Rising stars James Earl Ting, Edgie Arances and Anisha Eunice Caluya loom as the athletes to watch when the battles for the Filipino Elite crowns in the Damosa Land 5150 triathlon unfold Sunday in Davao del Norte’s Samal Island. Ting and Arances are expected to engage in a fierce men’s duel, while Caluya headlines the

UAAP SCHEDULE: Season 89 basketball tournament Ateneo and University of the Philippines seek follow-ups to impressive debuts when they clash on Saturday, while National U and University of the East look to bounce back and end the first week of UAAP Season 89 collegiate men’s basketball tournament eliminations on a positive note at Smart Araneta

The Philippines" first Olympic gold medalist, Hidilyn Diaz, joined the 2026 Asian Games torch relay as one of the torchbearers last Thursday.

The 20th Asian Games will open in Japan later Saturday with a glittering ceremony following a stuttering build-up to a multi-sport spectacular that has more participants than the Olympics.

Utah Jazz point guard Keyonte George agreed to a five-year, $157.5 million rookie-scale contract extension, multiple outlets reported Friday.

The Asian Games opening ceremony at Paloma Mizuho Stadium on Saturday will fire the starting gun on the first official days of competition in Nagoya and Tokyo, even if some athletes have already finished their events. Various team sports such as basketball, football and volleyball are working their way through the group stages, while some poor unfortunates, such as Hong Kong’s Shum Chun-hei and Liu Hei-yu, have already competed and bowed out. The pair were taking part in the modern pentathlon,...

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino tennis ace Alexandra "Alex" Eala ramped up her training for the WTA 500 Singapore Tennis Open which will run from September 21 to 27 at The Kallang. Alex's father, Michael, posted photos of her training in a facility on Friday night. As a top-four player in a 28-player, 500-tier tournament, world No. 18 and No. 3 seed Eala secured a first-round bye to begin her campaign in the second round. Initially seeded No. 6, Eala moved three places up after the withdrawals of world No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 13 Diana Shnaider and No. 15 Sorana Cirstea. Pegula, Shnaider, and Cirstea were supposed to claim the No. 1, No. 4 and No. 5 seeds respectively. World No. 5 Mirra Andreeva became the No. 1 seed while No. 11 Amanda Anisimova seized the No. 2 seed. World No. 19 Elise Mertens elevated to the No. 4 seed, completing the top four players with first-round byes. The Singapore Open was set to begin its qualifying stages on Saturday. After appearing multiple times at the New York Fashion Week, Eala went back to the Philippines on September 13.

After all the meticulous preparation, the talking and the injury frights, Chloe Leung Wing-yee is ready for the clock to start ticking on her race of truth in the remote hills of Shinshiro City on Sunday. The little finger on her right hand that Leung broke following a racing crash in Italy in July has been a nuisance, but she has reconciled with the fact that it is just one more challenge, besides the slopes and corners that characterise a deeply technical course, to overcome in her pursuit of...

SINGAPORE – For 18 minutes on the morning of Sept 18, Alexandra Eala, one of sports’ brightest young talents, was a study in poise. Dressed in a floral maxi dress at The NCO Club near JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach, the elegant 21-year-old demonstrated that she is as thoughtful with a microphone as she

NEW ORLEANS— Saddiq Bey has agreed to a three-year NBA contract extension with the New Orleans Pelicans that will pay the veteran power forward $55.5 million. Bey’s agents with Excel Sports Management announced the extension, which was first reported by ESPN on Thursday night. Bey averaged 17.7 points and 5.6 rebounds last season, his first

MANILA, Philippines–Nygel Gonzales knows he has a long way to go before he can return to the court, but the San Beda guard is confident he is on the right track. The Season 101 MVP has been sidelined since tearing his ACL during the offseason, forcing him to watch from the sidelines as the Red

MANILA, Philippines—It’s no secret that Letran’s Chad Gammad has been under the bright spotlight of the NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball tournament. But after the Knights’ 99-62 drubbing of San Sebastian at San Juan Arena on Friday, Gammad made it clear that the attention disappears once he steps on the court. “For me, there’s pressure

READ: Follow Inquirer Sports’ special coverage of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 MANILA, Philippines —Juliana Gomez is tempering her expectations for her Asian Games debut but vows to give her all for the Philippines in the Aichi-Nagoya fencing tournament from September 22 to 27. Gomez will compete in the women’s individual epee and team events

MANILA, Philippines—Letran kept San Sebastian winless in Group B with a 99-62 win in the NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball tournament at San Juan Arena on Friday. The Knights’ 37-point rout of the Golden Stags also fueled the Season 101 finalists to a 2-0 start to the young season following their opening win over Perpetual.

NAGOYA–Asian Games organizers played the North Korean national anthem for the South Korean men’s hockey team on Friday, later apologizing for the blunder. South Korean officials were left angered by the latest mishap to hit the Games ahead of Saturday’s opening ceremony in Nagoya. READ: Asian Games 2026: Athletes ‘can’t take it any more’ as

READ: Follow Inquirer Sports’ special coverage of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 MANILA, Philippines–Team Philippines sees action in the Asian Games 2026 triathlon competitions in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. Races will be held at the Gamagori City Triathlon Venue in Aichi Prefecture. The triathlon team of the Philippines is composed of Fernando Casares, Inaki Lorbes, Kim Mangrobang,

READ: Follow Inquirer Sports’ special coverage of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 MANILA, Philippines–Team Philippines assured itself a breakthrough medal finish in soft tennis a day before the formal opening of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026. Princess Catindig, Bien Zoleta, Christy Sanosa, Shyryn Salazar and Hilary Paas secured a top two finish in Group B

READ: Follow Inquirer Sports’ special coverage of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 MANILA, Philippines– Memories of her historic Olympic gold medal in Tokyo came flooding back for Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo as she served as one of the torchbearers for the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games on Thursday. After completing her segment of the relay, Diaz-Naranjo was met

The Asian Games in Japan were facing more accusations of poor organization Friday with a world champion gymnast “totally exhausted,” the public drafted in to rescue stranded athletes and South Korea lodging a complaint about a Japanese warlord. The continent’s premier sporting spectacle opens in Nagoya and Aichi prefecture on Saturday, but the build-up has

Check the Team Philippines schedule at the 2026 Asian Games, including dates for basketball, boxing, swimming, athletics, weightlifting and other sports.

READ: Follow Inquirer Sports’ special coverage of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 MANILA, Philippines–Two-time Olympic weightlifter Elreen Ando is determined to add the Asian Games medal to her collection in the Aichi-Nagoya edition, which formally opens on Saturday. “I’m really excited, and hopefully, I can win another medal at the upcoming Asian Games,” Ando said

MANILA, Philippines–The Philippine men’s U-23 football team absorbed a 2-0 loss to Vietnam on Friday in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 at Minato Soccer Field. Two goals courtesy of Nguyen Thanh Nhan and Nguyen Le Phat crushed any hopes of the Philippines getting a famous result as it ended up losing a second straight match

Carlos Yulo eyes two more Olympic stints through 2032, but first turns his focus to the 2026 Asian Games and a potential gold-medal run for the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines–Defending champion San Beda and Jose Rizal University’s NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball game was suspended Friday due to problems at the venue at San Juan Arena. The game was stopped midway through the opening quarter after multiple players slipped on the hardwood. READ: San Beda embraces tough challenge as team to beat in

Alexandra Eala has secured the third seed in the Singapore Tennis Open, emerging as the tournament"s third-highest-ranked player based on the WTA list released Friday.

Asia's Olympic chief said Friday that he wished the Asian Games in Japan had an athletes' village and hinted that future editions of the multisport event could be even bigger.

NAGOYA, Japan — The Asian Games in Japan were on Friday facing more accusations of poor organization with a world champion gymnast “totally exhausted,” the public drafted in to rescue stranded athletes and South Korea lodging a complaint about a Japanese warlord. The continent’s premier sporting spectacle opens in Nagoya and Aichi prefecture on Saturday, but the build-up has been soured by several issues. That includes a shortage of rooms for the more than 17,000 athletes and officials — a bigger number than the Olympics. Some teams have also criticized the quality of the accommodation, including beds that are too short. To save money there is no athletes’ village, organizers instead putting competitors in hotels, temporary cabins and on a cruise ship. Organizers say the accommodation is safe, cost-effective and comfortable. Chinese gymnast Zhang Boheng, who won two silver medals at the Paris Olympics and has two world championship titles to his name, said he and some of his teammates were left waiting for six hours after landing on Wednesday. “I’m totally exhausted,” he said in a video published Thursday and shared widely on Chinese social media. “I didn’t expect that after breakfast at 7:00 a.m. the next time I could eat would be close to 7:00 pm,” the 26-year-old said. He said the wait was caused by registration and paperwork, before heading to the cruise ship where 4,000 Games participants will be housed in Nagoya’s port area. But when they arrived at the ship, he said heavy rain prevented them from boarding. “A whole day was basically wasted like this,” added Zhang. “In the end we really couldn’t take it any more so we decided to book rooms at a hotel to rest.” The video has since been taken down but Chinese state media said that other Chinese athletes also faced travel delays upon arrival. Beijing’s consulate in Nagoya contacted Chinese citizens in the area to give the badminton team lifts after issues with a shuttle bus and a shortage of public transport tickets, Xinhua reported. Chinese social media users applauded athletes, including table tennis star Sun Yingsha, for stretching and exercising at the airport. The hashtag “Asian Games absurd” has since been viewed more than 94 million times on Weibo. India’s team had similar delays at the airport. “There was an issue in getting accreditation for athletes at the airport during immigration. There were long queues with a lot of other nations there,” India’s chef de mission and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) treasurer Sahdev Yadav told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “But these things happen and we have got everything sorted. He added: “These are all teething problems and our focus is now on performance.” Warlord controversy South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that some of the country’s athletes waited at the airport for more than five hours on Thursday. “We are aware of the situation including reports that athletes have had to wait for hours and we are doing our best to handle it,” a Korean Sport and Olympic Committee (KSOC) official told AFP. Also on Friday, the KSOC said it had filed a complaint with Games organizers for featuring a Japanese warlord at a welcoming ceremony. The event on Tuesday included a person dressed as Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who led Japan’s invasions of Korea in 1592-1598, and the ceremony prompted a backlash in South Korea. Historical issues are sensitive between South Korea and Japan, with Hideyoshi’s invasion a significant episode in Korean history and Korea under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. There was no immediate response from the Olympic Council of Asia or the local organizing committee.

FILIPINO-AMERICAN guard Jordan Clarkson of the New York Knicks has expressed a strong desire to represent the Philippines again as Gilas Pilipinas fights for a spot in the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Doha, Qatar. The 34-year-old Clarkson shared his thoughts during the Sept. 5, 2026 issue of GQ Philippines. “Another World Cup is coming up, and I want to be there,” Clarkson said, when sought to share his thoughts about playing for the Philippine team. “There haven’t been so many Filipino Americans in the [NBA] league, and Filipinos, period. So knowing that I get to represent that and kind of change the narrative in any way that I can, that’s what I’m trying to do,” he added. Clarkson last played for Gilas Pilipinas during the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which the Philippines co-hosted with Japan and Indonesia. Clarkson went on to average 26 points (second best in the tournament), 4.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists, helping the Philippines finish at 24th place out of 32 countries in 2023. His finest moment came against China in the classification round as the 6-foot-5 guard erupted for 34 points, including 24 in a third quarter. Playing in front of a packed Smart Araneta Coliseum, Clarkson finished with five threes against the Chinese as Gilas Pilipinas closed the tournament with an emphatic 96-75 win. Clarkson hopes he could do that again for the Philippines, which, just three weeks back, galvanized its FIBA World Cup bid following back-to-back wins over Jordan and Iran in the 2027 Asian Qualifiers in Manila during the fourth window. With two more windows left, the Philippines will try its best to sweep its last four games in the November 2026 and February 2027 windows. The Philippines will enter the November window with an even 4-4 record, just a game behind Iran and Jordan, which share similar 5-3 slates, in Group E standings. Australia carries an immaculate 8-0 record and New Zealand is second with a 6-2 card. The top three teams will earn outright FIBA World Cup slots, while the best fourth-placed squad between Groups E and F will also secure a spot in the Doha tournament.

The Asian Games in Japan were facing more accusations of poor organization Friday with a world champion gymnast "totally exhausted", the public drafted in to rescue stranded athletes and South Korea lodging a complaint about a Japanese warlord.

CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched their fifth consecutive NL West title and 13th in the past 14 seasons with an 8-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday (Friday in Manila). “It’s a big deal,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think that a lot of people think that it’s just a rite of passage (but) it’s not easy. So it’s something that we’re all really proud of, but really understand that’s not the end goal.” The Dodgers (93-60) are in the postseason for the 14th consecutive season, tying the Atlanta Braves’ record from 1991-2005. “It’s step one,” Mookie Betts said, rubbing the bubbly from his eyes. “We’ve got a long way to go.” The on-field celebration was muted following the final out on Thursday, but players let loose in the clubhouse where sparkling wine and beer was sprayed from the floor to the ceiling. “I think it’s one of those things where in baseball you play every day, and guys focus on performing,” Roberts said. “So there’s not a lot of moments to celebrate. So it’s nice to see the guys let loose a little bit.” Despite all of their success, the players believe they still have something to prove. The Dodgers shattered Major League Baseball’s spending record last year with a combined $515 million in payroll, leading to suggestions they have an unfair advantage. “What we’re creating here is special,” Max Muncy said. “It definitely doesn’t get enough credit. Everyone points to the payroll, but we don’t ever talk about how we do things the right way, how we prepare the right way, how we do all those little things. That doesn’t get talked about.” The two-time defending World Series champions are still chasing the NL’s top seed, currently held by the Milwaukee Brewers. Los Angeles has a four-game lead over the Braves (89-64) for the second seed but trails the Brewers (95-58) by two games. “We’re still trying to get one of those top two seeds,” Roberts said. “I think we do a great job of celebrating, but not having it carry over. We have to get on the flight and play the Giants tomorrow.” The Dodgers are looking to become the first team to capture three consecutive World Series championships since the Yankees did it from 1998 to 2000. It’s the Dodgers’ fourth-earliest division clinching. They clinched the NL West on Sept. 10 in 2019, Sept. 13 in 2022 and Sept. 16 in 2023. LA will use that time to try getting healthy. That starts with Shohei Ohtani. The four-time MVP has been on the 15-day injured list since Sept. 8 with right biceps inflammation and told reporters earlier this month he is done pitching for the season. The two-way star took swings off a tee for the first time Tuesday and felt good. He’s expected to return as a hitter before the end of the regular season, although it’s unclear if he can get 100-percent healthy before October. Roki Sasaki, on the IL with a blister on his middle finger, threw live BP on Wednesday in Cincinnati and it went well. Roberts said his next outing will be a start. Blake Snell left Wednesday’s start after one inning with left groin tightness. His status is uncertain. Closer Edwin Diaz, who’s been on the IL since August with neck inflammation, is expected to be activated Friday. Setup man Edgardo Henriquez is on the IL with lower back discomfort. He had an MRI in Los Angeles on Wednesday which revealed a low back strain and his rehab will be paused for a few days. The Dodgers made the biggest splash of the trade deadline when they acquired two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal from the Tigers. Skubal is 3-2 with a 2.52 ERA in eight starts for the Dodgers. The addition of Skubal made the Dodgers the odds-on favorites to win the World Series. After going 61-36 to start the season, the Dodgers are 32-24 since the All-Star break. “I spoke to the guys and just really lauded them,” Roberts said. “For the fact, I think that we’re the most talented team, the smartest team, the toughest team, and to enjoy this.”