NLEX, SMB dispute top seed in Group A

Manila Times - Oct 20, 2026

NLEX and San Miguel Beer (SMB) clash for the top seed in Group A as the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup reaches the penultimate playdate of the elimination round on Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City. The Road Warriors enter the 5:15 p.m. game toting a 9-2 record, with the Beermen carrying an 8-3 card for second spot. Magnolia (6-3), the Group B leaders, battles Rain or Shine (5-3) at 7:30 p.m. with the Hotshots looking to secure the No. 1 spot in Group A. NLEX hammered San Miguel Beer, 110-96, during their first meeting in this conference. That game though was totally different since the Road Warriors still had do-it-all import DeQuan Jones, who fired 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in that game. “I think we have to work hard and play for it,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria, referring to their goal of beating NLEX en route to securing the top seed in Group A. “It (winning) will give us a lot of confidence because for me, they are the top contender. You can see it from how they play, so we need to get the playoff mindset,” he added. Meanwhile, Magnolia hopes to keep its winning run going heading to the...

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

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Oct 24, 2026

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Oct 24, 2026

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Oct 24, 2026

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PH ends Asian Para Games with 7 medals

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PH ends Asian Para Games with 7 medals

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Tatum delivers as Celtics down winless Knicks

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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.”

Blakely bags all-around world title

Oct 24, 2026

Blakely bags all-around world title

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — American Skye Blakely kept her nerve on her closing routine on Friday (Saturday in Manila) to take her first solo gold in the individual all-around competition at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam. The 21-year Texan finished ahead of teenagers Liudmila Roshchina and Qinqin Ke. Blakely had previously collected two team golds, the second in 2023 in a quartet led by star gymnast Simone Biles, who is absent from Rotterdam and has left the future of her career in doubt. Blakely has often been hampered by injuries. In 2021, a torn ligament in her elbow forced her to withdraw from the Tokyo Games. History repeated itself in June 2024: during the United States Olympic trials, just as she had cemented her place among the favorites for Paris, another injury — this time to her Achilles tendon — ruled her out of the Olympics. Having topped the qualifying round on Monday, Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour had to settle for fourth after almost missing the springboard in her opening event, the vault. She managed to complete her leap but by sacrificing difficulty and, despite strong showings in the three remaining events, finished fourth. As the second-best qualifier, Blakely went second last, ahead of Nemour. After 18-year-old Russian Roshchina scored 13,400 and Chinese 16-year-old Ke 13,266, the American started her routine knowing a safe routine would win. She scored 12.933 for an aggregate of 55.733 with Roshchina totaling 55.199. Ke finished with 55.032 to edge Nemour by 0.034 of a point.

Olympic marathon champ suspended    

Oct 24, 2026

Olympic marathon champ suspended    

OLYMPIC and world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir has been provisionally suspended over a positive drug test for the banned substance EPO, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Friday. Jepchirchir won women’s marathon gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the world title last year. The 33-year-old Kenyan runner is also a former world record holder in the half marathon. The AIU, which investigates doping in track and field on behalf of the sport’s governing body World Athletics, posted on X that “an out-of-competition sample, collected in Kenya prior to her recent Sydney Marathon victory, returned an adverse analytical finding for EPO.” Jepchirchir won the Sydney Marathon in August. Her representative Gianni Demadonna declined to comment when contacted by the Associated Press (AP). In most doping cases in international sports, athletes are provisionally suspended from competing until the case is either resolved with a verdict or dropped. Jepchirchir’s win in Sydney was another award in a glittering career which includes victories in the 2021 New York Marathon, the 2022 Boston Marathon and 2024 London Marathon. She is ranked fifth in the world for the women’s marathon. Jepchirchir also made history when she broke the half-marathon world record in 2017 while in the early stages of pregnancy, according to governing body World Athletics. She gave birth to a daughter eight months after that. Sydney Marathon organizers said in a statement on Friday they were “extremely disappointed” to hear of Jepchirchir’s suspension. “Jepchirchir is entitled to due process, and we will make no further comment on the case until that process has concluded,” the statement said. “Our commitment to clean sport is unwavering. Every athlete who lines up in Sydney deserves to race on a level playing field, and every participant and spectator deserves to trust the result they see at the finish line.” It’s the latest in a long series of doping cases involving distance runners from Kenya, which was awarded the 2029 world track championships last month. It will be the first African country to host the event, but Kenya has long-faced scrutiny over performance-enhancing drug use by its world-leading runners. Women’s marathon world record holder Ruth Chepng’etich, who is also from Kenya, was banned for three years in 2025 after admitting a charge related to a positive test for a banned diuretic. Former New York Marathon winner Albert Korir was given a five-year ban in March. World Anti-Doping Agency president Witold Banka said this month Kenya needs a “more determined approach” to retain its credibility in sports. “Kenya proudly calls itself the home of champions. But for that home to remain respected and credible, it must also be clean,” Banka said during a visit to the East African nation. “That is why Kenya needs a strong culture of clean sport, zero tolerance for doping, and a more determined approach to preventing and fighting doping.” The suspension of Jepchirchir was announced a day after the AIU said it issued a six-year ban to Ruti Aga, a top marathon runner from Ethiopia. The AIU said Aga tested positive for a banned substance and then submitted a fake prescription for the substance from a clinic which turned out not to exist.

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