ALLAN THE MAN

THE first step in the bid of Gilas Pilipinas to qualify for next year’s World Basketball Championship takes place on Thursday when the 16-team draw for the groupings of the Fiba-Asia Men’s Championship is held at the Centennial Hall of the Manila Hotel.

As host, the Philippines is expected to make full use of its privilege of picking 13th in the draw, which means the first 12 slots will already be filled by the time Gilas chooses the best group to join.

The Philippine national men’s football team, Philippine Azkals, survived a late surge from HongKong to get away with a 1-0 victory in an international friendly match Tuesday night at the Mong Kok Stadium in the territory.

Playing through the rain, the Azkals didn’t have a perfect start after allowing Hong Kong to sneak in some chances at the goal. The hosts then found a brilliant shot at the 11th minute, but it was deflected by goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.

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LeBron James scored 32 points and the defending champion Miami Heat advanced to the NBA Finals for the third year in a row on Monday with a 99-76 rout of the Indiana Pacers.

The Heat captured the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final four games to three and booked a championship series showdown against the San Antonio Spurs that will open on Thursday at Miami.

Dwyane Wade had 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds for Miami while James, who hit 8-of-17 from the field, grabbed eight rebounds and Chris Bosh contributed nine points and eight rebounds for the Heat.

Smart Gilas Pilipinas flew yesterday to Lithuania to begin its two-month buildup for the FIBA-Asia tournament in August – minus Joaquin Thoss and Calvin Abueva who, national coach Chot Reyes believed, would make his team complete and competitive.

Reyes left with just 13 players for Lithuania, including Beau Belga. Four others – Jimmy Dillinger, Kelly Williams, Ryan Reyes and Thoss – were left behind to heal their injuries. Cadet player Greg Slaughter can’t make the trip due to his commitment with the NLEX squad seeking another championship in the PBA D-League.

The Indiana Pacers exploded in the second half en route to a 91-77 victory over Miami on Saturday to force a deciding seventh game in their NBA Eastern Conference final series.

Paul George led the Pacers with 28 points, Roy Hibbert added 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Indiana held off the reigning NBA champion Heat in the fourth quarter to knot the series at three games apiece. The Pacers still face a tough task if they want to deny the Heat a return to the NBA finals, with Miami having the luxury of hosting game seven on Monday (Tuesday morningin Manila).

“Opo, Tomboy po ako,” this pretty much summed up Boy Abunda‘s interview with Charice on “The Buzz,” Sunday, the first time the international singing sensation came out on national television.

Showbiz writer Darla Sauler posted the full transcript of The Buzz tell-all interview on her blog. Full Interview Transcript below: