FIBA Asia Championship Draw Results

                                          image via @magoomarjon on twitter
Here is the groupings of the Team that will join the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship

Group A 
Jordan, Chinese Taipei, Saudi Arabia, Philippines

Group B
Japan, Quatar, Lebanon, Bahrain

Group C
China, Korea, Iran, Sout East Asia 2

Group D
Kazakhstan, Sout East Asia 1, India, Hong Kong

The draw was help today inside the Manila Hotel Philippines.
With the Philippines as a host having the right to chose which group it will join at number 13 pick the coaching staff chooses to be in Group A.

By choosing Group A the Philippines can avoid the possible cross match with the top 2 of Group C which is also now called as the group of death.

The format on the second round would be top 2 teams in Group A & B will meet in the q'finals; Top 2 teams in Group C & D will crossover in q'finals.

I personally think that the Philippines did a very smart move by choosing Group A.

Fidel Mangonon VS Snow Badua

                                            image via spin.ph

Fidel Mangonon, the PBA's chief statistician has filed a case versus the well known sports columnist Snow Badua.

Fidel Mangonon III filed physical injuries case before the Quezon City prosecutor’s office against Edmund “Snow” Badua a well known sport columnist and reporter.

According to reports, Mangonon's lawyer Earl Villarin has confirmed that a cas was indeed filed.

Villarin in a text message "We have a pending physical injuries case against Mr. Badua pending before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Quezon City, As we do not want to prejudice our case in any way, we would not want to disclose any specific details at this time."

According to resources this alleged  incident happened last May 12 before the match between Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Talk ‘N Text.

Asi Taulava wins ABL MVP

                                          Photo from ASEAN Basketball League website


10 years after winning his MVP award with the PBA, the man they call "The Rock", Asi Taulava once again wins another MVP award. This time Asi won it in the Asean Basketball League also known as ABL.

Taulava beat 4 other candidates for the MVP award including 3 other Filipinos. The other  nominees are Froilan Baguion of the Sports Rev Thailand Slammers, Jai Reyes of the Saigon Heat, Mario Wuysang of the Indonesia Warriors and his teammate Chris Banchero of the SanMiguel Beermen.

Taulava won the award but it was really a close fight that saw Asi beating his closest rival by only 4 points.

Asi thanks all his fans via twitter. He said "Thank u 2 all my fans here n in da Asean countrys 4 da ur support. Dis award 4 u as well! Couldnt have done it with u n 1 luv 2 all da #OWFs !" He was also greeted by a lot of  basketball players fro diffrent team in the PBA.

Could this be a sign of the return of "The Rock" to the PBA?

Belga finally secures visa.

                                          image via interaksyon

Beau Belga will finally join Gilas Pilipinas in Lithuania .

The Rain Or Shine Elastropainters center finally got his visa to Lithuania Monday afternoon. This means that Belga will follow his the rest of the Gilas Pilipinas training pool member to join their training camp for two weeks.

According to Beau Belga he will leave on Wednesday at 8:00 pm and is expected to arrive in Lithuania on Thursday just in time for the team first tune-up game against a Lithuanian ball club Klapeidos Neptunas.

However Belga said "Baka hindi pa ako makasali sa first scrimmage namin. Baka yung second game na".
 

Miami Heat defeats Indiana Pacers 99-76 to advance to the Finals

                                          image via Reuters

LeBron James scored 32 points while Dwyane Wade added 21 points as the Heat beat the Pacers 99 to 76 to advance to the NBA finals for the third consecutive season.

It was Wade's best game in the last 12 that he played dating back to their series against the Bucks. Wade and Bosh was evidently aggressive in the first few minutes of the game. LeBron shot his first attempt after a combined 8 shots by Wade and Bosh.

Miami finished the half with 52 to 37 advantage and they never looked back. It was a complete struggle for Indiana as Miami forced them to 15 turnover.

In the second half Miami continued their dominance as they fished the game 99 to 76 to set up a tittle showdown against the San Antonio Spurs.

Asi Taulava is Ok to Stay With SMB on ABL but Wishes to Join Ginebra

                                          Image courtesy of aseanbasketballleague.com

Asi Taulava's career has been revived after playing with the SanMiguel Beermen in the ABL.

The former PBA MVP Taulava help the Beermen reach the ABL's finals for the second straight year. The man they call "The Rock" has been rock soild for his team.

Because of Asi's new found youth, he is now considering going back to the PBA where he made his name for the past years. One of his wish when he returns to the PBA is to play for the country's most popular team Barangay Ginebra SanMiguel.

According to an interview Asi said "If I get a chance to back to the PBA, I’m cool with it," he aslo said "Yup, it’s a dream to play for Ginebra."

Asi's wish t play for Ginebra is easier said than done because standing their way is his former team Meralco Bolts. Meralco still has Taulava's PBA playing rights.

If his with will not be granted Taulava is very much willing to stay in the ABL to help his SanMiguel Beermen.

Pacers Ties the Series 3-3 Againts Miami

                                          Image via nba.com

The Indiana Pacers made a bid explosion at the second half of their game 6 against Miami Heat to tie their series to 3-3 going back to game 7 at Miami.

Paul George and Roy Hibbert played big for the Pacers. George scored 28 points while Hibbert scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebound to bounce back from game 5 loss to tie the series 3-3.

Miami made a last run on the fourth quarter to bring the lead down to 4 points but that was the closet they have gotten. David west scored basket after basket to help the Pacers weather the 4th quarter run by Miami anchored on two consecutive 3 pointer by Mike Miller to defeat the Heat 91-77.