MANILA, Philippines - For their intensity that sparked their teams, Barangay Ginebra's Ronald Tubid and Coca-Cola’s Asi Taulava were chosen as Motolite/Accel-PBA Press Corps’ Co-Players of the Week honors for the period May 18 to 24.
Tubid was pivotal in Ginebra's two victories in their last three games that gave the Gin Kings the No. 2 slot and the last automatic semifinals berth.
“Ronald always gives us something extra, kaya nahahawa ang mga ka-teammates niya," said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.
“Whenever we wanted something to happen for us, Ronald can always be counted on."
Tubid finished with a team-high 20 points in Ginebra's 122-85 dominating win over Coke last Wednesday then last Sunday he penciled an 18-point game in a 114-71 triumph over Rain or Shine in their playoff for the No. 2 spot.
Ginebra suffered a 75-76 defeat at the hands of Alaska last Friday when Tubid scored just 10 points, paving the way for the playoff with Rain or Shine.
Taulava did the same, leading Coke to a 2-1 record in their last three games that gave them the No. 8 spot and an easier chance to advance into the quarterfinals.
Last Sunday, Taulava scored a double-double 18-18 (points and rebounds) when he led Coke to an 81-74 win over Alaska in their playoff for the no. 8 slot. Prior to that match, Taulava scored 29 points and grabbed 14 rebounds against San Miguel Beer last Friday.
It was Taulava's way to make up from a mediocre 12-4 production in their defeat to Ginebra.
“Asi showed not only the points, the other statistics. He also showed us true leadership, the Tiger way," noted Coke coach Kenneth Duremdes. “The Rock is back." – Perry Legaspi, GMANews.TV
MANILA, Philippines – Kapag pinagbasehan ang playoff chart, nakikini-kinita ng mga eksperto at manonood ng liga na makalaban ng San Miguel Beer sa Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference finals ang alinman sa Barangay Ginebra, Purefoods o Talk N Text. Sa kabuuan, magaan na makakapasok sa kanilang bracket ang Beermen habang ang Kings, Giants at Tropang Texters ay maglalaban-laban sa sarili nilang grupo sa playoff phase na magsisimula bukas. Samantala, tinanghal na co-winners sina Ronald Tubid ng Ginebra at Asi Taulava ng Talk N Text sa Motolite Accel Player of the Week para sa May 20-24 week. Binanderahan ni Tubid ang Kings para sa outright semis entry, habang pinalakas naman ni Taulava ang Tigers sa No. 8 sa playoff. Makikipagbuno naman ang Rain or Shine at Burger King kontra sa Barako Bull at Alaska, ayon sa pagkakasunod sa Day 1 ng playoff. Dahil seeded No. 3 at 4, ang Elasto Painters at Whopper ay may twice-to-beat advantage laban sa Energy Boosters at Aces sa kanilang match-up. Maghaharap naman sa knockout match ang Sta. Lucia Realty at Coca-Cola at Purefoods laban naman sa Talk N Text. Ang Burger King, Alaska, Sta. Lucia at Coca-Cola ang nasa top bracket kasama ang San Miguel habang ang Barako Bull, Rain or Shine, Purefoods at Talk N Text ang nasa bottom bracket kasama naman ang Ginebra. Ang Beermen at Kings ay kapwa naman seeded sa semifinals dahil sa pagiging top two team nila sa classification round. No let up for Barangay Ginebra after securing semis berth
05/25/2009 | 06:43 PM
MANILA, Philippines – There is no letting up for Barangay Ginebra even after securing an outright semifinals berth in the Motolite-PBA Fiesta Cup.
The defending champions will try to get in shape and not lazy around in the next three weeks while they await their opponents for the Final Four of the season-ending meet. “We’ll try to stay in shape, try to stay in focus and do what we’re supposed to do," stressed import David Noel. Noel sparked the Kings’ early breakaway in their playoff match against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Sunday for the second automatic berth in the semis. The former slamdunk champion scored 13 of Ginebra’s 30 first quarter points to help the league’s crowd darling establish a 16-point lead after the first 12 minutes of play. Noel eventually finished with 17 points as the Kings booked a 114-71 runaway win. Ginebra appeared to be following the same pattern it took when it won the import-laden meet a season ago. The Kings also began last year’s Fiesta Cup on the wrong foot, losing their first five games for an 0-5 start, before they start turning things around when Chris Alexander arrived to take the place of Ernest Brown. The team went on to make the quarterfinals and beat Sta. Lucia, advanced to the semis against Red Bull and then made the Finals against Air21, surviving a 2-3 deficit in the best-of-seven series before bagging the championship in the winner-take-all Game 7. Fast forward to the present Fiesta Cup. With the Kings again opening their title-retention bid with a 1-5 record, coach Jong Uichico deemed it best to change import, replacing Rod Nealy with Noel. The change in scenario made immediate impact for the squad. With Noel lending his inside presence, the Kings racked up seven straight wins to rise from the bottom of the standings and take a shot at an automatic semis berth. A playoff with Rain or Shine wouldn’t have necessitated had the Kings not lost a heartbreaker against Alaska last week, 76-75. But opposite the Elasto Painters, there was no denying the reigning champions. “Di mo talaga maintindihan ang basketball," said coach Jong Uichico following the big win. “Noong isang gabi (against Alaska), hindi kami maka-shoot. Ngayon (against Rain or Shine), puro shoot naman. If we just shot the same the other night, malamang wala na itong playoff na ito." Uichico said he’ll try to make the Kings as active as possible in the next three weeks since between them and fellow semifinalist San Miguel Beer, they appeared headed towards a tougher semifinals series. Being in the lower see of the bracket, Ginebra could face any among Rain or Shine, Barako Bull, Purefoods or Talk `N Text in the semis. “Mukhang mas mabigat ang mga teams sa bracket namin," admitted Ginebra Uichico. “Purefoods and Talk `N Text are strong teams. Sa kabila, mas angat sa lahat ang San Miguel." As the no. 1 seed in the upper bracket, the Beermen face the prospect of meeting the Titans, Tigers, Aces or the Realtors in the Final Four. –GMANews.TV |
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By Reuel Vidal
THE Philippine Basketball Association finally released the projected matchups in the wildcard, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of the ongoing Fiesta Conference.
So, in response to numerous e-mails, text messages and phone calls from friends, acquaintances and other PBA fans, below is the pairing of teams for the PBA playoffs.
At the upper half of the 10-team bracket, the Burger King Whopper, who finished with eight wins and six losses, will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage in the wildcard. They face the loser of the knockout match yesterday between the Coca-Cola Tigers and the Alaska Aces.
The Sta. Lucia Realtors, who finished with seven wins and seven losses, will face the winner of the knockout match yesterday between the Coca-Cola Tigers and the Alaska Aces in a sudden-death match in the wildcard.
The winners of the two wildcard matches will advance to the quarterfinals where they will battle in a best-of-three playoff. The winner of that quarterfinal playoff will advance to the best-of-seven semifinal against the San Miguel Beermen.
(By the way, I liked the way the San Miguel Beermen used all their players and battled hard to win two of their last three games even though they really didn’t need to win at all. If you watch games of the National Basketball Association, you will see star players in civilian clothing sitting at the sidelines during the last games going into the playoffs.)
Meanwhile, the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings faced the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters yesterday with the winner advancing automatically to the semifinals and the loser dropping to the wildcard.
The Barako Bull Energy Boosters, who finished with two wins and 10 losses, will battle the loser of the Ginebra-Rain or Shine match in the wildcard. Barako Bull will be saddled with a twice-to-win handicap with the winner of that wildcard match advancing to the quarterfinals.
The Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants and the Talk N Text Tropang Texters, who both finished with seven wins and seven losses after the classification round, battle in a one-game match in the wildcard.
The winner will advance to the best-of-three quarterfinal playoff against the winner of the other wildcard matchup.
The winner of that quarterfinal pairing will advance to the best-of-seven semifinal against the winner of the playoff between Ginebra and Rain or Shine.
So there. I hope this clarifies everything. Now on to the playoffs!
