Swiatek seals place among greats with ‘surreal’ 4th French Open

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Poland’s Iga Swiatek celebrates her victory over Italy’s Jasmine Paolini after their women’s singles final match on Court Philippe-Chatrier on day fourteen of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros Complex in Paris on June 8, 2024. (Photo by Emmanuel Dunand / AFP)

Iga Swiatek secured her place among tennis greats on Saturday as she joined an exclusive club of four-time women’s French Open champions with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Jasmine Paolini.

The 23-year-old from Poland became only the fourth woman to win four Roland Garros singles titles in the Open era, joining Chris Evert, Steffi Graf and Justine Henin.

She is also the first player to claim three successive women’s titles in Paris since Henin in 2007. Monica Seles was the first to do so, triumphing from 1990-92.

READ: Iga Swiatek cruises to third straight French Open title

“I’m really proud of myself, because the expectations obviously have been pretty high from the outside. Pressure, as well,” said Swiatek.

“I’m a perfectionist, so there is always pressure behind me. But I think I’m fine with handling my own pressure.

“It’s when the pressure from the outside hits me, then it’s a little bit worse. But I managed it really well at this tournament.”

Swiatek’s latest coronation came as no surprise, but her run to the title was not without its hiccups — and tears.

She saved a match point against Naomi Osaka in the second round, later weeping in the gym as her emotions took over.

READ: Iga Swiatek beats Coco Gauff to reach French Open final

“I honestly thought that I’m going to be out of the tournament,” Swiatek recalled after her third-round win.

“Even though I felt something on court, it kind of hit me after. I was happy that I won, but I still felt like I was really on the edge. So, yeah, I just cried.”

From that point, nobody could get close to Swiatek, who conceded a mere 11 games from the fourth round onwards — the joint-fewest en route to winning a women’s major in the Open era.

Rare treble

The world number one also completed a Madrid-Rome-Roland Garros treble. The only other woman in history to do it in the same season is Serena Williams.

“This tournament has been pretty surreal with its beginning and with second round, and then I was able to get my game better and better every match,” said Swiatek.

Ominously for her rivals, the escape act against Osaka has filled the Pole with even greater resolve.

“For sure it gives me the feeling that I should always believe in myself, that I can find my tennis even if I’m in big trouble, you know and with this tennis, fight back,” said Swiatek. “It gives me confidence.”

At 23, she has won the same number of French Open titles as Rafael Nadal, the record 14-time men’s champion, had at the same age.

With the exception of her 2022 US Open victory, Swiatek’s success in Paris far exceeds her results at the other Grand Slams.

But as a former Wimbledon junior champion and a winner of six WTA 1000 hard-court events, it is surely only a matter of time until Swiatek hits upon the right formula to translate her clay form into more major titles on other surfaces.

It was after Nadal’s fourth Roland Garros that the Spaniard went on to lift his maiden Wimbledon trophy.

Swiatek, who said before the tournament it was “too early” to consider herself the ‘Queen of Clay’, again was reluctant to draw comparisons with her idol Nadal.

Swiatek has yet to make it past the quarter-finals of the main draw at Wimbledon, and is not setting any specific goals.

“I don’t expect a lot. The balls are different. Overall tennis is different on grass. I’ll just see and I’ll work hard to play better there,” she said.

Mavs plan to get Celtics to fight among themselves

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Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, fornt, and Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving vie for the ball during the first half of Game 1 of basketball’s NBA Finals, Thursday, June 6, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

BOSTON — Jason Kidd couldn’t figure out how to stop the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Now he’s hoping they will get in their own way.

The Mavericks coach seemed eager to sow dissension in the Boston locker room on Saturday when he singled out Jaylen Brown as the Celtics’ best player — words transparently designed to irk Jayson Tatum, an actual NBA first-teamer who was sixth in the voting for the league’s MVP.

Asked during his off-day media availability about a game-plan to defend Brown, Kidd said, “Well, Jaylen’s their best player …” prompting reporters to perk up and wonder: Did he really say that? (It was the final question of his news conference, so there was no follow-up.)

Tatum said it won’t work.

READ: NBA Finals: Attitude, not environment, key for Mavericks in NBA Finals fightback

“We understand that people try to drive a wedge between us. I guess it’s a smart thing to do — or try to do,” Tatum said. “We’ve been in this position for many years, of guys trying to divide us and say that one of us should be traded, or one is better than the other. So it’s not our first time at the rodeo.”

On that, Brown agreed completely.

“We’ve been just extremely focused on what our roles and our jobs are. We have all had to sacrifice,” he said. “Right now, at this point, it’s whatever it takes to win. And we can’t let any outside interpretations try to get in between us.”

Drafted third overall in back-to-back years, Brown and Tatum have emerged as one of the NBA’s best duos, combining to lead the Celtics to the Eastern Conference finals five times in their seven seasons together. But even with the success — 64 wins this year, the league’s No. 1 overall seed, and a second trip to the NBA Finals — they have had to combat speculation that there wasn’t room in the locker room for both of them.

Although Tatum’s career numbers have been better, Brown is the highest-paid player in the league — a quirk of timing and age that gave him the first shot at a supermax contract extension that will earn him more than $300 million over five years. Brown also outplayed Tatum in the 2022 NBA Finals, was the MVP of this year’s conference finals and outscored Tatum 22-16 in the Game 1 victory over Dallas on Thursday night.

That may explain why Kidd said on Saturday — twice — that Brown was Boston’s main threat.

READ: NBA Finals: Celtics’ formula leaves Mavericks searching for solution

“Jaylen’s their best player,” the Mavericks coach said. “He did everything, and that’s what your best player does. Just understanding how to play both sides — defense and offense at a high rate — he’s been doing that the whole playoffs.”

But no one else seems to think so.

Tatum averaged 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists this season, and Brown averaged 23, 5.5 and 3.6. And even with Brown outscoring him in Game 1, Tatum’s numbers are also better in the playoffs so far. (And besides: The real star of the opener was Boston big man Kristaps Porzingis.)

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said he’s not worried about internal rivalries getting in his team’s way, as long as his players “focus on the truth.”

“What goes on in our locker room, how we communicate with each other, how we build relationships with each other and how we treat each other on and off the floor, that’s the most important thing,” he said.

The Mavericks have their own Big Two, with five-time All-NBA first-team guard Luka Doncic teaming up with Kyrie Irving to form an All-Star backcourt. Irving, who teamed with LeBron James to win the 2016 NBA championship in Cleveland even as they struggled to co-exist, said he tries not to pay attention to talk pitting him against his teammate.

“I’m just here to play basketball,” Irving said. “You’ve got to be selfless in your approach. Obviously, you’re not going to get it right all the time, but as a teammate, you just want to push those other things to the side that don’t really matter or get you better as a team. So we just leave it to everybody else to argue whose team it is and who has the most responsibility. It’s all our jobs to be prepared.”

Long-promised national athletes’ dorm rising soon

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PSC chairman Richard “Dickie” Bachmann attends the PSA Forum. –PSA PHOTO

The Philippine Sports Commission under Richard Bachmann will finally start the long-delayed structure that will house national athletes, a project worth an estimated P100 million which will show how valued the country’s national bets are.

A seven-floor building that will include the dormitories of the athletes plus training venues inside Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila now has the funding, and Bachmann said that public bidding for the project is now open with the PSC hoping to have the groundbreaking in August.

“We have already made the preliminary requirements like soil testing and we hope to have the groundbreaking of the new facility in August,’’ said Bachmann.

The athletes’ living quarters have been a well-documented sorry story, and this is what Bachmann hopes to change.

The concept of building the athletes’ quarters and training venues under one roof inside the historic sports complex began during the administration of the President Benigno Aquino III over a decade ago, but never materialized.

Bachmann expressed gratitude to Sen. Pia Cayetano, who inserted the P100 million in the government sports agency’s general appropriations for this year.

The new structure, according to Bachmann, can house at least 180 national athletes.

Alas men driven to be better after finishing 10th in AVC

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Alas Pilipinas during a game against Thailand in the AVC Challenge Cup in Bahrain.–AVC PHOTO

The Alas Pilipinas men’s team ended its Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Challenge Cup campaign not in the way it was hoping for, but with faith that the Filipinos can be better moving forward.

Alas finished 10th after a 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20 loss to Southeast Asian power Thailand Friday night in Manama, Bahrain, teaching the Nationals valuable lessons and spurring team leader, setter Joshua Retamar, to strive harder.

“We fell short because we [only had] a short time [in] training,” Retamar said after the disappointing finish. “We will come back stronger.”

National team coach Sergio Veloso also knows that it won’t be an easy task for Alas to compete against the incredible talent in the AVC tournament as the Filipinos won just once, against a young Indonesian crew, and lost in straight sets to world No. 31 China and Bahrain.

The matchup against Thailand was also not an easy task because the Thais were also determined not to slide down in the classification after failing to defend its AVC crown. Khonhan Amornthep pelted the Philippine defense with 30 points, with Marck Espejo and Jade Disquitado leading Alas with 16 and 14 points, respectively.

“We need to raise our level to be able to beat the top teams in the world,” Veloso told the Inquirer. “[But] this is not that simple.

Regional level

“Currently, our level is regional. There are several factors that make a national team reach a higher level: More quality training time, many international games with strong teams and above all, have the involvement and support of the entire Philippine volleyball community,” he added.

After some rest, Alas can build on the gains from playing tough sides in the AVC, where Veloso’s charges gained valuable international experience while playing “very good matches.”

Veloso also said that he will finalize plans with the Philippine National Volleyball Federation on what tournaments to compete in.

“We need to build our communication, our pattern in blockings and in our attack,” Retamar said.

“It was [still] a good run. The AVC is a strong competition … We maintained our position from last year and played at a higher level,” Veloso said.

Marcio dagger has changed complexion of series

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Marcio Lassiter is more focused on the Beermen’s title bid than he is on his chase of a cherished league record. —PBA IMAGES

Frosty for most of Friday night, San Miguel Beer marksman Marcio Lassiter came through in the final moments of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals, bailing the much-fancied Beermen out from what would have been a 0-2 hole against hard-fighting Meralco.

Despite a 1-for-7 shooting going into that final play, Lassiter hit a step-back triple from the left wing with 13.2 seconds remaining to give the Beermen the lead. It turned out to be the basket the defending champions needed to ultimately level the best-of-seven championship series to a game apiece.

“We just knew if I get to my spot and just read the defense—that was all I really needed,” he told reporters on the heels of the 95-94 escape act fashioned out before a decent-sized crowd at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

“Anytime I can get a good look and see the rim, I really feel like I [can hit it]. I’ve done it a few times before so I just tried to stay poised,” he added.

Lassiter is a holdover of San Miguel’s fabled starting unit dubbed the “Death Five.” Him, Chris Ross, along with reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo are all shooting for their 11th PBA crown.

Teammate Jericho Cruz believes that winning so much in the past has sharpened Lassiter for such clutch situations.

“They’ve been here long enough. They’ve been in the league for quite a while. I bet we can no longer count the number of game-winning shots he has made,” the sparkplug guard said of Lassiter, a 13-year veteran.

CJ Perez’s equally resilient performance set the stage up for the game-winner, as the spitfire guard was also having a rough shooting by going 11-for-27 before hitting a triple of his own that allowed the Beermen to pull within one, 93-92, with 22 seconds to go.

Perez wound up with a career playoff-high 34 points, while Lassiter had six.

“[Marcio], Chris, June Mar, right? For me, as long as they’re inside, we’re confident that we could win the game,” Cruz went on. “I just hope this goes on until we become champions again.”

Meralco, San Miguel break PBA Finals tie

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As much as Cliff Hodge described the heartbreaking loss Meralco absorbed in Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup as “just one game,” there’s also a reason for the Bolts to pity themselves for the missed chance of getting another win over San Miguel Beer.

“We should have won that. We had them on the ropes,” Hodge said before acknowledging the way the Beermen were able to pull off an escape act, 95-94, at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“It’s a championship team and they made the big plays when they needed to.”

Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m. for either of the Bolts and the Beermen to move two wins shy of lifting the Jun Bernardino Perpetual Trophy.

But despite having to settle for a 1-1 tie after two games of the best-of-seven championship series instead of being two-up on the tournament favorites going into Sunday’s Game 3 at the same venue, Hodge and the Bolts have reasons to be confident.

Triples from CJ Perez and Marcio Lassiter—the latter hitting the eventual winner—coupled with a split by Chris Banchero from the foul line and a missed layup down the stretch enabled San Miguel to escape, even after seeing Meralco have control for much of the second half.

Redemption game

Meralco’s defense has been stifling, most of the stops made resulting in baskets on the other end.

“I’m pretty confident in the way we’re playing right now,” said Hodge, who scored 25 points apart from his usual gung ho style on defense. “I feel like if we stick to the game plan, then we have a chance of winning every game.”

Redemption will likely be the battle cry the Bolts will carry once they return to the Big Dome floor, particularly Banchero, whose misses were bitter pills to swallow.

How they’ll respond is what coach Luigi Trillo and active consultant Nenad Vucinic were working on Saturday, and Meralco hopes to figure this out despite the quick turnaround.

“These are [the] type of games that you got to move on [from],” said Trillo. “At the same time, we also have to see the video and what kind of breakdowns occurred in Game 2.

“With that being said, we didn’t play that well,” added Trillo, whose team had to overcome early deficits and countless San Miguel responses in Game 2.

As disappointing as it was for the Bolts not to get the job done as they left the Big Dome on Friday, there’s still plenty of things to fight for.

And most importantly, still in a good position to achieve their ultimate mission of winning the franchise’s first PBA title.

“We want to win every game. But in a Finals series, no one sweeps the other team,” said Hodge.

Alas Pilipinas girls rip Singapore to open Thailand U18 tilt

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Alas Pilipinas girls. Photo from SMM Volleyball

MANILA, Philippines — Alas Pilipinas girls demolished Singapore, 25-14, 25-6, 25-12, to kick off its 22nd Princess Cup Southeast Asian Under-18 Women’s Volleyball Championship on a rousing note on Saturday at Nakhon Pathom Gymnasium in Thailand.

University of Santo Tomas high school star Kimberly Rubin led the collective effort of the Philippine U-18 team for its first win in the six-team competition, where the top two teams of the single round-robin will clash in a winner-take-all final on June 13.

Rubin scored most of her points in the second set, where they dominated the Singaporeans by 19 points.

READ: Alas Pilipinas girls set for two U18 tournaments

Kimberly Rubin shone brightly, racking up eight points in the second set alone. 

UST players Lianne Penuliar and Avril Bron were also instrumental for Alas, while Harlyn Serneche of National University-Nazareth School contributed to the squad in their first win.

Ashley Macalinao of Kings’ Montessori School scored five points in the third set before NUNS Akeyla Bartolabac delivered the game-winning ace.

READ: PH national volleyball teams to be called Alas Pilipinas

It was a winning debut for the new Philippine girls’ volleyball team Taka Minowa of Akari, which is also the backer of the young nationals.

Alas battles face Malaysia on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (Manila time) before taking on Thailand, Australia, and Indonesia.

The Alas girls will also compete in the Asian Women’s U18 Volleyball Championship from June 16 to 23 also in Thailand.

Johann Chua reaches semis of World Pool Championship

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Johann Chua. Photo from Matchroom Pool

Johann Chua posted twin victories Friday to march into the semifinals and close in on becoming the latest Filipino winner of the World Pool Championship in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Chua defeated Syria’s Mohammad Soufi, 11-8, and China’s Dang Jin Hu, 11-3, at Green Halls to become the country’s lone hope of capturing the prestigious nine-ball competition.

The 2021 Vietnam Southeast Asian Games gold medalist and 2023 World Cup of Pool co-winner will take Albania’s Eklent Kaci in Saturday’s semifinal.

READ: Filipino bets advance in World Pool Championship

If Chua wins, he’ll face either Poland’s Wojciech Szewczyk or 2019 champion Fedor Gorst, the Russian-born pool player who now represents the United States, for the title later in the day.

A top purse of $250,000 is at stake in the tournament.

Jeffrey Ignacio and Anton Raga won their round-of-16 matches, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

READ: Johann Chua, James Aranas lead PH to record fourth World Cup of Pool title

Ignacio beat Spain’s David Alcaide, 11-4, but bowed to Kaci, 11-7, in the quarters, while Raga downed 2018 winner Joshua Filler of Germany, 11-7, only to be shown the door by Gorst in his next match, 11-4.

The two Filipino cue artists will take home $27,000 each for making it to the last eight.

Unlimited height for next season’s PBA Commissioner’s Cup

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PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial during a press conference before the PBA Philippine Cup Finals Game 1. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—There will be some notable changes in the PBA’s rules when it comes to imports next season.

The Commissioner’s Cup will now allow unlimited height for imports, scrapping the previously imposed limit of a 6-foot-9, according to league chief Willie Marcial.

This change could pave the way for the likes of former Gilas Pilipinas player Andray Blatche and ex-NBA standout Dwight Howard to suit up for teams in the mid-season tournament.

READ: PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial: Fans are not leaving

“The board has agreed with my proposal to have unlimited height for the Commissioner’s Cup,” said Marcial before Game 1 of the PBA Finals last Wednesday, also announcing that the PBA is returning to the three-conference format: Governors’ Cup, Commissioner’s Cup then Philippine Cup.

The other import conference–the Governors’ Cup, which will usher in the new PBA season on August 8–will remain with a cap of 6-foot-6 for the reinforcements.

There will also be a whole new format for the first conference, adding more flavor to the upcoming season.

The 12 PBA teams will be divided into two pools. Teams in each pool with play in a double round-robin format while facing the other pool’s teams once in the elimination round.

READ: PBA’s problem: Translating large TV viewers into live audience

The playoffs format will have the same implications, minus the twice-to-beat advantages.

“There’ll be a new format. Governors Cup will have six and six [teams] in two groups… They’ll face their group mates twice and the other side’s teams once for a crossover. Quarterfinals will be best-of-five, semifinals will be a best-of-seven and Finals will be best-of-seven.”

“The other two conferences remain the same. Single round.”

Marcial also said he proposed the possibility of teams having two imports for the Commissioner’s Cup if the PBA successfully invites a guest team.

“There’s a proposal to maybe have two imports. It’s still a ‘maybe’ now because it will depend on whether a guest team would join, “Marcial said.

“Teams will have two imports if the team we’re talking to right now agrees to join. It’ll be a foreign team and we’re still talking.”

Filipinos eye strong showing at Ironman, 70.3 races in Subic

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FILE– John Alcala is among the athletes to watch out for in this year’s Ironman Philippines. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

John Dedeus Alcala leads a determined group of Filipino athletes against a formidable lineup of international competitors in the Ironman Philippines and the IM 70.3 Subic Bay races scheduled for Sunday in Subic.

Alcala and the rest of the competitors will tackle the  3.8-kilometer swim, 180km bike ride, and 42.2km run on a world-class championship course in Subic where slots in the World Championships are at stake.

Among the notable competitors from 54 countries is Filipino bet August Benedicto, who aims to deliver a strong performance in the 11th edition of the IM 70.3 race, which includes a 1.9km swim, 90km bike ride, and 21.1km run.

READ: John Alcala, Ines Santiago rule rainy Ironman

“I’m thrilled to compete here, even though I’m now based in Ireland,” said Benedicto.

Alcala, who triumphed in the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Puerto Princesa in 2022, meanwhile, faces a tougher challenge, notably from 2022 champion Czech contender Petr Lukosz.

Despite missing out on his age-group category in the recent Ironman 70.3 Cebu, Lukosz remains a top contender in the full-distance race.

“It’s all about dreams. I still have a dream to do full Ironman sub 9 hours. I came three minutes short in Arizona,” said Lukosz. “And I told my wife that I will try one day to be in Top 10 in Kona in my age group.”

READ: Tested warriors carry PH fight in Subic Bay Ironman

The Ironman and IM 70.3 age group kick off at 5:45 a.m., with the swim cutoff time set at 70 minutes from the last athlete’s start. The bike and run stages have cutoff times of 5 hours and 30 minutes and 8 hours and 30 minutes, respectively.

The top 25 male triathletes from the full Ironman earn spots in the Kona, Hawaii World Championship from Oct. 22-28. The top 15 female athletes will qualify for the IM World Championship in Nice, France, from Sept. 24-28.

The IM 70.3 Subic Bay offers 45 age-group qualifying slots for the Vinfast IM 70.3 World Championship in Taupo, New Zealand, on Dec. 14-15, with 15 slots reserved for female participants to promote gender equality.