Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will miss Friday’s playoff game at Indiana due to a nagging left calf strain. The 29-year-old Greek forward has missed the first two games of Milwaukee’s first-round NBA playoff series against the Pacers entering game three at Indianapolis. Antetokounmpo has not played since suffering the injury in a victory earlier this month over NBA wins leader Boston. For the season, Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points, 11.5 rebounds and a career-best 6.5 assists plus 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocked shots per game. The Bucks could als ..read more

The San Miguel Beermen are set to retire Arwind Santos’ jersey number 29 during their PBA Philippine Cup game against the Blackwater Bossing on May 1 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City. Beermen team manager Gee Abanilla said the jersey retirement was the franchise’s way of giving back to Santos for all of his contributions during his time with the squad. “On Labor Day, magbibigay kami ng konting tribute for Arwind for all his contributions to the franchise. It is just a way of giving back to him,” Abanilla said after the Beermen’s 98-91 win over the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots on Fr ..read more

The Criss Cross King Crunchers shut down the semifinal hopes of the Savouge Aesthetics Spin Doctors with a 25-15, 25-19, 31-33, 25-19 victory in the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference on Friday evening at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. Jude Garcia spearheaded the offense with 22 points on 16 attacks, five blocks, and a service ace, to go with six excellent digs to lead the King Crunchers, while Chu Njigha added 12 points of his own. Kim Malabunga provided 11 points, including four blocks; Pemie Bagalay had a double-double of 10 points and 12 excellent receptions; and Manuel Sumaguid contrib ..read more

WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury believes unified WBA, IBF, and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk won’t be able to handle his size when they meet in the ring on May 18 in Saudi Arabia. The 6-foot-9 Fury is considered a tall heavyweight with crafty ring skills. The fleet-footed Usyk, who used to campaign as a cruiserweight, is six inches shorter than the outspoken Briton. “When the cruiserweights step up to the big boys, usually they get found wanting,” said Fury in the Canberra Times. “You can beat the average big ones, but you can’t beat the elite big ones, because size really matters. We have w ..read more

Justine Baltazar made his Pampanga Giant Lanterns return as they scored a 128-93 victory over the Bicolandia Oragons in the 2024 MPBL season on Friday night at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna. The reigning MPBL MVP finished with eight points, seven rebounds, six assists, and a steal in 15 minutes of action as the Giant Lanterns improved to a 3-1 win-loss slate. “Good opportunity ito para makuha ‘yung kumpiyansa ko sa game kasi galing ako sa sakit and gusto ko ding makasama ‘yung teammates ko,” said Baltazar. MJ Garcia spearheaded the onslaught with 26 points, built on a perfect 11-of ..read more

The Meralco Bolts survived an endgame surge from the Phoenix Fuel Masters to pull off an 82-76 victory in the PBA Philippine Cup on Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Aaron Black led the way for the Bolts with 18 points, including four three-point conversions, while Chris Newsome chipped in 15 points as they improved to a 4-5 win-loss slate. Chris Banchero tallied 14 points, including some crucial hits with under a minute left, and Allein Maliksi ended with 13 points for the Bolts, which kept their quarterfinal hopes alive after ending their two-game slide. After trailing for most of ..read more

Retired former world champion Timothy Bradley is not a firm believer in Ryan Garcia’s win over Devin Haney. Bradley, who held titles in the super lightweight and welterweight divisions, said Garcia not making the 140-pound limit gave the latter a huge advantage over Haney. “This victory, right here, I’ll give you credit for it, but with an asterisk next to it,” said Bradley on Marca.com. “My man cheated. He set this up. He needs to learn how to make weight, honor the contract, and be a complete professional. Those three pounds matter.” Bradley was referring to Garcia’s extra 3.5 pounds during ..read more

The Cignal HD Spikers completed a sweep of the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference elimination round after a 25-20, 25-9, 25-12 triumph over the Maverick Hard Hitters at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig on Friday afternoon. Bryan Bagunas returned from a two-game absence to tally 10 points as the HD Spikers swept all of their eight elimination-round matches in the tournament. “Magandang motivation ito for us, and ‘yung momentum namin going to semis medyo mataas ‘yung morale namin,” said HD Spikers head coach Dexter Clamor. “Pero pagdating sa semis back to zero lahat, ‘yung 8-0 magiging useless kung h ..read more

The National University Lady Bullpups and the University of Santo Tomas Junior Golden Tigresses reached the finals of the PNVF Under-18 Girls Championship after beating their separate semifinal foes on Friday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. The Lady Bullpups blasted De La Salle-Lipa, 25-19, 25-15, 25-23, in the semifinals behind the strong showing of Denesse Daylisan and team captain Harlyn Serneche. “This is a transition team where the older faces did not play anymore as we focused on fresh faces to be developed,” Lady Bullpups head coach Norman Miguel said. “This team is composed of Grade 9 ..read more

The Mapua University Lady Cardinals streched their winning run in the NCAA Season 99 women’s volleyball tournament after a 25-19, 25-22, 21-25, and 27-25 beating of the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Lady Knights on Friday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. Raissa Ricablanca finished with 19 points, built on 15 attacks, three blocks, and a service ace, while Roxie Dela Cruz added 14 markers, 11 digs, and 10 receptions for the Lady Cardinals, currently on a three-game winning streak. After winning the first two sets, the Lady Cardinals took a 15-10 lead in the third set, but the Lady Knights c ..read more