Chery Tiggo smashes

Gerflor, bolsters PVL semis bid

AFTER a shutout loss to Creamline and a five-set escape over Akari, Chery Tiggo finally got on track, driving past newcomer Gerflor, 25-19, 25-20, 2518, to enhance its semifinal bid in the Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig on Thursday.

But the Crossovers remained far from reaching their true potential as they scrambled and struggled to try to find chemistry and impose their will early, enabling the inspired Defenders to take control early in the first two sets.

Mylene Paat, however, took over and provided not only the needed spark on offense but more so the leadership, and the Crossovers re-asserted their might and closed out the first two sets in commanding fashions before cruising in the third to complete the one-hour, 40-minute victory.

Chery Tiggo thus improved to 2-1, stalking unbeaten Creamline (2-0) in the five-team Pool A play although PLDT is just behind at 1-0 with the Cool Smashers and the High Speed Hitters clashing in a key duel later in another busy day in the single round robin elims of the mid-season conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.

“I’m very happy with how they played but definitely there’s still a lot of things that we need to improve on,” said Chery Tiggo coach Aaron Velez. “Kailangan maging mabilis ang start namin, so that’s one thing I think that we have to pick up. I also like that fact that everybody was able to step up.”

“Kailangan namin i-work out ang chemistry namin, yung communication dapat maging smooth in preparation for our next match,” added Velez, whose wards will close out their elims campaign against the High Speed Hitters on Tuesday.

Paat fired 15 points to lead the Crossovers’ charge with Velez drawing sevenpoint outputs from Ponggay Gaston, EJ Laure, and Cza Carandang. Rookies Imee Hernandez and Eya Laure added six and three markers, respectively.

“Hindi lang puntos sa spike ang kailangan, kung kailangan na magdagdag sa ibang skills, like blocking and serve, malaking tulong na yun sa mga teammates ko at happy ako na nakapag-perform ako,” said Paat, who added four blocks to clinch the game’s top honors.

LeBron says no intention to retire yet

LOS ANGELES—NBA star LeBron

James ended speculation over his future on Wednesday, saying that he is not yet ready to retire and maintains his love for basketball.

James responded to his team, the Los Angeles Lakers, losing the Western Conference final to eventual champions Denver in May, by saying he had “a lot to think about” amid reports he was considering walking away from the sport.

But in a speech at the ESPY awards ceremony on Wednesday, James settled any fears he may be ready to quit.

“I don’t care how many more points I score, or what I can or cannot do on the floor,” James said after receiving the award for Best Record-Breaking Performance for passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league’s all-time leading scorer.

“The real question for me is: Can I play without cheating this game? The day I can’t give everything on the floor is the day I’ll be done. Lucky for you guys, that day is not today,” he said.

“In my 20 years playing this game and all the years before, I’ve never, ever cheated the game and I will never take it for granted,” he added.

James, who will be 39 in December, dismissed suggestions that he wanted to continue playing in the NBA with one or both of his son’s -- his eldest son Bronny James, who will play college basketball next season at the University of Southern California, and could conceivably enter the NBA in time for the 2024-2025 campaign.

But he said that coaching his sons has helped to maintain his enthusiasm. AFP