By Agence France-Presse

Injured Japanese badminton world number one Kento Momota had surgery on a bone near his eye on Saturday — dashing hopes of an early recovery, local media reported.

The 25-year-old Japanese — hurt in a Malaysian car crash earlier this year — was diagnosed with an orbital floor fracture after he said he suffered double vision during practice, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.

Doctors anticipated the bone would take three months to fully heal, the station said, adding he had already been discharged following the surgery.

Momota had prepared to return to action at the March 11 All England Championships but would miss the competition, NHK said.

Instead, he is expected to focus on treatment, it said, adding that his recovery was expected to be “considerably” delayed.

Immediate confirmation of the news reports was not available.

Momota returned to Japan in mid-January after suffering minor injuries following a car crash that killed his driver.

He had originally been expected to face two months out after suffering cuts to his face and multiple bruises when his vehicle crashed en route to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on January 13.

Momota — who won a record 11 titles last year — had “extraordinary enthusiasm” about the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the secretary general of Japan’s Badminton Association Kinji Zeniya said when the player returned home.

The accident occurred just hours after he began this year’s season by beating Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen.

Momota enjoyed unrivaled success in 2019, with his title haul including the World Championship, Asia Championship, and All England Championship.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

The NBA champion Toronto Raptors’ mid-season surge continued with a franchise-record 13th straight victory on Friday after a 115-106 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Serge Ibaka scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who haven’t lost a game since January 15 and beat the Pacers for the second time in three days.

“We’re just trying to be us,” Ibaka said. “There’s a lot of tough teams out there, we’re just trying to focus on us and trying to do our job.”

A 12-3 burst in the third quarter propelled the Raptors to an 87-78 lead, but the Pacers trimmed the deficit after Toronto’s six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry departed with what the team called a whiplash injury.

Lowry had drawn a foul on Jeremy Lamb and run into Ibaka as he fell, his head and shoulder making contact with Ibaka.

Lowry lay on the court for several minutes, surrounded by concerned teammates, before walking to the sideline and then the locker room.

Raptors coach Nick Nurse said Lowry was sore and would likely miss Saturday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.

The Boston Celtics, third in the Eastern Conference behind the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto, notched their sixth straight victory with a 112-107 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

Forward Jayson Tatum scored 32 points — his second straight game of 30 or more —  as the Celtics overcame the injury absences of Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward.

In Washington, Bradley Beal seized an inbound pass with 1.8 seconds remaining and drove for the game-winning basket in the Wizards’ 119-118 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

It was just part of another standout performance from Beal, who has been on a tear ever since he failed to gain selection to the NBA All-Star game.

Beal scored a game-high 29 points, pulled down five rebounds and handed out eight assists for the Wizards, who are chasing the Orlando Magic for the eighth and final playoff berth in the East.

In a back-and-forth battle that featured 21 lead changes, the Mavericks took a 118-117 lead in the closing seconds after Tim Hardaway made one of two free throws.

Washington coach Scott Brooks called a timeout and drew up the in-bounds play that produced Beal’s basket.

“We made a mistake on defense, and they made a great play,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “The game was lost throughout. We had too many miscommunications and it was a collection of defensive mistakes … that led to this. Just very disappointing.”

Davis Bertans made five three-pointers to finish with 20 points for the Wizards. Japanese rookie Rui Hachimura scored 17 points and delivered a dominant defensive performance against Mavs star Kristaps Porzingis.

The Philadelphia 76ers, fresh off an 0-4 road trip in which they lost four games by an average of more than 18 points, basked in their return home with a 119-107 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Star center Joel Embiid sat out the second half because of a stiff neck, but reserve guard Furkan Korkmaz helped the Sixers compensate with a career-high 34 points.

Korkmaz connected on 13 of 17 shots from the field, including a career-high seven three-pointers. Ben Simmons added 22 points with 10 assists and three steals as Philadelphia, a lowly 9-19 on the road, improved to 23-2 at home and 32-21 overall.

Suns shoot down Rockets

The Phoenix Suns, fueled by a career-high 39 points from Kelly Oubre, upset the Houston Rockets 127-91.

Devin Booker scored 33 points for the Suns, who out-scored the prolific Rockets 46-26 in the first quarter and never trailed the rest of the way.

Oubre connected on 14 of 19 shots from the field, including seven of nine from three-point range as Phoenix snapped a four-game skid.

James Harden scored 32 points to lead the Rockets, whose All-Star guard Russell Westbrook sat out a day after scoring 41 points in Houston’s win over the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Kristel Satumbaga

Alekhine Nouri and Bernadette Galas ruled their respective divisions to strengthen their bid of keeping their place in the national pool in the Philippine Sports Commission-National Chess Federation of the Philippines selection process at the PACE headquarters in Quezon City on Friday.

Nouri, a FIDE Master and the youngest participant at 14 years old, finished with seven points alongside International Master Jan Emmanuel Garcia but ended up with the higher tiebreak to clinch the crown.

Galas, a many-time Olympiad veteran, emerged solo champion in the women’s side with nine points, half a point ahead of Marie Antoinette San Diego and Allaney Jia Doroy with 8.5 points apiece.

Nouri and Galas will only need to finish solidly in the second and final round set Feb. 24 to March 1 also at the PACE for them to hang on to their spots in the national squad.

It was a sensational triumph for Nouri, who bested older and more seasoned foes.

Nouri is one of the country’s brightest hopes to become a Grandmaster considering that he is still young.

The Far Eastern University-Diliman sixth-grader was once captured the imagination of Philippine chess after he became the youngest FIDE Master in the world at only seven years old in 2013.

But he was barely heard from there until he won a tournament in Malaysia two years ago and came one win shy of snaring another also in Malaysia last year before ending up fifth and best-placed Filipino eventually.

His recent feat, however, could put him back into his long-awaited goal to become a GM.

 

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Waylon Galvez

The team of Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz has set up a training camp in Malaysia after trips in China and Taiwan were called off due to the travel ban caused by the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Acute Respiratory Disease that has spread in various parts of the world.

The training camp is part of Diaz’s preparation for the Asian Championship on April 16 to 25 in Kazakhstan, an event that is crucial in her bid to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

The 28-year-old Diaz said her ‘Team HD’ is finalizing all the details with the Philippine Sports Commission for the said trip with a target departure for on February 15.

“At the end of the day we just need to have an isolation training,” said Diaz Saturday. “This has been our slogan, that with good training, good rest and food, we expect a good performance in every competition.”

Diaz was supposed to train in China, but the health issue and the travel ban forced Team HD to look for an alternative. Taiwan was considered but apparently, it has its own ban on Chinese nationals due to the 2019 nCov.

Diaz’s head coach is Kaiwen Gao from China.

“Syempre medyo affected kami sa coronavirus. Coach ko Chinese, total ban sa Taiwan, so hindi kami maka-training dun. Parang useless din kung pupunta kami dun without him. So we decided to go to Malaysia,” said Diaz.

Diaz trained in both China and Taiwan prior to the 30th Southeast Asian Games here, which resulted in her first gold medal in the regional meet in the 55kg division in the women’s division.

A month later, Diaz bagged the gold medal in the same category in the 2020 ROMA World Cup in Italy.

So far, the 28-year-old Diaz is at No. 5 spot with 3,632.0672 points in the IWF ranking.

“Kailangan in every competition we need to prepare. May mga kailangan lang ng adjustment sa training. Kailangan mas high intensity ang training ngayon, malapit na yung Asian Championship,” said Diaz.

“After ng Malaysia baka tuloy-tuloy na kami sa Kazakhstan, we need to be there five days before the competition, para mas maka-prepare kami sa weather, sa time zone and food.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

Kai Sotto was selected to take part in the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp which will be held during the NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago.

The 7-foot-2 Sotto was one of 64 boys and girls invited for the sixth edition of the camp set Feb. 14 to 16 and hosted by the NBA and world governing body FIBA.

Sotto’s inclusion comes after a series of impressive showing for the Atlanta-based prep team The Skill Factory caught the attention of several US NCAA Division I schools.

Recently, the former Ateneo Blue Eaglets star received interest from Georgia University and Boston College.

AJ Edu, a teammate of Sotto with Gilas Pilipinas Youth, was part of the 2018 camp held in Los Angeles.

Serving as coaches are NBA players Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors, Lauri Markkanen of the Chicago Bulls, Davis Bertans of the Washington Wizards and 7-foot-5 Tacko Fall of the Boston Celtics.

Joining them are former WNBA players Ashley Battle, Michele Van Gorp and Ebony Hoffman.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Jordyn Huitema scored in the 72nd minute and Canada punched their ticket to Tokyo on Friday with a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica in the CONCACAF women’s Olympic football qualifying tournament.

Costa Rica, 37th in the FIFA world rankings, kept the Canadians at bay with a disciplined defensive performance at Dignity Sports Park in Carson, California.

But Canada, who earned bronze at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Games, broke through at last thanks to 18-year-old Huitema.

The Paris Saint-Germain player had hit the post with her shot from a cross by teammate Deanne Rose, but the ball rebounded straight to her and she slotted it home with her right foot.

Both semifinal winners in the regional qualifier for North and Central America and the Caribbean advance to the Tokyo Games.

The United States took on Mexico in the second semifinal later Friday.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Nick Giongco

The Philippine men’s boxing team is jetting back to Thailand where it will train for almost two weeks before heading to the Olympic boxing qualifiers in Amman, Jordan, next month.

Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) secretary general Ed Picson said six other national teams bound for the Jordan slugfest that will dangle slots to the Tokyo Olympics, are also setting up camp in a city just outside Bangkok.

Last month, the Filipino fighters spent weeks there as they prepared to leave for the qualifiers originally scheduled Feb. 3-14 in Wuhan, China.

But the coronavirus outbreak forced the International Olympic Committee to move the event to Amman for fear of contracting the deadly disease.

The Amman boxfest is scheduled March 3-11 with bets not only from Asia but from Oceania taking part.

Picson said the boxers are returning to Manila on Feb. 26 in time for their flight to the Middle East on Feb. 28.

The Jordan tournament is one of just two qualifying events for those seeking Olympic berths.

Those who won’t make the grade during the continental qualifiers will get one last chance when Paris hosts the World Qualification Tournament from May 13-24.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Toronto Raptors star forward Pascal Siakam of Cameroon and Senegalese giant Tacko Fall of the Boston Celtics will be among coaches for an international youth camp next week in Chicago.

Forty boys and 24 girls from a total of 34 nations will attend the Basketball Without Borders global camp on February 14-16 being staged as part of the NBA All-Star Game weekend festivities.

Siakam, who helped the Raptors win last year’s NBA crown, and Fall, a rookie reserve center who stands 7ft 5ins (2.26m), will be joined as instructors by Latvian center Davis Bertans of the Washington Wizards and Finnish forward Lauri Markkanen of the Chicago Bulls.

Young players from Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe and America will attend the sessions, whose instructors will also include former Women’s NBA players and NBA several assistant coaches.

More than 30 former attendees at such camps were on NBA rosters at the start of the 2019-20 campaign, including Phoenix star Deandre Ayton from the Bahamas, Japan’s Rui Hachimura of the Wizards and Canadians R.J. Barrett of New York, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Oklahoma City and Jamal Murray of Denver.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

A tearful Naomi Osaka followed up her Australian Open disappointment with another surprise defeat on Friday when she was beaten 6-0, 6-3 by world number 78 Sara Sorribes Tormo in the Fed Cup.

Spain took an unexpected lead over Japan in the tie in Cartagena after Sorribes Tormo capitalized on a careless performance from Osaka, who made an astonishing 50 unforced errors in the 15 games.

Carla Suarez Navarro then made it 2-0 to the hosts after she eased past Misaki Doi 6-3, 6-4.

Sorribes Tormo enjoyed the backing of a sizeable home crowd at La Manga Club and her consistency proved too much for Osaka, who has never played her best on clay.

“We knew that Sara had the game to make it very uncomfortable for Naomi,” Spain captain Anabel Medina Garrigues said. “She stuck to the game plan perfectly.”

The winners of the eight qualifying ties will join four automatic entries, holders France, Australia, Czech Republic and hosts Hungary, in the inaugural Fed Cup Finals in Budapest in April.

Osaka, a two-time Grand Slam champion, has endured a shaky start to the year after being knocked out by 15-year-old American sensation Coco Gauff last month in Melbourne, where she had lifted the trophy in 2019.

Since claiming her second consecutive major triumph, Osaka has dipped, failing to go past the fourth round in any of the four Grand Slams since.

The 22-year-old, who has dropped to number 10 in the world, surrendered the first set to Sorribes Tormo in a swift 27 minutes before putting up more of a fight in the second.

But after Osaka led 2-0, Sorribes Tormo came back and a break midway through proved decisive, with a clearly disappointed Osaka struggling to contain her emotions at the finish.

Sorribes Tormo’s second career singles win in Fed Cup gave Spain the perfect start, which was extended by Suarez Navarro’s comfortable victory over Doi.

Osaka will now have to beat Suarez Navarro in the reverse singles on Saturday to prevent Spain booking their place in the finals in Budapest in April.

Elsewhere, world number five Belinda Bencic thrashed Gabriela Dabrowski 6-1, 6-2 to give Switzerland a commanding 2-0 advantage over Canada, while Britain slipped 2-0 behind against Slovakia in Bratislava.

The ties between Belgium and Kazakhstan, Romania and Russia, and the Netherlands and Belarus, were all level at 1-1 after the opening day.

Later on Friday, Serena Williams will play in the tournament for a fourth decade as the United States host Latvia in Everett, Washington.

It will be the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s first appearance in the event since 2018.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal attracted what organizers said was a world record crowd for a tennis match when they played an exhibition event in the Cape Town Stadium on Friday.

The organizers said an audited attendance of 51,954 beat the 42,517 who watched Federer play Alexander Zverev of Germany in Mexico City last November.

They also announced that the ‘Match in Africa’ raised $3.5-million for the Roger Federer Foundation, which supports educational and athletic programs for children in Africa.

“To have 51,954 people in attendance at a tennis match, I never thought I’d be apart of something like that,” said Federer. “It’s not something you dream about.

Federer, who was accompanied by his South African mother, Lynette, said his first appearance in South Africa was a special occasion.

“The first time here in Cape Town, in South Africa, means so much more than just tennis,” he said.

Federer won 6-4 3-6 6-3 in a match in which the players had to contend with cool, windy conditions in the stadium that was built for the 2010 football World Cup.

The arena was packed with eager fans who sang, clapped and did the wave throughout the match.

“It’s an amazing crowd, an amazing stadium,” said Nadal, who was making his first appearance in South Africa since playing in the country as a junior.

“It’s an unforgettable evening. We will probably never play again in an atmosphere such as this one,” said Nadal. “I can’t thank enough the people here in Cape Town. They came here and created an unforgettable atmosphere.”

Earlier in the day, Federer and his doubles partner billionaire Bill Gates beat Nadal and South-African born comedian  Trevor Noah in a match with more flexible rules.

The ceremonial coin toss was performed by World Cup-winning Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi, who presented Federer with a Springbok jersey. The coin used was a commemorative 20 Swiss Francs piece minted with Federer’s face. He gave it to Kolisi.

Other high-profile South African sports stars in attendance included former Springbok captains John Smit and Jean de Villiers as well as Olympic swimmer Ryk Neethling.

The match is the sixth edition of the event organized by the Roger Federer Foundation and is the first to take place in Africa.

“There’s so much anticipation that goes into it that the match itself almost gets forgotten,” said Federer before the match.

He said he spent childhood holidays in South Africa.

“The time spent here as a kid was amazing,” Federer said. “You would go on the road and you never come back for some reason because you’ve gotta chase that little tennis ball and you’ve gotta chase your dreams.”

Tens of thousands of fans showed up early and were ecstatic when Nadal and Federer hit practice balls into the stands.

One fan said she brought a wedding ring for Federer to propose to her. “I want to marry Roger,” she shouted.

Earlier in the afternoon, Federer and Nadal played tennis with children from townships in Hout Bay.

The children are part of an afterschool activity program with Zip Zap Circus which develops gross and fine motor skills.

Source: Manila Bulletin