Top 10 hoop stories

There were lots of impactful storylines in Philippine basketball last year. Here are 10 of the most memorable hoop happenings of 2019.

• SEA Games sweep. Four gold medals were at stake in basketball at the recent SEA Games and the Philippines took them all. In men’s 3x3, the Philippines blasted Indonesia, 21-17, Myanmar, 21-10, Vietnam, 21-15, Thailand, 21-10, Malaysia, 21-13 and Cambodia, 21-6 in the preliminaries then took out Thailand, 21-11 in the semis and Indonesia, 21-9, in the final. The winning team was made up of Chris Newsome, C. J. Perez, Jason Perkins and Mo Tautuaa. In men’s 5x5, the Philippines crushed Singapore, 110-58, Vietnam, 110-69 and Myanmar, 136-67 in the preliminaries then trounced Indonesia, 97-70 in the semis and Thailand, 115-81 in the final. The squad was composed of Japeth Aguilar, June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, Vic Manuel, Stanley Pringle, Kiefer Ravena, Troy Rosario, Chris Ross, Greg Slaughter, Christian Standhardinger, L. A. Tenorio and Matthew Wright with Tim Cone as head coach. 

In women’s 3x3, the Philippines beat Myanmar, 21-4, Malaysia, 15-13, Indonesia, 16-13 and Vietnam, 21-14 before bowing to Thailand, 22-20 in the preliminaries then whipped Vietnam, 21-12 in the semis and defeated Thailand, 17-13, in the final. Afril Bernardino, Jack Animam, Clare Castro and Janine Pontejos were on the gold medal team. In women’s 5x5, the Philippines disposed of Indonesia, 63-56, Malaysia, 81-75 and Thailand, 91-71 in the single round-robin format to clinch its first-ever gold in the competition. Coach Pat Aquino’s players were Animam, Bernardino, Castro, Pontejos, Chack Cabinbin, Khate Castillo, Eunique Chan, Kelli Hayes, Danica Jose, Ria Nabalan, Nathalia Prado and Marrize Tongco.

• San Miguel Beer’s near Grand Slam. Coach Leo Austria led the Beermen to the PBA Philippine and Commissioner’s Cup championships this season. The only jewel missing to clinch a Grand Slam was the Governors Cup trophy. San Miguel got off to a 4-0 start in the third conference with import Dez Wells showing the way but things went sour down the stretch as the Beermen lost four of their last five games in the eliminations. Wells was replaced by NBA veteran John Holland, who failed to book a single win in three outings and Arwind Santos, Kelly Nabong and Ronald Tubid were suspended by team management for a scuffle at practice. With a twice-to-win disadvantage in the quarters, San Miguel lost to Barangay Ginebra, 100-97, to end its Grand Slam dream.

• Sotto trains abroad. Last March, 7-1 Kai Sotto moved to the US to undergo personalized training and the 17-year-old rising star is slowly developing into a dominant center with options to enrol at the University of Kentucky or Georgia Tech. East West Private Ltd., a US wealth and talent management company, is overseeing Sotto’s journey and several mentors, including cage legend Chuck Person, are on board to guide him to a possible career in the NBA. Sotto played for the Philippines at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Greece last June 29-July 7, averaging 11.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 28.4 minutes in seven games.

• Ateneo, NU sweep UAAP titles. History was made in the UAAP men’s and women’s basketball tournaments last year. Ateneo posted a perfect 16-0 record in claiming the championship to become the first-ever men’s team to finish unscathed. Coach Tab Baldwin’s Blue Eagles breezed through the eliminations and earned an automatic slot in the finals where they beat UST in two straight. It was Ateneo’s third consecutive crown. In the women’s division, NU won its sixth successive title and coach Pat Aquino’s Lady Bulldogs extended their unbeaten streak to a record 96 games. NU played the finals against UST without Jack Animam who was unavailable after suffering a fracture in her right orbital bone during the FIBA Women’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Auckland. 

• Gilas makes it to FIBA World Cup. The Philippines barely qualified for the FIBA World Cup in China last year, compiling a 7-5 record over six home-and-away windows to edge Lebanon (6-6) for the last Asia/Pacific ticket. Gilas had to win its last two games on the road to advance to the World Cup and coach Yeng Guiao’s charges didn’t disappoint, downing Qatar, 84-46 and Kazakhstan, 93-75 last February. In the World Cup, the Philippines bowed to Italy, 108-62, Serbia, 126-67 and Angola, 84-81 in OT in the first round then fell to Tunisia, 86-67 and Iran, 95-75 to wind up No. 32 and last in the standings. It was Gilas’ second straight appearance in the World Cup after a 40-year absence until 2014.

The next five stories will be highlighted in tomorrow’s column.