All news and events in the world of basketball

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson fired a career-high six three-pointers in his total 37 points to lead TNT to a 2-0 advantage in their best-of-seven Finals series against Barangay Ginebra.

Hollis-Jefferson also grabbed 13 rebounds, dished-off seven assists, stole the ball once and registered one shot block to steer the Tropang Giga into a 96-84 win at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

RHJ might have given his all-around effort in their Game 2 win but he was not alone in carrying the load for TNT as he had a lot of help from his teammates.

Calvin Oftana produced double-double numbers of 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Glenn Khobuntin put up 13 markers on 4-of-4 shooting from the field. Both players also shot three 3-pointers each.

Jayson Castro showed his veteran smarts once again in the big stage, making nine markers and seven dimes. RR Pogoy also put up nine points and five boards for the Tropang Giga.

Game 1 heroes Rey Nambatac and Poy Erram only rack up six and four points, respectively, but already enough to support the effort of their prized import Hollis-Jefferson, who’s also leading in the Best Import of the Conference race.

TNT also made 14 threes in the contest making the three-ball their main weapon in dominating the Gin Kings in both games.

“That’s our game. We take what the opportunities are in front of us. If they play us a certain way, then we take the penetration and drive. If they cover that, we make sure that we take the next best open shot,” TNT coach Chot Reyes said.

Ginebra, on the other hand, had a better performance from their 88-104 setback in the series opener. They even took the lead a couple of times in the game before the Tropang Giga took care of business in the final period when they had an 18-10 run including RHJ’s sixth triple of the ballgame to open a 91-81 lead, and never looked back from there on until the final buzzer.

Justin Brownlee had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Gin Kings, but missed all his three outside attempts including two from downtown.

Scottie Thompson had 18 markers and nine boards, while Stephen Holt and Japeth Aguilar had 11 points each.

The Scores:

TNT 96 – Hollis-Jefferson 37, Oftana 13, Khobuntin 13, Castro 9, Pogoy 9, Nambatac 6, Erram 4, Williams 3, Aurin 2.

Barangay Ginebra 84 – Brownlee 19, Thompson 18, Holt 11, J. Aguilar 11, Abarrientos 7, Ahanmisi 7, Cu 7, Pinto 4.

Quarters: 19-23; 49-41; 72-71; 96-84.

Kelly Williams achieved another milestone when he grabbed his 5,000th career rebounds in TNT's 104-88 victory over Ginebra in Game 1 of their PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup Finals series.

Williams became the 13th player in PBA history to achieve the feat when he collected his first rebound early in the first quarter of the game. The former MVP added three more along the way to have a total of 5,003 career boards.

The 42-year-old forward is currently chasing his ninth championship of the league. He won his first championship with Sta. Lucia Realtors, while the other seven was with TNT, which he's part of for more than a decade now.

In their Finals battle, "Machine Gun" Kelly's role was to ease the load from big man Poy Erram and import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

During Game 1, he played 13 minutes of play and only shooting 1-of-2 from the field but tried to slow down the duo of Justin Brownlee and Japeth Aguilar.

Tonight, Williams and the Tropang Giga will try to have a 2-0 advantage over the Gin Kings when they face-off at 7:30 p.m. at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

The defending Western Conference champions Dallas Mavericks overcame their last season's rival in the said conference Minnesota Timberwolves, 120-114, on Tuesday night, October 29, in Minneapolis.

Kyrie Irving led the Mavs with 35 points (16 in the third quarter) to go along with five assists, four rebounds, and a steal, while Luka Doncic also produced impressive numbers of 24 markers, nine dimes, and eight rebounds for Dallas, and PJ Washington put up another solid performance as he contributed 17 points and eight rebounds.

Irving went 6 for 8 from 3-point territory, including a basket with 2:31 left when Randle tightly guarded him at the top of the key after the Timberwolves pulled within 109-107.

The Mavericks continued to let their offense flow until the final buzzer to get their third win in four games.

Meanwhile, Anthony Edwards had 37 points for the Wolves, including 24 in the first quarter alone to set a Target center, and 7 for 13 from the 3-point range.

Edwards put up five-plus 3-pointers in all of their four games this season, the longest streak in team history.

Julius Randle added 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Timberwolves.

The Mavericks will host Houston Rockets on Thursday night, October 31, while the Timberwolves will still be in Minnesota on Friday, November 1, to face the Denver Nuggets.

The Scores:

DALLAS 120 - Irving 35, Dončić 24, Washington 17, Gafford 14, Grimes, 9, Thompson 7, Lively II 5, Marshall 4, Dinwiddie 3, Hardy 2.

MINNESOTA 114 - Edwards 37, Randle 20, Reid 14, McDaniels 13, Alexander-Walker 11, Conley 9, Gobert 7, DiVincenzo 3, Ingles 0.

The Mavericks defeated Utah Jazz, 110-102, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas in their October 29 game.

Kyrie Irving put up 23 points while Klay Thompson added 18 to lead Dallas to victory, on a night that Mavericks star Luka Doncic had an off night. Doncic still managed to score 15 markers, along with nine rebounds and eight assists.

Irving remained scoreless until hitting two triples in the final 40 seconds of the first period and he finished shooting 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Thompson fired 4-of-11 from downtown, while Doncic was just 5-of-22 from the field and hit his only 3-pointer in nine tries with 2:34 remaining in the game.

The win gave the defending Western Conference champions their second victory of the season in three games.

Meanwhile, Collin Sexton led Utah with 23 points and Lauri Markkanen and Keonte George added 17 each for the Jazz, who have lost their first three games for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

Both teams will be back on the hardcourt tomorrow, October 30, when Utah hosts the Sacramento Kings, while the Mavericks visit the Timberwolves in Minnesota.

11,021 fans attended Game 1 of the PBA 49th Season Governors' Cup Finals between Barangay Ginebra and TNT Tropang Giga to set the new record as the league's largest crowd on Sunday night, October 27, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

The Sunday crowd in Antipolo was also the biggest so far in the conference. Other games were held at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, Ninoy Aquino Stadium, and Philsports Arena.

Even after the 7:30 p.m. tipoff, fans were still entering the venue.

The Game 1 of the series was also for a cause as the proceeds of the game will go to the victims of Typhoon Kristine. 

The record-setting crowd surpassed the previous high of 10,952 at the Ynares Center. It was set on December 21, 2021 during the doubleheader quarterfinals of the 2011-12 Philippine Cup that featured the Barangay Ginebra-Rain or Shine matchup and Petron-Meralco battle.

TNT dominated Ginebra in the series opener, 104-88, with Rey Nambatac putting up impressive numbers in his Finals debut tallying a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with seven assists.

Game 2 of the Finals will be held on Wednesday, October 30, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

The Los Angeles Lakers manage to hold on to their lead in the end game to get their opening night match-up victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves, 110-103, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.

From the beginning, the Lakers showed their might in the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Rui Hachimura led the team with a strong start.

Davis finished the game with 36 points and 16 rebounds, while James put up 16 markers and Hachimura added 18.

Los Angeles also pounded the paint with a 72-40 advantage to show their dominance in the game where they led by as much as 19 points. 

It was also a historic night for the league as LeBron and Bronny James became the first father-son duo who has ever played together in an NBA game.

According to LeBron, family is the reason why he wanted that feat to happen.

"It's always been family over everything. For me, I lost a lot of time because of this league and committing to this league. Being on the road at times, missing a lot of his things, Bryce's things, Zhuri's things, so to be able to have this moment where I'm working still and I can work alongside my son, it's one of the greatest gifts I've ever gotten from the man above and I'm going to take full advantage of it," LBJ said.

Lebron and Bronny played together for more than two minutes in the latter part of the first quarter. It was also Bronny's debut game in the NBA.

The younger James shared that he's happy that he was given an opportunity to be part of the league and had a chance to be teammates with his father.

"I'm just extremely grateful for everything. I was given an amazing opportunity to come in this league and get better every day and learn every day," said Bronny.

Meanwhile, Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 27 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Newly-acquired Wolves Julius Randle added 16 markers and nine boards, while the other new member of Minnesota Donte DiVicenzo put up 10 points.

The Timberwolves will face Sacramento Kings on Friday, October 25, (PHT), while the Lakers will battle Phoenix Suns on Friday (PHT) as well.

Boston Celtics started their title-defense with a bang by dominating the New York Knicks, 132-109, in the opening night of the NBA's 2024-2025 Season.

It was also the night that the Celtics received their championship rings and the franchise's 18th banner was raised in the rafters of the TD Garden in Boston.

But before that, Jayson Tatum grabbed a microphone to say a few words that pumped-up the crowd.

“Enjoy this moment together. Let’s do it again,” he uttered.

Tatum was also the first to score in the game with a triple and finished with an astounding 8/11 from deep to set the tone for the Celtics to tie the most-three points made by a team in a game with 29. A record set by the Milwaukee Bucks in December 2020.

Boston shot 47.5 (29/61) percent from downtown to toppled the 36.17 (11/30) of the Knicks.

JT also led the team with his game-high 37 points, along with 10 assists, four rebounds, a steal and a block. He also had a game-high of +26.

The Celtics led by as much as 35 in the middle of the fourth period to make the game almost unreachable already. They also led in the rebounding and assisting departments. They only turn the ball over thrice against the 11 of New York.

Jalen Brown and Jrue Holiday scored 23 points each for Boston, while Derrick White and Luke Cornet added 21 and 14, respectively.

Meanwhile, Jalen Brunson and Miles McBride led the Knicks with 22 markers each but have a combined -41 also.

Newly acquired big man Karl Anthony-Towns contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists in his new team.

The next two games of the Celtics will still be on the road. They will face the Wizards on October 25 (PHT) in Washington and against the Pistons on Sunday, October 27, in Detroit.

The Knicks will try to bounce back at home at the Madison Square Garden in New York when they battle the Indiana Pacers also on Sunday, October 27.

The Pinoyliga Cup is offering a chance for the seldom-used hoopers or players who want to be included in Team A of their respective collegiate teams, a concept that began in Next Man Cup in 2002 after the inauguration of the Collegiate Cup the year before.

Tournament director Benny Benitez told the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum that they are in their third season already and the focus of this tournament are the Team B college players.

“There has to be a refresh for the concept, this is where we, Pinoyliga, come in,” said Benitez on Tuesday, October 22, at the conference hall of Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

Benitez also added that all the milestones of a Filipino basketball player came from the foundation that they have established, insinuating that the Pinoyliga also promotes inclusivity as they welcome other teams from other leagues such as NAASCU, NCRAA, and CESAFI.

“We started with the Alumni Cup, and eventually, we built the Collegiate Cup, then we added the Next Man Cup, then we also have the Juniors’ Cup.”

The current tournaments of Pinoyliga are the Alumni Cup and Juniors Cup, which commenced earlier this month, where NCAA junior’s champion Letran Squires and UAAP junior’s title-holder Adamson Baby Falcons are leading the participating teams.

Meanwhile, the Alumni Cup is now on its fifth season with the UE Red Warriors striving to claim its third straight title in the 40-above category, while the Mapua Cardinals will try to keep its championship in reach in the 30-above division.

Benitez also mentioned that the Next Man Cup will get underway in late November, where at least 10 to 14 squads are expected to take part including reigning champion College of St. Benilde. 

The National Basketball Association (NBA) 2024-2025 regular season starts today, October 23 (PHT).

Four teams are set to battle in the season opener. Two from the Eastern Conference and two from the Western Conference.

In the Eastern side, defending 2024 NBA champions Boston Celtics will take on the New York Knicks, while the Western camp features Los Angeles Lakers against the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

The Celtics will try to start their title-defense strong when they face the newly-reformed Knicks which recently acquired All-Star big man Karl Anthony Towns from the Wolves.

Meanwhile, the Lakers will still be led by the duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis against Minnesota that entered the Western Conference Finals last season but lost to the Dallas Mavericks. The Timberwolves also defeated their former main guy KAT via trade.

Their match-up could feature the father-son duo of LeBron and Bronny James for the first time.

The regular season will be until April 13, 2025. Each team has 82 games to play in it before the playoff begins on April 19, 2025.

All Star Weekend is scheduled on February 14-16, 2025.

And 'The Finals' is set to begin on June 5, 2025.

JM Bravo of the Lyceum of the Philippine University has been discharged from the Cardinal Santos Medical Center on Monday afternoon, October 21, after suffering a freak accident during their game against Arellano University in the NCAA Season 100 Seniors Basketball Tournament.

Bravo was cleared of any serious injuries after undergoing CT (Computed Tomography) scan and EEG (Electroencephalogram) but the doctors advised the 23-year-old forward to refrain from physical activities for the next three days as he will be under close monitoring.

And that means he will miss their crucial game against the College of Saint Benilde on Wednesday, October 23, as part of his recovery protocol.

The incident happened in the final eight seconds of their Saturday's game against the Chiefs when he went for a loose ball but crashed his chin to the back of the head of Arellano's Renzo Abiera.

He then lost his consciousness and it caused an immediate concern on the court. His teammate John Barba rushed to recover him and tried to revive him by shaking his head.

That act got a lot of criticism from many as it was not the standard protocol to revive an unconscious person. Others said that it might do more harm than good.

But Bravo took the act of his teammate and friend as a good one.

“Please STOP spreading bad vibes, bad and nonsense comments! John Barba and I are very close, and I treat him as a brother. I understand what he did, and I appreciate everyone’s concern, especially my team. So please stop making bad comments. I’m already okay and cleared,” he wrote in his social media when he was still in the hospital.

After 12 years, Coaches Tim Cone and Chot Reyes will battle it out once again in a PBA Finals.

Splitting their past six encounters at 3-3, the pals Cone and Reyes will grind it out in the championship match-up of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup.

The two mentors started their journey in Alaska when Coach Tim was still the head coach of the squad while Coach Chot was his chief deputy.

And now that they are together in the Finals once more, though in the opposing sides, Cone is happy to battle it out again with his friend.

"We are really just happy that we are back in and going to pit against my good friend coach Chot again," said the Barangay Ginebra mentor.

"There's always been that rivalry between Ginebra and TNT. Looking forward to mixing it up with my buddy," he added.

In their head-to-head match-up, Reyes won his first title against Cone during the 1994 Commissioner’s Cup when he guided Purefoods to a victory over Alaska.

Meanwhile, Tim Cone got back at his former deputy during the 1996 All-Filipino Cup. It was also the year where Alaska won grand slam titles.

The next two of their battles went to Cone as he won the 2003 Invitational Cup and the 2007 Fiesta Cup for Alaska, while Reyes won their last two competitions when he captured the 2002 All-Filipino Cup with Coca-Cola and the 2008-09 Philippine Cup with Talk ‘N Text.

Their next face-off will be the first time that Cone will take on Reyes in the Finals as the Gin Kings coach. The TNT-Ginebra tussle in the 2023 Governors’ Cup finals was between Cone and his former Alaska ward Jojo Lastimosa, who led the Tropang Texters to the promised land. Reyes at that time was focused on his role as Gilas Pilipinas head coach.

In the recently concluded semifinals, Cone and the Kings defeated the San Miguel Beermen in a gritty series, 4-2, while Reyes and the Tropang Giga overcame the young and persevering Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of their own series, 4-1. 

The 66-year-old Cone, is the winningest coach in the league’s history with 25 titles tucked under his belt and still looking for more, while the 61-year-old Reyes has nine championships.

They were both multiple recipients of the “Coach of the Year” awards from the PBA Press Corps. The award is named after ‘The Maestro’ Virgilio ‘Baby’ Dalupan.

Cone won the award four times already, while Reyes won it six times – the most in PBA’s history.

Game 1 of the finals will be on Sunday, October 27, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

San Miguel Beermen team consultant Leo Austria has given his take on their series against Barangay Ginebra, on what they lack and what they need to do in order for them to get toe-to-toe versus their rival.

As of writing, the series is tied 2-2 and it seemed like the observations and assessments that Austria shared with Dribble Report after Game 1 have come into reality.

In an exclusive interview with Dribble Report, the nine-time PBA champion coach shared that after Game 1 of their semifinal series, SMB needed to do a lot of things because if they don’t change their approach in the game, the match-up might have a different story already.

After Game 1, coach Leo said that they must address the hot perimeter shooting of Ginebra where they scored 56 out of the 122 points.

“If you will take a look at the stats and all, we just allowed them to score in the perimeter.I think 56 points, 4-point play, 5 times, that's 20. And then a 3-point play, that's 12, that's 36, plus 20, that's 56. And they scored 122,” Austria said.

He also shared that in a semifinals series like the one they are in, SMB should not allow their opponent to put up more than 100 points especially that Ginebra doesn’t have a dominant big man on the post like the eight-time MVP of the Beermen, June Mar Fajardo.

Austria also specified that their nemesis are already intact because they have already been together for quite some time and the fluidity of their play is evident at present. And the Gin Kings also have additional rest because they finished their quarterfinals series earlier.

As for the Beermen, they took a longer route in beating Converge in the quarterfinals where it went the distance. They also played in the opening of the East Asian Super League or EASL. But that’s not an excuse for them.

“And regarding the adjustment, we have to be prepared mentally. And let us forget what happened on October 9. We cannot dwell on that. But we have to learn from the mistakes and lapses,” said Austria.

The nine-time PBA champion mentor also said that they need to focus and put more effort. And for them to be focused, they need a lot of preparation. But a day of preparation is not enough because it will zap the energy of the players.

True enough, after a two-days rest, the SMB displayed dominance in Game 4 to tie the series anew. The Beermen also won Game 2 but with just a six-point victory after falling down to the Gin Kings by 17 on their first outing. Ginebra also won Game 3 by a margin of 5 points.

Judd Flavell has been appointed as the new head coach of the New Zealand Men’s National Basketball Team. 

Flavell, who suited up for Tall Blacks in 38 games from 1999 to 2002, including the 2002 FIBA World Championships, succeeded former teammate and FIBA Hall of Famer Pero Cameron, barely two months before the Kiwis resumed their FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers campaign next month.

Last August, Basketball New Zealand announced that Cameron had accepted an offer to lead Ningbo Rockets in China after guiding the Tall Blacks for five years. 

This is the third time in a row that the nation has chosen a player from the renowned 2002 squad that advanced to the FIBA Basketball World Cup final four in Indianapolis to coach the national team. 

Prior to Cameron, Paul Henare, another member of the 2002 squad, led the Tall Blacks to victory at the FIBA Asia Cup in 2017 and the 2019 World Cup in China.

“There’s a lot of emotions that came up for me, because I feel so passionate about the black singlet, about the Tall Blacks, what we’ve done and achieved on the international stage in the past,” said Flavell.

“For me it’s been a long journey, coming from being part of the Tall Blacks programme as a player – growing up and having that dream of putting on the black singlet – and then being involved in some of our finer moments in 2001/02, then being an assistant coach. I really feel privileged and honored to be given this responsibility,” he added.

According to Basketball New Zealand CEO Dillon Boucher, Flavell is the ideal candidate to guide the Tall Blacks to victory in the next cycle because of his personality and experience.

“Judd has played at the highest level with the Tall Blacks and now gets to lead them as Head Coach. His passion for the jersey and for New Zealand basketball is as high as you can get,” Boucher remarked.

In the second window of the Asia Cup qualifiers, New Zealand, ranked No. 22 in the FIBA World Rankings, will play its first of two games against Gilas Pilipinas on November 21 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. 

The Kiwis and the Filipinos, both with spotless 2-0 records after the February window, will compete for the solo top spot of Group B when they face each other next month. 

The TNT Tropang Giga is just one win away from getting back to the PBA Finals.

Tonight, the titleholder will have a chance to do it at the Ynares Center in Antipolo when they battle Rain or Shine in the Game 5 of their PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup semifinals series.

But it will not be that easy for the Tropang Giga as the Elasto Painters won’t give up until the final buzzer just like what they did in their past games.

In their first two games, TNT showed on why they are the defending champions by dominating those outings but the next two games were grind out as the winning margins have only an average of 1.5.

If the Tropang Giga gets the win tonight in Antipolo, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and his local teammates will have a chance to have back-to-back titles in the said conference which they also won in 2023 against Barangay Ginebra.

Incidentally, if the trend in the other series where the Gin Kings and Beermen split their first four games, a rematch between TNT and Ginebra could possibly happen.

Though the Tropang Giga can put an end to the Elasto Painters’ campaign tonight, the two coaches have different approaches in their upcoming game that will tip off at 7:30 p.m.

"The finals are farthest from our minds right now. Our only thought is to prepare for the next game - Game 5," said TNT coach Chot Reyes

While RoS coach Yeng Guiao uttered: "We still feel good about the series. It would be hard to climb back. But we're getting used to finding ways to win. Yes we're down but it could easily have been an even series. That's our perspective. It's positive. We're enjoying the series as we're learning a lot. Meron pa kaming pwedeng i-adjust na makakatulong sa amin," said Guiao.

"RHJ is playing more than 46 minutes a game, high intensity. Kung ma-extend namin into Game Six or Game Seven, there's the possibility he might tire out. That's our objective," Guiao added.

San Miguel showed how mighty they are when they tied the series against Ginebra, 131-121, in the Game 4 of their semi-finals match-up held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

SMB head coach Jorge Gallent was happy that his wards responded to the challenge that they played hard, put more effort and brought a lot of energy for them to win the game.

“I challenged them during our practice yesterday that they need to be strong, put effort, and bring a lot of energy to have a big chance of winning the game. So, kudos to them,” said Gallent in Filipino.

June Mar Fajardo led the Beemen with 29 points, 16 rebounds, and three assists, while import CJ Anosike added 27 markers and CJ Perez contributed 15.

Marcio Lassiter and Don Trollano also scored in double digits with 15 points each.

Meanwhile, Gin Kings coach Tim Cone said that they had no answer to the great performance that SMB threw at them.

“They’re just too good for us tonight. They were firing on all cylinders. We had no answer for them. They were hitting shots from the outside, they were getting to the rim, getting the ball to June Mar. We just didn’t have an answer for them tonight,” according to Cone.

“Basically, it’s back to the drawing boards and we’ll figure out what we could do better next time around,” Cone added.

Justin Brownlee paced the Ginebra with 49 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.

Game 5 of the series will be on Friday, October 17, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.