By Michael Angelo S. Murillo

THE Blackwater Elite continued to pile up the wins in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup yesterday just as they kept the Alaska Aces winless and reeling following a 111-106 double overtime (OT) victory in midweek action at the Mall of Asia Arena.

GILAS Pilipinas ended its campaign in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup in Beirut, Lebanon, on a winning note, beating Jordan, 75-70, last night to salvage a seventh place finish in the high-profile continental basketball tournament.

Relegated to the classification matches after bowing out in the quarterfinals last week, the Philippine men’s national basketball team exited on a high but not after having made to sweat by a highly determined Jordanian team.

FOLLOWING a slow start to the season-ending Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup that had them losing their first three games, the Blackwater Elite have since turned things around with back-to-back wins and look to extend it some more when they play anew today.

Set to take on the still-winless Alaska Aces in the 4:15 p.m. curtain-raiser at the Mall of Asia Arena, the Elite (2-3), boosted by the arrival of replacement import Henry Walker, go for a conference-high third straight win and pull even in the standings where they have been making steady ascent.

Allen Durham and Garvo Lanete combined for 60 points to get the Meralco Bolts back to their winning ways, grinding out a 107-104 victory over the Phoenix Fuel Masters on Friday night at Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

LEAGUE-LEADING Star aims to stay unbeaten as it shoots for a fourth straight win in as many starts in the resumption of the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup.

At the top of the standings without a defeat, Star (3-0) tries to keep it rolling as it faces a challenge from ailing Phoenix (2-4) at 7 p.m. today at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo

THE Philippines saw its promising run at the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon come to a screeching end early yesterday morning after it was routed by old nemesis South Korea, 118-86, in the quarterfinals of the high-profile continental basketball tournament.

Failing to stop the South Koreans’ fluid offense, Gilas Pilipinas scrambled all game long en route to bowing out of contention, a turnaround from the solid start it had in the Cup that had it sweeping all its three games in group play.

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo

SAW how Christian Standhardinger and Carl Bryan Cruz made a good account of themselves in the recent FIBA Asia Cup, Gilas Pilipinas big man Troy Rosario said he is very excited to team up with the two as they begin their quest for the gold in the ongoing 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Part of the 12-man team seeing action in the regional biennial meet, Messrs. Standhardinger and Cruz are doing double duty for the national team as they were also part of the Gilas squad that saw action in the just-concluded FIBA Asia Cup in Beirut, Lebanon, where the Philippines finished seventh overall.

TOP half teams NLEX Road Warriors and Meralco Bolts look to fortify their win-loss cards in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup when they take on separate opponents in the resumption of festivities today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Took a break on Wednesday to give way to the campaign of Gilas Pilipinas in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup in Beirut, Lebanon, the season-ending PBA tournament returns today with NLEX (5-1) and Meralco (4-1), currently second and third in that order in the standings, taking on the Blackwater Elite and Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters, respectively.