Beauty Queens, volleybelles among muses for PBA D-League opening

The 2019 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Developmental League (D-League) opening last Thursday, February 14 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig was truly extravagant, as beauty queens and volleyball stars were among the muses who represented the twenty teams joining this season. (Photo: PBA D-League/Facebook)

The 2019 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Developmental League (D-League) opening last Thursday, February 14 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig was truly extravagant, as beauty queens and volleyball stars were among the muses who represented the 20 teams joining this season.

Miss Grand International 2016 Nicole Cordoves, Miss Supranational 2018 Jehza Mae Huelar, and Miss Globe 2018 Creamline middle blocker Michele Gumabao were among the recognizable beauty queens in the opening parade, representing AMA Online Education and Marinerong Pilipino respectively, while celebrity Daiana Menezes was the muse for reigning Foundation Cup champion Go for Gold-CSB. Rachel Anne Daquis, Erica Wilson, and Anastasiya Gurbanova of the Cignal HD Spikers walked alongside Cignal-Ateneo, while University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tigresses team captain Sisi Rondina strutted next to her alma mater. National University (NU) Bulldogs women’s basketball guard Christiana Dimaunahan also represented her school. 

For the first game of the 2019 PBA D-League season, the Cignal-Ateneo Blue Eagles defeated the Coach Charles-Tiu led Go for Gold-CSB squad 103-75, with Isaac Go scoring a total of 21 points and Dan Wong chipping 17 for the Blue Eagles. Matt Nieto also performed with 14 points, 7 assists, and 3 rebounds. In the words of Coach Tab Baldwin about his team’s win, “Offensively, I was surprised that we played pretty well. We’ve got some guys in our roster that we’re reconstructing their shots. We’re not doing a lot, really, but the guys played very efficiently. That’s one thing I really liked.”

For Go for Gold-CSB, Justin Gutang performed with 21 points, while teammate Yankie Haruna chipped 11 points, but none of the other players on their squad were able to provide double digits. In response to their loss, Coach Charles Tiu shares, “We just didn’t play well today. I expect a much better game next time. I guarantee we’re gonna come out differently than the way we played against Ateneo and that’s for sure. We’re not gonna have this type of game again next week.” On a lighter note, he concludes, “We’re gonna prepare, we’re gonna push them harder because it’s a good wake-up call for them,” referring to their upcoming opponents, St. Clare College.