Scottie Thompson and Barangay Ginebra head into their PBA Commissioner’s Cup title showdown with TNT on Wednesday carrying lessons from their previous defeats at the hands of the same foe and hardened by a tough semifinal series against Rain or Shine.

And Thompson hopes that the 7:30 p.m. encounter at Smart Araneta Coliseum would be the stepping stone for the Gin Kings to finally get over the line and end a three-year championship drought that seemed like ages for a team used to success.

“We will use that as motivation,” Thompson said, as Ginebra eyes its first title since the 2022-2023 Commissioner’s Cup when it prevailed over the guest team Bay Area Dragons before 54,000 fans at Philippine Arena.

Championships have eluded the crowd favorites since, with their next three Finals trips ending in defeats, all against TNT.

Last year’s Commissioner’s Cup almost made Ginebra lucky on the third time, but TNT managed to sneak one again over its rival with a Game 7 thriller that went into overtime.

“Of course, we learned a lot of lessons from that, particularly on how we play defense against TNT,” the all-around swingman continued.

“Our defense has to be consistent from start to finish, and I think that would be the key for us to have a better chance of winning the championship.”

Hard series

Ginebra entered the Finals having weathered the stubborn challenge of Rain or Shine, taking the semifinal series in six games.

Almost all games saw the Gin Kings having to go through an Elasto Painters group that started strong and refused to go away whenever they trailed by big margins, apart from the physicality they played through.

“I think it’s going to prepare us coming into this championship, because we all know how hard that series was against Rain or Shine, especially since our defense was really challenged,” said Thompson.

“We believe that we will be able to get a lot of inputs from that series that we could bring going into our matchup against TNT,” he added.

Thompson will be one of the keys for Ginebra in the series, which could likely be more about how Justin Brownlee can succeed in his bid to become the PBA’s winningest import with a shot at title No. 7 and if RJ Abarrientos can cap off a sensational conference with a splendid showing in the Finals.

But expect TNT to have something to say about those quests. INQ

Mensik and Fonseca, aged 20 and 19 respectively, are tipped to be among the players who could challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the very top of men’s tennis over the next few years – and their last-eight tie demonstrated why.

Both men were playing in their first major quarter-final and while Mensik confessed to feeling some early nerves in his post-match interview, his dominant serve proved critical as he moved into a two-set lead without facing a break point.

Fonseca had twice come back from two sets down to win matches at this year’s French Open, most notably in the third round against 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

There were flashes of brilliance from the Brazilian throughout, but another mammoth comeback proved beyond him on this occasion under the roof on Court Philippe Chatrier.

The third set went on for close to 80 minutes, with Fonseca twice moving a break of serve ahead before being dragged back to parity by Mensik.

Serving at 6-5 down, Fonseca saved six match points in a marathon 12th game of the set before forcing a tie-break – which Mensik controlled to complete a 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7-3) victory.

“At the end of the match, there were some incredible shots,” said Mensik, a former Masters 1000 champion in Miami.

“I’m super happy that I’m the one that came back. I was a break down a couple of times but I managed to stay focused, stay in the match and keep fighting until the end.”

Mensik is the first Czech player to reach a Grand Slam men’s singles semi-final since Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon in 2017 and he is projected to move back into the world’s top 20.

A commendable £73,500 was raised for charity as the likes of Tony Bellew and David Price assembled for a night of boxing action in Liverpool.

The show took place on April 17, with ex-professional footballers colliding in an event that was endorsed by sporting icons such as Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.

Billed as ‘A Night To Remember II’, this followed Pro Project Promotions’ first charity boxing event in October, with the organisation aiming to give retired athletes an opportunity to reignite their competitive spirit.

Equally, Pro Project Promotions founder Graham Stack, a former Arsenal goalkeeper, is hoping to fundraise a total of £500,000 within the organisation’s debut year.

He is already nearing the halfway mark, having raised a total of £201,000 for charities such as Children’s Charity Merseyside and Autism Merseyside.

Stack made it clear that this is just the beginning.

“I’m so proud to see Pro Project Promotions go from strength to strength. These events give retired players purpose, structure and a way to keep competing for something that really matters.

“To raise £73,500 [in April] and push our six-month total past £201,000 is fantastic. We’re marching towards £500,000 raised for charities and I want to thank every single person who’s backed us so far.”

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Pro Project Promotions will return to the Grosvenor House Hotel, Liverpool, on October 22, with ambassadors such as Natasha Jonas and Liam Smith expected to continue their support.

As for the show last April, it was ultimately Swansea City cult hero Lee Trundle who won the main event against ex-Scottish attacker Chris Iwelumo.

For Pro Project Promotions’ next boxing event, the competitors, entertainers, and charitable causes will be announced in the coming weeks.

Serena Williams is officially returning to professional tennis.

Nearly four years after her last competitive match, the 23-time Grand Slam champion has confirmed that she will make her comeback at the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club in London next week.

The 44-year-old announced the news in a Nike video with the simple message: “Guess everybody heard the news.”

Williams will compete in the doubles event and is set to partner rising Canadian star Victoria Mboko.

Speaking about her return, Williams said:

“Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter. Grass has given me some of the most meaningful moments of my career, and I’m excited to be back competing on one of the sport’s most iconic stages.”

The announcement ends months of speculation surrounding a possible comeback. Williams returned to the anti-doping testing pool late last year and had been spotted training in Florida, fueling rumors of a return to competition.

Williams has not played professionally since the 2022 US Open. At the time, she avoided using the word retirement, instead describing her departure from tennis as “evolving away” from the sport.

Williams owns 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most by any player in the Open Era, and has also won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles alongside her sister, Venus Williams. She remains one of the most successful and influential figures the sport has ever seen.

While her return begins in doubles, attention is already turning to Wimbledon, where Williams is a seven-time singles champion.

The next chapter begins at Queen’s Club.

Chennai Super Kings finished eighth in the IPL 2026 points table. They started on the wrong footing and ended on a poor note too. In the middle, some strong performances by Sanju Samson and others raised hopes among the fans of CSK, one of the most followed IPL franchises, yet they could not qualify for the playoffs. At the end, CSK ended with 12 points from 14 matches. Ravichandran Ashwin, a former CSK player himself, praised the efforts of Sanju Samson, Akeal Hosein, and Anshul Kamboj, but added that the auction strategies should be reworked.

Auction Strategy, Role Clarity And Decision-Making

“Auction strategies need to be reworked. Two teams picked Venkatesh Iyer and Jason Holder for 7 crores and made the final. Instead of picking two for 14 crores each, they should have gone for these two to achieve a combination of youth and experience. They didn’t gel as a team and had role clarity issues,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

“Other teams suffered injuries before the season itself. But for CSK, injuries aren’t new, and their players got injured after the season started. Despite their best efforts, they couldn’t overcome the injuries, which continue to be a problem for them. They gave the wrong insertion points for many players. Using Brevis and Dube as finishers means the decision-making was also lopsided.”

Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming said that although MS Dhoni did not feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, the veteran wicketkeeper-batter continued to have a big influence on the team, adding that his presence around the side has been extremely important.

The 44-year-old, who suffered injuries, missed the entire tournament. However, despite Dhoni not featuring in any of CSK’s matches, coach Fleming said that the former CSK captain has remained closely involved with the team and continues to have a major influence, particularly in guiding younger players and maintaining continuity within the squad.

“MS (Dhoni) has been around a lot this year, which has been really important for the team, for a lot of young players, and continuity. So, he’s been a big part. He hasn’t played, but he’s still had a big influence on the team,” Fleming said at the post-match press conference

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