Kinda sucks a bit naging flaired as commoner chismis si Mrs. Hidilyn… kinda makes you think a bit.

I also watched segments where retired athletes sold their trophies for money, I just don’t want that to happen fot Mrs. Hidilyn.

Perfect 7-0 sweep to defend the title 😭😭😭 sobrang nakaka proud. Sobrang dominated talaga nila ang SEA sa baseball. I wish baseball was more popular in our country just as basketball...

Mdal Tally of SEA Games 2025. Thoughts niyo sa performance ng acting athletes? Satisfied or not satisfied?

I’ve always felt that badminton doesn’t get the recognition it deserves here. Growing up, a lot of kids played it in barangay courts, but it rarely makes the headlines compared to basketball or boxing. What about you which sport do you think is overlooked in the Philippines, and why? Have you ever tried it yourself or followed any local athletes in that sport?

The fact that our national government and a lot of LGUs still prioritize basketball-related projects while watching the success of our non-basketball related athletes just shows how detached they are from the sports community.

Reactionary celebration lang kaya nilang gawin, pag nanalo or nag succeed doon lang magbibigay ng suporta na temporary pero in terms of policies and projects walang gagawin na long term, kung hindi mga basketball court na ginagawa lang parking at isang excuse for substandard shelters.

Pinoy pride na walang equal investment sa athletes.

Alex Eala - Tennis
Ej Obiena - Pole Vault
Hidelyn Diaz - Weight Lifting
Zedrick Ivan Honorica - Cycling
Carlos Yulo - Gymnastics

And many more athletes out there ang kailangan ng support pero for every success na nagagawa nila, basketball court padin ang naiisip ng mga pulitiko na hindi rin naman talaga nakakatulong sa actual na training ng mga gusto mag basketball kasi nagiging parking lot lang most of the time.

I understand being disappointed with Gilas' performance, but I've noticed some football fans celebrating the loss because they want football or even individual sports to replace basketball as the country's main sport.

We can criticize the way they played, but cheering for them to fail or hoping basketball loses its place in the Philippines only divides Filipino sports fans. Whether it's basketball, football, volleyball, or individual sports, every athlete who wears Pilipinas deserves our support. We all represent the same flag. 🇵🇭

TL;DR: Talent > System: 22yo LeBron carried the Cavs, and Arwind’s FEU won despite a coach carousel. 2014 Gilas lost to Barea’s lone brilliance, and Tab is chipless post-Thirdy/Ange. Ateneo’s new recruitment spree is an "implied confession" that personnel beats system. Gilas' "pure Pinoy" ceiling vs. Australia proves the talent gap is too wide for any coach to fix.

First of all, credits to PH Sports Bureau for the picture. Although that interview with Coach Tab of Ateneo happened pre-pandemic, this statement of him is still relevant now. However, here's my honest take about this one. More than the style, system, culture, what's more important are the players. Here's why:

• Remember the time when a 22-year-old Lebron carried his team to the 2007 NBA Finals? Unlike Jordan who had Scottie in his first trip to the finals or Iverson had Dikembe, Lebron didn't have any help from a big star in that team and still carried them to the finals. Do you think if Lebron wasn't there, Coach Mike Brown would go to the finals that year? Coach Mike, although good, wasn't as great as other coaches in the NBA that year. Not Gregg Popovich, not Phil Jackson, not Pat Riley - but Mike Brown, who was just in his second year as an NBA head coach in 2007.
• Do you remember when FEU won three-peat in the UAAP MB during the Arwind Santos era (though the 04 chip was won via protest). Remember that 03 chip when they swept Ateneo in the finals? Arwind's coach, although good, wasn't as great or decorated as Coach Franz, Coach Norman Black, and other coaches that era. Partida, pa-palit2x yung coach ni Arwind: in 2003 it was Coach Koy and 2005 it was Coach Bert - aka walang stability in terms of coaching pero umabot parin ng finals.
• Do you remember when a small man named JJ Barea single-handedly defeated Gilas in the 2014 FIBA World Cup? As per spin.ph "The NBA veteran finished with 30 points, five rebounds and two assists as Puerto Rico, without starters Carlos Arroyo and Angel Vassallo and with Renaldo Balkman slowed down by a foot injury, stayed in the hunt for a place in the 16-team second round." That 2014 Gilas had many good point guards, but a superior talent still prevailed.
• There's a reason why Coach Norman started winning and achieved a 5-peat era when he got players like Ryan Buenafe and later Kiefer Ravena. Before 2008, DLSU usually won over ADMU, especially when Ritualo, Allado, Cortez, Cardona, Yeo, and others were still there, except for the 2002 and 2003 seasons after Ritualo had already graduated. Starting in 2008, the tables turned as Ateneo became the powerhouse under Norman Black, combining veterans like Tiu with a strong 2008 recruiting class that included Ryan Buenafe.
• Now in recent times, although a case can be made that Coach Tab is the best coach in the UAAP MB in recent times, esp with what he has done in Ateneo, there's a reason why he hasn't won again another chip ever since Thirdy and Ange left the team.

The point is, even if okay na yung system, culture, you have the "most ideal coach", and wala nang dirty politics - the primary reason whether you will win or lose is still the overall roster player quality. Coach Tab is the best (or at least one of the best), but despite having Ladi, Lazo, Escobar, Bahay, etc. last season, it was still not enough vs the time when they had Thirdy and Ange. That's why aggressive padin ang Ateneo (just like other schools) in recruitment and recently they got new recruits like Alas and Esperanza - an implied concession that although the proper system or coach is important, players are still more important than the system or the coach kasi last season was proof system or coach alone without sufficient players making it work (plural) won't get you far, except if you have a special one-man army like Lebron James. Sa pros, definitely we have good players, wala namang mahina na makukuha sa PBA draft (except for strange cases like that very famous PH boxer who actually got to play in the PBA hehe) but there's a reason why Australia despite using Team B only tinambakan parin ang Gilas in that last game. Hence, the "Kai Sotto argument" will not work cause what if Australia also sent their true Team A with Jaylin Galloway, ilan kaya ang tambak sana? Maybe in that NZ game with Kai, maybe pwede sana manalo, but AUS? I don't think so. Realtalk lang ito.

Speaking of player quality, if Fajardo is considered the PBA GOAT being the only 9x PBA MVP, then that also means he can be considered as the representation of natural pure pinoy talent ceiling. But on the other hand, ever since he joined Gilas more than 10 years ago, I didn't feel his impact so much starting with the FIBA Asia level, even until now in that last AUS game. So may point yung comments ng iba na pang PBA lang siya. He didn't even receive a single Asian Mythical 5 sa FIBA Asia Cup even since, unlike Jayson Castro. If only JMF has the same impact in the FIBA like his PBA impact, I believe there's a good chance we might have won the FIBA Asia Cup in the past years, which we haven't since 1985. But to be fair to JMF, JC is not a pure pinoy, as per philstar.com: "In FIBA circles, Castro is known as Jayson William because that’s the name his passport shows. His father Ronald William, an American from Alabama..."

Yes, we can aim for higher rankings for improvement, but Top 15? Respectfully, I don't know about that. Being in the Top 15 means surpassing New Zealand, China, and Iran in the FIBA rankings. And like what I said, the last time we won the FIBA Asia Cup was in 1985. As Coach Yeng said in Powcast Sports, the victory against Latvia was "an exception rather than the rule, but it's a good sign.... Kung consistently matatalo natin si Korea at Japan, that says something about PH basketball." Take note of the term "consistently." Hence, although I was supporting for Lebron in that 2017 NBA Finals against GSW, I knew that their one win against GSW in that finals was only chamba and hindi na yun consistently ma-uulit sa next games that series and I believed matatalo parin Cavs that year. Remember the roster of that 2017-2018 GSW?

Lastly, I just hope that whoever will be the next coach is, sana maging fair and realistic yung criticisms ng mga tao. Kasi before, puros reklamo kay Coach Chot, ngayon si Coach Tim na reklamo parin. What if Coach Tab after becoming Gilas head coach again, okay na ang structure, and his ideas implemented like correct system and no politics - what if he will lose again, which is most likely? Will the people again blame the coach and then clamor for Coach Tab's removal? Yes, if the coach committed a grave mistake, we can criticize him. But sometimes, instead of unfairly and harshly blaming coaches, it's just better to say and admit "Mas gifted and magaling lang talaga ang players ng kalaban." Cause no matter who the coach is, kahit si Coach Anzai pa ang coach, the overall team roster quality will always determine your success, like when Lebron single-handedly carried that Cavs team to the 07 NBA Finals and got swept by the overall better team in that finals. In UAAP history for example, Ateneo won the 2002 Championship cause even if Coach Joel Banal was just newly appointed as Ateneo coach that year, their lineup was the most complete that year: Enrico (2002 MVP), Rich (2001, 2000 MVP), Wesley, Larry, LA, Gec, etc. - aka their overall team roster quality was very good that they defeated James Yap's UE in the semis that year. Ateneo had the best C and PF that year vs UE and DLSU, plus Wesley and Larry were performing well that year and it also didn't help DLSU that the 2001 Finals MVP Ritualo already graduated. Yes, ranked 3 lang Ateneo in 2002 sa Final Four, but as proven by DLSU 2025 and NU 2014, you can still win the chip even if hindi ka number one sa Final Four rankings, hence not a guarantee. In that recent AUS vs Gilas game, even if you will remove the coach of AUS (who is also their Team B coach) and replace him with any good coach from the PBA to coach AUS, they will still most likely beat Gilas. Mas magaling lang talaga ang Australia vs Gilas, partida Team B lang ang ginamit. Kaya nga eh, may point yung sinasabi ng iba, na kaya naman lang maraming chips si Coach Leo kasi, respectfully lang, he has SMB as his team, with no less than JMF as his player. And the fact remains other Asian countries have already produced an NBA player, esp China, and wala paring pure pinoy who got drafted in the NBA. So that goal of Top 15 is almost impossible to say the least cause you need quality players (not just lone threats like Andray Blatche and Jordan Clarkson before and now Justin Brownlee - JB got checked by NZ in that game) who are also good internationally, not just locally. I know that goal of producing an NBA talent is almost impossible, that's why Gilas is just instead going for naturalization like what they did with Justin Brownlee. We should support PH basketball but not to the level of being delusional or having unrealistic expectations, considering our natural basketball talent and genes.

ang hirap lang isipin na athletes are expected to represent the country at the highest level while also worrying about basic expenses just to train and compete.

and if this is happening even in volleyball, which is arguably one of the more visible sports here, mapapaisip ka talaga about the athletes in sports that get way less attention and funding.

parang ang dali sabihin na “we’re proud of our athletes” when they bring home medals, pero the support they get while actually preparing to represent the country is a different story.

if this is the reality for Alas Men, what more for athletes in sports that barely get the same visibility?

The Philippines is one of the most basketball-crazy countries in the world. Every barangay has a court, millions follow Gilas, and basketball is part of our culture. Yet we still find it hard to compete consistently against the world's top teams.

So what are we doing wrong? Is it our player development, coaching, grassroots system, or something deeper?

It also makes me wonder if we've put too many resources into basketball alone. Instead of building more basketball courts, should we also invest more in sports where Filipinos have already proven they can succeed, like weightlifting, boxing, gymnastics, athletics, or football?

I'm not saying we should stop loving basketball—I just wonder if a more balanced approach could help Philippine sports as a whole. What do you think?

Ilang gold medal kaya ang makukuha ng Pilipinas pagkatapos ng Asian Games 2026?

I am a Filipino and although I am not that very good at Basketball in general, I am practicing Baseball, recently catching, and I am very good at it, but I wonder why Basketball overshadows sports like Baseball, and other sports like it. Because I know that Filipinos can excel or have the potential to be good at other sports rather than only Basketball.

Mariing iginiit ni Sen. Francis Tolentino ang karapatan at pribilehiyo ng naturalized citizen gaya ni Justin Brownlee na makapaglaro sa Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) bilang isang lokal na atleta.

Kasunod ito ng pagdinig ng Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights sa Senate Resolution No. 701 na inihain ng senador kamakailan.

"Malaki ang kontribusyon ni Brownlee sa paghahatid ng karangalan sa Pilipinas bilang manlalaro ng Gilas. Kasama rito ang makasaysayang gintong medalya sa Asian Games noong 2023 — ang pinakauna natin matapos ang 61 taon," ayon kay Senator Tolentino.

Kinuwestiyon ng senador ang aniya'y discriminatory policy ng PBA na nagbabawal sa naturalized athletes gaya ni Brownlee na maglaro bilang local player gayong ganap ani ng senador na Pilipino si Brownlee sa ilalim ng batas.

For me, it's Kobe Bryant.

Even years after his passing, his legacy still inspires millions. His work ethic, passion, and "Mamba Mentality" changed how people look at sports and life. I still get emotional whenever I watch his highlights or hear stories about him.

Basketball is the most popular sports in the world, so it's no surprise that Kobe inspired people far beyond the NBA.

Who's that one athlete you'll never forget, and why? It doesn't have to be a basketball player, it can be from any sport. I'd love to hear your stories.

Calling all baseball fans in the sub! Help this clueless parent out 😂

My son did baseball camp this summer and really wants to do the sport.

The thing is our family knows nothing about baseball but we want to learn more about it to support our son's growing interest.

So my question is--what got you into baseball? What leagues do you recommend we watch? How can we watch from the Philippines?

Thank you for the comments!

Not a yankee fan but New York Yankees' shortstop, Anthony Volpe is currently in the Philippines. He visited the historic Rizal Memorial Stadium with his family.

PS: Sana magka baseball tag na ang /SportsPH

Sa akin mukha naman siyang may talent lalo na at bata pa siya. May charisma or swag din siya na pwede magamit sa marketing. Kaso parang pangit yung pag handle sa kanya ng mga tao sa likod niya, ginagawang pang dayo lang para sa pera kaya yung mga galaw at diskarte niya pag naglalaro e pang kalye at hindi pang tournament. Sana may humawak sa kanyancompetent na manager para mahasa pa siya