THE STANDS: An INQUIRER Sports Newsletter

 

December 6, 2024

National U wowed the crowd with their out-of-this-world routine. (UAAP MEDIA)

Hey there sports fan, How about those NU cheerdancers, huh? They became the third team to win the annual spectacle eight times, tying the record shared by University of Santo Tomas and University of the Philippines. And immediately, the team said it was gunning for more victories. The National U Pep Squad has been described as being "out of this world" several times in the past. So the team coaches decided to make that their theme, wowing the crowd with jaw-dropping stunts on the way to their latest triumph. Indeed, the spectacular performances of the eight schools were a welcome respite from the breathless basketball action that UAAP Season 87 has produced so far. And we're now in the homestretch of those tournaments. The men's and women's finals will begin and four teams are looking to be the last two squads standing. We'll keep you covered throughout that busy stretch of basketball action. And it's not any cooler on the other side of the varsity fence. Mapua started out strong in the NCAA men's basketball finals, whipping a St. Benilde squad that had been the favorites for most of this season. Don't count out the Blazers, though. They're not the type to just roll over. By the way, the women's finals in the UAAP will feature UST's Kent Pastrana, who will lead the defending champion UST Tigresses against a dominant NU Lady Bulldogs.  Do you know from what program Pastrana was recruited? Answer can be found at the end of this email.

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La Salle is more ready to face UP than it was last season. (UAAP MEDIA)

Meanwhile on Plus... La Salle came into last season's UAAP men's basketball finals against UP unprepared. They still won the crown. Will the Maroons stand a chance in the rematch, considering that the Archers swear they are much more prepared than they were last year? Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo needed just a spark of inspiration to revive her hunger for international glory. She found that spark in a grassroots tournament she is quite familiar with.  "Really, really hungry," was how Gel Cayuna described her HD Spikers teammates this conference. Cignal wants to make up for all those shortcomings and vows to go all out to win the crown this time. What we're up to next: We'll bring you stories, updates, features and highlights from the basketball finals of UAAP Season 87 and the historic NCAA Season 100. Can Mapua hang on? Will St. Benilde fight back? Keep it here. We'll also cover extensively the PBA Commissioner's Cup and the PVL All -Filipino Conference. We will bring youy some football features as well as the men's national team prepares to compete in the Asean Football Federation championship. Number of the Week: 2 Players who have made at least 3,000 triples in the NBA. James Harden breached that mark, allowing him to join Steph Curry as the only players to achieve that feat so far.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “They said from the start it’s gonna be a war going in there. We have two more games we have to lock in to.” —Quentin Millora-Brown, UP Maroons big man, on facing defending champion La Salle in the UAAP Finals.

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La Salle. 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).

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).

The STANDS: An INQUIRER Sports Newsletter

 

September 6, 2024

Mason Amos will be among the players affected by the new UAAP rule on transferees. (MARLO CUETO)

Hey there sports fan, Wow, it has been a long time, hasn't it? Well, I was pretty much preoccupied with helping out the team work around the limitations of our Paris Olympics coverage. If you want to catch up on your favorite story on Carlos Yulo and the Olympians, you can still find our greatest hits on this menu.  By the way, here's an Olympic-themed trivia question: What was Bianca Pagdanganan’s final-round score during the Paris Olympics women’s golf tournament? You'll find the answer at the end of this email. So, how do we reacquaint ourselves again after more than a month's worth of hiatus? How about we kick off with the UAAP, which is opening this weekend, along with the 100th staging of the NCAA? After an offseason of whirlwind updates regarding fresh recruits and dramatic transfers, focus will finally be where it should be: On the court. Or is it? The UAAP also caused quite a stir when it announced a new eligibility rule covering transferees. The new rule kind of dances around a law passed to make eligibility and residency requirements for transferees less punitive, but it does so for a reason: According to lawyer Rebo Saguisag, the UAAP chief, the league is trying to balance the interests of its stakeholders. Basically, the rule states that while transferees still need to sit out just one year of residency, they will be stripped of ano extra year of eligibility. In a nutshell, Mason Amos will get to play for La Salle next year after his celebrated exit from rival Ateneo. How long he will remain with the Archers' program remains to be seen.

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Bernadeth Pons hugs Kyle Negrito after their triumph. (PVL IMAGES)

Meanwhile... …Make it Cream-9! The Creamline Cool Smashers again proved that they are the league standard in the Premier Volleyball League after they ruled the Reinforced Conference via a dominant victory over Akari in their one-game finale. And yes, if you clicked that link and were kind of surprised at where you landed, that's our web-based subscription platform, INQPlus, which carries exclusive sports stories told the way only we can. Subscription link is below. Thank me later. Bernadeth Pons was the breakout star of a Creamline squad that thrived despite the absence of three main cogs and halted what was (still is, actually) an amazing run by Akari. The Young Chargers were looking to cap an unbeaten run in the tournament with their first franchise crown. But apparently, the Erica Staunton-led Cool Smashers plus the fallout of a controversial semifinal victory over PLDT were too much for the young Akari team to handle. What we're up to next: The UAAP and the NCAA basketball tournaments are going to keep us pretty much preoccupied this week. Plus, we are still on the ground in Paris for the Paralympic Games. We'll be providing you with stories and features on our Paralympians straight from the French capital. We'll also keep track of the ongoing PBA Governors' Cup and the much-ballyhooed four-point arc and still provide you with volleyball content via the PVL Invitational Conference. Number of the Week: 51 Points scored by NorthPort's Arvin Tolentino in a recent PBA match. That was the highest output by a local player in two decades.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “The physical part [of our game] we can recover in one to three days but for the mental health it’s very toxic.” —Taka Minowa, Akari coach, on the jeers and threats the Chargers received after a controversial semifinal victory.

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68. 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).