Stephen Curry waxed hot in the Olympics men’s basketball tournament finals tallying 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting from behind the arc to lead Team USA in capturing the gold medal.The Americans became the Olympic champions for the fifth consecutive time after weathering the 26-point effort of France’s 20-year-old phenom Victor Wembanyama to grind out a 98-87 over the host team on Sunday early morning (PH time) at the Bercy Arena in Paris.Curry’s 24-point explosion included the four 3-pointers he made in the final 2:43 of play with one sealing the game with 1:19 remaining. It put the Americans up by 93-84. He also put the final nail in the coffin by draining one more with 30 seconds left - with his signature “night night” move where he puts his hands on the side of his face.

Nikola Jokic’s triple-double led Serbia to win their first Olympic bronze medal in the men’s basketball tournament when they defeated the reigning FIBA World Cup champions Germany, 93-83.Jokic scored 19 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished off 11 assists to secure the first bronze for their country in the Paris Games.Vasile Micic backed-up Jokic with his 19 points, and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 16 markers.Meanwhile, Germany was led by Franz Wagner with 19 points while Mortiz Wagner tallied 16.

Filipina weightlifter Vanessa Sarno capped her Olympic debut in disappointment after logging a DNF (did not finish) at the Paris Olympics women’s weightlifting 71kg class at the South Paris Arena early Saturday (Manila time).What looked like a promising Paris Games campaign came to a quick halt as the 20-year-old Sarno used up all her three snatch attempts at 100kg, 10kg lower than her previous personal and national record, to no success.

Filipina golfers Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina exhibited their fighting spirit, displaying their clutch performances to end their respective campaigns in the Paris Olympics women’s individual stroke play at the Le Golf National on Saturday, August 10.Pagdanganan narrowly missed out on a historic medal for the Philippines as she finished at joint fourth with an impressive 4-under 68 in the fourth and final round. She was one stroke away from a bronze medal until China’s Janet Lin birdied in the 18th hole to seize the solo third and dash the Filipina’s medal hopes.

Team USA stormed back from a potential upset against Serbia to return to the gold medal game in the Olympics men’s basketball tournament.The Americans defeated the Serbians 95-91 at the Bercy Arena on Friday, August 9 (PH time), after bouncing back from a 17-point deficit.Stephen Curry showcased his best of the tournament by producing 36 points on 9 of 14 shooting behind the arc while LeBron James recorded his second triple double in the Olympics (first player to do it in history) by scoring 16 points, grabbing 12 boards and dishing off 10 assists.Entering the fourth period, the Serbians still have a 13-point cushion but Curry and James together with Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant showed their poise in the final canto where they went on a 14-2 run which turned an 84-77 deficit to a comfortable 91-86 lead with 1:41 remaining in the game.A three-point play from Bogdan Bogdanovic and a short stab by Nikola Jokic got Serbia to within two, the last time at 93-91 with 8.2 seconds remaining but Curry iced the game with his two free throws to finally put the Serbians away.Team USA will now have a finals rematch against host country France whom they also beat in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to win their fourth straight gold in the Summer Games.The gold medal game will be scheduled at 3:30 a.m on August 11, Sunday (PH time).On the other hand, Serbia will battle Germany for the bronze medal at 5:00 p.m on August 10, Saturday (PH time).

The Philippine Team, including the two-time gold medalist Carlos Yulo, that competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics will be back in the country on August 13. 

After two years of waiting, the No. 2 overall pick in the Season 49 rookie draft Sedrick Barefield is now ready to take his act to the Philippine Basketball Association.Barefield said that he is blessed to finally get going in Asia's first-ever play-for-pay league where he is expected to play a major role in Blackwater’s campaign in the 49th Season Governor’s Cup.He also credited the Bossing head coach Jeffrey Cariaso and his wards for making the transition smooth for him.

After falling short of a podium finish in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Ernest John “EJ” Obiena is now looking to inspire future generations by putting a spotlight on his sport when he comes home to the Philippines.Obiena aims to stage a pole vault competition at the Ayala Triangle Gardens on September 20, featuring some of the competitors from the Paris Games.Fresh from a fourth-place finish in the Olympics, Obiena said he can now dedicate more time planning the event, which is already sanctioned by the World Athletics.

Norman Miguel has stepped down as National University head coach after directing the Lady Bulldogs to a successful title-redemption campaign in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament last May.Miguel confirmed on Thursday, August 8, that he already parted ways with the UAAP champions with deputy Ray Karl Dimaculangan installed as the interim head coach of the squad in the V-League while NU is still in the process of finding a replacement for him. Dimaculangan called the shots for the Lady Bulldogs’ tournament-pening victory against Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the V-League Preseason last Sunday, August 4, at the Paco Arena. 

Coming off a loss to Chery Tiggo last time, PLDT redeemed itself by blanking Farm Fresh to end its Premier League Volleyball (PVL) Reinforced Conference first round duties on a high note at PhilSports Arena on Thursday, August 8.The PLDT High Speed Hitters ended their Pool A run with a sweeping victory against the Farm Fresh Foxies, 25-20, 25-23, 25-23.The High Speed Hitters relied on Russian import Elena Samoilenko who finished with 22 points, supplemented by nine excellent receptions. Fiona Ceballos provided backup on offense and defense with 11 markers, 10 digs, and nine receptions, while veteran playmaker Kim Fajardo made 12 excellent sets and contributed on offense with three points. Mika Reyes also added eight points, half of which coming from blocks.

Arisa Trew, a 14-year-old teenager, made history after she shattered the 68 years of Olympic drought and became Australia’s youngest-ever Olympic medallist and the youngest gold medallist in the Summer Games.That record had stood for 68 years, going all the way back to Melbourne in 1956, when Sandra Morgan won the gold medal in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay.Morgan had been 14 years and 184 days old then – 94 days older than Trew.As the judges and audience graced her stunning moves in skateboarding, Trew won the gold medal at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France. The 14-year-old young lady grinned as she popped out of the bowl, with her smile as striking as her statement hot-pink helmet.With her final go, Trew landed an imperious line peppered with 540s and a stunning front nose blunt on the box grab 180 out to finish.The teenage gold medalist scored 93.18 on her final run.Now, Trew says she expressed her desire  to compete in the L.A Olympics in 2028.

Chery Tiggo overcame a second set stumble and took down Galeries Tower in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig on Thursday night, August 8.The Chery Tiggo Crossovers capped the first round on a high note with a commanding four-set win over the Galeries Towers Highrisers, 25-17, 22-25, 25-23, 25-16.Spiker Ara Galang led the team’s local offense with 16 points built on 11 attacks and five blocks, while import Khat Bell, despite nursing a minor back injury, still tallied a game-high 25 markers on 21 attacks, three blocks, and one ace to go along with 12 excellent receptions and eight excellent digs. 

The Creamline Cool Smashers cruised past the Nxled Chameleons in straight sets to end their Pool A campaign on a winning note at the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference at the PhilSports Arena on Thursday, August 8.The Cool Smashers continued their dominant play, capping off their round one schedule with a 25-18, 25-18, 25-20 victory over the Chameleons.In the absence of Alyssa Valdez, Tots Carlos, and Jema Galanza, Creamline banked on the trio of American import Erica Staunton, Bernadeth Pons, and Michele Gumabao to bemused Nxled and improve to a 4-1 record.

The host country France is heading back to the Olympics men’s basketball gold medal game after narrowly defeating Germany in their semi-final battle, 73-69.Germany started out strong to take a 10-point lead in the first canto of play but France tied the game heading to halftime. Les Bleus built a 13-point lead of its own with less than seven minutes in the fourth and final period. Germany cut the deficit into two in the final minute but France held on to the lead until the final buzzer.Guerschon Yabusele led France with 17 points. Victor Wembanyama had 11 points on 4-for-17 shooting, while Rudy Gobert went scoreless in just five minutes of action.Dennis Schröder scored a game-high 18 points for Germany and Franz Wagner chipped in with 10.France now awaits the winner of the USA-Serbia match-up to know whom they will face in the finals of the tournament.In France men’s basketball Olympic history, they have three silver medals in their bags - all three coming at the hands of Team USA and the latest was in 2020 Tokyo Olympics. This is the French’s 4th gold medal match appearance in Olympic basketball.This year's gold medal game will be held at 3:30 a.m on August 11, Sunday (PH time).Meanwhile, Germany will be battling for their first Olympic men’s basketball medal against the loser of the USA-Serbia match-up for the bronze medal at 5:00 p.m on August 10, Saturday (PH time).

Filipina weightlifter Elreen Ando might have finished outside of the podium but she set a pair of personal-best marks in the women’s weightlifting 59kg division at South Paris Arena 6 on Thursday, August 8 (Manila time).In her return to the Olympic stage, Ando registered a total lift of 230kg, with 100kg from the snatch and 130kg from the clean and jerk, both personal bests, to finish in sixth place among 12 competitors.The 26-year-old Ando eclipsed her previous records of clean and jerk and total lifts of 128kg and 228kg, respectively, which she achieved at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup in April in Thailand.She also equaled the national snatch record of 100kg, which she set at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh last September. Ando finished the Summer Games in sixth place, improving from her seventh-place finish with 222kg in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 64kg category. Reigning world champion Luo Shifang of China smashed all of the Olympic records in the division with a 107kg snatch, 134kg clean and jerk, and 341kg total as she bested two Tokyo gold medalists. Canada’s Maude Charron took the silver with a total of 236kg, while Chinese Taipei’s Kuo Hsing-chun secured the bronze with a total of 235 kg.The Philippines' youngest Asian champion, Vanessa Sarno, will aim to end the weightlifting team’s campaign on a high note on Saturday, August 10, in the women’s 71kg category.

Team USA advanced to the semifinals of the Olympic men’s basketball tournament by dominating Brazil 122-87 on Tuesday, August 6 (Manila Time) at the Bercy Arena in Paris.The Americans made a 21-2 run and erected a 29-point lead before halftime scoring a total score of 63 points against the 36 of Brazil.LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Jrue Holiday led the run that held the Brazilians without a field goal in a four minute stretch.Brazil continued to struggle in the second half of play as Anthony Edwards and Devin Booker took over on what they had started earlier. Team USA has once again flexed their depth as they have six players reaching double digit points led by Devin Booker’s 18 points putting his best scoring game in the Olympics while Anthony Edwards added 17. The other players who reached double digits were LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant and Anthony Edwards.James, the team’s captain and leader in assists during the pool phase once again showed his leadership by quarterbacking for the Americans as he dished off nine assists to go along with his 12 points and three steals before heading out the game after receiving an inadvertent elbow from Brazil’s Bruno Caboclo early in the fourth period.Meanwhile, Caboclo paced the Brazilians with 30 points but the quarterfinals will be the end of the Olympic journey for Brazil who qualified to the tournament by winning the FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament in Riga.USA will then meet Serbia in the final four that will begin on Friday, August 9 (Manila Time).

Capital1’s Russian reinforcement, Marina Tushova, reset the Premier Volleyball League record books by scoring 45, powering her team past Choco Mucho in a thrilling five-set encounter at the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) on Thursday, August 1, at the PhilSports Arena.Tushova’s 45-point explosion surpassed the previous record of 44 points set by Dominica Priscilla Rivera of Akari during the 2022 Reinforced Conference.The Russian outside hitter poured 43 kills, one block, and an ace to complete the Solars Spikers come-from-behind victory that set their best start in the league so far with a 2-2 record in Pool B.Tushova also hard-carried the defensive side of the ball in the win with 18 excellent receptions and 12 excellent digs as middle blocker Des Clemente tallied seven points off four blocks, while Julia Ipac scored six.On the other hand, Choco Mucho’s Greek import, Zoi Faki, scored a conference-best 28 in the losing cause as the Flying Titans sank to a 1-3 slate in Pool B.Dindin Santiago-Manabat contributed 16 points with 12 attacks, two blocks, and two aces, while Maddie Madayag and Royse Tubino added eight markers apiece.Capital1 will look to sustain its momentum when they face ZUS Coffee, while Choco Mucho will aim to recover when they face Petro Gazz on Tuesday, August 6, at the same venue. 

Cignal executed a near perfect game to continue its dominance of Pool B in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference on Thursday, August 1, at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.The HD Spikers dismantled the struggling Petro Gazz Angels in straight sets, 25-19, 25-19, 25-22, bringing them close to sweeping Pool B with a perfect 4-0 record.This is also the HD Spikers’ best start in two years since the Invitational Conference in 2022 to secure their places among the top three teams.

Carlos Yulo begins the first of his three final events at the Paris Olympics men’s artistic gymnastics at the Bercy Arena on Wednesday, July 31.The reigning Asian all-around champion, Yulo showed he can go toe-to-toe with the best in the world after placing ninth in the qualification with a total of 83.631 points.The individual all-around finals, featuring 24 finalists, is expected to be a showdown among the Chinese and Japanese aces with Filipino-British bet Jake Jarman as a dark horse.Meanwhile, Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthua Carrion is realistic that Yulo has a slim chance in the all-around competition.“He will not win,” said Carrion bluntly. “But he will give it his all.”But Yulo will be there in what could well be a preview to an anticipated Yulo moment in floor exercise and vault finals at the Bercy Arena this weekend.Yulo's determination to succeed stems from a frustrating finish in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games, where the 2019 floor exercise world champion could not make the final event as a fall during the qualification round took him out of medal contention.

Hidilyn Diaz, the Philippines’ first Olympic gold medalist is coming to the French capital, not as an athlete, but as a member of the International Weightlifting Federation Athletes’ Commission.Her arrival to the Games was confirmed by the Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Dicky Bachmann on Tuesday, July 30.“She is arriving either on August 3 or August 4,” said Bachmann in a text message, adding that Diaz’s arrival would be a great source of inspiration for other Filipino athletes who are still vying for the Olympic medal, including her fellow weightlifters Elreen Ando, John Ceniza and Vanessa Sarno.“Her presence will definitely add much-needed inspiration to all our athletes competing in the Summer Games,” added Bachmann.The Zamboanga native Diaz, who captured the country’s first Olympic gold medal during the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, remains a towering figure in Philippine sports as her feat became a shining moment for the nation.Marking a new chapter in her journey to develop future champions, Diaz inaugurated her weightlifting academy, HD Weightlifting Academy, in Jalajala, Rizal on July 26, the third-year anniversary of her golden conquest in the Tokyo games.