Defending UAAP champion De La Salle University and reigning UCAL king Centro Escolar University moved closer to a showdown in the 2024 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup on Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig. La Salle-EcoOil pulled away in the second half for an 85-65 rout of NAASCU champ Go Torakku-St. Clare, while CEU tamed NCAA champion San Beda University once again, 75-71, to open their respective best-of-three semis series. It was a repeat performance for Jeff Perlas’ Scorpions, who also defeated the Red Lions 72-63 in the elimination round. “We don’t want to come into the game thinki ..read more

Despite getting eliminated just hours prior they hit the court, also-ran PLDT still showed up and took care of business against semis-bound Creamline. The High Speed Hitters brought down the Cool Smashers in four sets, 22-25, 25-14, 25-22, 27-25, for their first-ever franchise victory over the reigning champions in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference, Thursday at the Philsports Arena. PLDT defeated Creamline for the first time since joining the PVL in 2021, ending an eight-game losing streak against the latter. The High Speed Hitters, who were booted out after Chery Tigg ..read more

University of the Philippines downed holder Far Eastern University, 2-0, in a top-of-the-table clash on Thursday night in the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Football Tournament at the UP Football Stadium. Ramil Bation III scored his ninth goal of the season with a 13th-minute goal while Benjamin Palacio III doubled the Fighting Maroons lead 12 minutes later. The loss ended the Tamaraws’ eight-match undefeated streak. UP improved to 22 points, two clear of FEU, which dropped to second in the standings. (C) Nicks Hernandez/UAAP Season 86 Media Team Head coach Popoy Clarino was satisfied with the way the ..read more

Lions Nation MMA provides a promising look into its future as a team through the debut event of a startup promotion. The La Trinidad, Benguet-based camp will introduce three of its up-and-comers at Zeus Combat League’s inaugural extravaganza titled “Ground Zero,” set to emanate live from the SM North Sky Dome in Quezon City on May 25. Founded by Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Kevin Belingon, and Honorio Banario, Lions Nation MMA has become synonymous with excellence in the sport. Now, the esteemed stable puts the spotlight on Aaron Posawen, Denver Songaben, and Jahn Serbo. Leading the charge f ..read more

Mylene Paat revealed that she is expected to miss some games for Chery Tiggo in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference due to his upcoming tryout in the Korean V-League. Paat is one of the three Filipinas who joined the KOVO draft along with Creamline’s Tots Carlos and Petro Gazz’s MJ Phillips. The combine will run from April 29 to May 1 and the earliest that she can return is on May 2, which will force him to miss two games. The 30-year-old former league MVP, however, is confident that the rest of the Crossovers’ wing spiker rotation can pick up the slack. “Siguro may mga ..read more

Chery Tiggo is heading to the semifinals after winning two sets of its all-important match against also-ran Galeries Tower in the penultimate day of the 2024 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference elimination round, Thursday afternoon. The Crossovers escaped the extended opening frame, 26-24, before bouncing back in the fourth after losing the last two, scoring a 25-12 win to force a deciding fifth set. Even if they lose the match, Chery Tiggo has already secured the final spot in the semifinals after surpassing PLDT’s maximum point tally. The Crossovers currently has 24 points due ..read more

UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas pulled off a 5-1 victory over Adamson University Thursday to secure Final Four qualification in the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Football Tournament on Thursday at the UP Football Stadium. The victory gave the Golden Booters 20 points in third place in the table. UST, which reached the semifinal last year but lost to Ateneo, is five clear of fifth-running De La Salle. The Blue Eagles, who currently have 17 points, and the Green Booters dispute the remaining Final Four berth on May 2. Defending champion Far Eastern University (22 points) and University of the Philippines (21 p ..read more

Cignal head coach Dexter Clamor praised Jau Umandal for remaining prepared during the HD Spikers’ tense encounter against the also-ran VNS-Nasty last Wednesday. Clamor chose to give his second six a chance to play against the Griffins, but the team found themselves down a set after three, which forced the champion coach to field his regular starters led by Umandal and JP Bugaoan. The starters managed to force a fifth set after Bugaoan delivered two crucial points to help rescue the HD Spikers in the extended fourth frame. Then it was Umandal’s turn in the final frame, unleashing a barrage of a ..read more

Justin Brownlee and Pelita Jaya secured their spot in the Basketball Champions League Asia (BCL Asia) after beating Prawira Harum Bandung, 88-67, Wednesday night at the BritAma Arena in Jakarta, Indonesia. The naturalized Filipino contributed 10 points, six rebounds, three assists, and a steal in the blowout that made the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) outfit the first team from the Qualifiers to reach the tournament proper. He hardly needed to produce much as the crew relied on a collective effort in tearing apart the team that beat them in last season’s IBL Finals. JaQuori McLaughlin top ..read more

TNT turned it up in the third quarter and left the upset-hungry Phoenix a frustrated bunch, 108-101, for a convincing bounce-back victory in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup, Wednesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. The Tropang Giga fired six triples for a 42-point eruption in the period to take the 84-81 lead entering the final period, and momentum would never leave their side as they eventually completed the comeback from as many as 23 down. Roger Pogoy top-scored with 23 points and eight rebounds in the victory that hiked their card to 5-4, inching closer to a quarterfinal berth. Calvin ..read more