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.

Meralco Bolts has defeated the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, 99-94 in the opening game of the PBA’s 49th Season.Returning import Allen Durham led the Bolts with a double-double scoring 20 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. Chris Banchero, who sank the first-ever four-pointer in PBA history, backed Durham with 14 points while Meralco’s captain Christ Newsome added 13 and energy-bunny Cliff Hodge chipped in 12 including nine rebounds and five assists.Sophomore Jolo Mendoza also made an impact by scoring 13 including the second four-pointer of the game including 3-of-3 shooting from the arc. He even got an ovation from the fans when he was subbed out after giving quality minutes for his team.

Capital1 ended the preliminaries of the 2024 Premier League Volleyball (PVL) Reinforced Conference on a high note after drubbing Galeries Towerson Tuesday, August 20, at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.The Solar Spikers morphed into a legitimate contender in the PVL after winning against the Highrisers in four sets, 25-13, 26-28, 25-22, 25-21.

Filipino Olympian and pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena finished joint third place in the men’s pole vault at the Lausanne Diamond League athletics event in Switzerland on Wednesday, August 21 (Philippine time).Obiena cleared 5.82 meters in just a single attempt to place third, tied with Sondre Guttormsen of Norway and Kurtis Marshall of Australia, in the tournament which had 11 competitions. Reigning Olympic champion and world No. 1 Armand Duplantis of Sweden ruled the event placing first with 6.15 meters followed by Paris silver medalist Sam Kendrick of the United States with 5.92 meters clearance. This is Obiena’s first competition after a narrow podium finish in the Paris Olympics where he placed fourth registering a height of 5.90 meters, but lost the bronze to Emmanouil Karalis of Greece due to a tiebreaker.Obiena is also expected to compete in the Silesia leg of the Diamond League on August 25.

The Creamline Cool Smashers clipped Petro Gazz Angels’ wings in the knockout quarterfinals of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference with a decisive victory. Despite being undermanned, Creamline secured the final spot in the semifinals after toppling the two-time Reinforced Conference defending champion Petro Gazz in straight-set wins, 25-23, 25-19, 25-18, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre on Tuesday, August 27. The Cool Smashers dominated what was expected to be a close contest, thanks to strong performances from Erica Staunton and Bernadeth Pons.

Gilas Pilipinas Women standout Jack Animam returns to Europe, as she embarks on a new journey with a Romanian club.The 25-year-old Filipina athlete has signed a contract with FCC UAV Arad, a Romanian women’s professional basketball league squad, the team announced in a social media post.

Jerrick Ahanmisi scored a career-best 24 points to lead the Magnolia Hotshots’ overwhelming win over Terrafirma Dyip, 124-104, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.Magnolia went back to their identity as a defensive team and even led as much as 60-22 in the second quarter.Ahanmisi's career game was highlighted by his four 4-pointers and two 3-pointers, where his 10 of 24 markers in the second period fueled their breakaway to erect a 63-32 lead at the half.Before Ahanmisi’s explosion, Hotshots import Glenn Robinson III made his presence felt early in the game and finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds despite dealing with food poisoning on the eve of the match.Zavier Lucero, Ian Sangalang, Paul Lee and Joseph Eriobu each finished with at least 12 markers to back up Ahanmi’s impressive performance.The performance pleased Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero even though the Hotshots seemed to relax in the second half where they allowed the Dyip to score more than 30 per quarter.

Meralco Bolts bank on a huge third-quarter tear to rip NorthPort Batang Pier, 109-99, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Sunday night, September 1.Import Allen Durham hulked a near triple-double performance spiked by his 19 of his game-high 34 points in the third quarter where the Bolts pulled away from the Batang Pier for good. He added 15 rebounds and nine assists to lead Meralco in a joint Group A lead with TNT Tropang Texters at 3-1.Chris Banchero put up 23, Bong Quinto chipped in 18, including a team-leading 14 in the first half, while Anjo Caram contributed 10, all in the third canto.On the defensive end, the Bolts limited Arvin Tolentino to 21 after exploding for a career-high 51 in their last game in a follow-up to a near triple double in a previous outing.The Bolts also did a good job on NorthPort import Venky Jois whom they bounded to just six points, five rebounds and three assists with two turnovers.William Navarro and Joshua Munzon contributed 18 and 16, respectively for the Batang Pier who fell to an even 2-2 record as their two-game winning run was snapped.

The Philippine men’s football team opened its Merdeka Cup campaign with a loss, 1-2, against host country Malaysia on Wednesday night, September 4, at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.Jefferson Tabinas scored the nation’s first goal on its comeback appearance in the Merdeka meet since 1972. The goal gave the Philippines an early 1-0 lead but Harimau Malaya didn’t stay idle for too long as the Malaysians tied the score after a straight-away shot from Mohammad Syamer Bin Kutty Abba just outside the box in the 43rd minute.A yellow card sanctioned against new comer Matthew Baldisimo after tackling Aiman Hanapi inside the box resulted in a penalty kick in favor of Malaysia at the 73rd minute. With Safawi bin Rashid’s penalty kick landing a goal, the Malaysians successfully triumphed against the Filipino booters to achieve their first lead of the game, 2-1.The Philippines is now relegated for a third place match and will battle Tajikistan on Sunday, September 8. 

After handily defending his title against India's Saurabh Kumar at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia lastSunday, WBC Asia super-bantam title Marlon Tapales aims to fight again and meet WBC/WBA/IBF/ WBO super bantamweight Japanese champion Naoya “The Monster” Inoue. Sanman CEO JC Manangquil said they will ensure that Tapales will remain active in boxing and hopefully  he may be able to fight someone again before the end of this year. Manangquil added that if one of the titles held by Inoue becomes vacant, he can go and fight for it. "Maybe if one of those titles becomes vacant from (Naoya) Inoue, we can fight for a world title. But we will keep Marlon active. Maybe another fight before the end of the year," said Manangquil.Right now, Tapales is busy rehearsing and preparing for a possible world title shot next year. May of this year, Tapales fought Nattapong Jankaew of Thailand where he won via KO in Pasay City, while in 2023, Tapales was defeated via KO by Japanese champion Naoya "The Monster" Inoue in the 10th round of their match in Tokyo, Japan. 

The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters relied on their huge fourth quarter surge to promptly get back on the winning track after defeating Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters 122-107 on Tuesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.Caelan Tiongson, Andrei Caracut and Gian Mamuyac poured out the buckets they needed while Adrian Nocum and Aaron Fuller painted their own will to lead a 24-4 run from a 95-97 deficit that gave the Elasto Painters a safe 119-101 lead, only 1:22 left.Nocum led the Elasto Painters with 16 points, partnered with a career-high 10 rebounds to notch his first career double-double while import Aaron Fuller added 16 markers and 11 boards, even though he’s buckled with foul trouble.Gian Mamuyac poured out 14 points which included back-to-back triples during their fourth quarter run. Anton Asistio and Jhonard Clarito put up 13 and 10 respectively while ROS prized rookies Tiongson and Felix Lemetti both tallied 12 points.Guiao played down the win, saying Phoenix isn't playing to its potential.

After an embarrassing 49-point beating from SMB, Barangay Ginebra bounced back big through a boost by RJ Abarrientos to deliver a 112-96 victory against Phoenix on Wednesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.Abarrientos produced a career-high 24 points highlighted by a four-pointer and three triples, together with five rebounds and five assists to lead the Gin Kings in clinching a quarterfinals berth.Japeth Aguilar joined the fray by firing 21 points, while Scottie Thompson added 20. Justin Brownlee and Maverick Ahanmisi contributed 13 and 12, respectively to balance the scoring for the crowd-favorite team.Ginebra now has a 6-3 win-loss record, half-game behind the joint leader San Miguel and Rain or Shine which both 6-2 slates.

Lara Posadas-Wong won a silver medal for the Philippines in the women’s singles at the 7th Asian Tenpin Bowling Champions in Bangkok, Thailand.The national team mainstay demonstrated exceptional skill throughout the competition, tallying 1,353 pinfalls, averaging 225 per game over six rounds. Posadas-Wong conquered a tough 5th game, tallying a final score of 258 just 29 pins behind gold medalist Daphne Tan of Singapore, who scored a total of 1,382 pinfalls. South Korea’s Baek Sung Ja took the bronze medal with 1,340 pinfalls. Meanwhile, Marie Alexis Sy and Dyan Arcel Coronacion placed 13th and 19th, respectively, for the Philippines. Other Filipino athletes participating in the prestigious event include Art Barrientos, Kenneth Chua, Marc Custodio, JP Macatula, MJ San Jose, and Merwin Tan in the men’s squad, as well as Grace Gella, Dale Lazo, Krizziah Macatula, Sy and Coronacion in the women’s team.The competition continues with the doubles, trios, and team-of-5 events.

The University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigresses secured its second straight win after hammering University of the Philippines, 84-60, in the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, October 2, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.Tacky Tacatac delivered her best performance of the season after unloading four triples to finish with 20 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter that gave UST an 84-58 cushion with 1:20 remaining on the clock.“I hope she (Tacky) continues to play well. Like they say, a shooter will always be a shooter. It will give us more space in our offense because the defenders are focused on Tacky,” UST head coach Haydee Ong said post-game.Kent Pastrana as usual sustained her outstanding performance, finishing with 21 markers, highlighted by three triples, nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals to improve the Growling Tigresses record to 5-1.UST rookie Karylle Sierba recorded 11 markers, six dimes, three boards, and two deflections, while Season 85 MVP Eka Soriano chipped in five points, eight rebounds, and four steals in the winning effort. The Growling Tigresses will aim to conclude the first round on a winning note against Far Eastern University on Saturday, October 5, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. 

The Elasto Painters team is now ready for their competition against Magnolia Hotshots in another do-or-die game tomorrow, Saturday, October 5, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City. Coach Yeng Guiao firmly believes that through this match, their desire to end the eight-year hunger for a title will be strong and soon to get hold of it. It can be remembered that last Tuesday in their intense Game 4 against the Hotshots, Rain or Shine failed to get the third win and they were dumped by Magnolia, 129-100. Guiao said that his team's stability as well as their resiliency and character will be tested in their clash tomorrow (Saturday) against the Hotshots. “Yung experience of playing a Game 5, of being in a winner-take-all situation, sa akin, kasama na ng build up yun. We're always getting better every playoff game that we played,” said the head coach of Rain or Shine. “So investment namin ito sa future ng team na para lalo kang tumitibay pag ka ganitong sitwasyon. So a Game 5 would be good for us as a team. This Saturday pag balik namin kailangan mas prepared kami for a very physical game, noting how the Hotshots played physically in the previous game.” Guiao added. “On our end, siguro kailangan kaming mag step up in terms of being a little bit more aggressive defensively and medyo yung transition game namin, yung running game namin, I don’t know if we’re tired or we’re a little slower or not able to get into the pace that we would usually be playing,” told Guiao. The winner of the series will play TNT Tropang Giga in the best-of-seven semis that begins on Wednesday, October 9, 2024.

Converge surprised the mighty Beermen once again as they dragged them to a winner-take-all showdown after having a 114-110 victory in Game 4 of their PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup quarterfinals match-up to tie the series on Friday night, October 4, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.The FiberXers put the pressure on SMB by making clutch plays in the end including Bryan Santos' back-to-back triples that gave them a 101-95 lead in the home stretch.

Rain or Shine advanced to the semi-finals of the PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup after defeating Magnolia in the Game 5 of their grueling battle, 113-103, on Saturday night, October 5, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.Andrei Caracut rose to the occasion by scoring six of his 14 points in the final two minutes of the game.Aaron Fuller produced his usual contribution by knocking 26 points and grabbing nine rebounds, while Jhonard Clarito and Adrian Nocum added 17 markers each.Leonard Santillan and Keith Datu were also vital in the Elasto Painters’ win as they chalked up 12 and 11 points, respectively.RoS head coach Yeng Guiao said that he is proud of how his young team fought against a veteran team like Magnolia.

University of Santo Tomas in their domination against the University of the Philippines, 84-57, in the second round of their UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Women’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday afternoon, October 14, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.The Growling Tigresses now have a 7-1 record bolstered by their fourth straight win led by their veteran guard Tacky Tacatac who finished with a game-high 23 points.

Nikola Jokic's triple-double was a monster, but the Denver Nuggets needed an extra 5 minutes to beat the Brooklyn Nets 144-139 at the Barclays Center last Wednesday night (PHT).Jokic finished with 29 points, 18 rebounds, 16 assists to become the second player in NBA history to list such big numbers in a game. The first one was recorded 62 years ago by Oscar Robertson, and having it done twice in 1962.Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon also scored 24 points each, while Russell Westbrook scored 22 markers and 5 assists off the bench for Denver.The Nuggets erased a 17-point deficit in the second quarter, leaving it 124-121 in the final 33 seconds of regulation before Jokic’s tip-in and Dorian Finney-Smith's split free throws to tie the game at 125-125.Cam Thomas sank the first basket of overtime for the Nets to have a 127-125 lead, but Denver scored the next eight points of the game and never let up to earn the victory.Three Brooklyn players scored 20 points or more but fell short. Dennis Schroder put up 28 markers, while Thomas had 26 and Cam Johnson 20. Nic Claxton also scored 16 points and grabbed 12 boards.Meanwhile, Ben Simmons, who’s suffering from lower back injury, was absent again for the Nets, which recorded a season-highs of 40 points in the first quarter and 72 in the first half.