Philippine News

MANILA, September 15 ------ Gilas Pilipinas’ bid for back-to-back Asian Games titles ended in brutal fashion at the hands of a familiar foe. The Philippines were demolished by China, 105-61, in their Group C matchup in the men’s 5-on-5 basketball event of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asiad at the Aichi International Arena. Gilas still had a chance to advance to the quarterfinals despite the loss. However, China emphatically erased that possibility by beating the Philippines by more

September 15 ------ THE Filipinas took advantage of a defensive miscue late to salvage a 1-1 draw against Uzbekistan at the start of the 20th Asian Games women’s football tournament at the Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium in Japan. Natalie Collins took advantage of a lackadaisical effort by Uzbekistan at the back to score in the 89th minute in her senior national team debut with the Filipinas. The 19-year-old substitute from Boise State in the US NCAA snatched possession from defender

September 15 ------ LANDO Norris hardly looked like a pole contender coming into qualifying. But by the time Q3 reached its decisive final minutes, the reigning world champion found exactly what he needed to deny championship leader Kimi Antonelli and claim the first-ever Formula 1 pole at the Madring. Norris produced a stunning 1:31.824 on his final flying lap Saturday, edging Antonelli by just 0.011 seconds to snatch pole for Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. "Very, very happy,

MANILA, Philippines, September 15 ------ The GenSan Warriors trounced the Sarangani 10ACT Marlins, 108-89 to share third place in the South Division of the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Paco Arena in Manila. With guards Mark Cruz and Hesed Gabo at the helm, the Warriors surged ahead, 87-65, before cruising to their 18th win in 23 starts in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 26-team tournament. Cruz, the reigning

September 14 ------ When he was four years old, Alexander Zverev was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and doctors were just concerned about him living a run-of-the-mill life. But his mother Irina quashed that notion right away. "It takes a very, very strong mother to walk out of those offices and to say ‘my son will be whatever he wants to be.'... this illness will not define us," said Zverev, just before he would lift the U.S. Open tennis championship trophy. Playing in his th

September 14 ------ GILAS Pilipinas guns for a quarterfinal berth as it takes on unbeaten China in a crucial Group C clash in the 2026 Asian Games at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan. The Philippine cagers need a victory over the Chinese squad at 1 p.m. (12 noon Manila time) to secure their place in the knockout stage and keep their title-defense bid on track. The Philippine cagers are determined to win to avoid a more complicated situation in their bid to advan

September 14 ------ SAN Miguel’s bench mob proved enough to dispatch Phoenix, 94-89, in the PBA On Tour in Ilagan City, Isabela. Marcio Lassiter exploded for a game-high 30 points, while Moala Tautuaa buried a clutch three in the final minute to secure the win for a Beermen side that played minus four key stalwarts. June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Don Trollano, Jerrick Ahanmisi, Jericho Cruz, and import George King were not around, but Lassiter and Co. came through when the game

September 14 ------ American Ryan Garcia defended his World Boxing Council welterweight title with a second-round stoppage of Britain's Conor Benn at Las Vegas. Garcia delivered a hammering right hand to the chin that dropped Benn to the canvas 45 seconds into the second round and followed with punishing flurries of punches until referee Thomas Taylor stopped the fight after one minute and 25 seconds of the second round. "I'm just happy," Garcia said. "I feel at peace. I've g

September 13 ------ THE Philippines will host one of the last two windows of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. The Asian qualifiers for next year's Qatar Basketball World Cup are returning to the country during the sixth and final window set in February 2027, while the fifth window will be hosted in a neutral ground in Malaysia this November. The FIBA Executive Committee announced the decision during its meeting on Tuesday in Mies, Switzerland, although the Samahang Basket

MANILA, September 13 ------ The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) will be implementing a new rule for "one and done" athletes beginning next season. UAAP Executive Director Atty. Rebo Saguisag announced the change during the Season 89 press conference at Novotel Manila. Starting Season 90, "one and done" players will have to sit out one year for residency. "We're trying to address the so-called one-and-done phenomenon. It was legislated some time last

September 12 ------ Gilas Pilipinas had a bad start in its title-retention bid after bowing to a souped-up Bahrain quintet, 89-85, in the 20th Asian Games men’s basketball group stage match on Friday at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan. The Filipinos fell behind early, 0-8, managed to tie the game at 39-39 on a three by Don Trollano, but fell short in the endgame to start the tournament with a setback. With Bahrain getting the energy and big lift from its natura

NEW YORK, United States, September 12 ------ Elena Rybakina rallied from a set down to beat Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and book a US Open championship showdown with two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka. In the final Rybakina will try to deal another blow to Sabalenka, having knocked her out of the No. 1 world ranking just by reaching the semifinals. "I feel like I definitely need to step my game up, serve much better than today and stay aggressive," Rybakina said of her

September 11 ------ THOUGH met with more resistance compared to other game, the Gunma Crane Thunders swept the Japan B.League Manila Games 2026 after defeating Levanga Hokkaido anew, 101-91, in overtime at the Mall of Asia Arena. In the absence of both teams’ leading scorers due to maximized fouls, Gunma’s Yuma Fujii took matters into his own hands, scoring seven points in extra time, including the go-ahead dagger with 39.9 seconds left. Fujii finished with 18 points on a sco

September 11 ------ NIC Cabanero was the very definition of unstoppable smashing the MPBL record with 53 points in Binan's 121-79 triumph over Pasig at home at the Alonte Sports Arena. The scoring high mark in the regional league was previously held by Jeff Viernes, who dropped 50 points for Sarangani back in 2023. And as if the record for most points scored in a single game wasn't enough, the former University of Santo Tomas stalwart also delivered 22 rebounds and 10 assists

NEW YORK, September 11 ------ Elena Rybakina ended Zheng Qinwen’s spirited US Open run guaranteeing her rise to world No. 1 as she booked a semifinal showdown with Coco Gauff. Rybakina beat Zheng, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, and is assured of ending Aryna Sabalenka’s reign atop the standings — even if the Belarusian wins a third straight title. “It’s just a number right now,” Rybakina said. “It’s a different achievement ... but mostly you think about the titles in the end of the day.” The

MANILA, September 11 ------ Olympic boxing bronze medalist Aira Villegas and bemedalled young weightlifter Albert Ian Delos Santos will carry the Philippine flag at the opening ceremony of the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino announced the two athletes as the country's flag-bearers during the send-off ceremony on Thursday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. "Si Ian yung male. Si Ian Delos Santos yung male [

September 10 ------ GUNMA CRANE Thunders swiftly handed Levanga Hokkaido a 98-81 defeat in the inaugural B.League Manila Games 2026 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Wednesday night. The first of two exhibition games saw former NBA player Stanley Johnson drop 23 points, five rebounds, and three assists, waxing hot from downtown with five triples. It set the tone for an absurd 16-for-30 from beyond the arc for the Crane Thunders, earning them a double-digit lead for a

September 10 ------ Coach Tim Cone weighed in on the pros and cons of tapping Calvin Oftana as a last-minute addition to Gilas Pilipinas for its defense of the gold in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. While Cone can offer a lot of positives of having Oftana fill the final spot originally reserved for Justin Brownlee, he does acknowledge that the injuries that forced him to miss the last two windows of the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers made them think twice at first. “Calvin

NEW YORK, United States, September 10 ------ Coco Gauff saved two match points in rallying to defeat reigning French Open champion Mirra Andreeva, 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-2, in their US Open quarterfinal on Wednesday (Thursday Manila time). Fourth-ranked Gauff, a 22-year-old American and two-time Grand Slam winner, advanced to Thursday's semifinals, where she will face Kazakh star Elena Rybakina. Rybakina will jump to World No. 1 in next week's rankings after beating Chinese qual

September 10 ------ Chanelle Avaricio turned a shaky start into a brilliant second-round charge, firing a bogey-free 69 on Wednesday to seize a one-stroke lead over Apple Fudolin in the ICTSI Summit Point Championship and set up a thrilling final-round battle at the Summit Point Golf and Country Club in Lipa, Batangas. Avaricio, who opened with a 75 on Tuesday, stayed patient through the first 11 holes before a birdie on No. 12 ignited her late surge. She followed with anot