CEBU CITY -- In case anyone forgot, the Gold’s Gym-Pasig Kings are the gold standard in Philippine 3x3 basketball.

Competition never stops in the National Basketball Association. For those locked in battle for the ultimate prize, the next challenge comes in the here and now. It’s why the Raptors managed to hog news headlines for all of one day before their status as champions became overshadowed by subsequent events. As they celebrated in Las Vegas, they found themselves alongside the supposedly woebegone Lakers, fresh off a tumultuous season and a still-hazy offseason and yet already installed as favorites for the 2020 title following a triumphant bid for all-world Anthony Davis.

TAGAYTAY CITY — Flying Dutch Jeroen Meijers of Taiyuan Miogee Team bested all comers including top locals El Joshua Carino and Ronald Oranza in claiming Stage One victory on Friday in the 10^th Le Tour de Filipinas that started and finished at the Praying Hands Monument here.

OAKLAND, CALIF. -- The Toronto Raptors hope to celebrate the closing of Oracle Arena with a party of international magnitude when they take a second shot at the championship (today) in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.

STILL WINLESS in the ongoing Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup after two games, the San Miguel Beermen and Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok look to barge into the win column when they take on separate opponents in league action today at the Mall of Asia Arena.

NEARLY a decade removed from playing in the Philippine Basketball Association, the hoops journey continues for Jeffrey Cariaso through two values-driven programs which he takes much pride in to be part of.

FROM picturesque Taal to majestic Mayon, the Le Tour de Filipinas celebrates “10 Years of Cycling” with an explosive race starting with Stage 1 today of the now five-stage International Cycling Union (UCI) event.

When the Raptors go for the jugular today, their will be determined to move past the literal and figurative near misses they had in Game Five of the Finals. They were up by six points with three minutes and change to go, prompting behind-the-scenes preparations for their coronation as the finest of the finest of the National Basketball Association. Instead of firming up their date with living legend and Larry O’Brien Trophy presenter Bill Russell, however, they found themselves snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. They called back-to-back timeouts that stunted their momentum. They missed five of their last six shots, including a wide-open three point attempt, and committed a costly turnover that helped the defending champion Warriors complete a comeback for the ages.

THE NORTHPORT Batang Pier rolled to their fifth win in six games in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup on Wednesday, sending the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok to a second straight defeat, 102-99, in league action at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

TORONTO -- Canadian basketball fans did not wake up on Tuesday nursing hangovers from a championship celebration but rather with a mild sense of panic after the Toronto Raptors missed a chance to clinch a maiden NBA title.

PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA -- Knowing all too well what it is like to be struck down by injury Tiger Woods spared a thought for Kevin Durant on Tuesday, after watching the Golden State Warriors forward crumple to the floor during a game against the Toronto Raptors.

AUSTRIA’S DOMINIC THIEM has extended an olive branch to Serena Williams after their media room misunderstanding at the French Open by offering to partner the American in mixed doubles at Wimbledon or the US Open.