Sports

NBA: Kyrie Irving moving on with Luka Doncic, Mavericks

DALLAS — Kyrie Irving wowed the crowd with a crossover move that helped create just enough space for him to let fly with a leaning 3-pointer. Luka Doncic’s co-star with the Dallas Mavericks was bumped and fell with the shot in the air, and his teammates were right there to mob him when the shot went in as the whistle blew. The four-point play was a punctuating moment in a 114-101 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night that sent...

Creamline makes quick work of Chery Tiggo, punches finals ticket

MANILA, Philippines: The Creamline Cool Smashers took a much-needed win to advance to the finals after a masterful sweep over the Chery Tiggo Crossoverss, 25-16, 25-21, 25-20, in the semifinals of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) 2024 All-Filipino Conference at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, May 5. "We are happy that we are back in the finals again, and we are eyeing to defend our title," coach Sherwin Meneses told the press after the...

FEU, NU dispute last finals berth

THE FEU Lady Tamaraws and the NU Lady Bulldogs dispute the last finals berth in the UAAP Season 86 women's volleyball tournament as they battle in a do-or-die Final Four match at the Smart Araneta Coliseum today, May 8. FEU and NU collide at 4 p.m. with their game serving as the main event of a triple-header that starts with Game 1 between twice-to-beat NU and La Salle in the men's semifinals at 12 p.m. followed by another men's Final Four match...

Busy schedule ahead for Gilas Pilipinas

MANILA, Philippines: GILAS Pilipinas has drawn up a tight, busy schedule for the coming weeks as it gears up for the tough FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Latvia in July. Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) executive director Erika Dy told the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday the Nationals will first convene on June 22 at the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna before heading to Turkey and Poland for tune-up games with...

Ukrainian Olympic hero killed in action fighting Putin’s invasion force

Why Magnussen is racing rest of 2024 season under threat of F1 race ban

Kevin Magnussen is racing for the rest of the Formula 1 season under the threat of a race ban following the latest penalty points being added to his licence.

Criss Cross stuns Cignal to reach Spikers’ Turf Finals

MANILA, Philippines–Criss Cross defied overwhelming odds to crash into the finals in its Spikers’ Turf Open Conference debut, upsetting fancied Cignal, 18-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-22, 17-15, before a stunned Sunday crowd at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. The King Crunchers staged a breathtaking comeback against the favored HD Spikers, overturning a two-set deficit to claim the victory in a thrilling encounter that likewise ended Cignal’s imposing...

Athletics hostilities begin

MANILA, Philippines — The best and brightest in Philippine track and field including Olympic hopefuls John Cabang Tolentino, Lauren Hoffman, Robyn Brown, Eric Cray and Janry Ubas descend at the PhilSports oval in Pasig for the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships unfurling today. Ubas will be the first to plunge into action as he competes in the men’s long jump starting at 7 a.m. in the five-day meet staking vital qualification points to the...

The biggest surprises from the first month of the MLB season

The 10 most overrated NBA players right now, including one big surprise

Eala achieves another career-best in world rankings

MANILA, Philippines — Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala has achieved another career high in her Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings. As of May 6, the 18-year-old climbed the world ranks yet again, from 170th on April 22 to 162nd, beating her previous best ranking, which was 169th last April 15. She also placed 239th in the doubles rankings, which is also a career best. Eala was fresh off an appearance at the Madrid Open in Spain, where she...

Timberwolves maul Nuggets, Knicks outplay Pacers

NEW YORK: The Minnesota Timberwolves produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory on Monday (Tuesday in Manila). The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for game three on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards...

Archers on brink of D-League three-peat

MANILA, Philippines — Reigning champion EcoOil-La Salle overwhelmed challenger Centro Escolar U in Game 1 of the best-of-three finals, 98-72, to zero in on a third straight championship in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup last Monday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. Without Abdul-Wahab Olusesi for the Scorpions, Henry Agunanne and Jonnel Policarpio dominated inside with 17 points each as the unbeaten Green Archers drew first blood in the...

NBA: Clippers facing big decision with new arena move pending

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Clippers are moving into their new arena in nearby Inglewood this summer. Just who will be on the court and the sideline for them next NBA season are among the decisions facing the team. The health of their superstar Kawhi Leonard also looms large, after he was limited to two postseason games because of inflammation in his right knee that has been surgically repaired twice. Leonard’s absence proved costly when the...

NBA mock draft 1.0: Not as weak as initially thought?

Russia issues arrest warrant for former chess champion Garry Kasparov

Alonso says FIA “on board” with new F1 driving standards guidelines on the way

Fernando Alonso says FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is “on board” in helping drivers secure better penalty consistency in Formula 1, with new driving standards guidelines on the way.

UAAP: Poyos close to completing her promise as UST nears title

MANILA, Philippines — Behind Angge Poyos’ stellar rookie season was a promise to UST coach KungFu Reyes to do better in college after an underwhelming performance in the UAAP girls’ volleyball tournament last year. In her first collegiate Final Four, Poyos imposed her dominance with a game-high 28 points to propel UST into the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball Finals after a five-year wait with a 25-20, 16-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-7 win to dethrone...

Andrade eager for Olympic showdown with Biles

SAO PAULO: As Rebeca Andrade prepares to defend the Olympic vault gold she took in Tokyo after Simone Biles dramatically withdrew, she told AFP she hopes that in Paris the American is at "her best." In Tokyo, Biles topped vault qualifying but then suffered an attack of 'the twisties' on the same apparatus in the team event. After losing her sense of spatial awareness, Biles withdrew from several events, including the vault final, to focus on her...

Inoue KOs Nery in 6th after 1st round scare to defend titles

Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya Inoue said an early scare got him “fired up” after he stopped Mexico’s Luis Nery in the sixth round to defend his titles at the Tokyo Dome on Monday. Around 43,000 fans packed into the famous venue for the first boxing match there since 42-1 underdog James “Buster” Douglas knocked out unbeaten heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in February 1990 in one of the sport’s biggest upsets. Another...

NBA MVP finalists Gilgeous-Alexander, Doncic meet in 2nd round

OKLAHOMA CITY — Two young MVP finalists will square off when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and No. 1 seed Oklahoma City face Luka Doncic and No. 5 seed Dallas in the second round of the NBA Western Conference playoffs. The series matching the high-scoring 25-year-olds begins Tuesday. Doncic led the league in scoring this season at 33.9 points per game. The 6-foot-7, 230-pound guard averaged 29.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 9.5 assists in six first-round...

Lady Spikers vow fightback next season

MANILA, Philippines — La Salle is not going anywhere. Dethroned and all, there is no way to go but up – and back – for the Lady Spikers as they vow a strong comeback in the next UAAP women’s volleyball tournament. “Siyempre nakakalungkot din po sa nangyari but hindi kami dito titigil. It will serve as a motivation for all of us,” said reigning MVP Angel Canino as La Salle saw their title retention bid come to an abrupt end over the weekend....

Double celebration for Sisi Rondina as Choco Mucho, UST make finals

MANILA, Philippines—Sisi Rondina had a lot of reasons to celebrate on Sunday. For one, her mother club in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) just reached the All-Filipino Conference Finals after defeating Petro Gazz, 23-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-20. The finals-clinching victory in the PVL came not long after her alma mater University of Santo Tomas reached the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball title round at the expense of defending champion La...

Horner: Wolff should be more worried than me after losing 220 F1 staff to Red Bull

Christian Horner says he isn't too worried about Red Bull Formula 1 team members negotiating with rival teams after revealing his engine division took 220 people from Mercedes.

Davao, Quezon score OT victories

MANILA, Philippines — Davao was saved by a Hail Mary shot while Quezon got a reprieve from a missed free throw as they squeezed out overtime victories over Bataan and Zamboanga, respectively, in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season last Monday at the Orion Sports Complex in Bataan. Jun Manzo’s desperation heave from way beyond midcourt went in at the final buzzer, enabling the Davao Occidental Tigers to forge an...

Cricketer Josh Baker, 20, was found dead in his flat by a friend

Josh Baker, a talented Worcestershire spinner, had been playing in his county's second XI just yesterday, and was due back on the field in Bromsgrove today.

The 'Dream Team' that has revolutionized women's basketball

The horrible accident that killed Spanish world champion Isaac Gálvez López

Collective spirit key to title drive

MANILA, Philippines: As Choco Mucho and Creamline gear up for the Premier Volleyball League's All-Filipino crown, their individual talents are sure to shine, but it's their collective spirit that will ultimately define their quest for victory. With Game One of the best-of-three title playoff set to ignite the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Thursday, anticipation is high two days before the league's most popular teams square off for the second...

Turkey, Poland tiffs up for Gilas

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas will embark on training sorties in Turkey and Poland ahead of its stint in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Latvia in July. According to Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Erika Dy, the Nationals will first re-assemble on June 22 at the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna before flying to Turkey then Poland to play tune-up games with their respective national teams. From there, coach...

Wembanyama named NBA Rookie of the Year

NEW YORK: San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama won the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year award, the league announced on Monday (Tuesday in Manila), marking the first time a Frenchman has captured the honor. The 20-year-old center, a 7-foot-4 (2.24m) prodigy who was the top pick in last year's NBA Draft, averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, a league-high 3.6 blocked shots and 1.2 steals a game in his impressive debut campaign....

Madayag proud of undermanned Choco Mucho's resilience

MANILA Philippines: The wings of the Flying Titans remain sturdy. Choco Mucho team captain Maddie Madayag shared that her squad draws their strength from their teammates who were injured in this Premier Volleyball League (PVL) 2024 All-Filipino Conference "This is for them. I have three teammates who were down this conference. We don't have Kat (Tolentino), Aduke (Ogunsanya), and Des (Cheng). We want to play for them because even though we...

Former Lakers pick, PG Darius Morris dies at 33

Former Michigan standout and Los Angeles Lakers draft pick Darius Morris has died at 33, his family announced Saturday. No cause of death was given. TMZ reported Morris’ body was found in the Los Angeles area on Thursday. He was an L.A. native. “With great sadness we announce the passing of our dearly beloved son, […]

Bronny James and the Heat

What if a lottery-bound NBA team puts their rebuilding mode on hyperdrive and use their first draft round pick on Bronny James. I get it. Bronny is in no way shape or form a lottery pick—much less a first-round pick—in the upcoming NBA Draft, but since daddy LeBron already made his intentions known that he wants to play with his first-born before retiring, it might be worth a gamble to waste a first-round selection on the USC second-stringer....

NLEX prepares for Meralco duel; Cone wary of ‘early’ Kings-Hotshots clash

NLEX coach Frankie Lim did some math on the side on Sunday night and learned that the Road Warriors will have about four days to prime themselves for Meralco and their best-of-three quarterfinal duel in the PBA Philippine Cup. Whether that stretch is going to be enough for his charges, however, is something Lim couldn’t be certain of. And for a good reason. “We’ll have a lot of thinking to do about Meralco,” he said in Filipino on the heels of a...

Mitchell rallies Cavs for series-clinching win

(UPDATE) LOS ANGELES: Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers silenced the young guns of Orlando, beating the Magic 106-94 in Game 7 of their NBA playoffs first-round series Sunday (Monday in Manila) to book a meeting with Eastern Conference top seeds Boston. It was another magisterial performance from Mitchell, who scored 39 points two days after pouring in 50 in the Cavs' game six defeat. This time he had plenty of scoring support from...

Current, ex-Cobras heartbroken after SWU-Phinma announces Cesafi exit

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The official announcement of the Southwestern University (SWU) Phinma’s final season in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (Cesafi) drew synonymous reactions from its current and former varsity stars. Earlier this week, the SWU-Phinma officially announced it will spend its final season with Cesafi, sending shockwaves throughout the local sports community. A signed statement from SWU-Phinma’s COO, Cheryl P. Chan,...

NBA: Pat Riley says Miami Heat not sure on Jimmy Butler extension

MIAMI — If Jimmy Butler wants to see more pay, Pat Riley will want to see more play. And in simple terms, that is the entry point to this offseason for the Miami Heat. Butler is almost certainly going to ask the Heat for a two-year extension this summer — it could guarantee him as much as $113 million for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons — and Riley said Monday in his annual end-of-season remarks that he isn’t sure what the team will do when that...

Celtics, Cavs clash in NBA playoffs for first time since 2018

BOSTON — One of the things Celtics forward Jaylen Brown remembers about his time inside the NBA Florida bubble in 2020 during the pandemic was his random sightings of Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell, then with the Utah Jazz, seemed to pop up in the common spaces of the bubble at the same time as Brown. It led to humorous fodder on social media between the pair and helped form a friendship between the young stars that continues today. But none of that...

Onoh's naturalization in process – SBP

(UPDATE) UAAP Season 86 Rookie of the Year Favour Onoh's naturalization is in the process to play for Gilas Pilipinas Women. Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) executive director Erika Dy confirmed that Onoh's papers for naturalization are already at play. "Yes on the women's side, we actually identified somebody who is going to be in a naturalization process, her name is Favour Onoh, and she has actually been playing here in the country for...

Terrafirma, NorthPort in KO match for 8th seed

TERRAFIRMA and NorthPort collide to dispute the eighth and last spot of the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup quarterfinals today, May 8, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. The Dyip and the Batang Pier ended the single-round eliminations with identical 5-6 record, tied at eighth to ninth spots in the standings. Tournament format calls for a knockout match when two teams end up tied for the no. 8 spot to determine, which squad will advance to the...

Sarno, Ando going for medals in Paris

MANILA, Philippines: Filipino weightlifters Vanessa Sarno and Elreen Ando said that they are going for medals no less at the Paris Olympics. Sarno, making her first Olympic appearance, said that she isn't going to Paris just to get an experience. The weightlifter from Bohol eyes at least a bronze medal no matter how difficult that goal is. "My goal is to win a medal in the Olympics. I want to break the mentality that you should just look for...

NBA: Denver Nuggets frustrated in Game 2 loss to Timberwolves

DENVER — Nuggets guard Jamal Murray lost his cool on the bench and tossed a heat pack onto the court. Denver’s frustration was on full display in the first half of Game 2 on Monday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves applied the pressure and the defending champion Nuggets lost their temper, trailing by as many as 28 points in the second quarter en route to a masterful 106-80 victory. Sitting on the bench, Murray was seen...

NBA: Mavericks extend coach Jason Kidd’s contract

DALLAS — Jason Kidd found a groove with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving a season after a chaotic ending to the first two months together for the Dallas superstars. The Mavericks coach has his team advancing in the playoffs for the second time in his three years in charge, and the 51-year-old now has a contract extension to go with it. Kidd signed a multiyear deal Monday, the day before Dallas opens a second-round NBA playoff series against Oklahoma...

SCHEDULE: Choco Mucho vs Creamline 2024 PVL All-Filipino Finals

Creamline and Choco Mucho, inarguably two of the most popular teams in the league, face off in a best-of-three 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference Finals showdown starting May 9. The Cool Smashers, the defending champion of the All-Filipino tournament, and their sister team Flying Titans, try to get a headstart in the race of the PVL championship on Thursday in Game 1 scheduled for 6pm. Game 2 is set for May 12, Sunday. If necessary, a...

Last shot at last 8

B-Pier, Dyip in Ko Setto MANILA, Philippines — Forget about the bungled attempts to put together the needed six wins to make the quarterfinals outright. For NorthPort and Terrafirma, which finished with identical 5-6 cards, there’s still one more chance to meet their initial objective and all they have to do is make the most of it. That comes tonight at 7:30 p.m. when the Batang Pier and the Dyip engage in a knockout match for the last berth in...

Notable People who died in 2024

Cone explains endgame benching of C-Stan, Scottie vs NLEX

Nothing to it, says Ginebra coach

COLUMN: Can Rain or Shine be the 'feel-good' story of this PBA playoffs?

A fast-paced style of play as well as Norwood and Belga's leadership has sparked Rain or Shine's resurgence. Can RoS sustain it in the PBA playoffs?

Victolero on facing Ginebra: 'We need to prepare hard'

MANILA, Philippines: Chito Victolero is not complaining at all even though Magnolia fell into an early quarterfinal duel with long-time rival Barangay Ginebra in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup. Playing with an injury-plagued roster, the Hotshots fell by as many as 18 points, narrowed the gap in the final period before eventually falling short against the TNT Tropang Giga, 98-93 at the close of the elimination round on Sunday. That loss proved...