Basketball
Yeng Guiao explains heated exchange with Erick Arejola: ‘I had to protect my player’
Yeng Guiao simply came to the defense of Jaylen Johnson as he was in the center of a heated spat late in Rain or Shine’s eventual victory over Magnolia on Saturday night in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup.
The Elasto Painters head coach said that he only stood up for his import after getting into a verbal exchange with Hotshots team consultant Erick Arejola at center court during a dead-ball situation with only 1:21 remaining in the game.
“I was trying to protect my players because he was trying to intimidate my player. I had to do something,” he said shortly after their 91-82 victory at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium to notch their eighth win in the midseason conference.
It happened moments after Magnolia sued for time to talk things over as the spread grew to 87-80 following Johnson’s poster jam on opposing forward Zavier Lucero, in which he pulled off his signature shimmy upon landing.
That apparently drew the ire of Arejola, who then confronted the American reinforcement. Guiao saw as much and stepped in, leading to the heated moment that prompted both teams to come in and diffuse the situation.
“That was, I think, after a timeout. Galing kami sa timeout. Paglingon ko sa court, Erick was in the face of my import,” recalled the straightforward mentor.
“And that’s all the way from their bench. So iniisip ko, paano siya nakarating sa ganoon na hindi man lang siya pinigilan ng referees?”
Both Guiao and Arejola would be called for technical fouls each for verbal altercation. But the drama didn’t stop there as the former refused to shake the hand of the long-time exec, only acknowledging counterpart LA Tenorio.
“I had some words, but I don’t think I need to repeat the words,” the champion mentor said in jest when asked about what he told Arejola.
“But I don’t know if he had some words for me; hindi naman kami nagkakarinigan siguro.”
Guiao, however, downplayed the whole fracas, but made it clear at the same time that he is and will always be after the welfare of his own players.
“Magkakaibigan naman kami. Pero pagdating sa laro, kanya-kanyang protect tayo doon sa mga interes natin,” he said. “Siguro ganun din gagawin niya ‘pag ginawa ko ‘yon sa player niya. But wala naman sa akin ‘yun.
“Ano naman ‘yan … pare-pareho naman kaming kasama sa PBA family. That can be remedied.”
Arejola, who was involved in an ugly brawl during last year’s NBTC qualifiers, politely declined to comment about the incident.
The post Yeng Guiao explains heated exchange with Erick Arejola: ‘I had to protect my player’ appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
Joseph Yeo and Chris Tiu rekindled their legendary partnership as Xavier School edged the James Yap-led Hua Siong College-Iloilo, 75-72, in Game 1 of the 40 Years Division finals of the Fil-Chinese Athletic Association Inc. on Friday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Though no longer as quick or explosive as they were in their prime, the Powersox-AcroCity-backed Xavier stars remained deadly from beyond the arc, delivering clutch baskets down the stretch to topple the defending champions in the opener of their best-of-three title series before a sizable crowd.
The Golden Stallions now stand one win away from the championship and a measure of revenge after falling to Hua Siong in last year’s finals. They can seal the title with another victory on Monday.
Yeo turned back the clock with a game-high 30 points, highlighted by four three-pointers, to outduel fellow PBA great James Yap. He scored Xavier’s final seven points, including a crucial triple that stretched the lead to 71-66 late in the contest.
Yap answered with 18 points, knocking down two booming three-pointers, but his efforts were not enough as the Lamtex Pipes-backed Hua Siong absorbed its first loss after sweeping all eight elimination-round games. Hua Siong had also cruised past GT Radial-Grace Christian College, 108-74, in the semifinals.
Tiu also played a key role in the victory, finishing with 17 points while sinking two of Xavier’s 13 three-pointers. Hua Siong, meanwhile, connected on nine triples.
In the battle for third place, Grace Christian College rolled past SCAG-St. Stephen’s, 60-40, behind Allan Anson Tan’s 20-point performance to finish third in the nine-team tournament.
With Yap struggling to find his rhythm late, Ken Bono tried to keep Hua Siong within striking distance, but Xavier would not be denied.
The league is backed by Smart Sports, Tanduay Athletics, Genius Hardware, Ultraforce Tires, Cellboy, PGFlex Linoleum, Boysen, Lamtex Pipes, Jiang Nan, Hangry Pares, Powerhouse Tools, L.F. Fireworks, BYD Valenzuela, BAIC, Jetour, Yong Kee Roasting House, 1118 Autospa, and TCL.
The post Xavier moves one win away from Fil-Chi crown behind Joseph Yeo, Chris Tiu appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
Ramon Cao asserted himself in the endgame to help Macau complete a 132-126 comeback win over Titan Ultra to break through in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup, Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The reliable big man finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds as he basically took it upon himself to bring the Giant Risers home after seeing themselves staring at a 120-119 deficit with 1:52 remaining.
He scored seven straight to give themselves the 126-120 lead with 31.1 seconds left, which were enough to put them ahead permanently while the opposition could only try to answer back but to no avail
De’Vondre Perry helped him out to keep their foes at bay before Cao applied the final blow with a cleanup from point-blank as the former Bay Area Dragons forward produced 11 of Macau’s last 13 points of the bout.
With this, the guest team improved to 1-4 while sending Titan crashing back to earth after beating TNT previously.
The post PBA: Ramon Cao powers Macau’s stunning comeback to first win at Titan’s expense appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
FIBA U18 AfroBasket Zone 5 Qualifiers
Friday Results
- Uganda 52-40 South Sudan
- Egypt 126-32 Tanzania
Saturday Fixtures
- Kenya Vs Uganda – 3:30 p
- Tanzania Vs Rwanda – 8:30 pm
The 2026 FIBA U18 AfroBasket Zone 5 Qualifiers got underway on Friday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
Two tickets to Côte d’Ivoire, the hosts of the final tournament from August 5 to 16, are up for grabs.
Uganda’s Junior Silverbacks faced off with the Young Bright Stars of South Sudan in the Group B opener at Cairo Stadium Indoor Hall 2.
Despite being shorthanded, the Junior Silverbacks claimed a 52-40 win but needed a strong defensive effort down the stretch to hold off a determined South Sudan that had chipped away at a double-digit third-quarter deficit to just 2 points (42-40) with just under four minutes to play in the final period.
South Sudan controlled the early stages of the game, scoring six unanswered points and forcing Uganda into a timeout.
The message head coach Daniel “Najja” Jjuuko delivered to the Junior Silverbacks elicited a perfect response from the youngsters as they went on a 10-0 scoring run and never looked back.
While combo guard Shane Kwizera shone with a 19-point, 10-rebound, and 12-steal triple-double, Pierre Laurent Rwuhiriro’s effort on the defensive end soared. The center finished with 8 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks, but his contribution was beyond what reflects in the stat sheet.
Uganda forced South Sudan into committing 39 turnovers despite getting outrebounded 55-49.
Bior Mayen netted 15 points to lead the scoring for South Sudan, and Deng Langar had a 10-point and 14-rebound double-double.
Next Up
Group action continues today (Saturday, July 25) as Uganda takes on Kenya at 3:30 p.m. A win for the Junior Silverbacks guarantees them a place in the semifinals, in which they will face the runner-up from Group A, which has Egypt, Rwanda and Tanzania.
The post FIBA U18 AfroBasket Qualifiers: Uganda’s Junior Silverbacks hold off South Sudan appeared first on Kawowo Sports.
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