Filipino Olympian and pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena dropped to No. 3 in the world pole vault rankings after barely missing the podium in the recently concluded 2024 Paris Olympics.According to the latest report of World Athletics, Obiena dipped to world No. 3 with 1428 points after holding the second rank for more than a year.Silver medalist Sam Kendricks of USA took over Obiena’s previous spot with 1450 points.Armand Duplantis of Sweden, meanwhile, remained as the undisputed pole vault king owning 1617 points following his impressive Olympic and World records of 6.25m for the gold.Coming in fourth is Paris Olympics bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis of Greece toting 1403 points, while KC Lightfoot of USA came in fifth even though he did not compete in the Summer Games.Making the top 10 are Paris Olympians Kurtis Marschall of Australia (No. 6), Sasma Ersu of Turkey (No. 7), Thibaut Collet of France (No. 8) Christopher Nilsen of USA (No. 9), and Huang Bokai of China (No. 10).

Gymnast Association of the Philippines (GAP) chief Cynthia Carrion is planning to form an Olympic team that the Philippines will send to the LA Olympics in 2028 with the sibling of two-time gold medalist Carlos Yulo hopefully being included in the team. Carrion made a forecast and hoping that two Yulos’ will compete in the LA Olympics in 2028. She is referring to the 16 year-old younger brother of Caloy, Karl Eldrew, who has shown the same determination and promise that his elder brother showed on his sporting success. Karl Eldrew is now making his own name in the world of gymnastics and has already bagged gold medals from different international competitions.Eldrew, won a gold medal in the junior level of the Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, as he reigned supreme in the vault last May of this year. He posted an average of 14.433 points, Yulo ruled the event for his first title in the continental showpiece after settling for silver in the previous edition in Singapore.

Two-time gold medalist Carlos Yulo is planning to reconnect with his former coach Munehiro Kugimiya after his successful competition in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Kugimiya helped Yulo to develop his gymnastic skills from 2016 up to 2023. Yulo wants to pay respect and express his gratitude to ‘Coach Mune’.He wouldn’t be the same magnificent figure that he is now without the important person that molded him to what he is today. The Gymnast Association of The Philippines (GAP) head Cynthia Carrion  said that Yulo will visit Kugimiya in November. 

Three days after becoming only the second player to win back-to-back United States Golf Association (USGA) championships, Rianne Malixi soared to new heights, climbing to World No. 5 in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings.The 17-year-old Malixi climbed seven notches from her previous 12th spot in the rankings, with an average of 1191.6600 points, after her victory in the US Women’s Amateur in Tulsa, Oklahoma over the weekend.This achievement marks the highest ranking ever reached by a Filipina golfer. 

Just days before the opening day of the Philippine Basketball Association 49th Season, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson officially returned to the TNT Tropang Giga to defend their Governor’s Cup title.Hollis-Jefferson will replace Darius Days as TNT’s import.Rondae was the original choice of TNT as he’s the one who led them to the promised land last year. But he’s not yet available until yesterday (August 14), that's why the team tapped the services of Darius Days.In the official roster line-up of teams released last night, Rondae Hollis Jefferson is the import listed for TNT Tropang Giga.With the return of RHJ, the TNT got a big boost as he already know the system of the team and the fans will have another chance to watch the “Kobe look-alike” import.

Filipino Olympian and pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena received his Php 500,000 worth of cash incentive from the City of Manila.Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna handed the incentive to Obiena on Wednesday, August 15, for his stellar performance and for placing fourth in the men’s pole vault finals in the recently concluded 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Meralco Bolts and Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots will be the first game of the PBA’s 49th season that will open on Sunday, August 18 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.Coming off their first championship in the last Philippine Cup, the Meralco Bolts will face the Hotshots in the lone opening game of the Governors’ Cup at 7:30 p.m.But before the tip-off, there will be an opening ceremony scheduled at 5 p.m. at the end of the 48th Season Awards where the top performers from last season will be honored including the announcement of the Most Valuable Player. The awarding is set at 4 p.m.The one game to be played on the opening night will be Meralco’s import Allen Durham return game, after four years. He is looking to finally win a chip in the import-laden tournament.On the other hand, Magnolia will parade former NBA Slam Dunk Champion, Glenn Robinson III to be their reinforcement.

The Philippine women’s football team will commence a six-day training camp beginning this Saturday, August 17, at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.Coach Mark Torcaso will stage the camp from August 17 to 23 aimed at tapping more local-based players to its talent pool.About 30 players will be invited to the camp and it is the first activity of the Filipinas since the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) took over the role of managing the national women’s side.

Far Eastern University has announced the return of Tina Salak as the head coach of the Lady Tamaraws for the upcoming UAAP Season 87.The development, made on Wednesday, August 14, marks Salak’s reassumption of the role after she stepped down as FEU’s main tactician in June last year due to her plans of migrating to the US.

Filipino Olympic golfer Dottie Ardina took to social media to recall and speak up about the uniform issues and equipment during the Paris Olympics. This, after a video of her raising concerns about the lack of proper uniforms and gears for the Philippine golfers during the Olympic stage became trending and center of controversy. Ardina says that the video was posted by her mother where she aired her frustrations over the lack of proper uniforms and equipment at the Games. She alleged that their official competition shirts from the Philippine Olympic Committee did not arrive and also, the alternatives provided for them did not comply with the rules of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).“Several boxes of apparel containing competition gear were sent through courier directly to Paris. However, the French customs held the package carrying the competition gear and despite the best efforts made by the officials, the gear was not released in time,” POC said in a statement.Ardina took it upon herself to buy the required apparel for her and her teammate Bianca Pagdanganan. The golf duo ended up using their own plain shirts, and Ardina shared patches with her teammate to match their outfits as best as they could.Despite the incident, Ardina says she has no intention to cause any trouble and told her story in the hope that future athletes will get the gear they need and is required of them - on time and in the proper configurations - in the 2028 LA Olympics. 

National University is set to compete in the 2024 VTV International Women’s Volleyball Cup in Ninh Binh, Vietnam from August 24 to 31.The Lady Bulldogs were tapped as last-minute replacements after the withdrawal of University of Indonesia, making the reigning UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball champion the lone collegiate team in the eight-team field.Set to boost the Lady Bulldogs’ campaign are the Alas Pilipinas trio, Bella Belen, Alyssa Solomon, and Arah Panique, who will be coming off from a back-to-back bronze medal hauls of their own in the 2024 Southeast Asian Volleyball League (SEA V.League) in Vietnam and Thailand. The NU Lady Bulldogs will be up against Vietnam and pro clubs Aranmare Yamagata of Japan, Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass of South Korea, King Whale Taipei of Chinese Taipei,  Korabelka of Russia, Kuanysh VC of Kazakhstan, and Henan Shuanghui of China.Last year, Choco Mucho donned the Philippine colors in the annual tournament organized by the Volleyball Federation of Vietnam, where it took home the bronze medal and a pair of individual accolades for Sisi Rondina (best outside spiker) and team captain Maddie Madayag (best middle blocker).The overseas tournament will serve as NU’s preparation for its forthcoming UAAP Season 87 title defense. 

Algerian Olympic Champion and boxing gold medalist  Imane Khelif including teenage gymnastics gold medalist Kaylia Nemour and bronze medalist Djamel Sedjati were welcomed with cheers at Algiers Airport on Monday. Khelif, who won the women’s 66kg boxing event once said that she had to win for her country’s women, has become center of a gender controversy during the Paris Olympics. 

It will be a busy timetable for the Philippine Basketball Association when it opens the 49th Season this Sunday, August 18 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.In the season-opener Governors’ Cup, the league will have six playing dates for at least a month as they pave the way for two major international events that the PBA will play a major part.The first one will be the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers while the second one will be the participation of San Miguel and Meralco in the East Asia Super League (EASL) that features a home-and-away format for the second season.

Choco Mucho kept its Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference playoff bid alive after escaping Chery Tiggo on Tuesday, August 13, at PhilSports Arena.After coming from back-to-back losses to Petro Gazz and Capital1, the Flying Titans stayed in contention for the quarterfinals after overcoming the Crossovers in five sets, 25-16, 25-11, 23-25, 19-25, 15-12.

The Petro Gazz Angels soared above the Creamline Cool Smashers in a must-win Pool C match of the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference on Tuesday, August 13, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.Petro Gazz continued to turn things around in the second round of the PVL and shot down the streaking Creamline in five sets, 25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 23-25, 15-12.This victory improved their win-loss record to 3-3 and increased their chances of making the quarterfinals.Cuban reinforcement Wilma Salas paced the Angels with 34 points on 33 attacks and a block apart from 17 excellent digs, while Brooke Van Sickle registered 24 markers out of 23 attacks and an ace.

PLDT booked a ticket into the quarterfinals after eliminating ZUS Coffee in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference at the PhilSports Arena Tuesday night, August 13.The High Speed Hitters have qualified for the quarterfinals after dominating the still-winless Thunderbelles in straight sets, 25-18, 25-14, 25-12.Russian import Elena Samoilenko led the charge for the PLDT High Speed Hitters, posting a game-high 14 points on 12 attacks and two blocks to go along with eight excellent digs and six excellent receptions, while Majoy Baron supplemented the offense with 13 markers on nine attacks, three blocks, and one ace.For Baron, who also nabbed the Player of the Game nod, the triumph was a way of having fun and being consistent. She also revealed that missing the Final Four last conference became their motivation to win their games.

Imports are essential for the league as they bring dynamics to each team that they play for and local players will have a glimpse on how to play with international players. In the Governors’ Cup, the usual third conference of the league that allows each team to get one reinforcement, will be the first conference to be held by the PBA this year.This year, the conference will have a 6’6” height limit for imports - a little difference from the 6’5” limit from last year.They will also bring excitement to the fans as some of the imports are former NBA players whom they can only watch from television before but now they can have a chance to watch them live in the basketball venues.

After crashing out of the W100 Landisville quarterfinals, Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala bounced back from her loss rather quickly after outplaying Julia Riera of Argentina in the first round of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) W100 Tournament in Cary, North Carolina on Monday, August 12.At the women’s singles Round of 32, the 147th ranked Eala overpowered the world No. 119 and eighth seeded Riera, 6-3, 6-1, in a 58-minutes match to move to the Round of 16.The 19-year-old Eala was fresh off a loss from the 2024 Kewer Jewelers Tennis Challenge in Landisville, Pennsylvania over the weekend, losing to Olivia Galecki of Australia in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 0-6, 6-3.Eala is either going to face Hina Inoue of the United States or her former doubles partner Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia in the next round. The tournament serves as Eala’s final build up for the US Open Qualifiers set August 20 to 24 in New York.

The Office of the President prepares a simple yet meaningful heroes’ welcome once the 22 Filipino Olympians return to the Philippines on Tuesday.According to Reichel Quiñones, Chief of Presidential Protocol and Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs, two-time Olympic champion Carlos Yulo and the rest of the Filipino Olympians will arrive in the Philippines in the evening of Tuesday, August 13, via chartered flight, where they will be received by their families at the Maharlika Presidential Hangar at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.They will be welcomed by the First Family in Malacañang, and after that, an awarding ceremony and dinner reception will be held in a simple yet meaningful way for them.

Italian Angiolino Frigoni will be debuting as Alas Pilipinas men’s head coach in the first leg of Southeast Asian Volleyball League (SEA V.League) slated for August 16 to 18 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.The 70-year-old mentor is a two-time Olympian head tactician for the Italian women's team in the 1992 Barcelona and 2000 Sydney games. He was formally named by the PNVF last June after being recommended by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) last year.The Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF), headed by President Ramon Tats Suzara expects Alas Pilipinas men's team to showcase quality competitions among fellow Southeast Asian nations in the single round robin three-day tournament.