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The Truth about Calvin Abueva Enlisting for National Team Service

Various reports from different media outlets have cited different sources that the chances of Calvin Abueva joining the Gilas program are beginning to pick up.

InterAKTV first cited that according to a high-ranking staff of the national team, The Beast has been on their radar ever since the start of the program. The source added that they picked Sonny Thoss over him because of the one-per-team rule that was agreed upon by all the PBA teams, “Tig-iisa lang, so si Sonny Thoss nalang” (their attempt to build a strong insurance program to support Marcus Douthit).

(And maybe because at that time, at the onset of the program, they really didn’t know how good Calvin was.) Read more »

VIDEO: Projected Top Pick and Newest Cleveland Cavalier – Nerlens Noel

BY Nikko Ramos

With the Cleveland Cavaliers once again winning the NBA Draft Lottery (video of that here. Fair warning: it’s so boring even Algebra teachers would snooze over it), pundits have gone crazy trying to predict who will join Kyrie Irving in Ohio. The name that comes up near unanimously? Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel.

Kobe 8 Mambacurial, Where Basketball and Football Are Fused

BY Aaron Atayde

Growing up in Italy, Kobe Bryant was an avid basketball and soccer player and remains a dedicated soccer fan to this day. Now Nike pays tribute to Kobe’s love of both sports with the KOBE 8 MAMBACURIAL, a basketball shoe inspired by the unique design of the Nike Mercurial Vapor IX football boot.

(More pictures after the jump.)

SLAMRadioPH: Episode 18 – Sonny Thoss Ekis

BY Aaron Atayde

The Finals might be done and we are now heading into a break, but SLAMRadioPH is not going to stop!

Aaron, Nikko, and Robi breakdown the Finals of the Commissioner’s Cup and look back at the entire Conference for all of the teams by comparing the team to a movie. It could be because of the movie plot or movie title. You guys can do the same in the comments section.

What to look out for in this episode:

Robi is a big fan of Filipino movies.
Which team was compared to a The Rock movie?
Which team earned the title of Gigli?
The Hangover was tagged onto what team?
“Masakit yung nangyari kay Aga, bro!” was said somewhere in this episode.

Enjoy, rate, review, and subscribe to SLAMRadioPH on iTunes!

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Slam Sneaker Watch FINALS edition: The Fast, The Furious and Skyrus

BY Miguel Rocha

The Finals might have ended in a sweep, but a few kicks were shining in the limelight. Congrats to the Alaska Aces!

Mark Caguioa in the Reebok Answer 1. Read more »

The Alaska Aces and The (Champion) Chip on Their Shoulder

BY Aaron Atayde

It was complete domination in the fourth quarter of Game 3. It was clinical in the third quarter of Game 2. It was the statement sent in the first quarter of the series. Alaska was out to prove something. Or at least that is what it looked like when the bright lights of the Finals were shining down onto them.

It was as if each and every person on this roster, wait… Scratch that. Let’s try that again. It was as if each and every person in this organization had something to prove or disprove. Whether it was the whole Alaska team proving that they were better off without their previous mentor or disproving that a single beast can’t do beastly things in big games.

They all had a chip on their shoulders that needed to be filled.

Game 3 Preview: Aces Try to Finish Off Ginebra

BY Robi Raya

InterAKTV

WHAT THIS GAME MEANS:

For Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, it’s as simple as DO! or DIE! They’ve been dominated by a team that clearly is better than them and they haven’t shown any inkling of being able to find counters against Alaska’s D. Macklin and Caguioa have looked like shells of their former selves.

Will Chualay be able to pull another rabbit out of the hat? This is the game where they can show what it means to never say “die!”.

For Alaska, this game is about sustaining the same level of focus and dominance to finally clinch their first championship in three years. Read more »

Game 2 Preview: Ginebra Aims to Recover From ‘Gulpe de Gulat’ By Alaska

BY Robi Raya

WHAT THIS GAME MEANS

If Alaska wins Game 2, BGSM is on the ropes. If Ginebra wins, then golly, it’s a series!

Remember how Manny Pacquiao staggered Juan Manuel Marquez in the first round of their first fight? That’s practically what Alaska did to the Barangay, and Ginebra wasn’t able to dodge the haymakers. The question now is, going into Game 2, will Coach Alfrancis Chua be able to make technically sound adjustments to recover from the shellacking they got in Game 1 the way JMM countered his way into a draw in that first fight? Will Ginebra display unbelievable resiliency and high adversity quotient the way JMM did?

Or will Alaska show again that they are a flat out better team? Read more »

#TBT VIDEO: Gilas goes Gangnam

BY Miguel Rocha

I still believe Gilas won the dance off in Digos..

Alaska Goes on a Tear, Ginebra Goes Back to Scratch, and Bangaw Goes On-Cam

BY Aaron Atayde

Complete domination.

Right from the get go, Alaska proved to the Philippine basketball world that they wanted Game 1 of this series a whole lot more than Ginebra did. They were hungrier, they were readier, and they were just flat out better on the court. Coach Luigi Trillo had his boys foaming at the mouths with the thought of finally playing in the Finals together and it completely paid off.