India batter Ruturaj Gaikwad (PTI Photo)

Ruturaj Gaikwad has earned a return to the India A setup after being drafted into the squad for the upcoming tri-series in Sri Lanka. The right-hander comes in as a replacement for Riyan Parag, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury and will now undergo rehabilitation under the supervision of the BCCI Centre of Excellence. The selection offers Gaikwad an immediate opportunity to rebuild momentum after a disappointing IPL 2026 campaign. Despite leading the Chennai Super Kings, the opener struggled to make his usual impact, scoring 337 runs at an average of 28.08 and a strike rate of 123.44. India A’s selectors, however, have shown faith in his ability by not only bringing him into the squad but also naming him vice-captain alongside captain Tilak Varma. The tour could prove crucial for Gaikwad as he looks to push his case for future national-team opportunities.Updated India A squad for tri-series: Tilak Varma (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vice-captain), Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Badoni, Nishant Sindhu, Suryansh Shedge, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Kumar Kushagra (WK), Vipraj Nigam, Yash Thakur, Yudhvir Singh, Anshul Kamboj, Arshad Khan, Anukul Roy, The tri-series will feature India A, Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A. All white-ball matches will be played in Dambulla before the tour moves to Galle for two multi-day matches against Sri Lanka A. The squad for those red-ball fixtures will be announced separately. For Gaikwad, the tour represents more than just another India A assignment. After a difficult IPL season, it offers a valuable chance to rediscover form, lead from the front and remind selectors why he remains one of India’s most highly rated batting prospects.

PROSPERIDAD, Agusan del Sur — A baseball player competing in the 2026 Palarong Pambansa was airlifted to a hospital in Davao City on May 30 for urgent medical attention, military officials said.

The Philippine Army and the Philippine Air Force conducted the medical evacuation (MEDEVAC).

The athlete was transported aboard an S-70i Black Hawk helicopter of the 205th Tactical Helicopter Wing under the Tactical Operations Group 10.

The aircraft flew the patient from the headquarters of the Army’s 401st Infantry Brigade in Prosperidad town to the Davao Regional Medical Center.

Col. Emil Aynera, commander of the 401st Infantry Brigade, said safeguarding athletes and delegates remains a top priority throughout the games, which concluded on Sunday, May 31.

READ: 2026 Palarong Pambansa in Agusan del Sur ends

“This successful MEDEVAC operation reflects strong coordination among the military, local government units, health authorities, and event organizers to ensure that immediate assistance is available at all times,” he added.

Maj. Gen. Marion Angcao, commander of the 4th Infantry Division, said the operation highlighted the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ readiness to respond to emergencies during major national events.

“The successful medical evacuation of the athlete highlights the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ readiness and commitment to saving lives. Through the swift deployment of military air assets and personnel, immediate medical assistance was provided when it mattered most,” Angcao said.

The condition of the athlete was not immediately disclosed. /mcm

As Victor Wembanyama waited to learn the identity of his eventual NBA team ahead of the 2023 Draft, Adrian Wojnarowski shared a somewhat startling sentiment bubbling among teams hoping to secure the greatest prospect in basketball history during ESPN’s broadcast of the lottery. 

“A number of executives who are in the room tonight, who are waiting on those bouncing balls in the lottery, they tell me that they believe Wembanyama could be the best player in the NBA on both the offensive and defensive ends by his third season in the league,” Wojnarowski said. 

That simply does not happen, at least not under modern circumstances. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the MVP and a champion by his second NBA season, but he played a full collegiate career. Magic Johnson won Finals MVP as a rookie, but Abdul-Jabbar was by his side for all but the clinching game of the Finals and would remain the superior player for several years. LeBron James reached the NBA Finals in his fourth season, but got swatted away by a more experienced San Antonio Spurs team and wouldn’t return until his eighth season.

These words were spoken about Wembanyama mere months after his 19th birthday. He had no NBA experience. He didn’t come up through the traditional American collegiate system. He was more accomplished in Europe, winning the French MVP award in 2023, but he barely played in the EuroLeague. Luka Dončić won the EuroLeague MVP award at 19. Wembanyama averaged 6.5 points in 17.5 minutes against Europe’s best competition. It didn’t matter. His future was obvious to anyone who’d ever bounced a ball. He was going to be the best basketball player in the world. Health permitting, he might genuinely be the best basketball player who’s ever lived.

We usually don’t start with those conversations. Michael Jordan didn’t truly throw his name into the “GOAT” ring until his first three-peat. James was compared to him from the moment he arrived in the NBA, but he’s said himself that his 2016 championship over the 73-win Golden State Warriors was the moment, in his mind, when it really happened. That came in his 13th season.

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But Wojnarowski’s prophecy came true. It’s Wembanyama’s third season, and he’s already claimed “best in the league” status. He and the Spurs just knocked off two-time reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals on the road in Game 7 on Saturday night. Gilgeous-Alexander was burdened with injuries to his secondary shot-creators, Ajay Mitchell and Jalen Williams, but Wembanyama was playing with two of his best teammates, De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper, also hobbled. 

In the regular season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 5.4 shot attempts in the restricted area per game. In the first six games of the Western Conference Finals, that number was nearly cut in half, down to three. Without the rim, the MVP was mortal. He shot 32.1% in the non-restricted portion of the paint, 38.3% in mid-range and 26.1% on 3s. When he didn’t draw fouls, he just didn’t have an efficient means of attacking San Antonio’s Wembanyama-led defense. This is Wembanyama’s competition, and he erased him.

It usually takes a few tries to reach this point. Jordan lost to the Bad Boy Pistons three times. James lost to the Boston Celtics twice and got pushed to the brink against them in 2012. There’s a certain rhythm to these things. A young star ascends, loses a few times to the incumbent heavyweights and then finally gets over the top. There wasn’t even really a climb here. The Spurs faced the Thunder in five regular-season games and won four. They beat them in their first postseason matchup. Maybe Wembanyama is just so big that he could pull himself up the mountaintop from a standing start.

The Thunder aren’t going anywhere. They’ll presumably be among Wembanyama’s biggest threats moving forward. They’ll probably be healthier if there’s a rematch next season, and both sides are loaded with enough assets to improve on the trade market if they decide it’s necessary. The rivalry isn’t over.

But this is probably the worst Wembanyama’s ever going to be. He’s not close to his peak yet. One of the stories of the season was how effectively Oklahoma City’s defense kept Wembanyama away from the rim. He had 23 paint touches in Game 1, according to NBA.com tracking data. Then he had 33 in Games 2-6 combined. He still can’t quite assert his position near the rim as well as he’ll be able to in a few years, and his young guards will get better at entering the ball into him. He’s not going to completely bulk up, but he’ll probably add some muscle to better handle Oklahoma City’s physicality. His post-game is still developing. He worked with Hakeem Olajuwon last offseason. Odds are, he’ll check in with other legends in the summers to come. He’s still getting better.

He has a ways to go before he reaches those loftier ambitions. He’s not even a champion yet, and the New York Knicks pose a very real threat to his coronation. They beat the Spurs twice during the regular season, including the NBA Cup final, and that was before New York’s magical run through the Eastern Conference. He might still lose. He might face the same stumbles that Jordan and James did during their respective rises to power.

But the basketball world looked at Wembanyama before he’d even arrived in the NBA and reasoned that he would probably be the best player in the league by his third season. That theory, outlandish as it probably seemed to some in the moment, came to pass. And with that being the case, we probably can’t dismiss any other outlandish beliefs surrounding his future. 

Who cares that he’s only played three years? We’re all watching him and thinking the same thing. There’s never been anyone like him before. Nobody has ever had his combination of size, skill and demeanor. He’s capable of things on a basketball court that no other human being ever has been. 

It will take years for his resume to compare to Jordan’s or James’, but he’s ahead of where they were at this stage of their careers. If this goes the way we think it’s going to go, he’s going to be the greatest player in NBA history.

Dylan Harper #2 of the San Antonio Spurs drives to the basket against Tyler Kolek #13 and Jordan Clarkson #00 of the New York Knicks in the fourth quarter of the championship game of the Emirates NBA Cup at T-Mobile Arena on December 16, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will be well represented in the NBA Finals featuring the San Antonio Spurs, who have fast-rising rookie Dylan Harper, and the New York Knicks with former Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson.

Harper’s mother, Maria, was born and raised in Bataan before moving to the United States when she was seven years old. Clarkson’s mom, Annette Davis, also has Filipino roots and was born in Angeles City, Pampanga.

Harper and the Spurs booked a title date with the Knicks, who swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, after dethroning the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road in Game 7 on Sunday (Manila time).

READ: Dylan Harper joins list of players with Filipino roots in NBA

“It’s a blessing to represent the Philippines, where I’m from. I think Jordan Clarkson and I are doing a great job doing that, but I think the biggest thing is what’s in front of me,” said Harper during the post-game press conference following the Spurs’ 111-103 victory.

The 33-year-old Clarkson, who has represented the Philippines in the Fiba World Cup and Asian Games, is making his second NBA Finals appearance since 2018 as part of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Interestingly, this year’s finals is a rematch of the 1999 edition where the Spurs beat the Knicks in five.

San Antonio is back in the championship round for the first time since winning it all in 2014 with Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard as their core.

The NBA Finals tips off on Thursday in San Antonio.

FILE–US chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. (Photo by BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines–Chess World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura is in the country to compete in the inaugural WR Bughouse Championship, which kicks off Monday at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bonifacio Global City.

The American Grandmaster arrived in Manila on Sunday with his partner, German Wadim Rosenstein, founder of WR Chess, which is staging the event with a total prize pool of $100,000 (around P6.1 million).

“Good morning from Manila,” Nakamura posted on social media. “Through chess, I’ve been able to travel around the world, and this is now the 63rd unique country I’ve been to.”

Nakamura headlines the two-day tournament featuring bughouse, or transfer chess, with 52 teams vying for the $50,000 top prize.

Also seeing action are American GM Awonder Liang, ranked No. 34 in the world, alongside Canadian Eilia Zomorrodian; Australian GM Anton Smirnov and American GM Timur Gareyev; and Indonesian GM Novendra Priasmoro and WGM Ardhiani Anastasia.

Leading the local challenge are GM Daniel Quizon and IM Eric Labog, GM Darwin Laylo and FM David Elorta, WGM Janelle Mae Frayna and WIM Ruelle Canino, and IMs Pau Bersamina and Jem Garcia.

The tournament opens with a 12-round elimination phase at 4 p.m., with the top eight teams advancing to Tuesday’s knockout stage.

Nakamura will also hold an autograph-signing session from 10 a.m. to noon on a first-come, first-served basis.

In bughouse, captured pieces are passed to a teammate for use on the adjacent board, with each player allotted five minutes and no increment.

Matches are decided by checkmate, resignation, or time forfeiture. Automatic checkmates using transferred pieces are prohibited, while pawn promotions are limited to pieces available from captured material.