Billiards legend and "The Magician" Efren "Bata" Reyes celebrated his 70th birthday last  Monday. The Filipino athletes who attended his birthday paid tribute to Reyes and gave congratulatory and inspirational messages. Among those who gave messages and congratulations was two-time WPA Women's World 10-Ball Championship queen (2009 & 2013) Rubilen Amit.Amit is one of the closest athletes to Reyes and he inspired Reyes in the world  of billiards. Reyes has won more than 100 international titles and is the first billiards player in the world to win two WPA World Championships in different pool disciplines.Reyes also became a Champion in the WPA World 9-Ball Championship in 1999 in Cardiff, Wales and became a world champion again when he won the WPA World 8-Ball Championship in 2004 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Reyes also won big in the U.S Open 9-Ball Championship, four-time All Japan Championship winner, seven-time WPA Asian 9-Ball Tour champion and carved a record as a 14-time Derby City Classic ruler.Reyes also won six gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in 1987, 1991, and 1999 respectively.

Gilas Pilipinas Women standout Jack Animam returns to Europe, as she embarks on a new journey with a Romanian club.The 25-year-old Filipina athlete has signed a contract with FCC UAV Arad, a Romanian women’s professional basketball league squad, the team announced in a social media post.

The semifinal round of the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference initially set on Thursday, August 29, has been moved to Saturday, August 31, due to a power outage at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.The highly anticipated knockout Final Four matches, featuring unbeaten Akari facing off against No. 4 PLDT, and second-seed Cignal battling No. 3 Creamline, have been rescheduled on Saturday, August 31, at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.Due to this development, the 2024 Reinforced Conference Final will now be held on Monday, September 02, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.All tickets purchased for the original date will be automatically refunded, with the refund amount credited back to the bank, card, or e-wallet account used for the transaction.According to the league, the adverse weather conditions have led to significant damage to several Meralco power posts supplying to the PhilSports Arena, rendering the facility inoperable for the scheduled event.In a statement, the PVL sincerely apologized for any inconvenience caused by this change and expressed appreciation for the understanding and patience of all those affected.

Filipino Olympian and pole vault star Ernest John “EJ” Obiena abruptly drew the curtains on his 2024 campaign to avoid aggravating the spine injury that has pestered him for months.Obiena, currently the third-ranked pole vaulter in the world, announced the development on Wednesday in his social media accounts, explaining that he will miss the Internationale Stadionfest or ISTAF Berlin in Germany, Weltklasse Zurich in Switzerland, and the Diamond League Final in Belgium in September after being diagnosed with a fractured L5 vertebra.

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters wiped out an early 21-point deficit to pummel the NLEX Road Warriors, 124-105, on Wednesday night and became the lone undefeated team in the PBA 49th Season Governors’ Cup.The Elasto Painters fell behind early, 45-24, but managed to still take the lead at the half 58-54 on their way to a 19-point victory at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.Rain or Shine fell behind, 40-24, at the end of the first quarter and went on an 18-0 run at one point in the second quarter to turn it around and finished the game with a convincing victory.

Filipino-American swimmer Gian Santos exhibited superb performances during the first Philippine Aquatics Inc. National Trials over the weekend at the Teofilo Ildefonso swimming pool in Rizal Memorial Aquatics Center.Santos, an incoming freshman at the Columbia University in New York City, displayed impressive forms as he swept multiple gold medals, set two new junior national records, and earned the prestigious Most Outstanding Swimmer award.His accomplishments and exceptional performances significantly strengthened his bid to join the Philippine delegation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, as the trials are crucial in selecting the national swimming team that will see action in various international tournaments ahead. Santos bagged gold medals in the boys 16 to 18 class 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 200m breastroke, 200m individual medley (IM), and 400m IM.The 18-year-old promising athlete also set two new junior national records for 100m freestyle after registering a time of 0:50.70 and in the 200m breaststroke with a 2:18.30.

Filipino International Master Daniel Quizon inched closer to becoming a full-fledged Grandmaster after placing 6th overall in the 30th Abu Dhabi Chess Festival Masters in United Arab Emirates.The 20-year-old Quizon posted another upset over Indian Grandmaster Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan in the final round for a share of the top spot in the tournament with 7 points but finished in 6th place after the tiebreakers.With impressive wins over four Grandmasters and three International Masters, Quizon earned an additional rating points of 33.3 improving to 2490 from 2457. He only needs just 10 to complete the required 2500 to become a Grandmaster.

Hopson knocked down the 4-pointer with 4.8 seconds remaining in the game to lift Converge FiberXers to a 96-95 squeaker against TNT Tropang Giga after trailing as much as 16 points in the game.The Converge import completed his heroics in the defensive end as he blocked the driving Rondae Hollis-Jefferson just before the final buzzer went off.Converge improved to 2-1 as they dealt TNT their first loss of the conference after three matches.The FiberXers were still down by three, 95-92, after Hollis-Jefferson knocked down the game’s last four free throws, including a pair with only 9.6 seconds left in the contest.Converge interim head coach Franco Atienza said that they intended to take the four-point shot in their final possession as they have someone who can shoot from that distance.True enough, Hopson made the historic game-winning shot after he got enough space to launch a shot off the screen given by Bryan Santos against Glenn Khobuntin.

The Creamline Cool Smashers clipped Petro Gazz Angels’ wings in the knockout quarterfinals of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference with a decisive victory. Despite being undermanned, Creamline secured the final spot in the semifinals after toppling the two-time Reinforced Conference defending champion Petro Gazz in straight-set wins, 25-23, 25-19, 25-18, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre on Tuesday, August 27. The Cool Smashers dominated what was expected to be a close contest, thanks to strong performances from Erica Staunton and Bernadeth Pons.

The women’s Grand Slam main draw remained elusive for Filipina tennis player Alex Eala after bowing out in the final round of the 2024 US Open qualifiers.Eala fell in the third round of qualifying, blowing a one-set lead against world No. 123 Elena Gabriela Ruse of Romania in three sets,  6-3, 1-6, 4-6.After winning the opening frame, the Filipino prodigy lost steam as the 28-year-old Romanian dominated the second set with a 4-0 start before Eala scored a point but took a medical timeout.The world No. 123 got the better of the 19-year-old Filipino in the end game to enter the US Open main draw against Julia Grabher of Austria in the first round.Eala stayed optimistic despite another close call.

Filipina athlete Islay Erika Bomogao has claimed the top spot in the 45kg elite category of the International Federation of Muaythai Associations.Following her gold-medal victory at last year’s IFMA World Muaythai Championship in Bangkok, Thailand, Bomogao, soared to No. 1 position with a cumulative 1,920 points, amassed from her performances in various international competitions.

Rain or Shine head coach Joseller “Yeng” Guiao is elated after the Philippine Supreme Court approved his petition for mandamus calling on the country’s gambling regulators to distribute funds to the country’s sports commission.At the heels of the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association or PSA Forum in Manila, the former Pampanga solon, who is once again leading tactics for the Elasto Painters in the PBA, says he is expecting that the move will generate much-needed funding for the country’s sports programs.

Capital1 reinforcement Marina Tushova claimed her third Player of the Week award in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL), propelled by her record 50 points on Saturday, August 24.The powerful Russian winger delivered 47 attacks, two blocks, and a service ace, to go with 16 excellent receptions and 12 digs.She broke the all-time scoring record for the third time to earn the August 20 to 24 honor given by print and online reporters covering the PVL.Despite being responsible for a big chunk of Capital1’s success, the Solar Spikers failed to advance to the Cignal HD Spikers, 19-25, 34-36, 25-16, 25-22, 12-15, in the knockout quarterfinals of the Reinforced Conference at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan on Saturday, August 24.After her record-breaking performances here in the Philippines and following Capital1’s quarterfinal exit, Tushova is headed to Azerbaijan to play for a club team there.“I already signed a contract with an Azerbaijan team,” Tushova said. “I will join them and until April I will be there. Yes, so it is my plan now. I will go to another country.”Even as she heads to another country and another club this time around, Tushova is also not ruling out a potential return to the PVL. 

Veteran para swimmer Ernie Gawilan and para archer Agustina Bantiloc will carry the Philippine flag during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France on Wednesday, August 28.They will be joined by para track and field athletes Jerrold Mangliwan and Cendy Asusano, para swimmer Angel Mae Otom and para taekwondo jin Allain Ganapin. The parade will take place from the Champs-Elysées to the Place de la Concorde.In a statement, Philippine Paralympic team chef de mission Ral Rosario said that the team had several discussions on who the flag-bearers will be.