MIAMI — Lionel Messi set up a Rodrigo De Paul goal and German Berterame snapped his scoring drought as Inter Miami booked their place in the MLS playoffs with a 2-0 win over New York City FC on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila). Victory gave Cristian ‘Kily’ Gonzalez his first back-to-back wins since taking over as head coach last month, guaranteeing second-placed Miami at least a place in the wild card round, with five games left to play. “I’m leaving happy. Obviously, there’s a lot to improve, but we’re making progress little by little,” Gonzalez said. Messi — who had scored twice on Saturday after returning to his club side from last week’s emotional Argentina send-off — was again a dangerous presence, playing a hand in both first-half goals. In the 20th minute Messi trapped the ball just outside the penalty area and passed it to De Paul, who found Suarez on the byline with a diagonal looping ball. Suarez rolled it flat across the face of the goal, giving Berterame a simple finish for his first goal since May. De Paul grabbed Miami’s second on a quick counter with the final kick of the first half. Berterame brought the ball across the halfway line and was slightly fortunate to find Messi to his right with a mishit pass. Messi drew in three defenders then laid it off with the outside of his left foot to De Paul, who slammed it high to the keeper’s right. In a goalless second half, Messi sent a curling effort from just outside the box over the bar. As the game clock hit 90, Messi played a short corner to De Paul, who unleashed a shot from outside the box toward the far top corner. United States national team goalkeeper Matt Freese made a superb diving save, tipping the ball onto the post. New York City, on a dire streak of just one win in their last 11 MLS games, at least had a chance for a consolation deep in stoppage time with a penalty. Ian Fray brought down fellow substitute Talles Magno, who turned sharply away from goal and ran into the defender’s trailing leg. But Dayne St. Clair made a brilliant save, flinging himself low and right to palm the ball around the bar. It was Inter Miami’s second straight clean sheet, after none in their previous 10.

Team preview of the Los Angeles Clippers ahead of the 2026-2027 NBA season. Last NBA season: 42-40, lost in the play-in tournament. Coach: Tyronn Lue (17th season, 750-527). SEASON OPENER: Oct. 21 vs. Sacramento. DEPARTURES: F Kawhi Leonard, F/C John Collins, G Bogdan Bogdanovic, G Chris Paul, F Nicolas Batum, G/F Bennedict Mathurin. ADDITIONS: F

Team preview of the Memphis Grizzlies ahead of the 2026-2027 NBA season. Last season: 25-57, missed playoffs and draft lottery moved them up to No. 3 overall. Coach: Tuomas Iisalo (29-62, second full season). Season opener: Oct. 21 at home vs. Utah Jazz. Departures: F Jaren Jackson Jr., G Ja Morant, F Santi Aldama, G

Team preview of the Portland Trail Blazers ahead of the 2026-2027 NBA season. Last NBA season: 42-40, lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. Coach: Micah Nori (first-time NBA coach, hired on June 23). Season opener: Oct. 21 vs. the Phoenix Suns. Departures: F Jerami Grant, F Kris Murray,

Team preview of the Oklahoma City Thunder ahead of the 2026-2027 NBA season. Last NBA season: 64-18, lost to San Antonio in Western Conference finals Coach: Mark Daigneault (7th season, 275-207) Season opener: Oct. 20 at San Antonio Departures: (F) Lu Dort, (G) Isaiah Joe, (G) Aaron Wiggins Addition: (C) Aday Mara, (G) Bennett Stirtz

Team preview of the Indiana Pacers ahead of the 2026-2027 NBA season. Last NBA season: 19-63, missed the playoffs. Coach: Rick Carlisle (11th season with Pacers, 357-381, 26th season overall, 1,012-923). Season opener: Oct. 21 at New Orleans. Departures: Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, Micah Potter. Additions: Ivica Zubac, Kelly Oubre Jr., Larry Nance Jr. What

The first postseason victory of the year for the LG Twins came at a cost Wednesday night, as speedster Shin Min-jae suffered a left hamstring injury on a run-scoring squeeze play. By the looks of it, Shin may not be available for the rest of the Twins' postseason, however long it lasts. The Twins defeated the Doosan Bears 4-1 to grab the wild card in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, with Shin driving in a key insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Twins were nursing a 2-1 lead when they had runners at the corners for Shin. He bunted down the third base line as pinch runner Choi Won-young scored easily from third, and Shin beat out the throw by third baseman An Jae-seok. But after running past the first base bag, Shin came up limping, grabbing the back of his left thigh. The team said Shin experienced some tightness in his hamstring but no immediate testing was scheduled for Wednesday. When asked about Shin's status after the game, Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb said: "It doesn't look good. He will have some tests tomorrow

Robert Moreno has not had long in the job as Korea's interim national team coach but must have already realized that this is not a simple one. Moreno was appointed after the World Cup with a contract until the end of November with a possibility of extending it to the Asian Cup in January and beyond. What happens if there is no Asian Cup is anyone’s guess. The former boss of Spain's national football team was given four games in September and October and then two more in November to prove to the Korea Football Association (KFA) that he is the man for the job. Those two fixtures had not been confirmed but it was expected that they would take place in the Middle East, probably Saudi Arabia. That is because the country is hosting the Asian Cup, starting on January 7 and it seemed like a good idea to spend some time in the region. But then there have been attacks on Saudi airports and other targets by the Houthis, an Iran-backed militant group based in Yemen. There have been deaths and casualties and it caused the closure of Riyadh airport for the best part of a week. In such times when c

Son Heung-min has climbed back to the top of the assists leaderboard in Major League Soccer (MLS) after collecting two helpers in the latest victory by his Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC). Son had a goal and two assists as LAFC defeated Austin FC 3-1 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday (local time). With 15 assists for the season, Son broke a tie with five players, including Lionel Messi of Inter Miami, to grab the sole possession of the MLS lead in the category. Son also has seven goals on the season — three goals away from becoming the eighth player in MLS this season to hit double figures in both goals and assists. LAFC snapped their four-match winless skid with the victory. This was also the first match in which they scored more than two goals since routing Sporting Kansas City 4-0 on July 25. After a goalless first half, Son set up Denis Bouanga for LAFC's first marker seven minutes into the second half. Then in the 67th minute, about a minute after Austin had tied the match, Son was credited with an assist when a clearing attempt by Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver struck Son

MANILA, Philippines — Dante Alinsunurin returns as Alas Pilipinas men’s volleyball coach, while Italian Angiolino Frigoni will be handling the women’s squad in preparation for the FIVB World Championship in 2029. Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Executive Director Atty. Miguel Carlos Pacifico Suarez announced the major changes to the national indoor volleyball teams on Thursday.

Team preview of the Philadelphia 76ers ahead of the 2026-2027 NBA season. Last NBA season: 45-37, lost in second round to New York Knicks. Coach: Nick Nurse (4th season with 76ers; 9th season overall, 343-293) Season Opener: Oct. 20 at New York. Departure:  Andre Drummond, Kyle Lowry, Kelly Oubre Jr., Paul George ADDITIONS: LeBron James,

Choco Mucho made quick work of ZUS Coffee, sweeping the Thunderbelles, 25-20, 25-17, 25-20, in the PVL All-Filipino Conference Siklab Series on Thursday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.