Jason Perkins (with ball) drives to the basket. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

With the first round of the PBA Governors’ Cup eliminations about to conclude, one team is currently assured of holding on to the top spot in Group B, the tournament’s so-called “Group of Death.”

And it’s not the perennial contenders that earned that distinction, but Phoenix, which on a rainy Tuesday night outplayed Blackwater for a 102-93 win at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

It may be quite the stunner, unless you ask the team.

“I don’t say I am surprised [about our standings],” said coach Charles Tiu after the Fuel Masters ended up with a 4-1 record halfway through the group stage. “But as a team, we try to believe that we can win every game. We just ask them to compete.”

The first round saw Phoenix produce wins over Magnolia, Meralco and Barangay Ginebra, before absorbing its only setback of the conference so far at the hands of Rain or Shine.

Phoenix leaned on its locals with Jason Perkins leading the charge with 25 points, and Gian Mamuyac having his best offensive production since being dealt from Rain or Shine by contributing 18.

Ricci Rivero atoned for his ejection against the Elasto Painters to register 10 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and two blocks.

“So far we’ve been competing this conference,” Tiu said. “All we ask ourselves is to give ourselves a chance to win; don’t do silly things that will cost us the game. And we’ve been doing it game-by-game.”

Maintaining its form will be the next challenge for Phoenix, which will face the same Blackwater team on Aug. 5 to open the second round of the group stage.

Also on the horizon are rematches with Ginebra, Rain or Shine, Meralco and Magnolia, which Phoenix needs to hurdle to punch its way to the playoffs as one of the four best teams in the group.

Blackwater fell to 2-3 after suffering a third consecutive defeat, after a promising start under coach Pat Aquino. Import Kentrell Barkley finished with 36 points and 25 rebounds in the loss.

Meanwhile, Terrafirma and Macau face off on Wednesday at the same venue, looking for back-to-back wins in the 5:15 p.m. affair.

The Dyip beat the TNT Tropang 5G, 111-106, in overtime last Saturday at Ynares Center, the same day the Giant Pandas downed the Titan Ultra Giant Risers, 132-126, for a breakthrough victory after a 0-4 start.

Terrafirma holds a 2-3 slate and a win may keep itself in the middle of the pack in Group A, depending on the result of Tuesday’s match between Converge (3-1) and TNT (1-2), which was being played at press time.

San Miguel Beer, which was handed its first defeat by unbeaten NLEx last Sunday, tries to bounce back against Titan at 7:30 p.m. INQ

Nigeria’s defence of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title got off to a poor start after Malawi claimed a famous 3-2 victory over the Super Falcons in their Group C opener in Rabat.

The result is one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s history, with Malawi celebrating their first-ever WAFCON win on their debut appearance.

The Chawinga sisters were the stars of the night. Temwa Chawinga scored twice, while Tabitha Chawinga added another as Malawi stunned the defending champions.

Nigeria struggled throughout the first half and failed to register a single shot on target. Head coach Justine Madugu started with Esther Okoronkwo, Folashade Ijamilusi and Chinwendu Ihezuo in attack, but the trio found it difficult to break down a disciplined Malawi defence.

The Super Falcons also struggled with poor passing, weak communication and slow attacking play, while Malawi looked dangerous whenever they moved forward.

Tabitha Chawinga thought she had opened the scoring early in the second half, but her effort was ruled out for offside.

Madugu responded by introducing Toni Payne and Uchenna Kanu in the 56th minute, and Nigeria began to create more chances. Kanu immediately added pace to the attack, while Rasheedat Ajibade forced Malawi goalkeeper Mercy Sikelo into a save with a header.

Malawi finally broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute. Ireen Khumalo’s long pass split Nigeria’s defence, allowing Temwa Chawinga to race through, round goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie and calmly score Malawi’s first-ever WAFCON goal.

Six minutes later, Nigeria’s defence was caught out again. Another long ball found Tabitha Chawinga, who finished confidently to double Malawi’s lead and leave the Super Falcons in serious trouble.

Asisat Oshoala came on late as Nigeria searched for a way back into the match. The Super Falcons pulled one back in the 88th minute after Rose Alufandika handled the ball inside the penalty area. Captain Rasheedat Ajibade converted the penalty to make it 2-1.

However, Temwa Chawinga struck again in added time to restore Malawi’s two-goal advantage with her second goal of the night.

Nigeria refused to give up, and Uchenna Kanu scored moments later to reduce the score to 3-2 after finishing from close range.

The Super Falcons pushed for a dramatic equaliser in the closing seconds, but Malawi defended well to secure a historic victory.

The defeat leaves Nigeria under pressure ahead of their next Group C match against Zambia on Saturday. With Zambia boasting attacking stars Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji, the Super Falcons will need a much better defensive display if they are to keep their title defence alive.

For Malawi, it was a memorable night as the debutants announced themselves on the continental stage with a famous victory over Africa’s most successful women’s national team.

Tony Martin, who has enjoyed much success at Galway Races, landed the Colm Quinn BMW Mile Handicap with Orandi (16/1) on Tuesday evening before a crowd of 13,059.

Orandi, an eight-year-old son of Morandi, was third in the same contest last season, but went two places better tonight as he and rider Robbie Colgan saw off the Ado McGuinness-trained favourite, Pierre Royal (7/2) and Adam Caffrey by one-and-three-quarter lengths.

A neck behind the Lusk handler’s bay son of Blue Point was Jagged Edge (15/2), from the Stephen Thorne yard, in third in the hands of three-pound claimer Jack Kearney. Hardy Warrior (9/2), who had pattern race experience prior to this Premier Handicap finished fourth for Dylan Browne McMonagle and Joseph O’Brien, a further length-and-a-half back.

Lizzie Twigg takes Listed Novice Hurdle

Lizzie Twigg (5/2) gave Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy the opening Listed Colm Quinn BMW Novice Hurdle. The five-year-old bumper winner, who is now unbeaten in three starts over obstacles, carried Elliott’s own colours to victory, coming home two-and-a-half lengths ahead of Fastnet Crystal (4/1), with the other Elliott-trained runner, Porcupine Bank (9/2) in third, one-and-a-quarter lengths in arrears of the Joseph O’Brien-handled runner-up.

🥇🥇🥇

White-hot 𝐋𝐢𝐳𝐳𝐢𝐞 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐠𝐠 brings up the hat-trick for @gelliott_racing and @jackkennedy15 in the Listed @ColmQuinn_bmw Novice Hurdle @Galway_Races pic.twitter.com/UX5QO92c96

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 28, 2026

Frankie John takes beginners’ chase

Frankie John (15/8), winner of a bumper at Galway last summer, returned successfully to Ballybrit on Tuesday when taking the Latin Quarter Beginners Chase over 2 miles 2 furlongs and 54 yards. The six-year-old grey son of Walk In The Park tracked the race leader Eclipse Chaser (28/1) and Danny Mullins for much of the race before coming to the stands’ side on entering the straight. The Denis Hogan inmate battled up the hill as he held off challenges from eventual second Bowensonfire (9/2), third-place finisher My Great Mate (7/1), and race favourite Love Me Tender (6/4f), who eventually finished in fourth.

𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐞 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 hangs tough in the Latin Quarter Beginners’ Chase @Galway_Races for @d_g_hogan and Dan King 👊 pic.twitter.com/UPd9HAhyir

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 28, 2026

Samnina wins for Harrington & Foley

Samnina (4/1), who ran fourth at odds of 50/1 to the Aidan O’Brien-trained Alpha at The Curragh last month, broke her maiden this evening when claiming the Colm Quinn BMW Irish EBF Maiden over seven furlongs. Ridden by Shane Foley, for Jessica Harrington, the juvenile Sea The Moon filly held off joint-favourite, Madam Secretary (3/1jf), by three-quarters-of-a-length, with Silver Kiss (9/2) the same distance further back in third place for Dermot Weld and Chris Hayes.

Samnina (Sea The Moon) kicks on from an eyecatching Curragh debut to cooly lands the spoils for @Jessica_Racing in the @ColmQuinn_bmw @IrishEBF_ Fillies’ Maiden @Galway_Races pic.twitter.com/nTU7fBPxSb

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 28, 2026

McGuinness 1-2-4 in Handicap

Ado McGuinness completed a 1-2-4 in The caulfieldindustrial.com Handicap, race six on the card. Last week’s Naas winner, Eddie G (7/2 favourite) led the McGuinness Team, taking the win under Donegal jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle. His stable companion, Go Athletico (15/2) was second in the hands of 2026 Betfred Epsom Derby-winning rider Ronan Whelan, three-quarters-of-a-length behind at the finishing line. Denis Hogan, who earlier in the evening won the Latin Quarter Beginners Chase with Frankie John, took third in this handicap courtesy of Alfred Tennyson (18/1) and Joey Sheridan, while Goal Exceeded (11/2) – another McGuinness horse – was fourth with Adam Caffrey in the saddle.

Tell Us This (12/1), who was 0 from 7 runs over fences prior to today, won the Colm Quinn BMW Handicap Chase for Andrew McNamara and Conor Stone-Walsh. A dual career hurdle winner, the seven-year-old bay Westerner gelding accounted for Herja (16/1) and Leave In Secret (11/1) by two-and-a-half lengths and the same in the 2 miles 2 furlongs and 54 yards race.

The Aga Khan Studs had a 1-2 in The Caulfield Industrial Irish EBF Maiden. The Johnny Murtagh-prepared Sindagan (9/4jf) and Ben Cohen got the better of Almeiyda (6/1) from the Dermot Weld stable, while the finale of Tuesday evening’s meeting, The Caulfield Industrial Handicap, went the way of Lady Arwen (12/1) for Conor O’Dwyer and Billy Lee.

LiveScores Now Available at IrishScores.com

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has expressed readiness to go all out in his roster-building bid as training camp opens on Tuesday.

The 83-year-old declared his willingness to “give up the future” to make a big-time addition to the roster, while expressing confidence in his team.

“I’d give up future to add substantive to where we are today as to a player,” Jones said on Tuesday while addressing the media. “To give you an idea about would I invest in something substantive to get the right kind of deal to improve us opening day, I would.

” I feel that good about this team this year. And of course, you know that I haven’t seen this team play together and so, but in general, looking ahead, I think we’ve got a chance to be worthy of spending some future if we saw an opportunity.”

The most obvious factor for Jerry Jones’ sense of urgency is the long championship drought at Dallas. The Cowboys haven’t played in the NFC Championship Game since 1995, and the pressure appears to be getting to Jones.

Asked whether he is feeling the pressure ahead of fall, he responded:

“Yes, I do for all the obvious reasons.”

Jones’ frustration is understandable, with the longtime owner having admitted he feels he has let fans down. His failure to replicate the success of the 1990s is telling.

He has wasted no opportunity to state his commitment to returning the organization to its glory days following the disappointment of last season. He went as far as saying he would “hitchhike from Indianapolis to Dallas to get the Cowboys another Super Bowl” back in February.

Jerry Jones reignites Maxx Crosby trade speculations

One of the top targets on the Cowboys’ radar is Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby. Fixing the defense is a priority for the Cowboys after ranking bottom of the NFL in defense last season.

Although a trade sending Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens recently fell through due to a failed physical, Jerry Jones confirmed the Cowboys’ continued interest.

Jones reignited the trade speculations on Tuesday, insisting the Cowboys did not walk away from a potential trade deal involving Crosby.

Meanwhile, Jones’ aggressive mindset is reflected across board within the Cowboys, with head coach Brian Schottenheimer mandating a strict no redshirts policy for rookies. In other words, the franchise’ overriding priority at the draft was getting prospects who will step in and contribute immediately rather than developmental projects.