ALLAN THE MAN

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, two almost certain Hall of Famers, are heading to Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster trade that could tip the balance of power in the Eastern Conference.

The Nets and the Boston Celtics agreed to the trade late Thursday night in the midst of the N.B.A. draft, which was largely overshadowed by the negotiations. The deal, which cannot be consummated until July 10 for salary-cap purposes, was confirmed by two people involved in the talks.

Despite suffering a shocking loss to Juan Manuel Marquez last December, fighting congressman Manny Pacquiao remained among the world’s top 100 most powerful celebrities, according to business magazine Forbes.

The former world champion, however, suffered a slide in the list, dropping 45 notches from his No. 33 ranking last year.

According to Forbes’ 2013 Celebrity 100, the former world champion is now ranked No. 78 after suffering back-to-back losses to Timothy Bradley and Marquez in 2012.

Canadian Anthony Bennett of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas was taken with the number one pick of the 2013 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.

Bennett, a versatile 6-foot-8 (2.03 m) forward who averaged 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds as a freshman last season, joins a Cavs team that was 24-58 record last season in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed its disapproval on GMA-7 hit primetime series "My Husband's Lover".

"My Husband's Lover," the first gay-themed series in Philippine television starring Dennis Trillo, Carla Abellana, and Tom Rodriguez tackles sensitive yet relevant social issues about homosexual relationships, the society's discrimination against homosexuals and infidelity.

Marian Rivera was named as FHM magazine's "Sexiest Woman in the Philippines" for 2013 after she got the most number of votes out of the millions cast by readers of the men's magazine.

Charice. "My Husband's Lover." Pugad Baboy. This must be the year of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender).

Add to that this year's Palme d'Or to the French lesbian drama, "Blue is the Warmest Color" and, back here at home, the gay rights march at UP Diliman Thursday afternoon (June 27), and you have, well, the spirit of the times?

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Manuel V. Pangilinan has extended an invitation for Erik Spoelstra, the Filipino-American coach of the Miami Heat, to return to the country to watch the national team’s training for the FIBA Asia Championship.

The SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national squad is currently in the midst of a build up for the top Asian cage competition set on August 1 to 11.

Man of Steel is a 2013 American superhero film directed by Zack Snyder, produced by Christopher Nolan, and scripted by David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Superman, the film is a reboot of the Superman film series that portrays the character's origin story. 

The film stars Henry Cavill in the title role with Amy Adams as Lois Lane,Michael Shannon as General Zod, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, and Russell Crowe as Jor-El.

Olsen Racela, who was appointed coach of the Petron Blaze Boosters before the start of the season, will join the coaching staff of San Mig Coffee, another team under the San Miguel Corporation umbrella.

“Just got the official word that Olsen is coming to our team and Koy Banal is going to Petron,” Mixers coach Tim Cone confirmed the news to InterAKTV via text message.

Gee Abanilla, Racela’s erstwhile chief deputy, will reportedly take over coaching chores at the Boosters.

Cebu Pacific released an official statement regarding the report of Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines about the accident involving a Cebu Pacific Airbus A320 aircraft operating Flight 5J 971 from Manila to Davao on June 2, 2013.

Music boomed, confetti rained down and strobe lights beamed through billowing smoke as Miami’s NBA team celebrated their second-consecutive championship with a parade through the downtown on Monday.

Players, coaches and personnel rode on buses and trucks through the streets, including along Biscayne Boulevard to the American Airlines arena for a rally.

The schedule of games for the Preliminary Round competition at the 27th FIBA Asia Championship to be played in Manila,Philippines from August 1-11, 2013 has been announced.

Reigning champions China will take on fellow East Asian team arch rivals Korea, with Jordan the silver medalists of the last edition at the 26th FIBA Asia Championship at Wuhan (China) in 2011 lining up against Chinese Taipei on the opening day of the competition.

Globe Telecom’s Customer Service Innovation on Social Media was declared the winner in the Best in Customer Service Initiative category at the Asia Communication Awards, a testament to the company’s commitment to deliver superior customer experience complementing the company’s modernized network.

The award is in recognition of the company’s well-designed and successfully implemented social media strategy geared at significantly changing the way the company provides customer service through Twitter to deliver its promise of providing meaningful and personalized customer service. This enabled the brand to proactively build lasting relationships with customers through their social networks, and allow Globe to differentiate itself from competition by creating an avenue for honest and sincere communication over this uncharted space.

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Maria Sharapova believes rival Serena Williams should not comment on matters outside of tennis as she criticised the American ahead of Wimbledon.

Defending Wimbledon champion Williams was forced to apologise for what she was reported to have said about the rape of a 16-year-old girl in Ohio. 

"I was sad to hear what she had to say about the whole case," Sharapova said.

Contrary to his earlier statements, Juan Manuel Marquez said he'd consider fighting Manny Pacquiao again.

But Marquez will only approve a fifth clash on one condition: that it will be staged in Mexico.

“We offered that to Team Pacquiao and they rejected it,” Marquez claimed in Lance Pugmire’s LA Times report.

The Miami Heat clinched their second successive National Basketball (NBA) championship on Thursday (Friday in Manila), beating the San Antonio Spurs 95-88 in the decisive seventh game of an epic series.

Miami's LeBron James, the sport's biggest star playing at the peak of his powers, had a game-high 37 points and pulled in 12 rebounds in a dominant performance while Dwyane Wade had 23 points.

James shot 12-of-23 from the floor, including 5-of-10 three-pointers to lead Miami to their third NBA title and his second just two nights after the Heat's championship defence almost ended abruptly.

SAN ANTONIO SPURS SCORERS: 

Tim Duncan - 24 pts / Kawhi Leonard - 19 pts / Manu Ginobili - 18 pts  / Tony Parker - 10 pts 

 / Danny Green - 5 pts / Gary Neal - 5 pts  / Boris Diaw - 5 pts / Tiago Splitter - 2 pts 

Miami Heat retained the NBA championship by drubbing San Antonio Spurs, 95-88, in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. 

Behind an inspired effort from reigning MVP LeBron James, the Miami Heat became the the sixth different franchise in league history to win back-to-back championships by holding off the San Antonio Spurs, 95-88, in Game 7 NBA Finals.

The Philippine Volcanoes, national men’s rugby team. has started its preparations for the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Russia later this month.

For the past month, the Volcanoes have been training three times a day, scouting opponents through video sessions, and following a strict diet to gear up for one of their biggest tournaments this year.

“The players are growing individually and as a team by leaps and bounds,” Volcanoes coach Al Caravelli said. “While we are still very new to international Rugby we are learning every day and continuously improving.”

The 2012-13 NBA season will come down to an ultimate game for all the marbles. LeBron James made sure of that after leading the defending champion Miami Heat to a 103-100 overtime victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game Six of the finals on Tuesday (Wednesday morning Manila time).

Miami survived a hot start from Tim Duncan, who scored 25 of his 30 points in the first half along with 17 rebounds for the Spurs. Kahwi Leonard added 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs. Parker had 19 points but struggled shooting just 6-of-23 from the field. Mario Chalmers helped keep the Heat in the game in the first half, finishing with 20 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Game Seven is set on Thursday (Friday morning Manila time) in Miami. WATCH VIA LIVE STREAMING. CLICKHERE

SAN ANTONIO SPURS SCORERS: 

Tim Duncan - 30 pts  / Kawhi Leonard - 22 pts  / Tony Parker - 19 pts / Manu Ginobili - 9 pts  / Boris Diaw - 7 pts / Gary Neal - 5 pts / Tiago Splitter - 5 pts / Danny Green - 3 pts

MIAMI HEAT SCORERS: 

 / LeBron James - 32 pts  / Mario Chalmers - 20 pts  / Dwyane Wade - 14 pts  / Chris Bosh - 10 pts

 / Ray Allen - 9 pts / Shane Battier - 9 pts / Mike Miller - 8 pts  / Chris Andersen - 1 pt

WATCH NBA FINALS: SPURS VS HEAT GAME 6 FULL REPLAY BELOW:

Lebron James, The Miami Heat superstar entered Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs averaging 31.5 points, 10 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 11 elimination games. But entering the fourth quarter Tuesday night, James had missed nine of 12 shots, and the Heat trailed by 10 points.

The Philippines has threatened to pull out of the Southeast Asian Games if the current rules on the selection of sports to be played are not revised, amended or corrected.

Top Filipino sports officials are already up in arms with the way organizers of the 27th SEA Games in Myanmar in December have allegedly tried to influence the overall results.

Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes has until July 12 to decide whom to name in the national team’s 12-man lineup for the FIBA-Asia Championships here on Aug. 1-11. 

The deadline to submit a 24-man roster fell yesterday with Reyes listing Marcus Douthit, Jimmy Alapag, Jayson Castro, L. A. Tenorio, Ranidel de Ocampo, Larry Fonacier, Gabe Norwood, Gary David, Marc Pingris, JuneMar Fajardo, Jeff Chan, Japeth Aguilar, Beau Belga, Sonny Thoss, Greg Slaughter, Garvo Lanete, Jake Pascual, Ronald Pascual, R. R. Garcia, Matt Ganuelas, Kevin Alas, Ryan Reyes, Kelly Williams and Jared Dillinger.

The San Antonio Spurs are just one win away from knocking off the defending champion Miami Heat thanks to a 114-104 victory in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The Spurs used a 21-2 second-half run to seize control of the game and the series.

TEAM SCORES PER QUARTER: 

San Antonio Spurs - 1Q - 32 pts, 2Q - 29 pts, 3Q - 26 pts, 4Q - 27 pts 

Miami Heat - 1Q - 19 pts, 2Q - 33 pts, 3Q - 23 pts , 4Q - 29 pts

Tickets to the first NBA preseason game on Philippine soil in October have been selling like pancakes.

Fans have gobbled up tickets for the game between the Indiana Pacers and the Houston Rockets, with Section E featuring the cheapest seats at P550 already sold out some three hours after they began selling on Sunday.

Manu Ginobili got his first start of the season, and he responded with a huge performance to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a crucial Game 5 victory over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

Unbeaten former WBO lightweight champion Mikey Garcia (32-0, 27 KOs) clinically took apart Juan Manuel Lopez (33-3, 30 KOs) before stopping him in round four on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 5,605 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Garcia drew first blood when he dropped Juanma with a straight right hand in round two. Juanma didn’t seem to have good balance as Mikey continued to break him down in round three. Mikey finally connected again with a big left hook to floor Lopez again in round four and referee Raphael Ramos waved it off. Time was 1:35.

WATCH 'UFC 161: Roy Nelson vs Stipe Miocic' FULL MATCH REPLAY BELOW:

Former UFC light-heavyweight champion “Suga” Rashad Evans ended a two-fight losing streak with a razor-thin split decision victory over veteran Dan "Hendo" Henderson in the main event of UFC 161 Saturday in Winnipeg, Canada (Sunday morning in Manila).

Evans bucked a poor start and finished strongly in the third frame to grab the win, 29-28, 28-29, and 29-28. It was Evans' first victory since January 2012 after having lost consecutive bouts to reigning champion Jon "Bones" Jones and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

The Hangover Part III is a 2013 American comedy film produced by Legendary Picturesand distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the sequel to 2011's The Hangover Part II, and the third and final film in The Hangover film series. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong, Heather Graham, Jeffrey Tambor, Justin Bartha, and John Goodman. 

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas will seek clarification from FIBA Asia about a possible stint for ASEAN Basketball League champion San Miguel Beer to the FIBA Asia Champions Cup.

SBP deputy executive director Bernie Atienza told InterAKTV that the organization will write a letter asking FIBA Asia about an automatic berth for the Beermen for the Champions Cup, a club competition for top teams all over the region.

adidas today announced official plans for summer tours with NBA partner athletes including Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, Ricky Rubio, John Wall and more. It aims to connect their partners athletes with their fans and showcase the latest from adidas Basketball. 

Chicago Bulls superstar Derrick Rose headlines the D Rose Tour, where the 2011 NBA Most Valuable Player visits Europe and returns to Asia for the third time. The latter includes a 3-day visit to Manila, Philippines from September 14-16. This marks the return of Rose since he last arrived in the country for a pair of exhibition games in July 2011.

Chris Bosh added 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Heat. Miami looked nothing like the team that was humiliated 113-77 in Game Three as once again they displayed their ability to recover from defeats.

TEAM SCORES PER QUARTER:

San Antonio Spurs - 1Quarter - 24 pts, 2Quarter - 26 pts, 3Quarter - 28 pts, 4Quarter - 35pts

Miami Heat - 1Quarter - 20 pts, 2Quarter - 24 pts, 3Quarter - 19 pts , 4Quarter - 14pts

San Antonio Spurs win Game 3 of the NBA Finals 2013, 113-77, against Miami Heat.

The San Antonio Spurs waxed hot from beyond the arc as they thoroughly dominated the Miami Heat, 113-77, to claim Game 3 of the NBA Finals Tuesday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio (Wednesday in Manila).

The Philippines has been pronounced ready for the hosting of the FIBA Asia championship a little less than three months before the games begin on August 1.

Samahang Basketbol Ng Pilipinas deputy executive director Bernie Atienza announced in last Friday’s SCOOP Sa Kamayan session that his association headed by president Manuel V. Pangilinan is 90 percent ready to stage the 16-nation tournament that serves as the qualifying for the 2014 FIBA World Cup set in Spain.

adidas and Washington Wizards point guard John Wall unveiled the first basketball shoe designed specifically to help make players quicker on court, the Crazyquick Basketball Shoe. 

“Quick is what separates me from other players in the league,” said NBA star John Wall. “Being quicker than my opponent has helped me win at all levels of basketball, and wearing a shoe designed to make me even quicker will be a huge advantage on the court.” 

TEAM SCORES PER QUARTER:

San Antonio Spurs - 1Q - 22 pts, 2Q - 23 pts, 3Q - 20 pts, 4Q - 19 pts

Miami Heat - 1Q - 22 pts, 2Q - 28 pts, 3Q - 25 pts , 4Q - 28 pts

LeBron James overcame a terrible start to finish with 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and the Miami Heat rolled to a 103-84 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night (Monday, Manila time) to even the series at a game apiece.

Mario Chalmers scored 19 points for the defending champion Heat, who trailed late in the third quarter before going on a 30-5 run to take control. Chris Bosh added 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

Rafael Nadal has won at the 2013 French Open, besting David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, and secured his record eighth championship at Roland Garros. Nadal improved to an incredible 59-1 record at the French Open and reaffirmed his moniker as the "King of Clay."

With Nadal leading Ferrer by one set and having just held serve to open the second set, color guy and tennis legend John McEnroe said "This is like a heavyweight versus a welterweight." While that statement was exactly that -- color -- and a bit early at that, when it comes to Nadal on clay, he wasn't too far off.

Rafael Nadal will face compatriot David Ferrer in the final of the 2013 French Open as he bids for a record eight title at Roland Garros on Sunday.

The 27-year-old defending champion defeated Novak Djokovic in a gruelling five-set thriller on Friday to book a place in the final. On the other hand, Ferrer faced no such resistance from Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and after 41 previous attempts, finally made it to the final of a Grand Slam event.

WATCH 'FRENCH OPEN 2013 MEN's SINGLES FINAL' LIVE STREAMING BELOW:

TV5 today said it overtook rival GMA Network Inc in primetime audience ratings in Visayas and Mindanao.

Citing Nielsen TV Audience Measurement data from May 19 to 25, TV5 media research chief Chiqui Trivino said the network outranked GMA in Visayas and Mindanao for primetime, particularly in Metro Iloilo, Metro Bacolod, Metro Cebu, Cagayan De Oro and Metro General Santos.

Serena Williams won her second French Open title on Saturday, 11 years after her first triumph, defeating title-holder Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-4 in a brief, but high-quality final.

It was the 31-year-old American's 16th Grand Slam title win, taking her to within two of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova who are tied for fourth on the all-time list.

On Thursday, the draw for the FIBA Asia Championship in August was set, with the Philippines choosing to be part of Group A.

The SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team is bracketed in Group A in the preliminary round, joining Chinese Taipei, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

With its privilege to choose its group as host of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, the Philippines on Thursday wisely avoided a tough group and was bracketed along with Chinese Taipei, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia in the preliminary round of the tournament.

The country chose to be in Group A after a consultation with SMART-Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes, who monitored the proceedings from Lithuania.

As the preferred partner of the world’s leading device manufacturers, Globe Telecom sealed another deal to be the exclusive Philippine telecom carrier of the new HTC One, making it the lone telco in the country to offer the latest HTC smartphone under its best-ever MySuperPlan.

Touted as one of the best Android smartphones in the world, the HTC One is available for as low as P1,699 monthly under the best-ever MySuperPlan 999 with a monthly cashout of P700* over a 24-month contract period. The postpaid bundle comes with unlimited LTE surfing of up to 42 Mbps and free calls and texts. 

The defending champion Miami Heat will now get three days of rest before hosting the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the 2013 NBA Finals on Thursday evening.

San Antonio won three NBA titles between 2003 and 2007, but haven't been to the NBA Finals for the past five years. Miami had the better record throughout the regular season and has home-court advantage throughout the Finals. The schedule for the NBA Finals is as follows:

ADD the Asean Basketball League MVP award to the high points in Asi Taulava's long, rejuvenated career.

The San Miguel Beermen's big man was named the best Asean player of the regional league on Wednesday at age 40 after obtaining the most points in a ranking system based on votes from each of the league's six teams.

The long expected sequel of the arcade game Plants vs Zombies will soon be available on iOS devices. PopCap Games has officially announced that its Plants vs Zombies 2: It’s About Time will be coming to the Apple platform on July 18.

We don’t actually get to see any gameplay in the trailer, but maybe there’s another video coming up to take care of that. Check out the video below: