MANILA, Philippines–Alex Eala will play a qualifier in the first round of the Wuhan Open. Eala is seeded 13th in the WTA 1000 hardcourt event. Only the top eight seeds earned a first-round bye. The Filipino sensation resumes her WTA Tour campaign after settling for bronze at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Eala’s last appearance on

CEBU CITY — Sisi Rondina-Rosales treated her fellow Cebuanos with a thrilling five-set comeback in her PVL return after a six-month stint for Alas Pilipinas beach volleyball. Rondina-Rosales joined hands with Eya Laure to lift Choco Much from two sets down and eke out a come-from-behind 22-25, 18-25, 25-17, 25-20, 15-8 win over the revamped

Mirra Andreeva breezed into the China Open final on Saturday, brushing aside Nikola Bartunkova 6-2, 6-2, and will play either home hope Zheng Qinwen or Belgium’s Elise Mertens for the title. “I wanted to play aggressive today,” said the 19-year-old Russian, ranked five in the world. Andreeva raced into a 4-0 lead in the first

NEW YORK– The New York Knicks are focused on their NBA title defense now and will worry about contract negotiations later. That means Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart will have to wait on extensions they hoped would get done before the season. READ: After summer of fun, NBA champion Knicks get back to work The

MANILA, Philippines–Alex Eala acknowledged that her serve remains an area for improvement as she compared her development with the challenges Rafael Nadal experienced during his career. The world No. 18 discussed her game during Maria Sharapova’s “Pretty Tough” podcast, recalling lessons she learned while training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain. READ: Alex

MILWAUKEE  — Tyler Herro understands the skepticism surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks now that they’ve traded away Giannis Antetokounmpo, the two-time NBA MVP who led the franchise to its first title in half a century. “People feel like we’re not going to win games, we’re not going to be in the talks of anything that has

Catch up with all the week’s football fixtures and results here.

CEBU CITY — Choco Mucho’s Eya Laure and Sisi Rondina-Rosales just returned from practice for their club days ago after their respective Alas Pilipinas stints in the Asian Games. But the dynamic duo hardly missed a beat, carrying Choco Mucho’s come-from-behind 22-25, 18-25, 25-17, 25-20, 15-8 over revamped Capital1 in the PVL All-Filipino Conference Siklab

DUE to a smaller draw, projected No. 13 seed Alexandra “Alex” Eala won’t receive a first-round bye at the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open in China. The Filipino tennis ace will compete in the tournament — her first Tour event after a bronze medal finish at the 20th Asian Games in Japan — slated from Oct. 12 to 18. Unlike most 1000 events where 96 players make up the field and the top 32 players receive first-round byes, Wuhan is limited to a 56-player draw. In this case, only the top eight get to skip the first round and start their campaign in the second. The same rule applies to the only two other 1000 events with a 56-player draw in Doha and Dubai. Thus, world No. 18 Eala won’t have the bye she used to have in previous 1000 events. The 56-player draw — comprising 43 direct entrants, eight qualifiers, four wildcards and one special exemption — is also the reason why Eala had to go through the qualifiers last year. Eala was No. 58 at the time and therefore could not get a direct entry. She lost to Moyuka Uchijima in the first round of the qualifiers last year, 4-6, 6-3, 2-6. This year, Eala is projected to be seeded five places higher than her actual ranking due to the withdrawals of five higher-ranked players. World No. 1 Elena Rybakina (foot), No. 4 and last year’s champ Coco Gauff (fatigue), No. 11 Amanda Anisimova (wrist), No. 15 Victoria Mboko (knee) and No. 17 Naomi Osaka (change of schedule) pulled out of the competition. World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 5 Mirra Andreeva, No. 6 Linda Noskova, No. 7 Elina Svitolina, No. 8 Karolina Muchova, No. 9 Iga Swiatek and No. 10 Marta Kostyuk made the top eight, in that order, and will be the ones to get first-round byes. The singles draw ceremony was scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m. After the Asian Games, Eala went to France for Paris Fashion Week on Oct. 5. The 21-year-old also appeared in tennis great Maria Sharapova’s podcast “Pretty Tough.” Last Thursday, the Wuhan Open shared photos of Eala training already.

GILAS Pilipinas star Kai Sotto continued his strong form at Japan’s B.League 2027 season, helping lead the Altiri Chiba to a 97-90 home win over the Osaka Evessa at the Chibagi Arena on Friday. The Filipino import posted 18 points and 12 rebounds on top of five assists for Chiba, which snapped a two-game skid. Altiri improved to 2-4, sitting in 10th place at the East region. On the other hand, Evessa dropped to 1-5 for 12th place in the West. The 7-foot-3 Sotto has been averaging 12.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists this season. Playing 26.5 minutes per game, Sotto has also been efficient with 67.7 field goal percentage. He wasn’t the only one who played well against Osaka, though. Local Seiya Ando and Sotto’s fellow imports DJ Newbill and Dereck Pardon showed up, too. Ando logged 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting including 4-of-7 from the three-point area. Newbill pumped 19 points, six rebounds and six assists, as Pardon dropped 16 points, 11 boards and three assists. James Palmer paced Osaka with 25 points, six assists and five rebounds. Sotto and the Altiri continue their home stand against the Toyama Grouses on Sunday.

OLYMPIAN Ernest John “EJ” Obiena believes Philippine sports is in its golden era, but access to quality facilities remains a major limiting factor for athletes. The two-time Asian Games gold medalist emphasized the critical need for better support during a recent Committee on Sports hearing. “I think sports in general, accessibility is the key. I think Philippine sports are in their golden age right now. We have so many world-class athletes, and I am just very proud that I am part of this era. I hope it gets better and better,” Obiena said. “I think what’s limiting us is the access to facilities. It is one of the reasons why I train outside, not just because of the knowledge there, but also the current situation of the facilities that we have.” Obiena understood that everyone is trying to upscale the sports program, but compared to the other countries, the scale of support is way too different. “I think everybody is doing their best. I have traveled from quite different countries, and I understand that the support in our country is not as big as what I said. In terms of the general budget.” Obiena trained at the University of Santo Tomas athletics team before he moved to Formia, Italy, in 2014 to train under renowned Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov. He stayed in Italy for more than a decade, where it shaped him into the first-ever Filipino pole vaulter to compete in the Olympics in 2020. In 2026, Obiena moved to Athens, Greece, where he began training under coach Marcin Szczepanski alongside Emmanouil Karalis. He further shared that he holds a pole vault clinic with the brands he partnered with. A total of 21 young pole vaulters in Ilocos and around 18 in Tagum. “This is just my small way ... Hopefully, this will be an ongoing thing we can sustain ... Continuous flow of athletes for our pole-vaulting event, because I really want to make the Philippines a powerhouse in this event, and hopefully in track and field as well.”

MADRID — NBA champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has joined the ownership group at Atletico Madrid, the Spanish top-flight club said on Friday. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard has become the latest North American sports star to take an interest in soccer, following the likes of LeBron James and Tom Brady. “This is a club with a long-standing presence at the top of European football, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be part of its future,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. Atletico said the partnership was “grounded in shared values: ambition, excellence and the belief that every result must be earned.” James became a part-owner of the Fenway Sports Group in 2021, the conglomerate that owns the Boston Red Sox and iconic Premier League club Liverpool. National Football League great Brady is a minority owner of English second-tier team Birmingham. Atletico did not reveal how big a stake 2025 NBA champion and back-to-back NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander had taken. “His investment reflects an interest in the club’s long-term vision and international growth,” it said. Atletico, second in the standings, visits La Liga rival Alaves on Saturday.

NEW YORK — The New York Knicks are focused on their NBA title defense now and will worry about contract negotiations later. That means Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart will have to wait on extensions they hoped would get done before the season. The Knicks said on Friday (Saturday in Manila) that won’t happen, perhaps setting up an uncomfortable situation with some of their most important players. “As an organization, our entire focus is on preparing for the upcoming season and delivering another year for our fans to be proud of. As a result, we will not be negotiating contract extensions until later in the season and will remain solely focused on preparing for the start of the season,” according to a statement from a team spokesman. The Knicks won their first NBA championship since 1973 in June but owner James Dolan said shortly afterward the team would avoid spending enough to trigger the penalties that come when a team reaches the second apron of the salary cap. They re-signed most of their important free agents, but negotiations on extensions with Towns and Hart, plus key reserve Deuce McBride, haven’t gone far. Towns, an All-Star in both seasons since coming to New York, seems particularly disappointed with comments he made recently. He is eligible for a four-year, $276-million deal. He is due to make $57 million this season and has a $61.1-million player option for 2027–2028. Hart will make $21 million this season, and the Knicks have an option for 2027–2028 at $22.4 million. He acknowledged that the contract situations could make it tough for players to focus — and also noted what it could mean around the trade deadline. “You have situations like that, and you never know what’s going to happen,” the forward said last month when the Knicks reported for training camp. “But for me, as long as I wear this jersey, I’m going to play as hard as I can for my guys and the city, so hopefully we can figure that out. But we know it’s a business, and we know if some of these things aren’t figured out by February, it might be a different conversation.” The Knicks open their season on Oct. 20 against LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers. Meanwhile, Tyler Herro understands the skepticism surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks now that they’ve traded away Giannis Antetokounmpo, the two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) who led the franchise to its first title in half a century. “People feel like we’re not going to win games, we’re not going to be in the talks of anything that has to do with winning,” said Herro, one of the players who came to Milwaukee in the trade that sent Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat. “I feel like that’s the opposite of what we’re thinking. We’re trying to win.” The Bucks undoubtedly will have a tougher time winning without Antetokounmpo, who finished in the top five in the MVP balloting for seven straight years before injuries limited him to a career-low 36 games last season. Most preseason projections have the Bucks finishing at or near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

SHANGHAI, China — Novak Djokovic went down in straight sets to Hubert Hurkacz on Friday, exiting the Shanghai Masters in his first match after memorably winning the China Open this week. Big-serving Hurkacz, the 2023 champion in Shanghai, won 6-4, 6-3 as the 39-year-old former world No. 1 faltered against an opponent a decade his junior. “I didn’t feel myself on the court,” the Serbian veteran said afterward. “It’s a super-quick surface, completely different from Beijing. If you lose your serve, it’s enough to lose a match.” Djokovic was playing three days after winning the title in Beijing, where he has still never lost a match on the professional Tour. He hunched over and squatted down between points on a cool evening in Shanghai while a lively Hurkacz refused to give much away. Djokovic was broken in the fourth game of the second set as he double-faulted to give Hurkacz a 3-1 lead. The Pole held his serve to see out the win and will face either Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti or Chinese wildcard Zhou Yi in the third round. “It’s very difficult to return his serve, almost impossible,” Djokovic said of his opponent, who sent down 13 aces across the one-hour-and-28-minute match. Hurkacz had advanced to the Beijing semifinals but ended his match early due to a strained muscle. It was his first-ever victory against Djokovic in nine meetings on the Tour. Earlier, top seed Alexander Zverev churned out a win over Chinese wildcard Wu Yibing, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), and will next play Quentin Halys of France. A dive left the German world No. 2 grimacing and grabbing his left ankle during the 11th game of the second set, with Wu, ranked 113th, going 6-5 up. But the 29-year-old held serve and forced a tiebreak, capitalizing on a series of errors to win on his second-match point when the home hope fired long. Zverev is on track to end the year at No. 1 after Jannik Sinner announced he was ending his season due to injury. A gritty Ben Shelton beat Germany’s Daniel Altmaier, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6), and will play France’s Arthur Gea in the third round. It was a fitting present for the American third seed, who turned 24 on Friday, though he hinted he may go easy on the celebrations, telling an on-court interviewer: “I hate cake.”

RIYADH — Cristiano Ronaldo returned to club soccer action on Friday after a controversial international break with Portugal and scored the opening goal as Al-Nassr beat Diriyah, 3-0, in the Saudi Pro League. The victory put the defending champions level on points behind leader Al-Qadsiah on goal difference in the eighth round. During the international window, the 41-year-old Ronaldo walked out of the Portugal squad, for which he has scored 146 goals in 234 appearances. In a long statement posted on Tuesday, Ronaldo said recently hired coach Jorge Jesus hadn’t been true to his word about when he would play the striker in the Nations League. Ronaldo won the Saudi Arabia title in May with Jesus as Al-Nassr coach and opened the scoring on Friday midway through the first half. Kingsley Coman’s shot from outside the area was blocked by goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah and Ronaldo was there to shoot home the rebound from close range for goal No. 980 in his career. Samu Costa added a second for Al-Nassr, coached by former Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou, just before the break and Coman sealed the win with 13 minutes remaining. Al-Qadsiah earlier thrashed Al-Kholood, 5-0, with Dutch international Tijjani Reijnders opening the scoring and Italy’s Mateo Retegui and Mexico’s Julian Quinones also finding the target.

LOS ANGELES, California — The Milwaukee Brewers believe they have what it takes to squash the Los Angeles Dodgers’ World Series three-peat bid when they take on the West Coast powerhouse in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) for a second straight year. By some measures, it’s a David versus Goliath matchup of the Brewers, with their $154-million payroll, against the Dodgers’ cast of superstars, who earn $432 million. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts rejects that characterization. “Absolutely not,” Roberts said on Friday (Saturday in Manila). “They have the best record in baseball if I remember rightly,” Roberts said of the 103-win Brewers. “They have that for a reason. They’ve got home field advantage. We’ve got to be ready to play our best baseball. “They are certainly not afraid of us.” The Dodgers unceremoniously swept the Brewers in four games in the NLCS last year. But after posting the most wins in Major League Baseball (MLB) for a second straight year, the Brewers are confident they can go the distance this time around. “We’re going to be more ready than we were last time, I believe,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after Milwaukee beat the San Diego Padres, 3-1, in their best-of-five National League Division Series (NLDS). The Brewers snapped a 12-game postseason road losing streak with their clinching victory in San Diego on Wednesday — further evidence, Murphy said, that the team has evolved from being a regular-season juggernaut that can’t contend in the playoffs. “A lot of people have said we’re not built for the postseason because we’ve done so well in the regular season [without] many stars,” Murphy said. “I think we’re proving that, no, we still can win in the postseason because good baseball is good baseball.” Roberts concurred, saying the fact that the Brewers don’t rely on a lineup of power hitters doesn’t make them less dangerous. “They pitch, they defend, they run the bases well,” Roberts said. “They don’t strike out much. They put the ball in play ... they play baseball ... that’s a tough brand of baseball to prepare for.” The Brewers will host the 100-win Dodgers in Game 1 on Sunday, with Milwaukee’s flame-throwing Jacob Misiorowski set to take the mound against two-time reigning Cy Young Award-winner Tarik Skubal.

NEW YORK — Jon Rahm is quitting LIV Golf due to “unacceptable” terms, the star’s lawyer said, dealing a significant blow to the divisive breakaway tour as it attempts to relaunch itself after declaring bankruptcy. Along with Bryson DeChambeau, double major winner and former world number one Rahm was arguably the most prominent golfer to defect from the PGA Tour and join the free-spending Saudi-backed league. But LIV filed for bankruptcy protection last month after its deep-pocketed Middle Eastern backers pulled the plug. The tour is trying to relaunch next year with new investors as “LIV 2.0”. Retaining popular stars like Rahm was widely seen as critical to its prospects. “Mr. Rahm has independently reviewed the proposed terms of LIV 2.0, as the parties have been referring to it, and has determined that those terms are unacceptable as to him, and he will not be participating going forward in LIV 2.0,” his lawyer John Beck told a US Bankruptcy Court of New Jersey hearing on Wednesday. Beck said that “advanced discussions for a consensual separation agreement of Mr. Rahm and LIV” are ongoing, according to a courtroom audio recording verified by AFP. That agreement is expected to be presented before the court next month, he added. “If the parties, for whatever reason, are unable to reach a consensual separation agreement, Mr. Rahm intends to press his objection” through legal channels, said Beck. LIV Golf did not respond to an AFP request for a comment. Launched in 2022, LIV Golf’s emergence led to bitter divisions throughout the sport as several of golf’s top names left the PGA Tour after signing big-money deals. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) poured an estimated $5 billion into the tour, before abruptly pulling the plug earlier this year. Documents from bankruptcy filings show that LIV owes between $500 million and $1 billion in estimated liabilities to at least 1,000 creditors, including star players. Rahm, DeChambeau and fellow golfer Dustin Johnson hold the largest unsecured claims against the tour, totaling more than $5 million each in immediate past-due payments, per the bankruptcy filing. Still, new lead investor BC Partners Credit has pledged an initial funding commitment of a potential $300 million to help LIV relaunch in 2027. Tour officials have outlined a shorter schedule and reduced prize money with tournaments across five continents, in locations including Australia, South Africa, Mexico, England, Hong Kong and the US. Representatives for Rahm did not respond to an AFP request for a comment on the 31-year-old’s future plans. Widespread reports have recently linked several LIV stars with potential returns to the US-based PGA Tour. The PGA Tour has said that it currently has no plans to offer LIV players a pathway back. Rahm continues to play on the DP World (European) Tour, though he announced on Tuesday that he would skip the upcoming Spanish Open to attend the birth of his fourth child.

MADRID — There were many unknowns when Patrick Reed decided not to renew his contract with LIV Golf and start the long road back to the PGA Tour. One thing he was sure of, though, was that he wanted to let his “clubs do the talking” and earn his way back instead of having a spot given to him. And in a “huge year” on the European tour, Reed is closer to completing his comeback and achieving his goal. “The biggest thing for me at the start of the year when I decided not to re-sign with LIV was to try to make my way back to the PGA Tour,” he said Tuesday ahead of this week’s Spanish Open in Madrid. “The way to do that I felt was to try to play our way on. “To be able to have the start of the season I did and to basically earn my way back to the PGA Tour meant a lot to me.” The 36-year-old American split victories in Dubai and Qatar with a runner-up finish in Bahrain in February. He enters the final stretch of the year leading Rory McIlroy in the season-long Race to Dubai. The leading 10 players from the European tour are not already exempt from earning PGA Tour cards for 2027. “This was a huge year to me,” Reed said. “Not just for my career but also for my family, because I had to go earn my spot back, and to be able to go out there and earn it back and play the way I’ve been playing means a lot. And to hopefully play well these last couple of events, and hopefully hold everyone off and win the Race to Dubai, would mean a lot.”

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Australia’s Min Woo Lee moved within three shots of the lead after a “gritty” second-round performance at the US PGA Tour’s Baycurrent Classic in Japan on Friday. Lee hit six birdies and two bogeys to card a 4-under-par 67 at Yokohama Country Club, taking him to 8-under overall. Americans Keith Mitchell and Jacob Bridgeman topped the leaderboard heading into the weekend at 11-under par, two shots ahead of the chasing pack. Lee said he was “hanging in there” in a field that also includes multiple major winners: Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Jordan Spieth. “It was pretty scrappy, but on the scoreable holes I did really well,” said Lee, who is looking for his second win on the PGA Tour. “I’m pretty happy with the way it went. It was gritty, which was good.” Defending champion Schauffele was on 3-under overall after finishing 2-under for the day. Playing partner Morikawa was one shot further back on 2-under after a disastrous end to his round that saw him hit five bogeys on the last six holes. Spieth, who is looking for his first win on the tour since April 2022, heads into the weekend on 4-under. Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama was on 3-under. Lee headed to Japan after playing at the President’s Cup last month at Medinah. His Internationals team lost after a stunning rally by the United States, but Lee said he had “learned a lot” from the tournament. “There were some times when I didn’t feel like I contributed enough, but also I felt like I did hit some really good shots and hole some good putts,” he said. “Every hole counts; you don’t want to let your team down.”

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Double major winner Collin Morikawa said that LIV Golf players have to make “a business decision” about their futures, after Jon Rahm’s lawyer said the Spanish star was quitting the breakaway tour. Rahm’s decision to leave LIV due to “unacceptable” terms deals a significant blow to the divisive tour as it attempts to relaunch itself after declaring bankruptcy. Along with Bryson DeChambeau, double major winner and former world number one Rahm was arguably the most prominent golfer to defect from the PGA Tour and join the free-spending, Saudi-backed league. But LIV filed for bankruptcy protection last month after its deep-pocketed Middle Eastern backers pulled the plug. The tour is trying to relaunch next year with new investors as “LIV 2.0”. Retaining popular stars like Rahm has been widely seen as critical to its prospects. Morikawa, in Japan, to play the PGA Tour’s Baycurrent Classic, told AFP that “everyone has their own choice to make.” “It’s a business decision; it’s a decision that a lot of guys aren’t going to take lightly,” said Morikawa. “Are you able to go to sleep at night, keep waking up motivated, doing what you love, going out and achieving your goals and whatever those goals might be? “It’s whatever platform that’s going to be best set at,” he added. Rahm’s lawyer John Beck told a US Bankruptcy Court of New Jersey hearing on Wednesday that the player would “not be participating going forward in LIV 2.0”. Beck said that “advanced discussions for a consensual separation agreement of Mr. Rahm and LIV” are ongoing, according to a courtroom audio recording verified by AFP. Morikawa said he did not know where Rahm would play in the future and added that “you don’t get many second chances in life.” “I don’t know if this is a second chance; I don’t know what opportunities they’re going to have but, at the same time, I think you’re going to see a lot of them play on the DP World,” he said. “I don’t know about the top guys, but you’re going to see a lot of them potentially go over there. “It’s going to strengthen world golf.” The PGA has no plans to offer LIV players a pathway back, chief executive officer Brian Rolapp said in August. While the PGA Tour offered a temporary path back for some LIV players — five-time major winner Brooks Koepka in January took advantage, paying financial penalties — no repeats are planned, said Rolapp. Morikawa said that “a lot of the LIV guys are trying to figure out what’s next.” “Hopefully, we can all step forward and forget about what has happened and go out and enjoy golf for what it is again,” he said.

Gillingham fought back from a goal down to thrash Rotherham United on Saturday.

SHANGHAI — Novak Djokovic was knocked out of the Shanghai Masters after a shock second-round loss to Hubert Hurkacz on Friday. The 39-year-old great was beaten 6-4, 6-3 in a match that lasted just 87 minutes. The 24-time major champion Djokovic’s defeat came after victory in the China Open final in Beijing earlier this week.

Jema Galanza nearly had a triple-double as Creamline made quick work of Akari, 25-18, 25-21, 25-18 to open its title defense in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference on Saturday at the SM Seaside Cebu Arena.

LAS VEGAS — If the Aces set the recent standard by winning three of the four past titles, the Valkyries are showing that not all the WNBA history making these days belongs only to Las Vegas. Golden State last season became the first expansion franchise to make the playoffs, and now in its second year

The Hanwha Eagles announced Saturday they will not bring back manager Kim Kyung-moon after his three-year contract expires at the end of this season. Kim first took over the Eagles in June 2024. Last year, he guided the Eagles to their first Korean Series since 2006, but they lost to the LG Twins in five games. This year, the Eagles had long clinched ninth place in the 10-team Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) prior to their final regular-season game Saturday, with a win-loss-tie record of 57-82-4. The Eagles said they are looking to hire a new manager with Kim's contract expiring, and they also thanked the veteran skipper for his services. Kim himself announced he will not be back next year during his pregame media availability Saturday. "This will be my last game here. I am really sorry to our fans that we have lost so many games," Kim told reporters at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon, some 140 kilometers south of Seoul. "I feel bad that I am leaving without having made the team better. I would like to thank all the players, coaches and front office staff that have been with me

No overtime needed this time as TNT broke away in the fourth to complete a 116-98 win against San Miguel in the PBA Season 50 Governors" Cup on Saturday at the Ynares Center Antipolo.

NEW YORK — Angel Reese was sitting at home watching the end of the WNBA Finals last season when she tweeted “ manifesting the finals.” Exactly 364 days later, Reese is there after helping Atlanta reach the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2013 with a 22-point effort in the Dream’s 85-83 win over

MANILA, Philippines — The Creamline Cool Smashers started their campaign on the right foot after a straight-set win over the Akari Chargers, 25-18, 25-21, 25-18, in the 2026-27 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference on Saturday night at the SM Seaside Cebu Arena. The defending champions Creamline asserted its dominance early, not allowing the Chargers to score a set. With the return of captain Jia De Guzman in the lineup, the Cool Smashers remained on track with their title-defense bid in the All-Filipino Conference. Creamline contained the forces of Ivy Lacsina and Grethcel Soltones to snatch its first victory in the tournament.

A resurgent Zheng Qinwen charged into the China Open final on Saturday, beating Elise Mertens 7-5, 6-2, and will play Mirra Andreeva for the title at her home tournament. It is another step in the Olympic gold medallist’s injury comeback, following a gritty showing at last month’s US Open, where she reached the quarter-finals. Zheng, a former world No 4, had struggled with her form since needing elbow surgery in 2025 and is a wild-card entry in Beijing. “I had a great performance tonight,” said...

PVL 2026 All Filipino-Siklab Series Creamline def. Akari, 3-0 Jema Galanza Player of the Game #PVL2026