Philippine News

February 25 ------ THIS time, it was Cignal that drew first blood in a sister-team showdown. The HD Spikers stunned erstwhile unbeaten PLDT, 25-21, 25-19, 25-23, in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference at the Playtime Filoil Centre. The result flipped another sibling duel in unexpected fashion as Cignal handed the High Speed Hitters their first loss of the conference after a perfect three-game start. With the defeat, PLDT’s bid for an outright semifinals berth took a hit as n

February 25 ------ THE FILIPINA5 claimed their first-ever victory in the ASEAN Futsal Championship by nipping Myanmar, 1-0 at the Terminal 21 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. Inday Tolentin scored the lone goal of the match in the 14th minute before holding on to the lead to get the Filipina5’s campaign in the second edition of the tournament on a high note. The Philippines only had a draw and four defeats in the first edition of the tournament held at the Philsports Arena in

LOS ANGELES, February 25 ------ Victor Wembanyama led a defensive masterclass as the San Antonio Spurs out-muscled the Detroit Pistons 114-103 in an intense and aggressive clash between the NBA's two most in-form teams. Sitting second in the Western Conference, the Spurs were pushed hard for their ninth-straight victory by the East-topping Pistons, who had entered the home court matchup on a five-win streak of their own. Defenses dominated the first meeting between the two si

February 25 ------ QUENTIN Millora-Brown said he is a lot more comfortable playing for Gilas Pilipinas in the second window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers. Millora-Brown is in line to play for Gilas in the two important games against New Zealand on February 26 and Australia on March 1 after joining training camp belatedly once the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas reached a last-ditch deal with his camp. “I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with the syste

February 24 ------ ALEX Eala shot up 16 spots to a career-high world No. 31 in the WTA rankings, riding the momentum of an impressive quarterfinal run at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships last week. Eala, 20, reached the milestone after taking down a trio of high-ranked foes in American Hailey Baptiste, Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, and world No. 7 Jasmine Paolini to muscle her way into the Last Eight in Dubai until her amazing run was ended by Coco Gauff. The ranking jump

LAS VEGAS, February 24 ------ Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will meet in a long-awaited rematch of the highest-grossing clash in boxing history this September at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Netflix announced. The bout between two of boxing's biggest names -- who famously fought a blockbuster clash in 2015, and are now both in their late forties -- comes days after the 48-year-old Mayweather announced he is coming out of retirement. It will be broadcast live September 19 on

LOS ANGELES, February 24 ------ The Oklahoma City Thunder drilled 21 three-pointers in a 121-113 victory over Cleveland that halted the Cavaliers' seven-game NBA winning streak. Isaiah Joe scored 22 points and Cason Wallace added 20 points and 10 assists for the short-handed Thunder, who improved their Western Conference-leading record to 44-14 despite the absence of injured starters Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams as well as Ajay Mitchell and Alex Caruso. "It's a

February 24 ------ AT 52, most athletes were already done with their careers and content in looking back, telling and retelling their past glories to grandchildren and friends. But not for former Deputy Speaker and sports patron Mikee Romero. His body and his mind continue to crave the thrill and adrenaline of competition, and before he knew it, he found himself in the middle of the field, under the scorching sun, taking on the world’s best polo players. Life starts at 50, or

February 23 ------ CREAMLINE gave Bella Belen and Capital1 a harsh reality check, carving out a 25-18, 26-24, 25-20 sweep in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference at the Filoil EcoOil Centre. While Belen continued to carry the offensive load for the Solar Spikers, the Cool Smashers countered with firepower from multiple fronts, as former MVPs Jema Galanza and Bernadeth Pons gave them a hat-trick of victories. The match swung decisively when the Pons-Galanza tandem erased a six

LAS VEGAS, February 23 ------ Ryan Garcia, an immensely talented boxer who has gone through his share of personal and professional turmoil in his young career, dominated Mario Barrios to win by unanimous decision and capture the WBC welterweight championship. Garcia (25-2, 20 knockouts) of Victorville, California, left little doubt he deserved the title, with the judges scoring the fight 119-108, 120-107 and 118-109. The Associated Press scored it 119-109. This was the second

LOS ANGELES, February 23 ------ New York's Jalen Brunson scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half and the Knicks erased an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Houston Rockets 108-106 at Madison Square Garden. Meanwhile the NBA's Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons romped to a fifth straight win and the San Antonio Spurs kept the pressure on West leaders Oklahoma City Thunder with an eighth straight triumph. The Knicks' victory was a rebound from a humbling

February 23 ------ World number one Carlos Alcaraz cruised past Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-2 6-1 to win the Qatar Open and extend his perfect start to the year. Alcaraz, whose second trophy of 2026 came 20 days after he completed the career Grand Slam at the Australian Open, dictated the match from the outset and won a remarkable 89% of his first-serve points while never facing a break point during the 50-minute encounter. “I came this year hungry for more,” said the Spanish top

February 22 ------ MANNY Pacquiao is set to climb the ring again two months from now in a 10-round exhibition match at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The 47-year-old Filipino boxing legend will take on former world light-welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov in a welterweight match that comes after Pacquiao’s failed bid to wrestle the WBC welterweight crown from Mario Barrios when he went out of retirement last year. Now 42, Provodnikov, from Berezovo, Russia, himself

February 22 ------ The Philippine Blu Girls’ Olympic dream just got a huge lift after securing a wild card berth in the 2026 WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Group Stage in Lima, Peru on July 14 to 18. The development came after the world No. 13 Nationals replaced Uganda, which failed to meet the Participation Agreement deadline. The Blu Girls are bracketed with No. 1 Japan, No. 3 Puerto Rico, No. 12 Great Britain, No. 16 Venezuela and No. 18 host Peru. It was a lucky break fo

February 21 ------ Stephon Castle scored 20 points as the San Antonio Spurs owned the middle two periods and dominated the short-handed Phoenix Suns 121-94 in Austin, Texas, to win their seventh straight game. San Antonio led by a dozen points at halftime before all but putting away the game by outscoring the Suns by 15 points over the 6 1/2 minutes after the break. The Spurs led 98-71 entering the fourth quarter, with the margin all but assuring that San Antonio's starters w

MANILA, Philippines, February 21 ------ Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala has bowed out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. But surely, she will not be going home empty-handed. The 20-year-old, World No. 47 tennister will be bringing home millions of pesos after her quarterfinal run in the WTA 1000 tournament. According to the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) website, the tournament has a $4,088,211 prize money at stake. For quarterfinalists, the prize money is at $98,50

February 20 ------ Galeries Tower pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament yet, stunning a MJ Phillips-less Nxled in four sets, 25-19, 17-25, 25-20, 25-21, for its second win in the 2026 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Filoil Centre. The Highrisers put the Chameleons on the back foot from the very first set and never allowed the favored squad to build any momentum, improving their record to 2-2 and tying Capital1 for fifth place. Roselle Baliton

February 20 ------ It was one of those nights when nothing seemed to go right for Alex Eala under the bright lights of Center Court at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium. Despite having the crowd firmly behind her, the Filipina standout could not turn the energy in her favor — and unfortunately for her, it came against one of the very best in the sport. World No. 4 Coco Gauff of the United States proved too much for Eala, powering to a commanding 6-0, 6-2 victory in the quart

February 20 ------ Top-seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz ushered himself into the quarterfinals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open with a straight-set romp against France's Valentin Royer 6-2, 7-5 in the round of 16 in Doha. Alcaraz had a clean first set, saving the two break points he faced while breaking Royer twice. Royer jumped ahead 5-2 in the second set, but Alcaraz won 21 of the final 27 points of the match to storm back and seal the win. Second-seeded Jannik Sinner also advanc

February 20 ------ Reigning IBF minimumweight world champion Pedro Taduran is scheduled to defend his title against Mexican contender Gustavo Perez on April 3 (April 4, Philippine time) at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California. The bout marks the third title defense for the Filipino southpaw. Taduran has been training in Las Vegas for the past six weeks in preparation for the matchup. The Libon, Albay native captured the IBF 105-pound strap in July 2024 with