Category: Philippine Star

Clyde Mondilla is back in the winner’s circle, and he intends to make the most of his return.

Fresh from ending a two-year title drought with a hard-earned victory at South Pacific Golf Club, Mondilla heads to the final leg of the Philippine Golf Tour at Apo Golf and Country Club starting Tuesday, October 27, with renewed confidence, a sharper game and ambitions that extend well beyond the local circuit.

His South Pacific triumph was more than just a long-awaited return to the winner’s column. It was a test of nerve against a five-man chase, a demonstration of his ability to deliver under pressure and, perhaps most importantly, a timely reminder that he remains a force to reckon with as he sets his sights on bigger international challenges.

For Mondilla, the victory has already delivered its biggest immediate reward: the confidence to compete and win again.

‘Winning this tournament means a lot to me because I’m back in the winner’s circle, and my confidence has gone up,’ said Mondilla in Filipino, who ended his title drought the hard way, holding off a crowded field of challengers in a gripping final-round battle on Friday.

The 32-year-old Del Monte ace showed precisely why the breakthrough could prove pivotal. With Sean Ramos matching him shot for shot and Angelo Que, Keanu Jahns and Korean Lee Song lurking in the chase, Mondilla kept his composure when the pressure peaked.

He then birdied two of the final four holes to break away from Ramos and seal a two-shot victory, turning a tense, tightly contested finish into a statement win.

It was the kind of closing stretch that could serve him well at Apo, where the Tour’s season-ending test will demand both precision and sound decision-making.

Having survived the pressure cooker at South Pacific, Mondilla believes he is ready for another demanding week.

Reflecting on how he handled the closing stretch, he said he was pleased with his composure and was eager to carry that momentum into the next event.

‘I handled the pressure pretty well, so I think I’m ready for another tournament next week at Apo,’ he said.

Mondilla missed last year’s Apo Golf Classic, where Fidel Concepcion broke through for his maiden PGT victory in a playoff against Korean Jaehyun Jung. But the Apo layout is hardly unfamiliar territory for the former Philippine Open champion, who has played the course several times throughout his career.

His previous campaign there, however, yielded little to celebrate, as he finished tied for 25th in the 2024 edition.

This time, he arrives with a different mindset and a timely boost in form after rediscovering the winning touch that once made him one of the Tour’s most formidable players.

Mondilla dominated four legs of the PGT in 2017 to claim the Order of Merit crown and captured the Philippine Open title in 2019. His latest victory suggests that the seasoned campaigner, long regarded as one of the Tour’s longest hitters, may once again be ready to contend consistently.

The turnaround, he explained, has come through hard work and a renewed commitment to the finer points of his game.

After stepping away from the rigors of competition for a period and spending time tending to farm work at home, Mondilla buckled down to serious practice, making key adjustments to his iron and wedge play. Those refinements have helped him complement his length off the tee with the precision needed to close out tournaments.

But his comeback has not been a solo effort. Behind the renewed focus and improved form is a family that has continued to push him forward, along with a close friend who helped him rediscover his passion for the game.

Mondilla was quick to acknowledge the people who stood by him and encouraged him to work his way back.

‘May has been pushing me to practice and make up for lost ground. My two daughters are my inspiration, as are my mother and father,’ he said, referring to his wife, May, and their children. ‘I also have my friend PJ Dela Torre, with whom I share a deep bond. He was one of the people who helped bring me back to the game.’

The challenge at Apo, however, is unlikely to offer much breathing room. Ramos, Jahns, Que and Song are expected to remain among the leading threats, eager to make amends after coming up short at South Pacific and prevent Mondilla from building further momentum.

The course itself presents another formidable obstacle. Apo’s risk-and-reward character places a premium on disciplined course management, accurate iron play, a dependable short game and steady putting. Power can create opportunities, but poor decisions can quickly erase any advantage.

For Mondilla, the formula for sustaining his resurgence is straightforward: keep practicing, but never lose sight of the enjoyment that makes the game worthwhile.

He stressed that relentless effort alone is not enough if a player loses the pleasure of competing.

‘Just keep practicing, and, most importantly, enjoy the game,’ he said. ‘You can keep trying and working hard, but if you’re not enjoying golf, it won’t do you any good. You have to enjoy being out on the course, enjoy playing and appreciate the game. That’s what matters. When you do that, winning becomes easier.’

And while another title at Apo would be a fitting follow-up to his South Pacific breakthrough, Mondilla is looking beyond the immediate prize. He hopes to use his renewed form as a springboard toward the country’s premier championship and, eventually, a shot at establishing himself on the Asian Tour.

Looking ahead to the bigger tests on his calendar, he said the victory had given his preparations a significant lift.

‘This win is a big boost to my preparations for the Philippine Open in November, and eventually, I want to compete in the Asian Tour Q-School,’ he said.

For now, though, the focus is firmly on Apo.

The three most expensive words at a government counter are ‘still being processed.’

Anyone who has tried to open a small business in this country has heard them. Picture a young owner opening a coffee shop. The lease is signed. The espresso machine is paid for. Every requirement has been submitted. But the permit is still being processed. One week passes, then three. A fixer mentions there is a faster way.

An inspector finds a violation that was not there yesterday and offers to make it go away. A shipment sits at the port until the right envelope moves it.

The country has spent more than a year learning what wholesale corruption looks like: budget insertions, billions vanishing into flood control projects that exist only on paper. It makes headlines, fills Senate hearings and ends up before the Sandiganbayan. Ordinary Filipinos feel it when the water rises.

What happens at the counter is retail corruption. Small amounts, paid quietly, every day, by people who only want to get to work. None of it ever makes the news.

It is easy to treat this as petty. It is not.

Micro, small and medium enterprises make up 99.6 percent of all registered businesses in the Philippines and account for about two-thirds of the jobs those businesses provide. These are the businesses that meet the counter most often, and the ones least able to afford what it charges.

For a conglomerate, a P20,000 ‘facilitation fee’ is a rounding error. For a café that has not sold its first cup, it is a months rent. And every week a permit sits on a desk is a week of rent paid, wages owed and revenue that never comes.

Call it lagay or padulas. It is a tax in everything but name. No one voted for it. No one gets a receipt. Nothing public is ever built with it.

The cost does not stay at the counter. Investors notice.

Last year, a record $244 billion in foreign direct investment flowed into Southeast Asia, according to the United Nations. The Philippines, home to the region’s second-largest population, drew $9 billion of it.

Less than four cents of every dollar.

The region’s total grew. Ours shrank. Vietnam and Indonesia each drew more than twice as much.

Corruption is not the only reason. But investors price risk, and few risks are harder to price than not knowing what a permit will really cost, or how long it will take.

Retail corruption runs on two things: discretion and delay.

Discretion is the power to say yes, no or not yet. Delay is what turns ‘not yet’ into leverage. An official does not need to demand anything out loud. It is enough to sit on a file until someone understands what will move it.

Then there is silence. A business owner asked for a bribe has few good options. Pay, and the problem goes away. This time. Complain, and the complaint may land with the same office, sometimes the same desk, that will process the next permit, and the one after that.

Most people do the math. They pay, or they give up. Some never open the business at all.

Little of it is ever reported. Not because it does not happen, but because reporting it has always cost more than paying it.

The good news is that this is one of the most solvable problems an economy can have. Fixing it does not take a decade, the way a new port or power grid does. Lift that tax off the counter, and the money stays with the people building something.

So why has it lasted? Partly because it hides so well. Wholesale cases are big enough to see and follow. Retail corruption is scattered across thousands of counters, in amounts too small to make a headline.

The Office of the Ombudsman is now setting up something built for retail: an Investment Ombudsman. Anyone with money in a business, from a sari-sari store to a foreign-owned factory, will have one place to report an official who demands a bribe, sits on a permit or abuses regulatory power. And they can expect someone to act.

Acting is the part that matters. Other agencies can shorten a deadline or cut a requirement, and that work is valuable. The ombudsman can go after the official: investigate, prosecute, suspend, dismiss. A complaint that can end a career changes the math at the counter.

Catching people is only half the job. Every bribe needs a point where one person’s say-so decides the outcome: a duplicate requirement, an overlapping clearance, a step that exists mainly so someone can stand in the middle of it. Remove those points, and there is nothing left to sell. A regulatory summit planned for early 2027 is meant to find them.

Regulators will not find them all on their own. The people who know where the counter hurts are the ones standing in front of it. So the Investment Ombudsman will be shaped with the business sector, not just for it. That conversation will reach past the big chambers to the micro and small enterprises rarely invited to these tables. They know where the toll gates are. The job is to build something they trust enough to use.

It can work. South Korea set up an investment ombudsman in 1999, the same year the Philippines first tried, and still runs it today as a model other countries study.

Somewhere today, a coffee shop is still waiting on its permit. The lease is signed. The machine is paid for. The owner has not walked away.

This country has never been short of people willing to build. The work now is to stop charging them for it.

Amid a grim economic environment, the Philippines’ oldest conglomerate, Ayala Corp. (AC), still manages to create excitement across significant sectors of business.

Ayala’s partner for more than half a century, giant Mitsubishi of Japan, is pouring $700 million in equity into the conglomerate. That’s P44 billion of almost free cash. Ayala’s payments app, Mynt’s GCash, has just raised about P61 billion for the stock market following the biggest-ever Philippine IPO.

The Mitsubishi and GCash initiatives, which instantly raised over P100 billion in just a few days, are a colossal vote of confidence by investors, local and foreign, in Ayala, in its businesses, in the country and in the Filipino. There is more.

Ayala has quietly and slowly invested heavily in sectors and businesses that will define the life and lifestyle of the Filipino, brighten his future and strengthen his country for the balance of the 21st century.

The businesses have a name – social infrastructure. It’s caring for people. Alagang Ayala.

Social infra encompasses anything and everything that will uplift the Filipino spirit – education, health, sustainability, building communities. These are also the ingredients of why countries prosper.

AC chair Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (JAZA) explains ‘Alagang Ayala:’ ‘If you look at how countries move forward, there are three basic pillars. No. 1 is education for the future. No. 2 is making sure citizens are healthy. No. 3 is ensuring that they earn an income.’ Three basic things make the Filipino complete – quality education, strong health, a decent income. They are also the ingredients that make a democracy like the Philippines vibrant, dynamic, sustainable and future-proof.

An educated Filipino chooses the right leaders (no corrupt, dynastic tradpols). He chooses good over evil. He has moral mooring. A healthy Filipino makes himself productive and extends his life expectancy. A decent income ensures access to both good education and good health. Such people make a solid foundation for a nation’s social infrastructure.

When a conglomerate like Ayala focuses on social infrastructure, it makes itself a nation builder. It makes itself last longer. No wonder Ayala is the oldest conglomerate. Its heritage and track record of 192 years are unrivaled.

The best capital of a corporate colossus like Ayala is not money. It is people. Good people. Professional people. Ayala has lasted for nearly 200 years mainly because of two things – one, the good genes of its founders, transmitted through more than six generations; and two, the unmatched, enviable professionalism of its management team, many of whose key players are non-relatives. Strong professionals make for good governance.

‘Investors do not invest merely in balance sheets,’ said Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Francis Lim when he addressed the Ayala Group Sept. 10, 2026. ‘Capital flows where investors have confidence that information is reliable, boards are accountable, minority shareholders are treated fairly and management acts in the long-term interests of the company – not simply in the interest of a few,’ Lim added. ‘This is why good governance is not an administrative burden.’

JAZA invited Wharton-educated whiz kid Paolo Borromeo, 49, in 2012 to join Ayala as head of corporate strategy and development. Paolo started in professional management and consulting fresh out of UPenn.

JAZA gave Paolo a platform on which he could execute his vision and where the conglomerate’s reach and resources could help fill the gap in the country’s social infrastructure – starting with health care, a womb-to-tomb business. At the same time, Paolo moved into education.

‘I looked at the Ayala businesses,’ recalls Borromeo. ‘You can grow land. You can grow banking. You can grow telecoms. But it is far different when you invest in health and education. You are able to help a lot more people. You are investing in people.’

It so happens that investing in people is also a basic philosophy of JAZA. The Harvard-educated Ayala chair is also strong on innovation.

In less than a decade, with Borromeo’s firm stewardship, Ayala has invested over P20 billion in health care and education. ‘Social infrastructure is the infrastructure that builds people and that, in turn, leads to a stronger and more prosperous nation,’ stresses the CEO of the Ayala Group’s social infra business.

Ayala’s AC Health has touched or helped or healed 6.5 million Filipinos through its seven hospitals, 18 multi-specialty centers, more than 350 clinics and nearly 900 drug stores under the Generika Drugstore and St. Joseph Drug brands. The group also has a line of pharmaceuticals.

Ayala’s education thrust is carried out through its iPeople – a joint venture with the Yuchengco group. The education network includes quality colleges and universities like Mapua University, Mapua Malayan Colleges, National Teachers College, APEC Schools and the University of Nueva Caceres.

Ayala’s Centex programs enhance quality basic education. The pilot Zambales Centex Digital Education has improved the quality of education of 1,600 pupils in Grades 4 to 6 in nine public elementary schools. After three months of tutoring, the average math scores of pupils leaped to 56 percent, from 27 percent, a doubling. DepEd is so enthused with the program it is being expanded to cover 22,500 pupils in 60 schools in Zambales alone.

‘Centex really is about training teachers, investing in their own up-skilling, investing in, you know, the classrooms and the learning laboratories, technology, laptops, you know, some of the basic things,’ Paolo relates, ‘but it’s working with the DepEd and it’s working with the local government units to try to upgrade those systems.’

In San Marcelino, Zambales, Paolo says, ‘we’ve been very, very encouraged about the results, a real uptick in the learning capability of students, especially in those schools where we’ve deployed Centex.’

Ayala Foundation helps communities create jobs and livelihoods.

Ayala has become No. 1 in electric vehicle mobility. It gave up its Honda franchise in favor of BYD, the world’s largest EV maker.

Ayala is expanding its renewable energy footprint. It has now seven gigawatts of RE.

The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are bracing for a tough matchup with ‘championship-caliber’ Converge FiberXers in the quarterfinals.

Rain or Shine set the best-of-five quarterfinal date with Converge after a dominant 133-103 victory over the Phoenix Fuel Masters Friday evening.

After the game, Elasto Painters head coach Yeng Guiao said that the FiberXers is a tough draw in the playoffs.

‘Ito, Converge sa kalaban namin, ang lineup nito pang championship. Ang kulang lang sa kanila siguro yung experience lang at konting gelling pa. Pero napaka-balanse ng lineup nila. May height sila, may speed sila, may shooting sila,’ he said.

‘Tingin ko lately ang ganda ng kinikilos nila. Mukhang nasa-solve nila yung problema nila dati na medyo basag pa yung teamwork nila. Pero ngayon makikita mo buong-buo na yung team na yun,’ he added.

Converge is heading to the quarterfinal round with a five-game winning streak.

‘Mas marami silang experience ngayon e, at naka-gel na yung team nila. Marami na silang natutunan, kasi nung medyo bago-bago pa sila naninibago pa. Pero ngayon, tingin ko, nakakapa na nila yung laro sa PBA,’ Guiao said.

‘Materyales naman, wala kang hahanapin. Ando na lahat yung materialis nila. Kaya mas mabigat sila ngayon.’

Rain or Shine previously faced Converge in the quarterfinals back in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup. There, the Elasto Painters came from being down 0-1 in the best-of-three playoff round.

But now, heading to the quarterfinals with a win, Guiao stressed that they aimed for building habits going to the playoffs.

‘Before yung laro, ang bilhin ko lang sa mga players sa team namin. Mas maganda kung mananalo tayo, pasok tayo ng quarterfinals ng playoffs on a winning note. So that would be a good starting point for us,’ he said.

‘Tapos building habits lang. Gusto namin yung mentality namin pang playoff mentality na. Yung effort namin, playoff effort na. So pinu-push ko talaga yung mga bata na isipin nila parang playoff na ito. Parang mental and physical preparation na rin namin para sa playoff.’

Rain or Shine will be taking on Converge in Game 1 on Tuesday, 5:15 p.m., at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

‘I love the country more than the city,’ DJ, our grandchild #1, happily shared after returning to Tsukuba City from Tokyo.

He and brother Aaron especially love the Hebiyama Koen (the Snake Park) where they love looking out for various insects. They also love Matsushiro Koen where a pond hosts several ducks and geese. They have more choices of parks that abound in the neighborhood.

Every residential community here is required to have a public park!

The parks, where children can run free, boast of wide space, trees/plants/ flowers/kids’ play area/ adult sports facilities/clean public toilets, among others.

These numerous parks and schools have also been designated as disaster evacuation centers.

Yes, Tsukuba City is proud of its fresh air/green environment and nearby Mt. Tsukuba to the north, Lake Kasumigaura, Japan’s second-largest lake, to the east, among numerous beautiful spots to visit.

Gratefully, providentially, I was assigned to pursue my scholarship granted by the Japanese Ministry of Education (referred to as Monbusho then) from 1977-1983 at the University of Tsukuba.

In mid-70s, Tsukuba was still considered inaka (probinsiya, countryside, rural).

As my research topic focused on agrarian reform, I was assigned to Tsukuba University situated in an agricultural town/village then called Sakura-mura (the village of cherry blossoms).

There were silk and other farms within the university.

A number of our cleaning women who were owners of farms chose to do this part-time work which they clearly did not do for cash but for the opportunity to have alternative work aside from farming!

Then, one had to take a train from Ueno Station in Tokyo and commute to Tsuchiura Station in Ibaraki Prefecture via Japan Railway Joban Line.

Foreign scholars used to call this line as ‘Jodan’ Line instead, ‘jodan’ meaning joke, since the Joban trains then were old, even smelly, not so clean, so far from the image of Japanese modern fast trains!

From Tsuchiura, one reached the University of Tsukuba by bus or by taxi.

Scholars like me could only afford the bus so we had to make sure to catch the bus on time for going to Tsukuba University and returning to Tsuchiura Station!

Unlike many Japanese cities that grew naturally, Tsukuba is unique because the city was a result of a carefully-planned project ‘built as a flagship of Japanese technology and education.’

In 1963, the Japanese Cabinet approved the plan to build Tsukuba Science City to decongest Tokyo’s overcrowding and create a new research and education center.

From 1970, the Tsukuba Science City Construction Act started to be enforced, providing the legal framework for this massive project.

In 1972, the National Institute for Research in Inorganic Materials was the first research institution to move to the new city. In 1973, the University of Tsukuba was founded.

By 1980, most of the planned 43 national research and educational institutions were completed and became operational.

In 1985, Tsukuba gained global recognition by hosting the World Expo ’85 themed “Dwellings and Surroundings – Science and Technology for Man at Home” with over 20 million visitors!

In November 30, 1987, Tsukuba City was officially formed through the merger of neighboring towns and villages.

By 2001, national research institutes were reorganized into independent administrative institutions, giving a new impetus to their development.

By 2005, the Tsukuba Express railways provided high-speed connection to Tokyo (45 minutes by rapid train) which significantly improved the city’s transport accessibility which attracted tourists, researchers, students, more visitors.

Tsukuba City’s population growth rate ranked first among cities nationwide as of January 1, 2025 with its proportion of foreign residents notably high compared to Japan’s national average.

Truly, Tsukuba City is where ‘everyone can co-exist, live, comfortably, humanely together, regardless of diversity (nationality, age, gender, culture, religion, education, health/disability, more) and amidst protected, green nature/environment.

You’ve gotten comfortable booking rides, paying for coffee and ordering meals with a few taps. Did you know that opening a bank account is now just as easy?

With your driver’s license, you’re not just ready to hit the road-you’re also ready to open a BDO Basic Account in minutes. Using the BDO Pay app, you can open your first account with BDO right from your smartphone with no required initial deposit, no maintaining balance, and no lengthy forms.

BDO Pay processes Basic Account applications digitally from start to finish. With just one valid ID and a few basic details, you can open your account in minutes and start banking right away. No driver’s license? No problem, as you can also use your passport.

Banking that adapts to everyday life

For young professionals balancing work and daily errands, banking is now faster and more seamless. BDO Pay lets you set up your Basic Account with these easy and simple steps:

Download the BDO Pay app and tap ‘Open a Basic Account.’

Have your driver’s license ready for identity verification.

Scan your ID and take a selfie.

Enter your details and submit your application. Once approved, your account is ready to use.

When your Basic Account is linked to BDO Pay, you can easily manage everyday expenses in one app.

Scan any QRPh code to pay directly from your BDO account or debit card, send money to other e-wallets or banks for free, and pay bills to over 2,200 billers with no fees. You can also request money, split bills with friends and enjoy exclusive BDO deals and rewards in the app.

You can also request a physical card for free withdrawals at BDO ATMs.

Fast access you can trust and be rewarded for

For a generation that values time as much as money, BDO’s Basic Account can be your starter account for cashless payments. Enjoy secure and easy access to your funds through over 5,000 BDO ATMs and Cash Deposit Machines nationwide, with reliable banking support whenever you need it.

With BDO Pay, everyday payments are made even more rewarding. UntilJanuary 31, 2027, existing users can earn P100 cash credits for every successful referral.

Your friend also gets P50 cash in credits when they sign up using your referral code. Simply open the BDO Pay app, tap More, select Refer a Friend, and share your referral code. Users can receive up to P1,000 in cash incentives during the promo period.

Let banking keep pace with your lifestyle.

Korean stars Song Hye-kyo and Gong Ji-cheol, better known as Gong Yoo, lead the cast of “Tantara,” an upcoming K-drama revolving around individuals chasing the limelight.

The two actors play childhood friends Min-ja and Dong-gu. Hye-kyo’s Min-ja enters the music business after growing up in poverty and taking on any job she could get.

The pair make the jump from working as nightclub staff to becoming rookie talent managers, with Gong’s Dong-gu defending Min-ja at every turn and helping her achieve her dreams.

Joining them are Min-hui (Kim Seol-hyun), whose captivating voice convinces them to sign her as their first artist, and Cha Seung-won as Seok Gil-yeo, a top hitmaker of the era who can turn rookie singers into stars.

Completing the main cast are Honey Lee, who was third runner-up at Miss Universe 2007 before becoming an actress, and veteran actress Na Moon-hee.

“Coffee Prince” director Lee Yoon-jung helms the project – her first in four years – which is set in the Korean entertainment industry from the 1960s to the 1980s. The script is by “Our Blues,” “It’s Okay, That’s Love” and “Padam Padam” screenwriter Noh Hee-kyung.

This marks a reunion for Hye-kyo, Seung-won and Moon-hee with Noh.

Hye-kyo previously starred in Noh’s “Worlds Within” and “That Winter, the Wind Blows.” Seung-won appeared in “Our Blues,” while Moon-hee was in “Padam Padam.”

Among Hye-kyo’s best-known dramas are “Descendants of the Sun,” “The Glory,” “Encounter” and “Full House.”

Gong broke out in “Coffee Prince” before going on to star in “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God,” also known as “Goblin,” and “Train to Busan.” He also appeared in “Squid Game.”

Seolhyun, a former member of girl group AOA, last appeared in “Light Shop,” while Seung-won was last seen in “The Tyrant” and “No Other Choice.”

“Tantara” premieres globally on Netflix on December 11.

Some of Arthur Nery’s biggest fans got up close and personal with the local singer-songwriter as he headlined the Philippines’ first-ever Spotify 360 experience.

The audio streaming platform invited Premium subscribers identified as Nery’s superfans based on their listening data to New Clark City on October 22 to celebrate his continued run as Spotify’s most-streamed Filipino male soloist.

Since joining RADAR Philippines in 2020, Nery’s listenership on Spotify has grown 13 times in six years, while his music has surpassed 2.8 billion streams.

Nery took over the center of the New Clark City Athletics Stadium accompanied by his band, a live string section and a choir to perform his hit tracks “Na Naman,” “Binhi,” “Pagsamo,” “Isa Lang” and “Take All The Love.”

Fellow local singer Jolianne surprised fans by joining Nery for a special performance of their collaboration “Palayo sa Mundo.”

According to Spotify, “Isa Lang” is among the three most-streamed songs in the Philippines, while the line “Take all the love that I give” is Nery’s most-shared lyric among users on the platform.

Team Falcons PH became the first Philippine representative to qualify for the M8 World Championship after surviving a reverse-sweep scare from Aurora Gaming PH, 3-2, in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines Season 18 upper bracket finals Friday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

The victory also sent the Green Falcons to the Season 18 Grand Finals and kept alive the organization’s bid for a maiden MPL Philippines title after settling for runner-up honors last season.

After Aurora seized a 2-1 series lead, Falcons responded with back-to-back wins, highlighted by a stunning comeback from a 13,000-gold deficit in Game 4 before cruising to a dominant 17-3 victory in the deciding fifth game.

Kyle “KyleTzy” Sayson led the charge for Falcons, delivering a 3-2-7 KDA on Nolan in Game 4 before exploding for a 9-1-7 performance on Hirara in the clincher. Veteran midlaner Salic “Hadji” Imam also played a key role, posting a combined 7-2-17 KDA across the final two games.

While Team Falcons booked their return to the M-Series stage, ONIC Philippines saw its campaign come to an end after a 3-0 sweep at the hands of defending champion Team Liquid Philippines in the lower bracket semifinals.

Bouncing back from their upper bracket defeat at the hands of Aurora Gaming PH, Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno powered the Cavalry throughout the series, helping Team Liquid dominate the map and secure every major objective across the three games. Gold laner Dave “Teddy” Viaña likewise shone with deathless performances in the first two games as the defending champions dispatched ONIC, 9-4, 8-3 and 8-2.

Alamat Awards honor Season 18 top performers

Away from the competition, MPL Philippines also handed out its annual Alamat Awards, recognizing the season’s top performers.

Aurora’s Jan “Domeng” Delmundo was named Most Improved Player of the Season, while teammate Nathanael “Nathzz” Estrologo took home the Comeback Player of the Season award. OMG’s Wilburt “Cull” Salinda was hailed as the Rising Star of the Season, while content creator Ben “Benthings” Maglaque earned Esports KOL of the Season honors. Team Liquid Philippines’ fan group, The Cavalry, was also recognized as Fans Club of the Season.

ONIC, which topped the regular season standings, dominated the Smart Fans’ Choice All-Stars ballot with its entire starting lineup making up the fan-selected squad. The league’s All-Star Team 2 featured Delmundo alongside Team Falcons quartet Sayson, Imam, David “Flap” Canon and Rowgien “Owgwen” Unigo.

The Infinix All-Star Team 1, meanwhile, was bannered by Team Falcons gold laner Marco “Super Marco” Requitiano and Team Liquid’s Nepomuceno, Sanford “Sanford” Vinuya, Alston “Sanji” Pabico and Jaypee “Jaypee” Dela Cruz.

Team Falcons coaches Francis “Ducky” Glindro, Mohammad “Moody” Samaland and Vrendon “Vren” Pesebre were named Coaching Team of the Season after steering the Green Falcons to another Grand Finals appearance, while Team Liquid’s Dela Cruz capped off the awards ceremony by claiming the Regular Season MVP award.

With Falcons already securing the Philippines’ first ticket to M8, the spotlight now shifts to Aurora Gaming PH and Team Liquid PH, which collide in the lower bracket finals Saturday. The best-of-seven showdown, scheduled for 5 p.m., will determine the country’s second representative to the M8 World Championship and Team Falcons’ opponent in the Season 18 Grand Finals.

Alex Eala faces another upset-savvy opponent in Mika Stojsavljecic of Great Britain in Round 1 of the WTA500 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan.

Ranked No. 308 in the world, the 17-year-old British is slated to become the lowest-ranked rival of Eala in a banner campaign this year marked by a meteoric rise to the WTA Top 20.

But that should serve as enough warning for the 21-year-old Eala, who absorbed a bevy of upsets against lower-ranked foes in the past month.

Stojsavljecic is also a wildcard in the tourney.

Eala, for her part, came off a 7-5, 6-4 loss to World No. 13 Diana Shnaider of Russia to miss out on a quarterfinal seat in the WTA500 Ningbo Open over the weekend.

That was Eala’s first loss against a higher-ranked adversary after a Round of 16 finish in the WTA500 Singapore Open as the No. 3 seed with a stunner against No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova of Russia and a Round 1 exit as the No. 13 seed in the WTA1000 Wuhan Open with a loss to No. 217 Han Shi of China.

As the No. 1 seed in the 20th Asian Games, Eala also fell to the No. 85 Xiyu Wang of China to waste her best shot at gold without the top guns in the continental tourney for another bronze medal like in her Hangzhou debut.