Haydee Ong has accepted a new role as commissioner of the newly-formed Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (WMPBL).The University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigresses’ seasoned mentor who ended the National University Lady Bulldogs’ reign as UAAP Women’s Basketball champions will take part in orchestrating plans to take the women’s basketball to the next level.The inaugural WMPBL will kick off on January 19, 2025, with the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan serving as its home. Among the foremost plans of the newly-appointed commissioner for the first season of the league is to feature eight to ten teams consisting of four UAAP squads and the remaining teams will be coming from LGU-based groups.

The Philippine National Shooting Association (PNSA) will host the Southeast Asian Shooting Association Championships from November 24 to December 14, 2024.This is the 46th edition of the event in which it will feature competitions in practical shooting, sporting clays, bench rest, and Olympic shotgun which includes both trap and skeet shooting. About eight to nine neighboring countries are expected to participate in the three-week meet comprising around 300-350 shooters.According  to  PNSA secretary-general Iryne Garcia even though this is not their  first time in the Philippines to hold such a big event, all of them including the organizers are filled with joy and happiness in the upcoming event. 

Four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry of Golden State Warriors will miss the next two games because of a left ankle injury that he sustained on Sunday night, October 27.Curry was injured in the 7:55 remaining of the fourth quarter of Golden State's 112-104 home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers last Sunday. He underwent an MRI late last night.   He finished with 18 points, six assists and four rebounds, while shooting 6 for 11 from the field with four 3-pointers before being subbed-out.Warriors will be severely handicapped when they host the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday. However, Curry is scheduled to be reevaluated on Friday. Good news for them, the MRI showed no structural damage. The Warriors also confirmed that he (Curry) suffered a peroneal strain in the area where tendons connect the fibula and ankle.

Growing the number of women participation through a series of running events is what Women’s Run PH founder Nicole de la Cruz hopes of achieving following the highly-successful University of the Philippines Diliman edition of this year’s event that drew over 6,000 female runners. The number of women who participated leaped from last year’s inaugural event which only recorded 1,700 runners, which propelled it to a record-breaking milestone for the running event exclusively for women.“It was a big jump from 1,700 runners to 6,000 this year and we were able to achieve this because we asked help from different communities, companies, and people who are actually supporting women in different events also,” said de la Cruz during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the conference hall of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

Igorot Muay Thai fighter Islay Erika Bomogao, will make her debut in ONE Championship on November 8, a platform where many Igorot MMA athletes have built their reputations. Bomogao recently shared this exciting news on her social media, posting a photo of herself in ONE Championship gloves, indicating her readiness to accept the upcoming challenge in this combat sport. Now that she’s close to reaching the pinnacle of Muay Thai, Bomogao can’t hide her excitement.

Stefanie Fejes and Jana Milutinovic of Australia will return to the country to defend their titles as Alas Pilipinas competes for podium spots in the 2024 Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships, which will begin on November 5 at the Nuvali Sand Courts in the City of Santa Rosa, Laguna.Together with 19 other women’s tandems, the Australian duo, who won the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Beach Tour Nuvali Open in April, has confirmed their attendance at the six-day competition sponsored by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation or PNVF.

Rey Nambatac has overcome jitters in his very first game in a championship series and even led the TNT Tropang Giga to victory over Barangay Ginebra, 104-88, in Game 1 of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup Finals who was witnessed by 11,021 spectators at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.Nambatac was named Best Player of the Game after putting up 18 points (12 in the final quarter), 10 rebounds and seven assists in his first Finals appearance.

The winningest coach in the history of the Philippine Basketball Association has entered the Finals once again and will try to win his 26th title while leading Ginebra to the Promised Land.In an exclusive interview with Scoreline.ph, Coach Tim Cone shared how he established a winning culture to every team that he handled.

Hundreds of imports have donned the colors of the second-oldest professional basketball league in the world. Still, one player has made a significant mark that stretches beyond just being a team’s reinforcement.Justin Brownlee already established his legacy in the league, capturing the hearts of Filipino basketball enthusiasts with his versatility as a scorer and delivering standout performances every time he suited up for the Philippines.  Brownlee’s countless accolades and years of brilliance have solidified his name in the game. The Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player has displayed no signs of slowing down his gears as he is just one title away from becoming the winningest import in the league. Brownlee is expected to essay another blood-pumping performance as he and the Gin Kings seek to subdue the defending champions of last year’s conference with flying colors.His age was also never a hindrance to keeping his engines running and expanding his plum collection.

The first-ever father and son duo happened on the opening night of the NBA's 2024-25 Season when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated Minnesota Timberwolves, 110-103, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.The historical feat happened in the latter part of the first period when LeBron and Bronny James were fielded in together. They shared the court for more than two minutes.According to LeBron, family is the reason why he wanted to play together with his son in the league.

Defending champions Boston Celtics tied the most number of three-pointers made by a team in their victory over the New York Knicks, 132-109, in the opening night of the NBA’s 2024-2025 Season.Before the game started, the Celtics received their championship rings and the 18th banner of the franchise was raised in the rafters.Jayson Tatum grabbed the microphone before the ceremony to pump-up the crowd inside the TD Garden in Boston.

Fresh faces Joshua Retamar and JM Ronquillo made a superb debut as they steered Cignal HD Spikers to victory in the 2024 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference at the Santa Rosa Sports Complex in Laguna on Tuesday, October 22.The reigning Open Conference champions launched their campaign by cruising past Chichi DHTSI in straight sets, 25-16, 25-16, 25-14. The HD Spikers bagged a swift one-hour, 11 minute win over the Titans with former National University standout Retamar, who only played in the first two sets, set the tone by tossing 10 excellent sets, while ex-De La Salle University ace Ronquillo tallied nine points on five attacks, two blocks, and two aces.  

The Philippines will spearhead a world class dragonboat competition in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan scheduled on October 28 to November 4. This tournament will also serve as a qualification for the 2025 World Games.According to Philippine Canoe Kayak Dragon Boat Federation or PCKDF head Leonora “Len” Escollante, the federation already coordinated to the provincial government as well as to the local government unit of Puerto Princesa, Palawan for the necessary preparations of the venue for the said event and for the benefit of the participants. They are also very grateful to the Philippine Sports Commission and to all the local officials in the province because of their unwavering support in their endeavor and also to their program and projects when it comes to this kind of sport in the Philippines. She also thanked Puerto Princesa Mayor Lucindo Bayron for their full support, said among the countries fielding big delegations are India with 150, Thailand and Iran with 80 each and the host country with 200.

Cebuano para triathlete Alex Silverio waved the Philippine flag on the international stage after his silver medal finish in the PTS4 Men Classification at the 2024 Asia Triathlon Para Cup Chiba in Japan on Saturday, October 19.The 34-year-old left arm amputee claimed a podium finish after completing the 750m swim, 20km bike, and 5km run course with a remarkable time of 1:16:07. Silverio crossed the finish line just six minutes behind Japanese Keiya Kaneko, who bagged the gold with a time of 1:06:27, while Kaneko’s compatriot Chikara Ara clinched the bronze medal after clocking in 1:17:09. 

It will be a battle between pals who have been successful in their coaching career in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup Finals.Coaches Tim Cone and Chot Reyes will face each other again after 12 years since they last battled one another. The two mentors met in the PBA Finals six times already but the last time was way back in 2012 when the B-Meg Llamados of Cone defeated Reyes’ Talk N’ Text, 90-84, in overtime of the Game 7 of Commissioner’s Cup finale.A win in the upcoming series will give one of the coaches an advantage as they split their head-to-head encounter at 3-3.Cone is happy that his team is in the Finals again and it will be against his good friend Reyes that he will battle again. Coach Chot was Coach Tim’s chief deputy when they were still starting together in Alaska.

Rain or Shine might be in a 1-3 hole right now in their PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup semifinals series against the defending champion TNT Tropang Giga but they will not go down without a fight.The Elasto Painters coach Yeng Guao said that they still feel good about their chances in their match-up and their perspective is still positive.

Fourteen Filipino trail runners are set to make their presence felt when they compete against the best runners in Asia in the Asia Pacific Trail Running Championships in Ulju, South Korea slated October 23 to 27. The two-time Southeast Asian Games women’s marathon gold medalist and five-time Milo Marathon queen Christabel Martes mentored the Philippine Trail Running National Team and guided the team in their extensive training in Baguio City.John Ray Onifa and Elizabeth Dangadang will banner the Filipino runners in the first edition of this prestigious continental meet where they will get to test their mettle against the best runners coming from China, Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

Japan B.League squad, Ryukyu Golden Kings survive Meralco’s power surge to get their first win in the East Asia Super League (EASL), 77-74, Wednesday night, October 16, at the Okinawa Arena, Japan.The runner-up of last year’s B.League weathered the storm that the Bolts made in the final 2:50 minutes of play.Meralco came back from a 66-77 deficit through an 8-0 run to cut down the lead to only three points with 41.7 seconds remaining.Allen Durham, who’s playing against his former team for the first time, had a chance to force the game into overtime but his attempt was swatted by Ryukyu import Victor Law.Durham finished the game with 18 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, while his fellow Bolts reinforcement DJ Kennedy produced 30 markers and 12 boards.Chris Newsome led the local unit with 18.The winning team relied on the heroics of Law, who contributed a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds.Jack Cooley, the Golden Kings other import, also got 18 markers along with seven boards, while naturalized player Alex Kirk put up 12.Ryukyu now topped Group B with a 1-0 record, while Meralco split their games to have a 1-1 team standing.The next game assignment for the Bolts will be the Busan KCC Egis of the Korean Basketball League whom they will face on November 13 at the Philsports Arena.

Angeline Viriña a native from the town of Sta. Cuz, Laguna won the gold medal in her first participation in the international championship. In Viriña's debut fight, she immediately showed her skill and talent in this type of martial arts in the women's -45kg class. It defeated opponents, one from the host country Uzbekistan and the other from Indonesia.Apart from the gold medal, the Philippine pencak silat team also won five silver medals and nine bronze medals in the 8th Asian Pencak Silat Championship 2024 in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.According to PhilSilat Sports Association President Princess Jacel Kiram, a total of 22 athletes were sent to compete in the said championship and 19 of these athletes won medals. Kiram expressed pride in the team’s achievement, highlighting their dedication and perseverance.“Out of 22 athletes, 19 secured medals— a remarkable testament to your hard work. Your efforts have made us all proud,” Kiram shared in a social media post.Kiram also thanked the Philippine Sports Commission for its continued support, adding, “Mabuhay ang Team Pilipinas! Here’s to more success in the future!”  Last week, the Philippines also won a medal for the first time in the recently concluded 2024 Asian Kickboxing Championship in Cambodia where Philippines won 5 gold, 1 silver, and 10 bronze medals. Paris Olympian boxer Hergie Bacyadan was one of the athletes who brought home a gold medal.

Because of their unparalleled experience and skill in Sambo sports, six-time world medalist Sydney Sy-Tancontian and 2024 Asian Championships double silver medalist Aislinn Yap among other Sambo athletes won gold medals in the recently concluded 2024 Korea Open Sambo Championships that was organized by the Korean Sambo Federation and the International Sambo Federation (FIAS) last week.Sy-Tancontian defended her crown under the women's +80kgs category to follow up with the first medal of the Philippines and the Southeast Asian region, while Yap won two gold medals for two different categories - Women's -80kgs (Combat Sambo ) and Women's -80kgs (Sports Sambo).The participation of the Pilipinas Sambo national team is also part of the preparation  for the World Championships which will be held on November 8-10 that will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan.Aside from Sy-Tancontian and Yap, Jeniva Consigna, also got a gold medal in women's under-65kgs, Jomary Torres won a gold medal for Women's -50kgs, Mariah Albert Lua also got a gold medal for women's under-72kgs category, Robin Catalan won a silver medal under Men's -64kgs category, Grace Gangan became a silver medalist under Women's -80kgs category, Aumaegel Princess Cortez got a bronze medal for Women's -59kgs category, and Edemel Catalan won a bronze medal for the Men's -58kgs category. According to Pilipinas SAMBO Federation Inc. (PSFI) President Paolo Tancontian, they really prepared for this competition to win a medal and there has been a big improvement in the performance of their athletes now compared to last year.“I consider this a good performance from our athletes compared to last year because we improved a lot in terms of medals we obtained. Our national team prepared well for this tournament. They improve greatly on this tourney and we hope to see them perform well in the next competitions,” said Tancontian.Tancontian added that it is not enough for them to determine the  improvement they have now and they also keep up learning and studying the processes of this kind of sport because Asia is on a different level when it comes to this type of sport.“However, we still have a lot of room for improvement. Every day is a learning process because Asia is considered a world-class level at malakas talaga ang laban dito. Definitely, mapapalaban tayo ng husto sa Worlds,” Tancontian added.