Philippine News

January 27 ------ A HOMECOMING sweetened by history and sealed with a victory. Alex Eala gave the Filipino crowd a night to remember, overpowering Russia’s Alina Charaeva, 6-1, 6-2 to open her campaign at the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open in her first match on home soil in eight years. Eala was just 12 years old when she last competed in the Philippines, then a junior at the 2018 PHINMA-PSC International Juniors Championship. She returned to the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center

JAKARTA, Indonesia, January 27 ------ Chokers. Losers. Those were among the nasty names that have been associated with Aurora Gaming PH throughout the past year or so after repeated heartbreaks and foiled chances, both domestic and abroad. What matters now, though, is what people will be calling them moving forward -- champions of the world. The Northern Lights' long journey full of doubts, setbacks, and tears finally ended in triumph after a sweep of the host country’s darli

January 27 ------ DESPITE a gallant stand and a vintage performance from Terrence Romeo, the MLV-Zamboanga Valientes absorbed a heartbreaking 90-92 overtime loss to Syria’s Al Karamah in the 2026 Dubai International Basketball Invitational. Trailing since the middle of the first quarter, the Valientes relied on the 33-year-old Romeo to bring them back into the game with crucial baskets in the dying minutes of regulation that knotted the score at 82-all, leading to extra time.

January 27 ------ The Philippines has posted its best medal haul in the ASEAN Para Games, collecting 45 golds, 37 silvers, and 52 bronzes during the 13th edition of the biennial meet in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. The Filipino delegates easily surpassed their previous gold-silver-bronze haul of 34-33-50 in the 12th ASEAN Para Games in Cambodia in 2023, making it the country's best medal haul since the tournament's inception in 2001 in Malaysia. Chief of mission Goody Custodi

MANILA, January 26 ------ CJ Perez was the hero in crunch time as the San Miguel Beermen seized a 2-1 lead over TNT Tropang 5G in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup Finals. Perez poured in seven clutch points in the final minute to lift the Beermen to a 95-89 victory in Game 3 of the best-of-seven affair at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, marking their second straight win in the series. “I just want to win,” said Perez, who also scored all but three of his 20 points in th

MANILA, Philippines, January 26 ------ Filipino pole vault star EJ Obiena got off a promising start to his 2026 campaign. Obiena bagged bronze in the ISTAF Indoor Dusseldorf in Germany as he began his redemption season following a roller-coaster 2025 that saw him fall out of the world top 10. He cleared 5.65 meters to finish behind Menno Vloon of the Netherlands and Sam Kendricks of the United States in the eight-man competition. Vloon vaulted 5.75m for the gold, while Kendri

MANILA, January 26 ------ The lone Filipina tennis player left in the qualifying rounds of the Philippine Women's Open (PWO) bowed out at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila. Stefi Aludo fell to Japan's Sakura Hosogi, 6-1, 6-2, in the final round of the qualifiers. The 17-year-old Aludo tried to keep in step with the more experienced Hosogi throughout the match, when she finally broke serve to get on board 3-1 in the first set. The Japanese player ended the Filipina's

January 26 ------ Para athletics continued to deliver for the Philippines, adding more gold medals to the country’s tally as the ASEAN Para Games in Thailand approaches its closing. On Saturday, Alyana Nuñez captured the gold medal in the women’s shot put F11, setting a new Games record with a throw of 7.85 meters. It was her second gold medal of the meet. Cendy Asusano likewise established a new Games record in the women’s javelin F54, posting a throw of 15.42 meters to secu

January 25 ------ Trimmed to a leaner, 10-team field but packed with balance and intrigue, the Premier Volleyball League opens its flagship All-Filipino Conference at the FilOil Playtime Center in San Juan on Jan. 31. The season-ending tournament promises a season unlike any other, where every match counts, every ranking matters, and unpredictability is the only certainty. The excitement stems not just from a streamlined lineup but from a revamped competition format designed

January 25 ------ The first-ever World team for the NBA All-Star Game is already looking loaded. And the fate of LeBron James' record streak of All-Star selections will now be decided by coaches, or perhaps even Commissioner Adam Silver. Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver's Nikola Jokic, the Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic and San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama were among those announced as starters — an inexact term this year — fo

January 24 ------ DESPITE a quick exit in her Australian Open main draw debut, Alexandra “Alex” Eala leaped to a career-best 43rd in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) live rankings. Officially, Eala is ranked a career high 49th in the world but when the WTA resets its rankings on Monday, the Filipino ace could set a new personal best. Her live ranking of No. 43 can still change as the Australian Open progresses. Eala got off to a strong start on Monday but fell to American

January 24 ------ Tyrese Maxey scored 36 points, including clutch plays late in regulation and at the end of overtime, lifting the Philadelphia 76ers to a 128-122 home win over the Houston Rockets. Maxey added 10 assists for Philadelphia, while Joel Embiid put up some impressive stats of his own with 32 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting for the Sixers. Kevin Durant fueled Houston's offense with 36 points, although he

MELBOURNE, Australia, January 23 ------ Novak Djokovic dropped a service game for the first time in this Australian Open and then didn't lose another point against Francesco Maestrelli, advancing to the third round with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win. It was Djokovic's 399th win in a Grand Slam singles match, leaving the 24-time major just one more to be the first player ever to reach 400. The break of serve, in the sixth game of the third set Thursday, Jan. 22, was almost like Djokovic

January 23 ------ The New York Knicks snapped their four-game losing streak with a record-breaking 120-66 obliteration of the Brooklyn Nets the most lopsided victory in franchise history. Jalen Brunson scored 20 points as the Knicks romped to a 54-point margin of victory, eclipsing their previous biggest winning margin of 48, achieved in 1968, 1972 and 1994. The victory over their New York rivals at Madison Square Garden followed a dismal run of four straight losses that culm

January 23 ------ EARL 'The Pearl' Strickland and Ralf 'The Kaiser' Souquet struck back hard in the second day of WNT Legends at Gateway Mall 2. The American great played flawlessly this time out to trump Efren 'Bata' Reyes, 11-6, for his first taste of victory in this three-day showcase. Strickland pounced on Reyes missing the 9-ball on racks 5 and 6 to jump to a 5-1 lead. Though 'The Magician' still weaved his magic with an amazing fluke on rack 8, Strickland was just on-po

January 23 ------ ERNIE Gawilan broke an 18-year ASEAN Para Games record during his conquest of his second gold medal in the swimming competitions at the His Majesty 80th Birthday Aquatics Center in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. The three-time Paralympian ruled the men’s 200m freestyle S7 at two minutes, 26.08 seconds, breaking the old mark of 2:52.11 owned by Thailand’s Sittichai Somyut set also in Nakhon Ratchasima but back in 2008. Gary Bejino also maintained his superb for

ANTIPOLO, January 22 ------ TNT proved that it can go toe-to-toe against a vaunted San Miguel squad by winning the opener of the PBA 50th Season Philippine Cup Finals, 96-91, at the Ynares Center. The Tropang 5G flaunted their depth after drawing strong showings from usual suspects Kelly Williams and Calvin Oftana down to bench players Simon Enciso and Henry Galinato against the defending champion Beermen's defense. TNT also limited SMB to one of its lowest scoring outputs in

MELBOURNE, Australia, January 22 ------ Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz fended off a series of "bombs" before surging into the Australian Open third round where he was joined by Aryna Sabalenka and a near-flawless Coco Gauff. Three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev also stayed alive, but he needed four sets to keep his Grand Slam dream on track at a cooler and overcast Melbourne Park after days of hot weather. Spanish superstar Alcaraz came through a tough arm-wrestle 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6

January 22 ------ EFREN "Bata" Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante showed vintage form as they opened the WNT Legends with victories at Gateway Mall 2 in Cubao. Reyes held off Ralf "The Kaiser" Souquet of Germany, 11-8, while Bustamante outlasted Earl "The Pearl" Strickland, 11-9, to open this three-day nine-ball showcase. So much drama was drawn in Rack 14 as Reyes and Souquet both missed twice on the 9. But the German cueist left an open shot on the clincher allowing Re

January 22 ------ Philippine swimmers Gary Bejino, Ernie Gawilan, and Angel Otom delivered a golden start for the country at the 13th ASEAN Para Games in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, showcasing their dominance in the pool at the His Majesty the King’s 80th Birthday Anniversary Stadium Aquatic Center. Bejino set the tone, capturing the first gold of the meet in the men’s 400m freestyle S6 with a record-breaking time of 5:32.08, smashing his own 2023 meet standard of 5:38.26 fr