2026 PBA Governor's Cup

[Russlenat]

Lack of preparation, lack of coordination and lack of focus on getting that medal. Who's to blame for this? Gilas? PBA? it's sad that the team lost and they can point that they cut the budget for it.

Even if they prepare well, with the same roster it's unlikely that they can defend the championship. We need a good center like Kai, that's one thing, and more active players like Brownlee if we want to compete with the stronger teams. We can't expect our PBA players alone to beat those giants, we're just fooling ourselves if we believe that.

Hopefully after that big slap in the face, they will realize how much our opponents have improved while we seem to be going the opposite direction.

[blockman]

Kume has mentioned some funny comments about the lost of Gilas against China.

Marcial also pointed to China’s imposing size and shooting ability as major factors in the lopsided result.

“Pero ano magagawa ng mga players natin, ang tatangkad ng mga Chinese players ngayon, mga shooters pa,” he said.

(But what can our players do, the Chinese players are really tall now, and they are also shooters.)

We're aware how good China is and how tall they are, that's their natural advantage which is the height and anyone who gets into the national team are now trained to be shooters. So being tall and shooter is simplifying a natural skill in this time's basketball. I guess that these people who handles our national team are moving backwards instead of forwarding and improving the ball style in our country.

[bisdak40]

Kume has mentioned some funny comments about the lost of Gilas against China.

Marcial also pointed to China’s imposing size and shooting ability as major factors in the lopsided result.

“Pero ano magagawa ng mga players natin, ang tatangkad ng mga Chinese players ngayon, mga shooters pa,” he said.

(But what can our players do, the Chinese players are really tall now, and they are also shooters.)

We're aware how good China is and how tall they are, that's their natural advantage which is the height and anyone who gets into the national team are now trained to be shooters. So being tall and shooter is simplifying a natural skill in this time's basketball. I guess that these people who handles our national team are moving backwards instead of forwarding and improving the ball style in our country.

I think we are not going backwards bro, its just that there is a conflict of schedule and also some of the players like Kai Sotto is avoiding injury that would cost him so much as he has not yet sign a contract yet.

It seems to me that who ever handles Gilas prioritizes the FIBA World cup rather than the Asian Games as FIBA is more prestigious than Asian games but we should have not done that because we are one of the powerhouse in Asia and we should stand to that.

What commissioner Marcial has said was somewhat wrong imo. Yes the Chinese are a tall and a good shooting team but if Gilas sends the team that won the FIBA window last month, we have a great chance of beating them. He should have not said that in public.

[mirakal]

What commissioner Marcial has said was somewhat wrong imo. Yes the Chinese are a tall and a good shooting team but if Gilas sends the team that won the FIBA window last month, we have a great chance of beating them. He should have not said that in public.

What people want to hear is not something they already know, they want to hear how Gilas will adjust so they won't suffer that kind of humiliation again.

He should avoid negative words in public and instead give some assurance that they recognize the problem and will work on improving it. After a result like that, the players who were supposed to feel proud representing the country probably ended up feeling embarrassed instead.

[Natalim]

What commissioner Marcial has said was somewhat wrong imo. Yes the Chinese are a tall and a good shooting team but if Gilas sends the team that won the FIBA window last month, we have a great chance of beating them. He should have not said that in public.

What people want to hear is not something they already know, they want to hear how Gilas will adjust so they won't suffer that kind of humiliation again.

He should avoid negative words in public and instead give some assurance that they recognize the problem and will work on improving it. After a result like that, the players who were supposed to feel proud representing the country probably ended up feeling embarrassed instead.

It's not the first time this has happened, so it's not really something new. As long as we don't send our best players, we can't expect too much from the team. Let's just move on from this and focus on the next one. The FIBA qualifiers are more interesting for me. Hopefully Justin Brownlee will be back by then and Kai Sotto will be able to play, that's all I really wish for.

[Maslate]

It's not the first time this has happened, so it's not really something new. As long as we don't send our best players, we can't expect too much from the team. Let's just move on from this and focus on the next one. The FIBA qualifiers are more interesting for me. Hopefully Justin Brownlee will be back by then and Kai Sotto will be able to play, that's all I really wish for.

Don't worry, there are still a lot of games to come. You can see the full schedule here.

We'll be back on November 27, so that's plenty of time to prepare. After that loss, I'm sure they won't forget what happened and hopefully they can use it as motivation to improve and give the fans something better to look forward to.

meanwhile, we have a good news.
Guiao signs on to remain at Rain or Shine through 2030

[LogitechMouse]

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Even if they prepare well, with the same roster it's unlikely that they can defend the championship. We need a good center like Kai, that's one thing, and more active players like Brownlee if we want to compete with the stronger teams. We can't expect our PBA players alone to beat those giants, we're just fooling ourselves if we believe that.

Hopefully after that big slap in the face, they will realize how much our opponents have improved while we seem to be going the opposite direction.

That tournament just showed 2 things to our basketball team.
1. Our team is becoming weaker and weaker.
2. Other countries' team are becoming stronger and stronger.

Preparing well is good, but like what you said, preparing well doesn't mean you'll win a title if you have a mediocre roster to defend the title. I want to say that we need Kai, but I don't think that he wants to play in this tournament, or I don't think that the SBP will try and get him. We need better players to represent our national team. I still believe that we have the players to compete for the highest stage on Asia. It's just that for whatever reason it is, SBP isn't building one that could compete against the likes of China, Japan or even Korea.

This tournament happens once every 4 years, and for sure many changes will happen throughout those 4 years. I wonder how will SBP prepare for the next Asian Games after that disappointing exit.

[blockman]

Kume has mentioned some funny comments about the lost of Gilas against China.

Marcial also pointed to China’s imposing size and shooting ability as major factors in the lopsided result.

“Pero ano magagawa ng mga players natin, ang tatangkad ng mga Chinese players ngayon, mga shooters pa,” he said.

(But what can our players do, the Chinese players are really tall now, and they are also shooters.)

We're aware how good China is and how tall they are, that's their natural advantage which is the height and anyone who gets into the national team are now trained to be shooters. So being tall and shooter is simplifying a natural skill in this time's basketball. I guess that these people who handles our national team are moving backwards instead of forwarding and improving the ball style in our country.

I think we are not going backwards bro, its just that there is a conflict of schedule and also some of the players like Kai Sotto is avoiding injury that would cost him so much as he has not yet sign a contract yet.

It seems to me that who ever handles Gilas prioritizes the FIBA World cup rather than the Asian Games as FIBA is more prestigious than Asian games but we should have not done that because we are one of the powerhouse in Asia and we should stand to that.

Maybe you're right bro. The priority wasn't really in the Asian games but, it was a devastating lost which is hard to accept. There's the discussion that they have no budget and that's why they didn't get any naturalized big man to play for the team.

What commissioner Marcial has said was somewhat wrong imo. Yes the Chinese are a tall and a good shooting team but if Gilas sends the team that won the FIBA window last month, we have a great chance of beating them. He should have not said that in public.

He should watch his mouth because he's saying the obvious and while he defends the roster per se. It's always like this, pointing out the problem and the clear reason why the team lost but there's no proper solution for it. Anyway, what's done is done and we move on.

[bisdak40]

It's not the first time this has happened, so it's not really something new. As long as we don't send our best players, we can't expect too much from the team. Let's just move on from this and focus on the next one. The FIBA qualifiers are more interesting for me. Hopefully Justin Brownlee will be back by then and Kai Sotto will be able to play, that's all I really wish for.

There's nothing we can do about it anymore except to move on. The next window is an important games for us to win to be able to qualify for the FIBA World Cup and the good thing is that it will be held in a neutral venue which is Malaysia this time around. If we can win these two games against Syria and Iran, our hope for the FIBA World Cup will be brighter.

Brownlee is aging but a good addition though but if he is not 100 percent healthy then Benny Boatwright will be there as he is also an offensive type of player which a good complement to the twin towers of Gilas, Kai Sotto and AJ Edu.

Speaking of Kai Sotto, there are post in social media that says Kai Sotto was not invited to play for the Asian Games. What could be the reason this, might be that Kai Sotto is too expensive? Have read that Kai Sotto was paid 3 million Php on that two games against Iran and Jordan. Not a good sight if Kai is only there for the money not for the flag.

[Maslate]

Speaking of Kai Sotto, there are post in social media that says Kai Sotto was not invited to play for the Asian Games. What could be the reason this, might be that Kai Sotto is too expensive? Have read that Kai Sotto was paid 3 million Php on that two games against Iran and Jordan. Not a good sight if Kai is only there for the money not for the flag.

That is not really expensive compared to what other countries are probably paying for their imports or naturalized players. SBP was able to pay Clarkson around $1 million before, so this amount for Kai is already much smaller, especially when we know he can really help the team win.

https://philnews.ph/2023/08/29/kai-sotto-demands-p22-million-talent-fee-from-gilas-pilipinas/

Utah Jazz star Jordan Clarkson would be paid $1 million or P56 million for his participation in Gilas Pilipinas.

[Natalim]

That is not really expensive compared to what other countries are probably paying for their imports or naturalized players. SBP was able to pay Clarkson around $1 million before, so this amount for Kai is already much smaller, especially when we know he can really help the team win.

https://philnews.ph/2023/08/29/kai-sotto-demands-p22-million-talent-fee-from-gilas-pilipinas/

Utah Jazz star Jordan Clarkson would be paid $1 million or P56 million for his participation in Gilas Pilipinas.

I heard that too, that they paid Clarkson that amount, and for me it was worth it, especially since we were able to beat China that time. So what happened to Gilas now, are they already having budget problems? I also hope there is no corruption or misuse of funds involved because if that also happens in sports, then our national team will really struggle to develop.

Maybe some of the private investors and supporters of Gilas are also getting tired, especially if they feel that the government is not giving enough support. We have the talent, but developing a competitive national team also needs consistent funding and support.

[Mr. Magkaisa]

That is not really expensive compared to what other countries are probably paying for their imports or naturalized players. SBP was able to pay Clarkson around $1 million before, so this amount for Kai is already much smaller, especially when we know he can really help the team win.

https://philnews.ph/2023/08/29/kai-sotto-demands-p22-million-talent-fee-from-gilas-pilipinas/

Utah Jazz star Jordan Clarkson would be paid $1 million or P56 million for his participation in Gilas Pilipinas.

I heard that too, that they paid Clarkson that amount, and for me it was worth it, especially since we were able to beat China that time. So what happened to Gilas now, are they already having budget problems? I also hope there is no corruption or misuse of funds involved because if that also happens in sports, then our national team will really struggle to develop.

Maybe some of the private investors and supporters of Gilas are also getting tired, especially if they feel that the government is not giving enough support. We have the talent, but developing a competitive national team also needs consistent funding and support.

Basketball is a goodd sports to earn mmoney specially if you are one of the Superstar. But being paid to represent the flag is not good, I am against this. Do you know that US team budget is juust 10K USD, that is not a salary unlike to our  kababayan whos telling PUSO every game but using POCKET. Kai.s talent fee is real not just this year but also before.

[mirakal]

Basketball is a goodd sports to earn mmoney specially if you are one of the Superstar. But being paid to represent the flag is not good, I am against this. Do you know that US team budget is juust 10K USD, that is not a salary unlike to our  kababayan whos telling PUSO every game but using POCKET. Kai.s talent fee is real not just this year but also before.

It's not good, but they cannot really compel Kai to play for Gilas if the offer does not satisfy his needs. Kai is probably just treating himself according to his value as a player, because whether we like it or not, we know Gilas would struggle without him since we don't really have that kind of size.

Players nowadays are also making sure they are properly compensated because after all, basketball is still a business. Just look at the PBA, some players stay loyal to a team for years, then once the team feels they are no longer useful, they can easily get traded somewhere else. Romeo is one example, he reportedly passed on opportunities overseas because of his loyalty, but look where he is now. At the end of the day, players also have to think about their own career and future.

[bisdak40]

It's not good, but they cannot really compel Kai to play for Gilas if the offer does not satisfy his needs. Kai is probably just treating himself according to his value as a player, because whether we like it or not, we know Gilas would struggle without him since we don't really have that kind of size.

Players nowadays are also making sure they are properly compensated because after all, basketball is still a business. Just look at the PBA, some players stay loyal to a team for years, then once the team feels they are no longer useful, they can easily get traded somewhere else. Romeo is one example, he reportedly passed on opportunities overseas because of his loyalty, but look where he is now. At the end of the day, players also have to think about their own career and future.

I understand the situation of Kai Sotto, he have to avoid being injured as to not jeopardize his contract with his new team in Japan B League. Yes, weeks before the Asian Games, Kai Sotto has already signed a contract in Japan as per post of his father, Earvin Sotto. But the thing is, Team Sotto should also be transparent on that thing so the public may know of his situation as people are looking up on him to play for Gilas as he is the main man in the national team as of now.

A little bit of info on the ongoing basketball games on the Asian Games. Japan has pull an upset yesterday against China to have the right to face South Korea in the gold medal game tomorrow. China has been unlucky on this Asian Games event as they failed to get to the finals two consecutive times.

[Maslate]

I understand the situation of Kai Sotto, he have to avoid being injured as to not jeopardize his contract with his new team in Japan B League. Yes, weeks before the Asian Games, Kai Sotto has already signed a contract in Japan as per post of his father, Earvin Sotto. But the thing is, Team Sotto should also be transparent on that thing so the public may know of his situation as people are looking up on him to play for Gilas as he is the main man in the national team as of now.

That's good, finally he found a new team. I was searching as to how much his contract is, but it was not published. Based on his past contract though, I've seen that he was making an average of around $60k per month, that's almost ₱4 million per month in Philippine currency, so I think it makes sense why he would demand that much.

With that kind of salary overseas, we can also see how valuable Kai really is as a player.

A little bit of info on the ongoing basketball games on the Asian Games. Japan has pull an upset yesterday against China to have the right to face South Korea in the gold medal game tomorrow. China has been unlucky on this Asian Games event as they failed to get to the finals two consecutive times.

I thought this tournament was already over, and well, Japan has really become a strong team now.
How many NBA players actually played for them, was it all 3 of them?

[bisdak40]

A little bit of info on the ongoing basketball games on the Asian Games. Japan has pull an upset yesterday against China to have the right to face South Korea in the gold medal game tomorrow. China has been unlucky on this Asian Games event as they failed to get to the finals two consecutive times.

I thought this tournament was already over, and well, Japan has really become a strong team now.
How many NBA players actually played for them, was it all 3 of them?

I am wondering why the basketball games are almost over when in fact the official opening of the Asian Games 2026 is just today. Unlike before that the gold medal game will be held one day before Asian Games conclude.

As for that game, Japan's only player that has NBA experience was Alex Kirk, their naturalized player and he played big for them also because he scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. No Watanabe and Rui Hachimura for the Japanese squad so i got tempted to bet for China and lost .

I agree, Japan has become a strong team now that even though Watanabe and Hachimura were not playing for them they are still tough to beat but tomorrow against South Korea, that would be a good matchup. Have not known yet who is the favorite but no matter what, Japan is a good team to back and also they are playing at home.

[Maslate]

LOL, and it's getting worse for China. Big upset, Iran beat China in the bronze medal game.

China has the size, but they are not really a good team. If Gilas is able to bring our best players, I think we might be able to defend our title and beat them again.

Thank you Iran for beating China. 😄

[Russlenat]

LOL, and it's getting worse for China. Big upset, Iran beat China in the bronze medal game.

China has the size, but they are not really a good team. If Gilas is able to bring our best players, I think we might be able to defend our title and beat them again.

Thank you Iran for beating China. 😄

The giant has fallen, and it's kinda expected since they are still very young and lack experience on the international stage. But give them a year or two and they will be dangerous. I think Iran deserves it as well since they have been struggling in some of their games. We beat them last month, then we lost to China and they avenged us, so I guess we're even now.

[mirakal]

No one updated the result yet, so allow me to update it.

Here are the winners:

Gold - South Korea
Silver - Japan
Bronze - Iran

It's sad to see that we did not even get a medal considering we were the defending champions, but even sadder for China since they also lost the bronze medal game. I wonder how they will react to that, pretty sure there will be a lot of pressure on their coach once they get back home.

[angrybirdy]

No one updated the result yet, so allow me to update it.

Here are the winners:

Gold - South Korea
Silver - Japan
Bronze - Iran

It's sad to see that we did not even get a medal considering we were the defending champions, but even sadder for China since they also lost the bronze medal game. I wonder how they will react to that, pretty sure there will be a lot of pressure on their coach once they get back home.

It is really unexpected results around! SoKor and Japan really delivered what they need to be done and I was pleasantly surprised when Iran got the bronze. It's a hard defeat for us after being the defending champions but China's defeat in the bronze medal game is likely to be even more disappointing because many are expecting for them to be on top... I'd love to watch how both teams react from this point on, especially in the expectations they will carry into the next tournament.