Hoops circles are still “shook” over Magic Johnson’s abrupt resignation as the Lakers’ president of basketball operations the other day. Nobody, not even franchise owner Jeanie Buss (whom he referred to repeatedly in his impromptu press conference as his “sister”), knew that he was going to abandon the position he had occupied since February 2017. From his vantage point, he needed to hang up his suit and tie in order to “be Magic Johnson again;” he felt the National Basketball Association provisions governing executives prevented him from expressing his thoughts the way he wanted to, and exactly when he wanted to.

THE defending champions San Miguel Beermen get to extend their reign in the PBA Philippine Cup after defeating and eliminating the TNT KaTropa, 96-86, in their Game Three quarterfinal rubber match on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

THE Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws notched their eighth win in UAAP Season 81 in impressive fashion on Wednesday, beating the National University Lady Bulldogs in straight sets, 25-20, 25-19 and 25-22, in opening game action at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan City.

DALLAS -- IN the final home game of a legendary career, Dirk Nowitzki gave an exuberant sellout crowd one final show with a season-high 30 points in the Dallas Mavericks’ 120-109 win against the visiting Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

THE LOCAL Esports scene got added dimension recently with the establishment of a group whose mission is to help the sport grow from the grassroots.

DAVAO -- The Davao Occidental Tigers enjoy the comfort of home and after dethroning inaugural staging champions Batangas City Athletics, they are now taking advantage of getting a two-day rest before plunging back to action today where they face the San Juan Knights at the start of their MPBL Datu Cup best-of-five championship series.

The 20^th European Individual Championship took place from 18-29 March 2019 in Skopje, organized by the government of North Macedonia. The prize fund is €100,000 (roughly P5.9 million), with €20,000 (around P1.18 million) for first prize. Aside from the prize money the first 22 placers will qualify for the next World Cup, scheduled to take place Nov. 4-30 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The World Cup, aside from its huge money prizes (even the losers go home with around P250,000 each), will qualify its top finishers to the Candidates’ tournament, the final step in determining the challenger for the world title.

The Lakers always knew they couldn’t possibly top the high they got on the first day of free agency last July. Armed with purpose and the promise the purple and gold invariably carried in light of their storied past, they managed to secure the commitment of LeBron James, and for the long haul. Widely acknowledged the National Basketball Association’s best player by far, he was supposed to be the first in a series of acquisitions aimed at bringing glory back to Staples Center. Instead, what they wound up doing was fill a roster with disjointed talent, auguring a future full of question marks and engendering trepidation, not hope.

THE quarterfinal phase of the PBA Philippine Cup concludes today with a pair of rubber matches to determine the last two cast members in the semifinals of the season-opening Philippine Basketball Association tournament.

THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses look to fortify their bid for a spot in the Final Four of UAAP Season 81 with a victory today over the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons.

FORMER ONE CHAMPIONSHIP strawweight champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio of the Philippines makes his cage return later this week, barely three months since losing his title, with the intent of going back on top.

AFTER setting a new attendance record last year, Butuan City will host the Jr. NBA Philippines presented by Alaska Mindanao Regional Selection Camp for the second consecutive year at the Fr. Saturnino Urios University on April 13-14. The league’s youth basketball participation program returns to the Caraga region to teach basketball fundamentals and impart core values of the game to boys and girls ages 10-14.