By Jonas Terrado

NLEX closed in on sweeping the four-team PBA mini-tournament after defeating Alaska 104-89 Wednesday at the Upper Deck Sports Center in Ortigas.

Raul Soyud had 22 points and eight rebounds while Kevin Alas added 18 as the Road Warriors won their second game after Monday’s 103-97 defeat of the San Miguel Beermen.

Coach Yeng Guiao didn’t field center Poy Erram, who was in uniform but awaits word whether the proposed three-team trade that will sent him to TNT KaTropa will push through or not.

Kiefer Ravena was hardly used due to his rigorous duties practicing for Gilas Pilipinas in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.

Jericho Cruz has been excused as he’ll represent Guam in the upcoming window of the Qualifiers.

The Road Warriors try to finish the week-long event unbeaten when they face the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters on Friday.

Phoenix is hosting the series dubbed as the “Phoenix Super Basketball Tournament.”

Earlier, Phoenix routed San Miguel 108-90 for a 1-1 slate. Matthew Wright finished with 19 points.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Sofia Kenin lost her first WTA match since winning the Australian Open earlier this month as she went down 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 6-3 to Elena Rybakina on Tuesday at the Dubai Championships.

World number seven Kenin’s loss completed a hat-trick of seeded upsets on the fourth day of action in the United Arab Emirates.

Titleholder Belinda Bencic was overhauled 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova while third seed and two-time tournament winner Elina Svitolina was hammered 6-2, 6-1 by qualifier Jennifer Brady.

American Kenin played a pair of non-Tour Fed Cup matches immediately after her Melbourne win over Garbine Muguruza, who cut short Kim Clijsters’ comeback on Monday.

The 21-year-old went down in just over two hours to her 19th-ranked opponent who stood 192nd in the world a year ago.

“There’s a bit more pressure coming from my side (after first Grand Slam win). But I’ve just got to try to manage it for the next tournaments,” said Kenin.

“I just didn’t feel my game really well. I just made too many unforced errors, I didn’t take my chances. I felt really off the whole match.”

Kenin got away to an early break but lost it and had to win the first set in a tiebreaker. Rybakina then dominated the next two sets to reach the second round where she will face Czech Katerina Siniakova.

Kazakh Rybakina won the Hobart title in January and reached the final last weekend in St Petersburg.

“I prepared with good practice. I didn’t expect that I would win. I tried to do my best,” she said.

“I wasn’t nervous (after flying here from Russia) at all because I knew it’s going to be tough.

“I didn’t think about that she just won the Australian Open, I know that now everyone can beat everyone,” she added.

Bencic burns

Seventh seed Aryna Sabalenka set up a potential quarter-final clash with world number two Simona Halep after seeing off Greek Maria Sakkari 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.

Belarusian Sabalenka will face her doubles partner Elise Mertens, who is ranked 22nd in the world, in the second round on Wednesday before top seed Halep takes on Tunisian Ons Jabeur.

“We played so many times before. she’s a great player,” Sabalenka said of Mertens.

“I know she’s a big fighter. I’m just going to out there and enjoy the fight. I don’t want to focus on that she’s my doubles partner, like we are friends and something. It’s going to be a big fight.”

Earlier, Bencic ran off the first 19 points against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova before collapsing to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 loss.

Pavlyuchenkova could not have made a worse start before advancing in 92 minutes.

“It’s tennis, sometimes it happens,” the 31st-ranked Russian said.

“You go out there and you just don’t feel anything. I just kept on fighting, still trying to hit every ball, trying to be there.

“Slowly I started to turn it around, I started to find my game. In the third set, it was a good level from both of us.”

The shock defeats leaves the spotlight to Halep and second-seeded Karolina Pliskova, who begin in the second round after byes.

Weekend ATP Rotterdam winner Gael Monfils watched in pain as girlfriend Svitolina went down to Brady.

Svitolina had little to offer as the 52nd-ranked Brady gained her second victory this season over a Top 10 opponent after beating Ashleigh Barty in Brisbane.

The Ukrainian’s usually steady game was nowhere to be found at the Aviation Club as first-round play concluded.

“It was not a bad start, but then everything just went downhill,” Svitolina said.

“I wish I could regroup better. In the end, I didn’t feel so good the ball. Just everything was all over the place today.

“Before I was more composed with my game. Now it’s little bit of a struggle. Maybe mentally or something.”

Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic beat fellow qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-4, 6-3 to set up a second-round date with Pliskova.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Veteran US stock car driver Ryan Newman was awake and speaking with doctors and family members on Tuesday, a day after a horrifying crash at the Daytona 500 auto race.

Roush Fenway Racing updated the condition of the 42-year-old American, whose Ford Mustang had been leading on the final lap but spun out of control, struck the wall and went flying into the air before flipping onto its roof and bursting into flames.

Several ambulances raced to the scene of the wreck by the 2008 Daytona 500 winner, who was extracted from the car and taken to a nearby hospital in serious condition with injuries that Roush Racing officials said were not life-threatening.

“Ryan Newman remains under the care of doctors at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. He is awake and speaking with family and doctors,” Roush Fenway Racing said in a statement.

“Ryan and his family have expressed their appreciation for the concern and heartfelt messages from across the country. They are grateful for the unwavering support of the NASCAR community and beyond.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Neymar has criticized Paris Saint-Germain’s handling of his recent injury after scoring in the 2-1 defeat at Borussia Dortmund, which leaves the French club facing the prospect of another early Champions League exit.

After missing four games in the last fortnight with a rib injury, the Brazilian superstar looked short of match fitness in Tuesday’s last-16, first-leg, defeat at Dortmund.

Norwegian goal-machine Erling Braut Haaland scored twice to make him the Champions League joint top-scorer, but Neymar gave PSG a lifeline for the second leg in Paris on March 11.

He tapped home for what could prove a crucial away goal after being set up by France striker Kylian Mbappe in the second half.

Neymar, the world’s most expensive player, was critical of the French league champions for not letting him play more before Tuesday’s clash.

“It’s hard to go four games without playing,” said Neymar.

“Unfortunately it wasn’t my choice, it was the choice of the club, of the doctors, they made that decision, which I didn’t like.

“We had a lot of discussions about it because I wanted to play, I felt good, but the club was afraid and in the end it was me who suffered.”

Big-spending PSG are desperate to avoid exiting the Champions League at the first knockout round for a fourth season in a row.

“It was a tough game, but we have to do what we can in the return game,” Neymar, 28, told reporters.

“Playing now at home is the best thing in the world, we have 90 minutes to do something.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred apologized Tuesday for calling the championship trophy a “piece of metal” but defended his decision not to strip the Houston Astros of their 2017 World Series crown.

The Astros were fined $5 million and lost their top two MLB Draft picks for the next two years for a sign-stealing scandal detailed in an MLB investigation that found cameras and a monitor used to learn what pitches rival hurlers would throw and had players hit trash cans to signal batters what was coming.

Players arrived to begin pre-season training camps and criticized what many saw as inadequate punishments, with some saying the Astros should forfeit their World Series victory.

Manfred said calling the trophy merely a “piece of metal” was a mistake.

“I had a long day on Sunday,” Manfred said. “I made one mistake, at least, during that long day. That was, in an effort to make a rhetorical point, I referred to the World Series trophy in a disrespectful way. And I want to apologize for that.

“There’s no excuse for it. I made a mistake. I was trying to make a point, but I should have made it in a more effective way.”

He did defend the decision to allow the Astros to keep the crown despite the widespread high-tech cheating scheme.

“I felt, and continue to feel, that the best thing we can do for our fans is to give them the facts and put them in position to make their own judgment as to what happened in 2017, what the significance of that particular World Series is,” Manfred said.

“I’m also very concerned about opening the door to altering results that took place on the field. There are a lot of things that have happened in the history of the game that arguably could be corrected. I think it’s an impossible task for an institution to undertake.”

Manfred said a blanket immunity for players was a union-mandated condition of getting player cooperation vital to uncovering the details of the scheme.

“Because we were at a stalemate and knew we needed player witnesses, we agreed to that,” Manfred said.

“Let me be clear. We would not have gotten where we got in terms of understanding the facts, learning the facts, disclosing the facts if we had not disclosed that agreement.

“So I’m not being critical of anyone. But the fact of the matter is the union wanted an immunity agreement to protect their members and that’s how we got there.”

Manfred defended Mike Fiers, the former Astros pitcher with Oakland who detailed the scheme to The Athletic website to unveil the strategy for the first time.

“We will take every possible step to protect Mike Fiers wherever he’s playing, whether it’s in Houston or somewhere else,” Manfred said.

“Mike did the industry a service. I do believe that we will be a better institution when we emerge at the end of this episode. Without a Mike Fiers, we probably would have had a very difficult time cleaning this up.”

Manfred was also concerned that rival pitchers would not throw balls at Astros batters as a way to impose punishment during games.

“We know there are going to be difficult situations, but I can’t tell you that I have a magic bullet to prevent those issues,” Manfred said.

“All we can do is get in front of the issue, we’re really cognizant of it, and we’re already taking steps to try to minimize those sorts of problems.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Tokyo 2020 organizers on Monday rolled out the motto for this year’s Olympics, “United by Emotion”, which they said reflected the “universal values” and “unifying power of sport.”

“Crowds of spectators who do not know each other prior to the Games will come together and learn that there is more that unites them than divides them,” Tokyo 2020 said as it unveiled the motto.

The official Olympic motto is “Citius, Altius, Fortius” or “Faster, Higher, Stronger”, but each host city chooses its own motto to accompany that edition of the Games.

London’s motto in 2012 was “Inspire a Generation”, whereas Athens in 2004 went for “Welcome Home” — a nod to the birthplace of the Games in Olympia.

Less well-received was Sochi, which plumped for “Hot. Cool. Yours”, sparking derision in some quarters.

Tokyo said the motto would be beamed onto the Skytree tower in the Japanese capital to raise awareness as it will be seen for miles around.

The opening ceremony will be on July 24 and organizers have stressed there is no discussion about changing this date despite the coronavirus crisis hitting global transport.

Tokyo 2020 roll-outs have not always been smooth. In September 2015, the Games logo was ditched after accusations of plagiarism.

Designer Olivier Debie said the design was stolen from his logo for a Belgian theatre and threatened court action before officials withdrew the emblem, saying it “no longer has public support”.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Field Level Media-Reuters

The New York Knicks have a deep interest in hiring Villanova’s Jay Wright as their next head coach, Forbes reported Monday.

“There is a strong possibility that Jay Wright in New York could happen,” a league source told Forbes.

Wright did not comment on the matter when reached by text Sunday, and a Villanova spokesman said the university does not comment on speculative reports.

Wright, 58, was previously linked to the Knicks after the team fired Jeff Hornacek in April 2018.

“It’s not that you’re not interested, I just don’t want to leave,” Wright told the New York Post at that time. “It’s the Knicks. You love the Garden, you love New York City, you love the Knicks. I just know I don’t want to leave Villanova.”

Wright is in his 19th season with the Wildcats and has a 467-181 (.721) record. The six-time Big East Coach of the Year has guided Villanova to the NCAA tournament 14 times, winning the 2016 and 2018 national championships.

The Knicks are 17-38 this season and 13-20 under interim coach Mike Miller, who took over when David Fizdale was fired in early December. New York is in 13th place in the Eastern Conference and has not been to the playoffs since 2012-13.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Field Level Media-Reuters

The Houston Rockets are keeping busy during the All-Star break, with plans to sign veteran forwards DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Green, according to multiple media reports Monday.

Green, who has been a free agent since the Jazz waived him on Dec. 24, is expected to sign a 10-day contract as early as Tuesday, according to league sources at ESPN. Sources indicate he will be offered a deal for the rest of the season if he feels comfortable enough to commit to it.

Carroll, who took a buyout from the San Antonio Spurs on Monday after playing only 15 games (averaging 2.2 points, 2.1 rebounds a game), needs to clear waivers before signing with the Rockets.

“I don’t know what went wrong, what happened,” Carroll said via the San Antonio Express-News about his short stint with the Spurs after signing as a free agent last summer. “I felt like San Antonio was going to be a great place for me, for my talents, but it didn’t work out.”

The 6-foot-6 Carroll, 33, is in his 11th NBA season, having started his career with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2009 after they made him a first-round pick in that year’s NBA draft.

During the 2010-11 season, he played for the Rockets, and also had stints with the Denver Nuggets (2011-12), Utah Jazz (2011-13), Atlanta Hawks (2013-15), Toronto Raptors (2015-17) and Brooklyn Nets (2017-19). In 569 career games, he has averaged 9.0 points and 4.3 rebounds.

The 6-8 Green, also 33, has career averages of 13.0 points and 4.4 rebounds a game while playing for eight NBA franchises, beginning his 13-year career with the Seattle SuperSonics in 2007-08.

During his time with the franchise that became the Oklahoma City Thunder, Green was teammates with current Rockets players James Harden and Russell Westbrook. His other stops included the Boston Celtics, Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers, Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Field Level Media-Reuters

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving has been elected vice president of the players’ union, the NBPA announced.

Irving replaces 18-year NBA veteran Pau Gasol, whose three-year term expired. Irving’s three-year term begins immediately.

“This was the right time for me to run for a leadership position in the NBPA,” said Irving, a nine-year NBA veteran and six-time All-Star. “I have been an observer and a participant in union affairs for a while, but for the most part, I was off on the sidelines, supporting our Executive Committee as they made important decisions.

“At this point in my career, I wanted to join forces with those guys and take a bigger role outside of the basketball court and within our union. I want to help move the union forward with innovative ideas, not only on social issues but also with business ventures into a new space. I am honored to be elected by my peers and I cannot wait to work with everybody to make an impact.”

“We are thrilled to have Kyrie join us as the newest Vice President,” NBPA president Chris Paul in a statement said. “Having a player of his caliber coupled with his off the court business acumen will help us to continue to strengthen the union as a whole and empower our individual voices as players.”

Irving, 27, joins the NBPA executive committee that includes Oklahoma City’s Paul (president), Miami’s Andre Iguodala (first vice president), Sacramento’s Anthony Tolliver (secretary-treasurer), and other vice presidents including Charlotte’s Bismack Biyombo, Indiana’s Malcolm Brogdon, Boston’s Jaylen Brown, Portland’s CJ McCollum and Brooklyn teammate Garrett Temple.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Field Level Media-Reuters

Reggie Jackson and the Detroit Pistons finalized a contract buyout and the point guard plans to join the Los Angeles Clippers, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday.

Jackson, 29, has played in 14 games this season, averaging 14.9 points, 5.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game. His exit follows the team’s trade of center Andre Drummond to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In the final year of a five-year, $80 million deal he signed before the 2015 season, Jackson was the 24th overall pick in 2011.

Jackson started Detroit’s final six games before the All-Star break and had three 20-point games in that span. He played in the first two games of the season then missed nearly two months with a back injury.

The Clippers added Marcus Morris in a trade with the New York Knicks at the trade deadline.

Paul George (hamstring) is likely to be limited in the coming weeks with an injury that has hampered him throughout his first season in Los Angeles.

Source: Manila Bulletin