PHILIPPINE tennis trailblazer Alexandra “Alex” Eala will begin her WTA 2027 season with a return to the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. The 250-tier tournament will run from January 4 to 10. World No. 15 Eala said she loved her stay last year in Auckland where she made her tournament debut. “I loved my time in Auckland. Of course, the support there was amazing, especially from the Filipino community,” said Eala in the tournament website report. “The people there were super-nice. The city was super-nice. I was there during New Year so it was a great experience for me,” added Eala, who just wrapped her 2026 season with a runner-up finish at 250 Hong Kong Open last week.  ASB Classic Tournament Director, Nicolas Lamperin is excited to have Eala back. “Alex is not just an exciting young player, but she has already developed into one of the most recognizable players in world tennis,” said Lamperin. “We are excited Alex has chosen to come back to play in Auckland. We have watched her progress with interest, and we know all tennis fans, especially her fervent fans from the Filipino community in Auckland, will be excited to see her in action again. “Alex has a wonderful all-court game and she is a bubbly personality both on and off the court.” Last season which she started at rank No. 53, Eala reached the semifinals of the competition where she fell to Wang Xinyu, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6. Eala will try to defend or even eclipse those 98 ranking points from that semis finish, serving as the first of many substantial points she need to defend in 2027. The 21-year-old Eala likewise reached the Auckland doubles semifinals last year with close pal and world No. 13 Iva Jovic. The ASB Classic will also serve as Eala’s buildup for the Australian Open in Melbourne, where she will gun for her first victory in the first Grand Slam of the year. The Australian Open main draw will run from January 17 to 31.

THE Batang Pinoy now serves a greater purpose following the country’s best-ever campaign in the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) and the Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games coming up next year. “Naomi’s [Marjorie Cesar] silver in the 800 meters and Pi’s [Durden Forward Wangkay]  bronze in the 200 meters in Dakar show the world what the next generation of Filipino athletes is capable of,” Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Patrick Gregorio said from Manila on Saturday. “Their incredible grit on the track in Senegal proves that our national sports programs and grassroots initiatives are bearing fruit.” Gregorio said. “The PSC remains fully committed to nurturing these young champions as they transition from youth competitions to the global senior stage.” Cesar and Wangkay’s achievements net them financial incentives of P2.5 million and P1 million, respectively, under Republic Act No. 10699, or the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act. Their coaches, too, will benefit from the act and will receive half incentives the two athletes are receiving from the government. Enter the PSC’s flagship program for the youth—the Batang Pinoy which will stage its 2026 edition from December 12 ro 18 Bacolod City is hosting. “With this best-ever finish in the YOG, the International Olympic Committee’s program for the young athletes, the Batang Pinoy now serves a greater purpose,” Gregorio said. “The Batang Pinoy is no longer just a national showcase, it is the direct launchpad for international glory,” he said. “With the hosting of the SEA Plus Youth Games next year, the action in Bacolod City becomes our ultimate talent identification battleground.” The PSC staged the first Batang Pinoy which catered to varied age groups—12 and under and 18 and under—but for this year’s edition, Gregorio has set the maximum age at 15. In line with his grassroots thrust, Gregorio reiterated his battle cry since assuming office in July last year. “From grassroots to gold, from gold to greatness!” Gregorio stressed. The PSC supported the campaign of Cesar, Wangkay and seven other athletes in Senegal, the first African country to host an International Olympic Committee event. They were swimmers Jamesray Mishael Ajido and Riannah Chantelle Coleman, cyclist Maritanya Krog, artistic gymnasts Tchelzy Maayo and Hillarion Palles III, wushu artist Angel Polo and windsurfer Jade Justine Justiniane.

South Korea dropped to Japan 9-5 for its second straight loss at an ongoing regional baseball tournament in Tokyo on Friday, as it failed to hold on to an early lead and got undone by long balls. South Korea surrendered four home runs in the teams' second game of the Asia Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) at Tokyo Dome, none more devastating than the go-ahead three-run bomb by Rui Muneyama in the bottom of the eighth inning. South Korea, made up of Korea Baseball Organization stars, opened the competition with an 8-7 loss to Australia on Thursday. Managed by Choi Won-ho, South Korea will next face Taiwan at 7 p.m. Saturday, while Japan will take on Australia at noon Saturday. After the completion of round-robin play, the bottom two teams will meet in the third-place match at 11 a.m. Sunday, while the top two nations will square off in the championship final at 7 p.m. Sunday. This is the third edition of the APBC. South Korea finished as the runner-up to Japan at each of the two earlier tournaments. In order to reach its third straight final, South Korea must beat Taiwan and have J

AL RAYYAN, Qatar — Robert Moreno, temporary head coach of the men's national football team, acknowledged Friday that South Korea must improve "in every aspect" in light of their 3-2 loss to Saudi Arabia in their latest friendly match. South Korea suffered their first loss to Saudi Arabia in a little over 21 years at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Rayyan. just west of Doha, where three different Saudi Arabian players found the back of the net. Oh Hyeon-gyu and Lee Jae-sung each scored for South Korea in the second half but Moreno's record with the Taegeuk Warriors fell to two wins, one draw and two losses since he took the reins as caretaker manager in September. "We wanted to deliver a win for our fans and this was a disappointing outcome," Moreno said at his postmatch press conference. "I think the players in particular must have wanted to prove that they had truly become a team, but we fell short." Moreno rued some defensive breakdowns in the loss, saying, "We committed mistakes that should not be made at national team level and ended up conceding easy goals." "I think we had enough s

AL RAYYAN, Qatar — The men's national football team tried to turn the page and move on from a recent controversy surrounding rift inside the locker room, as they traveled to Qatar for two friendly matches this month. In the first of those two games held Friday, though, South Korea ended up writing the same old story, as they lost to Saudi Arabia 3-2 in Al Rayyan, just west of Doha. The South Korean players were inefficient with the pressing and lacked precision and speed with their buildup plays. They did not move the ball with purpose from their own half after winning possession, while allowing their opponents to seize control with quick transition and superior individual skills. South Korea arrived in Qatar under the cloud of rumors that a handful of mainstays had not been seeing eye to eye. After a 2-0 win over Uzbekistan at home on Oct. 6, three 30-year-old veterans, Hwang In-beom, Hwang Hee-chan and Kim Min-jae, threatened to retire from international play because they were apparently not happy with the way captain Son Heung-min and his fellow 34-year-old Lee Jae-sung were runnin

South Korea defeated Taiwan 6-4 for its first win at an ongoing regional baseball tournament in Tokyo on Saturday, setting up a date with Japan in the championship final set for Sunday night. South Korea launched three solo home runs in the teams' third game of the Asia Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) at Tokyo Dome, including a tiebreaking shot by Kim Do-yeong in the bottom of the fifth inning. South Korea had earlier lost to Australia 8-7 and then to Japan 9-5. With Japan's 16-1 rout of Australia earlier Saturday, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia all finished the round-robin phase with a 1-2 record, while Japan topped everyone at 3-0. And South Korea came out on top in a tiebreaking formula called Team Quality Balance (TQB), which is the sum of runs scored divided by the number of offensive innings, minus the number of runs allowed divided by the number of defensive innings. This is the third edition of the APBC and also the third straight final pitting South Korea against Japan, with the latter having won the two earlier finals. The APBC is for players aged 24 years and young

MANILA, Philippines–2026 NBA Cup action on Friday, November 13 (November 14 in the Philippines) saw the Spurs, Blazers, Rockets, Heat, Grizzlies and Bulls score victories, with San Antonio extending its winning streak to 11 games. Orlando Magic beat Milwaukee Bucks, 107-99 Franz Wagner scored 35 points, dished out 12 assists and grabbed nine rebounds, falling

SACRAMENTO, California— Deni Avdija scored 34 points and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Sacramento Kings 120-107 on Friday night in NBA Cup play to open a six-game trip with their third straight victory. Damian Lillard added 29 points to help Portland improve to 9-3. The Trail Blazers are 6-1 on the road, with the

SAN ANTONIO — Stephon Castle scored a season-high 32 points, Victor Wembanyama had 12 points and 12 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs won their 11th straight game, rolling past the Golden State Warriors 123-85 Friday night to remain unbeaten in NBA Cup play. Golden State’s only double-figure scorers were L.J. Cryer with 20 points

HOUSTON— Alperen Sengun scored 43 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as the Houston Rockets held off Utah 125-118 in NBA Cup play Friday night, handing the Jazz their 11th consecutive loss. It was Sengun’s second career 40-point game, and he did it on an efficient 17 of 24 from the floor. The Rockets (10-3)

CHICAGO— Norman Powell scored nine of his 33 points in overtime and the Chicago Bulls snapped an eight-game skid with a 125-117 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in an NBA Cup game Friday night. Josh Giddey had 14 assists and 10 rebounds, and joined Jalen Smith (12 rebounds) and Isaac Okoro with 15 points apiece

MIAMI — Bam Adebayo finished with 37 points and 14 rebounds, Giannis Antetokounmpo also scored 37 and the Miami Heat took control of East Group B by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 133-121 in an NBA Cup game Friday night. It was the second time the Heat had two players score 37 in the same game: