The Office of the President prepares a simple yet meaningful heroes’ welcome once the 22 Filipino Olympians return to the Philippines on Tuesday.According to Reichel Quiñones, Chief of Presidential Protocol and Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs, two-time Olympic champion Carlos Yulo and the rest of the Filipino Olympians will arrive in the Philippines in the evening of Tuesday, August 13, via chartered flight, where they will be received by their families at the Maharlika Presidential Hangar at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.They will be welcomed by the First Family in Malacañang, and after that, an awarding ceremony and dinner reception will be held in a simple yet meaningful way for them.

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. 

The Philippine women’s football team will commence a six-day training camp beginning this Saturday, August 17, at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.Coach Mark Torcaso will stage the camp from August 17 to 23 aimed at tapping more local-based players to its talent pool.About 30 players will be invited to the camp and it is the first activity of the Filipinas since the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) took over the role of managing the national women’s side.

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.

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.

Newly-elected Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) president Ramon “Tats” Suzara pledged to work hard to further develop and improve the men's and women’s national team.This, as he also will now head of the organizing committee for the country’s hosting of the FIVB Men’s World Championship in September next year,  as well as continuing with his duties as  chief of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation. “We need to improve, improve, improve. I want them to go up higher in the rankings like what Gilas Pilipinas is doing,” adding that improvement should not only come from players but the coaches as well. said Suzara. As he came on board as PNVF president, the Philippine teams were ranked No.117 in the world. After nearly three years under his watch, the men’s team is now at No. 56 and the women’s team at No. 63.Suzara says he intends to look for more international exposure for the team and wants to strengthen the grassroots while looking for up-and-coming volleyball talent.“We will go back to the grassroots in Luzon Visayas and Mindanao. There’s still a lot of tall players in the provinces. I’m sure madami pa, Our national teams need 30 international matches a year.  And we will do this. Kung maaari lang na one year wala sila dito we will do that though it’s expensive,” Suzara added. 

San Miguel Beer got back at NLEX with a 119-114 win that boosted its playoff chances in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Wednesday night.The Beermen brought in a new reinforcement in Sheldon Mac in lieu of Jordan Adams, but the locals carried much of the load to record a 4-2 slate in Group B.They are now tied with Barangay Ginebra at second place, behind the pacesetting Rain or Shine Elasto Painters at 5-1.CJ Perez led the scoring for SMB with 24 points, together with five rebounds, while June Mar Fajardo added 17 markers and nine boards.

The Philippine’s national weightlifting team’s campaign got off to a good start fueled with Angeline Colonia’s double gold feat in the women’s 45-kilogram event of the International Weightlifting Federation World Junior Championships in Leon, Spain Thursday evening, September 19.The 17-year-old Colonia ruled the snatch after lifting 74kg before adding a silver medal in the clean and jerk with a lift of 88kg.The young Filipina athlete lifted a total of 162kg, securing her another gold medal and placing her first place ahead of Khemika Kamnoedsri of Thailand and Ioana Miron of Romania.The Philippines continues its medal hunt with Rose Jean Ramos competing next in the women’s 49-kilogram event on Friday, September 20.  

University of Santo Tomas regained its winning ways, pulling away from De La Salle University with a 76-68 victory in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball tournament on Sunday, September 29, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.The Growling Tigresses relied on veteran Kent Patrana and Karylle Sierba as they opened the fourth period with an 11-0 run, strengthening their hold of solo second in the standings with a 4-1 record.Pastrana finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, four steals, and three blocks, while Sierba significantly delivered 16 markers, six boards, and three assists as the Tigresses bounced back from a tough first loss to last year’s runner up National University last week.Brigette Santos also contributed with 12 points, five rebounds, and three steals but Growling Tigresses head coach Haydee Ong was not pleased with their win despite managing to force 38 turnovers and having 21 steals.

TNT booked the second ticket in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup semi-finals after dispatching the NLEX Road Warriors, 125-96, in their game last night, October 1, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.The Tropang Giga got the 3-1 triumph in their best-of-five series with a 29-point blowout to continue its journey to their title defense bid.Rondae Hollis-Jefferson once again led TNT with his 35 points and 11 rebounds, while Rey Nambatac delivered 19 markers on a 7-of-12 shooting from the field, and RR Pogoy also contributed 18 on 6-of-10 shooting.Calvin Oftana had his own share by manufacturing 11 points and grabbing 10 boards.At the end of first quarter, the Tropang Giga already erected a 10-point lead. Then, they started the second period with an 11-0 blast, and never looked back from that moment to finally seal the deal at the end of the game.With the quick series win against the Road Warriors, TNT will enjoy some rest while awaiting the Rain or Shine-Magnolia knock-out matchup on whom they will play in the best-of-seven final four.

Sixteen young Filipino jiu-jitsu fighters bag gold medals in the recent Sports Jiu-jitsu International Federation World Championship in Nagoya, Japan.Brielle Bartolome, playing as a kindergarten featherweight in the no-gi category, won both in the gi and no gi divisions. Bartolome overcame Peng Nian of China via armbar to win the gold in the first round. She also outpointed Nishimoto Wakana of Japan to win the kindergarten gi rooster-weight division gold medal.Aside from Bartolome, Marcus Dela Cruz under light featherweight in the no-gi category, submitted all his opponents en route to the gold. He defeated China's Ma Haisen in the final round.Another young Filipina fighter who is Youth gi featherweight champion Cesca Lepiten also submitted all her opponents to capture the gold, acquiring her last two including the final against Kimura Alana Liu via armbar in the second round.Pre-teen no-gi middleweight Thiago Bartolome also submitted his way to the championship after forcing Laptev Maksim to tap out after an Americana hold.Also going home as champions are the following: Claudia Lepiten in the toddler GI light featherweights, Tessa Joson in the junior teen featherweights, Ali Joson in the kindergarten GI rooster weights, Tomas Joson in the youth rooster weights, Ethan Ramos in the pre-teen lightweights, and Uno Ordona in the pre-teen medium heavyweights.Universal Reality Combat Championship founder and president Alvin Aguilar said that he was very happy on behalf of the Philippine Junior Grappling Team, composed of different DEFTAC chapters because they saw everyone how hard they work and how good they really are in the competition. According to Aguilar, the champions are also members of the Wrestling Association of the Philippines-RP Junior Grappling Team.“I am very happy that our Philippine Junior Grappling Team, composed of different DEFTAC chapters, are showing everyone how hard they work and how good they really are,” Aguilar said.

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.

Kat Tolentino’s strong net defense streered Choco Mucho to a 27-29, 25-20, 25-19, 17-25, 15-12 win over Galeries Tower in the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference at the FilOil EcoOil Arena in San Juan on Thursday, November 14.Tolentino posted a game-high 27 points anchored on 20 kills and seven denials to deliver the Flying Titans’ first win, earning her the Player of the Game honors. According to Choco Mucho coach Dante Alinsunurin, Tolentino has consistently been one of their dependable players, which is why he has been relying on the star opposite spiker, who is recovering her best form despite her auditory condition.“Whenever Kat is in the lineup, I have complete trust in her. I was really saddened when she got sick, but I told her this is the time for her to come back and fully recover,” said Alinsunurin about Tolentino, who eluded multiple games in the first conference and played minimally in the Reinforced Conference due to health concerns.“It feels tiring but I’m okay. It’s nice to be back with the team and help them,” said Tolentino, who also submitted 10 digs.“I think we just have to stick to the system and trust each other. Prove that we’re a fighting team, that we’re fighting up to the last point. So that’s what happened,” she added.

The Hong Kong Eastern squad will juggle its assignments in three different leagues back in the country to continue their PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup campaign.They are looking forward to getting their third straight win when they face Rain or Shine on Wednesday, December 4, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.The Hong Kong-based squad already established their own identity after being compared to the former guest team Bay Area Dragons when they defeated the Phoenix Fuel Masters in their opening game, 102-87, and followed it up with another convincing win against Converge, 117-106.

Jamie Danielle Nirza clinched gold in the advanced women’s individual kata at the 2024 Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines – East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Friendship Games on Wednesday, December 5, at the NCCC Mall in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.The 18-year-old Nirza, who is representing Philippines Team A, exhibited her outstanding skills to earn 36.5 total points, defeating Malaysia’ A Anisa Aira Nur who logged 36.2 for silver medal.Malaysia B’s Ameera Liew and Brunei’s Nasir Abdul completed the podium to bag the bronze medal.

Young athletes from the province of Laguna showcased their strong skills in sports in the  recently-concluded 2024 Batang Pinoy National Championships held in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan from November 23 to 28.With a lean delegation composed of 176 athletes and 31 coaches coming from different cities and municipalities of Laguna in 13 sports disciplines, the province bagged a total of 74 medals, in which 25 of them are gold, 25 silver and 24 bronze in the annual grassroots competition spearheaded by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).This year’s Laguna delegation performed better than last year, who bagged a total of 67 medals (20 golds, 20 silvers and 27 bronzes) in the 2023 edition of Batang Pinoy Nationals.Meanwhile, the Laguna Muay Thai Team, headed by Coach Preciosa Ocaya-Delarmino, garnered a total of 29 medals composed of 13 golds, 7 silvers and 9 Bronzes. On the other hand, the Laguna Chess Team won 16 medals, while Pencak Silat captured 12, and Santa Rosa Wrestling team bagged 12. Arnis, Athletics, Badminton, Cycling, Karatedo, Swimming, Taekwondo also seized medals for Laguna. National Chess Master Mark Gabriel Usman won a total of 9 medals for Laguna during his stint at the Batang Pinoy this year. Bagging the Overall Championship were the 771-man delegation from Pasig City which dethroned the 4-peat Batang Pinoy Overall Champion, Baguio City, with 105 golds, 64 silvers and 116 bronzes.

It will be an epic rematch when the De La Salle University Green Archers defend their title against rival University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons in the UAAP Season 87 Men's Basketball Finals.In Season 86, the DLSU wards won the title in three games against the UP squad.The Green Archers want to do it back-to-back as they will once again be led by the soon-to-be crowned two-time MVP Kevin Quiambao, while the Fighting Maroons aim to get revenge.It will only be the third post-elimination match-up of the two universities in the Final Four era.The two teams first faced each other in Season 84 when the leadership of coach Goldwin Monterverde led the Carl Tamayo-Malick Diouf combo of UP defeated the Justine Baltazar-led La Salle in their semi-final battle, and got their first championship since 1986.After two years, the Green Archers relied on the mentorship of new head coach Topex Robinson to help them win the Season 86 title in three games.In the coaches’ head-to-head match-up, Robinson had a 5-2 edge against Monteverde.

Petro Gazz overpowered Akari in straight sets, 28-26, 29-27, 25-18, to claim its third win in the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference on Thursday, December 5, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.Brooke van Sickle and Myla Pablo joined forces to edge the Chargers with the Filipino-American hitter hammering 19 points built on 15 attacks including 13 excellent digs, while Pablo added 15 markers off 13 kills, a block, and an ace.Van Sickle gave captain Remy Palma credit for the victory, stating that her leadership helped Petro Gazz get through the tense first few sets and win the straight-setter.“Coming off our rest, we haven’t played in a while so to be able to come out and stay focused in those tight matches was awesome,” said Van Sickle.“I’m super proud of everyone, I feel like Rem [Palma] did a very good job collecting all the girls while we’re on the court and just to slow us down because I feel like at times we we’re like ‘ahhh’ and she’s like ‘calm down, it’s okay, take a breath and just play our volleyball,’” added the reigning conference MVP.

Akari won three straight sets after dropping the first one to overcome Chery Tiggo, 22-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-20, on Tuesday night, December 10,  at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.The Chargers squandered a 19-11 lead in the first set to give it away to the Crossovers, but they never looked back after that and took the next three frames.Akari's victory put them back in the win column after dropping their past three games. The Chargers now have a 3-3 record in the team standings.