Gaming

What went down at the NBA Rising Stars Philippines Qualifiers

NBA 2K gives us a glimpse of MyCareer in real life

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Last weekend, NBA 2K hooked us up with access passes to the NBA Rising Stars Philippines Qualifiers finals. It was held at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila.

2K was among the partners who supported the event, which featured San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan. Sochan had been in the Philippines for several days prior to finals day (May 10).

The pro baller attended various press conferences and guestings. These including one for the NBA Store and another for the vivo 3×3 event. As you know, vivo is still the official smartphone of the NBA for its Philippines market.

Of course, as players of NBA 2K titles ourselves, it’s good to see actual hoops being played every once in a while.

Not that we don’t do that regularly for our smartphone reviews, specially those with telephoto cameras, but this event definitely had the NBA atmosphere — one you’d see on the simulation game whenever you hold even just a quick play session.

For one, the indoor arena’s basketball flooring was draped in NBA blue and red, along with the event’s official title at center court.

There were intermission numbers, fan interaction (dance cam, bongo cam, emoji cam, and more), and a lot more going on to hype the event up. Popular disc jock and events host, Tin Gamboa, or DJ Suzy, also graced the finals as its MC.

NBA 2K MyCareer in real life

As the name of the tournament suggests, the NBA Rising Stars is a one-of-a-kind global tournament that puts the spotlight on young ballers for a chance to compete globally against the best from other regions.

The Philippines qualifiers is just one of many launchpads, with the winning boys and girls teams getting boarding passes to the Rising Stars finale in Singapore this June. Best of all, it’s all-expense paid. Talk about playing MyCareer in real life.

The protagonists were then introduced before a packed crowd. Sochan also made his appearance, and gamely attended requests for autographs and photos throughout the afternoon. He even joined the broadcast panel during the boys finals.

Quite frankly, it’s one of those days where he felt like a superstar and a VIP throughout. It’s much like NBA 2K MyCareer players when they’ve progressed deep into their journeys.

The girls finals between National University Nazareth School (NUNS) and La Salle College Antipolo (LSCA) was held first. NUNS won big, 107-49.

As a major intermission, SB19’s Felip also had a live performance. This included a nine-minute medley of some of his hit songs.

Then, the boys finals between National University Nazareth School (NUNS) and University of Santo Tomas (UST) commenced. NUNS made it a sweep for their school with a 101-75 win.

Sochan joined both winning squads during the awarding ceremony and then partook in a final press conference backstage.

It was quite the weekend for him. If you were the young boys and girls looking up to him, there’s more to be done to be just like the NBA player. After all, they’re just getting started and they MyCareer stories have more blank pages waiting to be filled.

Gaming

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 clip shows Losing Ground 1st look

Pre-order now for Campaign Early Access

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A short new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 teaser shows a quick look at the Losing Ground mission for the first time.

It is one of the big war missions from the title’s Campaign mode, following the Korean grunt squad through chaos on the ground.

The brief clip is a pre-order promotional material, wherein gamers can place pre-orders now on any platform for Campaign Early Access.

This shall allow players to dive into the full single-player campaign a week ahead of the official worldwide release date on October 16.

In the vignette, soldiers can be seen advancing through a burning urban environment while under intense enemy fire.

The squad pushes through a breached storefront into a local cafe to clear enemy strongpoints.

Laster on, out in the open on the bridge, squad members realize they are heavily exposed and call out incoming enemy air support. This was right before an explosion rocks the area.

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Computers

AMD launches Radeon RX 9050 graphics card

Affordable GPU option for AAA titles

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AMD has launched the new AMD Radeon RX 9050 graphics card, expanding the Radeon RX 9000 series with an affordable option.

This brings AMD RDNA 4 gaming technologies to mainstream gamers with a retail price of US$ 279.

The particular GPU is designed for responsive gameplay at 1080p. That’s for esports and modern AAA titles.

Some popular titles it can run at high frame rates on a 1080p resolution include: Cyberpunk 2077, Forza Horizon 6, Pragmata, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Valorant, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, to name a few.

This highly efficient, drop-in upgrade features a 92W TBP and fully supports the latest AMD FSR technologies, next-gen raytracing, and high-quality AV1 video streaming.

Key specs:

  • Architecture: AMD RDNA 4
  • Compute Units: 16
  • VRAM: 8GB GDDR6
  • Game Clock / Boost Clock: 1.92 GHz / Up to 2.60 GHz
  • TBP: 92W

In line with the Radeon RX 9050 launch, AMD has also released AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.7.1.

This driver introduces official day-one support for Radeon RX 9050, alongside early multiplayer access for Gears of War: E-Day.

Users can download the software here.

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Gaming

NBA 2K27 gameplay trailer showcases new dunk mechanics, Rucker Park, and more

First gameplay details revealed

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NBA 2K27 gameplay

NBA 2K27 is giving fans their first look at this year’s gameplay.

2K has released the official gameplay trailer for NBA 2K27, showcasing enhanced visuals and several gameplay updates ahead of the game’s September 4 launch. The trailer also features cover athletes Victor Wembanyama, Caitlin Clark, and Derrick Rose while teasing changes across Gameplay, MyCAREER, MyTEAM, MyNBA, and the MyPLAYER Builder.

The publisher also confirmed the Preseason Breakdown: NBA 2K27 Game Reveal, which streams on August 18 at 10:00 AM PT. During the presentation, 2K will reveal this year’s biggest gameplay innovations and mode updates before Early Access begins on August 28 for Deluxe Edition and Ultra Edition owners.

Smarter AI and a new Dunk Meter headline gameplay changes

NBA 2K27 introduces several gameplay refinements based on community feedback.

AI defenders now contest shots more effectively and hold their defensive positioning better, especially in online modes like The REC. The changes aim to create a more balanced experience on both ends of the floor.

The game also introduces a fully dynamic Dunk Meter. Instead of locking in the timing at takeoff, the meter continuously evaluates defensive positioning throughout the dunk attempt. Open driving lanes create a larger green window, while late defensive rotations shrink it, making each dunk attempt feel more responsive to the action on the court.

MyPLAYER Builder expands with more Badges

The MyPLAYER Builder now features 53 total Badges, up from 40 in last year’s game. Players can also experiment with 19 brand-new Badges designed to support more specialized builds.

Cap Breakers are also making a return. This time, players can preview attribute boosts directly inside the Builder before finalizing their character.

MyTEAM and MyNBA receive community-requested updates

MyTEAM introduces the franchise’s first unified Auction House across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2. The shared marketplace creates the largest pool of community-listed cards in the mode’s history. It should also make card prices more consistent across supported platforms.

Winning an auction is now faster, too. Purchased cards go straight into your collection without a verification delay.

MyNBA also receives several franchise management updates that reflect today’s NBA. These include second apron salary cap rules from the league’s latest collective bargaining agreement and the ability to offer No-Trade Clauses to free agents.

Rucker Park comes to MyCAREER

The City returns with the same centralized layout introduced last year. This time, however, it gets a new nighttime look filled with neon lights.

NBA 2K27 also recreates the legendary Rucker Park. The iconic streetball court serves as the setting for this year’s MyCAREER prelude story, Fire & Concrete, and also appears in the Street Kings mode.

NBA 2K27 launches on September 4 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC via Steam, and Nintendo Switch 2. Players who purchase the Deluxe Edition or Ultra Edition can jump in early starting August 28 through Early Access.

Watch the full trailer. 

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