A major transition is underway for Gilas Pilipinas as veteran big man Japeth Aguilar nears the end of his storied international career, making way for the arrival of Quentin Millora-Brown.Head coach Tim Cone confirmed that Millora-Brown—a 6-foot-10 former US NCAA Division I player with a brief stint at the University of the Philippines—has been officially cleared by FIBA to represent the Philippines as a local, after a successful appeal by his legal team. This means he joins Gilas without affecting the naturalized player quota, fulfilling his long-held dream of donning the national colors.Millora-Brown’s addition bolsters an emerging frontline that now includes AJ Edu (6’10”) and Kai Sotto (7'3”), alongside veteran June Mar Fajardo (6'10”). Cone expressed excitement about the future, envisioning a formidable trio of Millora-Brown, Sotto, and Edu anchoring Gilas for years to come.Japeth Aguilar, 38, has answered the call for the national team since 2009 and was coaxed out of retirement for the latest campaign after Kai Sotto’s injury.“Japeth is a warrior. He’s stepped up for the country time and time again,” Cone said, expressing admiration for the veteran’s dedication.With Millora-Brown’s skillset and basketball IQ, Cone believes he will seamlessly fit into Gilas’ triangle offense, the same system Cone runs at Barangay Ginebra. “He’ll fit well within our triangle system and will enjoy playing that role,” Cone noted.As Aguilar’s era winds down, Gilas Pilipinas enters a new chapter—led by a young, athletic frontcourt trio ready to carry the nation’s basketball hopes onto the international stage.

SBP Executive Director Erika Dy and new Gilas Men head coach Norman Black outlined preparations for the Southeast Asian Games at the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum. New Gilas coach Norman Black is not leaving any stone unturned in forming the best team possible as the country seeks to retain the throne in men’s basketball in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December.Black, who coached the Philippine team led by collegiate stars Greg Slaughter, Kiefer Ravena, Chris Tiu and Ray Parks to the gold in the 2011 SEA Games in Jakarta, has encountered difficulty forming the squad due to conflict of schedule for PBA players, collegiate players and those playing as imports in Japan and Korea.“Our preparations are going to be short, that's why we need to get guys who can play together very quickly and who can play together very well,” said Black. Meanwhile, Erika Dy the SBP executive director also detailed the federation’s plan to build a competitive roster, while Black expressed eagerness to lead the squad, bringing decades of experience to the role. Once the initial pool of players is formed, coach Norman Black will call for practices on Mondays and prior to departure for Thailand, the team will do eight to nine straight days of practice.“But the goal will definitely be to win the gold. There’s a lot of work to be done,” coach Black added.Dy also assured everybody that once the team is formed, “we will be ready.”Dy spoke mainly of the SBP programs for the remainder of the year, and it includes further promoting the sport in public schools in collaboration with the Department of Education through Secretary Sonny Angara and the Philippine Sports Commission through chairman Patrick Gregorio.“Hopefully, we will be signing a memorandum of agreement soon,” said Dy.With the Philippines determined to reclaim SEA Games basketball gold, both Dy and Black are confident that strong preparation and roster depth will be crucial to success.“It’s a lot different now. Things have changed at how teams are recruiting players now. Things are different in the sense that everybody has improved in Southeast Asia,” coach Norman Black concluded. 

Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone had mixed emotions following the Gin Kings’ 80-73 defeat to Magnolia in the opening game of the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.“I’m happy for LA, sad for myself,” Cone admitted after his team fell to his former floor general and now Magnolia head coach LA Tenorio, who earned his first coaching victory in his debut.The much-anticipated matchup between mentor and student saw Tenorio’s Hotshots control the game from start to finish, using a strong start and steady composure to secure the win.Cone, however, downplayed the “duel” narrative between him and Tenorio. “You guys are making a big deal out of it,” Cone said.  “We’re friends. It’s the same thing when I coached against Chot Reyes, Jeff Cariaso, Johnedel Cardel, or Luigi Trillo—they’re all my ex-players and coaches. It’s just part of the game.”Despite the loss, Cone expressed pride in Tenorio’s successful coaching debut, showing that the lessons once learned under his mentorship can now be used to craft victories of their own.

Alex Eala is set for her next test at the Japan Women’s Open, opening her campaign today, October 14, against Czech player Tereza Valentova. The 19-year-old Filipina tennis star continues to climb the international rankings, now at a career-high No. 54, and is eager for another breakthrough to bring pride to the Philippines.The Japan Open boasts a stacked field, headlined by top seed and world No. 16 Naomi Osaka, world No. 17 Linda Noskova, No. 21 Elise Mertens, No. 27 Leylah Fernandez, No. 41 Marie Bouzkova, No. 49 Olga Danilovic, No. 42 Ann Li, and No. 40 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.Eala will look to build on her momentum as she takes on the world’s best on the Japanese hard courts. In the meantime, Eala has been enjoying her time in Japan with her parents and coach, making the most of the experience both on and off the court.

Filipino rising star Kenneth “The Lover Boy” Llover continued his impressive ascent in the boxing ranks after scoring a fourth-round stoppage victory over Luciano Baldor of Argentina.The spitfire from General Trias, Cavite showcased his trademark aggression and power, flooring Baldor before sealing the win with a decisive flurry that forced the referee to step in.With the victory, Llover preserved his perfect record, improving to 16 wins with 11 knockouts (16-0, 11 KOs) — a clear statement that he remains one of the Philippines’ most promising young fighters.The dominant performance further cements Llover’s growing reputation as a knockout artist and a future contender on the international stage.

What began as a season of high hopes is quickly unraveling for the Meralco Bolts. The squad absorbed its second straight defeat in the EASL Home and Away Season 3, falling to the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots, 82-72, on Sunday at the Taoyuan Arena in Taipei.Imports Ismael Romero and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led the fightback with huge performances. Romero posting 26 points and 17 rebounds, and Hollis-Jefferson adding 22 markers, 14 boards, and four assists, but their efforts fell short after trailing by as much as 17.Meralco now drops to 0-2 in Group B, a disappointing start for a team that entered the season with confidence, anticipating the arrival of Justin Brownlee, who has yet to join the roster.Meanwhile, William Artino powered the Pilots with 20 points and 17 rebounds to lift them to a 2-0 record atop the group standings.The Bolts also lost composure late in the first half when consultant Nenad Vucinic was ejected for back-to-back technical fouls, leaving coach Luigi Trillo to steer the team’s comeback attempt.“We battled back and did enough to make it manageable,” said Trillo, as Meralco trimmed a 17-point deficit to just six in the final minute before running out of time.

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) held its annual Rookie Draft on Sunday, July 14, as the league enters its 49th season.Justine Baltazar has been drafted by the Converge FiberXers as the top overall pick in the 2024 PBA Rookie Draft at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati.The 6-foot-7 big man, who was linked to the franchise even before he declared for the league’s annual proceedings, expressed his delight to play for his former college coach and current Converge mentor Aldin Ayo eight years after they steered De La Salle University to the title of UAAP Season 79 in 2016.“I am very happy because I already worked with Coach Aldin in UAAP. I already know his system so I am excited to work with him again,” Baltazar told ABS-CBN in an interview.Since playing for Coach Ayo with the Green Archers, the 27-year-old has received a call-up to the national team and made a name for himself in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League with Pampanga Giant Lanterns where he won Season and Finals Most Valuable Player awards. He also had a brief stint with the Hiroshima Dragonflies in the Japan B.League.These stints made Baltazar one of the most prized prospects in recent years.Now at Converge, he will bolster a frontcourt that also features reigning Rookie of the Year Justin Arana as well as Jeo Ambohot and Patrick Maagdenberg as the FiberXers look to bounce back from back-to-back last place finishes in the past two conferences.Among the other notable players in the class are Filipino-American guard Sedrick Barefield, who went to Blackwater at No. 2. RJ Abarrientos was picked third overall by Barangay Ginebra while Kai Ballungay, a versatile forward out of Ateneo, was chosen by Phoenix at No. 4.Selected fifth by NorthPort was Dave Ildefonso while the youngest in the draft 22-year-old Jonnel Policarpio of La Salle joined NLEX Road Warriors at No. 6.Former Alab Pilipinas standout Caelan Tiongson and Filipino-Swedish guard Felix Lemetti landed with Rain or Shine at 7th and 8th, respectively.Meanwhile, former Adamson star Jerom Lastimosa got picked by Magnolia at No. 9 followed by other UAAP standouts Mark Nonoy joining Terrafirma at No. 10 and CJ Cansino favored by Meralco at No. 11.Avan Nava, a Filipino-Canadian guard, completed the first round as he joined San Miguel as the 12th overall selection. 

Filipina weightlifter Elreen Ando booked a return trip to the Olympics after a strong showing in the women’s 59 kg event at the 2024 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup in Phuket, Thailand last April.In what seemed like a passing of the torch moment, Ando overcame Hidilyn Diaz after tallying a personal best 228 kilograms after posting 100 kilos in the snatch and 128 kg in the clean and jerk.It was 6 kg better than the combined effort by Diaz, the first athlete to win an Olympic gold medal for the Philippines in the 55 kg event in Tokyo.The 25-year-old will look to eclipse her past Summer Games. Ando aims to improve upon her seventh-place finish during her Olympic debut in Japan by showcasing her resilience and commitment to success.After missing out on a podium finish at the Olympics in Tokyo, the Cebu native ruled the women’s 59 kg class in the 32nd edition of the biennial sporting event in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.Having had enough runner-up finishes in the Southeast Asian Games, Ando shattered records in snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift to give the country its first weightlifting gold from the Cambodia SEA Games last year.Prior to her Paris berth, Ando snared another podium finish after claiming the silver medal in the women’s 59 kg category in the 2024 Asian Weightlifting Championship held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.Her historic win came with a bittersweet feeling as it cost Diaz's Olympic dream ending. But now that she is the country’s bet, Ando is ready to step up to the challenge and make a name for herself.The future is certainly now in Elreen Ando, and maybe a golden ending awaits her redemption arc in Paris.Ando will open her campaign on August 8.

Can the one and only King of MLBB Analysis help solve the Phoenix Army’s playoffs woes?That is the question that many people are asking, as Caisam “Wolf” Nopueto traded his three-piece analyst suit and caster headset for a white-black-and-orange long sleeved polo to call the shots on the side of a revamped TNC Pro Team’s roster for MPL Philippines Season 14.Wolf, a 13-season veteran of global Mobile Legends broadcast, was announced as the new lead tactician for TNC in a roster reveal held Sunday night.The legendary esports broadcaster is a two-time Philippine Esports Awards winner, and had also innovated the use of graphic explainers, and his self-developed mobile app, in giving context and deep analysis to what was traditionally a hype and energy-centered MPL Philippines broadcast.

As the University of Baguio celebrates their 76th Anniversary on Thursday, August 8, they proudly greet their alumni who carry the Philippine flag in the 2024 Olympics.Paris Games bronze medalists Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villgegas together with Carlo Paalam and Eumir Marcial received huge congratulatory messages from their alma mater where they once carried the red and gray flag as UB Cardinals.Now bringing their talent and skills in the international stage, the university greeted them proudly in their official Facebook page:

The 30th edition of the PBA Press Corps Annual Awards will be full of history when they conduct it on September 24 at the Novotel Manila.First on the list will be the presence of former Commissioner Renauld “Sonny” Barrios as he will be the guest of honor and keynote speaker on the awards night, and finally reconnect with his PBA family.Barrios was the longtime deputy commissioner to the late Emilio “Jun” Bernardino before becoming the main man of Asia's first pay-for-play league in 2008.He left the league in 2010 but continued to work hand-in-hand with the PBA when he became the executive director of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP). He held the position from that year until his retirement earlier this year.Barrios, along with the entire Press Corps led by its president Vladi Eduarte of the Abante Group, will recognize the PBA's top performers who made the previous season a memorable one.

Losing Game 1 of their semi-finals series against Ginebra was tough for San Miguel Beermen as they went from a grinding five-game quarterfinal match-up against Converge and another face-off in EASL but the coaches do not see their schedule as an excuse for their loss.In an exclusive interview with Scoreline.ph, SMB assistant coach Peter Martin his piece on why they lost the game and on how they can bounce back from their loss and tie the series come Game 2.First he shared about the lesson learned in their Converge series. He shared that the whole team relaxed and they thought that it would be an easy series for them but when they have given a little chance to the FiberXers, they put them to a grueling do-or-die game.Martin added that even though they were a little bit tired against the fresh Ginebra squad, they don’t see it as a big factor on why they lost the opening game of the series. But that’s the price they have to pay off on being relaxed in their previous series.“Despite the fact that we played 5 games, and we even played against EASL last Wednesday, we don't make that an excuse. Maybe it's just one small factor. But it's the Brownlee effect,” said Martin.If you watched the game last night, he had 5 four-point shots and scored 20 points in the third quarter. That cannot happen against a team like Ginebra,” he added.Asked on what they need to do in the next game in order for them to cope up against the Gin Kings, Martin said in jest, “Maybe don’t let (Justin) Brownlee hold the ball.”He also said that they just need to have a defensive scheme against the six-time PBA champion import so that Brownlee’s explosion will not happen again, especially that they are not going up against a weak team.“They are one of the strongest teams. If not the strongest team, the strongest team in the PBA right now because of Justin Brownlee. So he's the focal point. We saw it last night and we have to adjust,” Martin said.The SMB assistant coach also told Scoreline.ph that they lacked in their schemes during Game 1 and needed to improve their effort level and surpass the effort level of Ginebra.

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.  

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.

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.

That was the story of Game 4 of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup Finals when Barangay Ginebra defeated TNT Tropang Giga, 106-92, last night, November 3, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.From the beginning, the Gin Kings showed their grit steered by Justin Brownlee who finally found his groove in the series and finished with 34 points — 15 from the first quarter.Brownlee also finally fired his first-ever triple in the series, delivering three. He even added two four-pointers.“Justin is usually a very good starter, especially in big games. He knows how important he is to set the tempo and to give confidence to his teammates," said Cone of Brownlee.Stephen Holt also found his touches and was named Best Player of the Game, contributing 18 points, three rebounds, and two assists. He also stole the ball five times and tightly guarded TNT’s import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

The Philippines will host the ASEAN Women’s Futsal Championship to be held on November 16 to 21 at the Philsports Arena. This tourney will serve as a kick off of the Pinay 5’s one-year buildup for their stint in the grandest stage — the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s Cup in November next year that the country is also hosting.Meanwhile, Philippine Football Federation president John Gutierrez hopes that the hosting of this tournament in the country and the 2025 FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup will inspire young Filipinos to pick up the sport.

Former two-time ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion Eduard "Landslide" Folayang has given his full support to Filipina Muay Thai rising star Islay Erika Bomogao in her upcoming debut fight on November 8 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.Bomogao will face Japanese striker Fuu in a 100-pound catchweight Muay Thai bout at ONE Friday Fights 86.In a conversation between Folayang and Bomogao on social media, the former two-time ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion said he has seen how Bomogao has grown and become a great fighter and martial artist.

The TNT Tropang Giga has dominated Game 5 of their best-of-seven series against Barangay Ginebra, 99-72, on Wednesday night, November 6, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.TNT moved closer in clinching the championship as they now lead the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup Finals series, 3-2.Kelly Williams, who started for the first time in the Finals for the Tropang Giga was vital in providing the spark early as he produced the first seven points for the team and ended up with 13 markers and three rebounds.

The Samahahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) appointed veteran point guard Lewis Alfred Tenorio as the new head coach of Gilas Pilipinas Youth.Tenorio has taken over the reins from Josh Reyes, who stepped down from his post last September after having dismal performances in FIBA Tournaments.