MANILA, Philippines — National University eyes a fifth consecutive title in the Shakey’s Super League when the Unity Cup opens on September 25 at Rizal Memorial Coliseum. The Lady Bulldogs, now led by Vange Alinsug, Arah Panique, and Sam Cantada, brace for another tough competition against the six other UAAP teams, sans La Salle, and

ALEXANDRA “Alex” Eala is poised to secure the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye at the WTA 500 Singapore Tennis Open slated from Sept. 21 to 27 at the OCBC Arena, The Kallang. Initially seeded No. 6, world No. 18 Eala moved three places up after No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 13 Diana Shnaider and No. 15 Sorana Cirstea pulled out of the tournament. Pegula, Shnaider and Cirstea were supposed to claim the No. 1, No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, respectively. The top four seeds in the 28-player field earn a first-round bye, starting their campaign in the second round. French Open champion No. 5 Mirra Andreeva and No. 10 Amanda Anisimova are the No. 1 and No. 3 seeded players, respectively. The other direct entrants listed on the tournament website are world No. 19 Elise Mertens, No. 21 Ekaterina Alexandrova, No. 26 Maja Chwalinska, No. 28 Sara Bejlek and No. 33 Maria Sakkari. Completing the list are No. 37 Donna Vekic, No. 38 Barbora Krejcikova, No. 40 Wang Xinyu, No. 41 Oleksandra Oliynykova and No. 51 Janice Tjen. The Singapore Open serves as Eala’s perfect buildup for the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan. The Asian Games tennis play will run from Sept. 27 to Oct. 3, running smack into WTA 1000 China Open’s Sept. 30 to Oct. 11 schedule. Eala will skip the China Open in a bid to win the Asiad gold medal, which also merits a direct qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The 21-year-old will suffer a zero-point penalty, a $10,000 (P626,000) fine and potentially lose year-end bonuses if she skips China Open without WTA exemption. The Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) requested the WTA to give Eala an exemption so she could avoid the penalties for skipping a 1000-tier tournament like the China Open. Top players like Eala are contractually obliged to compete in Grand Slams and 1000-tier tournaments. As of writing, there’s no word yet whether the WTA approved or denied Philta’s request albeit it already denied the same request from Indonesia’s Tjen. Tjen thus will play at the China Open and skip the Asian Games, instead. As for Eala, she will skip China and play at the Asian Games with or without the WTA exemption.

LEAGUE commissioner Willy Marcial came to the defense of the PBA-backed Gilas Pilipinas, which on Monday, bowed to China by 44 points, leading to the country’s worst-ever ninth place finish in the 20th Asian Games men’s basketball in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The amiable PBA Commissioner noted how big of a sacrifice the team has made in the national team’s quest to defend the Philippines’ Asian Games basketball championship. “The players made a big sacrifice. I salute them for all that they have done for the country,” Marcial told The Manila Times in Filipino. “People don’t see what the players have done behind the scenes.” Filipino basketball-crazy fans expressed their frustration on social media following the Philippines’ 105-61 shellacking at the hands of a vengeful China side at the close of the group stage on Monday at the Aichi International Arena. The 44-point beating sent the Philippines out of quarterfinal contention in the process as Gilas ended the group stage with a 1-2 record. The Filipinos opened the tournament with an 85-89 loss to Bahrain, recovered by scoring a 109-78 rout of Kazakhstan before the 44-point defeat at the hands of the Chinese. Despite the embarrassing ending and the national team’s failure to retain the Asian Games basketball gold, Marcial said the PBA remains steadfast in its support to the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP). “We’ve made all the adjustments already, but we, in the PBA, will continue to send all the support, all the help to SBP. If they need ball boys, we will send them. If they need players, or coaches, we will send them to support SBP also. Whatever help they need, we will help,” shared Marcial. Marcial was on hand to support Gilas, along with some members of the PBA board of governors in Nagoya.

ALAS Pilipinas fell to China, 18-25, 22-25, 8-25, in the Asian Games women’s volleyball opener at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium in Japan on Wednesday. The Filipino volleybelles managed to be competitive against the defending champs, especially in the second frame, but collapsed in the third as the Chinese dominated to secure the Pool B win. Alas fell into a 4-19 hole and trailed by as many as 17 points, 7-24, in the third set. China finished the match in one hour and eight minutes. Angel Canino fired 14 points to lead Alas as Eya Laure aided her with 10. Alyssa Solomon chipped in nine points for the Taka Minowa-coached team. Thea Gagate and Dell Palomata added three and two points, respectively. The Filipinos put up the most fight in the second set, where they came back from a 16-20 deficit and tie the count at 20 following a Gagate block on Tang Xin. Staying composed, the Chinese responded with a 4-0 run to eventually take the set. China carried the momentum in the third frame as it shut down the Philippines, which is now in a must-win situation against Kazakhstan on Thursday. A loss will end the Filipinos’ quarterfinal bid and relegate them to classification matches. Tang banged 18 points to lead the Chinese as Yushan Zhuang punched 17. Aoqian Wang chipped in 13 markers.

LOS ANGELES, California — The Toronto Raptors have finally acquired Kawhi Leonard back from the Los Angeles Clippers, in a trade that was delayed due to an NBA probe into major salary cap violations concerning the star forward. The Raptors confirmed in a statement that Leonard would return to the franchise where he played 2018–2019, after the NBA investigation concluded earlier this month, and the Clippers said they would comply with the league’s penalties. “We’re thrilled to welcome Kawhi back to Toronto. His impact on our organization, our city and our country is undeniable, and he embodies the competitiveness and championship mindset that we value,” said Raptors general manager Bobby Webster in a statement. “We believe his leadership, experience and talent will help us as we continue building toward our next championship.” Leonard was acquired in exchange for forward Brandon Ingram, guard-forward Gradey Dick, two future first-round draft picks, one future first-round pick swap and two future second-round picks. “We also want to thank Brandon and Gradey, and appreciate their work ethic, character and basketball excellence they brought to our team every day,” said the Raptors. During his previous Raptors stint, Leonard helped Toronto win its first and only NBA championship. Leonard subsequently moved to the Clippers, where he became embroiled in controversy. Earlier this month, the Clippers were found to have aided Leonard in evading salary cap rules in deals with team corporate sponsors. The Clippers were stripped of five first-round draft picks and fined $30 million by the NBA. Leonard was fined $700,000. The Clippers had agreed to trade Leonard to Toronto in July, but the Raptors said they would await the result of the investigation before finalizing the deal. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer said on Sunday he would comply with the NBA’s punishment even though he disagreed with aspects of the league’s probe, paving the way for the trade to be completed.

BUENOS AIRES — Lionel Messi was on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) named in Argentina’s squad for a friendly against Benin on Oct. 6, a match that will serve as his farewell appearance after announcing his international retirement last month. The 39-year-old said in August he was retiring from Argentina duty after a two-decade international career that included winning the 2022 World Cup and Copa America triumphs in 2021 and 2024. “We made the decision to invite the best player in the world, the symbol of our national team, our captain, Lionel Andres Messi, so that he can have the farewell he truly deserves on Oct. 6 here in Argentina,” said Argentine FA president Claudio Tapia. The match against Benin will take place at River Plate’s Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, which can accommodate 85,000 spectators. Tapia also invited all of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup winners to join Messi for what he said would be an “unforgettable” occasion. Argentina begin a series of three friendlies against Bolivia on Sept. 30 in Cordoba — their first match since losing the World Cup final to Spain — before taking on Burkina Faso in Buenos Aires on Oct. 3. Messi has been included in the squad for the third match against Benin, when he is expected to make his 208th and final appearance for the national team. He is Argentina’s all-time record scorer with 125 goals. Following the death of his father Jorge last month, Messi had said he had “serious doubts” about continuing to play football of any sort for “much longer.” “It was a decision that hurt and still hurts deep in my soul, but I understand that it is the right time,” Messi said when he called time on his Argentina career. His contract with Major League Soccer club Inter Miami runs until the end of the 2028 season. Last month, FIFA ordered Argentina to play their next home match with capacity reduced to 50 percent for breaches of its disciplinary code relating to using a sports event for making demonstrations of a nonsporting nature. After Argentina beat England, 2-1, in a tense World Cup semifinal in July, several players held up a banner saying: “The Falklands are Argentine.”

CEO Brian Rolapp said on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) the PGA Tour is not considering a path back for LIV Golf players like the program it offered Brooks Koepka and three other top players at the start of the year. LIV’s future has never been more murky after the rival circuit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week as it plots a new model no longer bankrolled by the Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund. Still to be determined is how many players stick around for the less lucrative “LIV 2.0.” The other part of the equation is where else they would go. Koepka got out of the last year of his LIV contract and was offered a path back to the PGA Tour through the “returning member program.” Rolapp then offered that to Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith — all major champions since 2022 when LIV launched — and gave them a three-week deadline to accept with no guarantee it would be offered again. “In terms of where we are today, we are not currently contemplating a returning member program like the one you saw in January,” Rolapp said on a conference call to discuss the eligibility for the new competition model on the PGA Tour that starts in 2028. “Everyone at the PGA Tour, myself included, has been focused on what is best for the organization.” Rolapp has leaned into meritocracy in the new model, making players earn their place. Koepka, along with the other players offered a return, had five-year exemptions from winning majors. Koepka was required to pay $5 million to charity, and he had no access to player equity grants for five years. He also was not eligible for any of the $20-million signature events unless he qualified for them through his play. Koepka failed to get into any of those tournaments, and he did not qualify for the PGA Tour’s postseason. Rahm has been elusive when it comes to his plans. He has one year left on the contract he signed ahead of the 2024 LIV season and now that contract is in doubt because of the Chapter 11 filing. “There’s a long legal process they have to go through before a lot of things fall into place,” Rahm said on Tuesday at the BMW PGA Championship on the European tour. “I really can’t give you an answer right now. ... Until this current season is done, I really won’t be able to give you an answer.”