2nd Round- September 19 @ 1215AM and 3AM
Semifinals- September 20 @ 1230AM and 3AM3rd Place- September 21 @ 1230AM

Finals- September 21 @ 315AM

BTV

2nd Round- September 19 @ 1215AM and 3AM
Semifinals- September 20 @ 1230AM and 3AM
3rd Place- September 21 @ 1230AM
Finals- September 21 @ 315AM

BTV

2nd Round- September 19 @ 1215AM and 3AM
Semifinals- September 20 @ 1230AM and 3AM
3rd Place- September 21 @ 1230AM
Finals- September 21 @ 315AM

BTV

ESPN
Sky Cable 31
Destiny 82

Series is tied 2-2

The Gin Kings came with all guns ablazed to complete a rout of the Beermen 146-111 to even the championship series of the 2006-07 PBA Talk N Text Philippine Cup at 2 wins apiece. Mark Caguioa, Eric Menk and Rudy Hatfield conspired in 13-3 run in the opening quarter to give the Gin Kings a 32-24 lead which they never relinquished until the final buzzer. Six Gin Kings scored in double figures led by Caguioa's 25 points. Dondon Hontiveros paced the struggling Beermen with 20 points. Danny Seigle and Dorian Pena had 18 points each. Tugade was held to only 4 points after scoring 25 points the previous game. The Beermen have already lost twice in a row, in lopsided fashion at that. Games will resume on February 21 (Wednesday).

Scores:
Ginebra 146 – Caguioa 25, Helterbrand 21, Salvacion 20, Menk 15, Hatfield 14, Abarrientos 11, Tubid 9, Macapagal 8, Mamaril 7, Reavis 7, Holper 5, Seigle 4.
San Miguel 111 – Hontiveros 20, Seigle 18, Pena 18, Calaguio 15, Racela 10, Ildefonso 6, Adducul 5, Espinas 4, Tugade 4, Wilson 4, Gonzales 2.
Quarterscores: 32-24, 71-49, 116-78, 146-111

Full Recap / Complete Boxscores

San Miguel leads series 2-1

Brgy Ginebra knew they had to win game 3 to help save the series for the Gin Kings and win they did. Fil-am Rafi Reavis rebounded mightily from his lousy game 2 performance with a 13-point 15-rebound game to help Brgy Ginebra to a 131-101 rout of San Miguel Beer in the 2006-07 PBA Talk N Text Philippine Cup finals. Injured forward Eric Menk finally played significant minutes and contributed 12 points and 11 points. Rudy Hatfield, Mark Caguioa, Ronald Tubid and Jayjay Helterbrand all scored in double figures with the H-bomb leading the way with 28 points. San Miguel was paced by leading scorer Danny Seigle with 26 points. Lordy Tugade was effective from the outside with 25 points but couldn't find enough support from his teammates. Dondon Hontiveros was the missing link with only 5 points after scoring in double figures the previous two games.

Scores:
Ginebra 131 - Hatfield 28, Caguioa 26, Tubid 19, Helterbrand 14, Reavis 13, Menk 12, Salvacion 9, Abarrientos 6, Holper 2, Mamaril 2, Macapagal 0.
San Miguel 101 - Seigle 26, Tugade 25, Wilson 10, Racela 10, Tenorio 8, Calaguio 8, Pena 7, Hontiveros 5, Adducul 2, Espinas 0, Gonzales 0.
Quarterscores: 23-26, 56-55, 99-81, 131-101

Full Recap / Complete Boxscores

In the PBA, personnel movement are not only limited to players but coaches as well. Yesterday, the Sta. Lucia Realtors named ertswhile assistant coach Teodorico "Boyet" Fernandez III as the team's new head coach in lieu of Alfrancis Chua. Chua has been elevated to the consultancy level for the second time. Adonis Tierra and Cholo Martin will stay as assistant coaches. Chua will be leaving for the US shortly to attend several coaching and management seminars. He will continue to be part of the company’s basketball operations. Meanwhile, Joel Banal has already returned to the Alaska coaching staff as one of Tim Cone's assistants. Banal reportedly signed for a six-month contract but it is not known if he would assume the head coaching post after that. Senator Robert Jaworski, the PBA's Living Legend, is said to be entertaining an offer from Air21 (Talk N Text has been rumored too but we had no confirmation on that yet) for the head coaching position or as head of basketball operations. This was confirmed by no less than his son Dudut Jaworski. If Jaworski makes it to Air21, expect him to assume full authority with regards to the team's basketball operations. It could be recalled that Jaworski resigned from his Ginebra post in 1999 after SMC appointed Allan Caidic as player-coach. Air21's penchance for trading players and 12-man coaching philosophy (or fielding all 12 players in a game) could pose as a problem. Jawo is a believer in loyalty (loyal players I mean) and does not want to be dictated upon involving basketball matters, including fielding of players in a game. If Jawo makes it to the Express, expect the team's popularity rating to go up. It would be exciting to see Jawo and the Express facing Ginebra in a game.

San Miguel leads series 2-0

Danny Seigle and Mark Caguioa engaged in a fiery combat but when the smoke of the battle cleared, it was San Miguel on top 104-101. The Beermen gain a 2-0 lead in the 2006-07 PBA Talk N Text Philippine Cup finals heading into game 3. Rafi Reavis bungled two free throws that could have tied the game at 101 with 24 seconds left on the clock. The Gin Kings still had an opportunity to win the game but with 12 seconds left but Reavis elected to shoot from three point distance as time ran out. The Beermen led by double digits most of the game but a Ginebra rally in the fourth quarter made the game interesting in the end game. The Gin Kings cut the deficit to one 95-96 with over a minute a left in the clock but couldn't squeeze through with a win.

Scores:
San Miguel 104 – Seigle 31, Hontiveros 22, Tugade 19, Racela 11, Tenorio 9, Adducul 5, Calaguio 3, Wilson 2, Pena 2, Espinas 0, Gonzales 0.
Ginebra 101 – Caguioa 32, Hatfield 20, Helterbrand 12, Reavis 10, Salvacion 7, Mamaril 6, Tubid 4, Menk 4, Abarrientos 4, Macapagal 2.
Quarterscores: 27-30, 56-52, 83-69, 104-101

Full Recap / Complete Boxscores

San Miguel leads series 1-0

Lordy Tugade played his best game in a San Miguel uniform and Danny Seigle continued his offensive assault firing 27 and 22 points, respectively to dominate the Brgy Ginebra Gin Kings 118-94 in game 1 of the All-Filipino Finals. Tugade scored 18 of his 27 points, spiked by three triples in the first half to help the Beermen pull away from a tight first quarter. Dorian Pena had 18 points and 12 rebounds. Mark Caguioa led the way for the Gin Kings with 30 points. Rudy Hatfield contributed 22 points and 8 rebounds.

Scores:
San Miguel 118 – Tugade 27, Seigle 22, Pena 18, Tenorio 12, Calaguio 10, Wilson 7, Racela 7, Hontiveros 6, Adducul 5, Espinas 2, Gonzales 2.
Ginebra 94 – Caguioa 30, Hatfield 22, Tubid 12, Abarrientos 12, Helterbrand 6, Salvacion 5, Reavis 4, Mamaril 2, Macapagal 1, Holper 0, Seigle 0.
Quarterscores: 29-23, 62-42, 89-72, 118-94

Full Recap / Complete Boxscores

Talk N Text wins battle of 3rd

The Talk N Text Phonepals pounced on a listless Red Bull squad 124-111 to cop third place in the tournament. The Phonepals were led by Asi Taulava, Anthony Washington and Harvey Carey - all scoring with at least 22 points. Cyrus Baguio was the lone bright spot for Red Bull with 27 points. It was the highest finish for the Phonepals in the All-Filipino tournament since figuring in the finals with Ginebra two years ago. It was also the highest finish attained by coach Derrick Pumaren since he coached the championship-winning squad of Sunkist back in 1995.

Scores:
Talk ‘N Text 124 – Taulava 30, Washington 27, Carey 22, Ritualo 13, de Ocampo 8, Belano 7, Fran 6, Noble 6, Alapag 2.
Red Bull 111 – Baguio 27, Villanueva 18, Valenzuela 15, Pennisi 10, Najorda 9, Alvarez 9, Bugia 8, Sharma 6, Cruz 4, Fonacier 3, Membrere 2.
Quarterscores: 37-30, 63-52, 97-78, 124-111

Full Recap / Complete Boxscores

San Miguel wins series 4-3

There wasn't anyone on the Ginebra bench who could contain Danny Seigle and you know that when Seigle explodes, San Miguel usually wins. Dynamite Danny finished with 36 points and was ably backstopped by gunner Dondon Hontiveros who had his own explosive night with 31 points to lead the Beermen to series clinching win 119-115 over Red Bull and advance to the 2006-07 PBA Talk N Text Philippine Cup finals opposite the Brgy Ginebra Gin Kings. Red Bull last lead 69-66 on a Larry Fonacier three-pointer early in the third quarter but Seigle conspired with Willie Wilson to complete an 8-0 run with eight minutes left in the third to push the Beermen on top. Enrico Villanueva's 17 points lead four other Barakos in double digits.

Scores:
San Miguel 119 - Seigle 36, Hontiveros 31, Tenorio 12, Wilson 8, Pena 8, Tugade 5, Racela 5, Espinas 4, Adducul 4, Ildefonso 4, Gonzales 2, Calaguio 0.
Red Bull 115 - Villanueva 17, Fonacier 16, Valenzuela 16, Pennisi 16, Sharma 14, Baguio 9, Robinson 7, Najorda 6, Alvarez 6, Bugia 4, Cruz 3, Membrere 1.
Quarterscores: 26-26, 64-59, 88-81, 119-115

Full Recap / Complete Boxscores

Series tied 3-3

Red Bull bucked the ejection of coach Yeng Guiao and leaned on guard Celino Cruz' heroics in the end game to win game 6 104-100 and arranged a sudden-death game 7 on Wednesday. Guiao was ejected late in the second quarter on two technical fouls triggered by his collision with Beermen Dondon Hontiveros. Cruz scored nine of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, including two free throws that iced the game with 4 seconds left. It was also Cruz' three pointer that pushed Red Bull to a two-point lead they would later increase to seven 102-95 with less than two minutes left. A late San Miguel rally anchored on Danny Seigle and rookie LA Tenorio cut the deficit to just two 100-102. San Miguel had a chance to forged overtime but Danny Seigle missed a potential game-tying shot off Enrico Villanueva allowing Red Bull to escape with a win. The winner of the Wednesday game will face crowd favorite Ginebra Gin Kings in the All Filipino finals while the loser meets Talk N Text in the one-game battle for third.

Scores:
Red Bull 104 – Cruz 19, Baguio 18, Villanueva 18, Najorda 15, Fonacier 7, Alvarez 7, Valenzuela 6, Robinson 5, Pennisi 5, Sharma 4.
San Miguel 100 – Seigle 22, Tugade 16, Hontiveros 16, Ildefonso 16, Pena 10, Calaguio 6, Gonzales 5, Racela 4, Tenorio 3, Adducul 2, Wilson 0.
Quarterscores: 37-32, 50-53, 70-81, 104-100

Full Recap / Complete Boxscore

Brgy Ginebra wins series 4-2

Rudy Hatfield had a monster game (28 points, 12 rebounds) but it was the spitfirish guard Ronald Tubid who ignited the breakaway that finally put away the Talk N Text Phonepals 98-89. Mark Caguioa went down on leg cramps with still four minutes left on the clock but Tubid more than made up for his absence with several heads up play. Tubid got the goat of everyone, including Macmac Cardona who was ejected late in the third for kicking him in the tummy while he was still lying down. Cardona's ejection dealt a serious blow to the Phonepals' hopes of tying the series. Caguioa tallied only 15 points, his lowest in the series but Ginebra reserves Tubid, Sunday Salvacion and Billy Mamaril atoned for his lousy performance. Talk N Text led 57-47 early in the third quarter but a big Ginebra spurt led by Mamaril keyed a 28-14 run to grab the lead 75-66 at the end of the third quarter. A three-pointer by Anthony Washington midway in the final canto pushed the Phonepals to their last lead of the game 83-79. Eleven straight points by the Gin Kings led by Hatfield and Salvacion, however, broke the spirits of the Phonepals. The Gin Kings will now be making their 16th finals appearance, including eight in the All-Filipino. The Gin Kings await the winner of the San Miguel-Red Bull semifinals showdown on Wednesday.

Earlier, Johnny Abbarientos completed one steal in the game to overtake the legendary Ramon Fernandez (1,302) into the number one spot in the league’s all-time steals leader list.

Scores:
Barangay Ginebra 98 – Hatfield 28, Caguioa 15, Tubid 13, Salvacion 13, Mamaril 9, Reavis 8, Helterbrand 5, Holper 4, Abarrientos 3, Macapagal 0.
Talk ‘N Text 89 – Washington 21, Alapag 19, Cardona 12, Taulava 11, Ritualo 11, Carey 5, de Ocampo Y. 5, Belano 3, Noble 2, Fran 0.
Quarterscores: 15-21, 42-48, 71-66, 98-89

Full Recap / Complete Boxscore

Yesterday, the most sought after person on Yahoo was Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, which is no surprise given her great talent and the fact she has finished writing the last book in the series, exciting millions of fans around the globe. The second most searched item on Yahoo is Sun Ming Ming.

Which begs the question, who the hell is Sun Ming Ming?

It's very possible that you're going to joke that, quite possibly, it's yet another monster basketball player from China, out to try his hand at playing in the NBA, just like his more famous countryman Yao Ming, well, you're right.

(more...)

Brgy Ginebra leads series 3-2

The fast and the furious tandem of Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand conspired in the end game to help the Brgy Ginebra Gin Kings recover from the brink of collapse to win the game 108-105. When seemingly all was lost for the Gin Kings after Talk N Text led 105-102 with less than a minute left in the game, Caguioa and Helterbrand decided to take matter in their own hands, scoring back-to-back fastbreak plays to pull the heartstopper. The Gin Kings scored the last six points of the contest. Caguioa was in his usual explosive self, scoring a game-high 31 points to pace the Gin Kings. He got ample support from Rudy Hatfield, Helterbrand and Sunday Salvacion. It was a sorry loss for the Phonepals who came back from a 21-point deficit to seize control in the last 47 minutes of the contest only to lose the lead in the last 50 seconds. Anthony Washington paced the Phonepals with 22 points. Asi Taulava chipped in 21 points.

Scores:
Ginebra 108 – Caguioa 31, Hatfield 21, Helterbrand 15, Salvacion 10, Reavis 8, Holper 6, Mamaril 6, Tubid 5, Macapagal 4, Abarrientos 2.
Talk N Text 105 – Washington 22, Taulava 21, Cardona 19, Ritualo 13, Carey 11, Alapag 11, Belano 5, De Ocampo 3, Fran 0, Pablo 0.
Quarterscores: 35-20, 61-45, 87-80, 108-105.

Full Recap / Complete Boxscore

San Miguel leads series 3-2

San Miguel was a team on a mission last night. Seven players led by Danny Seigle (21 points) and Olsen Racela (19 points) scored in double figures to help the Beermen drub Red Bull 111-82, the franchise's second worst loss since a 102-68 beating at the hands of the same squad on August 28, 2002. After Red Bull led 33-32 in the second quarter, the Beermen rattled off 14 straight points to turn the game around. The Barakos never recovered after that. Cyrus Baguio (19 points) and Junthy Valenzuela (15 points) and Larry Fonacier (14 points) carried the fight for the out-of-sync Barakos of Red Bull. The Beermen could finish the series with another victory tomorrow.

Scores:
San Miguel Beer 111 – Seigle D. 21, Racela 19, Gonzales 16, Calaguio 15, Pena 13, Adducul 10, Ildefonso 10, Hontiveros 3, Espinas 2, Wilson 2, Tenorio 0, Tugade 0.
Red Bull 82 – Baguio 19, Valenzuela 15, Fonacier 14, Najorda 9, Alvarez 6, Cruz 5, Pennisi 5, Sharma 3, Robinson 3, Villanueva 2.
Quarterscores: 23-16, 46-52, 76-77, 109-107.

Full Recap / Complete Boxscore

Series tied 2-2

Red Bull strung up seven straight points in the end game, the last three on a three point heave by Mick Pennisi to rally the Barakos past the San Miguel Beermen 109-107 in their semifinals duel in the 2006-07 PBA Talk N Text Philippine Cup. Pennisi sank the go ahead basket on a Junthy Valenzuela pick-and-roll with 6.3 ticks left on the game clock. Pennisi made only 2-10 three pointers for the night but made one that mattered most. The Beermen were poised to win the contest after leading 107-102, the last three on an LA Tenorio three-pointer with time down to 1:48. The Barakos, however, refused to give up the fight and scored in their next two possessions to reduced the lead to a mere point 107-106. An LA Tenorio miss in the Beermen's next possession allowed the Barakos to set up Pennisi's game winning shot. Dondon Hontiveros tried to bring the game to overtime but last second lay-up was blocked by Junthy Valenzuela. Larry Fonacier was hot all game long, scoring 23 points on 4-4 from beyond the arc. Carlo Sharma was another revelation for the Barakos in this game contributing 16 points. San Miguel was led by Danny Seigle's 21 points and Dondon Hontiveros' 17 points.

Scores:
Red Bull 109 – Fonacier 23, Sharma 16, Valenzuela 16, Najorda 14, Alvarez 11, Pennisi 11, Baguio 8, Cruz 7, Villanueva 3, Robinson 0.
San Miguel 107 – Seigle 22, Hontiveros 17, Pena 15, Racela 10, Ildefonso 10, Tenorio 9, Calaguio 9, Wilson 6, Adducul 4, Gonzales 3, Tugade 2.
Quarterscores: 23-16, 46-52, 76-77, 109-107.

Full Recap / Complete Boxscore

Series tied 2-2

Mark Caguioa scored 26 of his 35 points in the second half as he keyed in Brgy Ginebra's furious attack to dismantle the Talk N Text Phonepals 110-103 in their semifinals duel in the 2006-07 PBA Talk N Text Philippine Cup. It was the third time in four games that Caguioa broke the 30-point mark. Rudy Hatfield had another monstrous game with 18 points and 20 rebounds as he along with point guard Jay Helterbrand, who had 14 points and 13 assists, center Rafi Reavis (13 points and 10 boards) provided ample support to help Ginebra control the game in the second half. The Gin Kings dominated the Phone Pals off the boards in the second half 30-20 and outscored them 62-51 after trailing the opening half by four points 48-52. Anthony Washington topscored for Talk N Text with 23 points, but only 2 points in the second half. Game 3 heroes Macmac Cardona and Renren Ritualo were not in the same explosive mode, scoring only 15 and 4 points, respectively. Harvey Carey (21 points and 11 boards) tried to carry the fight by himself but couldn't get the job done without help from his teammates.

Scores:
Barangay Ginebra 110 – Caguioa 35, Hatfield 18, Helterbrand 14, Reavis 13, Tubid 12, Salvacion 7, Holper 5, Mamaril 5, Macapagal 1, Seigle A. 0, Abarrientos 0.
Talk ‘N Text 103 – Washington 23, Carey 21, Taulava 17, Alapag 17, Cardona 15, Ritualo 4, de Ocampo Y. 4, Fran 2, Noble 0, Belano 0.
Quarterscores: 29-29, 48-52, 77-75, 110-103.

Full Recap / Complete Boxscore