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.

Cuban Greco-Roman wrestler Mijain Lopez Nuñez bagged his fifth consecutive gold medal at the men’s 130kg event after defeating Yasmani Fernandez of Chile.Lopez became the first Olympic athlete to win gold in the same event at five consecutive games. He’s also the first wrestler to win five golds.After the match, Lopez symbolically retired by placing his shoes at the center of the mat.

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.

Veteran guard Alex “The Crunchman” Cabagnot has returned to the Philippine Basketball Association by signing a two-conference deal with the Converge last Monday, August 5.The nine-time PBA champion came back to help the young FiberXers to become a much better team especially with the arrival of the 49th Season first overall pick Justine Baltazar who’s also seen as Justin Arana’s potential partner in the paint to form their own twin tower combination.Cabagnot will also team-up with the much improved Alec Stockton whom he can train to be an elite point guard, team leader and a crunch time scorer just like him.

Team USA stormed back from a potential upset against Serbia to return to the gold medal game in the Olympics men’s basketball tournament.The Americans defeated the Serbians 95-91 at the Bercy Arena on Friday, August 9 (PH time), after bouncing back from a 17-point deficit.Stephen Curry showcased his best of the tournament by producing 36 points on 9 of 14 shooting behind the arc while LeBron James recorded his second triple double in the Olympics (first player to do it in history) by scoring 16 points, grabbing 12 boards and dishing off 10 assists.Entering the fourth period, the Serbians still have a 13-point cushion but Curry and James together with Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant showed their poise in the final canto where they went on a 14-2 run which turned an 84-77 deficit to a comfortable 91-86 lead with 1:41 remaining in the game.A three-point play from Bogdan Bogdanovic and a short stab by Nikola Jokic got Serbia to within two, the last time at 93-91 with 8.2 seconds remaining but Curry iced the game with his two free throws to finally put the Serbians away.Team USA will now have a finals rematch against host country France whom they also beat in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to win their fourth straight gold in the Summer Games.The gold medal game will be scheduled at 3:30 a.m on August 11, Sunday (PH time).On the other hand, Serbia will battle Germany for the bronze medal at 5:00 p.m on August 10, Saturday (PH time).

The Creamline Cool Smashers cruised past the Nxled Chameleons in straight sets to end their Pool A campaign on a winning note at the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference at the PhilSports Arena on Thursday, August 8.The Cool Smashers continued their dominant play, capping off their round one schedule with a 25-18, 25-18, 25-20 victory over the Chameleons.In the absence of Alyssa Valdez, Tots Carlos, and Jema Galanza, Creamline banked on the trio of American import Erica Staunton, Bernadeth Pons, and Michele Gumabao to bemused Nxled and improve to a 4-1 record.

Coming off a loss to Chery Tiggo last time, PLDT redeemed itself by blanking Farm Fresh to end its Premier League Volleyball (PVL) Reinforced Conference first round duties on a high note at PhilSports Arena on Thursday, August 8.The PLDT High Speed Hitters ended their Pool A run with a sweeping victory against the Farm Fresh Foxies, 25-20, 25-23, 25-23.The High Speed Hitters relied on Russian import Elena Samoilenko who finished with 22 points, supplemented by nine excellent receptions. Fiona Ceballos provided backup on offense and defense with 11 markers, 10 digs, and nine receptions, while veteran playmaker Kim Fajardo made 12 excellent sets and contributed on offense with three points. Mika Reyes also added eight points, half of which coming from blocks.

Norman Miguel has stepped down as National University head coach after directing the Lady Bulldogs to a successful title-redemption campaign in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament last May.Miguel confirmed on Thursday, August 8, that he already parted ways with the UAAP champions with deputy Ray Karl Dimaculangan installed as the interim head coach of the squad in the V-League while NU is still in the process of finding a replacement for him. Dimaculangan called the shots for the Lady Bulldogs’ tournament-pening victory against Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the V-League Preseason last Sunday, August 4, at the Paco Arena. 

After two years of waiting, the No. 2 overall pick in the Season 49 rookie draft Sedrick Barefield is now ready to take his act to the Philippine Basketball Association.Barefield said that he is blessed to finally get going in Asia's first-ever play-for-pay league where he is expected to play a major role in Blackwater’s campaign in the 49th Season Governor’s Cup.He also credited the Bossing head coach Jeffrey Cariaso and his wards for making the transition smooth for him.

As Paris concluded the spectacle that brought together 206 nations represented by 10,714 athletes excelling in their respective fields, the Philippines’ top sport officials are expected to gather together to discuss the mishaps that came into sight towards the end of the country’s campaign in the Paris Olympics in an effort to make sure the national sporting program doesn’t deviate from its next goal: the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.According to sources within Team Philippines, several officials, including high-ranking officers from two affected national sports associations, will make an effort to sort through the problems that afflicted the golf and weightlifting squads days before the closing of the Summer Games at the French capital. One of the issues that plagued Team Philippines is the “toxic environment” that weightlifter Vanessa Sarno blamed after she logged three failed lifts in the snatch category of the women’s 71kg competition and bowed out of the podium race swiftly.

Three days after becoming only the second player to win back-to-back United States Golf Association (USGA) championships, Rianne Malixi soared to new heights, climbing to World No. 5 in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings.The 17-year-old Malixi climbed seven notches from her previous 12th spot in the rankings, with an average of 1191.6600 points, after her victory in the US Women’s Amateur in Tulsa, Oklahoma over the weekend.This achievement marks the highest ranking ever reached by a Filipina golfer. 

Tough battles await Gilas Pilipinas Women when they face the best teams in the world for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Pre-Qualifying Tournaments in Kigali, Rwanda slated from August 19 to 25.As part of their preparation, the Filipina cagers held a training camp in Baguio in which they competed against high school boys.

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. 

World championships medalists Joseph Arcilla and Bien Zoleta-Mañalac will banner the 12-man Soft Tennis Pilipinas team at the 2024 World Soft Tennis Championship slated September 1 to 11 at Anseong, South Korea.Team captain Arcilla will banner the men’s team with Dheo Talatayod, Patrick Mendoza, Adjuthor Moralde II, Samuel Nuguit and Sherwin Nuguit, while captain Zoleta-Mañalac will steer the women’s squad, alongside Princess Catindig, Bambi Zoleta, Cristy Sañosa, Virvien Bejusano, Bea Ebriega and Shyryn Salazar.The team is now in Daegu and Sunchang City, South Korea for a three-week training camp.The 12-member team will first compete at the 2024 Sunchang Open Soft Tennis Tournament set for August 25 to 31, as a final build-up to the world meet.

The Philippine Blu Girls Under-18 team is set to compete in the 2024 U18 Women’s Softball World Cup Group Stage scheduled on August 29 to September 2 in Dallas, Texas.The tournament marks a significant milestone for the Philippine women’s under-18 team as they take on the best young softball players in the world for a chance to make the final round of the World Cup.Jean Henri Lhuillier, president of the Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines (Asaphil), expressed his enthusiasm for the team’s qualification in the group phase.

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.

Filipina Olympic fencer Samatha Kyle Catantan needs no worries as St. Luke’s Global City waived her hospital bill and even the doctor’s fee after the successful operation of her knee due to ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury.According to Dr. Jose Raul Canlas, the gesture of the hospital was to honor the Olympian’s contribution to Philippine sports.

Eight-time MVP, June Mar Fajardo scored 34 points and grabbed 24 rebounds to lead the way for San Miguel Beermen’s close victory against Phoenix Fuel Masters, 111-107 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum on Tuesday, August 21.‘The Kraken’ might have had a monstrous game but the battle of the two teams was tough especially in the end game where the SMB needed a dagger four-point shot from CJ Perez to have enough cushion in claiming the victory.Phoenix put up a gallant fight and pulled even at 99-all after RJ Jazul made a three-point basket entering the last two minutes of play.Then, JMF grabbed three offensive boards against three Phoenix defenders to start a five-point swing.After a few sequences, the Beermen’s lead was trimmed to one at 105-106 after the three free throws were sunk by Jason Perkins who finished the game with 18 points.Then, Perez dagger 4-ball came into the picture to give SMB some breathing room as it gave them a two-possession lead.At 107-110, the Fuel Masters still had a chance to steal the game when Ricci Rivero tried to score from the 27-foot-line but missed the target. Fajardo closed out the scoring with a split from the free throw line.SMB import Jordan Adams scored 24 points and snared nine rebounds in his PBA debut while Phoenix reinforcement Jayveous McKinnis put up 13.

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.