MANILA, Philippines -- STREAKING Magnolia stakes its four-game winning run as it battles a revenge-seeking Barangay Ginebra in the main game of the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum. The Hotshots enter the game enjoying the solo lead in the Group B standings with their 5-3 card. Magnolia eyes its fifth straight win and sixth overall against Ginebra in their 7:30 p.m. encounter.Mentored by LA Tenorio, the former Ginebra veteran playmaker, Magnolia looks to score a repeat of its 88-73 win in their first encounter on Aug. 2.Ginebra, however, is coming off a morale boosting 128-111 spanking of erstwhile leader Rain or Shine last Friday.That game saw RJ Abarrientos lead the attack with 34 points, laced by six triples.New import Jordan Murphy was also solid in his debut in a Ginebra uniform, firing 30 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, issuing seven assists, along with four blocks in an all-around effort.“We needed to come out, and we got Jordan in a couple of weeks ago. So he’s had time to immerse himself into what we do. And so... Jordan was great. He gave us a good lift, especially early in the game,” Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said after the team’s lopsided win.“We’re obviously pleased with the way Jordan [played]. What does Jordan do for us, he fills our hole. He’s that guy that can get a little in and out and rebound, defend. Really, he’s kind of he’s a complete player. So we just hope we can continue to build off this.”Meanwhile, the opening game scheduled at 5:15 p.m. features Converge (5-4), which battles Titan Ultra (2-7).The FiberXers completely outclassed the Giant Risers, 105-74.

The New York Knicks finally accomplished the impossible. After 53 years of dysfunction, disappointment, and self-inflicted wounds, they won the 2026 NBA championship. Generations of fans waited for that moment. The franchise finally got everything right: elite talent, smart roster construction, unselfish stars, and a front office that built a legitimate champion. Which makes James Dolan's current position so infuriating. Only months after finally bringing a title back to Madison Square Garden, the Knicks are fighting with Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart over money because ownership reportedly does not want to cross the NBA's second tax apron. Reports indicate that the Knicks have paused extension talks with both players while navigating Dolan's mandate to remain below the threshold. This is not a rebuilding team preserving flexibility. This is the defending NBA champion. The Knicks already have roughly $220 million in salary commitments and are operating near the second apron. That's not evidence of financial recklessness. That's evidence that championship teams cost money. Apparently, Dolan has forgotten that. Towns is owed more than $57 million this season, has a $61 million player option for next year, and is eligible for a four-year extension worth more than $276 million. Yet multiple reports indicate the Knicks have offered approximately four years and $200 million, a gap of roughly $76 million from what he could command. That's an insulting lowball offer. The irony is that Towns reportedly has already shown a willingness to take less than the maximum to help keep the roster together. He helped deliver the franchise's first championship since 1973 and is reportedly willing to sacrifice part of his earning power to preserve the core. Instead of meeting him halfway, the Knicks appear to be asking him to absorb all the pain. Then there is Josh Hart. Hart is eligible for an extension worth about four years and $131 million. Nobody expects him to receive the full amount. But that misses the point. Hart is the soul of this team. Every championship locker room needs a player who defines its identity, and for the Knicks that player is Hart. Yet reports suggest that if extension talks remain unresolved, both Hart and Towns could become trade candidates. Think about how absurd that is. Most champions spend the offseason figuring out how to defend the title. The Knicks are figuring out which champions they can afford to keep. And that's where Dolan deserves the harshest criticism. For much of the last two decades, he presided over one of the most poorly managed franchises in American sports. Knicks fans endured failed leadership structures, revolving executives, coaching drama, bloated contracts, public embarrassments, and expensive mistakes. The organization burned through hundreds of millions of dollars chasing shortcuts and getting almost everything wrong. Where was the concern about cost efficiency then? When the Knicks were bad, money was never the issue. Now that every dollar goes toward sustaining an actual champion, Dolan suddenly wants discipline. The Knicks have already lost Mitchell Robinson from their championship rotation. The Eastern Conference is improving. Every contender is coming for them. This is the moment ownership should be pushing all its chips to the center of the table. Instead, Dolan appears determined to protect his balance sheet. The most frustrating part is that the second apron is doing exactly what it was designed to do. It is supposed to make retaining championship cores painfully expensive. The challenge facing the Knicks is not unusual. The response to it is. Because while most owners spend decades chasing a championship, Dolan finally got one and immediately started worrying about the bill. If this championship window closes because ownership chose savings over banners, fans will remember one thing: James Dolan is the worst owner in franchise sports. [email protected]

MANILA, Philippines — Juami Tiongson led Terrafirma’s fiery first half offensive as the Dyip dominated woeful Macau, 146-127 to fan the flame in their playoff drive in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. The veteran Terrafirma sharpshooter knocked down five threes in the opening half as the Dyip led, 77-66 by halftime. The Dyip stretched the lead further to as high as 21 points en route to booking their fourth win in 10 starts. Tiongson went on to finish with 30 points, going 7-of-10 from three-point zone in a strong bounce-back effort after going scoreless in Terrafirma’s 116-92 loss to TNT. At 4-6, Terrafirma snapped its back-to-back blowout losses to Converge and TNT, and will now try to sweep its final two assignments in the elims for a possible chance to secure a playoff spot. On the other hand, the Giant Pandas fell to 2-8 in Group A, practically kissing their playoff chances goodbye. Import Justin Strings led the Dyip with 32 points and 11 rebounds, JM Bravo added 22, while young big man Geo Chiu had 18 and 20 boards. Macau, which  is playing without its veteran core led by Ramon Cao and Damian Chongqui, drew 41 points and 26 rebounds from Oscar Lopez. PPP Kobey Lam added 37, while Chon Pong Lao 20.

KEANU Jahns returns to the Philippine Golf Tour with his game a notch sharper, and his hunger for victory even greater as he shoots for an elusive win in the circuit’s final stages. The ICTSI Pueblo de Oro Championship unwraps on Oct. 12 in Cagayan de Oro, with Jahns expected to put his long, powerful game to good use on Pueblo de Oro’s open layout and finally break into this year’s PGT winner’s circle. The Fil-German also brings with him a boost in confidence from his recent campaign in the DP World Tour Qualifying, where he came within two strokes of securing one of the coveted Top 13 spots. Although he fell short in the final round in Denmark, Jahns showed he had the game to contend, staying in the hunt through the first three rounds before wavering on the last day. More importantly, the experience gave him a valuable glimpse of the level required to compete on a bigger stage. Jahns hopes to carry that experience — and the lessons gained from it — into Pueblo de Oro, where he seeks to turn another strong showing into the victory that has eluded him this season. A three-time PGT winner last year, including the season-ending Match Play Championship, Jahns has come close in five starts this year but has yet to capture a title. He has posted three Top 5 finishes, highlighted by a third-place effort at Lakewood and a fourth-place finish at Pradera Verde. He also tied for fourth in his most recent PGT appearance at Summit Point before embarking on his bid to reach the lucrative DP World Tour through a series of qualifiers. But Jahns will have plenty of formidable challengers at Pueblo de Oro, where another fiercely contested four-day battle is expected to unfold. The last several PGT legs have produced tight, drama-filled finishes and the most recent stop in Iloilo was no exception. Jhonnel Ababa endured a tournament-long test of will and character before displaying poise in the stretch run to outmaneuver Jeffren Lumbo and snap a two-year title drought in the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. That victory gave the Apo ace added momentum heading into Pueblo de Oro, but a host of other contenders are equally motivated to claim a share of PGT glory with only three legs remaining this season, including the South Pacific and Apo legs, both set in Davao later this month. Aside from Jahns and Ababa, the field features a mix of seasoned champions and emerging contenders led by reigning Order of Merit winner Angelo Que, already a two-time champion this year, and Tony Lascuña, fresh from a pro-am tournament triumph. Former leg winners Rupert Zaragosa, Reymon Jaraula, Guido van der Valk and Lumbo are also expected to contend, along with Negros Occidental first-time champion Art Arbole. Russell Bautista, Ryan Monsalve, Jonas Magcalayo, Jeremy Tandoy and Ivan Yabut, meanwhile, are eager to test themselves against the established names and add more firepower to an already deep field. Foreign bidders Kim Tae Soo, Chonkoo Kang and Lee Song further add to the competitive mix, setting the stage for another high-quality, closely fought championship at Pueblo de Oro.