Gymnast Carlos Yulo, boxer Eumir Marcial, and rower Joanie Delgaco will open the Philippine campaign at the Paris Games on Saturday, July 27, a day after the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games by the Seine River.Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino has high hopes that this year’s delegation will match the feat of weightlifter Hidilyn Dias, who captured the country’s first gold, or surpass the silver medals of boxers Carlo Paalam and Nesty Petecio, all achieved in 2020 Tokyo Olympics.“We are looking forward to Caloy, Eumir and Joanie to give the country that strong start in Paris. They are all prepared and inspired and in high spirits,” Tolentino stated in an interview with the Philippine News Agency.Delgaco, the Philippines’ first-ever female rower to make the Games, will be the first to see action in the quadrennial meet.The 26-year-old will race in the women’s sculls heats at 3:00 p.m. (Manila time) at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, with the hopes of entering the semifinals scheduled on July 29.Meanwhile, gymnast Yulo and boxer Marcial will have their competitions running simultaneously starting at 9:30 p.m.The 23-year-old, who placed fourth in the vault event in Tokyo, will compete in the qualification round of the men’s gymnastics individual all-around at the Bercy Arena. The finals will be set on July 31.Yulo, the 2019 floor exercise world champion and 2021 vault king, is one of the Philippine bets to win a medal. The 10-time Asian Championships gold-medalist finished fourth in vault at the Tokyo Games three years ago.Marcial, on the other hand, will box in the round of 32 in the men’s light-heavyweight division (80kg) at the North Paris Arena.The 28-year-old pride of Zamboanga City, who has a 5-0 record as a pro, bagged the middleweight bronze in Tokyo.“This team, I believe, is the most prepared in Philippine Olympic history,” Tolentino said, also expressing his gratitude to the Philippine Sports Commission for its unrelenting support of the athletes’ training.The Philippines is celebrating its 100th year of participating in Paris, which will gather 10,714 athletes from 206 nations competing in 329 events from 32 sports from July 26 to August 11.

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang may have crowned its new Queens of the sport.This, after Smart Omega Empress (OMGE) dethroned stalwarts, Team Vitality (VIT), to take the MLBB Women's Invitational (MWI) 2024 and write history as the first Filipino team to win a tournament at the Esports World Cup.The all-Filipino team executed a clean sweep over their Indonesian rivals in the Best-Of-Five (BO5) Grand Finals, ending their 24-match winning streak dating back to 2021.OMGE Roamer, Meraaay said during the post-match press conference: “We want to give honor to our country. I hope we made our kababayans (countrymen) proud, including those who went to the venue to support us. It feels like a dream for all of us. We would like to take our hats off to Team Vitality who gave us a good fight. We can already call ourselves world champions."

Alas Pilipinas Men is preparing for a significant two-week training in Italy as part of their preparations ahead of the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship.Italian coach Angiolino Frigoni braces for a tough campaign for the men’s national volleyball team as the world No. 64 Alas Pilipinas was automatically grouped in Pool A, attempting to score an upset as they battle with Asian championship runner-up world Iran, 11-time African Championship titleist Tunisia, and reigning African champion Egypt slated September 12-28 next year.

The PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup quarter final round begins on Wednesday, September 28, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium with interesting pairings of the best-of-five series.

After flourishing at the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) East Asia Men’s Baseball Cup last year, higher stakes are on the table as the Philippine men’s baseball team hopes for a repeat act when they commence their campaign when the country hosts the 14th East Asia Baseball Cup slated October 28 to November 3 at Clark, Pampanga.According to Philippine Amateur Baseball Association (PABA) president Chito Loyzaga, the nation is rarely given the chance to organize an event of this nature; the previous one was held in 1995, or about thirty years ago. For this reason, the Philippines is making sure that everything is ready for the occasion.

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 much-awaited Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference is scheduled to take place over six exciting months, with clubs competing for supremacy on the court in action-packed matches and intense competition.The Philsports Arena in Pasig will host the season opener on November 9, 2024, and fans are excited to see what promises to be one of the most surprising and evenly matched seasons yet.Entering the season as the squad to beat is Creamline, the current PVL powerhouse and recent Grand Slam holder. The Cool Smashers are anticipated to keep setting the bar high as their roster is mostly intact.Creamline is expected to make its first appearance on November 16 against long-time rival Petro Gazz at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.In an effort to contend with Creamline’s dominance and sustain a competitive advantage, a number of teams have made roster adjustments. 

Stephen Holt is already making a tremendous impact in his first ever conference wearing the Barangay Ginebra uniform.One of the best performances of the PBA’s Season 48 Rookie of the Year awardee happened on November 3, Sunday, when he was named as the Best Player of the Game with 18 points, three rebounds, two assists, and five steals to lead the Gin Kings to their second straight victory in the Finals after failing their first two battles.Last season, Holt led the Terrafirma Dyip to a playoff appearance in his rookie year. But before Season 49 started, he and Isaac Go were traded to Ginebra in exchange for Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle.In an exclusive interview with Scoreline.ph, Holt shared about his experience of being part of the most popular team in the league. He also shared what he can contribute in the championship round.The Fil-Am guard said that it’s an amazing feeling that he’s back in the Finals after seven years of waiting. His last stint was in 2017 when he was still playing in the Czech League.Now that he is back in the championship competition, the sophomore said that it’s the reward of the hard work that they put into the season.

James Buytrago and Ran Abadilla displayed great resilience after a first-set loss to overcome Japanese rivals Yoshi Hasegawa and Dylan Kurokawa, 22-24, 24-22, 15-9, in the ongoing Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championship at the Nuvali Sand Courts in Santa Rosa City, Laguna on Thursday, November 8.The Filipino duo rallied from a slow start before sustaining their momentum to seal the game in the decisive third set. “We will not simply break down and give up,” said Buytrago. “The first set was extremely challenging and frustrating, but we kept pushing forward. This win was crucial for us.”

Criss Cross emerged as the top-seeded team after sweeping Savouge, 25-22, 25-21, 25-22, concluding the elimination round of the 2024 Spikers’ Turf Invitation Conference on Sunday, December 1, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. The King Crunchers tied with their archrivals, the Cignal HD Spikers, atop the leaderboard with 8-1 win loss records, but wound up with the superior points ratio.Nico Almendras had his greatest game to date in a Criss Cross jersey, registering a game-high 19 points built on 15 attacks, three aces, and one block. The King Crushers ended the elimination round on a scorching six-game winning streak thanks to his outstanding performance."This win is important to us because we will be competing in the semis so maybe what we played today, we will be able to watch it and,  of course, learn from it as well," said Almendras.

Defending champion University of Santo Tomas eliminated the Adamson Lady Falcons, 71-59, on Wednesday, December 4, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena to forge a best-of-three UAAP Season 87 championship series with seven-time champions National University Lady Bulldogs.“It is a total team effort. At the end of the day, our defense dictated our game against Adamson,” UST head coach Haydee Ong said in Filipino. “This game also showed the things we need to work on ahead of the finals.”After falling behind by double digits in the second quarter, the Lady Falcons sprinted to a 15-2 run to take control and grabbed a 37-35 lead at the half. Adamson kept attacking the cold-shooting UST early in the second half before the Tigresses put up a 13-3 blitz to conclude the third quarter and restore momentum on their way to the game-winning victory. 

Few months before the start of the 87th season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) women's volleyball tournament, Dr. Obet Vital filed his resignation as the head coach of UE women's volleyball team last Tuesday, December 10. Although for Dr. Vital, it was a tough decision he made, but there are things beyond their  control. According to the chief tactician of the Recto-based volleyball squad, there were differences in vision, particularly regarding the program of development, especially in grassroots initiatives, and the long-term direction of the team. Also, the approach is not maintained and no longer aligned. 

De La Salle University asserted its dominance in UAAP Season 87 volleyball, securing victories in both the men’s and women’s divisions against archrival Ateneo de Manila University on Wednesday, March 12, at the SM Mall of Asia.In the women’s match, Shevana Laput delivered a career-high performance, scoring 25 points to lead the Lady Spikers to a 25-15, 25-14, 20-25, 25-19 victory.With 19 attacks, three blocks, and three aces, Laput spearheaded La Salle’s third consecutive win, improving their record to 4-2. Angel Canino contributed 17 markers, while rookie setter Mikole Reyes recorded 20 excellent sets.Despite Ateneo taking the third set and an early 8-4 lead in the fourth, La Salle regained control behind Laput’s explosive plays, sealing the win after two hours and 14 minutes. The victory marked the Lady Spikers’ 15th straight win over Ateneo since the Season 79 Finals in 2017.

National University (NU) reaffirmed its dominance in both men’s and women’s volleyball, securing crucial victories over the University of Santo Tomas (UST) to close the first round of the UAAP Season 87 tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, March 16.

Filipino-American standouts Brooke Van Sickle, MJ Phillips, and Tia Andaya are gearing up for their potential national team debut in the upcoming VTV Cup in Vietnam.This year marks the third consecutive appearance of a Philippine team in the VTV Cup.Alas Women head coach Jorge Souza de Brito expressed that the trio were not able to suit up for the AVC Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup due to pending eligibility requirements under the Philippine Federation.Fortunately, their documentation is reportedly nearing its completion.De Brito also confirmed last week that Van Sickle had already joined the national team’s training alongside Phillips, Andaya, Maddie Madayag, and Alleiah Malaluan. 

Makati FC captured the Girls 13 title at the Gothia World Youth Cup with a commanding 6-0 victory over the San Francisco Seals of the United States in Gothenburg, Sweden, last Saturday, July 19.Nafeeza Ayasha Nori starred for Makati FC, scoring four goals—including a second-half hat-trick—to lead her team to an unbeaten run in the tournament. This triumph marks back-to-back Gothia Cup crowns for much of the same squad that claimed last year’s Girls 12 championship.“We won because we worked as a team and played really well,” said Nori.Chayada Sawangarom, Ariana Gementiza, and Nori all found the net in the first half, giving Makati FC a 3-0 cushion at halftime. The team completed a perfect 8-0 record on their way to the title.“Winning the Gothia Cup for the second time is such an honor, especially since this tournament brings together some of the best teams from around the world. Defending our title was our biggest challenge. The pressure motivated us and gave us more reason to win.” said Gementiza. This year marks Makati FC’s 40th appearance in the prestigious youth football tournament.In the semifinals, Makati FC was equally dominant, defeating Sweden’s Boo FF 6-0. On the boys’ side, Makati FC’s Boys 14 team exited in the Round of 32 after a narrow 2-1 loss to Latvia’s JDFS Alberts 2, following an undefeated group stage campaign.

It was a dream debut for Collins Akowe and a perfect opening statement for host school University of Santo Tomas.The rookie sensation powered the Growling Tigers to a stunning 87-67 rout of defending champion University of the Philippines in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball opener on Sunday, September 20, instantly reshaping the league’s title picture.Akowe, a prized recruit from the National University Bullpups, imposed his will on both ends of the floor, finishing with a monster double-double of 29 points and 17 rebounds. His dominance in the paint anchored UST’s charge, as the España-based squad set the tone early and never looked back.With the Growling Tigers’ suffocating defense complementing Akowe’s inside presence, the Fighting Maroons were kept on their heels all game long, unable to find their rhythm in their first step toward a title defense.The convincing victory not only gave UST a massive morale boost but also signaled that the once-struggling program is determined to contend this season.

UAAP Season 86 volleyball runner-up University of Santo Tomas avoided an early exit after triumphing over debuting Team SOCCSKSARGEN in Pool B of the Shakey’s Super League (SSL) National Invitationals at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Thursday, July 11.Composed mostly of rookies looking to gain experience, the Golden Tigresses amassed a 25-17, 25-18, 28-30, 25-14 victory with the team banking on Marga Altea’s 17-point effort to finish the group stage of the tournament.UST avenged their stunning 16-25, 26-28, 25-17, 25-17, 16-18 defeat at the hands of University of Batangas Lady Brahmans last Wednesday, July 10.Abigail Sinson also contributed 13 points, including an ace that gave UST a commanding lead in the fourth set, while Kaizah Huyno added 11 markers.“We still have a lot to improve on, especially our communication. As a new team, it is super hard for all of us because coming from different schools and regions, we only have five core members of the UST girls volleyball team so it is super hard to pull us all together. But we were able to find a way and I hope this will continue,” said Altea after the match.Team SOCCSKSARGEN, a selection squad from Southern Mindanao, got 16 points from Janelle Maignos while Tresha Parong and Shendy Acebo scored seven and six markers, respectively.Meanwhile, University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) defeated Lyceum of the Philippines University, 25-19, 17-25, 25-23, 25-19, in Pool C.Ressel Pedroza displayed her scoring prowess with 15 points to lead the reigning Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc (CESAFI) champion to an all-important win over the NCAA Season 99 third placers, boosting its chances of advancing into the next round.The Lady Panthers bounced back from an opening day 13-25, 15-25, 17-25 loss to Far Eastern University to close the group stage with a 1-1 slate.    USPF will secure a quarters seat if the Lady Tamaraws beat the Lady Pirates on Friday.

Team USA has dominated their Olympic opponents both in the men’s and women’s divisionThe Americans led by NBA superstars LeBron James and Kevin Durant defeated Serbia 110-84 in their opening game of their group stage.LeBron James tallied 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds while Durant scored the game high 23 points coming off a perfect field goal from the first half of play.On the other hand, Nikola Jokic paced the Serbian team with 20 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.The win placed Team USA on top of Group C after one set of games. Their next opponent will be the uprising and first time Olympian South Sudan team on July 31.