UAAP: Newcomers Veejay Pre, James Payosing shine for UP

Inquirer.net - Sep 19, 2026

READ: UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament – first round MANILA, Philippines—University of the Philippines waited a full year—and one game—to finally see the impact Veejay Pre and James Payosing could make. Pre and Payosing delivered breakout performances as the Fighting Maroons routed Ateneo, 94-75, in the UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament Saturday night

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Eala ramps up training for Singapore Open

Sep 19, 2026

Eala ramps up training for Singapore Open

FILIPINO tennis ace Alexandra "Alex" Eala ramped up her training for the WTA 500 Singapore Tennis Open which will run from Sept. 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 Sept. 13. Eala paid a visit to her alma mater Colegio San Agustin-Makati where she also trained briefly before flying to Singapore. The 21-year-old left for Singapore on Thursday. The Singapore Open serves as Eala's buildup for the 20th Asian Games, where tennis play will swing from September 27 to October 3 in Nagoya, Japan. That schedule runs smack into the WTA 1000 China Open, which is set from Sept. 30 to Oct. 11 in Beijing. Eala will skip the China Open in a bid to win the Asiad gold medal which will give her a qualification path to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. If Eala wins the gold, she only needs to maintain a singles ranking inside the top 500 by the June 2028 deadline. Without a WTA exemption, Eala will suffer a zero-point penalty, a $10,000 (P626,000) fine, and potentially lose year-end bonuses for skipping the China Open which she is contractually obliged to compete in as a top player. The Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) requested an exemption from the WTA for Eala to avoid such penalties but there's no word yet on whether it was denied or approved.