Basketball
Pat Aquino insists Sedrick Barefield, Christian David staying with Blackwater
Blackwater is sticking with the team that it has right now for the rest of PBA Season 50, as far as interim head coach Pat Aquino is concerned.
The seasoned mentor offered as much in response to the trade rumors that have hounded his Bossing before the freshly opened Governors’ Cup surrounding their stars, Sedrick Barefield and Christian David, in particular.
“I think it’s just all rumors,” he said after their 131-108 waylaying of Rain or Shine in their conference opener Saturday at the Ynares Center II in Montalban.
“I think the management has backed me up so much that we want to prove as a team and forget about the rumors,” continued Aquino, who was promoted to his current position after the ball club let go of Jeff Cariaso back in April.
The names of both Barefield and David have long been floating in trade rumors, even in the past, but it somehow intensified leading up to the season-ending tilt after another losing conference in the recent Commissioner’s Cup.
The gunslinging guard was being linked to a deal with TNT, as word from the grapevine says that the perennial contenders are looking to shore up their vaunted backcourt after falling short in another championship series.
(C) PBA Images
The versatile 6-foot-6 big man, on the other hand, was rumored to be shipped to NLEX when the team was still under Jong Uichico, who has since been replaced by former league MVP turned coach Jimmy Alapag.
Such buzz in a way stemmed from Aquino himself when he hinted about major changes within the team after their loss to Macau last April 28, their third to the last game of the previous conference, which they eventually ended at 2-10.
They did pull off some changes, yes, by letting go of pieces such as Paul Zamar and Bradwyn Guinto, but both ‘Sed’ and ‘CD’ remain with the squad.
And for Aquino, this will be the team he’ll roll with for this Governors’ Cup at least, where he and his men will try to rake up as many wins as they can.
“We’ll just play the games right now. What we have right now is what we’ll have for the rest of the season,” he said matter-of-factly.
Saturday’s swashbuckling rout of the Elasto Painters could be a sign of things to come, and Aquino himself is hoping that it really is, especially after Barefield himself helped out massively with his 24 points to back up Kentrell Barkley.
The debuting import finished with a triple-double of 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists for a solid start to his PBA career, doing it on the same night that RK Ilagan dazzled in his first game back by firing 22 points and five rebounds.
“Just happy that, you know, everybody stepped up, everybody played with the mindset of winning the game, and they never gave up. Hopefully, this good start will continue in the games to come,” said Aquino.
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Basketball
Afril Bernardino’s 20-20 masterpiece keeps Batangas-New Zealand Bluefire’s WMPBL title defense alive
With its bid for a second straight championship on the line, Batangas-New Zealand Bluefire responded in dominant fashion, routing Akari-Rizal, 83-60, on Sunday night at the Paco Arena to force a winner-take-all Game 3 in the 2026 Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Finals.
The Sparks struck first by scoring the game’s opening five points, but the Valkyries quickly seized control with a devastating 26-4 run to close the opening quarter. They took a commanding 26-9 advantage and blew the game wide open before the second period even began.
Batangas-New Zealand Bluefire never looked back, methodically extending its lead throughout the middle quarters. A jumper by Charmine Torres — just five seconds into the fourth quarter — stretched the margin to 30 points, 71-41, effectively putting the game out of Akari-Rizal’s reach.
(C) WMPBL
“We didn’t give up. Our backs were against the wall, and our character came out. The heart of a champion,” said Valkyries head coach Cholo Villanueva after the Game 2 victory.
“The girls didn’t want to give up. They worked hard and the other guys stepped up like Rizza Lozada, Chris Bariquit, Queenie Aquino. The intangible guys helped us get the win tonight and again, like any other series, we need someone to step up, and they did,” he added.
Fresh off winning her third tournament MVP award presented by Aktive, Afril Bernardino powered Batangas-New Zealand Bluefire with a monster double-double of 24 points and 21 rebounds. She also tallied three assists, three blocks, and two steals to keep the defending champions’ title hopes alive.
(C) WMPBL
Camille Claro chipped in 14 points off the bench, while Patricia Peñaranda and Khate Castillo contributed 10 and nine points, respectively.
For Akari-Rizal, Allana Lim was the lone bright spot, posting a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
Mar Prado, Janine Pontejos, and Jhenn Angeles each scored nine points. Meanwhile, Raiza Palmera-Dy found herself limited to just four points and seven rebounds.
With the series now tied at one game apiece, Batangas-New Zealand Bluefire and Akari-Rizal will battle for the championship in a winner-take-all Game 3 on Wednesday at 6:00 PM at the Parañaque Coliseum.
The Scores:
Batangas-New Zealand Bluefire 83 – Bernardino 24, Claro 14, Peñaranda 10, Castillo 9, Lozada 7, Tongco 7, Aquino 4, Bariquit 4, Torres 2, Calang 2, Arciga 0, Manzanares 0, Fabruada 0, Dionisio 0
Akari-Rizal 60 – Lim 15, Prado 9, Pontejos 9, Angeles 9, Candelario 8, Adlawan 4, Palmera-Dy 4, Abatayo 2, Ventura 0, Sambile 0
Quarterscores: 26-9, 51-32, 69-41, 83-60
The post Afril Bernardino’s 20-20 masterpiece keeps Batangas-New Zealand Bluefire’s WMPBL title defense alive appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
Converge hardly showed any mercy as it blew out an incomplete Titan Ultra side by 31 points, 105-74, for a rousing start to its PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup campaign on Saturday night at the Ynares Center II in Montalban.
Their foes playing all-Filipino once again as it continues to sort out its import woes, the FiberXers raced to a 19-9 start, and then exploded for 31 points in the second chapter to build a 50-26 lead at the half, setting the tone for the rout.
The crew took advantage not just of the Giant Risers’ manpower issue but their horrid shooting as well—they went 0-for-17 from deep in the first half, now the all-time league record for most three-point attempts without a make in a half.
(C) PBA Images
The drought ended when Brian Sajonia nailed a four, but that didn’t make any difference whatsoever as they couldn’t get any flow going while Coach Delta Pineda’s charges simply had their way and cruised to the victory.
“‘Yung chemistry ng mga bata compared to the last conference, medyo um-OK naman kami,” said Pineda, who’s pleased to see his men start their redemption tour from a disappointing Commissioner’s Cup on a high note.
Jalen Hudson led the balanced attack with 20 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in a solid PBA comeback after previously suiting up for TNT.
Archie Concepcion came through with 16 points to lead the bench mob. Justin Arana had 14 points and five rebounds, as Mikey Williams added 13.
(C) PBA Images
Calvin Abueva and Justine Baltazar combined for 12 points and 21 of the team’s 67 rebounds in the victory, where the team also dished out 28 assists.
A total of 14 players saw action in the game, including Juan Gomez de Liano, who suffered an apparent ankle injury during Gilas Pilipinas’ loss to Australia in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers’ third window last Monday.
The Rookie of the Year frontrunner only had two points but flirted with a double-double as he chalked up nine rebounds and nine assists in 25 minutes.
Converge will try to keep in step with Group B leaders NLEX (2-0) when it battles the 1-1 Terrafirma on Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Sajonia and Fran Yu, on the other hand, had 14 points apiece while King Caralipio added 10 markers for Titan Ultra, which fell to 0-2.
The Scores:
Converge 105 – Hudson 20, Concepcion 16, Arana 14, Williams 13, Clemente 9, Garcia 8, Abueva 6, Baltazar 6, Tungcab 6, Lepalam 5, Gomez de Liano 2, Policarpio 0, Muiyang 0, Eguilos 0.
Titan Ultra 74 – Yu 14, Sajonia 14, Caralipio 10, Ular 9, Javillonar 7, Munzon 6, Sumang 6, Cuntapay 4, Omega 2, Ambohot 2, Inigo 0, Dionisio 0, Amores 0.
Quarterscores: 19-9, 50-26, 78-49, 105-74.
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- Pearl Queens 54-41 Magic Stormers
Pearl Queens levelled the best-of-three National Basketball League quarterfinal after a spirited show.
Pearl Queens secured a well-deserved 54-41 victory against Magic Stomers in the NBL encounter at YMCA Court, Wandegeya on Sunday.
Magic Stormers came into the game after clinching game one and needed a victory to seal a semifinals slot but Pearl Queens decided to stretch the series.
Last year’s semifinalists scored only six points as the Pearl Queens opened a four-point (10-6) lead at the end of the first quarter.
Scovia Akello capped the second quarter with a driving layup as the Queens extended their lead to 10 points going into the halftime break.
Coming from a long break, Magic Stomers greatly improved their defensive unit, as their deficit was reduced to seven points (36-29) at the end of the frame.
The Stormers tried to limit the Queens but had run out of legs as Djeneba Ballo put the icing on the cake as the latter bagged a 13-point victory.
Scovia Akello (16 points) and Rose Adhiambo (10 points) led the Queens’ scoring chart in double digits while Jane Chisom (19 rebounds) and Agatha Kamwada (10 rebounds) cleaned the glasses.
On the other hand, Susan Eben dropped 17 points while Joy Nekesa and Grace Namuli made 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively.
The post NBL Playoffs: Pearl Queens level series with Magic Stormers appeared first on Kawowo Sports.
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