Manotoc, Hirotaka break through with 66s, share lead at South Pacific

Manila Times - Oct 20, 2026

DAVAO CITY – Gab Manotoc finally delivered the kind of opening-round performance that could propel him into the Philippine Golf Tour spotlight, firing a bogey-free six-under 66 Tuesday to catch Japan’s Kashihara Hirotaka at the top in the ICTSI South Pacific Classic at the South Pacific Golf Club here. Long seeking to establish his own identity on the circuit while stepping out of the shadow of his illustrious father, Tommy Manotoc, Gab produced a timely surge on the front nine, rattling off five birdies to turn a modest start into a course-record-tying round. Hirotaka, meanwhile, capitalized on virtually windless conditions during his early start, catching fire on the front nine before negotiating a few rough patches on the way home to reach six-under first. Manotoc faced tougher conditions in the afternoon heat but stayed composed, finishing without a bogey to match the Japanese veteran’s output. The pair’s opening-round scores equaled the course record from the gold tees, previously set by Rico Depilo, Tony Lascuña and Clyde Mondilla in earlier PGT tournaments. Amateur Chris Remata holds the outright benchmark with a 64 in last year’s Mindanao Amateur Open. Manotoc credited his disciplined play and improved putting surfaces for helping him capitalize on his scoring opportunities. “My...

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SCHEDULE: 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals

Oct 24, 2026

SCHEDULE: 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals

(Updated as of October 23) MANILA, Philippines–The 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup has reached the playoffs stage, with eight teams vying to advance in the title race. The matchups in the crossover quarterfinals pit the NLEX Road Warriors against Phoenix Fuel Masters; Magnolia Hotshots against TNT Tropang 5G; Rain or Shine Elasto Painters against Converge FiberXers

UAAP: Ateneo survives late FEU fightback for home win

Oct 24, 2026

UAAP: Ateneo survives late FEU fightback for home win

SCHEDULE: UAAP Season 89  basketball tournament – second round MANILA, Philippines—Ateneo protected its home court with a 75-72 win over Far Eastern University in the UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament at Blue Eagle Gym on Saturday. Jared Bahay, who finished with 15 points, four assists, two rebounds and a steal in 26 minutes, credited

PVL: Feeling the pressure, Savi Davison and PLDT end early slump

Oct 24, 2026

PVL: Feeling the pressure, Savi Davison and PLDT end early slump

MANILA, Philippines — With a lot of pressure on contender team PLDT, Savi Davison rediscovered her scoring touch to restore order and barge into the win column in the PVL All-Filipino Conference Siklab Series. Davison unleashed 28 points as PLDT outlasted Capital1, 21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-21, on Saturday at Filoil EcoOil Centre. “I honestly… It’s

PBA: Tim Cone, Ginebra face ‘consuelo de bobo’ duel vs San Miguel

Oct 24, 2026

PBA: Tim Cone, Ginebra face ‘consuelo de bobo’ duel vs San Miguel

ANTIPOLO—Coach Tim Cone summed up how Barangay Ginebra made the 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals the hard way, and at the cost of having to face San Miguel Beer in a best-of-five series. “It’s consuelo de bobo,” Cone said after Ginebra secured the last ticket with Friday’s 101-96 win over Blackwater at Ynares Center here.

PBA: Slumping Phoenix aims to turn things around in playoffs

Oct 24, 2026

PBA: Slumping Phoenix aims to turn things around in playoffs

ANTIPOLO—Phoenix coach Charles Tiu lamented his team’s late swoon heading into the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals, where the Fuel Masters will face the NLEX Road Warriors. The Fuel Masters finished the group stage with a 5-5 record after dropping their last two games by blowout margins, including Friday’s 133-103 loss to the Rain or Shine

PVL: Savi Davison, PLDT overcome Capital1 for first win

Oct 24, 2026

PVL: Savi Davison, PLDT overcome Capital1 for first win

MANILA, Philippines — Savi Davison came out firing with 28 points to end PLDT’s woes, outlasting Capital1, 21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-21, in the PVL All-Filipino Conference Siklab Series on Saturday at Filoil EcoOil Centre. After struggling in their second straight loss with five points last Tuesday against Akari, Davison unleashed 23 kills, four blocks, and

Unbeaten Cool Smashers keep Thunderbelles winless

Oct 24, 2026

Unbeaten Cool Smashers keep Thunderbelles winless

MANILA, Philippines — The defending champion Creamline notched its third straight victory after defeating the winless ZUS Coffee, 25-19, 16-25, 26-24, 25-17, in the 2026-27 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference–Siklab Series on Saturday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City. Creamline improved to 3-0 win-loss record, tied with Nxled at the top of the standings, while ZUS Coffee dropped to 0-3 and joined Galeries Tower Highrisers at the bottom of the team standings. Bernadeth Pons led the Cool Smashers with a double-double performance of 16 points and 14 excellent receptions. Decorated playmaker Jia De Guzman orchestrated the offense with 17 excellent sets.  Middle blocker Pangs Panaga scored 15 points and Tots Carlos added 10 points for the Cool Smashers. Under the Siklab Series’ “all-to-play” rule, which requires every player listed on the statistical sheet to see at least one minute of action, head coach Sherwin Meneses admitted he is still searching for the team’s ideal combination. “Actually, we don’t know how to do it yet, since this is the first time in the Philippines that we’re following an ‘all-to-play’ format,” Meneses said, referring to the second frame where Creamline lost.  “It’s about the players, and we gave our trust to them. As a coach, this is my first time experiencing it too. We haven’t mastered the format yet, but we’re still maneuvering our players. Our advantage is that we have a lot of players; we’re still learning which ones work best together.” Creamline’s veterans also contributed as Jema Galanza added eight points for Creamline and tallied 10 excellent digs in the match, while Michele Gumabao and Bea De Leon both scored six points each. The Thunderbelles, who are still looking for their first win in the tournament, relied on Zam Nolasco's 16-point effort even as Alyanna Ong added 12 points. Creamline will next face Capital 1, while ZUS aims to finally crack through the win column when it faces PLDT on Oct. 29 at the Santiago Sports Arena in Santiago City.

Eala heads to Tokyo, aims to end slump

Oct 24, 2026

Eala heads to Tokyo, aims to end slump

FILIPINO tennis ace Alexandra “Alex” Eala will head to Japan for the WTA 500 Tokyo Open, the penultimate tournament of the 2026 season. The competition will run from Oct. 26 to Nov. 1. Eala, ranked 20th in the world, will look to end a slump in the Asian Swing of the WTA Tour, where she holds a 1-3 win-loss record. Two of those defeats were against world No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova at the Singapore Open and against No. 217 Shi Han at the Wuhan Open. Eala ended her string of upset losses with a 6-3, 6-1 win over No. 34 Diane Parry in the first round of the Ningbo Open but fell to No. 13 Diana Shnaider in the second round, 5-7, 4-6, last Thursday. In Tokyo, Eala will confront another stacked field of netters including world No. 1 Elena Rybakina, No. 11 Maja Chwalinska, No. 12 Iva Jovic and No. 13 Shnaider. World No. 14 and defending champion Belinda Bencic is also listed as well as No. 15 Elise Mertens, No. 17 Sorana Cirstea and No. 19 Naomi Osaka. Also competing are No. 25 Ann Li, No. 29 Nikola Bartunkova, No. 30 Leylah Fernandez, No. 31 Maria Sakkari, No. 33 Ekaterina Alexandrova, No. 34 Parry, No. 35 Jasmine Paolini and No.42 Cristina Bucsa. The players who skipped the tournament include No. 4 Jessica Pegula, No. 6 Elina Svitolina, No. 9 Iga Swiatek and No. 23 Anna Kalinskaya. After Tokyo, Eala will wrap up her 2026 season at the 250 Hong Kong Open slated from Nov. 2 to 8.

PH ends Asian Para Games with 7 medals

Oct 24, 2026

PH ends Asian Para Games with 7 medals

THE Philippines ended its campaign in the 5th Asian Para Games in Nagoya, Japan, with only seven medals, consisting of two golds, two silvers and three bronzes, finishing 18th in the overall medal tally. It was a far cry from its haul in the previous edition in Hangzhou, China, three years ago, where the country brought home 10 gold medals as well as four silvers and five bronze. Majority of the gold medals from the previous games came from chess, which was not included in this year’s edition. This year, the gold medals came from the swimming pool courtesy of para swimmers Ernie Gawilan and Ariel Joseph Alegarbes. Gawilan, a three-time Paralympian, won the country’s first gold medal in Nagoya in the men’s 400-meter (m) freestyle S7. He also bagged the silver medal in the men’s 200-m individual medley SM7. Alegarbes, on the other hand, topped the men’s 100-m backstroke S14. Raemond Adefuin added a bronze medal for swimming after placing third in the men’s 100-m backstroke SB6. Table tennis players Lhey Manginsay and Wilfred Redulla won a silver medal in the mixed doubles table tennis class XD17 after bowing to the Chinese pair of Zhao Shuai and Xiong Guiyan in the gold medal match. In athletics, King James Reyes captured the bronze medal in the men’s 1,500-m T46, while Ma. Ravinia Carpena finished at third place in the women’s shot put F20. Cyril Ongcoy was originally announced as a bronze medal winner in the men’s 1,500-m T12/T13, but was relegated to fourth place following a jury reinstatement of the event’s eventual gold medalist who was earlier disqualified. China topped the medal count with a 207-117-111 count followed by host Japan with a 64-60-62 medal tally. The 5th Asian Para Games ran from Oct. 18 to 24 in Nagoya, following the 20th Asian Games, where the Philippines won four golds, nine silvers and 16 bronzes.

TNT, Magnolia begin quarterfinal duel

Oct 24, 2026

TNT, Magnolia begin quarterfinal duel

DEFENDING champion TNT will be shooting for a strong start against Magnolia as both squads begin their PBA Season 50 Governors Cup best-of-five quarterfinal series on Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City. The Tropang 5G managed to reach the playoffs after overcoming an injury-riddled roster early in the conference en route to clinching the fourth seed in Group A with a 7-5 record. The Hotshots, on the other hand, sealed the top seed in Group A after ending the elimination round with a 7-3 card. Both teams collide in their series-opening game at 7:30 p.m. Import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Jayson Castro, Poy Erram and Calvin Oftana are all back since missing a big part of the elimination round with separate injuries. Hollis-Jefferson, who spent the last 10 months recovering from an Achilles injury he sustained last December in his stint with Meralco in the East Asia Super League, is back and hungry to lead TNT to another PBA title. He came in to take the spot of Nick Hornsby, who played just one game as temporary import. RHJ had a good workout during his first game back with TNT, firing 22 points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocks in 22 minutes in a 142-87 demolition of the Macao Giant Pandas. For the Hotshots, the latest of their playoff meeting with the Tropang 5G gives them a chance to try to exorcize the ghost of their past postseason failures. Magnolia has lost to TNT in their last two quarterfinal duels, thus giving coach LA Tenorio a chance for redemption. The Hotshots last won a PBA championship in the 2018 Governors’ Cup when they were still being handled by coach Chito Victolero. Meanwhile, the 5:15 p.m. match features Group A top seed NLEX going up against Phoenix. NLEX closed the elimination round with a 9-3 record, the same slate as San Miguel Beer. But the charges of new coach Jimmy Alapag got the No.1 ranking due to superior quotient. The Road Warriors tangle with the Fuel Masters, who got bludgeoned by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 133-103, at the close of elimination round last Friday. “I think Rain or Shine just ran us out of the building, so a bit of a disappointing performance heading into the playoffs. But sana it’s a wake-up call for us that we have to be much better,” said Fuel Masters coach Charles Tiu after that game. RICHARD DY

Tatum delivers as Celtics down winless Knicks

Oct 24, 2026

Tatum delivers as Celtics down winless Knicks

LOS ANGELES, California — Jayson Tatum scored 36 points as the Boston Celtics defeated the New York Knicks, 107-103, to leave the NBA champions waiting for their first win of the season on Friday (Saturday in Manila). Tatum, back at full fitness after missing most of last season with a ruptured Achilles, delivered a mesmerizing performance at the TD Garden to give Boston their first win of the campaign after an opening-day loss to Detroit. The six-time NBA All-Star shot 14-of-26 from the field, including three three-pointers, with nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Nine of Tatum’s points came in the fourth quarter as the Knicks, who had trailed by as many as 12 points early in the final frame, closed to within one point. Tatum’s superb all-round display earned words of admiration from Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. “That was a really well-balanced game from JT on both ends, and you were able to kind of see his greatness,” Mazzulla said after the home opener. Tatum received scoring support from new signing Paul George and Neemius Queta, who both finished with 15 points apiece. The Knicks were led by 22 points from Karl-Anthony Towns, with OG Anunoby and Miles McBride scoring 20 each. Knicks talisman Jalen Brunson chipped in with 19. In other games on Friday, the Minnesota Timberwolves stayed unbeaten with a 115-93 defeat of the Orlando Magic on the road. Minnesota’s new-look offense, with Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball working in tandem, produced a balanced scoring display that saw seven players finish in double figures. Edwards and Jaden McDaniels each netted 15 points to top the scoring. Orlando fell to 0-2 with the loss. Elsewhere, the Atlanta Hawks moved to 2-0 with a 128-81 drubbing of the Charlotte Hornets, with Jalen Johnson and Aaron Wiggins scoring 19 points each. The Toronto Raptors are also unbeaten, thanks to a 112-102 defeat of the Washington Wizards on the road. Scottie Barnes scored 28 points for Toronto with RJ Barrett adding 23 and Kawhi Leonard 16. Kyrie Irving’s 24-point haul helped the Dallas Mavericks to a 121-105 defeat of the Indiana Pacers while the Milwaukee Bucks were left waiting for their first win of the campaign after falling 132-125 to the Chicago Bulls at home.

Brewers edge Rays to win World Series opener

Oct 24, 2026

Brewers edge Rays to win World Series opener

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — Milwaukee captain Christian Yelich tripled in one run and scored another to lead the Brewers over Tampa Bay, 3-2, in Friday’s opening game of the 122nd World Series. Yelich did his damage in the first inning and strong pitching from Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski and relievers frustrated the Rays, who put the tying run on third base in the ninth before Milwaukee secured the victory. “It feels great. The guys settled in right away and did a great job,” Yelich said. “We’ve still got a ways to go but nice to get that first one.” A sellout crowd for the first World Series game at Milwaukee in 44 years cheered on the Brewers, who host Game 2 on Saturday before the best-of-seven Major League Baseball (MLB) finale shifts to Florida. “It was amazing. Just to have the city behind me, it means the world,” Misiorowski said. “We couldn’t ask for anything better.” The 24-year-old American right-hander became the youngest pitcher since 1997 to win a World Series opener. “Not perfect but good enough to get a win,” Misiorowski said of his performance. Each club seek its first World Series title. The Brewers’ only other appearance was in 1982 while the Rays are in their third World Series after 2008 and 2020. It’s only the second World Series in more than a century featuring two teams that have never captured the crown, the other in 1980 when Philadelphia beat Kansas City. Misiorowski, known for his fiery fastball, hurled the fastest World Series pitch ever recorded at 103.5 miles per hour (mph), or 166.5 kilometers per hour, to begin the game. Misiorowski, who went 16-5 with an MLB-best 252 strikeouts and an MLB-best 1.80 earned-run average this season, broke the old mark of 103.2 mph set by Aroldis Chapman of the Chicago Cubs in 2016, eight years after pitch speeds were first recorded. He struck out three and scattered four hits over five innings while allowing only one run to earn the victory. Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio hit the first offering from Rays starting pitcher Nick Martinez for a leadoff single in the first inning. Chourio scored when designated hitter Yelich smashed a triple off the glove of diving Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca. “He prepares, he’s a leader, and he has helped us a bunch all year,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of Yelich. William Contreras followed with a single to drive in Yelich for a 2-0 Brewers lead. Tampa Bay’s Jonathan Aranda walked to open the fourth inning, reached third on Junior Caminero’s double to the centerfield wall and scored on an infield ground out by Liam Hicks to cut the lead in half. Milwaukee added what proved to be the deciding run in the seventh after Cooper Pratt walked, advanced on a ground out and scored on Chourio’s single to right field. Scary finish Brewers relief pitchers dominated down the stretch with Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby combining for five strikeouts while allowing only one hit over three innings. But in the ninth, Milwaukee closer Trevor Megill allowed back-to-back singles to Aranda and Chandler Simpson, then pinch-runner Jorge Mateo and Simpson executed a double steal to reach second and third bases. Caminero walked to load the bases and Hicks appeared to ground into a game-ending double play. Video replay showed an errant throw pulled the fielder’s foot off the bag at second and Mateo scored with Rays runners on second and third. With the game on the line, Megill struck out DeLuca to secure the victory. “A big range of emotions,” Yelich said. “Big credit to Trev for locking back in right there, making some huge pitches after you have that emotional dump. “Everybody had faith in Trev. It’s the World Series. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. He did a great job.”

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