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Marcos hails Eala for unifying nation

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MUSTWATCH Poland’s Iga Swiatek (left) and the Philippines’ Alexandra “Alex” Eala go all out in the women’s singles third round tennis match at Wimbledon on Saturday. —AFP

MUST WATCH Women’s Wimbledon champion and world No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland (left) and  Philippines’ Alexandra “Alex” Eala (currently No. 29 in the world) go all out in the women’s singles third-round tennis match at Wimbledon on Saturday. —Agence France-Presse

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos heaped lavish praise on tennis superstar Alexandra “Alex” Eala following her historic win at Wimbledon Centre Court on Saturday night (Manila time), calling her victory a force that united a country greatly divided by politics.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson also expressed a similar sentiment in a social media post on Sunday morning in which he described Eala as a “unifier of a deeply divided nation.”

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Marcos was ecstatic over the 21-year-old tennis phenom’s win, making not one, but two fist pumps, as he shared the news with reporters at the conclusion of his official visit to Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday.

READ: Tennis legend Bllie Jean King praises ‘inspiration’ Alex Eala

He also praised Eala for being an inspiration to young people for becoming the first Filipino to advance to the fourth round of the prestigious Grand Slam tournament.

World-class performance

“She really is becoming a true inspiration especially for younger people, younger Filipinos,” the President said.

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He congratulated Eala for her “world-class” and “terrific” performance at Wimbledon, adding, “She’s just getting started. Our young athlete still has much more to achieve.”

READ: Alex Eala a ‘unifier of a deeply divided nation’ – Lacson

The 29th-ranked Eala stunned defending Wimbledon champion and world No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland, 7-6(9), 6-2, in their third-round match.

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Her next foe is 13th-seeded Jasmine Paolini whom she needs to defeat to secure a spot in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. The Italian tennis player was the 2024 Wimbledon runner-up.

Marcos had more to say about Eala in his official social media accounts, praising her for bridging divisions across the country.

“There are days when an entire nation celebrates together. Today is one of those days,” he said.

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“Thank you for showing young Filipinos that they, too, can dream big and reach the world’s biggest stage,” he added.

The President also expressed support for Eala on behalf of all Filipinos, saying the entire nation continues to rally behind her as she competes and brings honor and recognition to the Philippines on the international stage.

“Keep it up. We’ll all be here. The whole Filipino nation is cheering you on,” Mr. Marcos said.

“We know that you are fighting, making us proud, and bringing luster and honor to the Philippines,” he added.

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‘Detoxifier’

Lacson also expressed his gratitude to Eala whom he called the “detoxifier that our country’s highly toxic atmosphere needs and an influential unifier of a deeply divided nation.”

“Thank you Alex Eala for lifting the Filipino spirit. God bless you and the Philippines,” he said on X (formerly Twitter).

Lacson previously hailed Eala when she took down Maya Joint from Australia during the second round, describing the Filipino athlete as having an “indomitable spirit” that makes “every Filipino proud.”

As she continues to make history, Eala said every milestone is dedicated to her younger self and to the Philippines.

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“It’s incredible to have my countrymen cheering me on, and knowing that, you know, we’re all in this together. So this goes out to them, this goes out to my family, this goes out to all of the little girls with ruffled socks and chubby cheeks. It means the world,” she said. /cb

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Kevin Owens makes emotional return at WWE SummerSlam after serious neck injury

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Kevin Owens still has plenty of fight left in him. Seventeen months after a neck injury that nearly cost him his professional wrestling career, Owens made an emphatic return at Night 2 of 2026 WWE SummerSlam on Sunday.

The show began with what had been advertised as a match between Finn Balor and Sami Zayn for a No. 1 Contendership to the Undisputed WWE Championship, currently held by CM Punk. Nick Aldis, recently reinstated as SmackDown general manager, had other plans. Moments before the match started, Aldis added Gunther and a returning Owens to the match.

The Minneapolis crowd welcomed Owens back with a roar of excitement and a sigh of relief. After all, there was once a concern that Owens would never wrestle again. He had not performed since beating Zayn in a physically grueling unsanctioned match at WWE Elimination Chamber on March 3, 2025. Owens was preparing for an encounter with Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42 that never materialized. On April 4, he revealed that he’d been dealing with nagging neck and spinal cord injuries that required surgery.

“The pain in the neck, the stuff going down the arms, the legs not really responding, it’s all been happening,” Owens told Cody Rhodes two months later on the “What Do You Wanna Talk About?” podcast. “It’s been pretty f—ing brutal. I can’t wait for the surgery. And then to move forward, whatever that looks like — but it’s been very frustrating.” 

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If not for selling his neck injury during the match, you wouldn’t know his career had nearly ended. Owens crushed his three foes with a swanton bomb to the floor, planted Balor with a fisherman’s buster and even took some decent bumps. Perhaps the most touching moment of their short match was when Owens and Zayn — best friends for decades who started their professional wrestling careers together — embraced before throwing punches. 

Owens scored the pinfall after planting Zayn with a stunner. The win immediately thrusts him back into SmackDown’s main event scene, putting him on a collision course with Punk for the Undisputed WWE Championship.

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Spooky in Love – When will episodes 7-8 release and what to expect

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Spooky in Love episodes 7 and 8 will air on Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9, 2026, respectively, at 9:10 pm KST on tvN. The episodes will be available on Netflix a few hours after the Korean broadcast. It has a total of 12 episodes.

The lead cast features Park Eun-bin as Cheon Yeo-ri, Yang Se-jong as Ma Gang-uk, and Ong Seong-wu as Kang Min-hwan.


What to expect in Spooky in Love episodes 7 and 8?

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The preview for Spooky in Love episodes 7 and 8 opens in the aftermath of the sudden engagement announcement between Yeo-ri and Gang-uk.

Baek Gyeong-ja does not accept the news at face value and searches for signs that the arrangement is not genuine. She questions whether Gang-uk’s choice stems from business considerations or actual feelings. Gang-uk states directly that he likes Yeo-ri enough to decide on the engagement. Yeo-ri explains her earlier distance as an attempt to play hard to get.

Family members and others around them express clear resistance to the match and take steps to interfere. Yeo-ri encounters Paeng Myo-sun, Gang-uk’s grandmother, and initially mistakes her for a ghost before realizing she is alive when the older woman greets her. Paeng Myo-sun asks Yeo-ri about her zodiac sign and year of birth.

Ok Gye-hee is shown keeping closer watch on Yeo-ri. Cheon Ha-ri approaches Kang Min-hwan and proposes that they work together, stating that she already has a method to end the engagement. Min-hwan makes his own opposition clear by telling Gang-uk to call off the engagement while there is still time. Min-hwan also locates Yeo-ri’s former fiancé and brings up the actual reason the previous relationship ended, leaving the man without a response.

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Yeo-ri and Gang-uk are shown spending additional time together once the engagement is underway. They go on dates and appear to enjoy each other’s company. The preview includes a mysterious phone call received by Yeo-ri at the same time that information about her ability begins to surface. Ha-ri is shown witnessing an event she was not meant to see, which leaves her frozen in place.


Spooky in Love episodes 5 and 6 recap

Spooky in Love episodes 5 and 6 aired on August 1 and August 2, 2026. In episode 5, Yeo-ri hugs Gang-uk after believing he has become a ghost. She hears his heartbeat and learns he survived the earlier accident. After discharge, Gang-uk finds he can no longer see ghosts. Yeo-ri suggests they stop meeting.

Media gather at the hotel over the abduction reports. Min-hwan shields Yeo-ri from reporters. Gang-uk notices Min-hwan’s protective actions and feels jealous. Yeo-ri warns Ha-ri about further contact with Seung-jae. Min-hwan invites Yeo-ri to an event at the Yeeon Museum of Art. At the museum event, Gang-uk meets Yeo-ri and later claims he sees ghosts in order to speak with her. She identifies his lies. Gang-uk proposes they work together on the related cold case.

Yeo-ri later feels jealousy when she sees Im Seo-hyeon holding Gang-uk’s hand. Yeo-ri confronts her grandmother over the engagement news leak to the media. She later summons a spirit to solve a case that shows a man killing his girlfriend. Yeo-ri and Gang-uk confront the man at the site. Yeo-ri then agrees to collaborate with Gang-uk on cold cases, beginning with the 300-year-old letter.

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In Spooky in Love episode 6, Yeo-ri and Gang-uk set rules for their joint work. Gang-uk locates additional artwork and the missing portion of the letter at a graveyard. Yeo-ri vows to reunite the pair. Later at the museum, Min-hwan gives Yeo-ri a pair of gloves, and they run into Gang-uk and Seo-hyeon.

The group later shares dinner, and Yeo-ri feels jealous of Seo-hyeon’s closeness to Gang-uk. Afterward, Yeo-ri and Gang-uk trip near an alley and share an accidental kiss. They confirm no bare-hand contact occurred and agree to report any spirit sightings to each other.

The next day in Spooky in Love episode 6, Min-hwan obtains a report on Gang-uk’s past heart transplant 12-years ago. Yeo-ri and Gang-uk locate Hwagyeongdang’s burial site under camellia trees at the museum grounds. Yeo-ri trades a family pine tree for the camellias. Ha-ri plans to expose Yeo-ri’s secret and meets her former fiancé.

Yeo-ri visits her hospitalized grandmother, who urges her to engage to Min-hwan. Yeo-ri informs Gang-uk of the impending engagement demand. At a family dinner that includes Min-hwan, Yeo-ri announces her engagement to Gang-uk, leaving those present in shock.

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Viewers can stream the released episodes of Spooky in Love on Netflix.