HERE are the top sports news from Thursday.
Sports news February 23
Gilas roster vs Lebanon
GILAS Pilipinas unveiled its final lineup for the Fiba World Cup qualifying game against Lebanon ahead of their faceoff later in the day (Friday) at the Philippine Arena.
Justin Brownlee is set to make his debut as naturalized player, while Jordan Heading makes his return to the national team in the 6 p.m. game against the Cedars.
Mason Amos, the promising 18-year-old 6-foot-7 seniors rookie, is also in, adding height to a Gilas side missing Kai Sotto, Japeth Aguilar, Carl Tamayo, and Raymond Almazan.
PBA stars June Mar Fajardo, Scottie Thompson, CJ Perez, Jamie Malonzo, and Calvin Oftana, and Heading’s fellow Japan B.League imports in Dwight Ramos, Bobby Ray Parks, Kiefer Ravena, and Thirdy Ravena complete the Final 12.
Carmelo Anthony in town for Fiba event
Carmelo Anthony is set to become the newest Fiba Global Ambassador for this year's World Cup as he arrived in the country late Wednesday.
Photos of the NBA great and three-time Olympic gold medalist arriving in the country, and later on making visits at Intramuros and Rizal Park were all over social media on Thursday - a day before the Fiba World Cup Global Ambassador presentation.
Retired NBA players Pau Gasol and Luis Scola are the two other Global Ambassadors earlier named for the World Cup.
Alec Stockton’s ‘Shaqtin a Fool’ moment
Alec Stockton put himself in the highlight reel for the wrong reason after making a pass to Blackwater coach Ariel Vanguardia on the sidelines early in their PBA Governors’ Cup game, drawing chuckles from the crowd at the Philsports Arena.
Stockton and the rest of Converge, though, had the last laugh after coming away with the 98-90 victory that secured their place in the quarterfinals.
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