25 MUST-FOLLOW TWITTER ACCOUNTS IN PHILIPPINE BASKETBALL BY Robi Raya

The great thing about Twitter is that you don’t have to open so many tabs and windows to soak up on the basketball news you crave for. And it’s fast. You get dope quotes, highlights, links to articles, game schedules, game updates, some stupid stuff from ballers, and insider info as they happen. Basically you get a DAD’S or KAMAYAN type of buffet on everything basketball.

That is if you follow the right dudes.

In no particular order, here are 25 Twitter handles you must absolutely follow:

25. PAUL ARTADI

The former Warrior and current Meralco third-string point guard might be averaging more bench high fives and butt-spanks than points and assists (3ppg, 2apg), but he sure is a great follow because he’s not shy of dishing out interesting insights about the game like this:

And if you’re rockin’ size 10.5-11 sneaks, you might get some good deals from him!

24. CHARLES TIU

True story: Former Gilas and current Global Port Assistant Coach Charles Tiu once crashed my Philosophy 101 study sessions at home to get notes and to be Tiutorized by yours truly.

Now he’s wining and dining with the best of them:

What a steep rise in social relevance and importance for my old bud. Imagine, from hanging out with me to sitting behind the Gilas bench, to sitting on the Gilas bench, to rubbing elbows with former U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney,to Coaching Gary David in that Powerade Cinderella Run; Charles is definitely making a name for himself and by the curve that he’s been on for the past few years, I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes a college or pro coach in about five years.

Charles is also never afraid to tweet controversial stuff; even if it’s calling out the Commissioner’s office or some old gym for this matter:

23. JERIC AND JERON TENG

How Twitter-active is Jeron Teng? He’s so much on Twitter that you’ll know exactly what time he wakes up and what time he sleeps. He tweets when he wakes up at around 5:00 am to go to practices (and this gets me motivated as hell).

And I’m not whining about how he clogs my Twitter feed because sometimes he tweets cool and funny stuff like these:

While Jeron isn’t that active on Twitter, he randomly gets more than a thousand RT’s for hanging out with Vice Ganda.

22. KEVIN ALAS

Aside from that “wth?” profile picture, I’m down with everything Kevin Alas. So is Tim Cone.

21. RICO MAIERHOFER

When you photobomb the “It Girls” and they got no problem with it, you already Mr. Maierhofer. You already.

20. ASI TAULAVA

Asi Taulava is one of my first ever follows because he just seems so accommodating on Twitter . When he’s into it, he goes on binges of answering fan questions. He tweets  cool photos too:

19. DOUG KRAMER

A member of the For The Win crew and the most “barako” in the Barako Bull team, Doug Kramer shares a lot of stuff; whether it be photos of his cute little kids with stunning wife Cheska Kramer, juicy thoughts on the game, or photos that make you feel that you’re not working hard enough:

18. SLAM ONLINE CREW (AARON ATAYDE, NIKKO RAMOS, ROBI RAYA,& MIGUEL ROCHA)

What a shameless case of self-promotion.

But yes, if you want the best in Philippine basketball, you should definitely follow Aaron Atayde, Nikko Ramos, and me. We deliver opinionated pieces via the website you’re at right now and we try very hard to be the first to disseminate some tasty info. Aaron regularly shares behind-the-scenes stuff from hosting at the AKTV Center. Nikko is chums with a lot of players and coaches so he’s got first-hand access on a lot of things directly coming from the subjects themselves.

And if you want the latest and the best in Philippine basketball lifestyle, follow my main man Miguel Rocha.

17. KELLY WILLIAMS

When Kelly Williams isn’t rattling rims and stifling bigs in the PBA, he spreads the Word of God. The Talk ‘N Text forward/center recently wrote a fantastic book on his career as baller and as a soldier of God. If you don’t have it, you should get Rising Higher now!

16. CHOT REYES

If you want updates on our national basketball program, you can get them directly from Gilas’ head coach Chot Reyes himself. The former TNT also tweets game analyses, reactions, and juicy opinion on anything basketball. He confirms and denies gossips too; so if you want the truth, you go follow him.

15. MAGOO MARJON

PBA game commentator Magoo Marjon is another member of the For The Win crew. He’s got access to almost everything — from the locker rooms to the benches.

And if you want to get a good laugh, Magoo has got you covered:

14. CHRIS TIU

Next to Mark Caguioa and James Yap, this guy is probably the next biggest draw in Pinoy basketball. Although he isn’t tweeting much about basketball recently — and that’s because his hamstring is still nagging him — expect this multi-talented dude to be more tweet-happy once he gets back on the court.

13. SOL MERCADO

The Sol Train is unstoppable when he rampages to the basket. It’s been said that you can’t stop him from yapping too. Aside from a bit of trash-talking, Sol shares great perspective on the game too.

12. KIEFER RAVENA

The Phenom is probably the most magnetic college baller in the country. He carries himself very well on and off the court. Just ask his almost a hundred thousand followers how Kiefer appreciates their support and how he shows good humor in answering tons of fan questions.

He often tweets back-and-forth with Vice Ganda too.

11. MARK CAGUIOA

It’s funny how Mark Caguioa is the most popular baller in the country (for BGSM fans, second most popular for SMC fans) yet there’s little we know about him. Mark Caguioa on Twitter should be the birth of an interactive version of himself. THIS. COULD. BE. FUN.

10. JAMES YAP

James Yap is the most skilled Filipino baller I have ever seen. The “Face of the PBA” doesn’t just attend team practices, he does extra work to add more pop into the million moves that he has. Apparently, this stud is addicted to plyometrics.

9. FROM THE STANDS TRIO (CARLO PAMINTUAN, CHUCK ARANETA, & POLO BUSTAMANTE)

When you get an S/O from J.E. Skeets (one of the hosts of the world-famous podcast, The Basketball Jones) you are definitely legit. Carlo Pamintuan, Chuck Araneta, and Polo Bustamante rarely agree in their podcasts, but one thing is for sure: they’re going to say whatever they want. If you follow these guys, you’ll definitely catch them having lengthy conversations on Twitter on the most trivial of basketball topics to the most crucial ones — because their opinions can’t wait.

The trio also writes for SLAM Mag Philippines.

8. NOLI EALA

The former PBA commissioner is now a basketball operations official for San Miguel Corporation.

Enough said.

7. PBA CONNECT

PBAconnect is the official Twitter account of the PBA. Follow the handle for play-by-plays, boxscores, and game schedules.

6. The PBAologist

The PBAologist dishes out loads of interesting facts about anything Philippine basketball like these:

5. PBA-ONLINE

Have you ever  wondered why we know more about NBA stats than PBA stats? It’s because PBA stats aren’t readily available, and if you check out the League’s official website, you’ll see stats from 2007 or something.

So if you want up-to-date UAAP, NCAA, D-League, or PBA stats, you should follow PBA-Online. From points per game, to career averages (even of the PBA’s legends), to assists to turnover ratio, the handle has you covered.

4. SNOW BADUA

You get the freshest PBA gossip from Snow Badua.

3. MICO HALILI

The funny PBA commentator and AKTV Center host happens to be one of the best sports writers in the country.

 Mico Halili shares the most interesting insights about anything basketball in the country. If you follow him, you might notice how he tweets some things that other people also say. What sets him apart though is how he delivers the lines, how he forms his sentences. Plus, he coins the best monikers in the game.

2. SLAM PHILIPPINES

For simply the best in basketball, follow us!

1. JAEMARK TORDECILLA AND PBA ON AKTV

Since Jaemark Tordecilla also runs the PBAonAKTV handle, and both practically tweet the same things, we’re putting them at number one.

Jaemark Tordecilla is the Adrian Wojnarowski of the PBA. He’s the insider of all the insiders. If you’re a Philippine basketball fan, you must absolutely follow this dude.

Source: http://www.slamonlineph.com/philippine-basketball-association/25-must-follow-twitter-accounts-in-philippine-basketball/

David airs wish to be part of champion team as trade rumors swirl By Richard Dy

“Iyan (playing for a championship team) ang laging iniisip ko talaga. Ramdam ko na rin kasi ang pagod. Sana mapunta ako sa isang championship contender na team,” says Gary David. Jerome Ascano

AT 34, Gary David is aware he’s no longer a spring chicken.
And at the rate newcomer Globalport has been performing in the PBA Philippine Cup, David knows time may not be on his side as he continues to chase that elusive championship ring.
“Iyan (playing for a championship team) ang laging iniisip ko talaga. Ramdam ko na rin kasi ang pagod. Sana mapunta ako sa isang championship contender na team,” David told Spin.ph amid persistent rumors that he is on the trading block.
The pro league has been rife with rumors that David is set to become the central piece in a blockbuster three-way trade that may also involve Petron's Jay Washington and Barangay Ginebra's Kerby Raymundo, but Globalport basketball operations manager Eric Arejola has moved quickly to quash the talks.
"We won't trade Gary. Kahit nga idea of trading him, it never came to mind sa management. Globalport intends to keep Gary David," Arejola told Spin.ph.
The 6-foot-1 Globalport shooting guard and league scoring champion said he had spoken to management about his desire to play for a competitive team.
“Na-share ko naman sa management yung naiisip ko. Ang management din naman ayaw nila matalo kaya sila rin ginagawa nila ang dapat para lumakas ang team,” David said.
But in the event GlobalPort management decides to ship him out, David said he won’t complain at all, knowing that being traded is part of the realities of being a professional ball player.
“Kung ma-trade man ako, ready lang ako mag-adapt sa bagong sistema. Ganyan lang talaga ang buhay sa PBA. Tanggapin na lang natin yung ganun kasi trabaho iyan eh,” said David, who is averaging 17.6 points and 2.33 rebounds in three games with the Batang Pier this season.
David was one of eight players Globalport absorbed when sportsman-businessman Mikee Romero brought the Powerade franchise through his Sultan 900 Inc. during the offseason.
The native of Dinalupihan, Bataan admitted he already felt comfortable playing for Powerade  last season especially after the Tigers’ surprising run in the playoff that saw them went all the way to the Finals of the All-Filipino Cup.
Although seeded no. 8, the Tigers rode on David’s red-hot shooting to pull off a gigantic series victory over top seed B-Meg Llamados.
The Tigers used their upset of the Llamados as springboard in their march to the best-of-seven title series opposite reigning championTalk `N Text. The Tropang Texters ended the Tigers’ bid for a Cinderella finish after winning the series, 4-2.
“Siyempre, nagbago na naman ng team nung mag-start yung season.  Okay na sana ako sa Powerade, tingin ko kasi, ilang conference na … kung baga, tiyaga-tiyaga na lang sa Powerade dahil nag-Finals na rin kasi kami sa first conference,” recalled David.
But now that he’s with Globalport, the 10th overall pick of the 2004 draft hopes Romero could continue to upgrade the team’s roster to make it more competitive.

Follow the writer on Twitter: @richava

James asks Kris not to talk about him on show ABS-CBNnews.com

Posted at 11/13/2012 2:48 PM | Updated as of 11/13/2012 4:52 PM

MANILA, Philippines -- Basketball player James Yap appealed to his ex-wife, actress-host Kris Aquino, to stop talking about him and his personal life on her morning show "KrisTV."
Aquino told guest co-hosts Jason Francisco and Melai Cantiveros that they shouldn't talk about Yap anymore, especially on reports that the athlete has a new girlfriend.
"Uy sandali, magre-request ako ha. Huwag niyo nang pag-usapan si James Yap dito dahil pinagalitan ako kagabi (Monday night) noong dinalaw niya si Bimb," Aquino told the former "Pinoy Big Brother" housemates.
"Tinawag pa niya tuloy akong mataba, kaloka. Dahil daw chini-chismis ko ang buhay niya. Then he said, 'Bakit hindi ka nage-exercise?' Sabi ko, 'Hello, I'm working seven days a week. Tapos yun sinabi niya parang you are fat. Sabi ko, 'Well your pants are baduy.' Mga ganoon lang kami kagabi. So huwag na nating siyang pag-usapan," Aquino said.
Cantiveros then asked why this happened and Aquino told her: "Kasi ganito 'yon. Hindi ba sinabi ko si Bimb ang nagsabi na may girlfriend. Actually ako 'yung nakaalam at ako ang nag-kwento kay Bimb. Tapos tinanong niya si Bimb, 'Who told you that I have a girlfriend?' (Sabi ni Bimb) 'My mama.' O di lagot. Ang mga bata di nagsisinungaling. So 'yun. So OK lang talaga, everybody should move on."
Last February,  Aquino publicly announced that her marriage to Yap, the father of her youngest son James Yap Jr. or Bimby, has been annulled by the court.