The STANDS: An INQUIRER Sports Newsletter

 

November 22, 2024

Chris Newsome knocked down the dagger trey that iced Gilas Pilipinas' upset of New Zealand. (AUGUST DELA CRUZ)

Hey there sports fan, It was one of those "Where were you when..." moments in sports. The Philippines, long suffering from a string of defeats to Asia-Oceania powerhouse New Zealand, finally broke through in front of 16,666 screaming fans at Mall of Asia Arena late Thursday evening. The Filipinos stunned the Kiwis, 93-89, behind a strong third quarter, a steely fourth quarter and one big triple from Chris Newsome. Newsome's triple preserved huge performances from his teammates, notably Justin Brownlee, who had a game-high 26 points, and Kai Sotto, who punched in an all-around performance of 19 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks. It was certainly a night to remember for basketball-loving Filipinos, and the win gives Gilas Pilipinas all the momentum it needs for Sunday's showdown against Fiba Asia lightweight Hong Kong. Fans were able to tune in to the match on TV and on livestream, what with the UAAP going on a break to free up everyone's basketball calendar. The last time we saw the UAAP, La Salle was safely tucked at the No. 1 spot while University of the Philippines locked up the No. 2 position. Both teams will have twice-to-beat protection heading into the Final Four. UP will face the University of Santo Tomas Tigers, while La Salle's opponent is still unknown. University of the East is precariously standing at the fourth spot, but Adamson can force a playoff for the last semifinal berth with a win over Ateneo on Wednesday. Seriously, where were you when Gilas Pilipinas finally beat the Tall Blacks? Speaking of Gilas, who was named coach of the national youth basketball program recently? The answer to this trivia question can be found at the end of this email.

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Iris Tolenada has been a guiding light for her team—and for young volleyball players.  (PVL IMAGES)

Meanwhile on Plus... We don't talk a lot about Iris Tolenada when we have conversations about volleyball superstars. We should. The University of the Philippines didn't run out of motivation when it faced University of the East in a game that had absolutely no bearing for the Fighting Maroons. No surprise there. In Greek mythology, Thea (sometimes spelled Theia), is the goddess of light, sight and vision. ZUS Coffee, in the PVL, settled for the mortal version. The UST Tigers are not reaching back for inspiration as they face a long Final Four climb. The Tigers are writing their own story. What we're up to next: We'll be reporting more on Gilas Pilipinas' victory over New Zealand as we look forward to the next Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers game against Hong Kong. When that's done, we will return to regular programming starting with the Adamson-Ateneo match on Wednesday, which University of the East will keenly observe. Of course, we'll have more volleyball features, so keep it here. Number of the Week: 5 Number of games it took before the Philippines finally beat New Zealand in an official Fiba game.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “We haven't seen our best team yet and we've been able to beat No. 6 and No. 22.” —Tim Cone, national team coach, on Gilas Pilipinas' victory over world No. 6 Latvia and world No. 22 New Zealand.

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LA Tenorio. That's the answer to the trivia question above. Think you can ace the rest of our weekly sports quiz? head over to our Viber community and try the test out! 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).