Carlos Yulo ranked 12th in the all-around finals of the men’s artistic gymnastics to cap off the first of his three medal events in the 2024 Paris Olympics at the Bercy Arena in France on Thursday, August 1 (Manila time).The 24-year-old gymnast, who is a three-time all-around gold medalist in the Southeast Asian Games, failed to land a podium finish by placing 12th out of 24 qualifiers with a total score of 83.032.Still, it was a remarkable performance for Yulo as he reached his first individual all-around finals of the Olympics – a far reach from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games where he finished the all-around qualification at 47th place.Yulo showed significant improvements in the different apparatuses, highlighting his improvement from just being a floor exercise world champion in 2019.Yulo netted his highest score in vault with 14.766 points, then garnered 14.500 points in parallel bars and 14.333 points in floor exercise to bounce back from an unfavorable start that saw him fall during his pommel horse routine.Oka Shinnosuke of Japan bagged the gold medal with a total of 86.832.The 2020 Tokyo gold medalist Zhang Boheng of China failed to defend his crown, finishing second with 86.599 points.Zhang’s teammate, Xiao Ruoteng snatched the bronze medal with a close score of 86.364.Yulo will look to bring his upgraded routines, but with cleaner execution, in the apparatus finals of the floor exercise and the vault medal rounds on August 3 and 4, respectively.

Capital1’s Russian reinforcement, Marina Tushova, reset the Premier Volleyball League record books by scoring 45, powering her team past Choco Mucho in a thrilling five-set encounter at the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) on Thursday, August 1, at the PhilSports Arena.Tushova’s 45-point explosion surpassed the previous record of 44 points set by Dominica Priscilla Rivera of Akari during the 2022 Reinforced Conference.The Russian outside hitter poured 43 kills, one block, and an ace to complete the Solars Spikers come-from-behind victory that set their best start in the league so far with a 2-2 record in Pool B.Tushova also hard-carried the defensive side of the ball in the win with 18 excellent receptions and 12 excellent digs as middle blocker Des Clemente tallied seven points off four blocks, while Julia Ipac scored six.On the other hand, Choco Mucho’s Greek import, Zoi Faki, scored a conference-best 28 in the losing cause as the Flying Titans sank to a 1-3 slate in Pool B.Dindin Santiago-Manabat contributed 16 points with 12 attacks, two blocks, and two aces, while Maddie Madayag and Royse Tubino added eight markers apiece.Capital1 will look to sustain its momentum when they face ZUS Coffee, while Choco Mucho will aim to recover when they face Petro Gazz on Tuesday, August 6, at the same venue. 

The Philippine bet Ernest John “EJ” Obiena came so close to ending the country’s 88-year Olympic medal drought in athletics as he placed fourth at the Paris Olympics men’s pole vault at the Stade de France early Tuesday, August 6 (Manila time).The world No. 2 and acclaimed as one of the Philippines’ strongest medal hopefuls, Obiena, who owns the Asian record of 6.0 meter clearance, failed to clear 5.95 meter height in the 12-man final and lost the bronze to Emmanouil Karalis of Greece.Like Obiena, Karalis, ranked world No. 8 in the sport, also cleared 5.90m but nipped the Filipino for the last podium spot due to fewer attempts.

The 32-year-old PBA rookie Caelan Tiongsion is ready to bring his bountiful overseas experience to his new team Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and prove that it’s never too late to pursue his dreams.During Monday's Media Day at the Le Parc Event Hall of the Metropark in Pasay City, Tiongson told the sportswriters, “You guys saw a 32-year-old rookie last year emerging as a top newcomer, so I don't know if you're forgetting about that so fast, but yeah, I'm excited." The seventh pick overall in the recent draft was referring to Stephen Holt, who made an impact last season and helped the Terrafirma Dyip reach the Philippine Cup playoffs.

Filipina boxer Aira Villegas wraps up her maiden appearance in the 2024 Paris Games after bagging bronze in the women’s 50kg semifinals at the Roland Garros Stadium on Wednesday, August 7 (Manila time).Villegas fell prey at the hands of more seasoned and third-seeded rival Buse Naz Cakiroglu of Turkey, absorbing a unanimous decision loss. The Filipina made a valiant effort, landing significant punches but the formidable Turkish boxer proved to be too much for Villegas, setting the pace early enough to sweep the judges’ score cards, 30-27, 30-26, 30-27, 30-27, 30-26.This is the Philippines’ third medal in the ongoing Paris Games following gymnast Carlos Yulo’s double gold medal in men’s gymnastics. Villegas exceeded expectations in her Summer Games debut, becoming the Philippines’ second female boxer to win an Olympic medal after teammate Nesthy Petecio. Petecio, the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, is the last fighter in the contention for the Philippines, with Eumir Marcial and Hergie Bacyadan losing their opening bouts and Carlos Paalam exiting in the quarterfinals.Petecio assumes the responsibility of winning the Philippines’ first-ever Olympics gold in the sport as she battles Poland’s Julia Szeremeta in the women’s 57kg semifinals on Thursday, August 8 (Manila time).

Team USA advanced to the semifinals of the Olympic men’s basketball tournament by dominating Brazil 122-87 on Tuesday, August 6 (Manila Time) at the Bercy Arena in Paris.The Americans made a 21-2 run and erected a 29-point lead before halftime scoring a total score of 63 points against the 36 of Brazil.LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Jrue Holiday led the run that held the Brazilians without a field goal in a four minute stretch.Brazil continued to struggle in the second half of play as Anthony Edwards and Devin Booker took over on what they had started earlier. Team USA has once again flexed their depth as they have six players reaching double digit points led by Devin Booker’s 18 points putting his best scoring game in the Olympics while Anthony Edwards added 17. The other players who reached double digits were LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant and Anthony Edwards.James, the team’s captain and leader in assists during the pool phase once again showed his leadership by quarterbacking for the Americans as he dished off nine assists to go along with his 12 points and three steals before heading out the game after receiving an inadvertent elbow from Brazil’s Bruno Caboclo early in the fourth period.Meanwhile, Caboclo paced the Brazilians with 30 points but the quarterfinals will be the end of the Olympic journey for Brazil who qualified to the tournament by winning the FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament in Riga.USA will then meet Serbia in the final four that will begin on Friday, August 9 (Manila Time).

The Philippines’ first Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz is in Paris.The Filipina weightlifter arrived in the French capital on Wednesday, August 7 (Manila time) ahead of the Team Philippines’ weightlifting campaign in the 2024 Paris Olympics.Diaz was seen bonding with the remaining Filipino athletes in the Olympic host city including her fellow Tokyo Olympian Eumir Marcial, who exited the medal race in his opening bout, and Hergie Bacyadan, who lost in the round of 16.While she is yet to meet gymnast Carlos Yulo for the first time since he won his two gold medals during the Summer Games, Diaz will also be serving as an official of the International Weightlifting Federation Athletes’ Commission, where she is a member of their executive board.Only two weightlifters are left to open their campaigns with John Ceniza being the latest casualty of Team Philippines after he was not able to continue his bid for an Olympic medal due to a shoulder injury. Elreen Ando will open her bid on Thursday, August 8 (Manila time) at the women’s 59kg, while Vanessa Sarno will play on early Saturday in the women’s 71kg event.

Filipino-Canadian Kayla Sanchez and Filipino-American Jarod Hatch, who both represented the country in the Paris Olympics 2024, will join the Philippine Aquatics Inc. (PAI) national trials this month at the Teofilo Ildefonso swimming pool of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. A total of 61 Filipino swimmers based abroad have signed up to join some 500 local hopefuls for a 50 meter (long course) and 25 meter (short course) swimming championships slated on August 15 to 18 and August 20 to 23, respectively.The national trials will be the basis for the selection of the national team members who will see action in the Aquatics World Cup series, the 46th Southeast Asian Age Group Championships and the World Aquatics Championships next year.Sanchez and Hatch banner the list of foreign-based hopefuls together with former Southeast Asian Games champion Chloe Isleta, junior standout Heather White, and Teia Salvino. 

Two-time gold medalist Carlos Yulo is planning to reconnect with his former coach Munehiro Kugimiya after his successful competition in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Kugimiya helped Yulo to develop his gymnastic skills from 2016 up to 2023. Yulo wants to pay respect and express his gratitude to ‘Coach Mune’.He wouldn’t be the same magnificent figure that he is now without the important person that molded him to what he is today. The Gymnast Association of The Philippines (GAP) head Cynthia Carrion  said that Yulo will visit Kugimiya in November. 

Ateneo de Manila University’s Paolo Medina made history by winning the first-ever event title in UAAP esports in what was a thrilling basketball esports showdown against its perennial rival.Medina won in a stunning three-game series of NBA 2K24  against De La Salle University’s Kegan Yap, 2-1, at the Doreen Fernandez Black Box, Areté Ateneo, in Quezon City Thursday night. 

Defending Governors’ Champion TNT Tropang Giga started their title-defense campaign with a win when they defeated NorthPort Batang Pier 101-95 on August 19 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.Rondae Hollis-Jefferson tallied a double-double, scoring 32 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He even added his good game w0ith five assists, four steals and four blocks to lead the opening win of TNT in Group A.Calvin Oftana led the Tropang Giga locals in scoring by tallying 15 including 2-of-2 from the four-point line. Oftana was the first player to make two four-point shots in a single game. Meralco’s Chris Banchero was the first one to hit the 27-footer followed by his teammate Jolo Mendoza, then Paul Lee of Magnolia and fourth belongs to Calvin Oftana.TNT’s new acquisition from off-season trade, Rey Nambatac produced 13 points including two crucial free throws while Poy Erram, who returned from long layoff due to injury added eight markers.On the other hand, NorthPort’s reinforcement Taylor Johns almost tallied a triple-double by scoring 36 points, grabbing 16 boards and dishing off nine assists.Arvin Tolentino added 23 for the Batang Pier including the four-ball with 24.6 seconds left to push their team closer to TNT’s lead, 99-94.A backcourt violation of the Tropang Giga gave the Batang Pier a chance to trim the lead even further. However, TNT forced Northport to a shot clock violation that sealed the game for the defending champions.

Carlo Biado, Johann Chua, Lee Van Corteza, and three other Filipino cuemasters moved one win away from the knockout of the US Open 9-Ball Championships held in Atlantic City, New Jersey.Biado, who dominated the tournament in 2021, had a first round bye, before making an easy work of American Robert Hart, 9-1. He is set to compete with Great Britain’s Chris Melling for an automatic spot in the 64-man knockout round. Chua kept the form that earned him a runner-up finish in last week’s European Open by trouncing Vietnamese Dang Than Kien, 9-1, in the second round of the eliminations after his own opening round bye. He will next play against Liu Ri Teng of Chinese Taipei.Corteza, a runner-up in the 2013 US Open, overcame American Mike Dechaine (9-7) and Vietnam’s Nguyen Hai Dang (9-4) for a third round match against Japanese Naoyuki Oi. Other Filipinos who will vie for the slot in the knockout round are Jeffrey Roda, Jeffrey Ignacio and Michael Baoanan. Roda was equally impressive with big wins over Elias Patrkios, 9-1, and Englishman Darren Appleton, 9-2, to challenge former world No. 1 Joshua Filler of Germany.Ignacio faces Alexander Kazakis of Greece, while Boanan will meet Italian Francesco Candelo with their bids of entering the last 64.Eight more Filipinos led by Bernie Regalario and Ronald Garcia, on the other hand, are in the Losers Bracket where they need to win two more matches to advance.The US Open Championship will feature a 256-player field on the World Nineball Tour. The tournament will begin with a seeded double elimination format, featuring the top 128 World Nineball Tour players. From there, only 64 players will advance to the single elimination rounds.

Filipina athlete Islay Erika Bomogao has claimed the top spot in the 45kg elite category of the International Federation of Muaythai Associations.Following her gold-medal victory at last year’s IFMA World Muaythai Championship in Bangkok, Thailand, Bomogao, soared to No. 1 position with a cumulative 1,920 points, amassed from her performances in various international competitions.

NLEX dug deep and drew extra mileage from its support crew to beat San Miguel in overtime, 122-108, at the Aquilino Pimentel International Convention Center in Cagayan De Oro City on Saturday night, August 31.The Road Warriors claimed their third win in four outings after relying on clutch plays from their shock troopers together with their import Myke Henry and top star Robert Bolick.Henry still delivered his usual numbers by producing 33 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks while Bolick added 20 markers including two crucial free throws that led to a four-point cushion to the last 13.8 seconds of the extra period.But the shock troopers provided the big difference in NLEX bounce back win after succumbing to Rain or Shine, 105-124, in their last outing. The Road Warriors now improved to 3-1 in the standings.Mike Miranda, more known as an enforcer, contributed 17 points and showcased his long-range shooting skills especially in the fourth quarter when hit a pair of three-pointers, including a four-ball that gave the Road Warriors a 96-93 cushion, with 2:16 left in the fourth.Jonnel Policarpo added 12 points, while Jhan Nermal produced 10 and started the OT with a clutch three-point play off a foul from Marcio Lassiter.Richie Rodger only had six points but he made his last two field goals in overtime where he had a couple of getaway layups, while Robbie Herdon chipped in 10 including a triple that led to a 110-106 advantage with 28.2 seconds remaining in the game.SMB pulled back to within two on June Mar Fajardo's undergoal stab but Bolick brought back up to four from the stripe.The Beermen tried to send it to a second OT but back-to-back misses from the four-point arc by CJ Perez and Chris Ross in the final 13.8 ticks enabled NLEX to complete what it failed to do back in regulation.The Beermen, who got 36 from Jordan Adams, 29 from Perez and 19 from Fajardo, fell to back-to-back losses after a 2-0 start.

The Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots survived the grit of the import-less NorthPort Batang Pier, 105-94 to register their third win in five outings of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup last night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.Sophomore Zavier Lucero played his best game so far in a Magnolia uniform against his former team that also drafted him. He was then traded to the Hotshots in the off-season in exchange for Jio Jalalon and Abu Tratter.Lucero lodged 16 points and 12 rebounds to earn the player of the game honors.Hotshots import Glenn Robinson III registered a game-high 25 points and collected 11 rebounds, while Paul Lee added 20 markers, 11 assists and five boards, to enlist three Magnolia players with double-double performance.Calvin Abueva and Jerrick Ahanmisi also produced double digit numbers by scoring 10 apiece.On the opposite end, Cade Flores led NorthPort with his own double-double by producing 23 points and 10 rebounds to fill the void that import Venky Jois and William Navarro left as they sat out of the game due to ankle injuries.Batang Pier star Arvin Tolentino who just scored 51 games two games prior, was just limited to 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the field, though he grabbed 12 rebounds to become the fifth player to have a double-double in the contest.

The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are trying to paint a perfect slate in the first round of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ cup elimination round when they face the San Miguel Beermen in the main game of the Thursday double-header at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.In their previous game last Friday, the Elasto Painters got their 4-0 record when they dominated the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 116-99.Rain or Shine is the only team right now with an unblemished record in the conference and they are determined to remain perfect in the first round.

“Super” Marcio Lassiter has become the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) all-time leader in three-points made on Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.Going into their game against sibling rival Barangay Ginebra, Lassiter just needed three 3-pointers to surpass Jimmy Alapag’s 1,250 record. And the SMB faithful expected that to happen.The sweet-shooting guard didn’t disappoint their fans as he reached the milestone in the first quarter alone where he drained four triples - the first two to tie the record of the “Mighty Mouse” while the third one broke it and the fourth one to set another milestone.He made another two in the second half to further etch his legacy as the best three-pointer in the first ever pay-for-play league in Asia.Lassiter finished with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from downtown to be awarded as the Best Player of the game and tallied a new three-point record of 1,254. The game ball used in the historic feat was awarded by Commissioner Willie Marcial during half. Lassiter was joined on center stage by wife and five children.Alapag, who texted Lassiter on the eve of the game before Cio targets the historical feat, is now ranked no. 2 with 1,250 3-pointers made while the “Triggerman” Allan Caidad is at third place with 1,242.Lassiter was the fastest and most efficient to get the “three-point king” honors as he did it in only 537 games, shooting 39 percent off the arc.Caidic did it in 598 games while shooting 37 percent. Alapag, on the other hand, did it in 601 games behind 36 percent shooting.The Beermen sniper still has a chance to make a better legacy by adding more three-pointers to his name as he is still an active player and not yet announcing when he will hang his sneakers.

The Filipina woodpushers made a historic mark for the Philippines after winning the gold medal in Group B and finishing 24th overall in the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad women’s division in Budapest, Hungary. The Philippine women’s team wrapped up their campaign with Shania Mae Mendoza, Janelle Mae Frayna, Jan Jodilyn Fronda, and Ruelle Canino succeeding across all boards to grasp a 4-0 victory against the Brazilians in their final assignment.The Filipinas tied for 22nd place with 14 match points along with 14 other countries and 24th overall after tiebreaks were applied, clinching the first gold for the country in an Olympiad since 2006 Turin edition when the Philippine women’s squad of Sheerie Joey Lomibao, Catherine Pereña, Sherily Cua, and Beverly Mendoza ruled Group C. It was also the best finish since the team of Girme Fontanilla, Mila Emperado, and Ma. Cristina Santos-Fidaer placed 22nd overall in the 1988 edition in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Barangay Ginebra swept rival Meralco Bolts, 113-106, in their best-of-five quarter finals series last night, September 30, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium to get the first ticket to the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup semi final round.Justin Brownlee led the Gin Kings in scoring by producing 23 points including two booming four-pointers that started their ‘never-say-die’ comeback after being down as much as 12 points.Stephen Holt, who was named Best Player of the Game, together with RJ Abarrientos and Maverick Ahanmsi helped Brownlee in their fightback as they also delivered from the two rainbow countries.Holt had a total of 19 markers which include a triple that gave the Gin Kings their largest lead at 105-98 with 2:36 left in the game.Abarrientos produced 17 points, while Ahanmisi contributed the same numbers including three 3-pointers.