Consolidated UAAP 1st round collegiate basketball schedule

All women's basketball games (which are marked in italics) will take place at the Blue Eagle Gym, unless otherwise stated. 

September 5 at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum

12nn Opening Ceremony
2pm UE vs UP
4pm UST vs Adamson

September 6 at the Mall of Asia Arena

9am Adamson vs UP 
11am Ateneo vs UE
12nn La Salle vs NU
1pm UST vs FEU
4pm FEU vs Ateneo

September 8

8am NU vs La Salle at Mall of Asia Arena

September 9 at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum


2pm La Salle vs UP
4pm UST vs FEU

September 12 at the Mall of Asia Arena

2pm Adamson vs Ateneo
4pm UE vs NU

September 13 at the Mall of Asia Arena

9am UST vs UP
11am Adamson vs FEU
1pm UE vs La Salle
2pm UST vs UP
3pm Ateneo vs NU
4pm La Salle vs FEU

September 16 at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum

2pm UE vs Adamson
4pm NU vs Ateneo

September 17

9am UP vs Ateneo
11am La Salle vs FEU
1pm NU vs UST
3pm UE vs Adamson

September 19 at the Mall of Asia Arena

2pm Ateneo vs UE
4pm NU vs UST

September 20 at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum

9am La Salle vs UP
11am UST vs Ateneo
1pm FEU vs UE
2pm Adamson vs La Salle
3pm NU vs Adamson
4pm UP vs FEU

September 23 at the Mall of Asia Arena

9am UE vs NU
11am UP vs FEU
1pm Ateneo vs La Salle
2pm FEU vs UE
3pm Adamson vs UST
4pm NU vs Adamson

September 26 at the Mall of Asia Arena

2pm UP vs NU
4pm Ateneo vs UST

September 27 at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum

9am NU vs UP
11am UST vs UE
1pm Adamson vs La Salle
2pm La Salle vs UE
3pm FEU vs Ateneo
4pm Adamson vs FEU

September 30 at the Mall of Asia Arena

2pm Ateneo vs UP
4pm UST vs La Salle

October 3 at the Mall of Asia Arena

2pm Cheerdance Competition

October 4 at the Mall of Asia Arena

9am UP vs UE
11am La Salle vs UST
11am UP vs Adamson
1pm Ateneo vs Adamson
3pm FEU vs NU
4pm La Salle vs Ateneo

October 7 at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum

2pm UE vs UST
4pm NU vs FEU

HS Volleyball kicks off UAAP Season 78

The 78th season of the UAAP officially opens on Saturday, but the first set of games already took place last weekend.

The Adamson Gym played host to the first set of high school volleyball games for UAAP S78 last week, and will once again be its home for this season.

UST, led by its returning veteran Eya Laure, kicked off its campaign in the girls' division with a 25-15 23-25 25-7 and 25-11 victory over UPIS. These Junior Tigresses are seeking to reclaim the championship they lost to National University a season ago.

The remaining games for girls' volleyball saw La Salle-Zobel survive FEU-Diliman, 25-17 21-25 25-21 24-26 and 15-13, while UE took care of Adamson, 25-20 25-17 24-26 25-22.

The Lady Bullpups drew a bye and did not play last Saturday. They will open their title defense against La Salle-Zobel tomorrow morning, 11am. They won't have Rica Diolan and Jasmine Nabor to defend the championship, as they both graduated and are now in NU for college, but they will have S77 MVP Faith Nisperos to rely on for the shot at a repeat.

On the boys' side, Ateneo defeated UPIS, 25-14 25-19 and 25-15; NU took care of business against FEU-Diliman, 27-25 25-21 and 25-20; and UST pipped La Salle-Zobel, 22-25 26-24 25-13 and 25-23.

All these teams are attempting to deny UE a shot at their 12th straight crown in this division. The Junior Warriors will begin their title defense against NU tomorrow, 330pm

Seven teams for ABL's Sixth Season

The ASEAN Basketball League press conference

Season Six for the ASEAN Basketball League is set to commence on October 2015, with seven teams from five nations set to participate in the lone regional basketball league in Southeast Asia.

Reigning champions Hi-Tech Bangkok City is set on making a successful ABL title defense, with last season's finalists Westports Malaysia Dragons leading the charge among the squads seeking to dethrone them.

The league will have three new teams for the upcoming season, including a couple from the returning Philippines.

Representing Mindanao in the ABL is the Pacquiao Powervit Pilipinas Aguilas, while Racal Motors- Alibaba will have its matches in Malolos, Bulacan. Completing the trio of newcomers is the Mono Vampire Basketball Club from Thailand.

The other two sides participating in the league are the Saigon Heat and the Singapore Slingers.

For more details on the ASEAN Basketball League, check the website.

Statement from Jordan Clarkson

Clarkson with Sonny Barrios

On Thursday, two statements from two members of the Clarkson family came out, both pertaining to Jordan's participation with the Philippine national team.

The first one came in the morning, from Jordan's father, Mike, via an e-mail:

“As you know in professional sports, timing is of the essence especially when managing a player's career. Unfortunately, the timing couldn't be worse as he [Jordan] prepares for rigors of the upcoming 2015-2016 NBA season and heightened performance expectations.”

The second came in the afternoon, from Jordan himself, via the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas:


"MY FATHER, MIKE, HAS ALWAYS LOOKED OUT FOR MY WELFARE AND IS ONLY GENUINELY CONCERNED FOR MY CAREER, MY FUTURE AND MY WELLBEING - HIS THOUGHTS ARE THAT OF A VERY LOVING DAD.

I JUST CALLED HIM AND WE AGREED WE WILL TALK ABOUT MY PLAYING FOR GILAS WHEN I GET BACK. NOTHING IS CAST IN STONE. BUT I WANT TO ASSURE MY FILIPINO BROTHERS AND SISTERS THAT, IF GIVEN THE CHANCE AND EVERYTHING CAN BE WORKED OUT, I SINCERELY WISH TO PLAY FOR GILAS AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE TOTAL TEAM EFFORT FOR FLAG AND COUNTRY - THIS IS THE REASON WHY I AM OBSERVING AND FAMILIARIZING MYSELF WITH THE TEAM WHILE HERE AND WILL EVEN FOLLOW THEM IN TAIPEI FOR THE JONES CUP SO I CAN SEE THEM COMPETE CLOSE UP AND BENEFIT FROM THE LEARNINGS FROM SAID EXPERIENCE. LABAN PILIPINAS! PUSO!"

The Lakers guard had been included in the 24-man preliminary pool the SBP sent to FIBA earlier this week. That pool will be the basis from which 12-man squad for the FIBA-Asia tourney will be plucked from.

NBA 3X Philippines set this weekend

The 3x3 phenomenon in basketball reaches another level with the fifth edition of NBA 3X Philippines this weekend at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.

Gracing this year's edition of the three-on-three tournament are Kenneth Faried and Danny Green, while providing the authentic NBA experience for the fans at the venue are the Golden State Warriors Dance Team and Sixers mascot Franklin.

Among the activities that fans can participate in are the Globe Tattoo Slam Dunk Contest and the KFC Bucket 3-Point Shootout.

For more details on the festivities, check out www.nba3x.com/philippines.

Opening Ceremonies will take place on Friday afternoon, while the games are slated for Saturday and Sunday. There are different categories for men and women, including a by-invitation Celebrity category.

Official Partners: adidas, Globe, Globe Tattoo, KFC, Phoenix Petroleum
Supporting Partners: SM Mall of Asia, Spalding, Mang Tomas
Official Broadcasters: ABS-CBN Sports and Action, BTV, NBA Premium TV.

Philippines vs Maldives finalized

The Philippines only plays one World Cup / Asian Cup Qualifier in this FIFA international window, so the Philippine Football Federation tried to plug that hole with a friendly.

It took them a while, but they finally managed to find an opponent willing to come here and play, in the guise of the Maldives.

The fixture will be played on September 3, and Rizal Memorial has been selected to be the venue.

Tickets will be made available starting today via TicketWorld.

Prices are at PhP 125.40, PhP 331.40, and PhP 531.80

Pia Cayetano on UAAP Board ruling

The office of Senator Pia Cayetano released this statement Tuesday, in light of the decision released by the UAAP Board on Monday. The Board had decided to keep Hubert Cani ineligble for the upcoming season.

The UAAP Board has once more displayed its arrogance and immaturity by invoking its unjust two-year residency rule against a high school student-athlete who has transferred to a different school in college. This is the very same UAAP rule that an RTC court struck down two years ago in favor of swimmer Mikee Bartolome. In the case of basketball player Hubert Cani, he has even served ONE YEAR of RESIDENCE already and was hoping to play this season.

It is irrelevant that the Student-Athletes Protection Bill has not been signed by the President YET. The UAAP must respect a student-athlete's right to study and play for the school of his choice. The UAAP is not a commercial but an amateur league. The UAAP Board should stop treating student-athletes like commodities.