HoopWatch

The Russians won against Pau Gasol and Spain in a dramatic fashion. They carved out a cardiac squeaker, 60-59, against the current World Basketball Champions. Andrei Kirilenko led Russia with 17 points and he added three blocks.
The Russians trailed by as much as ten midway in the third canto. A further blow was sent their […]

Spain proved once again that their win against former Eurobasket Champions Greece in the World Basketball Championships was no fluke. Earlier, they hacked out a 82-77 victory over Team Hellas in front of their hometown fans in Barcelona.
NBA stars Pau Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies and Juan Carlos Navarro of the Washington Wizards paced Team […]

In the past three major international events, Team USA never won the gold nor even the silver. They placed sixth in the 2002 World Championships, third in the 2004 Olympics and got themselves the bronze once again the 2006 World Championships. They have fallen short due to their lack of outside shooting and lack of […]

Team USA easily beat Team Argentina, 91-76. But the Americans did not have an easy time. The winning margin was not that big. They had to rely on heavy games from superstars Kobe Bryant, who had 27 points, Carmelo Anthony, 25, and LeBron James had over 20 points as well.
Argentina scored in well-polished pick-and-rolls and […]

Definitely, Team USA has learned their lesson and they are disciplined to adhere to what is necessary in international competition. It’s patience in their ball movement. The zone has been their bane in recent FIBA tourneys. It’s not anymore.
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I love how USA moves the ball around when playing against the zone. They pass from […]

Unselfish! Yes, that’s the exact word that I would describe the USA Men’s basketball team competing in the current FIBA Americas. By far, they are no doubt playing on another level, whopping opponents by an average margin of 48.4 points.
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They started the tournament with a 43-point demolition against Venezuela, followed it
with a mighty 64-point […]

After watching the various lined-up Philippine Team go to battle in various tournaments, I have pruned down the worthy-15 to twelve. I know the final roster will not be released till the 27th, but� barring any technicalities or injuries, here are my players.
The center/forwards are Asi Taulava, Mick Penissi, Eric Menk, Kerby Raymundo� and� Kelly […]

Team Philippines play like their American counterparts, a lot of showboating and free-lancing. But they are trying their best to veer away from the branding. They have played a lot of international competitions, playing against teams in Europe and Asia in various tournaments, and it has helped them in blending together, passing to each other […]

Kudos to Team Philippines for winning big against a much taller (way taller in fact) Iran National Team, 89-79. They did trail at halftime by five, but by the start of the third quarter, they kept on running and grabbed those highly important defensive rebounds. “Whoever controls the rebounds, controls the game,” as the old […]

Finally, “Lady Luck” was on our side when San Miguel-Pilipinas defeated a tough Korean squad, 88-84 in the ongoing 29th William Jones Cup, held in Taipei, Taiwan.
Actually, the Philippine were coming from two heart-breaking losses against Lebanon and Japan. The Philippines led by as much as ten in the fourth quarter of both games. And […]