ARCHER Amaya Amparo Cojuangco bagged the silver medal in the compound women’s final at the 2026 Asian Games on Thursday morning at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square. The 40-year-old Cojuangco fell short of stealing the gold from Indonesia’s Nurisa Dian Ashrifah, who prevailed 139-137. This is the first silver medal in archery for the Philippines in the Asian Games. The last time the country won a medal here was in 2014 when Paul Marton Dela Cruz bagged the bronze in the men’s compound. The final match was tight all throughout. In fifth game, however, Ashrifah scored an almost perfect 29 with a nine on her first arrow followed two by 10s. The Filipina scored a nine on all her three shots for a 27. Ashrifah finished with a 28-27-29-26-29 scorecard, while Cojuanco tallied 28-26-29-27-27. Cojuanco reached the championship match after a tense battle against South Korea’s Park Jungyoon, 142-141, in the semifinals. She completely dominated the match in the quarterfinals against Iran’s Bita Asheghzadeh Oskouei, 146-135, firing three perfect 30-point ends in the second, third, and fifth games. Compound archery uses cumulative scoring, not a best-of-five set system, with the match having five ends, three arrows/three shots per end. Compound uses an 80-centimeter (cm) target, compared to recurve matches which feature...
Read full articleNCAA Season 102 Men’s Basketball Tournament Benilde def. Perpetual 81-79 Justine Sanchez Player of the Game #NCAASeason102
Justine Sanchez dropped a career-high 27 points as De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde escaped the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA, 81-79, in overtime in the NCAA Season 102 men"s basketball tournament.
MANILA, Philippines — Jeus Gabriel Yape grabbed the bronze medal in the men's individual poomsae on Thursday afternoon at the Toyohashi Gymnasium in Aichi, Japan. The 22-year-old Yape scored 9.0900 to make the podium with Thailand’s Navin Pinthasute earning the silver medal (9.2800) and South Korea’s Kyusung Yun taking the gold (9.3800). Earlier, Juliana Mykhail Candelaria clinched a silver medal in the women’s category after posting 9.1300 points.
MANDAUE CITY — Daniel “The Beast” Boiwo and Teresiah Kabui captured the men’s and women’s 21K titles as more than 1,800 runners opened the PalawanPay Trilogy Marathon 2026 in this city on Sept. 27. Boiwo led the men’s 21K field with Arvengie Encinada taking second and Glady Kipto third. Kabui topped the women’s race, followed by Michelle Raniola and Cristine Ann Sardoncillo. The Cebu leg offered four race distances: 5K, 10K, 16K and 21K as competitive runners shared the course with families, friends, employees, partners, and other members of the community. Mark Mahinay won the men’s 16K, followed by Nickson Kosgei and Jerome Casinillo. Michelle Zamora topped the women’s 16K, with Lyn-nel Martus second and Abigael Jerop third. Anthony Orellano secured the men’s 10K title, while Joseph Mururi placed second and Darwin Lucaylucay third. Lijeaven Noay won the women’s 10K, followed by Glaiza Mae Hamora and Joanna Christine Galeza. Zeus Lecera led the men’s 5K, with Oswaldo Arcelo Jr. in second and Bryan Amesola in third. Jane Pangalao topped the women’s 5K, followed by Gretchen Sambo and Ziane Ysabelle Villarico. PalawanPay organized the event with RunRio and the UP Office of Athletics and Sports Development. The three-leg series also carries a fundraising component that will support the purchase of fully equipped emergency ambulances for underserved communities in Aklan and South Cotabato. Palawan Group of Companies chose Cebu as the opening venue partly because of its established operations in the province. The company has 295 Palawan branches and more than 1,500 Cebuano partners and associates in Cebu. “Bringing the Trilogy to Cebu is another way for us to be part of the community, not just in the services we provide every day, but also in activities that promote health, wellness, and time together,” said Lisa Castro-Sabado, chief business development officer of Palawan Group of Companies. The company also used the Trilogy to continue its grassroots sports programs, which include tennis, basketball, aside from running. The Trilogy will move to Palawan for its second leg on Oct. 18 before concluding in Manila on Nov. 28.
Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino is confident the country would surpass its target of four gold medals in the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Tolentino said the country still has a strong chance in multiple disciplines, including jiu-jitsu and judo. “There are still three days until Sunday morning. Last 3 days, still hoping for more golds,” he said. His bold prediction, however, took a hit Thursday afternoon when top seed Alex Eala lost in women's tennis semifinals and settled for the bronze. At the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, the Philippines finished with four gold medals from pole vaulter EJ Obiena, jiu-jitsu fighters Annie Ramirez and Meggie Ochoa, and the Gilas Pilipinas men’s basketball team. At press time, the Philippines has three gold medals, one from Obiena and two from Carlos Yulo. Tokyo Olympic silver medalist and pugilist Carlo Paalam and the jiu-jitsu fighters, including Ramirez and Kaila Napolis are still in the hunt for a gold medal. “God willing. Fellow Filipinos, let's pray for our athletes at Team Philippines. They’re still on the qualification stage. That’s why we can still surpass the four, hopefully,” Tolentino said. The POC chief earlier said that their target was to win four gold medals — later increased to eight — for this edition of the Asian Games. The closing ceremony is set to be held on Sunday with Japan handing over the Olympic Council of Asia flag to Doha, Qatar, which will host the quadrennial event for the second time in 2030.
Mapua University handed Arellano University its first loss in NCAA Season 102, 69-55, as the crossover phase of the group stage commenced on Thursday.
University of Perpetual Help got off to a sizzling start against La Salle Greenhills and never looked back en route to its fourth consecutive victory in the NCAA Season 102 juniors basketball tournament at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City on Thursday. Lord Dulanas collected 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals to lead the Junior Altas to a convincing 108-86 win over the Greenies. Rookie Sizco Roquid contributed 16 points, 5 boards and a steal while Francis Rosales scored 13 points behind a 3-of-4 shooting from the 3-point area for the Joph Cleopas-coached team. Cleopas lauded his team for not wilting to pressure when the Greenies mounted a rally in the second quarter. In the second half, however, the Junior Altas regained their composure and led by as many as 25 points. Patrick Pasinos led the Greenies with 31 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks.
MANILA, Philippines — Mapua University dealt Arellano University its first loss in NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball tournament on Thursday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City. Yam Concepcion stuffed the statistical sheet with 22 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and four steals to lead the Cardinals to a 69-55 victory. Ivan Lazarte chipped in 17 points while Lance Nitura added nine points for Mapua. Mapua outrebounded Arellano, 56-30, and shot 43.1 percent (28/65) from the field compared to Arellano’s 27.9 percent (19/68) shooting clip. The Cardinals also contained T-mc Ongotan, who was named NCAA Player of the Week last week. After scoring a career-high of 29 points against Letran, he was limited to only seven points against Mapua. Renzo Abiera and Yuan Camay led the Chiefs with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Mapua, which suffered three consecutive heartaches, scored a breakthrough win over San Beda University and kept its momentum against Arellano to tally a 2-3 win-loss card. Arellano dropped to 4-1.
Alex Eala still walked away from the Asian Games with a bronze medal for the Philippines, but the pain of coming so close to a place in the final was evident.
NCAA Season 102 Men’s Basketball Tournament Mapúa def. Arellano, 69-55 Yam Concepcion Player of the Game #NCAASeason102
Taekwondo jin Jeus Gabriel Derick Yape secured the bronze medal in the men"s individual poomsae at the 2026 Asian Games on Thursday in Japan.
MANILA, Philippines — Favored to win the gold medal, Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala bowed to Xiyu Wang of China in a grueling three-set match, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, in their women's tennis semifinal duel at the 20th Asian Games on a windy Thursday afternoon at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center. Eala, ranked 18th in the world and seeded No. 1 in the tournament, failed to sustain her rousing start and lost to world No. 85 Wang after a long three-hour battle. Eala fully took control of the match against Wang after a 5-0 start in the opening set, orchestrating razor-sharp swings. Wang did not back down from the fight and pulled three straight loves to challenge the No. 1-seeded netter of the tournament, 5-3. Eala had enough with the back-and-forth against Wang and loaded up her swings to take the first set, 6-3. In set three, Wang held a comfortable 5-2 lead, nearing to book her ticket in the finals. Wang finished the match with a loaded hammer, 6-2. Eala fell short in her bid to end the 64-year gold medal drought of the nation, as the last time the Philippines won a gold medal was at the 1962 Jakarta Games, when Johnny Jose defeated Michio Miyagi in the men’s singles final. Wang will next face compatriot Shuai Zhang, ranked World No. 54, making it an all-Chinese women's final.