Tag: 10th

PBA: June Mar Fajardo wins 10th Best Player of Conference award

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San Miguel Beermen’s June Mar Fajardo during the PBA Philippine Cup Finals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

SCHEDULE: PBA Finals San Miguel vs Meralco

MANILA, Philippines—San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo won his 10th Best Player of the Conference (BPC) award for the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup.

Fajardo was awarded the BPC plum before Game 4 of the Finals between the Beermen and the Bolts at Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.

Prior to Game 4, the seven-time MVP averaged 17.4 points, 14.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 blocks per game.

Fajardo has been playing efficiently for the Beermen this conference, shooting 52.8 percent from the field in the All-Filipino derby.

READ: PBA Finals: Shackled June Mar Fajardo key to Meralco success

Fajardo edged out BPC finalists Stephen Holt of Terrafirma and Robert Bolick of NLEX. He also leapfrogged fellow San Miguel star CJ Perez and Ginebra big man Christian Standhardinger.

Bolick, responsible for the Road Warriors’ quarterfinal stint, led the league in scoring at the end of the elimination round with 28.3 points a night while Holt is still leading the Rookie of the Year talks with 21.08 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.4 steals per outing.

With 10 BPCs in his grasp, Fajardo remained the player with the most citations of the award.

Alas men driven to be better after finishing 10th in AVC

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Alas Pilipinas during a game against Thailand in the AVC Challenge Cup in Bahrain.–AVC PHOTO

The Alas Pilipinas men’s team ended its Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Challenge Cup campaign not in the way it was hoping for, but with faith that the Filipinos can be better moving forward.

Alas finished 10th after a 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20 loss to Southeast Asian power Thailand Friday night in Manama, Bahrain, teaching the Nationals valuable lessons and spurring team leader, setter Joshua Retamar, to strive harder.

“We fell short because we [only had] a short time [in] training,” Retamar said after the disappointing finish. “We will come back stronger.”

National team coach Sergio Veloso also knows that it won’t be an easy task for Alas to compete against the incredible talent in the AVC tournament as the Filipinos won just once, against a young Indonesian crew, and lost in straight sets to world No. 31 China and Bahrain.

The matchup against Thailand was also not an easy task because the Thais were also determined not to slide down in the classification after failing to defend its AVC crown. Khonhan Amornthep pelted the Philippine defense with 30 points, with Marck Espejo and Jade Disquitado leading Alas with 16 and 14 points, respectively.

“We need to raise our level to be able to beat the top teams in the world,” Veloso told the Inquirer. “[But] this is not that simple.

Regional level

“Currently, our level is regional. There are several factors that make a national team reach a higher level: More quality training time, many international games with strong teams and above all, have the involvement and support of the entire Philippine volleyball community,” he added.

After some rest, Alas can build on the gains from playing tough sides in the AVC, where Veloso’s charges gained valuable international experience while playing “very good matches.”

Veloso also said that he will finalize plans with the Philippine National Volleyball Federation on what tournaments to compete in.

“We need to build our communication, our pattern in blockings and in our attack,” Retamar said.

“It was [still] a good run. The AVC is a strong competition … We maintained our position from last year and played at a higher level,” Veloso said.

Alas Pilipinas men finish 10th in AVC Challenge Cup

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Alas Pilipinas during a game against Thailand in the AVC Challenge Cup in Bahrain.–AVC PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Alas Pilipinas settled for 10th place anew in the AVC Challenge Cup men’s division after falling to Thailand, 20-25, 25-23, 22-25, 20-25, on Friday evening in Bahrain. 

The Philippines placed 10th in the Challenge Cup for the second straight year as it couldn’t stop Thailand and its captain  Khonhan Amornthep, who unleashed 30 points in their game that lasted one hour and 56 minutes.

Alas skipper Marck Espejo led the charge with 16 points on a 15-of-30 attacking clip, while Jade Disquitado shone as a starting opposite spiker with 14 points.

READ: Alas Pilipinas men beat Indonesia, advance to battle for 9th

Lloyd Josafat also stepped up with nine points including two blocks. Jau Umandal and Kim Malabunga had eight and seven points, respectively. Noel Kampton made the most of his limited playing time in the fourth set with six points.

Setter Owa Retamar remained grateful to their Filipino fans in Bahrain and thousands of livestream viewers back in the Philippines for supporting them despite the 10th-place finish.

“I would like to thank all of the Filipinos, who supported us. We fell short because we had a short preparation,” said Retamar. “We will come back stronger. We’re very happy because of the support and the level of play here in Bahrain. [The teams are] good and they’re strong. That’s why they are on top.

“We need to build our communication, our pattern in blocking, and our attack,” he added.

READ: Alas Pilipinas men eliminated in AVC Challenge Cup

The Filipino Spikers equalized the game to one set apiece with Espejo ending the close second set with a cross-court kill. But Amornthep was too much in the last two sets, where he scored 20. Jenthaisong Supakorn backstopped their captain with 15 points.

The Philippines gave up 31 errors in the match as Thailand, which only had 22 miscues, took advantage of the former’s error-filled game

The Thais finished 9th after failing to defend their Challenge Cup title last year with a new champion will be crowned between semifinalists Qatar, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and South Korea.

The Sergio Veloso-coached squad had a winless Pool A after losing to World No.32 China and host Bahrain.

Alas drew from its bench players Disquitado and Nico Almendras to advance to the battle for ninth after beating the young Indonesia team in the classification round.