not the ones feeding my family” —Jericho Cruz, on his growing infamy among fans of San Miguel Beer opponents.

The answer to our trivia question? "Pistol" Pete Maravich. If you think you can ace our weekly Friday sports quiz, and if you want more sports updates, join our Viber community.  Buy the Inquirer at newsstands, subscribe to our digital edition, Inquirer Plus, visit our online site and follow us on socials (Twitter: @inquirersports; FB: facebook.com/inquirersports) for more stories and updates—or to send us questions or suggestions of stories you'd want to read. See you next Friday! Francis Francis T. J. Ochoa is the Sports Editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. For comments, suggestions and questions, hit him up on Twitter (@ftjochoaINQ).