Marin Cilic looking to contribute for the UAE Royals in the IPTL

Marin Cilic of the UAE Royals

Croatian tennis star Marin Cilic looks forward to participating in the inaugural season of the Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League.

The 9th-ranked Croat will join forces with men's world #1 Novak Djokovic, Eugenie Bouchard, Caroline Wozniacki, Goran Ivanisevic, Nenad Zimonjic and Malek Jaziri for the UAE Royals, and he believes that they as a team will be "difficult to beat."

For Marin, his decision to be a part of this tournament is about the chance for fans in untapped markets to see their favorite netters.

"For me a big part of the decision came because in the countries where we’ll play, people can’t see players too often. It’s a really nice opportunity to interact with them and try to play in cities I have never played in before."

With the competition to be played in four Asian cities, three of which he has never been to before (Manila, Singapore, and New Delhi), he is looking forward to playing in those venues, with the hope that he could take the time to go sight-seeing.

Marin also says that the competition's unique format, adhering to its mantra of "Breaking the Code," intrigued him the most, as well as the opportunity to see many great tennis stars playing. Matches for him would be "extremely interesting, quicker, and different," which would bring more excitement to the court.

He adds that the team aspect is very different, vis-a-vis when you play in individual tournaments. In spite of the difference, his approach remains the same, "to play my game and to try to win every match I am playing," Marin says.

The 6'6" Croat had a career year this season: achieving his best ranking ever (8th) last October, while winning four titles, including the 2014 US Open. He feels that he improved in virtually all aspects of his game, which for him provides confidence for the upcoming season.

The IPTL will be played first in Manila on November 28-30, then Singapore on December 2-4, New Delhi on December 6-8, before finishing in Dubai on December 11-13.

For the Manila leg, the Royals will be the opening round opponent of the Manila Mavericks on November 28. They would then face the Singapore Slammers on November 29, and close things out against the Micromax Indian Aces on November 30.

Suzuki Cup almost set

 Although the official roster of players will not be revealed until the day before their game against Laos, the Philippine Football Federation has revealed that 21 players will be making the trip to Hanoi for the AFF Suzuki Cup.

Here are the 21 names.

1. Robert James GIER
2. Juan Luis GUIRADO
3. James Joseph YOUNGHUSBAND
4. Manuel OTT
5. Misagh BAHADORAN
6. Philip James YOUNGHUSBAND
7. Daisuke SATO
8. Amani Manuel AGUINALDO
9. Patrick Phillip DEYTO
10. Christopher Robert GREATWICH
11. Martin Markus STEUBLE
12. Paul MULDERS
13. Simone ROTA
14. Simon Clive GREATWICH
15. Mark Andrew HARTMANN
16. Tomas Angel TRIGO
17. Curt-Jordan DIZON
18. Patrick REICHELT
19. Kenshiro Michael DANIELS
20. Jerry Ruben LUCENA
21. Dennis VILLANUEVA

A couple of missing names stand out:

First, Roland Muller. The Servette goalkeeper will be unavailable until the knockout rounds. In fact, if he will be playing, it will only be in the second leg, as the Swiss side's final match in 2014 won't be until December 7. The Suzuki Cup semis are tabled to take place on  December 6/7 and December 10/11.

Second, Alvaro Silva. The Al-Qadisya defender at the time that the PFF released this info was still finalizing details with regards to his passport that will clear him to participate. It is expected that he will be able to secure his passport by then.

Teams have until November 21 to finalize their respective lineups for the AFF Suzuki Cup, which will kick off the next day with the Philippines against Laos at My Dinh Stadium in the Vietnamese capital.

UAAP Season 77 High School Basketball schedule

Here is the scheduled set of matches that is to take place this second semester for juniors basketball.

No details yet if this will be televised by ABS-CBN Sports.

Chot Reyes takes himself out of Gilas coaching search

Chot Reyes

One less name to consider for the head coach opening. And it is the incumbent who has given his word.

Chot Reyes has officially withdrawn his name from consideration as the head coach for Gilas Pilipinas. The man who took the job in 2012 released a statement that reflects his decision to not pursue the position.

"I understand the Search Committee is scheduled to meet this week.  In this light, I humbly request that my name would not be considered by the Committee as a candidate for the national team coach of Smart Gilas Pilipinas.  This will allow the Committee to do its work unencumbered, take a broader view of other potential candidates to this national job, and enable the Gilas program to move on unfettered. Indeed, it is time for someone else take over the wheel; it is time for me to hand over that wheel. 

“May I say that I have dedicated the past two (2) years serving the National Team to the best of my ability.  I have personally derived great pride and much satisfaction for the strides the Gilas program has taken – with the collective effort of everyone involved in the effort.

“I would like to thank MVP, the SBP, PBA, TV5, the PLDT group, the Gilas supporters, and most especially my family for those two difficult but wonderful years I was given to serve my country and Philippine basketball. Despite the intense pressure that came with the job and the public scrutiny that goes with being the National Coach, this job has always been a unique privilege – I wouldn't trade it for anything else.  

“Salamat, Gilas.  Salamat, Pilipinas.

“Mabuhay tayong lahat. Laban Pilipinas! PUSO!"

The SBP is expected to have a meeting later today to determine the criteria and parameters for the head coaching position.

Statement from Sheryl Reyes regarding Allen Iverson

This post came from Sheryl Reyes and addresses some matters involving Allen Iverson. Kindly read on.

This is with regards to the criticisms being hurled towards my client, Mr. Allen Iverson, in connection to his ongoing Manila visit.

Mr. Iverson has been dubbed as being unprofessional and a “no show” to his scheduled sitdown interviews and live guestings. He was put in a bad light and some parties did not even bother to get our side regarding some matters.

On Mr. Iverson failing to show up for his scheduled one-on-one interview with Mr. Boy Abunda for his show “Bottomline” on ABS-CBN on the night of his arrival last November 3: Allen tried to stay awake, following more than 30 hours of travel from the United States, but exhaustion caught up with him and slept past his call time on the set. As we, myself, Mr. Iverson, and his managing team from the US, were finally making our way to the studio, I received information that the sitdown interview has already been packed up.

I reached out to Mr. Abunda through his production team, and  Ms. Cesca Litton  who is a common friend of ours so I can immediatley be in contact with him directly, right now all parties are currently finding ways to resolve matters before Mr. Iverson leaves Manila on November 6.

Second, “Unang Hirit” deciding to not continue their onsite broadcast from Solaire Resort and Casino featuring Mr. Iverson and the Ball Up All-Stars. Let me reiterate that Mr. Iverson never intended not to honor his commitment to GMA7’s early morning program. In fact, while the show’s crew were setting up in the ballroom, Mr. Iverson was waiting in the lobby, awaiting his turn to be interviewd by the host, Mr. Ivan Mayrina.

However, the logistics team of PCWorx, the group responsible for Mr. Iverson’s second visit to Manila, failed to put up the set and props needed for the said onsite broadcast ahead of time. When the “Unang Hirit” crew arrived, no one from the PCWorx logistics team were present to oversee the setting up of the set and props. In fact, it was I and 2 other members of Team Reyes were the ones who did the jobs PCWorx’s logistics team were supposed to do.

Upon inspection of the flooring being laid out, I discovered it was not suitable and would put Mr. Iverson’s safety – and those of the Ball Up All-Stars as well, and I made the call not let the players go on with the live guesting. For this, I and Mr. Iverson, who stayed up until 6AM, deeply apologive to the “Unang Hirit” crew and GMA7 for the inconvenience this has caused. We will do whatever we can to make it up to them.

Lastly, I would like to clarify Mr. Iverson not being able to make it to “The Ryzza Mae Show,” also of GMA7, today, November 5.

Mr. Iverson, still battling jetlag, was not feeling well the string of activities he did yesterday, along with the Ball Up All-Stars, Eddy Curry, and DerMarr Johnson, for Gawad Kalinga and membes of the media. I have informed the show’s production team hours before airing that Mr. Iverson opted to rest and get ready for the main event, the “All In” charity game for Gawad Kalinga.

Again, I, Mr. Iverson’s sole agent in the Philippines and his American management arm, Moore Management and Entertainment LLC, appreciate the show of support and love thrown his way and there were just circumstances that were beyond our control. Trust that Mr. Iverson is, was, and always will be professional.

We at Team Reyes and Moore Management have honored our end of our agreement with PCWorx and it is unfortunate that we weren’t accorded the respect and importance rightly due us as Mr. Iverson’s representatives.

Mr. Iverson is very appreciated of his Filipino fans’ hospitality and he hopes this won’t be the last he will be visiting the Philippines.

Thank you and regards,
Sheryl Sanchez Reyes
Sports Network Management (Team Reyes)