Gilas Pilipinas bows to New Zealand for 2nd loss in FIBA Asia Cup
by Frederick Nasiad on August 7, 2025 at 5:29 PM
The Philippines remained winless in Group D at the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 after Gilas Pilipinas bowed to New Zealand, 94-86, early Friday morning at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.The Filipinos, who lost to Chinese Taipei in their first game on Wednesday, fell behind by 18 points in the first half but fell short in their comeback bid in the second half.Justin Brownlee scored a game-high 37 points but was not enough to give Gilas Pilipinas the win.Dwight Ramos chipped in 19 points while June Mar Fajardo added 11 points in the game.New Zealand was led by Jordan Ngatai who scored 22 points and Taylor Britt who collected 19 points and 7 assists.The Philippines now faces a must-win situation against Iraq on Saturday to keep their 2025 FIBA Asia Cup hopes alive.
Alas Pilipinas eyes another podium finish
by Nicole Anne D.G. Bugauisan on August 7, 2025 at 4:12 PM
WITH a bronze medal secured from the first leg, the Alas Pilipinas national women’s volleyball team will now aim for another podium finish in the second leg of the 5th Southeast Asian Volleyball League or SEA V.League in Ninh Binh, Vietnam.Alas Pilipinas will open its campaign against host Vietnam at 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 8.This time, the Filipinos aim to change the storyline.The Jorge Souza de Brito-mentored squad fell in four sets against Vietnam, 13-25, 21-25, 25-23, 9-25, in the first leg despite the heroics of Eya Laure and Vanie Gandler.The Filipinos actually started their campaign in the first leg with back-to-back losses at the hands of defending champion Thailand and Vietnam before scoring a victory against Indonesia to claim their their third consecutive bronze medal in the tournament.For the second leg, the nationals look to top its previous performance with young blood Angel Canino leading the offense.Canino starred in the bronze medal match against Indonesia after chipping in a game-high 22 points.Even Philippine volleyball icon Alyssa Valdez was impressed and previously said that she sees herself in Canino, stating that they “have the same build and sharp kills.”The De La Salle University stalwart Canino was the sole Filipino who received an award in the first leg of the SEA V.League after receiving the Best Outside Spiker honors.Decorated setter Jia de Guzman, meanwhile, will continue to serve as the floor general for Alas Pilipinas with Mars Alba backing her up.Coach Jorge de Brito is expected to parade the same lineup against Vietnam with middle blockers Fifi Sharma, Thea Gagate, Maddie Madayag and Dell Palomata guarding the net.UAAP three-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Bella Belen and UAAP champion Alyssa Solomon will serve as the team’s wingers.Veteran liberos Justine Jazareno and Dawn Cantindig will spearhead the Philippine team’s floor defense.The tournament will run until Aug. 10 with the Philippines facing Thailand on the second day and Indonesia on the last day.Alas Pilipinas yearns to show its improvement in the tournament to show its readiness for the 2025 Southeast Games slated in December.The Philippines last won a medal, a bronze, in the SEA Games in 2005.
Eubank vs Benn rematch set for November
by Associated Press on August 7, 2025 at 4:11 PM
LONDON — The rematch of British boxers Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn has been scheduled for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Nov. 15, nearly seven months after their spirited first meeting.Eubank Jr. won a unanimous decision over Benn in a 12-round middleweight bout, more than 30 years after their fathers shared the ring in two memorable slugfests.Saudi sports promoter Turki Alalshikh announced the rematch Wednesday through Ring Magazine, which he owns. Eubank Jr. and Benn also posted the news on their Instagram accounts.On April 26, also at Tottenham, Eubank (35-3) handed Benn (23-1) his first professional loss in a brawl for bragging rights. All three judges scored the non-title fight 116-112.Their bout was originally set for 2022 but was scrapped after Benn’s voluntary urine test showed trace amounts of the fertility drug clomiphene, a banned substance that boosts testosterone levels while burning fat.Benn argued successfully that his consumption of eggs elevated his testosterone levels.At their first media face-to-face before the April fight, Eubank pulled out an egg and smacked it on Benn’s face. The British Boxing Board of Control fined him 100,000 pounds ($130,000).
by Ed C. Tolentino on August 7, 2025 at 4:10 PM
INACTIVE since October 2024 and currently prohibited to fight in Japan, former three-weight division (junior flyweight, flyweight and bantamweight) champion John Riel “Quadro Alas” Casimero has surprisingly not run out of luck.The Japan-based Kameda boxing promotions recently announced in its social media account that it has signed Casimero to a fight contract.If things go according to plan, Casimero (34-4, 1 draw with 23 knockouts) will lace on the gloves again after the one-year ban imposed by the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) expires this October.It will be recalled that Casimero last saw action in the ring on Oct. 13, 2024, when he scored a vicious one-round knockout of Saul Sanchez in Yokohama, Japan.Casimero, though, showed up overweight again in the Sanchez fight.The contracted weight was 122 pounds but Casimero tipped the scales at 124.12 pounds in the initial weigh-in. The fight proceeded with stipulations, i.e., Casimero wearing thicker gloves.The JBC, well aware of Casimero’s weight issues, slapped a one-year ban on the Filipino boxer.While the ban covered only Japan, it put a scarlet letter around Casimero’s neck, as if telling boxing promoters that Casimero is not worth investing on as he will only show up overweight in the contest.On May 3, 2022, two years before the JBC lowered the boom, the WBO stripped Casimero of his bantamweight (118 pounds) crown after he twice failed to make a title defense against challenger Paul Butler.Casimero also struggled to meet the weight in his scheduled title defense against Butler. They were supposed to finally square off on April 22, 2022 in Liverpool, England, but the British Boxing Board of Control refused to sanction the fight after the Filipino was seen using a sauna to shed weight.Butler was initially declared interim WBO bantamweight champ after he defeated Filipino Jonas Sultan on April 22, 2022. Butler was later promoted to full-fledged WBO champion.Butler ended up fighting Japanese star Naoya Inoue in December 2022 for the undisputed bantamweight crowns. He was battered in 11 rounds by Inoue.As can be deduced, had Casimero stayed in shape and defeated Butler in April 2022, he would have faced Inoue for all the marbles in the bantamweight division.Casimero’s fistic stock plummeted after he was stripped of the WBO crown. He continued to win but came nowhere close to securing another shot at a world title.The fight with Sanchez in Japan was supposed to get Casimero back in the title hunt, but his weight problems again got in the way.The recent deal with the Kameda boxing group may just be Casimero’s final shot at salvaging his career.The Kameda boxing promotions is being run by the Kameda brothers, Koki and Daiki, who were both former multiweight division world champions.Koki Kameda won titles in the junior flyweight and flyweight divisions before he hung up his gloves in 2015. Kameda was a flamboyant and arrogant champ during his time. He did not adhere to the rules.Given Kameda’s notoriety, it remains to be seen if he can have a successful collaboration with Casimero who also has attitude issues. Then again, it may be a case of “it takes a bad boy to know a bad boy.”At age 36, the clock is ticking fast on Casimero’s boxing career. In the junior featherweight division (122 pounds), he is ranked No. 6 by the WBO and No. 10 by the IBF.The undefeated Inoue holds all four (WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF) belts in the junior featherweight class.The identity of Casimero’s next foe remains unknown, although fans want to see him in a showdown with former two-division champion Luis Nery of Tijuana, Mexico.Nery, 36-2, 28 knockouts, lost by sixth-round knockout to Inoue last year, but not after he floored the Japanese superstar with a huge left in the opening round. It marked the first time in his carer that Inoue locked lips with the canvas.A fight with Nery in Japan will serve Casimero well.If Casimero can top Inoue’s performance against Nery, it will create quite a buzz in Japan, one that hopefully will come within the hearing distance of Inoue.Casimero has been hankering for a fight with Inoue, but his conditioning issues have turned off the Japanese’s camp. Inoue has publicly criticized Casimero for the latter’s unprofessional behavior.It is really time for Casimero to shape up. He has been given another shot at ring glory and an opportunity like this may never happen again.
by Associated Press on August 7, 2025 at 4:09 PM
BOSTON — The Boston Celtics traded recently acquired forward Georges Niang and two future second-round draft picks to the Utah Jazz in exchange for rookie RJ Luis Jr., both teams announced Wednesday (Thursday in Manila).The deal is contingent on the players passing their physicals.Niang is headed to Utah just a month after being dealt to Boston as part of a three-team deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Atlanta. Niang previously spent four seasons with Utah. He appeared in 79 games split between Atlanta and Cleveland last season when he averaged a career-high 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.Shedding the final year of Niang’s salary for next season will save Boston $8 million in luxury taxes, and allow it to stay under the second penalty apron following the addition of Chris Boucher, who agreed to a one-year, $3.3 million deal.Boucher has spent the past seven seasons with Toronto, where he was part of its 2019 championship team.Tatum without boot or braceMeanwhile, Jayson Tatum was spotted at practice on Wednesday — just not on a basketball court.The Celtics star made an appearance at the New England Patriots’ joint training camp practice with the Washington Commanders.Tatum, who had surgery in May to repair the ruptured right Achilles tendon injury he suffered in Boston’s Eastern Conference semifinal loss to the New York Knicks, was seen walking without a boot or brace.It’s a welcomed sign for Tatum as he continues a rehabilitation that is expected to keep him out most — if not all — of next NBA season. Tatum mostly stood on the sideline during his appearance Wednesday, interacting with Patriots players and Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels.Tatum has been seen in multiple social media videos working out in the weight room at the Celtics’ team practice facility.Boston president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said in June that the All-Star is progressing well following surgery. But asked about whether the team had put a potential timeline on Tatum’s return, Stevens was definitive that there would be no rushing the star’s recovery process.
Ohtani gets 1,000th career hit with go-ahead homer, strikes out 8
by Associated Press on August 7, 2025 at 4:08 PM
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani hit a go-ahead, two-run homer for his 1,000th career hit and struck out a season-high eight over four innings Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) in the longest mound outing yet this season for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar.The right-hander made his eighth mound start of the season after not pitching in 2024 while recovering from elbow surgery. He closed his outing against the St. Louis Cardinals by striking out the side in the fourth and walked off wiping his face on a 90-degree (32 Celsius) day. Masyn Winn tossed his bat in frustration after going down swinging.“I thought it was a big day for me personally getting to the fourth inning. That was really good in terms of building up,” Ohtani said through a translator.Ohtani threw 54 pitches, 37 for strikes, and gave up one run and two hits. The Dodgers lost, 5-3.Ohtani’s 39th homer snapped a nine-game home run drought and traveled 440 feet to center, scoring Alex Call, who doubled leading off in the third, to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. In the first, Ohtani swung at the first pitch and reached when first baseman Alec Burleson booted the ball for an error.Ohtani joined new Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui as the third Japanese-born player to reach 1,000 career hits in the major leagues. He homered and recorded eight or more strikeouts for the third time in his career and first since 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels.“I don’t really try to think too differently on days that I pitch,” Ohtani said.Ohtani retired the side in the first and second innings. He touched 100 mph on a four-seam fastball to Iván Herrera, who struck out swinging in the third. Jordan Walker singled leading off and stole second, the first swiped bag against Ohtani this season.“It really felt good, the command of the fastball,” Ohtani said. “Overall, the slider and curveball was really good.”Brendon Donovan’s bunt single scored Walker, giving the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.Ohtani had to leave his last start at Cincinnati with right hip cramps on July 30.“Figured he would come back and really throw the baseball well today,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “The pitching, fastball command, fantastic. Really impressive. Offensively, the walk, the homer, just really looked good.”Roberts said before the game that Ohtani won’t be going beyond five innings during his next few starts.“We don’t need him to,” he said. “The five-inning threshold is something that we feel can get you through a game and use relievers. We’ll see if that changes.”The Dodgers have taken a cautionary approach to Ohtani returning to being a two-way player, which is what he was for six seasons with the Angels.“It’s been over two years since he’s done this, so he’s still sort of getting adjusted to this lifestyle as far as the day to day,” Roberts said before the game. “I don’t think he’s there yet. I think it’s going to get better as he gets more time in.”Ohtani’s strong performance came hours after he scored three runs in a 12-6 victory over the Cardinals on Tuesday night.“I don’t think any superlatives can do it any justice,” Roberts said. “He’s obviously physically talented, but he’s very disciplined in his preparation. He’s very strong of mind. He’s just a great competitor and obviously uber-talented.”
Khachanov topples Zverev to make ATP final
by Agence France-Presse on August 7, 2025 at 4:07 PM
TORONTO, Canada — Karen Khachanov rallied from 3-1 down in the final set tiebreaker to defeat top seed Alexander Zverev, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) to reach the final of the ATP Toronto Masters.The 11th seed from Russia, who had lost two previous semifinals in Canada, will play his 11th career ATP final against either Taylor Fritz or Ben Shelton, who met later in an all-America semifinal.The Fritz-Shelton match was paused before the start due to a problem with the electronic line calling system which now controls all aspects of matches.The pair were sent off court with no immediate indication as to when they could return to start play.Khachanov saved a match point as he levelled the deciding set at 6-6, with world No. 3 Zverev hammering a backhand into the top tape of the net.The German committed 44 unforced errors in the nearly three-hour defeat while Khachanov had 29 winners and 34 unforced errors.“I had to work out this match, dig deep and try my best,” Khachanov said. “It was very demanding physically and mentally.“We’ve had a lot of matches and I’m happy to beat him after losing some easy ones,” addd Khachanov. “Today was a tough one — I was match point down.“I’m just happy things went on my side at the end.”Khachanov said it got tense at the end.“When you reach the final tiebreak, you have to play your best. You can’t waste time and energy with negative thoughts or you won’t succeed. You never know what will happen but you have to give it a try.”Khachanov will be playing his first final of the season after semifinal defeats in Barcelona and Halle.He took control of the opening set with a break in the fourth game and held onto his margin as he ran his lead out to 5-2.Khachanov needed three set points a game later to prevail and in the second set Zverev held his nerve as he struggled to start his fightback, finally sweeping the last eight points of the set to level the match.
Mboko stuns Rybakina to reach WTA Montreal final
by Agence France-Presse on August 7, 2025 at 4:06 PM
MONTREAL — Canadian wildcard Victoria Mboko saved a match point on the way to a thrilling 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) victory over former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) to reach the final of the WTA Canadian Open.The 18-year-old fed off the energy of the crowd, crediting ecstatic supporters with carrying her through after a tumble left her with a sore right wrist in the third set of her first tour-level semifinal.Mboko, who ousted top-seeded French Open champion Coco Gauff in the fourth round, didn’t let it stop her.After going down an early break in the third set she refused to go quietly, loading up on her forehand fending off a match point as she broke Rybakina in the 10th game to level the set.A couple of untimely double faults helped ninth-seeded Rybakina break back for a 6-5 lead, but the ninth seed from Kazakhstan was broken at love in the next game, setting the stage for a gritty tiebreaker.“Anything can happen,” an exhausted Mboko beamed as the crowd’s cheers rained down on her. “Unfortunately I fell, but I had everyone supporting me and pushing me.”Mboko, playing in just her third 1000-level event, will play the winner of the second semifinal between four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan and Denmark’s Clara Tauson.Osaka, still seeking to find consistency since returning from maternity leave in 2024, arrived in Montreal ranked 49th in the world.She’ll face a tough challenge in Tauson, who reached the semifinals with wins over Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek and Australian Open winner Madison Keys.