LG Electronics’ ‘Asian Basketball Showdown’ today

Later today at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum, the "Asian Basketball Showdown" presented by LG Electronics Philippines will take place between the Changwon LG Sakers and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.


The Sakers have been touted as the modern-day equivalents of Shin Dong Pa, the legendary Korean scoring machine. He is expected to visit the country once again to lead the support for the Koreans in this exhibition.

The event is free for LG customers who have registered online using the sales invoice / official receipt number of the LG product purchased. Those who also registered online at LG Philippines' Facebook page also secures free tickets. Those attending the game have the chance to win the newest LG products on the market, including the simplest yet smartest LG G3; the young and pop LG G Pad, your launch pad; and the sleek, always on Android Wear LG G Watch.

"All In" Charity Game tickets set for earlier release

Good news for those who want to see The Answer in the flesh after all these years.

Organizers of the "All In" charity basketball event slated this coming November 5 at the Mall of Asia Arena have announced that tickets for the event will now be available a week earlier than planned.

Tickets for the game can now be purchased at all SM Tickets outlets, as well as with PCWorx branches starting this Friday, August 8. It had been originally pegged to be released on August 15.

PCWorx Marketing head Jessel Fesarit explained that since the August 1 press conference at the NBA Cafe formalizing "All In," they "have received countless inquiries about the availability of tickets."

Given such demand, she added, they "have done what they can to ensure an earlier release."

Prices for the basketball game are as follows:

PhP 600 (general admission), PhP 3,000 (upper box), PhP 4,000 (lower box), PhP 5,500 (patron), PhP 6,500 (VIP). Proceeds from the event will benefit Gawad Kalinga.

Iverson will be coaching a team mainly composed of the Ball Up (better known back then as the And-1) Streetball crew against a local selection of PBA legends and collegiate sensations.

For more details regarding the event, inquiries may be directed to Fesarit at jfesarit@ikurot.ph.

DLSU, San Beda set for exhibition Yolanda fund-raiser

In an effort to raise money for the relief operations, the champions of the two premier collegiate basketball leagues will face each other on the hardcourt in a homage to an age-old rivalry.

UAAP champions La Salle and NCAA champions San Beda will play in the Champions for a Cause on December 7. Tip-off is scheduled at 12nn at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum and will be shown LIVE on TV5, with a replay scheduled at 9pm on AksyonTV.

If you are going to watch it at the Big Dome, tickets will cost PhP 1000 for Patron, PhP 500 for Lower Box, PhP 300 for Upper Box A, PhP 150 for Upper Box B and PhP 20 for General Admission. Tickets are available at the Athletic Departments from both schools, aside from TicketNet.

Sports5 Head and SMART-Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes says, “Sports5 is privileged to be collaborating with the schools and Fil-Oil Flying V in presenting this rare basketball game where the two best collegiate teams will be giving their best for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda. Basketball fans will surely enjoy this game where everyone wins.”

Match commissioner Rey Gamboa expects this to be a good game, as he adds, “Not only do you get to see great basketball but you get to help.”

Both teams are also scheduled to face each other, in addition to this game, as they have earned their spot in the PCCL Final Four, which will have a round-robin format once the four teams have been revealed. (Already booking their spot alongside the two is Southwestern University, while ongoing right now is the Luzon-Metro Manila qualifiers)

San Beda just secured its fourth straight title in the NCAA, surviving Letran in a repeat of last year. Led by Boyet Fernandez, he will entrust it to his core, led by Finals MVP Art Dela Cruz, Baser Amer, Rome de la Rosa and Ola Adeogun. Fernandez says that they have to defend the school's honor in this exhibition game, and that fans can expect to see San Beda basketball.

La Salle ended their championship drought by beating the University of Santo Tomas in a dramatic finals. Led by Juno Sauler, he has solid rotation led by their Finals MVP Jeron Teng, Jason Perkins, Almond Vosotros and Arnold Van Opstal. Juno remarked that they know of the age-old rivalry between both schools, although he acknowledged that they don't play much since they are with different leagues, but there are times that they do manage to face each other in the pre- and post-season tournaments. He expects that both champions teams will play their best.

School legends Frankie Lim and Lim Eng Beng reflected on the school rivalry. Lim, who won two titles for the Red Lions as a player and four as its head coach, says that they have had good battles with La Salle. This would be confirmed by Beng, who helped DLSU win titles in 1971 and 1974.

Kaya FC Reunion Match Scheduled

It all started with a brainstorming session involving Chris Hagedorn, Armand del Rosario and Rick Olivares, where an idea popped up. The suggestion of having the current iteration of Kaya FC go up against its fabled alumni. From a simple idea, it will now be a reality as the Kaya FC Reunion match.

The exhibition match will take place on September 9 at the BGC Field, with the kick-off for this match being set at 8 P.M. It will be free admission, so fans can flock to the venue. In fact, the organizers are encouraging the fans to attend to "tailgate" for the occasion. In addition, Kaya FC will also be selling merchandise at the venue, as well as showcasing the proud championship history of the club.

According to Armand, when you are a part of Kaya FC, you will always be a part of the team, that you will always be a part of the Kaya family. That is something that Kale Alvarez wants to foster with the club, having been a former player back in 2006, to currently being its 4th-ever head coach since the team's establishment in 1996. That is something that Coach Kale wants to imbibe on the new signings.

One of those new signings was in the same building when the press conference took place was Antonio Ugarte. The Fil-Am forward / midfielder just signed his contract with the team on the same day. He has already made an impact as an integral part of the team that won the Kia Cup last Sunday at the ACC football grounds.

In facing the alumni, they get to meet such legends like Rudy del Rosario and Rely San Agustin, and also some of the best footballers plying their trade in the country, like the El-Habbib brothers of Global FC and Tating Pasilan of Green Archers United - Globe. There is no official complete list of participants from the alumni, but it is expected that they will be give their best effort against the team that finished second in the United Football League.