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November 11, 2025 | 7:11pm

Games Thursday

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)

1:30 p.m. — Cignal vs Zus

4 p.m. — Nxled vs Akari

6:30 p.m. — Choco Mucho vs Creamline

MANILA, Philippines — Farm Fresh fended off Petro Gazz’s comeback bid as it eked out a 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 28-26 victory at the Filoil EcoOil Arena in San Juan City on Tuesday to barge into the PVL Reinforced Conference quarterfinals.

Helene Rousseaux and Alohi Robins-Hardy came through when needed to power the Foxies to their fifth victory in six outings and straight into the quarterfinals alongside the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles (6-0) and the PLDT High Speed Hitters (5-1).

Rousseaux came through firing as usual and dropped a match-high 31 points, including the final nail in the coffin — a buzzing spike straight onto an open space at the back — while Robins-Hardy facilitated the offense with 21 excellent sets while chipping nine hits.

This will be the third time in franchise history that it will make it this far.

But unlike the first two where it exited early, the first against Akari in last year’s Reinforced and the other just early this year in the PVL on Tour to Creamline, Farm Fresh appeared fiercer, more determined on this one as it built a formidable cast anchored on the power Rousseaux-Robins-Hardy duo.

“Once again, I sound like a broken record, my team is gritty and never gives up,” said Farm Fresh coach Alessandro Lodi.

Also coming through for the Foxies were Trisha Tubu and Ces Molina, who had 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Lodi knew all along they’re in for a tough ride against Petro Gazz.

“We knew those guys have weapons, they have scorers and experienced players,” said Lodi. “But we were good enough to get two great sets and made good plays late.”

It was a big blow for the Angels, two-time champions this conference, as they fell to 3-3.

Philstar.com

November 11, 2025 | 6:37pm

MANILA, Philippines — The Alas Pilipinas Under-16 girls squad has seven months to prepare for the 2026 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship in Chile, a program that includes possible overseas training and an expanded player pool.

From having just two weeks to prepare and putting the 12 high school players coming from different players on the same page, the youngest national volleyball team became the country’s first squad to qualify for a world championship without needing an automatic berth from hosting.

The Alas girls finished fifth in the 2nd Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Asian Women’s U16 Volleyball Championship following a 25-23, 25-20, 19-25, 25-22 win over Thailand on Saturday at the Prince Hamzah Sports Hall in Amman to snatch the last Asian ticket for the worlds.

“This is big for Philippine volleyball and we’re looking at the future,” said Philippine National Volleyball Federation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara, who as AVC president followed the girls’ campaign entirely in Jordan.

China qualified as defending world champion even before reaching the Final Four of the Amman competition, while the other qualified Asian teams are newly-crowned AVC U16 champion South Korea, runner-up Chinese Taipei and fourth placer Japan.

After proving what these girls can do despite the short preparation, Alas U16 coach Edwin Leyva will make the most of the seven-month preparation with the AVC and Suzara supporting their training — including an overseas camp.

“This time, hopefully we can prepare better,” Leyva said. “As Mr. Tats Suzara mentioned, we’ll have more time to get ready probably around six to seven months before the tournament in Chile.”

“There’s also a possibility that we’ll train abroad so we can learn and adopt the systems used in Japan, Korea or Chinese Taipei,” he added.

Leyva also seeks to add players to his 12-member, history-making squad, led by team captain Xyz Rayco.

“Hopefully, we can expand the training pool to make it a bit bigger. That way, we can pull players from the remaining pool when needed. We can’t just keep things the same. We either have to strengthen the lineup or maintain it, depending on the team’s unity and camaraderie,” he said.

The 14-year-old Rayco was a top five scorer in the tournament with a total of 112 points from 92 kills, 14 blocks and six aces. She was also a top six spiker.

The opposite spiker from Nasipit believes the best is yet to come for her and the team.

“I’m really inspired because I’m still young, yet we’ve already come this far,” Rayco said. “There’s still a higher level ahead of us, and I’m so happy that at my age, I was able to achieve this.”

Nadeth Herbon, the Alas’ other go-to scorer, won’t waste this chance.

“We’ll train harder when we get home,” Herbon said.

Middle Blocker Madele Gale also shone as No. 2 in blocking with 20 kill blocks, including her career-best seven in a five-set loss to Thailand in the Final Eight. Resty Jane Olaguir and Frances Ramos were No.6 in the Best Setters and Best Diggers, respectively.

All 12 players are still eligible for next year’s World Championship as they were all born either in 2010 or 2011.

For Leyva, this historic moment was proof that the Philippines’ volleyball future is bright. It’s all about starting it as early as possible and the program’s continuity up to the higher age groups.

“We wanted this group to set the standard for our mass-based program,” he said. “With just two weeks of preparation, the team has already achieved a lot.” (PNVF pool story)

November 11, 2025 | 6:15pm

MANILA, Philippines — House Speaker Bojie Dy kicked off the plenary session on Tuesday, November 11, by pledging to prioritize a bill that would expand the powers of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure.

Two bills have already been filed in the House of Representatives and are now under deliberation by the Committee on Government Reorganization. House Bills 4453 and 5699 both aim to create the Independent Commission Against Infrastructure Corruption (ICAIC) and grant it additional powers, such as the ability to cite invited resource persons in contempt.

Recognizing that corruption in infrastructure projects has caused widespread suffering among Filipinos, he challenged his fellow lawmakers to deliver genuine reform, ensuring that promises are not merely made but actually fulfilled.

“Una, ang Independent Commission Against Infrastructure Corruption or ICAIC bill sa harap ng mga ulat ng katiwalian at ghost projects, hindi sapat ang galit. Kailangan natin ang solusyon. Ang ICI bill ay makakatulong upang mapanagot ang mga indibidwal na sangkot sa katiwalian sa flood control projects,” he said.  

(First, in the face of reports on corruption and ghost projects, anger alone is not enough. We need solutions. The ICAIC bill can help hold accountable the individuals involved in corruption in flood control projects.)

Dy vowed that the measure will not be delayed, saying Filipinos have “zero tolerance for corruption,” and assured it would be passed on third and final reading before Congress adjourns in December.

The House Committee on Government Reorganization began hearings on the proposed measures on Tuesday, gathering the positions of various agencies and commissions involved in the operations of the ICI.

Several agencies, including the Office of the Ombudsman and the ICI itself, have suggested granting the commission powers beyond those provided by the executive order that established it.

These include the authority to directly file — not just recommend — the filing of complaints, cancel the registration of establishments found responsible for anomalous infrastructure projects, and automatically revoke the professional licenses of implicated officials.

Although the ICI was formed just two months ago, public demand is mounting for swift action in filing cases, conducting investigations and resolving complaints — especially as high-ranking officials, including legislators and agency heads, face scrutiny in the flood control corruption scandal that has fueled regular protests nationwide.

November 11, 2025 | 6:09pm

Games Wednesday

(Mall of Asia Arena)

7:30 a.m. – UE vs UST (U16)

9:30 a.m. – FEU vs NU (U16)

12 p.m – UE vs UST (women)

2 p.m. – UE vs UST (men)

4:30 p.m. – FEU vs NU (men)

7 p.m. – FEU vs NU (women)

MANILA, Philippines — After clinching the first Final Four spot, National University marches on in a bid to secure at least a playoff for one of the two bonuses against Far Eastern University in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Game time is at 4:30 p.m., with the Bulldogs trying to move a step closer to the twice-to-beat incentive opposite the Tamaraws after being the first semifinalists with their ninth win last week via a 66-65 escape act from the Adamson Soaring Falcons.

University of Santo Tomas, at 2 p.m., battles the also-ran University of the East (0-11) to break free from a tie with Ateneo at No. 4, owing to similar 5-5 slates as the UAAP resumes after the postponement of games lats Sunday due to typhoon Uwan.

Ahead of UST and Ateneo are NU (9-2), titleholder UP (8-3) and La Salle (6-4), which are the only teams who could climb to 10 wins, which gives NU an inside track with another win against the dangerous FEU.

The Tamaraws are clinging just outside the Final Four picture at 4-6 along with Adamson (5-6) as the intense two-round race enters the deciding homestretch.

For head coach Jeff Napa, now’s not the time to let go of the throttle with one of its first goals already within reach for a full reversal of roles after missing the Final Four last season with a dismal 5-9 slate.

“Leveling our game coming into the last stretch is very crucial for us,” said Napa, whose wards trumped the Falcons on Mark Parks’ game-winner for their third straight win. “This will determine who and what we are going all the way to the Final Four. “

The Bulldogs have beaten all UAAP squads except for the Fighting Maroons — who beat them twice — including an easy 84-68 win over the Tamaraws in the first round.

NU, however, expects a tougher fight this time with FEU slowly but surely scaling the ranks to stay afloat in the tight Final Four race.

The Tamaraws, after a forgettable first round start, had won two of their last three games to catch up with the Falcons as well as the suddenly struggling Growling Tigers and the Blue Eagles for the desired fourth seed.