THE BARANGAY Ginebra San Miguel Kings enter today’s Game Four of their best-of-seven Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup final series with the Meralco Bolts looking to notch a commanding 3-1 lead.

LOS ANGELES -- Houston Astros owner Jim Crane fired manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow on Monday after both received one-year suspensions from Major League Baseball in the sign-stealing scandal.

CERES-NEGROS FC advanced to the next round of the preliminaries of the AFC Champions League 2020 after holding on and defeating visiting Shan United FC of Myanmar, 3-2, in a round 1 match on Tuesday night at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

FINISHED the Year 2019 strong, ONE Championship world strawweight champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio of the Philippines looks to sustain his ascent in the brand-new year.

MELBOURNE -- Roger Federer declared himself ready on Monday to kick off the new season at next week’s Australian Open despite having played no competitive matches since November.

BOSTON -- Jayson Tatum scored 21 points and Jaylen Brown chipped in 19 to lead the host Boston Celtics past the Chicago Bulls 113-101 on Monday night.

As the Year 2019 dropped the curtain a fortnight ago, so did the decade of the 2010s, a stretch that proved to be a solid one for Philippine sports with a number of feats and achievements notched as well as landmark events that enhanced the local sporting scene for the now and the future.

Any way fans look at it, the punishment handed the Astros for cheating was both unprecedented and shocking. Sign-stealing has been going on for as long as they can remember, as much a reflection of the state of competitiveness in Major League Baseball as of the compelling calling for protagonists to get ahead by any and all means necessary. And yet, the fact that commissioner Rob Manfred threw just about everything, including the proverbial kitchen sink, at quarters he deemed complicit in the conspiracy underscores his belief that it: 1) egregiously overstepped limits through the use of technology; and 2) went on even after he issued a memorandum threatening harsh penalties for its particular type of transgression.

FACING the possibility of playing the rest of the best-of-seven Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup finals series sans big man Raymond Almazan, the Meralco Bolts are bracing for a rougher road ahead against the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, necessitating for them to make added adjustments.

LOS ANGELES -- Quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw a record-tying four touchdowns in the second quarter as the Kansas City Chiefs roared back from a 24-0 deficit and defeated the Houston Texans 51-31 in the NFL playoffs on Sunday.

AFC Champions League 2020 action kicks off today with top local club football team Ceres-Negros FC hosting Shan United of Myanmar in a preliminary round 1 qualifying action at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

FILIPINO juniors tennis sensation Alex Eala is set to compete in the main draw of the Australian Open later this month after securing her position in the top 10 in the latest ITF World Juniors Ranking.