Rain or Shine head coach Joseller “Yeng” Guiao is elated after the Philippine Supreme Court approved his petition for mandamus calling on the country’s gambling regulators to distribute funds to the country’s sports commission.At the heels of the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association or PSA Forum in Manila, the former Pampanga solon, who is once again leading tactics for the Elasto Painters in the PBA, says he is expecting that the move will generate much-needed funding for the country’s sports programs.

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. 

The Creamline Cool Smashers extended their record as champions after bagging their 10th overall title and became the first Premier Volleyball League (PVL) team to win three conferences in one season. The untouchable Creamline conquered the gutsy Cignal HD Spikers in a five-set thriller, 21-25, 25-17, 20-25, 26-24, 15-13, to clinch the Invitational Conference crown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Thursday, September 12.Creamline made history as they also won the All-Filipino Conference earlier this year and the Reinforced Conference just a week ago, completing a historic grand slam. The Cool Smashers rallied behind the efforts of Best Outside Hitter awardee and American import Erica Staunton who fired 29 points coming from 26 attacks, while Reinforced Conference double MVP Bernadeth Pons led the locals with 27 markers anchored on 24 attacks and two aces, also tallying 16 excellent receptions and 13 excellent digs.

Being the number one team in the league right now, the TNT Tropang Giga was expected to dominate the winless Terrafirma but the Stanley Pringle and the Dyip have other plans.Pringle led the bottom team to upset the top team to notch their first win of the tournament, 84-72, on Thursday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.The shifty guard produced 15 of his total 18 points in the fourth quarter including 10 straight that inspired his teammates to give their best until the final buzzer.

The University of Santo Tomas blasted Mapua University for a back-to-back win in the 2024 Shakey’s Super League (SSL) Collegiate Pre-Season Championship on Sunday, October 6, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. The Golden Tigresses swept the Lady Cardinals with a straight set 25-18, 25-17, 25-20 victory, securing them the second spot behind Pool B leader University of the East with a 3-0 record. “We enjoyed the game. We played the first set in a relaxing manner and we carefully played our game,” said Kyla Cordora who posted nine points on all kills.Xyza Gula contributed eight markers and Margaret Alta scored seven, while Jona Perdido and Regina Jurado supplemented six apiece. Bianca Plaza drove UST at match point, 24-17, before three continuous points from Mapua impeded the Tigresses’ victory. Cordora, however, prevented them any chance of a comeback, halting the Lady Cardinals’ late rally and delivering the final point.

Adamson University ended the first round of the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Basketball Tournament, securing a solo third place following a 63-51 win against University of the East on Sunday, October 6, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.The Lady Falcons delivered a stellar performance for their Season 87 campaign, closing out the first round with a 5-2 record. The last time they achieved this much success was when they finished third place after losing against De La Salle University back in Season 75 in 2012.“I’m very happy with how the first round went for us. It’s all about the effort of the players. On our part, we’ll just guide them,” said Lady Falcons head coach Ryan Monteclaro.The third quarter became a challenge for the Lady Falcons as they had to weather UE’s charges. The Lady Warriors kicked off the second half with a 16-6 run fueled with Ivy Yanez’s eight-point surge to cut the deficit to 47-37.However, Adamson was able to quickly regain their composure with nine unanswered points in the final period as their lead ballooned to 56-37 advantage eventually sealing the game to secure their fifth win of the season. Monteclaro fielded all of 16 of his players, with 13 of them getting on the scoresheet.Kim Limbago tallied 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting with three assists, two rebounds, and one steal for the Lady Falcons. Kim Adeshina supplemented seven markers, 11 boards, three blocks, one deflection, and one dime, while Angela Alaba contributed seven points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.Yanez led the Lady Warriors with 16 markers, six boards, three dimes, and one block, while Katherine Ruiz and Aliyah Ronquillo supplied 12 and 10 points, respectively, in the losing effort.

Social media icon Jake Paul etched another milestone in his professional boxing career when he defeated Boxing Hall of Famer “Iron” Mike Tyson in a unanimous victory at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.The youthfulness of the 27-year-old Paul overcame the iconic boxer to get his 11th win in 12 fights, while the 58-year-old Tyson record went to 50 wins and 7 losses.It was also the first time that “Iron Mike” returned to the ring since 2005.Tyson tried to bring back his old form but Paul always had an answer to continuously dominate the match.Using his speed, Paul surprised the boxing legend and rocked him in the 3rd round, and he continued his pace until the 8th and final round.In the final 10 seconds of the game, Paul gave a vow to Tyson to give honor to the Hall of Famer.Paul landed 78 punches of the 278 he had thrown, while Tyson only landed 18 of 98. After the match, Paul said that it’s an honor that he fought his idol in the ring.

In a momentous turning point, ZUS Coffee claimed its first Premier Volleyball League (PVL) win after a four-set victory, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-15, over Nxled in the All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday, November 19, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.The Thunderbelles at long last broke through after enduring a winless reputation since its debut in the league, ending its 20-game losing streak."We're only starting. Even at our first conference, we had a few months to train. Even though it's All-Filipino, somehow the veterans are like late additions," said ZUS Coffee head coach Jerry Yee.

Kyle Nathan Fabian and Lediviere Joy Hebron captured six gold medals on the first day of the 2024 Palarong Pambansa games at GMall Atrium on Thursday, July 11.The Zamboanga Peninsula dancesport duo dominated the Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot, Quickstep and the 5-Dance categories.“It is our first time at the Palaro, and winning gold is an incredible feeling,” Fabian told the Manila Times in an interview.Hebron shared that their journey to the Palarong Pambansa was marked by rigorous training.“We trained five times a week,” she said.The pair made history as the first-ever dancesport medalists of the Palarong Pambansa in the juvenile or elementary category, a significant milestone for Region IX and their school, Montessori De Zamboanga.This year marks the debut of dancesport as a regular medal event in the Palarong Pambansa, making it one of the most anticipated competitions at the annual multi-sport event.

Aaron Fuller is returning to the PBA as the import of Rain or Shine Elasto Painters for the Season 49 Governor’s Cup. He will be reunited with Yeng Guiao, who coached him during his stay with the NLEX Road Warriors.The PBA confirmed through its website that The Iowa and University of Southern California product will be playing for his fourth team in the PBA. He suited up for NLEX from 2017 to 2028, Blackwater in 2019, and TNT in 2022.Fuller played recently for Fuerza Regia in Mexico, Urunday Universitario in Uruguay, and Gigantes de Guayana in Venezuela.With the combination of the 34-year-old Fuller international experiences, steady veterans and a bunch of quality rookies that they drafted this year, the Elasto Painters is set to go deep once again in the PBA battlefield just like they did in the Philippine Cup last season where they reach the semifinals for the time after five years of waiting.Fuller and ROS might have a strong chance to go deep but they still have to face the four-time Governor’s Cup champion Justin Brownlle, three-time conference best import awardee Allen Durham and a bunch of new reinforcements for the season-opening conference.

Filipino tennis sensation Alex Eala pulled off a double title campaign at the W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain on Sunday, July 21, capturing the women’s singles title less than 24 hours after claiming the women’s doubles championship.The 19-year-old displayed her prowess as she earned her fifth International tennis Federation (ITF) singles crown after walloping Andorran standout Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva in the Women’s Finals of the tourney, 6-4, 6-4.Eala advanced to the singles championship round after defeating Yulia Starodubtsewa in the quarterfinals, 7-6, 6-4, and Maria Jose Portillo Ramirez in the semifinal, 6-2, 6-1.A day before the singles championship, Eala bagged the doubles title with France partner Estelle Cascino as they outdueled the Bulgarian-Latvian duo of Lia Karatancheva and Diana Marcinkevica, 6-3, 2-6, 10-4, late Saturday night, July 20.“This win means the world to me, it even made me ugly cry. I am so proud because this represents the culmination of so much hard work,” Eala wrote in an Instagram post.“Securing my biggest titles yet in both singles and doubles is a fairytale finish, and I am overwhelmed with emotion. This will always have a special place in my heart, and I leave here with a pocket full of great memories and the will to work harder.”This week marked the best week of Eala’s pro career as she achieved the rare feat of winning both the singles and doubles titles.The world No. 155 seized her first $100,000 tournament in the process. 

Germany overcame their slow start to beat Greece 76-63 in their quarter-finals match-up and be the first one to enter the final four in the Olympics Men’s Basketball Tournament on Tuesday, August 6 (Manila Time).Franz Wagner led the German team in scoring with 18 points while Dennis Schroeder chipped in 13 points and 8 assists. The recent World Cup champions improved their record to 4-0 in the tournament.At the beginning of the game at the Bercy Arena, Germany fell behind 10-2 at the start and trailed much of the opening half.But a Schroder three-pointer after the break gave the Germans the momentum to control the game and took a 59-52 advantage coming into the final frame where they finished off their opponent.With the win, Germany men’s basketball team has entered the Olympics semi-finals for the first time in history.

Petro Gazz finally ended their three-game losing skid with a quick sweep of Choco Mucho to end their first round campaign in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference.The Angels end their campaign on a high note after defeating the Flying Titans through a straight-set win, 25-18, 25-21, 25-18, placing them fourth in Pool B and will face the top three teams from Pool A in the crossover second round.Petro Gazz’s Cuban import, Wilma Salas, paced the scoring for the Angels with 18 points and 18 excellent receptions, while Brooke Van Sickle supported Salas with 17 and two digs.Veteran playmaker Chie Saet also made sure the embattled Angels got their act together just in the nick of time, finishing with four markers and 15 excellent sets and seven digs, while Myla Pablo delivered 11.On the other hand, Choco Mucho’s Dindin Santiago-Manabat had a double-digit scoring output with 13 attacks, while Greek reinforcement Zoi Faki was only limited to three points.Choco Mucho ended their first round with a 1-4 record as the fifth-seed with its lone win over hapless ZUS Coffee. They will face a similar path of the Angels in the next round.

Choco Mucho kept its Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference playoff bid alive after escaping Chery Tiggo on Tuesday, August 13, at PhilSports Arena.After coming from back-to-back losses to Petro Gazz and Capital1, the Flying Titans stayed in contention for the quarterfinals after overcoming the Crossovers in five sets, 25-16, 25-11, 23-25, 19-25, 15-12.

Far Eastern University has announced the return of Tina Salak as the head coach of the Lady Tamaraws for the upcoming UAAP Season 87.The development, made on Wednesday, August 14, marks Salak’s reassumption of the role after she stepped down as FEU’s main tactician in June last year due to her plans of migrating to the US.

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.

Gilas Pilipinas Women absorbed a heartbreaking loss after almost pulling off a huge upset in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Rwanda as they bowed to Brazil, 77-74, on Monday, August 19.Ranked 40th in the world, the Filipinas gave the world No. 8 Brazilians a run for their money before running out of steam in the endgame to fall 0-1 in Group C.Jack Animam paced the Gilas with a monster-game scoring 18 points and grabbing 21 rebounds on top of four blocks, an assist, and a steal despite dealing with four fouls over 31 minutes of gameplay.Afril Bernardino backstopped Animam with 14 markers, seven boards along with two rejections and two steals, while Naomi Panganiban scored 13, five rebounds and four assists. Despite struggling from the field, Panganiban’s fourth-quarter work was crucial for Gilas Women to make it a close finish, with her booming three with 5:09 left allowing the Philippines regain the lead, 69-68.Khate Castillo and Stefanie Berberabe finished with 9 points apiece in the nip-and-tuck game that featured nine lead changes.Leticia Soares led Brazil with 15 points and five rebounds, while Emmanuely De Oliveira and Maria Albiero chipped in 13 and 12 markers, respectively.Gilas Women will take on world No. 16 Hungary on Tuesday, August 20.The Philippines needs a top-two finish in the group to advance to the semifinals.

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.

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters wiped out an early 21-point deficit to pummel the NLEX Road Warriors, 124-105, on Wednesday night and became the lone undefeated team in the PBA 49th Season Governors’ Cup.The Elasto Painters fell behind early, 45-24, but managed to still take the lead at the half 58-54 on their way to a 19-point victory at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.Rain or Shine fell behind, 40-24, at the end of the first quarter and went on an 18-0 run at one point in the second quarter to turn it around and finished the game with a convincing victory.

While the quarterfinals cast is already complete for the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup, the game between Converge and Magnolia on September 23 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium will determine the final match-ups in the playoffs.The two teams are now tied with 5-4 slate, and the winner of their 5:00 pm game will determine which squad will be the No. 3 seed in the next round and will face Group B’s No. 2 seed, San Miguel Beermen in a best-of-five series.Meanwhile, the loser of the match will face the top-seeded Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.