Philippine News

MANILA, Philippines, December 13 ------ The Abra Solid North Weavers climbed out of a deep hole to nip the Quezon Huskers, 81-80, in overtime and take Game 1 of the 747 Live presents Manny Pacquiao MPBL 2025 Season National Finals at the Gov. Andres Bernos Memorial Gymnasium in Bangued, Abra. Trailing 72-80 as Quezon opened the extension period with an eight-point run, Abra bunched nine points, five by Mike Ayonayon, to pull off the squeaker that lured an overflow crowd and w

HOUSTON, December 13 ------ Amen Thompson’s three-point play with 17.2 seconds left helped the Houston Rockets to a 115-113 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA. Thompson tipped in Alperen Sengun’s miss to break a 110-110 tie, was fouled by Kris Dunn and hit the and-1 free throw. The putback came off Houston’s third offensive rebound of the possession and 21st of the night. Thompson made 8 of 12 from the field and finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, and eight assi

BANGKOK, December 12 ------ The Philippines claimed three gold medals to take the fifth spot after Day 2 of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand. Gymnast Aleah Finnegan and jiu-jitsu fighters Kimberly Anne Custodio and Dean Roxas seized the gold medals, bringing the Philippines’ total to five, as of posting time. The Philippines has also registered seven silvers and 20 bronzes to overtake Malaysia, which has a 3-9-19 gold-silver-bronze tally. There was a missed opportun

LOS ANGELES, December 12 ------ It was a playoff-level atmosphere at Crypto.com Arena for the NBA Cup quarterfinals, but the San Antonio Spurs — still without Victor Wembanyama — walked in unfazed and walked out with a 132–119 upset win over the Lakers, securing their spot in Las Vegas to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the semifinals. The night started strong for Los Angeles, who jumped out to an 18–12 lead midway through the first behind Luka Dončić’s early rhythm. But th

December 12 ------ The Philippine women's national football team is headed to the semifinals of the 2025 Southeast Asian Games. The Filipinas overpowered Malaysia, 6-0, in their final assignment of the group stage to punch their ticket to the knockout round at the IPE Chonburi Stadium in Chonburi, Thailand. Rising star Alexa Pino starred for the Philippines, collecting a hat-trick, while Jessika Cowart, Ariana Markey, and Anicka Castaneda also found the back of the net. The F

December 12 ------ KAYLA Sanchez broke a Southeast Asian Games record in the women’s 50m backstroke, less than 24 hours after copping her first gold medal in the biennial competition in Thailand. Sanchez clocked 28.47 seconds in the heats on Thursday morning at the Sport Authority of Thailand Aquatics Center, erasing the previous mark of 28.89 seconds set by Masniari Wolf of Indonesia in 2023 in Cambodia. Incidentally, Wolf was also in the heats, and had the second best time

MANILA, December 11 ------ The Philippines secured its second gold medal at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand after its women’s swimming team won the 4x100 relay. The team, composed of Olympian Kayla Sanchez, Heather White, Chloe Isleta and Xiandi Chua clocked in 3:44.26, more than two seconds away from silver medalist Team Singapore and Team Vietnam, who took the bronze. Justin Kobe Macario delivered the first gold for the Philippines after topping the men’s individ

ANTIPOLO, December 11 ------ Meralco didn’t waste any time pulling away from Terrafirma and cruising to a 120-87 victory in its return to action in the PBA Philippine Cup. Chris Banchero sparked the Bolts’ early surge, scoring 10 of his 13 points right in the first quarter, while CJ Cansino announced his comeback from an ankle injury by pacing the team with 20 points and eight rebounds. The Bolts stretched an eight-point lead to 55-33 just before the halftime on their way to

TORONTO, December 11 ------ Jalen Brunson scored 35 points, Josh Hart added 21 and the New York Knicks advanced to the NBA Cup semifinals for the first time in three tries by beating the struggling Toronto Raptors, 117-101. Karl-Anthony Towns had 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Knicks, who will face Orlando in the semifinal round at Las Vegas on Saturday. The Magic reached the semifinals by beating Miami earlier Tuesday. Towns returned after sitting out Sunday’s home win ov

MIAMI, Florida, December 11 ------ Lionel Messi won his second consecutive Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player (MLS MVP) award after propelling Inter Miami to the MLS title and leading the league in goals. Messi became the first player to win back-to-back MLS MVP awards and only the second player in the league to capture two MVP awards after Preki in 1997 and 2003. “I’m happy to receive this award and be the first in the history of this league to win it in two consecutiv

CHONBURI, Thailand, December 10 ------ It took more than three decades, but the Philippines is back in the final four of the Southeast Asian Games men’s football tournament. The Nationals returned to the semifinals for the first time since 1991 after a pulsating 1-0 win over Indonesia at the 700th Anniversary Stadium in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Otu Banatao scored just before the first half ended as the Philippines, which earned a 2-0 victory over Myanmar three days prior, comple

ABU DHABI, UAE, December 10 ------ McLaren’s Lando Norris sobbed tears of joy and relief as he won the Formula One championship for the first time and ended Max Verstappen’s four-year reign with a nervy third place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Red Bull’s Verstappen, whose eighth triumph of the campaign was one more than the new champion managed, won the season-ender with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri runner-up and 12.5 seconds behind at the checkered flag. Norris, Britain’s 11th Fo

WASHINGTON, December 10 ------ A balanced scoring attack helped Phoenix outlast Minnesota 108-105 despite a 40-point NBA performance by Anthony Edwards while San Antonio held off New Orleans 135-132. Phoenix, missing top scorer Devin Booker due to a groin injury, improved to 14-10 by snapping the Timberwolves' five-game win streak with Mark Williams scoring 22 points to top six double-digit scorers for the Suns. The Spurs, still without French star Victor Wembanyama due to a

MANILA, December 10 ------ Brazil lived up to its billing overwhelming Portugal 3-0 to make history as the first ever champions of the FIFA Futsal Women's World Cup. In front of a packed PhilSports Arena, Brazil secured the inaugural championship behind goals from Emilly (10'), Amandhina (23') and Debora Vanin (38'). The masterclass performance in the finale capped a spotless run over six matches for top-ranked Brazil in the event backed by the Philippine Sports Commission an

December 9 ------ The NBA Cup quarterfinal field was set with Miami going to Orlando and New York going to Toronto on the Eastern Conference side, followed by an Oklahoma City-Phoenix rematch and San Antonio facing the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference. And the defending Cup champions won't have a chance to go back-to-back in Las Vegas. New York got the last of the four available quarterfinal berths from the East topping the reigning Cup champion Milwaukee Bucks 11

MONACO, December 9 ------ Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Armand “Mondo” Duplantis have won the World Athlete of the Year titles for 2025. The international governing body for track and field announced the winners at ceremony in Monaco, with McLaughlin-Levrone also winning the women's track award and pole vault world-record holder Duplantis winning the men's field events award. McLaughlin-Levrone has been undefeated for two years in both the 400 meters and the 400-meter hurdles

MANILA, Philippines, December 9 ------ Many are called, but few are chosen.” In the world of ultradistance racing, this isn’t just a saying – it’s a warning. The Ultraman World Championship exists to break even the toughest athletes. Over the weekend in Hawaii, Jennifer Tan Uy proved she was unbreakable, becoming the first Filipina to finish the Ultraman World Championship. “When I crossed the finish line, I wanted the world to see that Filipinos can,” said Uy, her voice carr

December 9 ------ Gilas Pilipinas may have just recently passed its first test with flying colors but the Nationals are already shifting their focus to the more daunting task in the second window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers in February. The Filipinos were dominant in the opening window of the qualifiers, sweeping the lower-ranked Guam to go 2-0 so far in the Group A standings. But the next window will have the Nationals facing up against region powerhouses Aus

December 8 ------ The Philippines is sending its biggest delegation yet to the 33rd Southeast Asian Games with over 1600 athletes, coaches and staff composing the team that is hoping to surpass the country’s performance in the past biennial meets. Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino and Philippine Sports Commission chairman Patrick ‘Pato’ Gregorio led the official send-off of the delegation on Friday, Nov. 28, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. Alth

MANILA, December 8 ------ Following the conclusion of the Red Bull Half Court 2025 World Finals in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Red Bull shifts the global spotlight to the Philippines, proudly announced as the next official host of the Red Bull Half Court 2026 World Finals, marking the first major 3-on-3 world championship staged outside FIBA. As the next host country, the Philippines invites the world to witness firsthand the heart and grit that define Filipino streetball in