Jimmy Alapag appointed to FIBA Players Commission

The first FIBA Players' Commission will have a Filipino flavor to it.

Recently-retired point guard and newly-minted Talk N' Text team manager Jimmy Alapag was named as one of the members of the newly-installed commission, with a five-year term for the position, ending in 2019.

The 2011 MVP and assistant coach to Tab Baldwin is looking forward to the experience, adding that he is "very honored" to be representing the Philippines in this commission.

The decision to appoint the Tropang Texters legend was revealed in a January 23 letter from Secretary-General Patrick Baumann to SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan and SBP Executive Director Sonny Barrios (with a copy being furnished to Players Commission chair Vlade Divac, FIBA-Asia president Sheikh Saud Bin Ali Al-Thani, FIBA-Asia secretary-general Hagop Khajirian, and National Federations and Sports Director Zoran Radovic). In the letter he writes, “It is a pleasure for me to inform you…that Mr. Alapag has been appointed as member of the FIBA Players’ Commission... We already look forward to closely working and collaborating with him for the sake of our sport and its athletes.”

"We are very proud of Jimmy. When FIBA asked for nominees to its Players Commission, we had no hesitation in nominating him. He definitely will make his country proud and we are confident he will make positive contributions in the work of the Commission for the Players' benefit," said Barrios.

The creation of the Players Commission had been decided during the FIBA Congress in Seville before the FIBA World Cup. The Commission is tasked to study issues relating to players of all age groups, make proposals to the Central Board that would improve the conditions of players, recommend matters regarding practices or activities that could affect player interests, and provide feedback on possible improvements in FIBA competitions.

Divac, in his role as the commission head, will be a member of the 26-man Central Board, currently headed by Horatio Muratore of Argentina.

Alapag joins a growing Filipino contingent inside the organization, with Pangilinan already appointed into the FIBA Central Board last September, Dr. Raul Canlas to the FIBA Medical Commission, and SBP consultant Atty. Edgar Francisco to the FIBA Legal Commission.

Joining Divac and Alapag in the Players Commission are: Adriana Dos Santos, Elisabeth Egnell, Ilona Korstin, Hanno Mottola, Boniface N'Dong, Rasho Nesterovic, Fabricio Oberto, Olumide Oyedeji, Jenni Screnn, Katie Smith, Amaya Valdemoro, and Tomas Van Den Spiegel. The commission will also have someone representing the differently-abled via the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation.

Second-semester UAAP updates

Bat-related sports kicked off their respective seasons this past weekend, with perceived contenders opening with positive results.

Defending champions Ateneo began their quest for a three-peat with a victory over Adamson at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium. The Blue Batters took a 4-0 lead before holding on to a 5-3 win.

Ateneo relied on the arm of last season's MVP, Andy Tan, who fanned five Falcons, to lead the charge.

The other results saw the Green Batters of La Salle defeat UP, 19-5 in seven innings, while UST took care of NU, 8-3.

In softball, NU invoked the "mercy rule" against Ateneo with a 15-5 victory. The Lady Bulldogs needed just six innings to secure the opener.

La Salle defeated last season's third placers UST, 7-3, while UE bested UP, 10-4.

As for Adamson, they extended their winning streak to 49 games with a 11-1 victory against UST. 

At the Olivarez Sports center, NU continues its dominance in collegiate lawn tennis, losing just one match over the four games this past weekend.

Led by last season's MVP Fritz Verdad, the Bulldogs dispatched La Salle, 5-0, before taking care of things against UST, 4-1. On the distaff side, the Patrimonio siblings (Christine and Clarice) swept La Salle and Ateneo, 5-0.

Trying to chase NU down are UST and UP in the men's division (both toting 3-1 records), while UST totes the same win-loss record as the defending champions in the women's division.

UAAP Season 77 second round college football schedule

For those looking for the men's football schedule for the UAAP, this is the latest official one that was released on Monday night Tuesday afternoon.

Thursday matches are bookmarked to be televised on Friday afternoons on Sports+Action.

Women:

DATE	VENUE	TIME	LIGHT	VS	DARK
JAN. 24	ATENEO	4PM	UST		FEU
JAN. 25	FEU-D	1PM	La Salle		Ateneo
FEB. 1	ATENEO	3PM	UP		Ateneo
	FEU-D	1PM	La Salle		FEU
FEB. 7	ATENEO	4PM	UP		FEU
	ATENEO	6PM	UST		La Salle
FEB. 14	ATENEO	4PM	FEU		Ateneo
FEB. 15	FEU-D	1PM	UP		UST
FEB. 21	ATENEO	4PM	Ateneo		UST
	ATENEO	6PM	La Salle		UP

Top two teams will advance to the finals, which will take place in March at Rizal Memorial.

Men:

DATE	VENUE	TIME	LIGHT	VS	DARK
JAN. 24	ATENEO	6PM	NU		UE
JAN. 25	ATENEO	1PM	UP		Ateneo
	ATENEO	3PM	UST		Adamson
	FEU-D	3PM	FEU		La Salle
JAN. 29	FEU-D	1PM	UE		Ateneo
	FEU-D	3PM	La Salle		UST
JAN. 31	ATENEO	4PM	UP		NU
	ATENEO	6PM	Adamson		FEU
FEB. 1	ATENEO	1PM	UST		UE
	FEU-D	3PM	Ateneo		La Salle
FEB. 5	FEU-D	1PM	Adamson		NU
	FEU-D	3PM	FEU		UP
FEB. 8	ATENEO	1PM	UST		UP
	ATENEO	3PM	UE		La Salle
	FEU-D	1PM	Ateneo		Adamson
	FEU-D	3PM	NU		FEU
FEB. 12	FEU-D	1PM	NU		UST
	FEU-D	3PM	FEU		Ateneo
FEB. 14	ATENEO	6PM	UE		UP
FEB. 15	ATENEO	1PM	NU		Ateneo
	ATENEO	3PM	FEU		UST
	FEU-D	3PM	La Salle		Adamson
FEB. 19	FEU-D	1PM	Adamson		UE
	FEU-D	3PM	La Salle		UP
FEB. 22	ATENEO	1PM	UP		Adamson
	ATENEO	3PM	La Salle		NU
	FEU-D	1PM	FEU		UE
	FEU-D	3PM	Ateneo		UST

Top four teams will advance to the semifinals, which will take place in March at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

FIBA executives to come in the Philippines for FIBA World Cup inspection

A three-man FIBA Evaluation Commission will be coming to the Philippines to check on the country's capability to host the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Sports Director Lubo Kotleba, Director-General for media and marketing Frank Leenders, and Events Director Predrag Bogosavljev will be arriving to the country to represent FIBA in determining the readiness to host the World Cup, according to SBP Executive Director Sonny Barrios. FIBA Secretary-General Patrick Baumann will arrive on Thursday to join the commission.

They will have a busy schedule to attend to in their brief stay, which will include inspections at venues across the country. They are going to check out the Philippine Arena, SMART-Araneta Coliseum, and the Mall of Asia Arena on Tuesday, an itinerary that will include watching the PBA Commissioner's Cup match between Ginebra and Meralco. Wednesday will be devoted to a trip to Cebu, where the SM Group is planning on putting up a sports facility within the next two years.

In between those visits will be meetings with prospective hotel locations (EDSA Shangri-La, Sofitel, Solaire), as well as with local executives and SBP officials. Tourism Secretary Alberto del Rosario himself will be meeting with Baumann upon his arrival.

The Philippines is competing with China, Turkey, Qatar, and Franco-German collaboration for the right to host the World Cup, last held in Spain last year. It had hosted the competition in its previous iteration (as the FIBA World Championships) back in 1978, with the Araneta Coliseum and Rizal Memorial Coliseum as the venues. Yugoslavia won the tourney against the Soviet Union, 82-81, in a final that needed overtime.

The final bids for the 2019 FIBA World Cup hosting rights will be submitted by April 30, with the FIBA Central Board tasked to deliberate on each bid until a winner emerges after their June meeting.

NU, UST hold serve in UAAP Season 77 tennis

The Olivarez Sports Center played host to the UAAP lawn tennis tournament, with a triple tie atop the men's leaderboard after the opening weekend.

Three-peat seeking Fritz Verdad and National University opened their Season 77 campaign on a rousing note,  dispatching UE and Ateneo with 4-1 victories to extend their winning streak to 24 games.

Joining NU on top are UP and UST. Both schools needed close 3-2 victories (both over La Salle) to complement their 4-1 wins (against Ateneo for UP and against UE for UST).

On the women's side, UST secured the early 2-0 lead to temporarily forge ahead in the standings.

Anchored on Kendies Malinis, the Female Tennisters from Espana defeated UP, 4-1, then squeaked past La Salle, 3-2.

Meanwhile, the Patrimonio siblings (Season 76 MVP Tin and rookie Clarice) powered National University to a 4-1 win over UP to kick off their title defense.

La Salle is in third place with a 1-1 record after defeating Ateneo, 4-1. The Katipunan schools have lost all of their matches so far (Ateneo 0-1, UP 0-2).

The Trequartista Sweeper: Laying out the 2015 local football domain

Football in 2015 looks to be fun-filled and packed. Lots of things to be looking forward to in these parts. Let me count the ways:

PFF-SMART Club Nationals: Eight teams left in the running, (defending champions Ceres-La Salle; UFL champions Global FC; UFL Cup champions Loyola Meralco Sparks; UFL Division I sides Kaya FC and Stallion FC; UFL Division II side Laos FC; M'lang FC from the Mindanao qualifiers; and ERCO-Brothers from the Visayas qualifiers).

The eight teams will be divided to two groups of four squads, with Global heading Group A and Ceres in Group B. A round robin will take place from January 22-27, with the top two teams proceeding to the crossover semifinals on January 29. The winners will then tangle in the title game on January 31.

Group A matches: January 22, 24, 26.
Group B matches: January 23, 25, 27.


All matches will be at Rizal Memorial, with 4pm and 7pm kickoffs. Admission is FREE.

The draw to determine the teams in Group A and B will take place today,

United Football League: Expected to open in February due to the aforementioned Club Nationals. What we do know is about their plans?

1. First provincial Division I game.
2. An all-star game.
3. Div II has a little bit of a shaky feel for a few reasons, namely the fact that five teams (Navy, Air Force, Nomads, Union Internacional-Manila, Dolphins United FC, and Cimarron FC) did not submit their list of dropped players.
4.Deadline for the submission of roster additions is 11:59pm tonight.

UAAP: The papal visit interrupted the league's first round campaign.

First round ends today (for the women) and tomorrow (for the men). Second round to begin on January 24 (which also is the start for the high school portion of the tournament)

Minor tinkering with format. Postseason now one-match affairs, which are tabled for March 1 and March 8, which will be at Rizal Memorial. HS final is on March 7 at FEU-Diliman, where all of their matches will take place.

NCAA: The papal visit interrupted the league's second round campaign, with action set to resume today and Friday (for college) and Thursday (for high school).

Simple format: Top four teams from the first round advance. Round robin ensues with the four teams. Whoever comes out on top from that will face San Beda (for college) and La Salle-Greenhills (for high school) in a playoff on January 26. If San Beda or La Salle-Greenhills were to be the teams on top of the second round, no playoff necessary and they will be declared as champions.

The Trequartista Sweeper: Laying out the 2015 continental football domain

Football in 2015 looks to be fun-filled and packed. Lots of things to be looking forward to in these parts. Let me count the ways:

Senior National Team. The Azkals have their FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Just months after Germany hoisted its fourth Jules Rimet Trophy, the quest for spots in Russia will commence. The Asian Football Confederation tweaked the qualification methodology, streamlining it to serve concurrently as the qualifiers for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

If you recall, the Philippines opened its 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualification campaign against Sri Lanka. You remember this one, right?



Or you more remember it for this one...



The Philippines has done well enough to be able to do away with the two-legged preliminary playoff involving the lower-ranked teams in the AFC on March 12 and 17. The prelims are conducted in order to whittle down the number of nations to 40. A draw then will be conducted in April to determine the eight groups of five that will comprise the second preliminary round.

The second preliminary round is a double round robin, with matches slated on June 11 & 16, September 3 & 8, October 8 & 13, November 12 & 17, as well as March 24 & 29 in 2016. The eight division winners and the four best runners-up proceed to the phase of qualification.

There is only one FIFA window that is available before the start of the Qualifiers, which is from March 23-31. The Philippines has already slated to play against China on the 25th (reportedly in China), which theoretically allows the team to possibly face another opponent in that same period.

U-23 National Team. The March 23-31 window also serves as the timetable for the AFC U-23 Qualifiers.The Philippines was drawn into Group G alongside North Korea, Cambodia, and group stage hosts Thailand. Win the group or finish among the top five runners-up ensures a berth to the finals, which will take place in 2016 at Qatar, and concurrently serves as the Olympic Qualifiers.

The Philippines is also initially tabled to participate in the SEA Games slated to take place this coming June in Singapore, although it is up to the powers-that-be in the PSC-POC task force who will "green light" the.participation.

Most of the youngsters are familiar to those who watch the UAAP. Of course, a couple of senior national team standouts fall under this category as well, namely defensive stalwarts Daisuke Sato and Amani Aguinaldo.

AFC Cup.  Ceres-La Salle will be playing first, having to face Maziya Sports and Recreation of the Maldives on February 17. Win this, and the reigning PFF-SMART Club champions will join Group E, composed of Bengaluru (IND), Persipura Jayapura (INA), and either Warriors FC or Tampines Rovers (SIN).

UFL champions Global FC, on the other hand, already earned a group stage berth, and was drawn into Group G, wherein they will face Yadanarbon or Yangon United (MYA), South China (HKG), and Pahang FA (MAS).

Group Stage matches will take place on February 24/25, March 10/11, March 17/18, April 14/15, April 28/29, and May 12/13.

UAAP, NCAA revises schedule due to Papal visit

With the Papal visit coming next week, both the UAAP and NCAA each made the unilateral decision to not have events during the 15th to 19th, and in some cases, in the run-up to it.

Football is one of the events affected by the decision, with eight UAAP and at least six NCAA matches having to be postponed by the presence of Pope Francis.

With the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex as a police and military headquarters starting today, January 10, the City of Manila has declared the facility as off-limits. As a result, the NCAA has moved the remaining second round matches for its juniors and seniors matches at the said complex to January 21 to 23. If there is a need for a playoff, it has been scheduled to take place on the 26th.

The complete details on the revised NCAA football schedule can be read below.

Updated #NCAA90Football Schedule pic.twitter.com/KXQAdkFouk
— Cathy Nazareno (@catnazareno) January 7, 2015

Although the matches are taking place in Quezon City, the UAAP has also opted to shift the dates of its matches.

It has moved the January 15 matchup featuring National University against La Salle, and Ateneo against FEU to January 14, still at FEU-Diliman. ABS-CBN's Al Neri has confirmed that these two matches will be televised, although no specifics have yet been given pertaining to when they will be shown.

As for the matches that had been scheduled on January 18 and 19, they have been moved to January 21 and 22.

The women's matches have been converged as a doubleheader to take place on the 21st at the Moro Lorenzo Field inside Ateneo de Manila. UP will face La Salle at 1pm, followed by Ateneo versus FEU at 3pm.

The men's matches, on the other hand, will be played at FEU-Diliman. The 21st will have UE against NU at 1pm, followed by Adamson against Ateneo at 3pm. The 22nd will have UST and La Salle at 1pm, followed by UP against FEU at 3pm. No details have yet been revealed if these matches will be televised.

Meanwhile, UAAP football action resumes this weekend before the Papal break, with today's matches at the Moro Lorenzo Field. Kicking off the double-header is the women's match between defending champions FEU against their Season 75 finals opponents La Salle at 4pm. The second game sees UP attempt to take solo leadership in men's football against UE at 6pm.

Tomorrow will have its customary simultaneous games at FEU-Diliman and Moro Lorenzo. The latter will have the lone women's matchup between UST and current leaders UP at 1pm, followed by the highly anticipated rivalry between the men's football teams of Ateneo and La Salle at 3pm. The former, on the other hand, will have defending champions FEU against Adamson at 1pm, followed by UST against NU at 3pm.

The complete details on the revised UAAP collegiate schedule can be seen below.

Revised schedule for @UAAP_77 mens and womens football. No play during papal visit. @UAAPSportsTV pls RT! @alsneri pic.twitter.com/ApJQETUkDR
— Bob Guerrero (@PassionateFanPH) January 5, 2015

As for the UAAP second round, it is scheduled to begin on January 24 and will last until February 22. The postseason takes place on March 1 and 8 and will be at Rizal Memorial.

As for the UAAP Juniors Football tournament, January 24 kicks off seven Saturday afternoons of high school football at FEU-Diliman, capped off by the title game on March 7. UST, La Salle-Zobel and Ateneo aim to knock off FEU off their title perch.

Alfafara and Espejo lead MVP charge in UAAP 77 men's volleyball

Games Sunday at The Arena in San Juan:

8 a.m. – Ateneo vs UE (men)
10 a.m. – UP vs NU (men)
2 p.m. – UP vs Ateneo (women)
4 p.m. – UE vs La Salle (women)

The last two MVPs in UAAP men's volleyball are leading the way in the chase for this season's top individual award.

Season 75 MVP and UST ace Mark Alfafara is tops in the league in scoring with 106 points (on 95 spikes, eight blocks, and three service aces), while Season 76 ROY-MVP Marck Espejo is in second with 93 points (78 attacks, eight blocks, and seven service aces).

Completing the top five in scoring are freshman Edward Camposano of UE (82 points), Romnick Rico of UST (81 points), and Fauzi Ismail (76 points) of the two-time defending champions NU.

The Bulldogs remain undefeated so far this season, and it is in part due to the efforts of three players leading the league in certain categories.

Ismail is the top spiker so far with a 56.8% rating, while last season's Finals MVP Peter Torres is the top blocker with a 1.11 average per set. Vince Mangulabnan is the top server with a 0.56 average per set.

Completing the cast of outstanding men's volleyball players so far are Adamson's Rence Melgar, who leads the league in digs (3.05 per set) and in receiving (46.89%), while Ateneo Blue Spiker Ish Polvorosa is the top setter (9.11 per set).

Volleyball action will kick off 2015 for the UAAP, with the Ateneo facing UE at 8am, followed by NU against UP at 10am.

*Stats come from TMX Sports, which is the official statistician for UAAP volleyball.

Ara Galang and Alyssa Valdez lead UAAP women's volleyball MVP race

Games Sunday at the Filoil Flying V Arena:

8 a.m. – Ateneo vs UE (men)
10 a.m. – UP vs NU (men)
2 p.m. – UP vs Ateneo (women)
4 p.m. – UE vs DLSU (women)

Former high school teammates Ara Galang and Alyssa Valdez lead the race for the Most Valuable Player in Season 77 of UAAP women's volleyball heading into the holiday break.

Galang is leading the charge for the 5-0 Lady Spikers with 105 points (82 spikes, thirteen blocks, ten service aces) to top the league in scoring. 27 of those points came against Adamson on November 23, which is the highest point total in one game so far.

As for Valdez, the reigning MVP is the league's top spiker with a 45.33% success rating, as well as the best service with a 0.83 per set average. She is a far second behind Galang in the points tally with just 81 points (68 attacks, ten service aces, and three blocks).

Completing the top five in the scoring race are FEU's Bernadette Pons (76), NU's Jaja Santiago (75) and UP's Nicole Tiamzon (72).

To add to her top-five scoring feat, Santiago is second behind Valdez in spiking with a 41.29% clip.

In the blocking category, La Salle's Mika Reyes and Adamson's Mylene Paat each average 1.00 per set to lead the league.

Paat's teammate, Len Cortel, is setting the pace in digs with 3.29, followed by Tin Agno at 2.79 for FEU.

Sophomore standout Jia Morado from Ateneo is leading in setting with 10.67 per set, with last season's best setter Kim Fajardo in second place with 8.24.

Jia's fellow teammates Ella de Jesus and Denden Lazaro are 1-2 in receiving, with a 43.48% and 40% rating, respectively.

The league will resume action on Sunday at The Arena in San Juan, with the Battle of Katipuan at 2pm, followed the matchup of the best and worst teams in the league in La Salle and UE at 4pm.

*TMX Sports is the official statistician for UAAP volleyball.