Greek Freak continuing to make history

c/o NBA Entertainment

Giannis Antetokounmpo's ascent towards greatness continues.

The Bucks escaped with a 109-103 victory at the Fiserv Forum, highlighted by a spectacular denial by the Greek of a Deandre Ayton attempted slam with 74 seconds left in the game.

It capped off an amazing all-round performance for Giannis, as he finished with 26 points, fourteen rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and a couple of blocks in almost 43 minutes of play.

Earlier in the series, he became the fourth player and first non-American to pull off multiple 40-point and 10-rebound performances in a single NBA Finals, and just one other person pulled off that feat in consecutive games. Coming into Game 4, only three players have scored more points that he did (103 points) in their first three NBA Finals games: Rick Barry (122 in 1967), Allen Iverson (106 in 2001), and Willis Reed (104 in 1970).

Other notable aspects of Giannis' Finals performance so far sees him becoming the third player to pull off a 41-13-6 line, joining Magic and LeBron. And if we expand that line to 40-10-5, he is the sixth player in this century to achieve it, and the only one to do that with just a turnover.

The Greek is already a larger-than-life figure, as he generates almost 23 million engagement on his official Instagram account (giannis_an34). Only LeBron, Steph, and Damian have larger levels of engagement. In addition, content that is tailored around him produces 131 million views across the league's social media platforms this postseason.

In his home country of Greece, the Bucks were involved in three of the top five NBA games viewed on NBA League Pass. Subscriptions to NBA LP have increased 34 percent since the start of the postseason, and compared to last season, there is an eleven percent increase of viewership for Bucks' games.

Having two of the three Antetokounmpo brothers in the league has its dividends, with Bucks being the top choice of 65 percent of LP's Team Pass subscribers.

Stars like Giannis and this season's Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic have once again reaffirmed that basketball is the global game.

The NBA Finals is reaching fans in 215 countries and territories, doing so in 59 languages. Milwaukee and Phoenix have a combined seven international players from six countries (Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo of Greece, Mamadi Diakite of Guinea, and Axel Toupane of France for the Bucks, and Deandre Ayton of Bahamas, Abdel Nader of Egypt, and Dario Šarić of Croatia for Phoenix).

Bucks, Suns get NBA merchandise sales bump

Rising up the jersey charts.

Even if LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers retain their top spot in jersey and merchandise sales for the past four months, Giannis Antetokounmpo is steadily making the move up.

Based from NBAStore.com sales from March 11 to July 13, the Bucks superstar is second overall, moving up three spots from the last time data was released earlier this season.

Devin Booker's shine this postseason has also yielded dividends, moving up twelve spots to sixth overall, his best ever ranking.

Extending things to the team perspective, both finalists got the merch bump as well. Phoenix moved up sixteen spots from earlier this season, ending up third overall, while Milwaukee moved up from tenth to fourth.

Other important notes from the latest data includes Trae Young's career-best 11th overall ranking, and that all three superstars on the Brooklyn Nets, which are second in the team merchandise rankings, placed in the top ten players. Kevin Durant is third overall, with Kyrie Irving and James Harden eighth and ninth, respectively.

The complete rankings can be seen below.

Top 15 Most Popular NBA Jerseys:                         

1. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers                        

2. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks           

3. Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets                                 

4. Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks                              

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics                                 

6. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns                                  

7. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors                                            

8. Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets                                   

9. James Harden, Brooklyn Nets                                 

10. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers                  

11. Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks

12. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

13. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers

14. Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies

15. Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers

Top 10 Most Popular Team Merchandise:

1. Los Angeles Lakers

2. Brooklyn Nets

3. Phoenix Suns

4. Milwaukee Bucks

5. Chicago Bulls

6. New York Knicks

7. Philadelphia 76ers              

8. Boston Celtics

9. Golden State Warriors

10. Toronto Raptors

UP statements on Bo Perasol

The University of the Philippines have made it official that Bo Perasol will no longer be serving as the head coach of the men's basketball team.

In making the announcement, the school released three statements: one from Perasol, one from team manager Atty. Agaton Uvero, and one from the College of Human Kinetics dean Francis Diaz.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF COACH BO PERASOL

I promised UP after Season 82 that I will stay for another season just to sustain the rebuilding process which started many many years back, coming off from zero wins back then. Unfortunately, the pandemic has impacted on all of us, including the dynamics of the playing field. It has sadly changed my views, plans and priorities too.

We have gotten this far in just 4 seasons under my helm, that is unprecedented in fact. But the team still needs better plans as always, and a reboot. I have now decided not to coach for my last season and I have already submitted to UP officials a short list of possible replacements for my position. 

I look forward to having the same - if not even more intense - level of support from the UP community as they have showered our team since the last few seasons. Just as UP stands as a symbol for the never ending fight for excellence, for the quest for knowledge and learning, so shall the Fighting Maroons pursue our never ending quest for excellence in our non academic pursuits, in the process continuing to be the rallying point for Maroon pride.

UP FIGHT!

OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF TEAM MANAGER ATTY. AGATON UVERO

The past UAAP seasons with Coach Bo have been truly memorable for the team, as well as our supporters, sponsors, and the whole UP community. Right now, we have less than a handful of players from seasons past in the pool and a lot of young, talented recruits just waiting for their turn to represent our beloved State U. We are not just rebuilding, we are really starting again. We have asked Coach Bo to remain with the team management to guide the transition and ensure the sustainability of the program. In the meantime, we will wait for UP’s decision on the new head coach of the UP Men’s Basketball Team.

We will forever be grateful to everyone who has been part of this unfinished journey.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF COLLEGE OF HUMAN KINETICS DEAN FRANCIS “KIKO” DIAZ

Coach Bo promised to coach for another season after S82. After the cancellation of S83 and the rescheduling of S84, we were hopeful he would still remain as Coach.  Regrettably, he wants the team to have a fresh start next season under a new head coach, with all the new players now. A ‘reboot’ as he said.

We earnestly hope he will remain with team management to ensure the continuity of the program.  We are now vetting the list submitted by Coach Bo and we will make a formal announcement as soon as a decision is made by the UP Diliman Chancellor, after proper consultations with the UP community, stakeholders, supporters and sponsors of the team.

Mindanao leg of Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup postponed to weekend

VisMin Cup presses pause.

The Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin SuperCup pressed pause on its Mindanao leg on Wednesday, with league executives looking at a potential return to Pagadian City.

In a memo issued by the head of basketball operations Chelito Caro, "This is to inform you that the July 15 and July 16 scheduled games of the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup Mindanao Leg will be postponed." It adds, "This is brought about by the inclement weather and pending updates on the lifting of the quarantine status and restrictions in Pagadian City."

Weather conditions in Ipil have led a couple of games to be postponed due to an unplayable court, forcing officials to evaluate the situation.

The capital of Zamboanga Sibugay has served as a temporary venue as a result of the province of Zamboanga del Sur being placed under modified enhanced community quarantine until July 15.

Provided conditions improve and the government lifts restrictions in said province, the league is expected to resume games on July 17 at the Plaza Luz Gym in Pagadian. Otherwise, it will be played in a yet-to-be announced alternative venue on the same date.

Turner architect joins ONE's Board of Directors

David Levy

Group ONE Holdings, otherwise known to many as ONE, is tapping an industry vet to help shepherd the Asian global sports media platform to bigger levels.

ONE has appointed David Levy, currently serving as the Founder of sports consulting and investing firm Back Nine Ventures, LLC as well as the Chairman of sports data analytics firm Genius Sports Group, into its Board of Directors, specifically as a Lead Director.

As a Lead Director, David is expected to be heavily involved with the group's efforts in developing and executing their strategy towards live events and content platforms, as well as extending their reach in key international markets, including the United States, with responsibilities also incorporating ONE's expansion of media rights.

Levy comes with four decades of experienced leadership, most of which came at Turner Broadcasting, Inc. His tenure at Turner was highlighted by the rise of Turner Sports as a media rights giant, having secured association with the likes of the NCAA, NBA, MLB, and the PGA Tour. Turner's revenues reached as much as $9 billion during his six-year tenure as president. Its acquisition of the rights from UEFA for the major continental football tournaments in Europe: the Champions League, Europa League, and the UEFA Super Cup, served as the foundation for which it would eventually set up the direct-to-consumer streaming platform B/R Live. Turner also became one of the first to arrange multi-faceted agreements extending beyond television rights for its deals.

Group ONE founder, chairman, and CEO Chatri Sityodtong shares, "David is an industry pioneer who helped redefine how millions of people enjoy sports and entertainment programming. He is the perfect addition to our Board with his proven track record of working with the largest sports leagues in the world, putting together innovative rights packages that create value for broadcast partners, corporate sponsors, athletes, and fans, and deep understanding of how to deliver engaging content across digital platforms to capture a younger, on-the-move generation. We look forward to working with David as we accelerate our strategy to bring our popular martial arts and gaming content to the U.S. and other international markets."

With this announcement, David says, "ONE has built a remarkable content platform around its martial arts and esports businesses that is captivating global audiences, especially younger, tech-savvy viewers and fans. In just 10 years, the Company has achieved a level of worldwide popularity that took other sports franchises many decades to build, and I am honored to join the Board at this exciting time in its history. ONE has an incredibly talented and visionary Board and management team, and I believe my complementary experiences and relationships will enable us to capture the significant opportunities that lie ahead as the demand for live sports and creative programming reaches new heights across traditional and digital channels."

ONE has been recently making inroads with regards to its global expansion. Back in April, in partnership with Turner Sports, they conducted a series of mixed martial events broadcast in primetime in the United States called "ONE on TNT." These events were considered as the second most-viewed combat sports property on American cable that month.

Then in June, Nielsen revealed that ONE is part of the top ten sports properties worldwide with regards to viewership and engagement. They also added that ONE has the highest global follower growth and is fourth in total video views across major digital channels, third in cumulative reach, and in the top ten in broadcast hours during the pandemic last year.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com or through:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship

Instagram: www.instagram.com/ONEChampionship

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@ONEChampionship

Twitter: www.twitter.com/ONEChampionship

YouTube: www.youtube.com/ONEChampionship

NBA unveils 75th anniversary logo

NBA at 75

With the National Basketball Association set to celebrate its 75th season, dating back to the establishment of the Basketball Association of America in 1946, the league unveiled earlier today a new logo to highlight the league's 75th anniversary.

The new logo is a fresh take of its iconic Logoman identity and layered it onto a diamond, which is the classic symbol for a 75th anniversary. The output will be used everywhere throughout the upcoming season, from the actual courts inside the arenas to merchandise, as well as in all content splattered across broadcast, digital, and social.

The league will conduct future announcements as to additional matters connected to the upcoming season. They have previously revealed the game ball for it last month, a result of their new partnership with Wilson.

Mindanao leg of Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup set for July 7 start

Mindanao leg of VisMin Super Cup

The Mindanao leg of the 2021 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup finally gets a date.

The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has given its consent to for the league to commence on Tuesday, after league officials secured clearance from both the local government of Ipil, Zamboanga and the Games and Amusements Board. With those in hand, the IATF allowed the VisMin Cup to start on Wednesday at the Ipil Provincial Gym.

Chief Operating Officer Rocky Chan shares, "We are just happy that  Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay accepted us without hesitation as we tip-off our Mindanao leg. We would like to thank Mayor Anamel Olegario and Governor Wilter Palma for hosting our games and the Games and Amusements Board, headed by Chairman Baham Mitra, for giving us the necessary licenses to resume our league."

Kicking off the Mindanao leg at 1pm is the matchup between ALZA Alayon Zamboanga del Sur and the Basilan Peace Riders. The latter is the team formerly known as the Basilan Steel in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, and they are hungry to play after how their season in the MPBL concluded.

The other half of the doubleheader features the Kapatagan Buffalo Braves against the Iligan City Archangels. That matchup takes place at 3pm.

The rest of the participants in the Mindanao Leg are the Roxas Vanguards, the Pagadian Explorers, the Clarin Sto. Nino, the MisOr Brew Authoritea, and the Zamboanga City JPS.

Originally slated to start on June 22 in Pagadian City, the league had to make to switch with the city and province of Zamboanga del Sur being in a state of Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine since June 15. In contrast, Ipil, which is a three-hour ride from Pagadian, and the rest of Zamboanga Sibugay is under General Community Quarantine.

Five playdates are currently scheduled to take place in Ipil (July 7-9, 11, and 13), with the hope that the restrictions in Pagadian are eased up on the 15th in time for matches to be played at Plaza Luz.

Organizers have a devised a strict home-venue-home set-up with the tweaks made to the tournament, with everyone based in Pagadian.