DataFacilitator Announces Simplified B2B Data Model for Global Sales Teams

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.’”

COPENHAGEN — The international future of Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo hung in the balance after the 41-year-old walked out on the squad after learning that he would not start the game against Denmark on Thursday (Friday in Manila). Ronaldo announced late on Wednesday that he had left the team, shortly after a press conference in which coach Jorge Jesus confirmed the five-time Ballon d’Or winner would be left out of his starting lineup for a second consecutive Nations League game. In his absence, Portugal turned on the style to beat Denmark, 4-2. The former Real Madrid forward had been due to train with his teammates at the Parken Stadium on the eve of the game, but walked out following the announcement by Jesus. “Following the national team coach’s press conference, and after having a conversation with the Portuguese Football Federation president, I decided to leave the national team’s training camp,” Ronaldo wrote on Instagram. He had already spent the entirety of Sunday’s 2-1 Nations League win in Norway on the bench, having captained the side in the 1-0 home victory over Wales last Thursday. Ronaldo appeared to indicate that the reasons behind Jesus’s decision ran deeper, and hinted at a departure from the national team he has graced for more than two decades. “In due course, I will tell the truth to all the Portuguese people about my reasons for leaving the national team, to which I have always been dedicated,” Ronaldo said. “Now is time to wish good luck to Portugal and to all my teammates, without exception.” Spanish sports daily Marca said that Jesus and Portuguese federation president Pedro Proenca followed Ronaldo to Copenhagen airport in an attempt to persuade him to stay with the squad, before the player boarded his private jet. Jesus insisted earlier on Wednesday that there was no rift between him and Ronaldo, although the 72-year-old, who was appointed in July, acknowledged that his captain was disappointed to remain on the bench against Norway. The news sparked a wave of memes on social media and a furious backlash from Ronaldo’s sister, Elma Aveiro. “They don’t deserve to have the best of anything,” she said about the Portuguese people on Instagram. “We are envious, scornful, and ignorant, and we deserve to return to the mediocrity that defined us in the pre-CR7 era of football,” she added, using his nickname. The game in Oslo was the first time since November 2024 that Ronaldo had not featured for Portugal while not being either injured or suspended. “There was no incident whatsoever,” Jesus, who coached Ronaldo at Saudi club Al-Nassr for a year, insisted after that match. “Any player — and I was a player myself ... when you spend 20 or 30 minutes warming up and then don’t get on ... no one is happy about that,” Jesus added on Wednesday. The Portuguese coach also said that he had told Ronaldo before the match that he might bring him on as a substitute. “Afterwards, as coach, I decided not to bring him on. It’s nothing to make a fuss about,” Jesus insisted. After the win on Thursday, Jesus’s press conference was dominated by talk of Ronaldo. “This Portugal team scored four goals and put in a performance which, in my opinion, was of a very high standard,” he said. “Of course, this is more important than anything else that has happened. “I still think exactly the same way: there are players with status. That much is crystal clear,” he added. “But I’ll say it again: the rules are the same for everyone.” There were reports that Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro had even discussed the issue of Ronaldo’s involvement with the coach on Wednesday. Jesus said earlier in the day that against Denmark he again intended to start AC Milan striker Goncalo Ramos, who scored the winner in Norway. Regarding Ronaldo, he said: “If I need him, he’ll come on. If I don’t need him, he won’t.” Ronaldo recently announced that this would “probably (be) my last year in football.” He is Portugal’s leading goalscorer and most capped player, with 146 goals in 234 appearances. The former Sporting, Manchester United, Real and Juventus striker made his international debut aged 18 in 2003 and played in the Euro 2004 final when Portugal lost to hosts Greece.

PARIS, France — The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced Thursday (Friday in Manila) that it has reduced the number of tournaments that top-ranked players are required to play in 2027. The measure comes in response to recurring criticism about tennis’ overloaded schedule. Under the current system, the world’s top 50-ranked players are obligated to play the four Grand Slam tournaments, 10 WTA 1000 events and six 500 events each year. In 2027, they will be required to play only four WTA 500 tournaments instead of six, the women’s tour announced in a statement released Thursday. In addition, they will be able to substitute points earned at a WTA 1000 tournament with those earned at a WTA 500 or WTA 250 tournament. In other words, a player who chooses not to compete in a mandatory WTA 1000 event could still include the points earned at a less prestigious tournament in her ranking — whereas she currently risks earning zero points. The WTA will assess the impact of these measures to decide whether or not to extend them into 2028. In January, the ATP announced a similar measure, reducing the number of mandatory 500-level tournaments for the world’s top 30 players from five to four, starting this season. The WTA press release issued Thursday also announced that, for the first time, the prize money for “combined” WTA 1000 tournaments will be identical to that of the corresponding men’s ATP events. While the WTA and Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid already offered equal prize money, this was not yet the case for the tournaments in Rome, Canada and Cincinnati.

The Philippines won its fourth gold medal in the 2026 Asian Games on Friday as Jeus Gabriel Derick Yape ruled the mixed individual virtual taekwondo event.

Olympic silver medalist and now Asian Games silver medalist Carlo Paalam spoke about his experience in the men"s 55kg final, which went in favor of hometown bet Rui Yamaguchi.

San Beda University bounced back in its opening game of the crossover phase of the NCAA Season 102 preliminary round as the Red Lions routed San Sebastian College-Recoletos, 85-55, on Friday.

JAPAN — Hosts Japan won their third straight Asian Games women's football gold on Friday, edging North Korea on penalties after a 2-2 draw in a dramatic final. Yuzuho Shiokoshi scored the decisive penalty as Japan, who reached the final without conceding a goal, won 5-3 in the shootout to claim the title for the fourth time. North Korea changed their goalkeeper in the final minute of extra time but it was not enough to give them their first gold since 2014. The hosts looked in full control when Mami Ueno gave them the lead in the 32nd minute in Shizuoka. But Jong Kum bundled in an equalizer two minutes into the second half that was eventually given after a VAR check, before Jon Ryong Jong put North Korea ahead in the 69th minute. Japan's Hanon Nishio equalized with four minutes left to send the game into extra time. The teams could not be separated and North Korea brought on substitute goalkeeper Chae Un Gyong to help their cause. Instead it was Japan goalkeeper Shu Ohba who was the hero, stopping Jong's penalty in the only miss of the shootout. North Korea were backed by groups of red-clad supporters among the crowd of over 6,000. Japan and North Korea went into the final having each scored 26 goals in the previous rounds. The two teams had also shared the previous six Asian Games titles, winning three each. Japan coach Michihisa Kano won his first title since replacing Greenland-born Nils Nielsen. Nielsen led Japan to the Asian Cup title in Australia in March but was fired 12 days later. North Korea were looking to extend their astonishing recent run of international success in women's football. They have won three world titles at age-group level in the last two years, and North Korean club Naegohyang Women's FC became Asian champions in May after a final tournament played in South Korea. Women's football is one of the strongest international sports for diplomatically isolated and impoverished North Korea, with their national sides regularly competing at the highest levels in Asia and globally.

Jeus Yape delivered a surprise gold medal for the Philippines in the 2026 Asian Games on Friday as he ruled the mixed virtual taekwondo event in Japan.

NCAA Season 102 Men’s Basketball Tournament San Beda def. San Sebastian, 85-55 Aldous Torculas Player of the Game #NCAASeason102

NAGOYA, Japan — Alexandra Eala admitted on Friday that she gets "overwhelmed sometimes" by the huge weight of expectation placed on her as a trailblazer for tennis in the Philippines. The 21-year-old leaves the Asian Games having fallen short of her ambition to win gold for her country, instead settling for bronze. Eala is followed everywhere by adoring fans eager for a piece of the world number 18, who in August became the first player from the Philippines to win a title on the women's WTA Tour. "I definitely do get overwhelmed sometimes," said Eala. "But I understand that it's such a privilege to be in the position that I'm in and to be able to live out the dreams that I've always had as a kid. "So it's something I've had to accept that it comes with the job, and this is how things are. "I'm ready for the challenge." Eala, who skipped the prestigious China Open in Beijing to play for her country at the Asian Games, said she would take away good memories despite exiting in the semi-finals in a three-set defeat to China's lower-ranked Wang Xinyu. Wang went on to beat compatriot Zhang Shuai to win gold on Friday. "It does come with pressure, but I'm really happy that I was able to compete here," said Eala, who was the top seed. "To be able to share it with the Filipino people is really important," she added. "No regrets. I left everything on the court," said Eala. With Games gold comes direct qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Eala said it was still her "dream" to play in LA. "There are other ways of qualifying for the Olympics, so I guess it's also an extra motivation," she said. "Competing in the Olympics is definitely a dream of mine. So, if anything, I leave here more motivated."

EJ Castillo dropped 23 points as Emilio Aguinaldo College notched its second straight win at the expense of Lyceum of the Philippines University, 89-79, in the NCAA Season 102 on Friday at the Filoil Centre in San Juan.

MANILA, Philippines — Olympian Kurt Bryan Barbosa bowed to Kazakhstan’s Tamirlan Tleules, 2-0, and settled for the silver medal in men’s under-58kg taekwondo at the 2026 Asian Games at the Toyohashi City General Gymnasium in Aichi, Japan. After a tight first round, the 27-year-old Barbosa was completely dominated by the 20-year-old Tleules in the match as the Kazakh did not allow the Filipino to score in the second round.