The Filipino MMA star Joshua Pacio is now making progress in his recovery from knee injury, and focusing on rehab.Pacio had to trust his doctors and therapist for him to get back on the saddle. “The therapy is going well, and I’m making progress,” he said. “It’s a process, but I trust it. It’s still a long road, but I’m devoted to coming back stronger.” Pacio saidAlthough Pacio also continues to keep an eye on the ONE strawweight division. He heard his name on the lips of his old rival Jared Brooks weeks after he celebrated his interim title win against Gustavo Balart at ONE Fight Night 24. Jared Brooks bagged the ONE interim Strawweight MMA World Title against Balart. Brooks is eager to fight Pacio again to cement his status as the division’s best and to win his old belt back, but the Filipino has personal reasons for wanting the trilogy.   

Filipino-Canadian Kayla Sanchez and Filipino-American Jarod Hatch, who both represented the country in the Paris Olympics 2024, will join the Philippine Aquatics Inc. (PAI) national trials this month at the Teofilo Ildefonso swimming pool of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. A total of 61 Filipino swimmers based abroad have signed up to join some 500 local hopefuls for a 50 meter (long course) and 25 meter (short course) swimming championships slated on August 15 to 18 and August 20 to 23, respectively.The national trials will be the basis for the selection of the national team members who will see action in the Aquatics World Cup series, the 46th Southeast Asian Age Group Championships and the World Aquatics Championships next year.Sanchez and Hatch banner the list of foreign-based hopefuls together with former Southeast Asian Games champion Chloe Isleta, junior standout Heather White, and Teia Salvino. 

As Paris concluded the spectacle that brought together 206 nations represented by 10,714 athletes excelling in their respective fields, the Philippines’ top sport officials are expected to gather together to discuss the mishaps that came into sight towards the end of the country’s campaign in the Paris Olympics in an effort to make sure the national sporting program doesn’t deviate from its next goal: the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.According to sources within Team Philippines, several officials, including high-ranking officers from two affected national sports associations, will make an effort to sort through the problems that afflicted the golf and weightlifting squads days before the closing of the Summer Games at the French capital. One of the issues that plagued Team Philippines is the “toxic environment” that weightlifter Vanessa Sarno blamed after she logged three failed lifts in the snatch category of the women’s 71kg competition and bowed out of the podium race swiftly.

Alas Pilipinas secured another bronze medal after prevailing over Indonesia in the second leg of the 2024 Southeast Asian (SEA) V.League on Sunday, August 11, at the Korat Chatchai Hall in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.Alyssa Solomon, Sisi Rondina, and Jema Galanza formed a potent combo to breeze the Philippines past Indonesia in five grueling sets, 20-25, 25-20, 16-25, 25-20, 15-10, for another podium finish in conclusion of the regional meet.Solomon and Rondina proved to be a lethal one-two punch on offense with 25 and 18 points, respectively, helping the Philippines battle back after trailing twice in the match.Alas newcomer Galanza saved the national’s fading medal hopes from 1-2 down with eight of her 14 markers in the fourth set as the Filipinas reached the podium for the second straight leg.Indonesia, which was the Philippines’ tormentor in the past three SEA Games, went winless in six games in two V.League legs despite the efforts of Megawati Pertiwi, who fired 31 attacks, three blocks, and two aces.It will be the turn of the Alas men’s team to play in the V.League starting on Friday, August 16, in the first leg held at Ninoy Aquino Stadium. The second leg is set in Indonesia starting on August 23.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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 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 golfers Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina made significant strides in the second of four rounds in the Paris Olympics women’s individual stroke play at the Le Golf National on Thursday, August 8.Pagdanganan put up her best performance yet in Paris 2024 after firing a 3-under 69 to climb seven spots after ending the first round with a par 72. She brushed off two two bogeys in the first four holes and went on to earn four birdies, including three in the back nine with a total score of 3-under 141 through two rounds.If Pagdangan keeps her nerves and sustains her charge, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) veteran could increase the country’s medal harvest.Ardina, the other Philippine bet in the field, remained at the bottom half of the 60-woman field despite improving four places to joint 36th. She shot a par 72 as she compensated for a double bogey at the second hole with birdies at 11th and 18th for a 4-over 148.Japan’s Yuka Saso, who represented the Philippines in the 2020 Tokyo Games, struggled anew and dropped a spot to joint 47th. She went two-over-par with 74 in the second round, with a seven on a par-four 12th hole.Round 3 of the event will continue on Friday, August 9.