Spain won its second FIBA Basketball World Cup after beating Argentina 95-75 in Beijing on Sunday. The center of the Spanish basketball team and NBA champion with the Toronto Raptors Marc Gasol said that Argentina and Spain have been the best teams in the championship, as they have shown ‘more heart’ and ‘more attitude’ than other competitors. He also reminded that initially no one expected both teams to reach the final leaving teams like […]
Sports — International
Kobe: US Dream Team days are over
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Kobe Bryant leapt to the defence of the United States basketball team after their failed World Cup campaign, saying on Friday: “The days of the 1992 Barcelona ‘Dream Team’ are gone.” A Team USA missing their biggest names were beaten for the second time in as many days on Thursday in China and are left fighting for a best finishing spot of seventh. It is a sorry end to a long […]
US exits Basketball World Cup with lowest-ever finish
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Outgoing champions the United States won their final match on Saturday at the Basketball World Cup — but it was still their worst finishing place in the tournament’s history. Team USA defeated Poland 87-74 in a low-key “classification” game in Beijing to take seventh overall, their lowest position since the competition began in 1950. Gregg Popovich’s team at least managed to avoid a third defeat in a row, but it […]
Philippines basketball coach quits after Gilas’ World Cup loss
The Philippines basketball coach resigned and apologized to the country on Wednesday after the national squad failed to win a game at the FIBA Basketball World Cup and finished last. Yeng Guiao’s team were blown out by a combined 105 points by Italy and Serbia to open their campaign in Group D at the tournament in China, and also lost to Angola in overtime, 84-81. The Gilas, ranked 31st in the world, fared no […]
Recriminations begin as Team USA’s long basketball run ends
DONGGUAN, China (AFP) — Coach Gregg Popovich deflected talk about his missing megastars after Team USA’s glorious run in major competition came to a juddering halt on Wednesday at the hands of France. The US lost to Greece in the World Cup semi-finals in 2006 but then went on a 58-game winning streak with NBA players on the roster that brought them three Olympic golds and two World Cup crowns. But they became just the […]
NBA banning ‘ninja-style’ headbands – report
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The NBA will bar players from wearing “ninja-style” headbands next season amid safety concerns, ESPN reported on Monday. Several players including All-Star Jimmy Butler sported the headgear last season, a band of fabric tied at the back of the head with the two ends flowing loose. However the on-court fashion trend had never been formally approved by the NBA, and now the league has moved to outlaw the accessory. […]
MVP Antetokounmpo and Greece fall to US at World Cup
SHENZHEN, China (AFP) — NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was unable to save Greece as holders the United States reached the Basketball World Cup quarter-finals with a 69-53 win on Saturday. In front of a capacity 12,000 crowd in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, Gregg Popovich’s world and Olympic champions had two or sometimes three players on Greece’s danger man. Stop the 24-year-old from the Milwaukee Bucks and you stop Greece was clearly the mantra […]
Lea Salonga sings official theme song for 2019 SEA Games “We win as one”
(Eagle News) – The official theme song of the Southeast Asian Games 2019 was finally revealed during the press launch on Tuesday, Sept. 3. Noted Filipina singer and actress Lea Salonga, who is also best known for her roles in musical theaters and plays, sang the 2019 SEA Games official theme song, “We Win as One” which was composed by Philippine National Artist for Music maestro Ryan Cayabyab and written by Palanca awardee Floy […]
Djokovic: ‘life goes on’ as injury wrecks US Open defense
by Martyn WOOD NEW YORK, United States (AFP ) — Top-ranked defending champion Novak Djokovic said “life goes on” after a shoulder injury forced him to quit Sunday’s clash with Stan Wawrinka in the last 16 of the US Open. Wawrinka, the 23rd seed and 2016 champion, led Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 2-1 when the Serb quit with a nagging left shoulder problem that had troubled him since the start of the tournament. “The pain was […]
Arrest warrant issued for Lakers’ Cousins on ‘threat’ claim
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — An arrest warrant for Los Angeles Lakers center DeMarcus Cousins on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge has been issued by authorities in Mobile, Alabama. The Mobile municipal court website lists a third-degree harassing communications charge against Cousins, but no other details were disclosed. USA Today, citing a defense attorney not involved in the case, reported the likely outcome of the warrant would be that Cousins’ representative would arrange a […]
Fastest woman’ racing driver dies trying to break own record
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Racing driver Jessi Combs, considered the “fastest woman on four wheels,” was killed in a car accident trying to break her own record, police said Wednesday. Combs’s jet car crashed Tuesday in the Alvord Desert where she was pronounced dead at the scene, officers in the northwestern US state of Oregon said in a statement. Combs, 39, earned her “fastest woman” title in 2013 when she hit 398 miles […]
Federer in favor of prize money boost in ‘lower ranks’
by Martyn WOOD NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Roger Federer added his voice to growing calls for increased prize money for players “in the lower ranks” after battling into the third round of the US Open on Wednesday. A sizeable number of top men’s players are backing a petition seeking a larger slice of tournament revenues at Grand Slams and other events, with those outside the top 100 struggling to make money or break […]