HERE are the top sports news from Thursday.
Sports news July 13
Gilas Pilipinas back in local practices
Gilas Pilipinas’ wing rotation took a shot in the arm as the national team resumed practice at the Meralco gym.
Ray Parks, Roger Pogoy, and Calvin Oftana showed up among 16 players despite the heavy downpour in Gilas’ first training session since returning from its European training camp.
The three wingmen missed the national team’s three-week trip in Estonia and Lithuania due to various injuries.
Their return comes at a time when Scottie Thompson, Dwight Ramos, and AJ Edu are sidelined by injuries they sustained at the end of the Euro sojourn.
2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup single-game tickets for sale
The Fiba Basketball World Cup 2023 organizing committee has started to sell single-game tickets.
Ticket prices range from P499 to P27,299 depending on the matchups.
The Aug. 25 opening games at the Philippine Arena feature Group A matchups, with Angola taking on Italy, and the Dominican Republic facing off with host Gilas Pilipinas.
The Philippines, expected to be bannered by Jordan Clarkson, then shifts to Smart-Araneta Coliseum where it battles Angola on Aug. 27 and Italy two days later.
Team USA, led by Anthony Edwards and Brandon Ingram, will play its group games at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. The Americans play New Zealand on Aug. 26, Greece on Aug. 28 and Jordan on Aug. 30.
Tickets for the Philippine Arena and the Smart-Araneta Coliseum games are available on ticketnet.com.ph, while tickets for the SM Mall of Asia Arena contests are available via smtickets.com.
Aby Maraño’s rant on officiating during Petro Gazz vs F2 Logistics
Aby Maraño took to Twitter to air her frustration over questionable calls late in F2 Logistics’ loss to Petro Gazz in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference.
Lengthy official reviews in the fifth set led to a 41-minute tiebreak which included rotation reviews and inconclusive challenges.
At 12-9 in the final set, Maraño was deemed to be at fault in what appeared to be a simultaneous net touch between her and Grethcel Soltones after Pertro Gazz coach Oliver Almadro's challenge.
The Petro Gazz challenge was successful as a lengthy review concluded Marano's knee hit the net first before Soltones' arm.
"Hindi ko gets bakit may rules pa for challenge tapos hindi naman pala gagamitin. Papalitan kung kelan lang gusto. Biglang ioover rule. Tapos malinaw usapan namin ng two refs walang gagalawin sa score, good ball lang daw tapos anyare? Para tayong nasa inter-barangay kung ganito," Maraño posted.
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