ALLAN THE MAN

The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain will be as good a time as any for Japeth Aguilar to show off his skills before scouts and pursue his NBA dream.

That, however, is farthest from his mind right now.

The 6-9 Aguilar, who took time off from the local pro league last year to pursue his dream of playing in the NBA, vowed his focus will be on doing his job for Gilas Pilipinas and not on the numerous scouts that will surely be in the stands when they play in next year's world championships.

It may be safe to say that when Philippine team coach Chot Reyes spoke of his intention to win “one or two” in the FIBA Basketball World Cup next year, he wasn’t talking of defending champion United States or host Spain.

Depending on the draw, those couple of victories could come from any of the three from the 16 nations set to compete in the 2013 FIBA Africa Championship from Aug. 20-31 at the Palais des Sports de Treichville, Abidjan in the Ivory Coast.

SAN Mig Coffee Mixers is set to acquire Allein Maliksi in a trade with Barako Bull to widen its scoring options in the PBA Governors Cup, especially with superstar James Yap continuing to struggle from the floor.

[ WATCH 2013 PBA GOVERNORS' CUP LIVE STREAMING HERE ]

Team insiders revealed on Friday that San Mig has agreed a deal that would enable them to get Maliksi from Barako Bull in exchange for veteran forward Wesley Gonzales and guard Chris Pacana.

National coach Chot Reyes said he will be using the same line-up of the Gilas Pilipinas for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, but he may consider some changes if necessary.

"Of course, I'm going to war with these guys who brought me here," Reyes said in an interview on ANC on Thursday morning.

Rafael Nadal set up another meeting with great rival Roger Federer by winning his third-round match against Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Thursday.

[ WATCH W&S OPEN CINCINNATI LIVE STREAMING HERE ]

In addition to capturing his 50th match victory of the season, Nadal improved to 12-0 on hardcourts, having already won Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Montreal this year.

Starting 2017, the FIBA-Asia Championships will no longer be the qualifier for either the Olympics or World Cup as it is transformed from a biennial competition to a once-in-four-years conclave as a stand-alone continental tournament.

This year’s FIBA-Asia Championships marked the last World Cup qualifier and the 2015 edition will be the last Olympic qualifier for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

The country’s hosting of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship proved to be a monstrous hit marked by Gilas Pilipinas’ successful campaign that drew a whopping total gate receipts of P47.9 million at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

An average of nearly 11,000 fans cheered for the Nationals in their nine games in the Asian meet – the biggest sports spectacle seen in the country in years.