Day: December 18, 2025

Bangkok: Filipino Alexandra Eala lived up to her billing as the tournament top seed, beating Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew, 6-1, 6-2, in the women’s singles final of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games tennis tournament at the National Tennis Development Centre in Bangkok, Thailand. According to Philippines News Agency, World No. 53 Eala triumphed over Malaysia’s Shihomi Leong, 6-3, 6-1, in the quarterfinals and Thailand’s Thasaporn Naklo, 6-1, 6-4, in the semifinals. This victory marked a significant achievement for the Philippines, as it was the country’s first gold medal in the women’s singles tennis event since Maricris Fernandez’s win at the 1999

Dumaguete city: Personnel of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) and the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOrPPO) arrested four alleged members of a syndicate for estafa and falsification of public documents during an entrapment operation on Thursday in this capital. According to Philippines News Agency, Executive M/Sgt. Aurelio Bodo, chief of the Highway Patrol Team-Negros Oriental, reported that three men and a woman were apprehended at approximately 7:50 a.m. at San Jose Extension, Barangay Taclobo. The suspects, identified only by their aliases, are Herl Peter, 44; Ralph, 27; John, 26; and Leeda, 25, all residents of Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental.

Bangkok: Gilas Pilipinas advanced to the gold-medal match of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games women’s basketball after defeating Indonesia, 66-55, in Thursday’s semifinals at the Nimibutr Stadium here. Kacey dela Rosa had another huge game with 21 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and four blocks, while Afril Bernardino and Janine Pontejos also came through as Gilas leaned on a strong first half and never looked back. According to Philippines News Agency, at one point, Gilas led in the second quarter, 37-18, before managing to keep Indonesia at bay the rest of the way. Coach Patrick Aquino expressed his satisfaction with

Davao: The Department of Trade and Industry in the Davao Region has played a pivotal role in securing PHP243.64 million in loans for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) this year, as announced by an official on Thursday. According to Philippines News Agency, DTI-11 Regional Director Romeo Casta±aga shared that a total of 706 MSMEs benefitted from these loans, primarily through the Small Business Corp.’s RISE UP Program, aimed at providing capital and supporting business expansion. “Aside from market and technology, they really need the loan for their capital. We provide the facilitation with the appropriate financing window,” Casta±aga stated

Manila: A total of 443 units of properties of listed firm Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) have been given a go signal by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to be placed under rental pool agreements. SEC, in a press release on Thursday, said its Commission En Banc approved the registration statements of CLI Premier Hotel International, Inc. for 180 rental units, and the 263 units under YHES Premier Hotel Inc., subject to compliance with remaining requirements. According to Philippines News Agency, CLI Premier is a subsidiary of CLI, while YHES Premier is a subsidiary of Yuson Huang Excellence Soberano, Inc.,