Alaska coach Luigi Trillo has likened Calvin Abueva’s injured right knee to a punctured tire that’s ready to give out any moment.

In short, the newest PBA champion coach believes that the Gilas-Pilipinas national team will be better off without the prized rookie.

Trillo said Abueva needs surgery to his right knee “to clean up a tear,” and that Alaska’s 6-foot-1 bundle of energy could be sidelined any moment once the knee acts up.

MIAMI -- When the Miami Heat faced the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs last season, the series featured two suspensions, a host of flagrant fouls and plenty of blood. It appears the Eastern Conference finals between the teams already is heating up.

Pacers center Roy Hibbert took to his Twitter account Thursday to accuse Heat forward Shane Battier of dirty play in the Heat's 103-102 Game 1 overtime victory on Wednesday night.

In the first quarter, Battier drove to the rim, extended his knee and made contact with Hibbert's groin area when the Pacers' center attempted to challenge the shot. Officials called Battier for an offensive foul on the play as Hibbert ended up on the floor.

With Mike Krzyzewski back as coach, the U.S. can turn its attention to players who could suit up for him over the next three years.

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said Thursday the Americans expect about 24 young players in a July 22-25 minicamp in Las Vegas that will finish with an intrasquad scrimmage at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Americans' next competition is the 2014 World Cup of Basketball in Spain. Colangelo said some of last year's Olympic gold medalists have already expressed an interest in playing again. They trained in Barcelona before traveling to London.

ALASKA ace Calvin Abueva will undergo a knee operation and could miss the Lithuania training camp of the Gilas Pilipinas pool.

“We have a scheduled operation in his [left] knee during the break,” said Alaska Coach Trillo. “He was not part of the [Gilas] lineup before so there has to be a meeting of the minds so we can find common ground to find a time to get his knee operated on before the third conference.”

Gilas Pilipinas Head Coach Chot Reyes invited Abueva to join the pool after the Aces’ rookie displayed devastating form in the recent Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup which Alaska won via a three-game sweep of Ginebra.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Lionel Hollins has been more successful than any Grizzlies coach and will be a free agent after June 30.

He has the Grizzlies in the Western Conference finals for the first time and has won more games with this team than any other coach.

He probably wouldn't have a problem getting another job, but is very happy with the one he has. And he's not worrying about what the future holds.

MIAMI -- LeBron James thinks Michael Jordan's scouting report on him is wrong. And James keeps proving it.

As part of an extended interview with ESPN the Magazine in February, Jordan said he'd studied James' game and offered his strategy on how he would guard him.

"So if I have to guard him," Jordan told ESPN's Wright Thompson, "I'm gonna push him left so nine times out of 10, he's gonna shoot a jump shot. If he goes right, he's going to the hole and I can't stop him. So I ain't letting him go right."

Rain or Shine center Beau Belga has been invited to join the practice sessions of the Philippine national men’s basketball team as part of a PBA selection to help the squad train for the FIBA Asia Championship.

But for Elasto Painters co-owner Raymond Yu, the burly center deserves a shot to be considered for the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team that will compete in the region’s top basketball competition.

“Sa palagay ko kailangan ng national tean ng klase ng player katulad ni Belga,” said Yu in a telephone interview with InterAKTV.

NEW YORK -- LeBron James was a unanimous pick for the All-NBA team, and Kobe Bryant earned his record-tying 11th first-team selection.

James received all 119 votes for the first team from a panel of sports writers and broadcasters throughout the U.S. and Canada. Joining the league's MVP and Bryant on the first team Thursday were Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, San Antonio center Tim Duncan and Clippers guard Chris Paul.

Bryant tied Utah Hall of Famer Karl Malone with his 11th first-team nod.

GINEBRA is taking some well-deserved time off to rest and heal after doing battle in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup with a team that featured as many walking wounded as able-bodied players.

Team management, however, has set its sights on the season-ending Governors Cup and has resumed negotiations for trades that would net the team a big man, in this case Japeth Aguilar of GlobalPort.

Various sources yesterday told Malaya-Business Insight Kings management is doggedly pursuing a trade to bolster Ginebra’s frontline, which took a severe beating from the Alaska Aces in the recent Commissioner’s Cup title duel.

New Orleans Pelicans forwards Anthony Davis and Ryan Anderson are expected to participate in the Team USA's mini camp scheduled for July 22-25 in Las Vegas, two league sources confirmed Thursday.

Davis, the No. 1 overall pick last year, played on Team USA that won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games. Anderson has never played for Team USA, but he could earn a spot because of his perimeter shooting ability.

USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo announced Thursday that Duke's Mike Krzyzewski  will return as head coach of the USA Basketball Men’s National Team leading up to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.