Topex Robinson secures extension, expanded role with Lyceum

Lyceum and its head coach Topex Robinson on Thursday night that they have agreed to a five-year extension starting this December, keeping the latter in that section of Intramuros for the next five seasons.

According to Lyceum president Atty. Robert P. Laurel, "We are happy to have extended a new contract to Coach Topex. We believe he has done a great job and we are proud of the team’s achievements in these past few years."

With his "Love, Serve, Care" mantra, Robinson has been the architect of the Pirates rise towards contention, from being in the bottom of the league to making history as the first school in NCAA history to win all eighteen of its matches in the eliminations and securing its first finals berth. In addition, Lyceum claimed the PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup a few month's ago under Zark's Burger.

Following up that performance from last season, the Pirates just concluded their eliminations campaign for NCAA Season 94 with a 15-3 record, good enough for the second seed in the Final Four when it starts on Friday next week.

On receiving the extension, Topex shares, "I am very grateful to the LPU management led by Mr. Laurel and Mr. Andro Lopez who have been fully supportive of what we have been trying to achieve with the team. We hope we can continue to achieve and make all people connected to Lyceum of the Philippines University proud."

Aside from the extention, Lyceum has also bestown a new title for Robinson, as he has been designated as Director of Basketball Operations for the University. He will now oversee all of the high school and collegiate basketball coaching staffs that are under the Lyceum umbrella, which has campuses in Batangas, Cavite, Davao, and Laguna, aside from the one in Manila.

CJ Cansino named as Chooks-to-Go Player of the Week

Early on in the UAAP's 81st season, CJ Cansino has proven that Aldin Ayo is correct in having put much faith in his freshman forward.

The former Tiger Cub has made himself a top contender not just for the Rookie of the Year, but also has an outside chance at making the Mythical Five, and even the Most Valuable Player.

And in UST's back-to-back wins this week, Cansino has delivered for the Growling Tigers. In their 86-72 blowout against the University of the Philippines, he contributed seventeen points, ten rebounds, six assists, and a couple of steals. He followed that up with five points, twelve rebounds, and three assists as they swept Far Eastern University in the eliminations with a 78-70 victory.

His efforts did not go unnoticed by the media, as the Collegiate Press Corps chose him over teammate Zach Huang, Thirdy Ravena and Ange Kouame of Ateneo, Aljun Melecio of La Salle, and John Lloyd Clemente of National University to be their Chooks-to-Go UAAP Player of the Week.

Cansino shared to the media, "Gusto ko lang ibigay yung best ko for UST kaya kahit pa nung Juniors hanggang ngayon, pag pumapasok ako sa loob ng court, binibigay ko talaga yung best ko." He also adds, "Lahat talaga ng effort namin as a team, lumalabas na. Kung paano kami nagpa-pracitce, nadadala na namin dito."

The former High School MVP has vowed to continue to work hard in his craft. "Masaya ako na yung extra hard work ko, lumalabas din, pero dagdag motivation lang yun para mas galingan ko pa."

UAAP Season 81 Goodwill Games underway

One of most anticipated events behind the scenes every UAAP season is the UAAP Goodwill Games, which is spawned to build fellowship and camaraderie between the people that make the UAAP work.

This season's iteration of the Goodwill Games commenced this past Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena, with the UAAP Press Corps defeating the Table and Stats Team, 106-97.

The Media rode on a 41-point third quarter, then needed three triples from Cedelf Tupas in the fourth to hold on to the victory. He would finish with sixteen points alongside a couple of rebounds and assists.

Rengie Usi led the Scribes with 27 points and seventeen rebounds, while Arnold Cagang added twenty points, four rebounds, and five steals.

Makati Skyscrapers homegrown product Roy Cayanan contributed eighteen points and fourteen rebounds.

Also making their presence felt in this matchup for the Chooks-to-Go backed Media squad are Bryan Ulanday of the Daily Tribune, Josef Ramos of the Manila Times, Paolo Poblador of Tiebreaker Times, Bong Lozada of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Delfin Dioquino of Rappler, Yo Sarmenta and Jan Ballesteros of ESPN5, and Randolph Leongson, Karlo Sacamos, and Lance Agcaoili for SPIN.

Bacolod Strikers guard Mikee Reyes hoisted fifty shots on his way to a game-high 67 points for the Table and Stats, while also contributing nine rebounds, three assists, and a couple of steals. Greg Flor added eighteen points and eighteen rebounds to complement Reyes in the defeat.

Also set to participate in the Goodwill Games are ABS-CBN Sports and hosts National University.

BOX SCORE

UAAP Media (106) - Usi 27, Cagang 20, Cayanan 18, Tupas 16, Ulanday 8, Ramos 7, Poblador 4, Lozada 4, Ballesteros 2, Agcaoili 0, Dioquino 0, Sarmenta 0, Leongson 0, Sacamos 0.

Table and Stats (97) - Reyes 67, Flor 18, Britanico 4, Baculi 4, Tan 2, Bayais 2, Pujante 0, Ducanes 0, Paterno 0, Concepcion 0.

QUARTER SCORES: 23-16, 38-42, 79-65, 106-97

Bacolod to host AFF Suzuki Cup Group Stage matches, Tickets available tomorrow

Schedule and Ticketing details for the Philippines in the AFF Suzuki Cup Group Stage

The most-anticipated tournament in the region is sporting new wrinkles.

The AFF Suzuki Cup is just a month away, and it has a new format to play with for football fans.

Doing away with a central venue per Group Stage format used in its previous editions, the 2018 version now has a home-and-away format, with two home matches and two away matches. It does still keep the two-group set-up, but this time having five teams in a group instead of four.

The Philippines is packaged alongside the teams it faced during their disappointing 2016 campaign in Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia. Timor Leste completes the Group B participants after surviving a two-legged playoff against Brunei.

Meanwhile, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos form the basis for Group A.

The Philippine Football Federation has selected the Pana-ad Park and Football Stadium to be the home stadium for the Philippines in its AFF Suzuki Cup matches, which is the first time since 2006 that the football facility will be hosting such a match. PFF President Mariano Araneta, Jr, shares, "The AFF Suzuki Cup makes its return to the Pana-­ad Park and Football Stadium in Bacolod City. It (the AFF Suzuki Cup) holds a special place to all Philippine football fans. We invite all football stakeholders and more importantly, the fans to support the Men’s National Team in their home matches."

Pana-ad will host the matches against Singapore on November 13 and Thailand on November 21. As for the away matches, the Kuala Lumpur Stadium will serve as host for the Azkals' match against Timor Leste on November 17, with the cavernous Gelora Bung Karno Stadium serving as the venue for their match against Indonesia.

Ticketing details for both matches are already posted on the above photo.

To prepare for this tournament and for the subsequent AFC Asian Cup early next year, the Philippines participated in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup in Bangladesh, where they made it to the semifinals. They also faced Oman in a friendly, which ended up in a 1-1 draw in Qatar.

Jumo brace leads Adamson over Stallion-B

Adamson-Stallion

Adamson bounced back with a 3-1 victory over Stallion Laguna FC-B in the lone Weekend Futbol League-Elite Division match scheduled this past weekend.

Taking place at the Binan Football Stadium in Laguna, it took the Soaring Falcons three minutes to break the ice, as Jackson Ramos converted a penalty to give the visitors the lead.

Adamson would double the lead ten minutes later with Brian Jumo's header, before a 20th minute penalty from Sammy Osman pulled one back for Stallion.

But the two-goal lead was stored seven minutes later, as Brian scored off a breakaway to cap off scoring.

Highlights from the match can be seen below.



Matches involving Army and Navy-Fleet Marine were deferred due to both sides participating in the AFP-PNP Olympics.

The WFL also ruled that the 3-0 win award to Green Archers United-Globe against Stallion Laguna FC-B has been changed to a goalless draw, which was the score when action was halted after an hour of play. As a result, Green Booters remain atop the league standings with sixteen points, with Adamson having ten points. Army is in third with six points, a couple points ahead of both Ateneo and Navy-Fleet Marine. Stallion remains rooted at the bottom with a solitary point to their name.

GAU will have two matches scheduled this week, as they travel to Ateneo to face the Blue Eagles tomorrow, October 10 at the Moro Lorenzo Field. They would then host Stallion Laguna FC-B on Sunday, October 14, at La Salle-Zobel.

Considered as the top tier of the Weekend Futbol League pyramid as well as the National Capital Region Football Association (NCRFA), the WFL-Elite is meant to serve as a high-level competition geared towards players with professional football aspirations.

For further details about the WFL, one can check out https://www.facebook.com/Weekend.Futbol/ or go to weekendfutbol.com.

Larry Muyang selected as NCAA Player of the Week

Letran needed a little bit of luck to dispatch Lyceum last Friday, including a controversial review at the end of regulation that downgraded Jaycee Marcelino's triple with forty seconds remaining.

But to get to that point, the Knights needed someone skilled to take care of things. With Bong Quinto limited due to foul trouble and JP Calvo struggling early on, it was Larry Muyang who provided the necessary oomph to keep Letran within striking distance.

The La Salle transfer shot 11/12 from the field on his way to an impressive 23 points and 16 rebounds, while also providing rim protection with four rejections.

For being a juggernaut on both ends of the floor, the NCAA Press Corps composed of print and online scribes selected the big man as its latest Chooks-to-Go Collegiate Press Corps NCAA Player of the Week, beating out his teammate Quinto, Prince Eze of the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta, Jerome Garcia of Emilio Aguinaldo College, and Robert Bolick of San Beda.

Muyang credited the surprise presence of Jerrick Balanza as a factor why they managed to pull out the win. He shared to the media after the game, Nung una, 'di ko napansin si Jerrick tapos bigla rin nya akong tinawag kanina,” he said. “Tapos parang biglang nabuhayan ako ng dugo kasi sabi nga ni Bong, yung kapatid namin nanonood."

He is the fifth Knight to be bestown this particular honor this season, following Quinto, Calvo, and last week's winner Koy Galvelo, as well as Balanza getting a special nod after surviving surgery.

Letran, Perpetual aspire for postseason qualification

Games Tuesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan

10am Letran vs San Sebastian (HS)
12nn Perpetual vs EAC-ICA (HS)
2pm Letran vs San Sebastian
4pm Perpetual vs EAC

Letran seeks to formalize its entry into the Final Four as it faces San Sebastian in the first collegiate matchup of the day, as the NCAA resume its eliminations campaign for basketball in its 94th season at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan this afternoon.

The Knights are looking to capitalize on their 80-79 victory over Lyceum last week, a win made possible by a referee deciding to downgrade Jaycee Marcelino's attempted game-tying triple with seconds remaining to just a two-point basket, doing so after time expired in regulation. They are already guaranteed to have at least a playoff for the twice-to-beat advantage with their 11-4 record, but a win would make it beyond the reach of the College of Saint Benilde and its seven losses.

San Sebastian is already eliminated from postseason contention with a 4-11 record, but they did manage to put a scare to the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta, losing in overtime, 85-77.

Meanwhile, the Altas are looking to put additional between themselves and the Blazers as they face Emilio Aguinaldo College at 4pm. At 10-5, a win would add a half-game to their two-game lead over CSB, and also guarantee them at worst, a playoff for the Final Four.

High School action also set to resume later this morning, although all four teams involved are already out of the race for the Final Four.

The Squires face off against the Staglets at 10am, followed by the Junior Altas against the Brigadiers at noon.