AFTER turning former team NLEX into a playoffs contender, coach Yeng Guiao’s next job puts him in charge of building up Rain or Shine’s (ROS) youth-laden core.

TNT veteran Jayson Castro is optimistic the banged-up Tropang Giga will come out of their failed title defense in the PBA Philippine Cup a lot wiser and hungrier moving forward.

AE Bob chess team routed Philippine Army, 3-0, and then edged Iligan City via tiebreak to rule the Sen. Manny Pacquiao Tuna Festival Chess team tournament in General Santos over the weekend.

NEW YORK — Nick Kyrgios crushed world number one Daniil Medvedev’s dreams of a title defense at the US Open on Sunday with a 7-6(11) 3-6 6-3 6-2 victory to reach the quarter-finals and ensure there will be a new top ranked player when the tournament concludes.

NEW YORK — American teenager Coco Gauff used her superior speed to overcome a second set deficit and pull off a thrilling 7-5 7-5 win over China’s Zhang Shuai to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open for the first time.

RUBILEN Amit sets out on another voyage to further establish her status as the country’s greatest pool player of all time as she guns for a third title in the Predator World Ten-ball Championship unfurling tomorrow in Klagenfurt, Austria.

PINAY tennis ace Alex Eala gets her first taste of juniors action this year with a big stint in the prestigious US Open junior championships at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

GILAS Pilipinas girls begin its quest for a Division A promotion when it takes on Thailand in the start of Division B action in the FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship in Bangalore, India today.

ATENEO kicked off its Israel straining camp on a bright note, scraping past pro club A.S. Ramat HaSharon with a 73-69 squeaker late Saturday night at the Oranim Sports Hall in Tel Aviv.

NEW YORK — Rafa Nadal handed old foe Richard Gasquet a Flushing Meadows mugging on Saturday walloping the Frenchman 6-0 6-1 7-5 to ease into the US Open fourth round.

Serena Williams tried, but she was tired. Make that very tired. After having been pushed to the brink in the second set, she looked physically and emotionally spent the rest of the way.

NEW YORK — Playing more like a world number one than a player ranked outside the top 600, Serena Williams turned back the clock on Wednesday to stun world number two Anett Kontaveit 7-6(4) 2-6 6-2 and move into the third round of the US Open, putting her retirement plans on pause.