KYLE LOWRY had 33 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, leading the Toronto Raptors to a 107-92 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday at The Arena near Orlando.

THE National Basketball Association (NBA) successfully restarted its season on Friday, bringing relief and excitement to the league, especially after putting much effort in making it a reality and overcoming challenges in the run-up.

LAST weekend the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons welcomed the good news of UAAP juniors standouts Carl Tamayo and Gerry Abadiano committing to take their talent to Diliman for their collegiate careers.

To argue that Rick Carlisle was disappointed in the aftermath of the Mavericks’ setback to the Rockets the other day would be an understatement. It wasn’t simply that his charges snatched defeat from the throes of victory. It was that they did so in a manner all too familiar to him: with an offense — otherwise the most efficient by far in league history — cratering to alarming proportions and therefore unable to prop up a middling defense. For some reason, they keep tightening up late in close contests, leading to them being outscored by a whopping 16 points per 100 possessions in the crunch. And they did so anew in their first seeding game; they were up by 11 to start the fourth quarter, by as much as 13 at one point, and by seven with 45.2 ticks left — and they still lost.

THE National Basketball Association resumes with its 2019-2020 season on Friday in a “bubble” setup in Orlando, Florida, and along with it Cignal TV marks its first day serving as the new home of the league in the Philippines.

AWARE that it is taking over from a team that was highly successful both here and abroad, new Philippines Football League squad United City Football Club (UCFC) said work is cut out for it but expressed determination to make its own mark in the sport.

EXCITING esports action is set to take place this weekend as the Philippine Pro Gaming League (PPGL) holds its grand finals.

CHOOKS-TO-GO Pilipinas 3x3 further solidified its standing as the home of three-on-three basketball in the country, levelling up to become a professional league.

THE US OPEN scheduled to be played at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York from Sept. 17–20 will be held without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Golf Association (USGA) said on Wednesday.

FORMER CHAMPIONS Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Serena Williams have all entered next month’s Western & Southern Open in New York, which will serve as a tune-up for the US Open, tournament organizers said on Wednesday.

CAGLIARI, Italy — Cristiano Ronaldo’s hopes of finishing the season as top scorer in Italy’s Serie A faded away on Wednesday as he failed to find the net when champions Juventus slumped to a shock 2-0 defeat away to Cagliari.

The 2019–20 season of the National Basketball Association officially resumes today, at least on paper. In truth, the eight seeding games and the playoffs present little to no continuity with the first four-fifths of the campaign, and not just because they will be held under a different set of circumstances. Even the league itself acknowledges the contrasts, adopting the slogan “Whole New Game” for its bubble environment. At this point, it’ll gladly take any semblance of normalcy for its setup at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. “Where Amazing Happens” doesn’t seem to be apt in a situation that has it hoping for the best while in the midst of a pandemic.