Sports

Premier Volleyball League photoThe Creamline Cool Smashers wrapped up the six-week Premier Volleyball League (PVL) On Tour Showdown with a decisive 25-21, 25-16, 25-21 straight-sets victory over the Galeries Tower Highrisers at the Victorias Arena Saturday, August 22.Crowd favorite Alyssa Valdez anchored the victory, earning game-high honors with 10 points. Her performance was punctuated by a crucial drop ball late in the third set that brought the Cool Smashers to match point before Kyle Negrito set up Pangs Panaga for the game-ending down-the-line attack in one hour and 24 minutes, the PVL reported..The matchup also featured the official Creamline debut of Japanese recruit Sachi Minowa (Jaja Santiago). Playing in front of a packed crowd of over 7,000 spectators, Minowa ...

The softball team with the Murcia officials*Murcia Mayor Gerry Rojas and Vice Mayor Johnny Reosura  honored and provided financial incentives to the Murcia Open Bible Christian Academy (MOBCA) Eagles Softball Team following their championship run in the 2026 West Zone Softball PONY World Series 14-Under Girls Tournament.The recognition took place during a welcome program for the softbelles, who returned to Negros on August 11 from the tournament held in Hemet, California, USA, from July 28 to August 2, a press release from Murcia said Sunday, August 23. Representing Team Philippines – Murcia, the MOBCA Eagles defeated taller and bigger international competitors to secure the title."We had no doubt in sending our players to play in the world stage against talle...

Sagay welcomes the champions.* Sagay City photoTwo PONY Softball World Series championships came home to Sagay City as hundreds of students, teachers, government officials, parents, and supporters welcomed the Abanse Negrense–Sagay City 12U and 14U girls softball teams on Tuesday, Aug. 11.The champions were welcomed with a citywide caravan followed by a recognition program at Sagay National High School (SNHS), where hundreds of students cheered for the young athletes who returned from their championship campaigns in McAllen, Texas, and Hemet, California.The homecoming celebrated Sagay’s rare double international victory: the 14U team won the PONY International Softball World Series in McAllen, Texas, while the 12U team captured the PONY West Zone Girls Softball World Series in...

Mayor Greg Gasataya at the consultative meeting on Thursday.*BCCO photoMayor Greg Gasataya gathered city officials and local hospitality leaders for a consultative meeting  on Thursday, Aug. 6, to establish an official Accommodation Directory ahead of Bacolod’s hosting of the Batang Pinoy 2026 National Championships from Dec. 12 to 18. Gasataya, at the meeting held at L’Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City,  rallied the support of 209 registered accommodation operators—representing hotels, tourist inns, pension houses, short-term rentals, transient homes, staycation units, and private properties—emphasizing their crucial role in the successful hosting of the national sporting event.“This is one of the biggest sporting events in the country in terms of delegation,”  ...

Bacolod racer Manuel “Boodgie” Chua Jr.*Bacolod racer Manuel “Boodgie” Chua Jr. recently took home two trophies from races at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga.Chua, 43, who owns the BKC Racing Team, won the Track Attack Challenge Group 1 in the 2026 Petron Philippine Motorsport Championships on July 25. The following day, July 26, he placed second in the Unlimited Class Circuit Attack.A Bacolod-based businessman, Chua was also named overall first runner-up in the 2024 Petron Philippine Motorsport Championships’ Sailun Tire Track Attack Challenge in Batangas. He also received a Golden Wheel Award for completing  in that season.Although Chua has always loved racing, he only began competing in official events in 2024.“If you really like racing and love spe...

Alex Eala celebrating her victory.*WTA Facebook page photo“At the end of the fight, heart spoke. Alex Eala's victory is a victory for every Filipino who doesn't know how to give up,”  Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (Negros Occidental, 3rd District) wrote on his Facebook post today, August 4.Benitez was reacting to Eala’s  win at the Mubadala Citi DC Open Final in Washington, where she made history as the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA (Women's Tennis Association) Tour title by beating world No. 3 Jessica Pegula, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also earlier congratulated Eala on Facebook for her historic achievement.“You continue to redefine what is possible for Philippine tennis and inspire countless young Filipinos to dream without limits,” he...

Bacolod City Mayor Greg Gasataya has formally asked the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) to conduct an immediate investigation into alleged game manipulation during the July 28 match between the Bulacan Kuyas and the Bacolod MassKara.In a letter dated Thursday, July 30, addressed to MPBL officials, Gasataya cited widespread public concern over the Bacolod team's performance during its 100-64 loss at the Pasay Astrodome.The mayor said the team's nearly eight-minute scoring drought in the fourth quarter, unusual player rotations, and several missed scoring opportunities fueled online speculation about possible game-fixing."As a huge basketball fan myself, I am mindful that scoring slumps may occur. But the passive on-court deme...

Team Philippines from Sagay City in Negros Occidental * Sagay City Tourism and Information Office photoSagay City in Negros Occidental won the championship in the Girls 14 Under Division of the 2026 PONY International Softball World Series held in McAllen, Texas in the United States on Monday (Philippine time).The Negrense softbelles swept Mexico’s RXII Kino Team in the finals to clinch the title after finishing only fourth in last year’s tournament.“Rising above more than 30 teams, our young athletes battled through 11 games from the elimination round to the championship,” Sagay City OIC-Schools Division Superintendent Dannie Clark Uguil said in a Facebook post.Uguil said the Negrense student-athletes’ “remarkable achievement reflects the power of teamwork, discipline, res...