(Second of a three-part series)
FIRST PART RECAP: Hidilyn Diaz silver at Rio Olympics, Josephine Medina bronze at Rio Paralympics, Justin Brownlee’s buzzer-beater and championship clinching trey for Ginebra, La Salle–Ateneo women’s volleyball peak rivalry/Alyssa Valdez final UAAP year, and Benilde overcoming Baste’s thrice-to-beat advantage for the NCAA Season 91 women’s volleyball title.
Here’s another set of top Philippine sports stories that are turning a decade old this 2026:
Kobe Bryant final visit in PH
NBA legend Kobe Bryant visited the Philippines for the sixth and final time in 2016 for his Nike Mamba Mentality Tour on June 25 and 26.
Fresh from his 20th and final NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar held clinics and trained young players.
Loved by Filipino fans, Bryant was given a tribute at the Araneta Coliseum during the “Mamba Mentality Night,” where the lights were off and fans illuminated the arena with their phone flashlights.
“The Black Mamba” was honored with a banner featuring a photo of him that still hangs in the Big Dome’s rafters to this day, displayed across the other iconic sporting banner that is the “Thrilla in Manila” (1975).
Bryant, alongside his daughter Gianna and eight others, died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, in January 2020.
‘Beeracle’
No team in professional basketball history came back from a 0-3 hole and won a best-of-seven Finals series... until the San Miguel Beermen did at the 2016 PBA Philippine Cup.
The Beermen pulled off the historic reverse sweep against the Alaska Aces, culminating in a 96-89 win in Game 7, at the Mall of Asia Arena on Feb. 3, 2016.
Chris Ross bagged the Finals MVP award for the Leo Austria-coached Beermen team, which fans will fondly remember their feat.
It’s the sweetest of victory for the Beermen, but the most heartbreaking defeat for the Alex Compton-mentored Aces.
La Salle ‘Mayhem’ championship UAAP Season 79
Powered by league MVP Ben Mbala and coached by Aldin Ayo, who injected the “Mayhem” system to De La Salle, the Green Archers ruled the UAAP Season 79 men’s basketball tournament.
La Salle swept rival Ateneo led by coach Tab Baldwin and Thirdy Ravena in the Big Dance with a 79-72 Game 2 win, as Jeron Teng pocketed the Finals MVP plum at the Araneta Coliseum on Dec. 7, 2016.
Just a year after leading his alma mater Letran to the NCAA championship in 2015, Ayo guided La Salle to its ninth title with a near-perfect 16-1 campaign.