THE STANDS - An INQUIRER Sports Newsletter

 

January 10, 2025

Barangay Ginebra is looking for consistency. (PBA IMAGES)

Hey there sports fan, First off, Happy New year everyone! The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) welcomed 2025 with a flurry of action, as teams hit the court determined to restart their Commissioner's Cup campaigns on a high note.  Fans were treated to a mix of resilience, comebacks, and dominant displays in a week that highlighted the league’s competitive spirit. Barangay Ginebra is working to find its rhythm, with coach Tim Cone emphasizing the need for consistency to guide the team through an already challenging start. Cone’s vision for an “even-keeled approach” comes as Ginebra aims to build a foundation for lasting success. This philosophy, he believes, will be critical to sustaining their competitiveness throughout the season. Read more here. Meanwhile, the Meralco Bolts started the year with a spark. Shaking off injuries and a two-game losing streak, the Bolts battled their way to a gritty win over Eastern. Their performance showcased a healthy roster’s potential, proving that resilience and determination remain key ingredients for their 2025 campaign. Full story here. Elsewhere, the Phoenix Fuel Masters lit up the court to break free from their early struggles. Inspired by their import player’s leadership, Phoenix defeated Terrafirma, snapping a frustrating slump. Their determination to rally as a team underscores their readiness to turn things around and climb the standings. Read the highlights. On a roll of their own, Rain or Shine continued their remarkable form, notching a fifth consecutive win with a commanding performance against Blackwater. The Elasto Painters have emerged as early-season standouts, blending teamwork and consistency to dominate their opponents. Catch the details. With grit, strategy, and excitement on full display, fans can look forward to a basketball season brimming with promise. Here’s to an unforgettable 2025 on the hardwood! And if you want to start the year testing you sports knowledge, here's a trivia question: LeBron James set the record for most 30-point games in the NBA, surpassing which NBA legend? Answer can be found below.

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Carlos Yulo, the country's golden boy. (REUTERS)

Meanwhile... We weren't idle during the holidays and continued churning out content for our sports audience. You may have missed out on our yearenders in the last few days of 2024, but The Stands has got you covered. Two, in particular, that you should read: A stranglehold is broken in the PBA. The ups and downs in the Paris Olympics. What we're up to next: We will continue covering the Commissioner's Cup and update you on a brewing issue with the national women's futsal team. And as we count the days to the restart of the PVL, we will provide you a few features along the way.  Number of the Week: 52 Years passed since the Philippines beat Thailand in football.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “I realized that age is really just a number.” —Alyssa Valdez, Creamline superstar, on how 2024 was a rollercoaster ride for her.

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Michael Jordan. That's the answer to our trivia question above. If you think you can ace this week's quiz, head over to our Viber community, where you can also stay updated on sports headlines! 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

The STANDS - An INQUIRER Sports Newsletter

 

July 19, 2024

Angel Canino is one of the top talents in the national team pool. (UAAP PHOTO)

Hey there sports fan, Before we get to the PVL, let's discuss for a few moments a brewing and urgent problem with the national pool. Last week, I mentioned that Chery Tiggo kept standouts Eya Laure and Jennifer Nierva from practicing with Alas Pilipinas, the country's women's volleyball national team.  Talks were held to clarify certain "rules" and the hanging sanction that teams face if they withhold players from the national program. That sanction will end up toothless if it is applied to PVL clubs only. The Alas Pilipinas pool includes talents like Angel Canino, Alyssa Solomon, Bella Belen, Aira Panique and Casiey Dongallo. These are big-time young talents who belong to a more powerful volleyball stakeholder, the UAAP. And unless the national federation applies the same sanction to UAAP schools, the program is always going to suffer the age-old problems of incomplete attendance during training sessions. Already, Canino reportedly left the program to return to La Salle for its UAAP preparations. Meanwhile, the PVL has already started and notable imports have began flexing their muscles right on the first day. Elena Samoilenko provided a highlight show of scoring prowess as PLDT stunned Creamline while Kath Bell rang loudly for Chery Tiggo. Newcomer Meegan Hart (yes, there's an extra "e" in her name) provided Nxled with reason to hope for a better performance. There's other reasons to be excited. Injured players have returned, for one. Also, The PVL has said that instituting a Rookie Draft will lead to more competitive matches and that's something we will keep track of. So far, the top rookies haven't seen action either because they are still working their way into the rotation or because of national team commitments  But some newbies have managed to impress. Still everyone, including the league, is looking forward to seeing how these rookies will impact their squads. By the way, Alyssa Valdez may have missed Creamline's opening game in the Reinforced Conference, but that doesn't mean she's been inactive. She held a clinic recently and talked about opening opportunities and making a return to the national team.

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Paris is all set for the Olympics. (AFP)

Meanwhile... …The Paris Olympics is upon us and we have began creating a link menu of all stories regarding this year's edition of the Summer Games. We've got primers about everything you need to know about the Olympics, features on Filipino athletes competing there and updates from all over the world. Speaking of the Olympiad, here's a trivia question: Including the Paris Olympics, the United States has sent more female athletes than male ones in how many straight Summer Games? Tou can find the answer at the end of this email.  What we're up to next: It's going to be a lot of the Paris Olympics in the coming week, but fret not volleyball fans. We will also have people on the ground for the PVL Reinforced Conference and we wil also continue to get updates on the teams' preparations for the PBA Governors' Cup, which will kick off the league's 49th season. Number of the Week: 90 Minimum number of boats that will be used in the Paris Olympics' opening ceremony, where instead of the traditional walk-in of delegations, athletes will get to parade through the Seine river.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Skill is one gift, but being disciplined and knowing how to play as a team are also gifts that we can teach them.” —Alyssa Valdez, Creamline star, on holding clinics for young volleyball hopefuls.

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Four. 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

 

July 12, 2024

It was quite the performance for Gilas Pilipinas during the Olympic Qualifying Tournament. (FIBA PHOTO)

Hey there sports fan, Before we dive into one national team, let's check up on the problems brewing beneath the surface of another. It isn't quite the controversy just yet, but already, there were some grumblings heard when Chery Tiggo kept standouts Eya Laure and Jennifer Nierva from practicing with Alas Pilipinas, the country's women's volleyball national team. Talks are being held to clarify the situation, but there is a hanging sanction that teams face if they withhold players from the national program. If you ask me, it's a sanction worth studying as far as other professional sports are concerned.  For now, Gilas Pilipinas is encountering no problems of that nature. The 12 players Tim Cone picked for the squad are still committed to the program and Cone has said he is committed to those 12. His only worry now is getting the injured standouts back to full health. Gilas was undermanned when it participated in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Latvia recently, but even that did not stop the national squad from shocking the world No. 5 hosts—and the world, for that matter. That win was certainly a great headline to wake up to (or stay awake for). The Philippines even moved to within two wins of ending a long string of missed Olympic stints in basketball when it snatched triumph in defeat, advancing to the semifinals of the OQT despite losing a close decision to Georgia. Gilas eventually lost to Brazil in the semifinals, but the Nationals had made their mark in the tournament by proving that Philippine basketball is truly world-class.

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Former La Salle standout Thea Gagate, to no one's surprise, was the No. 1 pick of the inaugural PVL Rookie Draft. (MARLO CUETO)

Meanwhile... …It's not like ZUS Coffee said anything differently. The team had been vocal about their choice for the No. 1 overall pick in the PVL Draft and made good on that by selecting Thea Gagate. The middle blocker out of La Salle's vaunted volleyball program, however, admitted that she still had butterflies in her stomach on selection night. She later voiced her excitement over being given the chance to breathe life into a club that was stranded at the bottom last season. For more volleyball stories and our coverage of the Rookie Draft, check out this menu. Speaking of volleyball, do you know how many of the 12 teams currently in the PVL have won championships already? Answer is at the end of this email. What we're up to next: We will begin our coverage of Team Philippines to the Paris Olympics over the weekend so watch out for that. There's also the opening of the PVL Reinforced Conference to look forward to. We've had dispatches from the PBA Rookie Combine and you can follow our coverage of the PBA rookie draft across all our platforms. Number of the Week: 1972 Last time the Philippines competed in the basketball event of the Olympics.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “It’s, kinda like a ‘now we know’ moment—[that] now, we know we can compete.” —Tim Cone, Gilas Pilipinas coach, on the natiomal team's performance during the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

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Three. 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).