Philippine News

LOS ANGELES, May 1 ------ Jabari Smith Jr. scored 22 points, Tari Eason added 18 and the Houston Rockets avoided playoff elimination for the second straight game with a 99-93 victory over the Lakers in Game 5, trimming Los Angeles' lead in the first-round series to 3-2. Alperen Sengun had 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the fifth-seeded Rockets, who sent the series back to Houston for Game 6 on Friday night with a gritty performance to overcome Austin Reaves' r

MANILA, Philippines, May 1 ------ Japan’s Naoya Inoue said he will face a "clever, serious" opponent in fellow unbeaten countryman Junto Nakatani when they clash in front of 55,000 at a sold-out Tokyo Dome. Undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Inoue puts his belts on the line for the seventh time in one of the biggest bouts in Japanese boxing history. Both Inoue and Nakatani have 32-0 records and the fight has been over a year in the making. Inoue is Japanese boxing's

MANILA, April 30 ------ Robert Bolick took charge in the closing seconds to lift NLEX over Rain or Shine, 92-90, in a thrilling clash in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner's Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. The Road Warriors erased a 14-point deficit and proved to be more poised in the closing stretch as they handed the Elasto Painters their second loss of the conference. Both teams now have identical 8-2 win-loss records, sharing the top two spots in the league standings. NLEX

NEW YORK, April 30 ------ The San Antonio Spurs punched their ticket to the second round of the NBA playoffs leading wire to wire in a 114-95 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Victor Wembanyama scored 17 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked six shots to help the Spurs wrap up a 4-1 win in their best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series. In the East, Philadelphia star Joel Embiid scored 33 points and handed out eight assists as the 76ers fended off eliminat

SANYA, April 30 ------ The Gilas Pilipinas 3x3 Women were unable to clinch a coveted gold medal in the 6th Asian Beach Games after falling against host country China, 21-13, in the gold medal match at the Sanya Sports Centre Gymnasium. Going up against bigger defenders, the quartet of Mikka Cacho, Tantoy Ferrer, Kaye Pingol, and Gabi Bade were left trailing in the final. While speed and consistent drives to the basket made things interesting after an and-one from Bade got the

MANILA, Philippines, April 30 ------ The Iloilo United Royals averted a major collapse and bested Manila Batang Quiapo, 101-96 in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Baliwag Star Arena in Bulacan. Way ahead, 72-50, Iloilo turned cold in the fourth quarter, allowing Manila to briefly seize control at 93-92 with 2 minutes and 14 seconds to go. Kyt Jimenez and Levi Hernandez, however, combined for nine points in the homestretch to prese

MANILA, April 29 ------ The San Miguel Beermen held on to secure a crucial 103-92 win over the Meralco Bolts in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. The perennial league powerhouse marked their fifth win in 10 games, with June Mar Fajardo leading the way with 19 points, 17 rebounds, and six steals. “Luckily, yung sense of urgency ng team ay hindi nawala. I know that this game is very important kasi the teams at the bottom four are very close,” sai

MANILA, April 29 ------ The Gilas Pilipinas 3x3 teams kept their medal bids alive after both the men’s and women’s squads advanced to the semifinals of the 6th Asian Beach Games at the Sanya Sports Centre Gymnasium. The men’s team eked out an 18-14 victory over India, leaning on a late 5-0 run to pull through after surrendering an 11-8 lead. Jeff Manday sparked the decisive stretch, scoring the game-tying basket to make it 14-all with 22 seconds left. Crucial foul calls on Al

WASHINGTON, April 29 ------ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder swept into the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 131-122 victory at Phoenix. The top-seeded Thunder captured the Western Conference best-of-seven series 4-0, completing a third consecutive sweep in the opening round. "We just came in ready," said Gilgeous-Alexander. "Love to play basketball, a group full of great kids that have fun together. "We do it fo

MADRID, April 29 ------ World number one Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock 2-6 6-2 7-6(6) defeat by Hailey Baptiste at the Madrid Open as the American produced the biggest win of her career after saving six match points to reach the semi-finals for the first time. The 24-year-old Baptiste, seeded 30, claimed her first victory over a top-five player, handing defending champion Sabalenka only her second defeat of the season. The 30th seed will now face world number nine Mirra An

LOS ANGELES, April 28 ------ The Houston Rockets routed the Los Angeles Lakers 115-96 to stay alive in the NBA playoffs as San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama made a triumphant return to put the Spurs on the brink of advancing. Amen Thompson scored 23 points to fuel the Rockets, who bounced back from a crushing overtime loss on Friday to cut the deficit in their best-of-seven Western Conference series to 3-1. The Spurs and the Boston Celtics took commanding 3-1 leads in their ser

April 28 ------ Gilas Pilipinas Women 3x3 will carry a spotless record into the quarterfinals round of the 2026 Asian Beach Games after sweeping the preliminaries. The Filipinas pulled off a 21-15 win over Kyrgyzstan to close out its Group C run with a 3-0 win-loss card and punch an outright playoff ticket. Tantoy Ferrer, a former UAAP champion out of University of Santo Tomas, led the show with eight points while Mikka Cacho and Gab Bade chipped in seven and five markers, r

April 28 ------ THE Cinderella run of Kevin Quiambao and Goyang Sono continues in the Korean Basketball League. What started as a surprise playoff push has now turned into a full-blown finals appearance after Goyang stunned and dethroned Carl Tamayo and the Changwon LG Sakers, 90-80, in the semifinals. The Skygunners, in their first-ever playoff run, punched their ticket to the championship round after completing a 3-0 sweep over LG Sakers, extending what has been a fearless

April 28 ------ Alex Eala has pulled the plug on her participation at the WTA125 Catalonia Open as she shifts her focus toward a higher-stakes tournament next month. The Filipina tennis ace will instead see action at the WTA1000 Italian Open set from May 5 to 17 in Rome as she looks to improve her fortunes in her clay-court swing. The upcoming Italian Open edition is expected to feature several high-profile players in the world like No. 1 and No. 2 stars Aryna Sabalenka and

MANILA, April 27 ------ Barangay Ginebra San Miguel booked a spot in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals after fending off a pesky Titan Ultra Giant Risers side, 119-107 at the Araneta Coliseum. Justin Brownlee once again led the Gin Kings with 35 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and one steal, as they notched their fifth straight victory, and seventh overall in nine games. RJ Abarrientos also caught fire with 25 points, highlighted by four thre

PHOENIX, April 27 ------ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 42 points in a brilliant shooting performance, Ajay Mitchell added 15 in place of the injured Jalen Williams and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns 121-109 to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference first-round series. Gilgeous-Alexander — the league's reigning MVP — hit 15 of 18 shots on a variety of tough looks, frustrating a Suns defense that actually played decently for much of the game. Alex Caruso ad

April 27 ------ SENT packing in Madrid were best friends and doubles partners Alex Eala and Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez, as they lost to second-seeded Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova, 1-6, 7-5. The young guns didn’t stand a chance against the doubles world No. 2 and No. 5’s strong start. They were able to squeeze in a game in the third game, but the veterans were quick on their feet to regain control. The following set saw a different story, with ties at 3-3, 4-4, and 5-5,

April 27 ------ Both Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 teams opened their respective campaigns on a strong note in the 6th Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China. The Gilas Women, composed of soon-to-be World Cup players Mikka Cacho and Tantoy Ferer, along with Kaye Pingol and Gabi Bade, remain undefeated at 2-0 in the women’s competition. They opened their campaign with a 15-11 win over Indonesia before following it up with a dominant 21-9 victory over Macau. Coached by Anton Altamirano, the s

April 26 ------ ALAS Pilipinas will have to earn every inch of ground if it hopes to turn silver into gold in the 2026 AVC Women’s Nations Cup from June 6 to 14 in Candon City. The official draw held sets up a loaded Pool A for the Philippines, placing the reigning silver medalists in a gauntlet that features regional heavyweights South Korea and Chinese Taipei, along with Australia, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Coming in as the reigning silver medalist after a finals loss to

MANILA, April 26 ------ The Gilas Pilipinas women’s 3x3 squad is bound for the 2026 FIBA 3x3 World Cup in Poland, but the tournament is just part of a bigger picture for the Filipina hoopers. Aside from marking the country’s return to the world stage for the first time in eight years, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) Executive Director Erika Dy pointed out that qualifying for the Poland tournament is also a major boost to Gilas’ hopes of reaching the 2028 Olympics in Los