The PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals marked the first time Jordan Murphy faced June Mar Fajardo. And after helping Barangay Ginebra take Game 1 over San Miguel Beer, Murphy is hoping he can hold his own against Fajardo, who he feels is quite a handful. “Man, that’s a big guy. Super big guy,” Murphy said as

Defending champion San Beda survived a late Mapua rally to escape with a 61-57 victory Thursday in the NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball tournament at San Juan Arena. Dan Marcelo scored 16 points as the Red Lions secured their third straight victory and improved to 8-3, tying Jose Rizal University atop Group A. “I had

Rookie Cameron Boozer recorded 18 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his first career triple-double, and reserve Isaiah Stewart also scored 18 as the Memphis Grizzlies remained unbeaten with a solid 124-103 road victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night.

All that’s left for Micah Shin to do in the final round of the P2.5-million ICTSI Apo Golf Classic on Friday is to put the finishing touches on a win to end his Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) season. The 29-year-old Korean-American who calls the tree-lined course home rode a hot stretch bridging the two nines

Slovakian teenager Mia Pohankova knocked out former champion Naomi Osaka in straight sets Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.

Onyeka Okongwu scored a season-high 29 points, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker sank two crucial free throws with 15.3 seconds remaining as the host Atlanta Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 114-111 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.

Jeremiah Fears flirted with his first career triple-double and the New Orleans Pelicans broke into the win column for the first time this season with a 132-120 triumph over the visiting Sacramento Kings on Thursday.

Alexandra Eala is eyeing a spot in the semifinals of the Pan Pacific Open when she takes on Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 tournament on Friday afternoon.

Even Asia’s first UFC world champion, Zhang Weili, cannot escape the pressure of Chinese parents pushing her to get married. A year ago, Zhang, now 37, said she was glad her family was not rushing her to marry, preferring to focus on her fighting career and leave relationships to fate. But in an interview posted on social media this week, Zhang revealed her parents grew deeply concerned about her love life during the first half of the year, saying they were “pushing really hard”. In the...

Even Asia’s first UFC world champion, Zhang Weili, cannot escape the pressure of Chinese parents pushing her to get married. A year ago, Zhang, now 37, said she was glad her family was not rushing her to marry, preferring to focus on her fighting career and leave relationships to fate. But in an interview posted on social media this week, Zhang revealed her parents grew deeply concerned about her love life during the first half of the year, saying they were “pushing really hard”. In the...

John ‘Stingray’ Ray Onifa will tackle the Barclays MoonTrekker on Friday, but he said it was “much more difficult” to talk about navigating Hong Kong’s hills and valleys than actually doing it. And that’s despite the Philippine star, who is considered one of the best trail runners in Asia, carrying a long-term back injury that still leaves him “feeling the pain”. Onifa also has a perfect record to defend, having won the 50-kilometre race on his debut in 2018 and the 40km version five years...

In 2014, Chris Green spent two days dressed as Hulk Hogan in Hong Kong Stadium’s riotous South Stand cheering for friend Cameron Clark during the rugby sevens. The “awesome” experience gave Green a “very specific taste” of a city he has grown to “really love.” This year he is back to lead his country in the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes, a year after being in the side that reached the semi-finals. A modern-day gun for hire, the 33-year-old has played in virtually every franchise tournament going; from...

MANILA, Philippines — Jema Galanza credits Creamline’s hot start in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference Siklab Series to the Cool Smashers enjoying every game together and making the most of their opportunities. Galanza stood out in another Creamline balanced attack with 16 points and 11 excellent receptions, as Creamline outlasted Capital1, 25-18, 31-29, 25-16, for

MANILA, Philippines — Jema Galanza and Bernadeth Pons drilled the telling blows to lead Creamline past Capital1, 25-18, 31-29, 25-16, for a 4-0 record in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference Siklab Series on Thursday night at Santiago Sports Arena in Isabela.  Galanza continued to lead the Cool Smashers’ balanced attack with 16 points and 11

TOKYO–World number one Elena Rybakina hailed her “amazing achievement” after securing the year-end top ranking with a 6-2, 6-3 win over fellow Kazakh Yulia Putintseva in Japan on Thursday. Rybakina became world number one for the first time last month in winning the US Open, replacing Aryna Sabalenka at the summit. She ensured she will

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida— The small-ball Milwaukee Brewers playing in the smallest market in the majors are World Series champions for the first time. Hey, Milwaukee: grab a brat, raise a beer and prepare for that parade. To borrow a line from Bob Uecker, your title drought is up, outta here, gone. Young ace Jacob Misiorowski

MANILA, Philippines — PLDT continued to build on its momentum, beating winless ZUS Coffee 25-20, 25-18, 25-16, for a second straight win in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference Siklab Series on Thursday at Santiago Sports Arena in Isabela. Savi Davison poured in 13 points built on a 12-of-33 attacking clip and a block, while making

TOKYO–Naomi Osaka, seeded No. 7 and playing before home fans in Japan, was knocked out of the Pan Pacific Open on Thursday by Mia Pohankova of Slovakia. Pohankova, who turned 18 a week ago and was a wildcard entry in Japan, upset Osaka 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the quarterfinals after a match that lasted

MANILA, Philippines–Undefeated Filipino boxer Carl Jammes  Martin will face Mexican bet David Picasso on Saturday in the “Mexico vs. The World” boxing event in Riyadh. The 27-year-old southpaw from Ifugao is undefeated at 28-0 with 21 knockouts. Ranked No. 1 by the WBO at super bantamweight, Martin has moved up to featherweight to face Picasso

IT has been a week since Russia’s Diana Shnaider eliminated Alex Eala at the Ningbo Open in China. That loss extended Eala’s slump of missing the quarterfinal round for the fifth consecutive time. On Friday, world No. 19 Eala will have vengeance in mind when she battles No. 13 Shnaider anew in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Toray Pan Pacific Open at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan. Eala opened her campaign in Tokyo with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win over Mika Stojsavljevic in the round of 32 before scoring a come-from-behind win against Talia Gibson of Australia, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, to reach the last eight. “Staying in the match and never giving up, the first set was difficult, then I had my chances, so I knew to work on every point, and I knew that if I kept my concentration, I would have more chances,” Eala said after recovering from a one-set deficit against Gibson on Wednesday night. This marks Eala’s first quarterfinal appearance since her breakthrough title run at the 2026 Washington Open in August, where she captured her maiden WTA trophy. She was eliminated early in her five previous tournaments in the WTA Tour. She exited in the round of 16 in Montreal, round of 32 in Cincinnati, round of 32 in the US Open, and round of 16 in Singapore. Following a bronze-medal finish at the Asian Games, which is not a WTA Tour-sanctioned event, Eala endured a difficult stretch, including a surprising first-round loss to China’s Shi Han, then ranked No. 217, at the Wuhan Open, where she suffered her worst loss in her career, followed by a recent round of 16 exit to Shnaider in Ningbo. Shnaider earned the right to face Eala after a hard-fought 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory over Aliaksandra Sasnovich on Wednesday. Incidentally, Eala and Shnaider are both left-handed netters. Only a handful of left-handers are in the recent WTA Top 100 list. Among them are No. 11 Maja Chwalińska, No. 23 Leylah Fernandez, No, 32 Sara Bejlek, No. 81 Wang Xiyu, and No. 89 Taylor Townsend. Eala has struggled against fellow left-handers this season, holding a 1-3 record against top-100 southpaws after losses to Fernandez in Stuttgart, Wang Xiyu at the Asian Games, and Shnaider in Ningbo. Her only win came against Fernandez during her Washington title run. The 22-year-old Shnaider boasts five WTA singles titles, having won in Hua Hin (2024), Bad Homburg (2024), Budapest (2024), Hong Kong (2024), and Monterrey (2025). She also claimed Olympic silver in women’s doubles at the Paris 2024 Games with Mirra Andreeva and reached the French Open semifinals in 2026, her best Grand Slam result to date. Eala, meanwhile, has one WTA title (Washington 2026) and two WTA 125 crowns (Guadalajara 2025 and Birmingham 2026).  In 2026, Eala holds a 44-24 win-loss record, compared to Shnaider’s 36-22. Shnaider has played fewer matches this season as she adopts a more selective “Top 15” schedule focused on higher-quality events and better recovery, in contrast to her high-volume 2024 campaign. Eala, still climbing the rankings, continues to compete in a mix of WTA and 125-level events to build consistency and points. The player who will advance in the semifinals will earn 195 ranking points and an assured prize money of $66,003 (approximately P4,224,192). This is Eala’s debut in the Pan Pacific Open, while Shnaider reached the semifinals in 2024 and the round of 16 in 2025.

BARANGAY Ginebra and Rain or Shine gun for a commanding 2-0 lead as the two squads square off with separate foes in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup quarterfinal series on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. The Gin Kings clash with the San Miguel Beermen at the 5:15 p.m. curtain raiser, followed by the Elasto Painters and the FiberXers at 7:30 p.m. Ginebra took Game 1, 104-95, with import Jordan Murphy delivering 29 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, while Scottie Thompson churned out 17 markers, 11 boards and six assists. The biggest story though was Ginebra’s defensive effort against nine-time PBA Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo, who was held down to just three points on 1-of-6 shooting. Even high-scoring import George King was held down to just 20 points, as the Gin Kings’ defense targeted the high-scoring American. The 6-10 Fajardo admitted that Ginebra’s defense no longer surprised him. “It’s really tough playing against Ginebra,” said the 36-year-old SMB star center in Filipino. “And that’s something we can’t avoid. We just need to take that as a challenge. Yes, they won (in Game 1), but we will bounce back.”  Fajardo said they can’t afford to dig a 0-2 hole for themselves with another loss on Friday. “We need to prepare well because it’s hard for us to trail, 0-2 in the series since it’s just best-of-five,” he added. As for Rain or Shine, the team hopes to ride on the momentum of its 124-120 come-from-behind win against Converge in Game 1. The Elasto Painters fell by as many as 21 points but rode on the three-point scoring of Adrian Nocum, who connected on all his four three-point attempts while Rookie Vincent Cuajao and Caelan Tiongson also chimed in during a crucial third quarter run to turn the tables against the FiberXers. “I think the most important thing is our playoff toughness,” Guiao said in Filipino.  “We had a lot of mistakes in the firs half. We gave up too many offensive rebounds, we missed free throws, we had 13 turnovers. We gave up 27 extra possessions.” Converge, however, remains capable of bouncing back with Justin Arana, Justine Baltazar, rookie Juan Gomez De Liano, Alec Stockton, and veteran Calvin Abueva in tow.  Import Cameron Clark is expected to impact the game on both sides of the floor for Converge.

CLARK, Pampanga — Filipino racing standout Iñigo Anton capped his Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) Philippines campaign with a dominant performance in the season finale, becoming the inaugural champion of the TGR Tamaraw One Make Race (OMR). The 22-year-old Anton stamped his class in the final round, winning two of the three races and finishing second in the other to secure the title. Fresh from an international campaign that included support races at the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, Anton returned to the local circuit and immediately made his presence felt by topping the qualifying round to claim pole position for Race 1. He converted the advantage into a victory before showcasing his adaptability in the succeeding reverse-grid races. Starting sixth in Race 2, Anton charged through the field to finish second. He then started fifth in Race 3 and mounted another impressive comeback to take the checkered flag first, capping his campaign with another victory. Anton’s consistency and ability to fight through the field proved decisive in the title race, as he emerged as the first-ever champion of the Tamaraw OMR series. Oliver Aquino secured second place while Raymond Cudala finished third following a competitive season highlighted by close wheel-to-wheel battles with Anton and the rest of the field. Following his championship victory, Anton thanked team owner Cosco Oben and the Obengers Racing team for their continued support throughout his TGR career. He also recognized his sponsors — Motul, Infiniteserv International, Yokohama Philippines, Alpinestars, Blue Coffee, Automobile Association Philippines and Time Master Watches — for backing his racing campaigns. The Tamaraw OMR crown adds to Anton’s growing list of accomplishments, which includes two TGR Super Sporting championships.  The latest triumph also brings his tally to 20 national racing titles, further cementing his reputation as one of the country’s leading young motorsport talents. Anton is looking ahead to the next TGR campaign as he continues to pursue success in both local and international competitions, showcasing his versatility across different racing disciplines and cars.

LET us take a trip down memory lane. On May 10, 2025, in San Diego, California, Mexican Emanuel Navarrete successfully defended his World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior lightweight title (130 pounds) with an eighth round technical decision victory Filipino mandatory challenger Charly Suarez. The fight was halted at the start of the eighth round after Navarrete was declared unfit to continue because of a cut over his left eyebrow. The referee initially declared that the cut was caused by an accidental headbutt. Ahead on the official scorecards at the time of the abrupt stoppage, Navarrete was declared the winner by technical decision. On June 3, 2025, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) unanimously overturned the result to a No Contest after the video review proved the cut was caused by a punch rather than an accidental head clash. Because the cut was caused by a legal punch, the bout should have been a technical knockout win for Suarez. As a consolation, Suarez’s unbeaten record was restored and he remained the mandatory contender for the WBO junior lightweight title. Shortly after the ruling of the CSAC, the WBO also ordered an immediate rematch between Navarrete and Suarez. Four months later, in October 2025, the WBO ignored its own directive and instead granted a 15-day negotiation extension to allow the camps of Navarrete (WBO) and then IBF junior lightweight champion Eduardo” Sugar” Nuñez to secure a step-aside financial agreement with WBO mandatory challenger Suarez. Basically, a step-aside fee in pro boxing is a financial payment made to a mandatory challenger to delay or temporarily give up their rightful title shot so the champion can fight a different opponent instead. Suarez apparently agreed to accept the said fee. In February 2026, Navarrete and Nuñez ultimately squared off in a highly anticipated unification bout. Navarrete won via an 11th-round stoppage to unify the WBO and IBF junior lightweight titles. Pursuant to the WBO’s June 2025 directive, Suarez should have been next for Navarrete. Lo and behold, in August 2026, the WBO ignored anew its directive and this time granted Navarrete a mandatory exception to allow WBO-IBF champ Navarrete to figure in three-belt unification fight against WBC counterpart champion O’Shaquie Foster of the United States. Suarez was again placed in the backburner as Navarrete and Foster swapped punches on Oct. 24. To save face, WBO officials declared that the winner of the Navarrete-Foster unification bout will have to face mandatory challenger Suarez within 180 days from Oct. 24. Executing a perfect fight plan, Foster defeated Navarrete by a 12-round unanimous decision. Foster punctuated his masterful performance by knocking down Navarrete twice in the final round. As the unified WBC, WBO, and IBF champion, Foster (26-3, 12 knockouts) must complete a mandatory title defense against Suarez within 180 days. Both camps are required to reach a deal before this deadline. Should negotiations fail, the WBO will order a purse bid, auctioning the promotional rights of the fight to any registered promoter. Here lies another potential problem: Shortly after Foster defeated Navarrete, the new unified champion was predictably showered with lucrative fight offers. Former three-division (featherweight, junior lightweight, and lightweight) champion Vasyl Lomachenko was seen at ringside of the Foster-Navarrete fight and his name was floated as a potential foe for Foster in mid-2027. Lomachenko last fought in May 2024, when he stopped George Kambosos for the IBF lightweight (135 pounds) diadem. He officially announced his retirement in June 2025. Lomachenko recently announced his return to boxing. He also expressed interest in a fight with Suarez. This is obviously a ploy to divert Suarez’s focus on the unified crown of Foster. One can already sense that Suarez will be offered a truckload of money to forget Foster and face Lomachenko instead. Foster, for his part, also expressed interest in unifying the junior lightweight championship with a fight opposite WBA counterpart champ Anthony Cacace of Northern Ireland. Cacace, 25-1 with 9 knockouts, is booked to defend the WBA title against Nick Ball on Dec. 19. Cacace is a heavy favorite to prevail. Foster did acknowledge his obligation to defend the WBC, WBO, and IBF titles against Suarez before pursuing any other lucrative offer. Suarez turned 38 last Aug. 14 and the clock is ticking for the Filipino. Since the Navarrete fight in May 2025, Suarez (19-0, 11 knockouts) has fought only once, stopping Manuel Avila in one round in July 2026. Suarez no longer has time on his side. If he still dreams of becoming a world champion, he must press his overdue right for a shot at the junior lightweight belts now owned by Foster.

MIAMI — The Milwaukee Brewers won the first World Series title in franchise history on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila), beating the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-1, to clinch victory in Major League Baseball’s championship showcase. Rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt drove in one run, plated another with a sacrifice fly and scored as the Brewers — denied a sweep by the Rays’ thrilling extra-innings comeback win on Tuesday — celebrated a four games to one victory in the best-of-seven series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Milwaukee’s first World Series title comes 44 years after their only other trip to the Fall Classic, when they lost to St. Louis in seven games in 1982. The Brewers, who swept the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, gained an early 1-0 edge on Pratt’s single to center field that scored Brice Turang in the top of the second inning. Pratt was cut down trying to reach second base and the Rays escaped the inning without further damage. Pratt singled again — his sixth hit in six straight at-bats — and scored on David Hamilton’s single up the middle as the Brewers doubled their lead in the top of the fifth. Milwaukee added two more runs for a 4-0 lead in the sixth, when Rays reliever Garrett Cleavinger hit Christian Yelich to open the inning. William Contreras followed with a double to left field that scored Yelich. After Turang belted a single Tyler Wells took the mound for Tampa Bay. He struck out Sal Frelick before Pratt lofted a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed Contreras to score. Milwaukee’s flame-throwing pitching ace Jacob Misiorowski, who led the major leagues with 252 strikeouts in the regular season, recorded just two. But he pitched five and two-thirds scoreless innings, giving up just two hits before exiting with apparent leg cramps. Misiorowski didn’t get his first strikeout of the game until the fourth inning. He then gave up a two-out single to Chandler Simpson, who reached second on a fielding error by Sal Frelick as Liam Hicks — who had reached first when he was hit by a Misiorowski pitch — advanced to third. Misiorowski escaped the jam when Ben Williamson grounded out to third to strand the Rays runners in scoring position. Trailing by four runs, the Rays got a glimmer of a chance in the bottom of the seventh when Chandler Simpson’s one-out chopper was mis-handled by Brewers catcher Contreras, whose high throw down the right field line allowed Simpson to make it to second base. Simpson reached third base on Richie Palacios’s ground out, but Brewers reliever Abner Uribe retired Victor Mesa Jr. to end the threat. Simpson drove in the Rays’ only run, with a double in the bottom of the ninth, but there would be no miracle comeback and the Rays remain in search of a first title, having now come up empty in three World Series appearances.

IF things go the way Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves currently envision, he’ll be back from arthroscopic knee surgery in plenty of time for a playoff push and possibly making a run at winning an NBA championship. In other words, his injury could have been worse. Edwards is out of Minnesota’s lineup for the foreseeable future, since the long-term goal — a title — obviously is far more important than anything like the individual awards that he won’t be eligible to win this season because he’ll miss too many games. He was playing in pain. His knee was only going to keep hurting. The decision was clear and fixing it now is the smart move. “It was kind of a bit of a shock to everybody last night, certainly unexpected at that point,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said Wednesday night. “The guys are pretty resilient. They came in in a pretty good mood today. Obviously, we talked a little bit about it, what it might mean for us going forward. ... Certainly, guys are disappointed for him and us. But, nothing you can do.” Edwards will be back with plenty of season left. Some teams don’t have that to lean on right now. Oklahoma City star Jalen Williams’ horrific leg and ankle injuries could only be repaired by surgery that may be season-ending, and Thunder teammate Cason Wallace is looking at a similar long road back after shoulder surgery. Both got hurt Sunday night, creating serious early season angst for a team that was widely expected to contend for a second championship in three years. Williams had surgery Wednesday in New York to fix the broken leg and reconstruct ankle ligaments. But — in perhaps a glimmer of hope — the Thunder said “Williams will be re-evaluated prior to the end of the 2026-27 regular season.” “We have a unique experience with this. It’s not something you want to have a lot of experience with, but we do,” Thunder general manager Sam Presti said, noting that Oklahoma City has not had the best luck in recent years when it comes to injuries. “I think we’ll probably lean on some of that. Then a large portion of it is we’re very process-oriented. I think it keeps you humble in good times and keeps you stable when you’re going through some adversity.” And adversity clearly has hit Oklahoma City, Minnesota and a few other places. Toronto will be without Kawhi Leonard for at least a week, probably more, because of knee swelling. Given his injury history, any mention of “Leonard” and “knee” in the same sentence likely sends chills down the spines of Raptors fans. The good news is that the Raptors say there’s no acute left knee injury causing the problem. The bad news is, well, there’s a problem. “Part of the game,” Toronto’s RJ Barrett said. “Obviously we wish everybody could play every game, but injuries are part of the game. That’s why you have a whole team. ... Until he gets back, we’ve got to figure it out.” Orlando is already down two players, with Paolo Banchero out for perhaps a month with a high ankle sprain and Jalen Suggs out with a knee issue that will sideline him for a couple of weeks — although when he got hurt, the initial fear was that it could have been something far more serious. Utah, a team that hopes to reenter the playoff chase for the first time in years, just lost center Jaren Jackson Jr. for perhaps two months with a torn knee ligament. Indiana — which didn’t have star guard Tyrese Haliburton last season because of a torn Achilles suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals — is bracing for him to be limited again, at least for a while, with what the team called a mild left hamstring strain. “Let’s just say, two weeks from now, if you guys want to ask how he’s doing, that’ll be fine,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “I don’t think it’s realistic that he would play before then. And then we’ll go from there. There’s a chance he could play in that period of time. It is mild. But it is a hamstring. And so, we’ll be cautious with it. It’s not good news but it could be worse.” All is not lost. But especially in what many believe could be very tight playoff races by season’s end, no team wants to be without its stars for too long. “It’s very early in the season,” Banchero said. “There’s a lot out in front of us.” He’ll be back. So, too, will Edwards. Leonard could be playing before long. They’re fortunate compared with many; Sacramento’s Ben Simmons blew out his Achilles tendon before the season even started and will miss another year, Golden State’s Kristaps Porzingis is away from the team while dealing with a health issue and a few other players — such as the Warriors’ Jimmy Butler III and the Timberwolves’ Donte DiVincenzo — are still sidelined while dealing with major injuries suffered last season. Losing Edwards is a tough blow to Minnesota. It likely will cost the Timberwolves some wins in November and December. But if it leads to wins in May and June, whatever struggles happen now surely will be deemed worthwhile.

LOS ANGELES — The Miami Heat finally earned their first win since the start of the season and the arrival of superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, defeating the Atlanta Hawks, 129-117, on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila). The Greek two-time NBA Most Valuable Player had been expected to immediately propel Miami into the ranks of Eastern Conference contenders, but his first victory in a Heat uniform came at the fifth time of asking. Antetokounmpo, who had a triple-double in defeat to the Dallas Mavericks two nights earlier, again racked up impressive numbers, with 24 points and 18 rebounds. This time he was backed up by teammates Bam Adebayo, who scored 24 with nine rebounds, and Andrew Wiggins who added 18 points. Former Milwaukee Bucks star Antetokounmpo reached 1,000 career steals while Adebayo became the Heat’s all-time leading rebounder, surpassing the record of 5,791 previously held by Udonis Haslem. The star-packed Philadelphia 76ers bounced back from Sunday’s disappointing loss against Detroit to move to 4-1 with victory in a back-and-forth clash with the Indiana Pacers. The new home of LeBron James struggled to see off Indiana, which this week announced it would be without star Tyrese Haliburton for around two weeks due to a hamstring injury. The Sixers fell behind in a lop-sided third quarter, but rallied down the final stretch to seal a road victory. Tyrese Maxey scored 17 of his 27 points in a blistering fourth quarter showing to spare his team’s blushes. James managed just 13 points but added 10 assists, while Joel Embiid had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Jaylen Brown provided 20 points. AJ Dybantsa, the top overall pick of the recent NBA Draft, played his first NBA minutes during the Washington Wizards’ 121-111 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nineteen-year-old Dybantsa had missed the Wizards’ first four games with an ankle sprain but started Wednesday, scoring 19 points. The Cavaliers clinched victory in the final quarter. Donovan Mitchell scored 19 points with seven assists.

SANTOS, Brazil — Neymar was suspended for two matches on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) for covering his mouth while arguing with an opponent during a Brazilian league game. Brazil’s sports tribunal handed down the suspension for the incident involving the Brazil forward in a Santos game against Bahia last weekend. The tribunal said Neymar’s actions violated a protocol that was named after Vinícius Júnior, who earlier this year accused an opponent of racially abusing him while the opponent covered his mouth with his jersey during a Champions League match. Neymar will be out for three matches, the first for an accumulation of yellow cards and the other two for covering his mouth. Neymar will serve his suspension for accumulated yellow cards against Palmeiras in the Brazilian league on Wednesday. He is not expected to be back in action until late November. Neymar and Santos can appeal the suspension for covering his mouth.

PARIS, France — High-flying businessman Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux vowed Thursday to deliver an "enchanted moment" as he was unveiled as the new head of the organizing committee of the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps. The organization of the 2030 Games has been hit by a leadership crisis, with Edgar Grospiron resigning as head in September, the latest in a series of high-profile departures from the organizing committee. "Presiding over Alpes 2030 is an honor because above all it is a commitment to promoting, as a team, sport and France," Roux de Bezieux said. The 64-year-old, the former president of France's largest employers' association (Medef) between 2018 and 2023, was on the board of the 2024 Paris Olympics organizing committee and helped organize the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. "Presiding over Alps 2030 is an honor because above all it is a commitment to promoting, as a team, sport and France," said Roux de Bezieux, who started his working career at French cosmetics giant L'Oreal before making his fortune creating or running several telecom operators and companies. "It's the job of a lifetime!" he added, of the daunting Olympic challenge ahead. "I'm taking this on with great enthusiasm. On a personal level, I experienced the two Olympic fortnights of Paris 2024 as an enchanted moment... and I would like to be able to bring that back to our fellow citizens in 2030." Flanked by France's Sports Minister Marina Ferrari at a press conference in Lyon, Roux de Bezieux said of the 2030 Games: "We're not behind schedule, but we're not ahead of it either." His predecessor Grospiron, 57, who won an Olympic ski gold in the moguls at the 1992 Albertville Games, had been in the job for 18 months. Grospiron had to contend with political power struggles and tensions with regional stakeholders, who resented the efforts of some officials to impose methods used in the highly successful 2024 Paris Games on the organization of the Olympics in the French Alps. Key Games stakeholders, including the French government and the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur and Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes regions, as well as the French Olympic and Paralympic committees, told the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last month that they no longer believed they could work with Grospiron. With the opening ceremony just three and a half years away, Roux de Bezieux has a burgeoning inbox, not least convincing future sponsors, easing internal tensions and reassuring one and all about how the project is being managed. Asked about his "contact list" and his ability to rally sponsors, he replied: "You won't sell a product if it's bad. This isn't about cronyism." The French Alps Winter Olympics are scheduled for February 1-17, 2030, with the Paralympics to be held a month later between March 1-10.

World No 1 Elena Rybakina hailed her “amazing achievement” after securing the year-end top ranking with a 6-2, 6-3 win over fellow Kazakh Yulia Putintseva in Japan on Thursday. Rybakina became the world’s top-ranked player for the first time last month in winning the US Open, replacing Aryna Sabalenka at the summit, needing only one ‌more victory this year to ensure the world No 2 Belarusian could not overtake her. She ensured she would start 2027 on top after a comfortable opening match in...

MANILA, Philippines — The 2026-27 NBA season continued Thursday, October 29 (October 28 in the US), with a 12-game slate highlighted by Dallas Mavericks handing defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder their first loss of the season and Miami Heat getting their first victory. Miami Heat beat Atlanta Hawks, 129-117 Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and