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The Philippines will look to add more medals as the 2026 Asian Games nears its official closing.

The Alas Pilipinas Men claimed 13th place after Kyrgyzstan confirmed its non-participation in their scheduled classification round match.

Taekwondo"s Jeus Yape was named the flag bearer of Team Philippines for the closing ceremony of the 2026 Asian Games on Sunday.

The Philippines will look to add more medals as the 2026 Asian Games nears its official closing.

MANILA, Philippines — Taekwondo gold medalist Jeus Gabriel Derick Yape will bear the flag for a proud Team Philippines during the parade of athletes in Sunday’s closing ceremony of the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games. “He’s deserving for that honor,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino on the eve Saturday of the closing ceremony set for 5 p.m. (Manila time) also at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium, where the hosts opened the games two weeks ago. “It will be a recognition not only for Jeus but also for taekwondo, which finally won its first Asian Games gold medal since 1994, when the sport became a medal event in the games,” Tolentino added. Yape topped the mixed virtual taekwondo—an open gender event that combines the combat sports with virtual reality and motion-tracking technology—last Friday to highlight a best-ever 1-3-1 gold-silver-bronze haul by the Filipino jins. He also clinched bronze in men’s individual poomsae. Also joining the closing ceremony are silver medalist Juliana Mykhail Candelaria, Tachiana Keizha Mangin and Kurt Barbosa of taekwondo and Carlo Paalam of boxing. Paris Olympics boxing bronze medalist Aira Villegas and weightlifting world junior champion Albert Ian de los Santos were the flag bearers during the September 19 opening ceremony. TMT

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine men’s national volleyball team Alas Pilipinas secured a 13th-place finish at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, following a forfeit by Kyrgyzstan. Coming off a strong 3-1 victory (25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 25-17) over Uzbekistan in Friday's classification match, Alas Pilipinas was scheduled to face Kyrgyzstan at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Kyrgyzstan had also won its Friday match, defeating Hong Kong 3-1 (13-25, 26-24, 27-25, 25-23). However, the Asian Games official website announced that the match would no longer take place after receiving official confirmation that Kyrgyzstan would not participate. Per official protocol, the match was declared a forfeit, awarding the Philippines an official victory recorded as 0–3 (0–25, 0–25, 0–25). Meanwhile, host country Japan and Iran are set to battle for the gold medal in the tournament final on Saturday.

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala is quickly turning the page after her gold-medal bid fell short at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, shifting her full attention to her upcoming return to the WTA Tour. The Filipina netter must swiftly move past her disappointing campaign as she prepares to compete in the Wuhan Open in China from October 12 to 18, followed immediately by the Ningbo Open, also in China, from October 19 to 25. “I’m going to Wuhan and continue the Tour,” Eala said after her impressive run was halted in the semifinals. Eala suffered a tough 6-3, 3-6, 2-6 defeat against China’s Wang Xiyu, settling for the bronze medal. Despite the setback, she expressed deep gratitude to those who supported her, emphasizing that she gave her absolute all on the court against her Chinese opponent. Reflecting on her stint, Eala remains positive about the experience, highlighting the valuable lessons learned and the specific areas of her game she plans to refine moving forward. “Happy that I was able to have this experience,” she shared. The exit was particularly heartbreaking as Eala entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed and highest-ranked player, making her a strong favorite for the championship. Furthermore, she opted to skip the WTA 1000 Beijing Open—a mandatory WTA event—putting her at risk of penalties. However, Eala has no regrets about her decision, holding her head high over the privilege of representing the Philippines in a prestigious event held only once every four years.  With her national duty complete, her sights are now set entirely on her upcoming professional schedule on the WTA Tour. TMT

World and Olympic pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis has decided to skip the entire 2027 indoor season, including the European Indoor Championships in Valencia, to focus on recovery and preparation for the outdoor campaign, Swedish Athletics has announced.

THE Philippine women’s softball team closed the preliminary round with a 9-3 victory over Hong Kong on Friday and will vie for the bronze medal against Chinese Taipei on Saturday in the 20th Asian Games at the Anjo Softball Ground in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The Cebuana Lhuillier-backed Blu Girls will have a chance to redeem themselves from a 1-10 preliminary round setback against Chinese Taipei on Sept. 27 and give the Philippines its first ever medal in Asian Games softball. The Philippines finished fourth in each of the previous three editions of the Asian Games. The women’s softball gold medal will be disputed by Japan and China. Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines (Asa-Phil) president Jean Henri Lhuillier praised the Blu Girls for keeping their medal dreams alive and continuing to fight after the setback against China on Thursday. “This is the opportunity we have been working and fighting for,” said Lhuillier, who is also president and CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier.  “The Blu Girls have shown tremendous resilience throughout this tournament, and now they have the chance to make history for Philippine softball.  The Philippines lost the bronze medal match against Chinese Taipei in the previous edition of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. “We know Chinese Taipei will be a tough opponent, but I believe in this team’s heart, preparation, and determination. We are behind them all the way as they give everything they have for that historic medal and for the country,” Lhuillier added. Against Hong Kong, the Philippines was led by Ma. Angelu Gabriel who finished with three hits, an RBI and two runs in four at-bats. Roma Jane Cruz added two hits and a team-high three RBIs while Reyae Mae Villamin drove in two runs for the Blu Girls. Royevel Palma pitched six scoreless innings for the Philippines, limiting Hong Kong to four hits while striking out three without issuing a walk.  The Philippines finished the classification round in fourth place with a 4-3 win-loss record.

NAGOYA, Japan — Taiwan boxer Lin Yu-ting, the Olympic champion who found herself embroiled in a major gender row at Paris 2024, won gold at the Asian Games on Wednesday. Lin beat China’s Yang Chengyu 5-0 in the women’s 60-kg final in Nagoya, giving her a second Asian Games gold after winning in the 57-kg class in Hangzhou three years ago. The 30-year-old was backed by a small pocket of vocal Taiwanese supporters in the cosy Nishio Gymnasium. Towering over her opponent, Lin used her superior reach to take control of the bout and had a clear advantage heading into the third and final round. She held off a late assault from Yang to take gold, celebrating with the minimum of fuss. Lin told AFP before the Games that she had considered retiring after the Paris Olympics but wanted to carry on fighting in part to defy those who questioned her eligibility. Lin and Imane Khelif of Algeria were disqualified from the 2023 world championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after the organization said they failed unspecified gender eligibility tests. However, the IOC allowed them to compete in Paris, saying they were victims of “a sudden and arbitrary decision” by the widely discredited IBA. Both went on to win gold. Lin triumphed at 57 kg in the French capital but has stepped up a weight division for the Asian Games in Japan. China’s Olympic champion Wu Yu also won gold, defending her Asian Games title in the 51-kg class. Wu beat Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Tam, 5-0. Chinese judoka accused of biting Japanese judo officials said they had never seen anything like it after eventual champion Rin Maeda appeared to be bitten by her Chinese opponent at the Asian Games. Maeda was awarded victory in the quarter-final bout in Nagoya when Tang Jing was disqualified just over a minute into the contest. Tang appeared to bite Maeda just above the wrist while the pair were clinched on the ground, with Maeda showing the referee visible teeth marks after getting up from the mat. Judges reviewed the footage and Tang was disqualified. Japan women’s judo coach Maki Tsukada told sports website The Digest that it was a first for her in her long career in the sport. “At tournaments like the Asian Games there have been incidents in the past where someone gets punched in the face or their eye swells up,” she said following Thursday’s incident in their -70-kg class bout. “I regret that we hadn’t anticipated that something like this might happen.” Tsukada said the bite marks were visible despite Maeda wearing protective tape on that part of her arm. “It was to the point where we thought she might actually start bleeding, but it didn’t go as far as needing disinfection or anything like that,” said Tsukada. “Still, the teeth marks were clearly and firmly there.” Maeda went on to win gold, beating Kazakhstan’s Azhar Askhat in the final. “I entered this tournament with a strong determination to win gold,” said the 21-year-old. “Preparing for a multi-sport event like this was a unique experience, but I was able to prepare properly each day and deliver my best performance.”

LOS ANGELES — The Atlanta Braves overpowered the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-2, on Thursday (Friday in Manila) to set up a showdown with the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the second round of Major League Baseball’s playoffs. Michael Harris, Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson blasted home runs to set up a victory which sealed a 2-1 wild card series win for the Braves. Atlanta will now travel to California to take on the Dodgers in the opening game of their bestof-five National League division series on Saturday. Thursday’s victory was sweet for Atlanta, who were eliminated by Philadelphia in the playoffs in 2022 and 2023. “This is the best moment of my life right now,” Albies said afterwards. “The last couple of postseason games they sent us home, so it feels great to do it to them here at home. It means everything.” Philadelphia had rocked Atlanta in game two on Wednesday with a dramatic extrainning victory at Truist Park to level the series. But the Braves attacked Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola early on in Thursday’s decider to take a stranglehold on the game. Nola gave up walks to Ronald Acuna Jr. and Matt Olson in the first inning before outfielder Michael Harris slashed a 387-foot home run to right center-field that put the Braves 3-0 up. Phillies manager Don Mattingly replaced Nola in the second inning but Atlanta continued to look the likelier team to score. They duly extended their lead in the bottom of the fourth when Albies jumped on a 96.5-mph fastball from Zack Wheeler to send a 419-foot two-run blast into right field. The Phillies did finally get on the board in the sixth inning after Alec Bohm ground out to allow Kyle Schwarber to come home and leave it at 5-1. The Braves, though, would restore their five-run cushion in the bottom of the seventh with a towering home run from Olson off Phillies reliever Jonathan Bowlan. The Phillies grabbed a second run in the top of the eighth inning after Trea Turner’s sacrifice fly scored Derek Hill. The Braves responded by bringing in ace starter Chris Sale to close out the game, and the veteran left-hander duly took care of business to grab the final four outs and snuff out the Phillies’ hopes of a fightback.

NEW YORK — The Cleveland Browns needed a late field goal to fend off a spirited Aaron Rodgers-led fightback and beat their AFC North rivals Pittsburgh, 27-24, on Thursday (Friday in Manila). Having dominated the first half, with divisive quarterback Deshaun Watson continuing to impress home fans, Cleveland conceded two fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Steelers tied up the game. But after Watson moved the ball with 56 yards, a field goal from Andre Szmyt edged the Browns back ahead with 10 seconds remaining. Rodgers’ deep throw to get into field goal range was picked off to hand Cleveland victory. A fifth straight home win against their local rivals meant the largely unheralded Browns moved to 3-1, while the Steelers sank to 2-2. It was another impressive night for Watson, who led the Browns to a third consecutive late win. Having been booed by his own fans in the offseason, and embarking on the final year of a $230 million contract ravaged by injuries and off-field controversy, he completed 268 passing yards and a touchdown to Harold Fannin Jr. “Those guys just look at me, and they just want me to lead the show,” said Watson. “This is what it’s all about. Nights like this in Cleveland, in front of our home fans, getting them Ws, getting them wins.” Running backs Quinshon Judkins and Jaleel McLaughlin rushed    for touchdowns — McLaughlin with his second carry of the season. Rodgers, after a rough start to a game in which he was sacked five time, led the fightback with 299 passing yards and three touchdowns. The Steelers had struck first. Frustrated by slow play-calling, Rodgers shouted expletives at head coach Mike McCarthy, who responded with similar language in a moment that quickly went viral. But McCarthy’s offense came up with a gem. As the offensive line shifted right, Roman Wilson sprinted the opposite direction to collect a jet sweep for a 12-yard touchdown. But the Browns suddenly woke up. Their electric defense repeatedly swarmed Rodgers, while the offense piled up three touchdowns in the second quarter. McLaughlin weaved 28 yards through the Pittsburgh defense, bouncing two tackles, for his touchdown. Judkins added a second before Watson’s short pass found Fannin for a 21-10 halftime lead. The Steelers stirred in the fourth quarter. Setting the tempo, TJ Watt stripped Watson and recovered the fumble. Sacked for a fifth time, Rodgers recovered to scramble and sling it superbly to Darnell Washington for a 21-yard touchdown. Cleveland re-widened the cushion to eight points with a field goal. After Pat Freiermuth added another touchdown, the 42-year-old Rodgers sneaked the ball into the endzone himself on the two-point conversion to level the scores, before Watson set up Szmyt to quash the comeback. “I just asked (Szmyt), ‘where do you need to kick,’” said Watson. “He told me ‘get me to the 40-yard line, and I’ll make it.’ So I just looked at him and said, ‘Yes, sir.’”