University of the Philippines is favored to end its first-round campaign having at least a tie for the elimination round lead when it takes on lowly University of the East, even as Santo Tomas and Ateneo break their own logjam to climb into the upper half of the UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball standings. The

Jeff Lumbo comes to South Pacific having a string of close shaves in the Philippine Golf Tour the past month. Good thing that well-manicured layout in Davao is one he can consider his happy place. The long-hitting native of Sarangani will defend his first and only pro win starting next week in the P2.5-million ICTSI

Coach Chito Victolero has instilled a mentality in his Mapua Cardinals crew in the NCAA that made him a successful coach in the pro league. “The defensive mentality and the character of our players are very similar,” he said at San Juan Arena on Friday. “The system we built at Magnolia is that we will

Behind Choco Mucho’s impressive 2-0 start is the Flying Titans’ growing trust in one another that has resulted in balanced contributions early in Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference Siklab Series. Sisi Rondina-Rosales and Eya Laure are also big reasons why Choco Mucho has the early lead, which came after the Flying Titans—one of the more

No. 7 seed Iga Swiatek and No. 16 Maja Chwalinska will meet in an all-Polish semifinal at the Wuhan Open in China.

The NBA moved up the tipoff of the Bucks' home opener against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 23 to avoid a conflict with Game 1 of the World Series, which will be held in Milwaukee that evening.

Basket Zaragoza and the Oklahoma City Thunder are at odds over the contract status of NBA lottery pick Aday Mara's eligibility to play in the NBA.

MANILA, Philippines–Phoenix coach Charles Tiu liked what he saw from Marcellus Earlington in a winning debut against Meralco in the 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup after pondering tapping two players who would go on to play in the ongoing conference. Earlington had 20 points, 14 rebounds and five assists as the Fuel Masters came back to

WUHAN–Sonay Kartal claimed the second top-10 win of her career and guaranteed herself a return to the top 100 with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory over Ukrainian world number six Elina Svitolina in the Wuhan Open. The first British player to make the semi-finals in Wuhan, Kartal missed six months of action this season with

WUHAN–Iga Swiatek kept up her bid for a WTA Finals place with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Ann Li on Friday that set up an all-Polish semi-final at the Wuhan Open. The six-time Grand Slam champion will face Maja Chwalinska for a place in the final. Swiatek is chasing one of the last two remaining

Phoenix, with Ricci Rivero playing the lead role, assured itself a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup after coming back to defeat Meralco, 105-101, on Friday at Ynares Center in Antipolo. Rivero had 26 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks, new import Marcellus Earlington picked it up

SHANGHAI — Rafael Jodar became the youngest semifinalist in Shanghai Masters history after advancing with a victory over Casper Ruud on Friday. The 20-year-old Spaniard was a set down and rallied to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win. It was the fourth straight match at the ATP Masters 1000 event that Jodar had mounted a comeback

Team preview of the Orlando Magic ahead of the 2026-2027 NBA season. Last NBA season: 45-37, lost to Detroit in first round of playoffs. Coach: Sean Sweeney (first-time NBA head coach, hired June 1). Season opener: Oct. 21 vs. Atlanta. Departures: F/C Moritz Wagner, G/F Jett Howard, C Orlando Robinson. Additions: C Nikola Vučević, F

Team preview of the Chicago Bulls ahead of the 2026-2027 NBA season. Last NBA season: 31-51, missed playoffs. Coach: Tiago Splitter (first season with Bulls, second season overall, 42-39). Season Opener: Oct. 21 at Toronto. Departures: G Anfernee Simons, G Collin Sexton, C/PF Nick Richards. Addition: F Caleb Wilson, G Norman Powell, F Dailyn Swain,

MANILA, Philippines—Lyceum found every motivation it could get on Friday night to defeat lowly San Sebastian, 78-77, in the NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball tournament at San Juan Arena. The Pirates endured a difficult stretch in the second and third quarters, losing coach Jamike Jarin to an ejection and captain Gen Aviles to an apparent

Team preview of the Dallas Mavericks ahead of the 2026-2027 NBA season. Last NBA season: 26-56, missed playoffs Coach: Dusty May (first-time NBA head coach, hired June 22). Season opener: Oct. 21 at Houston. Departures: G Klay Thompson, G Brandon Williams, G Ryan Nembhard, F Khris Middleton, F Marvin Bagley III, G AJ Johnson. Additions:

Team preview of the Minnesota Timberwolves ahead of the 2026-2027 NBA season. Last NBA season: 49-33, lost to San Antonio in second round of playoffs. Coach: Chris Finch (seventh season, 258-193). Season opener: Oct. 21 at Miami. Departures: F Julius Randle, F/C Naz Reid, G Mike Conley, F Kyle Anderson, F Joe Ingles. Additions: G

Team preview of the New York Knicks ahead of the 2026-2027 NBA season. Last season: 53-29, won NBA championship. Coach: Mike Brown (2nd season with Knicks, 13th season overall, 507-333). Season opener: Oct. 20 vs. Philadelphia. Departure: C Mitchell Robinson, C Ariel Hukporti Addition: C Andre Drummond. What to expect The Knicks have plenty of

Team preview of the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the 2026-2027 NBA season. Last season: 20-62, missed playoffs. Coach: Jordi Fernandez (3rd season, 46-118). Season opener: Oct. 21 vs. Charlotte. Departure: C Nic Claxton, F Ziaire Williams. Additions: F Julius Randle, F Moritz Wagner, F Joshua Jefferson, G Mikel Brown Jr., G Keon Ellis. What to

MANILA, Philippines–Converge gave hapless Macau a rough ending to its two-conference participation as guest team after taking a 162-108 victory in Friday’s 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup action at Ynares Center in Antipolo City. Import Cam Clark scored 32 points, Juan Gomez de Liano had a triple-double for the second straight game, while Justine Baltazar and

MANILA, Philippines—Mapua won yet another overtime game in the NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball tournament, defeating Perpetual Help, 65-60, at San Juan Arena on Friday. The Cardinals extended their winning streak to five games—third straight by way of OT—to improve to a 5-3 record in Group A. READ: NCAA: Chito Victolero couldn’t say no when

Team preview of the Milwaukee Bucks ahead of the 2026-2027 NBA season. Last NBA season: 32-50, missed playoffs Coach: Taylor Jenkins (1st season with Bucks, 7th season overall, 250-214) Season opener: Oct. 21 at Washington Departures: F Giannis Antetokounmpo, F Bobby Portis Additions: F Nate Ament, G Brayden Burries, G Tyler Herro, G Kasparas Jakučionis,

Team preview of the Cleveland Cavaliers ahead of the 2026-2027 NBA season. Last NBA season: 52-30, lost to New York in Eastern Conference Finals. Coach: Kenny Atkinson (3rd season with Cavaliers, 7th season overall, 234-238). Season opener: Oct. 22 at Philadelphia. Departures: G Keon Ellis, F/C Larry Nance Jr., F Georges Niang, G Dennis Schröder,

LAS VEGAS— Sebastian Fundora is eyeing a shot at boxing’s undisputed super welterweight title, but the WBC champion knows he cannot afford to look past Saturday night’s defense against unbeaten mandatory challenger Ermal Hadribeaj. Fundora (24-1-1, 16 KOs) enters the bout at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas riding a four-fight winning streak

SAN FRANCISCO— Natalie Nakase throws her arms up to guard Gabby Williams one moment, then moves to defend Veronica Burton the next as Golden State’s high-octane coach gets into it to help the Valkyries gear up for the WNBA Finals. She briefly steps out of the action to observe before jumping right back in to

NEW YORK–Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs were predicted to win the 2027 title with the French superstar taking Most Valuable Player honors in an NBA team general managers survey released on Thursday. In the 25th annual survey, general managers answered 48 questions and could not vote for their own team or personnel. READ:

LONDON— Serbian tennis player Stefan Milićević has been given a 24-year ban for allegedly fixing multiple matches and recruiting other players into a “corrupt network,” the International Tennis Integrity Agency said Thursday. The agency said the 29-year-old Milićević was charged with fixing six matches — including five of his own — and trying to fix

MANILA, Philippines–Alex Eala said one of the most important lessons of her tennis career has been learning that her value as a person should not depend on whether she wins or loses a match. The world No. 18, who talked about the change in her mindset during Maria Sharapova’s “Pretty Tough” podcast, was responding to

WUHAN–Iga Swiatek hit a new milestone on Thursday as she stormed into a second consecutive Wuhan Open quarter-final with a 6-1, 6-4 win over American lucky loser Ashlyn Krueger. The six-time Grand Slam champion recorded the 150th WTA 1000 victory of her career to continue her march towards a 13th title at this level. Since

LOS ANGELES — After 44 years, the Milwaukee Brewers are finally going back to the World Series. Propelled by a lockdown bullpen and repeated comebacks, the young and fearless Brewers swept the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers out of the playoffs Thursday with a 6-4 victory in Game 4 of the National League Championship