Alas Pilipinas Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons in action during the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Nuvali Challenge. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

SANTA ROSA, Laguna—Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons are prioritizing the Philippine bid in the 2026 Asian Games by opting to stay with Alas Pilipinas beach volleyball squad instead of returning to their respective Premier Volleyball League squads for the next conference.

With the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya set from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 in Japan, the Southeast Asian Games gold medalists said their focus is now on gaining more international exposure and experience through overseas tournaments as part of their buildup for the continental meet.

“I’m thankful to our (team) managements for allowing us to focus on beach volleyball until after the Asian Games,” Pons said. “We’re really looking forward to the tournaments we’ll be joining abroad because they’ll give us more exposure and experience to further improve our game as preparation for the Asian Games.”

Rondina and Pons will miss the PVL on Tour and will return to their respective club teams in the Reinforced Conference, with Rebisco—which owns Choco Mucho, where Rondina plays, and Creamline—giving them clearance and full support to represent the country on the sands.

“We’re still really looking forward to the positive things and the experience we’ll gain from joining international tournaments,” Rondina said. “We’ll continue training and preparing for everything we need to work on. Our biggest goal is really the Asian Games.

“Right now, we’re just waiting and praying that everything pushes through as planned.”

Pons and Rondina missed the Round of 24 in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Nuvali Challenge after a heartbreaking 20-22, 22-24 loss to Switzerland’s Annique Niederhauser and Menia Bentele on Thursday at Nuvali Sands Courts. But they remain proud of their run against world-class players.

Alas men Ranran Abdilla and Ronniel Rosales couldn’t finish their Nuvali Challenge campaign, as Rosales had a sudden spike in blood pressure at the start of the second set and eventually gave up a 21-10, 3-2 result to Hagen Smith and Ryan Ierna.

Abdilla said that their team decided to withdraw from the do-or-die match as a precaution for Rosales, handing the walkover win to England’s Frederick Bialokoz and Issa Batrane.

“We already talked about it, and of course, this wasn’t something we wanted to happen. Situations like this really happen sometimes,” said Abdilla. “Actually, I experienced something similar last year, too. So I think it’s really about acceptance and learning from it.”

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) and guard Jared McCain (3) hug after Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the San Antonio Spurs Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Down 15-0 not even three minutes into Game 3 of the Western Conference finals on Friday night, Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault went to his bench for the first time.

And everything changed in an instant, a harbinger of what was to come.

The Oklahoma City bench keeps getting better in these Western Conference finals — and, with all respect to MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the backups are the reason the Thunder are two wins away from a return the NBA Finals.

READ: NBA Playoffs: Spurs, Thunder battle injuries in West finals

OKC’S BENCH DROPPED 76 POINTS IN GAME 3!

Jared McCain: 24 PTS (postseason career-high)Jaylin Williams: 18 PTS (postseason career-high)Alex Caruso: 15 PTSCason Wallace: 11 PTS

Thunder win Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference Finals 🍿 pic.twitter.com/954MldKnMb

— NBA (@NBA) May 23, 2026

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The Thunder got 50 points from their reserves in Game 1, then 57 in Game 2 — and on Friday, the bench mob struck again, scoring 76 points and keying Oklahoma City’s 123-108 win over the San Antonio Spurs for a 2-1 series lead.

The 76 bench points were the most by a team in a conference finals game since the NBA went to the 16-team playoff format in 1984. The previous mark was 69 by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1985. Only two Thunder starters scored in double figures — Gilgeous-Alexander had 26 points and Chet Holmgren had 14.

The bench more than made up for that.

Jared McCain scored 24 points for the Thunder; that’s a playoff career best. Jaylin Williams — that’s the forward, with Thunder guard Jalen Williams out with hamstring issues again — hit five 3-pointers and scored 18; that was also a playoff career high. And Alex Caruso had 15 points, giving him 63 in this series; that’s the best three-game scoring span of his career.

READ: NBA Playoffs: Wembanyama disappointed as Spurs fall to Thunder

Oklahoma City Thunder guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and Alex Caruso (9) high-five during the first half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the San Antonio Spurs Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Oklahoma City’s bench contributed 62% of the scoring for the Thunder in Game 3 — something no team had done in a winning effort during a conference finals game in the last four decades.

Caruso was the first sub for the Thunder after the Spurs scored the game’s first 15 points. He instantly settled things down and most of that San Antonio lead was gone by the end of the first quarter.

Oklahoma City controlled the majority of things the rest of the way. After being down 15 at the start, the Thunder won by 15 at the end.

The race for qualification to next season’s EPCR Investec Champions Cup has become one of the most confusing and fascinating subplots of the BKT United Rugby Championship season.

While supporters naturally assume the top eight teams in the final URC standings qualify automatically for Europe’s top competition, the reality is far more complicated due to EPCR regulations surrounding trophy winners.

Under normal circumstances, the top eight teams in the final BKT URC table secure qualification for the following season’s Investec Champions Cup.

However, EPCR rules also guarantee Champions Cup qualification for any club that wins either the Investec Champions Cup or the EPCR Challenge Cup, even if that side finishes outside the league qualification positions.

How Ulster Could Change Everything

The current complication centres around Ulster, who finished ninth in the URC standings but have reached this weekend’s EPCR Challenge Cup Final.

If Ulster win the Challenge Cup, they automatically qualify for next season’s Investec Champions Cup despite finishing outside the URC top eight.

That qualification place would come from the URC’s allocation of eight Champions Cup spots.

As things currently stand, that would mean Connacht, who occupy eighth place, would lose their Champions Cup place and instead drop into the EPCR Challenge Cup.

The Further Connacht Twist

However, the story does not end there.

If Connacht were then to go on and win the BKT United Rugby Championship title itself, they would qualify automatically for the Investec Champions Cup as URC champions.

In that scenario, Connacht would effectively regain a Champions Cup place despite losing the original top-eight allocation.

That would then create another shift in qualification places, with the side that finished seventh in the table — the Fidelity SecureDrive Lions — dropping into the EPCR Challenge Cup instead.

Why The System Is Causing Confusion

The situation has created considerable confusion among supporters because league finishing position alone no longer guarantees European qualification.

Instead, qualification is now directly tied to a combination of:

• Final URC table positions
• EPCR Challenge Cup winners
• Investec Champions Cup winners
• URC playoff winners

As a result, teams can technically finish inside the top eight and still miss out on Champions Cup rugby depending on results elsewhere.

For Connacht supporters especially, the permutations have added another dramatic layer to an already tense playoff campaign.

The URC is expected to formally confirm all final EPCR qualification places once the remaining European and URC knockout fixtures are completed.

Potential Qualification Scenarios

• Ulster lose Challenge Cup Final: Top eight URC teams qualify normally.




• Ulster win Challenge Cup Final: Ulster qualify for Champions Cup and Connacht drop into Challenge Cup.




• Ulster win Challenge Cup + Connacht win URC: Connacht regain Champions Cup qualification as URC champions, while the Lions would move into the Challenge Cup.

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Damian Priest was put in a dangerous situation tonight on WWE SmackDown. However, a former AEW champion saved him.

Royce Keys has been turning a lot of heads ever since he made his WWE debut at the 2026 Royal Rumble. Royce even won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on SmackDown before WrestleMania 42. Hence, Solo Sikoa has been interested in recruiting him to the MFTs. However, Keys hasn’t shown any interest in joining Solo’s faction. Last week on SmackDown, Royce competed against Gunther in a number one contender’s match for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Solo came out to ringside to help Keys and even handed him a steel chair. However, Keys threw the chair at Solo. This distraction helped Gunther win the match.

Tonight on WWE SmackDown, Damian Priest faced off against Solo Sikoa in a singles match. After Solo won the match, the MFTs continued to assault Priest. Royce Keys came out to make the save, and he sent Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga out of the ring. He then came face-to-face with Solo, who backed out of the ring. When the former AEW star went to help Priest up, the former World Champion grabbed him by the throat, but stopped after realizing it was Keys.

Dominik Mysterio never wants to take Damian Priest’s finishing move

Damian Priest’s finishing move is the South of Heaven chokeslam. It is a variation of the infamous chokeslam. However, Priest manages to get a bit more impact since he falls to a seated position when hitting the move. Therefore, Dominik Mysterio never wants to be on the receiving end of it.

During an interview with GiveMeSport, Dominik said that he doesn’t want to take the South of Heaven chokeslam since it is not fun.

“Probably Damian Priest’s South of Heaven. He’s just so tall, and he gets you even higher up there, so your bump is actually like 10 feet tall. So he’s just, it’s not a fun one for sure.”

It will be interesting to see what’s next for Priest.