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MANILA, Philippines — Acting Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Giovanni Lopez inspected facilities at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) on Saturday as the agency prepares for the expected influx of passengers during the holiday season.

In a statement, Lopez said passengers must be comfortable while traveling to their respective destinations.

“That is why we are promoting digitalization at the airport with the NNIC [New Naia Infra Corp.] so that the overall passenger travel experience becomes faster and more convenient, especially as the holiday season approaches,” Lopez said in Filipino in a DOTr-issued statement.

According to the DOTr, baggage check-in at the Naia departure area is currently faster and more convenient due to the availability of self-check-in and bag drop counters.

“It is expected that immigration queues at the arrival area for passengers and OFWs will move faster and become shorter with the new e-gates equipped with facial recognition and passport scanning,” it added.

“Passenger safety will also be ensured, and illegal entry will be prevented because of the added security and verification features,” the DOTr said.

The agency said self-check-in and bag drop counters are already operational, while the PRS e-gates and border control e-gates are expected to be launched in the second week of December.

Lopez, in a separate statement, said the newly constructed Tambayan Food Hall and Food Village in the Naia Terminal 3 departure area will greatly benefit passengers, employees, and other airport users.

“There are many dining options and free WiFi. In addition, the place is airy, bright, and spacious,” he said in Filipino.

According to the DOTr, the Tambayan Food Hall, with a 2,500-seat capacity, hosts various food concessionaires from across the country and includes Halal-certified options. The Departure Food Village, meanwhile, has a 500-seat capacity.

Both facilities will open on December 8, the agency said.

NNIC President and San Miguel Corp. CEO Ramon Ang earlier said the NNIC remitted about P57 billion to the national government in just one year of its privatized operations at the Naia.

Meanwhile, the Naia workers’ group Pagkakaisa ng mga Users, Stakeholders at Obrero ng Naia (PUSO ng Naia) earlier denounced alleged irregularities in the P1.5-trillion public-private partnership between the DOTr and NNIC for the airport’s redevelopment. Both the agency and the private operator denied the allegations. /jpv

MANILA, Philippines—Karl Eldrew Yulo may have missed the podium, but he is still satisfied to have finished in the Top 10 of the all-around final at the 2025 Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships.

Yulo finished as the eighth placer among 24 participants with 78.731 overall points.

READ: Karl Eldrew Yulo places 8th in all-around at Junior Worlds

“I’m still happy because even if I couldn’t get into the Top 3, I still managed to get to the Top 10,” Yulo told reporters at Newport World Resorts on Saturday.

“I’m still proud because I finished the qualifications at 15 and now I ended up at eight. I will do my very best to get to the top 3 in my Finals.”

It was still an impressive showing for Yulo, especially in floor exercise where he placed second best behind Arsenii Dukhno, who ultimately ended up with the all-around gold.

At one point, Yulo had a spot in the Top 5, but his rings performance weighed him down, scoring just 12.066.

READ: Karl Eldrew Yulo eyes full-time focus on gymnastics

The younger Yulo has no reason to fret too, as he still has a chance to win a medal on home soil with three more apparatus finals on the way.

“I’ll stay calm because if I add more pressure to myself, I might not do well or I might get even more injured so I’ll stay calm,” he said, referring to the hurt ankle he suffered during his vault routine. 

The young dynamo will embark on the floor exercise final on Sunday and the vault and horizontal bar finals on Monday at the same venue.

The grind of the Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) gives way to the drama of head-to-head duels as the ICTSI The Country Club Match Play Invitational tees off Tuesday at the challenging TCC layout in Laguna.

Headlining the elite 32-player field is Angelo Que, who seeks to punctuate his dominant season with a win in the P2 million season-ending event.

READ: Angelo Que, Mondilla set pace at Valley after 67s – Sports Inquirer

Despite a forced withdrawal from the final leg at Valley Golf due to illness, Que clinched his first-ever Order of Merit (OOM) title on the strength of two victories—at Pradera Verde and Eagle Ridge—and consistent podium finishes, amassing P1.56 million in total earnings.

But match play will pose a different challenge for the veteran. With the unpredictability of a hole-by-hole showdown, match play provides the potential for underdogs to strike, the same way Arnold Villacencio and Albin Engino stunned the field in last year’s tournament, where Villacencio ultimately cruised to a 4&3 victory in the final.

This year, Que opens against 32nd seed Gerald Rosales in a bracket filled with seasoned tacticians and rising threats. No. 2 Keanu Jahns returns from a brief break to face Taewon Ha, while third seed Fidel Concepcion is slated for a compelling duel against crafty veteran Mars Pucay.

Other notable first-round matchups include Guido van der Valk vs. Marvin Dumandan, Rupert Zaragosa vs. Sean Ramos, and recent Valley leg winner Carl Corpus, who makes his match play debut, going up against Tae Soo Kim.

Former Philippine Open champion Clyde Mondilla takes on Elee Bisera, while the rest of the draw features the likes of Tony Lascuña, Mike Bibat, Jhonnel Ababa, and Zanieboy Gialon—all proven names in match play warfare.

MANILA, Philippines — Jau Umandal poured in 26 points to lead Cignal to the win column of the Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference semifinal round, haunting his alma mater, University of Santo Tomas-Gameville, 25-17, 25-13, 26-24, on Saturday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

Umandal utilized his familiarity with UST, where he developed as a player during his UAAP career and even worked on the coaching staff in Season 85 three years ago, in his game-best showing.

The former national team stalwart nailed 22 kills of his 36 attempts on top of two blocks and two aces as Cignal improved to 1-1, tying Criss Cross in third place after losing to them last night in five sets.

Umandal also relished the opportunity to play against his younger brother Sherwin and the rest of the Golden Spikers.

“I guess I’m excited, because he’s an opposite and I’m an outside hitter. As his ‘Kuya,’ I can’t let him block me. Every time I attack, I’m thinking, ‘You can’t block me,’” quipped Jau in Filipino.

“I was part of their coaching staff during my last playing year, so I’m close with all of them. It’s always just ‘Good luck!’ and they call me ‘Kuya, Kuya!’”

Steven Rotter had nine points for the Super Spikers, while another former UST stalwart in libero Van Tracy Prudenciado had 14 excellent receptions and five digs.

“Yesterday’s loss really hit us hard. Even last night, most of us couldn’t sleep,” said Cignal coach Dexter Clamor in Filipino.

“But this morning, we were up early. We even had a viewing session before coming here for the game. There’s nothing else we can do but move forward. Focus on the next game, focus on the next ball, and be more specific about what we need to do inside the court.”

Cignal takes on Savouge, which leads the race to the final with a 2-0 card, tied with Japan’s Kindai University, on Monday at the same venue at 3 p.m.

UST slid to 0-2 with GBoy De Vega being the lone bright spot with 15 points and 18 receptions.

The Golden Spikers eye their first win against Kindai University also on Monday at 1 p.m.

MANILA, Philippines—Karl Eldrew Yulo had a bit of a mishap during the all-around final in the 2025 Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships.

Yulo, who finished in eighth place with 78.731 points in the all-around event, told reporters that he hurt his ankle during his vault routine, where he tallied 13.466 points.

READ: Karl Eldrew Yulo eyes full-time focus on gymnastics

“It just started to hurt when I started jumping. In my triple twist during the vault, I took a dip landing,” he said, after begging off answering questions for a few minutes to ice his ankle.

“It still hurts a bit but we’re Filipinos, if the fight’s not over, we’ll keep going. We do what we can, but I’m safe. Kayang kaya.”

Yulo said he may take his routine a notch lower as a “safety” precaution for his injured right ankle, but he remains determined as ever to take home a medal.

“There won’t be much difference but I’ll clean my routines to achieve a silver, bronze, or whatever else,” he said.

The younger Yulo is set to compete in the individual floor exercise final on Sunday. He tallied the second-best scoring output in the same event with 14.300 points in the all-around.

He will also be competing in both the horizontal bar and the vault finals on Monday, all at the same venue.

MANILA, Philippines–La Salle came back to repeat over defending champion University of the Philippines, 87-82, to keep an inside track at one of the two remaining Final Four berths in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Jacob Cortez shrugged off an awful shooting affair by hitting two crucial shots in the fourth quarter while Earl Abadam also came through with a pair of baskets that enabled the Green Archers to complete their comeback victory before a crowd of over 10,000.

La Salle snapped a three-game skid and improved to 7-6 with a game left against archrival Ateneo on Wednesday.

The Green Archers also kept their separation from two teams holding identical 6-7 slates in Adamson and Far Eastern University, which earlier in the day prevailed over University of the East, and 5-7 Ateneo going into the aforementioned rivalry game.

Mike Phillips came through with 21 points and 14 rebounds, Vhoris Marasigan dropped 17 while Abadam and Cortez added 14 apiece for the Green Archers.

UP finished the eliminations at 10-4, but is already assured of a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four.

The Fighting Maroons, however, will go to the semis as the No. 2 seed as the loss assured the National University Bulldogs (11-2) of the best record in the league.

Rey Remogat scored 25 points for UP in the defeat that came after leading by a high of 16.

Andrea Brillantes is committed to becoming a parent to the baby of her best friend and content creator Bea Borres, saying she considers herself as the “dad” of Baby Pea.

“Iiyak ako talaga (I’m really going to cry). If only I can live on the same roof as her so I can be there talaga but I’m going to cry for sure,” Brillantes said when asked how she would react when Borres gives birth.

As Borres is approaching the final stretch of her pregnancy, she has been the content creator’s source of support. 

“Para talaga kaming mag-jowa (It seems like we’re partners) but I’m committed to her,” the actress said of their friendship while giggling. “It’s a relationship. We’re sisters. Kulang na lang, may vows na kami [para] sa isa’t isa (What’s missing is the vows we have for each other).”

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Brillantes also pointed out that Borres’ high-risk pregnancy is one of the reasons why she wants to stay by her best friend’s side all throughout. After all, she believes that this is what friends do. 

“She is my best friend. We’re sisters. We’re more than best friends. She really needs all the support she can get right now, especially with her having a high-risk pregnancy. I know that it means the world to her that people are there for her and Baby Pea,” she said.

“Gan’un ako magmahal as a friend. Tingin ko dapat lahat ng kaibigan, gan’un magmahal. Hindi sila [dapat] mawala kahit may pinagdadaanan (That’s how I love as a friend. I believe that all friends should love like this. They shouldn’t leave each other even if they’re going through something),” she continued.

Not yet her peak

After being revealed as the Tanduay calendar girl for 2026, Brillantes was also announced as the first Filipina ambassador of US fashion brand Guess. With a lot of milestones under her belt, she believes that she hasn’t hit her peak.

“I don’t wanna claim that I’ve hit my peak, I don’t want to think about that. I just want to enjoy my craft to give back to the people. I’m just here to work, have fun, and receive the blessings that I’m receiving,” she said.

The actress said she wants to achieve more milestones, which is why she doesn’t want to state that she is already at her peak. “Nakakatakot na sabihin na peak ko, hindi ko cine-claim ‘yun.” 

“Pero kung ‘yun ang iniisip ng iba, thank you. Pero hindi pa [ito ang peak ko],” she continued. “Marami pa akong gustong gawin. Marami pa akong goals na gusto kong ma-achieve.”

(It’s scary to say that I have already hit my peak. I don’t want to claim that. But if that’s what people believe, then thank you. But this is not my peak yet. I still want to do a lot of things. I still have a lot of goals I want to achieve.)

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Staying on the topic, Brillantes said she doesn’t want to rely on the concept of the “evil eye,” meaning that she chooses to keep her goals for the sake of it — and not just because of a divine belief.

“Hindi ako masyado nagpapadala sa [evil eye] because I know I’m divinely protected. Malakas ang faith ko in God. Siya ang protector ko sa kahit sinong basher or evil eye. Hindi ko lang siya shine-share kasi gan’un ko ka-protektahan ang goals ko and siguro pride ko na rin,” she said.

(I don’t want to get swept by the evil eye because I know I’m divinely protected. I have a strong faith in God. He is my protector from any basher or evil eye. I just don’t share my goals because I’m really protective of them and maybe it’s because of my pride as well.)

The actress is part of the cast of “Rekonek,” an entry to the 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival.