Lifestyle

Get NBA League Pass via Smart

Available on both postpaid and prepaid

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The 2025-2026 NBA Season is upon us! Tip-off starts on October 23. Make sure you don’t miss the action by getting NBA League Pass through Smart Communications, Inc.

Powered by Smart, prepaid and postpaid customers can subscribe to the NBA League Pass via Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) for only P425 per month, enabling them to conveniently stream the NBA games and their favorite teams and players without the need for a credit card.

To activate the NBA League Pass – Monthly Pass, Smart subscribers can visit https://apps.smart.com.ph/NBALeaguepass/Brand/Smart.

NBA League Pass

What are you getting with NBA League Pass? That’s live access to ALL the games. You can pick your favorite teams and players, so you don’t miss out on the action.

You can also catch Marquee games featuring the Emirates NBA Cup (previously the In-Season Tournament), the Christmas Day games, NBA All-Star, Play-in, Playoffs and more.

The new season will feature a double-header featuring the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics vs. the New York Knicks followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. the Los Angeles Lakers.

Teams of note

The Boston Celtics featuring Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown will be looking to the defend their title. In the Eastern Conference, they are still the favorites to come out on top. Hot on their trail are Milwaukee Bucks who are looking to bounce back after a disappointing first year together for stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. The retooled New York Knicks are also making some noise adding Mikal Bridges and Karl Anthony-Towns during the offseason.

Out-west, it’s the young up-start Oklahoma City Thunder that appear to be the favorites. This was indicated by a recent GM (General Manager) Survey report. In the hunt as legitimate contenders in the west are the Denver Nuggets led by Nikola “Joker” Jokic. Anthony “Ant-man” Edwards’ Minnesota Timberwolves are also looking to pounce.

Naturally, there’s going to be plenty of interest on LeBron’s Lakers who is making history as he and son Bronny James become the first father-son duo to play on the same team. There are also plenty of same faces in new places like Klay Thompson in Dallas, Demar Derozan in Sac-Town, and many more.

Cameras

What HYROX Hong Kong looks like up close

Photographed on the Canon EOS R6 Mark III.

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HYROX drew people from all over the world for a single purpose: finish the course. In Hong Kong, athletes showed up at AsiaWorld-Expo ready to run, row, and push through 8 stations of pure functional fitness.

So, we brought the Canon EOS R6 Mark III to capture one of the most demanding fitness races on the planet.

The Expo floor is a lighting nightmare, a mix of harsh overheads and deep shadows, but the 32.5MP sensor handled the contrast without breaking a sweat.

The 40fps electronic shutter and Pre-continuous shooting meant we were already capturing the moment half a second before we consciously decided to press the shutter.

Covering a race means staying mobile, and the 8.5-stop IBIS let us move freely alongside athletes without losing the shot. The Dual Pixel CMOS AF II stayed locked on athletes even when they were squinting through the final stretch.

What came out were stories of triumph and determination. Even when their bodies were screaming, they pushed through anyway.

This is what HYROX Hong Kong looked like from the inside.


Words by MJ Jucutan. Photos by Sky Rodillas.

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Apps

The No-Nonsense guide to mid-year shopping

Let AI do the heavy lifting for you this Lazada 6.6 Super WOW Sale

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The mid-year sale season is here, but the days of mindless impulse buying are over.

Shoppers are shifting toward intentional, value-driven decisions, focusing on quality, authenticity, and actual utility over flashy, low-quality gimmicks.

From 8:00 PM on June 5 until 11:59 PM on June 8, 2026, the Lazada 6.6 Super WOW Sale is dropping major discounts. But the real win is using the platform’s tools to maximize your budget.

Lock in the baseline discounts

Before diving into specific items, map out how to stack the core offers.

You can stretch your money by hunting down LazFlash Deals for up to 90% off, collecting up to PhP 3,000 in stackable vouchers, and ensuring every order qualifies for the free shipping offers available throughout the event.

True value comes from combining these three layers of savings on things you already need.

Jisulife: One of the participating, trusted brands you can get from LazMall

Filter for authentic value

Shopping smart means avoiding the trap of “too good to be true” counterfeits that end up in the trash.

Data shows a massive consumer shift toward trusted quality, with LazMall growth vastly outperforming standard listings during major sales.

To ensure your money goes toward genuine products with real warranties, restrict your browsing to official, brand-certified stores.

If you are upgrading your tech, parenting gear, or wardrobe, look to trusted names anchoring the sale like UGREEN, JisuLife, ANTA, Maserati Watches, Momcozy, and O.TWO.O.

UGREEN: One of the participating, trusted brands you can get from LazMall

Outsmart the noise with built-in tech

Don’t waste hours scrolling through endless listings or guessing which product is better.

The smartest way to navigate a massive mid-year event is to let the platform’s built-in features cut through choice paralysis.

Tools like AI Lazzie and AI Picks allow you to instantly compare similar items, analyze prices, and get personalized recommendations based on actual data rather than generic marketing hype.


Smart Shopper Tip: True value is a mix of the right price, verified authenticity, and a seamless return policy. Use this sale period to stock up on everyday essentials and high-quality upgrades rather than panic-buying items you’ll regret later.

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Entertainment

X-Men ’97 returns to Disney+ for second season

Emmy-nominated series to continue mutant team’s story

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Marvel Animation’s Emmy-nominated X-Men ’97 is returning to Disney+ for a second season, starting July 1.

Along with this announcement, a trailer and poster have been made available. The first season of the animated series was one of the most-watched Disney+ originals, and a hit with fans and critics alike.

Season 2 continues with the heroic mutant team of X-Men, divided and thrown across different eras in time as they struggle to navigate their return home.

Meanwhile, back in the 1990s, suspicious foes and new strains of mutant intolerance are on the rise in the wake of the protagonists’ absence.

The second season will be comprised of nine episodes. The voice cast includes:

  • Ross Marquand as Professor X
  • Matthew Waterson as Magneto
  • Ray Chase as Cyclops
  • Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey
  • Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm
  • Cal Dodd as Wolverine
  • Lenore Zann as Rogue
  • George Buza as Beast

The series is executive produced by Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, Julia Lewald, Eric Lewald, Larry Houston, and Beau DeMayo.

Jake Castorena serves as the supervising producer. Episodes were written by JB Ballard, Beau DeMayo, Bailey Moore, Antony Sellitti, Brian Ford Sullivan, and Mariah Wilson.

The episodic directors are Emmett Yonemura and Chase Conley.

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