Ball Hog: Ginebra vs Slingers, Perasol to Coke, Pacquiao Loses, SBP Dangles P6.4M, Etc.

Slingers to host Ginebra

The Singapore Slingers will be replacing last Sunday’s cancelled match against India’s Sathbayama All Stars with a dream match against the Philippine’s most popular team – Barangay Ginebra – this Saturday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium at 7.30pm. “Ginebra is the Apple Computer of the Philippines. It is not the strongest team, but the most popular,” said Noel Saavedra of the Monozca Foundation. The match will be played at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Saturday, Jan 17, 2009 at 7:30pm.

Perasol will join Coke

FOR a job well done at the Air21 Express camp, Bo Perasol is bringing in his basketball savvy to the Coca-Cola Tigers. The former University of the Philippines Maroons stalwart is excited to join a team that could open so many possibilities for his young coaching career. “I’m excited about the new possibilities with Coca-Cola,” Perasol told Standard Today. “This is a team that has a lot of potential to become a championship-caliber team with a mixture of veterans and young players on the squad.” Perasol will assist Kenneth Duremdes on the bench. The former Most Valuable Player was given a fresh term as mentor of the team.

Pacquiao, GenSan 5 lose ‘Liga’ tournament debut

As a boxer, Manny Pacquiao owns the world. As a basketball player, he’s almost just like everybody else. Pacquiao played 10 minutes and was barely a factor in the MP GenSan Warriors’ 63-59 loss to the Ilocos Sur Bravehearts in the opening playdate of the Smart-Liga Pilipinas Conference II on Wednesday in General Santos City. The Warriors had everything to their advantage going into their first franchise game – they had home-court advantage and inarguably the most prolific Filipino athlete in history.  Except the expansion team just didn’t have enough experience playing competitively to pull off a victory.

SBP dangling P6.4M for Basketball Pool Members

Salary-wise, it’s basically the same as playing in the professional Philippine Basketball Association. The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas is dangling three-year pacts worth as much as P6.4 million for each prospective member of the national development pool. The SBP offer will be a boon for players in the pool who still have years of college eligibility left, like future PBA draftees Mark Barroca of Far Eastern University, Ogie Menor of San Beda College and Ateneo de Manila University’s Ryan Buenafe.

NBA: HORNETS VS. CAVS LIVE ON ESPN

The Cleveland Cavaliers will put their immaculate record at home on the line when they host the New Orleans Hornets LIVE at 9 a.m. (replay at 5:30 p.m.) on ESPN.  Behind leading MVP contender LeBron James, Cleveland has a perfect 19 – 0 card at home and the best record in the east while New Orleans, which is spearheaded by All-Star guard Chris Paul, is locked in a tight battle for the top spot in the Southwest Division in the west.  ESPN will air games live every Saturday.  Prior to the Hornets – Cavs match-up, NBA Action will be aired at 8:30 a.m. (replay at 1:30 p.m.) also on ESPN.  For more information, visit www.espnstar.com