FIBA ASIA CUP 2017 : GILAS PILIPINAS SWEEPS GROUP B AS MORE THAN 2000 FILIPINOS CHEER ON

Gilas Pilipinas went on to sweep Group A of the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 in Beirut, Lebanon by beating Qatar, 80 - 74. With June Mar Fajardo still injured and Christian Standhardinger also sitting out due to a bad case of stiff neck, the Philippines had to rely on the sweet shooting of Matthew Right who finished with 25 points which included 7 three pointers.

Calvin Abueva also slipped in the second quarter and was not able to come back, our big guys having early foul trouble and Terrence Romeo was also misfiring, Gilas Pilipinas was able to play good team ball and had great performances from Gabe Norwood and Carl Bryan Cruz.

But what made this win special is that more than 15 bus fulls of Filipinos came out to support the team and the stadium felt like homecourt for the team. It is really amazing how Filipinos support Gilas where ever they play. They also get a chance to meet their idols after the game.

More than 2,000 Filipinos in Beirut to meet the Gilas Pilipinas: https://t.co/dfQQEM8F7X 😵🇵🇭🎉 #FIBAAsiaCup2017 pic.twitter.com/wWKj5xlkSX

— FIBA (@FIBA) August 13, 2017

With this win, Gilas Pilipinas advances automatically to the the quarterfinals, joining other top teams from the other groups - Australia, New Zealand and Iran. They will be battling against the winner of the game tonight between Korea and Japan. Whoever wins will definitely be a challenge for Gilas since both Korea has been a constant antagonist of Gilas while Japan gave us a good fight in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championships.

With 3 days rest, the Filipinos will definitely prepare hard for the game on Wednesday. Surely, Standhardinger and Abueva will be back to play and all are playing for June Mar to be able to play as well.

Laban Pilipinas!

FIBA ASIA CUP 2017 : GILAS PILIPINAS WINS OVER IRAQ, GETS SURE QUARTERFINAL SLOT

Gilas Pilipinas got over a slow first half and came back guns ablaze in the third quarter to seal the win against the tough Iraq team, 84 - 68 at the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup in Beirut, Lebanon.

After a close first half which ended at 32-31 in favor of Gilas, the Filipinos broke the game open on the 26-9 scoring run in the 3rd quarter to seal the game. The duo of Terrence Romeo and Christian Standhardinger provided crucial runs in the said quarter to help the Gilas squad to lead as much as more than 20 points and never look back from there. Romeo finished with 17 points and Standhardinger with 16 points, topscoring for the Philippines.

With this win, the Philippines is now sure of the top seed in Group B irregardless of the result of the match against Qatar on Sunday. This means that the Gilas Pilipinas will avoid going against Australia and New Zealand which is expected to top their respective groups.

Most probably, the Philippines will face the winner between Japan and Korea or Lebanon in the quarterfinals.

Another great win for Gilas Pilipinas! #LabanPilipinas

TEAM PILIPINAS: 3 GREAT WINS FOR A GREAT SPORTS NIGHT

Good things indeed come in threes.

Filipino sports fans was in for a treat tonight - with not one, not two but three great wins tonight from 3 different Philippine teams in 3 different sports.

The first win was scored by the Philippine National Women's Volleyball team when they sweep their first group match versus Hong Kong in the AVC Senior Women's Volleyball Championship at the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan, Laguna. The Filipinas had a tentative start but never looked back once they got the momentum. They beat the HK ladies via a 25-21, 25-16, 25-17 tally.

FINAL: PHI starts strong, sweeps HK, 25-21, 25-16, 25-17.

Catch #AVCWomensSCH: Philippines🇵🇭 vs Hong Kong🇭🇰 NOW AIRING on S+A! pic.twitter.com/8mJgoeGIuF

— ABS-CBN Sports (@abscbnsports) August 9, 2017

The team was led by Alyssa Valdez with 14 points and Jaja Santiago with 13 points. The next assignment of the girls will be Kazakhstan on Friday.

The next win was from Gilas Pilipinas who also opened their campaign in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup in Beirut, Lebanon. In their first group stage match, they were able to get an upset win over defending champion China, 96-87.

The Philippines 🇵🇭 fight off a big comeback from China 🇨🇳 to open their #FIBAAsiaCup2017 campaign

📊 https://t.co/zbXwbsAnpH pic.twitter.com/t3GUKM644w

— FIBA (@FIBA) August 9, 2017

Gilas led most of the game, with China almost pulling off their come from behind surge in the fourth quarter, even getting the lead in the last quarter. But Gilas was able to hold on and was able to clinch the win. Terrence Romeo topscorred with 26 points, Japeth Aguilar has 5 blocked shots and Gabe Norwood coming up with 3 steals and 3 blocks. Here are the highlights of the game from FIBA's official YouTube channel:

Next game will be against WABA dark horse Iraq on Friday night.

To cap off this streak, PFL's Ceres Negros FC was declared as the ASEAN Zone Champion at the 2017 AFC Cup in front of their home crowd in Bacolod City.  Ceres Negros won over Home United FC at Bacolod with a score of 2-0 and a 3-2 win on aggregate. OJ Porteria started with an early goal at 2' time. The second goal was from a penalty kick from Manny Ott.

👑 Congratulations to the #AFCCup2017 ASEAN Zone champions @CeresNegrosFC! pic.twitter.com/HmP46npXMD

— AFC Cup (@AFCCup) August 9, 2017

This is the farthest a Filipino team got to since the start of the tournament. They will face FC Istikol on August 22.

Congrats to all the Filipino atheletes! #LabanPilipinas

FIBA ASIA CUP 2016 : GILAS PILIPINAS GAMES SCHEDULE

Gilas Pilipinas once again will try to win the elusive Asia crown after two consecutive runner up finishes in the 2013 and 2015 editions. This year's competition will take place in Beirut, Lebanon from August 8 to 20, 2017. The Philippines last won the Asian title in 1985 - 32 years ago.

For the group stage, the Philippines was drawn in the so-called "Group of Death" - Group B. Also in this group are defending champion China, who defeated us in the finals in Wuhan in 2015; Gulf champion Qatar and WABA Championship dark horse Iraq.

The Philippines will be playing without naturalized player  Andray Blatche who suited up for Gilas in the 2014 World Cup, 2015 FIBA Asia Championship and 2017 SEABA tournament. The Gilas roster includes:

Jayson Castro
Terrence Romeo
Jio Jalalon
Carl Bryan Cruz
Roger Pogoy
Matthew Wright
Calvin Abueva
Gabe Norwood
Raymond Almazan
Japeth Aguilar
June Mar Fajardo
Christian Standhardinger

Recently, June Mar Fajardo might also be out of the competition due to a calf muscle injury. He traveled with the team to Lebanon but not sure if he will be playing.

The schedule for games and telecast for the group stage are as follows:

August 9 vs China - 6:30 PM LIVE on TV5, Aksyon TV and on www.sports5.ph/live
August 11 vs Iraq - 9:00 PM LIVE on TV5, Aksyon TV and on www.sports5.ph/live
August 13 vs Qatar - 9:00 PM LIVE on www.sports5.ph/live (Delayed telecast on TV5 at 10:00 PM)

Let's support Gila Pilipinas!

GILAS PILIPINAS: JUNE MAR WILL SIT OUT FIBA ASIA CUP DUE TO INJURY

Another unexpected blow to the Gilas Pilipinas campaign was all over Twitter world today. It was announced this afternoon that June Mar Fajardo might miss out on the Gilas campaign at the FIBA Asia Cup after injuring his calf during the San Miguel - Talk N Text game last Wednesday.

The 3 time and reigning PBA MVP apparently has a strained right calf muscle and will be out for at least a couple of weeks. It was also reported that June Mar will still travel with the team to Lebanon to observe on the playing style of the other countries, maybe for preparation for the World Cup qualifiers which will start before the year ends.

Here is the medical certificate which was given to the media by the PBA Commissioner:

Copy June Mar Fajardo's medical report (distributed by Comm. Narvasa). The Kraken will miss the 2017 FIBA-Asia Cup | @abscbnsports pic.twitter.com/83kVBxP7xl

— Paul Kennedy Lintag (@paullintag8) August 4, 2017

Gilas coach Chot Reyes then posted this in his Twitter account:

As the size gets smaller & the number dwindles, the fight grows bigger as the heart expands even more. #💪🇵🇭❤️

— Chot Reyes (@coachot) August 4, 2017

Another Gilas player was also reported to be injured. Returning Gilas defense specialist Gabe Norwood was also reported to be injured and will also be out of the FIBA Asia campaign. In his Twitter account, Gabe posted this:

I'm hurt?

— Gabe Norwood (@GNorwood5) August 4, 2017

He was then quick to clarify that he is not hurt and will play in FIBA Asia Cup.

I'm not hurt

— Gabe Norwood (@GNorwood5) August 4, 2017

Given all of what has happened, with the limited preparation that we have, I am tempering my expectations of our placing in this tournament. But who knows? We might still pull off some surprise wins.

But one thing is for sure, I am still supporting Gilas Pilipinas. Puso!