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 Ginebra's Mark Caguioa tries to protect the ball from Alaska's Calvin Abueva in this piece of action in Game 1 of the Cebuana Lhuillier PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals. PBA Images/Nuki Sabio

MANILA, Philippines – While Brgy. Ginebra coach Alfrancis Chua promised that the Kings will go all out, Mark Caguioa added that they will go out there and have fun.

Down 0-2 and almost given up for dead, Caguioa remained defiant and is hoping against hope that the Kings will become the third team to overcome such deficit in a best-of-five finals series since Crispa (1976) and Purefoods (1990). 

The outspoken Caguioa did not mince words when asked if they can still comeback from the 0-2 series deficit.

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Lance Stephenson leads way as Pacers knock out Knicks (May 19, 2013)
Associated Press [ Source: ESPN ]

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana spent the entire season perfecting its defense.

On Saturday, it produced the biggest payoff for the Pacers in nearly a decade.

Roy Hibbert's block of Carmelo Anthony's dunk attempt midway through the fourth quarter spurred an 11-2 run that rallied the Pacers to a 106-99 victory in Game 6 of their second-round series, sending them into their first Eastern Conference final since 2004.

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Alaska Ace Calvin Abueva tries to outrun Brgy. Ginebra San Miguel's Chris Ellis. Sports5/Paul Ryan

Will the ‘walis’ come out on Sunday?

The Alaska Aces gun for the 14th PBA championship in franchise history when they try to sweep Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in Game Three of the Commissioner’s Cup finals at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Tipoff is set at 7:30 p.m. with the Aces, who nurse a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series, needing just one more win to clinch the title. The game will be broadcast live over TV5.

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International Basketball

Mike Krzyzewski is in discussions to return as the United States Olympic men's basketball coach through the Rio 2016 Olympics, according to SI.com.

The Duke coach said during and after the 2012 London Olympics that he didn't plan to come back to the U.S. team after guiding it to a second straight gold medal.

However, Krzyzewski told SI.com on Saturday that he and USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo have been talking about his return "quite a bit."

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ABL

It has been a challenging season for the Saigon Heat and they cap it off Sunday night when they take on the Westports Malaysia Dragons at Tan Binh Stadium, Vietnam without Jai Reyes.

Reyes suffered a relapse of his left foot injury with 1:24 left in the third quarter during the Heat’s 71-63 loss to the Sports Rev Thailand Slammers on Wednesday night. Reyes tried to give it a go in the fourth quarter, but only lasted for a minute and 25 seconds before he had to head back to the bench. Reyes has been a key member of this Heat team this season with an average of 13.8 points and just a little under 6 assists per game.

Saigon had  a 15-point lead after the first period and were able to keep with the Slammers until midway through the fourth quarter. Slammers then finished the game on an 11-2 run and denied the Heat from winning the game.

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Kings must figure out Aces they’re up against (May 19, 2013)
Nelson Beltran [ Source: Philippine Star ]

 Rob Dozier of Alaska Aces takes an uncontested shot against Vernon Macklin and Kerby Raymundo of Ginebra in Game 2 Friday. JUN MENDOZA

MANILA, Philippines - It’s just hard to count Barangay Ginebra out even in a tight situation it is in right now, but it’riskier not to anticipate  another storm comng from the Alaska front.

Already on the doorstep of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup championship, the Aces will be giving their best shot for a possible sweep of their best-of-five title playoff and complete one of the most dominant runs in PBA history when they clash in Game 3 tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Aces have been  relentless and merciless, completely outclassing the Kings in the first two games of the series to move on the brink of a first title in their post-Tim Cone era.

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FIBA Asia Championships

 team that possesses just enough ceiling, a lot of speed and flexibility and an abundance of outside shooters is what national coach Chot Reyes wants in the soon-to-be formed Gilas-Filipinas which will carry  the country’s colors in the coming FIBA-Asia Championship the Philippines is hosting three months from now.

“Our main opponents like China, Iran, Lebanon and Qatar are, no doubt taller than us, so we’ll just have to approximate their advantage in the department,” Reyes said. “But, surely, speed, flexibility and outside shooting are areas we can be at par with them and that’s where we plan to concentrate in the very short time left to form the team.”

“Our target is a modest third place finish to advance to the world championship set next year in Spain,” the 49-year-old mentor of Team Philippines squad that ended up ninth in the 2007 Asian championship said. “Winning the championship though is our dream.”

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PBA vet to coach Phl U-18 girls 3x3 (May 19, 2013)
Joaquin Henson [ Source: Philippine Star ]

International Basketball

PBA veteran Gerard Francisco will coach the Philippine team at the first FIBA-Asia U-18 girls 3x3 tournament in Bangkok on May 22-24 and said yesterday he’s more nervous calling the shots from the sidelines than playing because of the pressure to win abroad in his first-ever head coaching assignment.

Francisco, 35, said he got the job by default as the other choices were committed to several obligations like Discovery Perlas national coach Haydee Ong, assistant coach Gina Francisco and Adamson University varsity coach Emelia Vera. Discovery Perlas team manager Cynthia Tiu designated Francisco for the job with clearance from the SBP.

Francisco, now coach Caloy Garcia’s assistant with the Letran senior men’s varsity, chose four players for the national team after tryouts that involved over 20 hopefuls since last month. Chosen to comprise the 3x3 squad were 6-2 Jackdaniel Amimam, 14, of Adamson, 5-7 Nicole Cancio, 16, of Poveda, 5-8 Afril Bernardino, 17, of National University and 5-6 Alyana Ong, 18, of La Salle.

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Calvin Abueva of Alaska and Mark Caguioa of Brgy. Ginebra. Sports5/Paul Ryan Tan

Game Two of the Commissioner’s Cup finals between the Alaska Aces and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel saw physicality turn up a notch as the two teams engaged in a heated battle.

Things got chippy in the second quarter, as the teams exchange several hard fouls, including a flagrant foul on Ginebra forward Mac Baracael for hitting Alaska rookie Calvin Abueva.

The Aces had the last laugh, however, as they outscored Ginebra, 29-14, in that second period, when the Gin Kings seemed to lose poise as the game started getting more physical.

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Gilas schedules nat’l. tour in July (May 19, 2013)
Rommel C. Manlosa [ Source: SunStar ]

FIBA Asia Championships

THE Gilas Pilipinas will embark on a national tour together with the PBA Selection starting July 19.

The national tour will serve as the final stage of the national team’s build-up for the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship that the Philippines will host on Aug. 1-11 at the Mall of Asia.

The Nationals will play three games with the PBA stars, the same team they fought to a draw during the PBA All-Star Weekend in Digos City last May 5.

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