Asian Games: Alex Eala, Shaira Rivera fall short against China's duo to end women's doubles run

Maluto to compete in Bali 9-Ball Open

Veteran international pool campaigner Aivhan Maluto is set to compete in the 2026 RBC Bali 9-Ball Open slated on Oct. 6-9, 2026 in Bali, Indonesia. “I hope to perform well in this event," said the 39-year-old Maluto, who hails from Cavite City.  Maluto, who paid a courtesy visit to the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) chairman Francisco Rivera on Wednesday, is gunning for the champion’s prize of 200 million rupiah, roughly P700,000, in Bali. Maluto is fresh from topping the Moon Cake Festival 10-Ball Tournament held at the famous Pacman's Cue Club in Mandaluyong City last Saturday.  He defeated Jack de Luna, 8-6, in the finals to receive the top prize of P120,000 in the event sponsored by Filipino Chinese Billiards Association president Danny Chong, supported by many-time snooker champion Marlon Manalo and sanctioned by GAB. Maluto is also scheduled to compete in the Maharlika 10-Ball Tournament on Oct. 14-17 at the Star Billiards Center, Grace Village, Quezon City and the World 10-Ball Championships on Oct. 24-28 in Doha, Qatar.  Maluto was accompanied by Japan billiards champion Roel Esquillo, billiards promoter Darwin Dizol and Nympa Selleza when he visited the GAB chairman’s office on Wednesday.

Bianca Pagdanganan hits six birdies for joint 3rd in first round of Asian Games golf

Bianca Pagdangan was off to a rousing start in her 2026 Asian Games run, placing at joint third in the first round of women's individual stroke play.

Zheng Qinwen in confident mood ahead of China Open, but admits to pressure of playing at home

Zheng Qinwen begins her China Open campaign on Friday confident she can recapture the form that made her among the best women’s players in the world, despite the pressures that come from trying to win at home. The former world No 4 and Olympic gold medallist said she was fully prepared for what lay ahead, even though she dropped outside the top 100 at one stage this season. But an impressive run to the quarter-finals of the US Open has helped her bounce back to near the top 50, and good...

LOOK: 20th Asian Games medal tally as 6:22 p.m., Sept. 30, 2026.

Asian Games: Alex Eala opens up about Joanna Garland and chasing gold for the Philippines

After a hard-fought match against Joanna Garland at the 20th Asian Games, Filipina tennis star Alex Eala"s thoughts quickly turned to her opponent, who was seen in tears after the contest.

‘Quirky’ Colourful King out for Group Three feature glory on busy day for Zac Purton

Zac Purton is hoping the best version of Colourful King shows up when he goes for a fifth 1,000m win in Thursday’s Group Three National Day Cup at Sha Tin. The David Eustace-trained galloper has won a pair of minimum-trip races at both Happy Valley and Sha Tin, with his two wins last season coming at the latter venue. Ending last season by winning the Class One Pearce Memorial Challenge Cup (1,000m), he also posted a huge effort to finish second in the Group Three Bauhinia Sprint Trophy, where...

UAAP: UST overcomes late UE surge for second straight win

The University of Santo Tomas obtained its second consecutive win after fending off University of the East, 98-87, Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

South Korean golfers trying to win Asian Games to be free from military duty

NAGOYA, Japan — A gold medal for two South Korean golfers at the Asian Games would mean more than a chunk of metal to dangle around their necks. For Kim Joo-hyung and Kim Seong-hyeon, winning gold at the Asian Games — in the men's individual or team event — would excuse them from mandatory military service at home. Kim Joo-hyung goes by Tom Kim when he plays on the PGA Tour, and Kim Seong-hyeon goes by S.H. Kim. Under any name, they got a good start in the first round on Wednesday toward landing the exemption. The final round is Saturday. “I am 100% nervous,” S.H. Kim said. “A lot of pressure.” He added he's struggling with knee and back injuries and was not optimistic about his chances in the individual event. “Team gold is easier,” he said. Japan led the men's team competition after the first round, with South Korea and China two strokes behind. In the individual event, Wang Wei-hsuan of Taiwan and Kazuki Higa of Japan were tied at 5-under 65 atop the leaderboard at Kasugi Country Club. Mun Do-yeob, the third member of the South Korea team, was tied with four others at 4-under 66. Unlike his teammates, 35-year-old Mun doesn't need the exemption. In South Korea most men serve 18-21 months of military service. “I already finished my military service so I don’t really think about the military (exemption)," Mun said. “But I want to play good, so we make our team get a gold medal... to make sure they don't go to the military.” The format is 72 holes of stroke play. The teams are made up of three players, but only the best two scores count each day toward the team total. Mun led South Korea with a 66 and Tom Kim shot 67. S.H. Kim shot a 68, so his score was excluded from the team total of 133. Japan was in at 131 with Higa's 65 and a 66 by Keita Nakajima. “I went to the military really early,” Mun said. “It gave me a lot of experience, but I was lucky that I could play a little bit of golf at the army. Maybe three times a week. “I was teaching golf and I was picking up the golf balls from the generals’ driving range. But now they don’t have those kind of (assignments).”

Asian Games crowds ‘disappointing’ as 998 fans watch football in 50,000-seat stadium

Under 1,000 spectators watched Asian Games hosts Japan beat South Korea in the semi-finals of the women’s football at a 50,000-capacity stadium, with a top official admitting Wednesday that attendances at some events were “disappointing”. Japanese organisers have been on the defensive over ticket sales since the opening ceremony on September 19 took place in front of thousands of empty seats in Nagoya. Officials said on that occasion that the threat of a typhoon put people off, and heavy rain...

UST holds off UE, claims second straight win

MANILA, Philippines — The University of Santo Tomas held off the University of the East, 98-87, to claim its second straight win in the UAAP Season 89 men's basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena Wednesday. The Growling Tigers led by as many as 23 points but the Red Warriors came as close as six multiple times. Mark Llemit hit timely baskets to keep UE at bay and finish with 22 points on top of seven rebounds and three assits. Amiel Acido added 16 points and seven rebounds for the UST, which improved to 2-1 for a 4-way tie with NU, UP, and Ateneo at the upper half of the standings as of posting time. UE dropped to 0-4 and suffered its 24th straight loss dating back to Season 87.

Alex Eala assured of Asian Games medal after beating Chinese Taipei's Garland in QF

Alex Eala dug deep in Set 1 before completing a 7-5, 6-0 win over the gritty Joanna Garland of Chinese Taipei in the 2026 Asian Games women's tennis singles quarterfinals on Wednesday in Japan.

Eala stops Garland, secures bronze with semis entry

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino ace Alex Eala secured a bronze medal finish in the 20th Asian Games tennis women's singles play as she advanced to the semifinals with a 7-5, 6-0 win over Taiwanese Joanna Garland at the Center Court of the Nagoya City Higashiyama Tennis Center in Japan Wednesday afternoon. Climbing from a 4-5 deficit in the first set, world No. 18 and tournament top seed Eala overpowered and bageled world No. 143 and No. 8 seed Garland in the second to at least match her semis finish in the previous Asiad edtion in Hangzhou, China back in 2023. Eala faces world No. 85 and No. 4 seed Xiyu Wang of China in the semifinals.