Italian Angiolino Frigoni will be debuting as Alas Pilipinas men’s head coach in the first leg of Southeast Asian Volleyball League (SEA V.League) slated for August 16 to 18 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.The 70-year-old mentor is a two-time Olympian head tactician for the Italian women's team in the 1992 Barcelona and 2000 Sydney games. He was formally named by the PNVF last June after being recommended by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) last year.The Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF), headed by President Ramon Tats Suzara expects Alas Pilipinas men's team to showcase quality competitions among fellow Southeast Asian nations in the single round robin three-day tournament.

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.

Algerian Olympic Champion and boxing gold medalist  Imane Khelif including teenage gymnastics gold medalist Kaylia Nemour and bronze medalist Djamel Sedjati were welcomed with cheers at Algiers Airport on Monday. Khelif, who won the women’s 66kg boxing event once said that she had to win for her country’s women, has become center of a gender controversy during the Paris Olympics. 

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.

Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala to forge ahead to the quarterfinal round of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) W100 Cary Tennis Classic in North Carolina after outplaying Oksana Selekmeteva of Russia on Thursday, August 15 (Philippine time).The 19-year-old pulled off a 7-6(5), 7-6(4) triumph over her former doubles partner Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia. The world No. 147 Eala seemed on her way to a straight-set victory in the Round of 16 when she eked a 4-1 lead in the second set against Selekhmeteva, who partnered with the Filipina during their girls doubles title romp in the 2021 French Open.Selekhmeteva previously held a 3-0 advantage over Eala in their singles head-to-head matchups. The Filipina will attempt to secure a semifinal berth when she faces the winner of the match between second seed Renata Zarazua of Mexico and Sijia Wei of China.

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.

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.

PBA Champions San Miguel Beermen and Meralco Bolts will banner the Home-and-Away Season 2 of the EASL season opener on October 2 at the Mall of Asia arena.Reigning PBA Commissioner’s Cup Champions San Miguel will be going against the Korean Basketball League (KBL) runner-up Suwon KT Sonicboom, while Philippine Cup champs Meralco will face the new team Macau Black Bears as the league opens its season on Philippines soil for the very first time.The group stage is scheduled from October 2, 2024 to February 12, 2025. Then, the Final Four championship weekend will be from March 7-9, 2025. Three more playdates will be held in the country.Another double header will be played on November 13 at the PhilSports Arena. It will feature the game between the Beermen against P.League+ runner up Taoyuan Pilots while the Bolts is scheduled to take on KBL’s champion, KCC Egis.On January 15, 2025, SMB will face another new team in Hong Kong Eastern Dragons Arena while Meracl will meet the B. League runner up Ryuku Golden Kings on the 22nd in the same Pasig venue.The EASL participants will be divided into two groups: Group A will be composed of Hiroshima Dragonflies, KT Sonicboom, Taoyuan Pilots, Hong Kong Eastern, and San Miguel Beermen while Group B will have the Ryuku Golden Kings, KCC Egis, New Taipei Kings, Macau Black Bears, and the Meralco Bolts.

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.

Arvin Tolentino scored his career-high 51 points in a romp made by NorthPort Batang Pier against Converge FiberXers, 135-109, on Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.Tolentino’s career-best broke the previous franchise record 50 points established by NorthPort’s former gunner Stanley Pringle during the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup.It was also the last 51-point production in the league since Asi Taulava had the same score back in 2004 where TNT won over Purefoods, 131-105 during the Fiesta Cup.According to PBA statistics chief Fidel Mangonon, Allan Caidic and Rudy Distrito were the last two homegrown players to hit more than 50 points. Caidic recorded a league-high 79 points on November 21, 1991 while Distrito scored 54 in Tivoli’s 162-149 over Ginebra.Adding flavor to Tolentino’s career game was his 15-of-27 shooting from the field - 10-of-14 from two-point range and 5-of-10 from beyond the arc while nailing a perfect 16-of-16 from the stripes.The First Mythical Team Member for the 48th Season breached the 50-point barrier with 2:01 left in the fourth on a jumper from the left wing, and was replaced shortly thereafter, receiving high fives from NorthPort coaches and players.

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 University of the Philippines will be left with a significant hole when the UAAP Season 87 begins with one of their top guns set to miss out the entire women’s basketball tournament.Reigning Rookie of the Year Favour Onoh will sit out her supposed sophomore season as she continues to recover from injuries to both knees. The UP Office for Athletics and Sports Development confirmed the development on Tuesday, September 3, signifying that they are keeping an eye on Onoh’s complete recovery instead of constraining her to join the team in pursuit to end a four-decade title drought.The Fighting Maroons hoped Onoh’s return would have been possible even in the later schedule, but their camp ultimately decided to do what’s best for the young hooper’s career.

The TNT Tropang Giga claimed a share of leading the Group A after overpowering the still winless Terrafirma Dyip, 107-89 in their match last night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.Rondae Hollis-Jefferson just shook off a nagging ankle injury to lead TNT in their win as he registered 26 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks.

Jerrold Mangliwan wrapped up his 2024 Paris Paralympics stint after finishing sixth and last in the heats of men’s 100 meter T52 at the Stade de France on Thursday, September 5.The veteran wheelchair racer registered a time of 19.44 seconds where he finished sixth and last among the 12 competitors. Only the top three from each of the two heats and the next two fastest advanced to the final.Tomoki Sato of Japan topped the heat with a time of 17.20 seconds, while Canada’s Anthony Bouchard clocked in 17.43 seconds and Mexico’s Salvador Hernandez Mondragon completed the top three with 17.45 seconds.Mangliwan is the fourth Filipino athlete to exit the Paralympics after para swimmer Ernie Gawilan, para archer Agustina Bantiloc, and para taekwondo jin Allain Ganapin.The Philippine delegation is now down to two with para swimmer Angel Otom and para javelin thrower Cendy Asusano still in the medal contention, hoping to tally the country’s third medal in Paralympic history. 

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.

Two-time Olympian and pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena insisted that the Philippines should not wait until the end of his career to find his heir apparent.Returning to top form is still the top priority, but Obiena is pouring his time and efforts by advocating for increased interest in his sport, aiming to share his expertise to children who want to follow in his footsteps.With the positive response of Filipino youth in sports especially after the Paris Olympics, the world No. 3 pole vaulter said the nation’s sports authorities responsible for grassroots developments should take advantage of this and make its move to make sports accessible.

The Philippines delivered another mixed bag of results in the seventh round of the 45th FIDE in Budapest, Hungary.Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna and defending woman national champion Ruelle Canino snared a ticket back to the medal race after pacing the Filipina team for a 2.5-1.5 upset over the fancied 26th-seeded Argentina. Frayna outlasted Woman International Master Maria Jose Campos with Catalan’s Defense English opening in 62 moves, while Canino defeated WGM Claudia Amura in 39 moves of a King’s English Variation of the English Opening.WIM Jan Jodilyn Fronda finished an 80-move draw with Anapaola Borda Rodas, while Woman Fide Master committed an error in a 46-move match against WGM Candela Francisco.The Filipina woodpushers ascended back to 22nd spot of the 183-nation event.Grandmaster Julio Catalino Sadorra, meanwhile, forced a draw with super Grandmaster Ante Brkic in 31 moves of Ruy López: Morphy Defense.Sadorra’s draw prevented the men’s team from being swept by the 27th seed Croatia after International Master Paulo Bersamin and Grandmasters Daniel Quizon and John Paul Gomez bowing out to their Croatian rivals. Newly minted GM Quizon fell to GM Sasa Martinovic in 46 moves, while Gomez faltered to Hrvoje Stevic and Bersamina was shut in 60 moves.The Filipino team slipped to 49th place among 197 teams going into the last four rounds of the competition. 

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.