Thursday, May 13, 2021
Find Out How To Resolve Conflict
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Galatians 6:1
When Jo Shetler went to work among the Balangao people, a tribal group in Northern Luzon in the Philippines, she quickly learned that the way she did things was much different from the way they were done in the tribe. She knew, of course, there were cultural differences. But what she didn’t understand was how great they were. She soon learned that though the Balangaos didn’t have the advancements of culture and civilization that she had grown up with, they had far, far surpassed her culture when it came to interpersonal relationships, especially getting along with difficult people.
In her book, And the Word Came with Power, Jo tells about the time when an individual came into the area with teaching which contradicted the biblical message she was trying to communicate. Her first reaction was to ask one of the tribal leaders to put a stop to this. When she pressed her adopted father in the tribe to do something, he replied, “My child, you just don’t know how to discuss things with others.”
At those words, Jo was rebuffed. Then she said, “Well, you’re my father. I guess you’d better teach me.” So, the old man sat down with her and explained how to deal with conflict. “First of all,” he said, “you must listen.” Then he said, “Walk along with the other person on his trail and affirm every point you can, demonstrating to him that you understand him. Then, when he’s no longer threatened, and he realizes you understand his argument, take him by the hand and lead him where you want him to go.”
And those words of counsel came from a man who never darkened the door of a school or listened to a concert of the world’s great music.
Little did this man, considered primitive by many, realize he was paraphrasing what St. Thomas Aquinas wrote centuries before. Aquinas, who knew more than almost anybody who ever lived about persuasion, once wrote that “when you want to convert someone to your view, you go over to where he is standing, take him by the hand (mentally speaking), and guide him. You don’t stand across the room and shout at him; you don’t call him a dummy; you don’t order him to come over to where you are. You start where he is and work from that position. That’s the only way to get him to budge.”
Let’s analyze what that Balangao brother said. In resolving conflict, first listen to what the person with whom you have a disagreement is really saying. Don’t judge the person before you really understand. Possibly your conflict is a matter of terms–not substance. Then–step two–try to meet the person on common ground. What do you have in common? What are your areas of agreement? Start from there. Then, if possible, gain the confidence of the individual with whom you have conflict. Sometimes when there is conflict–whether it is in a marriage or in a friendship–we come on so strongly that any attempt to point out the error of a person’s way is considered a hostile rebuff.
Finally, suggested this wise brother, “take him by the hand and lead him where you want him to go.” He understood the spirit of what Paul wrote, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Galatians 6:3). Without moralizing, strive to put these simple steps or guidelines to work when you have conflict with someone. They will work for you just as they worked for the Balangaos in the northern part of Luzon in the Philippines.
Resource reading: Galatians 6:1-10
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/find-out-how-to-resolve-conflict/
Football: Champions League final moved from Istanbul to Porto due to COVID-19 risks
The Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea on May 29 has been moved from Istanbul to Porto to allow English fans to travel under COVID-19 restrictions, European soccer's governing body UEFA said on Thursday.
The final was scheduled for Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium, but Turkey was last week put on Britain's travel 'red list', meaning that no English fans would be able to attend the game. It will now be held in FC Porto's Estadio do Dragao.
UEFA said that each club would receive 6,000 tickets which are expected to go on sale from today. The final capacity for the match has yet to be confirmed.
There had been discussions over moving the final to London's Wembley Stadium but UEFA said that despite "exhaustive efforts on the part of the (English) Football Association and the authorities, it was not possible to achieve the necessary exemptions from UK quarantine arrangements."
"I think we can all agree that we hope never to experience a year like the one we have just endured," said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
“Fans have had to suffer more than twelve months without the ability to see their teams live and reaching a Champions League final is the pinnacle of club football.
"To deprive those supporters of the chance to see the match in person was not an option and I am delighted that this compromise has been found," he added.
Portugal was placed on the UK government’s “green list” from May 17, which means fans of the English clubs will be free to travel to the game.
The country is in the last phase of easing a lockdown and expects to lift travel restrictions from May 17.
Turkish Football Federation officials told Reuters on Wednesday they expected to host the 2023 Champions League which would be part of the Republic's centenary celebrations. (Reporting by Manasi Pathak and Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Ken Ferris)
PBA: Chua pushes for short breaks to fit in 2 conferences amid pandemic
San Miguel Corp. (SMC) sports director Alfrancis Chua is pushing for shorter breaks in between PBA tournaments to cram in two conferences in Season 46.
Chua proposed a week-long break after the All-Filipino tournament so they can immediate start another conference.
"Ang sabi ko kay Commissioner (Willie Marcial), nag-usap kami, he agrees na pagkatapos nitong All-Filipino mga lima, anim, pitong araw lang start na tayo kaagad para matapos tayo ng December makadalawang conference tayo, makabawi mang lang," Chua said in The Chasedown.
He said teams that did not make the all-Filipino finals can go ahead and play to kick off the following conference.
He also suggested the compression of the all-Filipino tourney just like what the league did in the PBA bubble.
This way, they will be able to minimize the possible spread of COVID-19.
"Kasi mas madali ang liga, mas kaunti ang risk... Mas madaling matapos, madaling makakauwi, madaling makakapahinga," said Chua.
"Baka imbes na double-header maging tatlo, mas mapapadali lang ang laro."
The PBA is looking to kick off its 46th season this June.
This after the league got a nod of approval from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to hold 5-on-5 scrimmages in venues located in general community quarantine or modified GCQ areas.
Tennis: Djokovic sweeps into Italian Open quarter-finals on front of Roman crowd
World number one Novak Djokovic swept into the Italian Open quarter-finals on Thursday with a straight sets wins over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in front of spectators who were allowed to watch in the Foro Italico for the first time.
The five-time Rome champion won through 6-2, 6-1 in 1hr 10min against the 48th-ranked Spaniard with the venue filled to 25 per cent of capacity.
"It was not good, it was great. I missed the crowd," said the 33-year-old Serb.
"It was nice to see them back."
After losing his opening service game, Djokovic powered back with five breaks of serve, outclassing his rival, despite a late fightback, to seal the win on his sixth match point.
"He started well, but I managed to break back straight away and establish the control and consistency.
"I thought I played at least 20-30 percent better than on Monday."
The 18-time Grand Slam winner next plays either Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or ninth seed Matteo Berrettini for a place in the semi-final.
ea/pb
Billiards: De Luna, Gomez pull off massive comeback to enter QF of World Cup of Pool
Down 0-5, Filipino bets Jeffrey de Luna and Roberto Gomez rallied to stun the American pair of Billy Thorpe and Skyler Woodward, 7-5, and formalized their entry to the quarterfinals of the World Cup of Pool.
The Americans were poised to advance in the next round after a strong 5-0 start, but De Luna and Gomez were able to score a break and run in the seventh rack to cut the deficit into 2-5.
Thorpe had a chance to move closer to the victory of the race-to-seven match but his shot on the seventh ball missed the pocket, giving the chance to the Filipino duo to capture the ninth rack, 4-5.
De Luna and Gomez eventually upset the world no. 7 to schedule their matchup against Estonians Denis Grabe and Mark Magi in the quarterfinals at the Stadium MK in England.
Grabe and Magi, on the other hand, handed defeat over Jayson Shaw and Chris Melling of Great Britain, 7-6, to advance in the competition.
The impressive comeback win of the Filipinos assured them $9,000 dollars for moving to the quarters. The champions will be rewarded with $250,000.
Still in the running are pairs from Japan, Great Britain, Netherlands, Germany, Slovakia, and Denmark.
Garcia to look for another opponent if he doesn't get Pacquiao soon
It seems that former four-division champion Mikey Garcia is getting frustrated with the way the negotiations have been going for his proposed bout with boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao.
Garcia has been aiming for Pacquiao for almost two years now, and in recent months he thought he already locked the fight in.
"There's a lot of people regarding Manny Pacquiao. Everybody around him is a manager. Everybody around him is the one adviser you gotta talk to," Garcia said in his interview with World Boxing.
"And so sometimes I get one guy telling me this is a done deal, we're ready to go. And then someone else says, 'no, no, no, we need something else.'"
Garcia seemed quite ahead in the Pacquiao sweepstakes, especially after the Filipino's business manager posted a teaser promo photo of the fight.
But up to now, there have been no formalities yet regarding the signing of a fight contract.
Garcia said he had spoken directly with Audie Attar, Pacquiao's manager from Paradigm Sports Management.
"We've been close to getting something, but we just haven't been able to lock it in. We feel we're almost there, and then it just doesn't quite get there," Garcia said.
"The pandemic has been part of it. Initially, we thought it would be sometime in May. This was a few months back, like January, February. Now May is out, June is out because we're not there yet."
If things don't get threshed out soon, Garcia will be shopping for another opponent.
He plans to return to the ring in July, he said.
"I'm ready to move on and search for another fight, possibly to get a fight in July, August and maybe that could set me up for something bigger before the end of the year," said Garcia.
Olympics: Japanese towns drop plans to host Olympic athletes - Nikkei
TOKYO - Dozens of Japanese towns have abandoned plans to host Olympic athletes because of concern they will overburden stretched medical resources amid a fourth wave of coronavirus infections, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Thursday.
Forty of more than 500 towns registered to welcome international competitors had decided not to accept athletes for training camps and cultural exchanges before the global sporting showpiece, the newspaper reported, citing a government source.
The reluctance of some towns to host visiting athletes, normally a source of pride for communities outside the host city, is the latest sign of deep unease in Japan over the scheduling of the Games in the middle of a pandemic.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were postponed last year and are scheduled to take place from July 23 to Aug. 8 despite a surge in infections and a state of emergency in the host city.
Other regions scheduled to host athletes have also been hard hit, including the eastern prefecture of Chiba, where the U.S. track and field team had been due to have a training camp. The prefecture reported on Wednesday that the team had cancelled those plans.
Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai said the prefecture would not guarantee hospital beds for athletes as they should not be given preferential treatment.
"Chiba prefecture is not thinking about securing scarce hospital beds ... for athletes and people involved in the Olympic Games in a way that would prohibit our residents from using them,” Kumagai told reporters.
Shiro Hasegawa, an official in Okuizumo town, said it was no longer possible to host India's hockey team for pre-Games training as planned.
"There's limited time and cost issues and it is impossible to have exchange activities between residents and athletes," he told Reuters.
Overseas athletes will also not participate in a test event for the Olympics BMX freestyle cycling, the Yomiuri newspaper said.
'TOUGH TIME'
Some municipalities have expressed concern about how Japan's medical system would cope if the Games turned into a superspreader event, concerns shared by Japan's top medical adviser.
"It is extremely important to evaluate how much medical care will be burdened," medical adviser Shigeru Omi told lawmakers on Thursday, repeating concern he has raised since April.
The International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday it was confident the Olympics would be a historic event.
But public opposition to the Games is growing as Japan struggles to contain new infections that are pushing medical resources to the brink.
A union of about 100 doctors called on Thursday for the government to cancel Games, saying that the health system faced collapse if they went ahead.
Some high-profile Japanese athletes are also questioning whether the Games should be held during a pandemic.
Masters golf champion Hideki Matsuyama said on Wednesday he had "mixed feelings" about the Olympics, after top women's tennis player, Naomi Osaka, raised concerns.
"Japan is seeing a lot of new infections now and is going through a tough time, so I can't imagine just blindly pushing the Olympics forward," Matsuyama said at a news conference.
The government has been criticised for not locking down hard enough and bungling the vaccine rollout. Only 2.8% of the population has been inoculated, the lowest rate among wealthy countries.
To forestall a virus outbreak during the event, Japan is preparing to offer vaccinations to about 2,500 Olympic and Paralympic athletes and support staff, using donated shots.
Japan reported more than 7,000 new infections on Wednesday, with 969 cases in Tokyo.
A record 712 daily coronavirus cases were confirmed on Thursday in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido where the Olympic marathon will take place, according to the government.
(Reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu, Ju-min Park, Sakura Murakami; Editing by Stephen Coates, Robert Birsel)
Jordan Clarkson tells Kai Sotto: Don't put limits on yourself
Kai Sotto got words of encouragement from NBA's Sixth Man of Year candidate, Filipino-American Jordan Clarkson, regarding his NBA dreams.
"I just want to tell him to go out there. Work hard, don't put any limits on yourself. And just put the time and keep grinding, the [NBA] is gonna be there," Clarkson said in ESPN.com.
The 19-year-old Pinoy prospect has been continuously training in Miami since leaving the NBA G League's Ignite program in February.
He recently signed up with the Adelaide 36ers for Australia's National Basketball League (NBL), where he hopes to hone his skills further ahead of the 2022 NBA Rookie Draft.
Clarkson advised Sotto to make the most of his experience playing in the NBL.
"Just go over there and be productive and learn a lot, because a lot of those [NBL] players are really good," said Clarkson, of the Utah Jazz.
Sotto also recently worked out with former PBA import Lester Prosper under noted trainer Stanley Remy.
Prosper, who is now a naturalized player for Indonesia, said he is impressed with the Filipino teenager.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/jordan-clarkson-tells-kai-sotto-dont-put-limits-on-yourself
PBA: Meralco Bolts ready to start training by next week
Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News
Be it in Metro Manila or Ilocos Norte, the Meralco Bolts are ready to begin training for the upcoming PBA season by next week.
Team manager Paolo Trillo confirmed that the team were tested last May 7 and again on Wednesday, in accordance with the protocols put together by the league. No member of the team has returned a positive COVID-19 result.
The team has already received clearance from the provincial government of Ilocos Norte to hold a training camp there, Trillo also said.
"We actually planned to leave on the 15th, which is Saturday, for Ilocos," he explained. "But then, there's also a possibility that the quarantine status in Metro Manila might be upgraded already."
"So, we're also waiting for word on that. Because, if that should happen, there also may be a chance that we might just not proceed with Ilocos and practice here already, if that's what's going to happen," he added.
Metro Manila and four of its neighboring provinces -- Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, and Bulacan -- remain under modified enhanced community quarantine until May 14. PBA teams cannot train in areas that are under MECQ.
Ilocos Norte is under modified general community quarantine, the lowest of all quarantine levels in the country.
Trillo said that the team will wait to make a final decision when they get more information on the quarantine level in Metro Manila.
"Nothing is final," he said.
"[But] let's say for example we still don't get the quarantine status in Metro Manila improved, let's say we're still in MECQ, then automatically, we'll decide to leave," Trillo also said.
"We're prepared to leave on Saturday for Ilocos Norte."
If they push through with their camp in Ilocos Norte, the Bolts will be staying at the Fort Ilocandia Resort Hotel while the Laoag Centennial Arena will serve as the practice venue.
The training camp will run for ten days.
Trillo acknowledged that there are certain drawbacks to training in Ilocos Norte. For instance, their practice venue only has two rims, as opposed to the Meralco Gym which has six. The weight room at the Meralco facility is also more accessible.
"Over there, we would have to really bring our own equipment, and we have to make do with what we have," he said.
What's important, however, is that they maximize the opportunity to train. The Bolts will likely be the first team to return to practice, after all training sessions were suspended in March following a spike in COVID-19 cases.
"Hopefully we can start on the 15th… I hope we get to really get it going. I'm not sure about the plans of the other teams, but as far as we're concerned, we wanted to maximize every day, so we wanted to start right on the 15th," said Trillo.
The Bolts are coming off a breakthrough campaign in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup, where they made it to the semifinals and pushed eventual champion Barangay Ginebra to a do-or-die fifth game.
They have also been busy in the offseason, acquiring Mac Belo in a trade with Blackwater and selecting Alvin Pasaol in the PBA Rookie Draft.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/pba-meralco-bolts-ready-to-start-training-by-next-week
NLEX's Jericho Cruz to play for Guam in FIBA Asia Cup
NLEX's Jericho Cruz will be playing for the national team.
For Guam, that is.
Cruz, a dual citizen, has received blessing from his PBA team to play for Guam in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifying games, according to PBA.ph.
The qualifiers will take place from June 16 to 20 at the Angeles University Foundation Gym in Angeles, Pampanga.
Cruz used to be part of the Philippine national team that played in the in the 2013 Naypyidaw Southeast Asian Games.
But since the SEA Games is not considered a FIBA event, he was allowed to suit up for another national team.
There are two other Filipinos who also represented foreign countries in international basketball. Ebrahim Enguio Lopez and Bader Malabes are both holding dual citizenship.
Lopez, who used to play for University of the East, played for the Indonesian national 5x5 and 3x3 teams while Malabes, formerly of De La Salle, represented Bahrain in the FIBA Asia Cup.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/nlexs-jericho-cruz-to-play-for-guam-in-fiba-asia-cup
Ahead of FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, Kouame already scouting Ratliffe, Prosper
Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News
He has yet to be officially named to the Gilas Pilipinas roster, but Ateneo de Manila University center Ange Kouame is already doing his homework ahead of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 qualifiers.
Kouame, who hails from the Ivory Coast, is on the brink of becoming a naturalized Filipino. The Senate approved his bid for citizenship in March, and all that's needed is the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte.
While he waits for his naturalization to become official, Kouame has been training with the Philippine national team pool at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.
In a report on "The Game," Kouame bared that his preparations include studying the big men of the teams that Gilas will play in the upcoming qualifiers.
In particular, Kouame has been studying two other naturalized players -- South Korea's Ricardo Ratliffe, now known as Ra Gun-ah, and Indonesia's Lester Prosper.
"I've been scouting them… I already played against Ratliffe in the Jones Cup, if you remember," said Kouame, who played in the 2018 William Jones Cup as a member of the Blue Eagles where they finished in fourth place with a 5-3 win-loss record.
"For Prosper, I'm not really sure what type of player [he is]. I've seen a couple of his games in the PBA. So, I mean, I scout them, see their weakness and their strengths," he added.
"It gets me really excited to go up against those guys."
Both Ratliffe and Prosper are familiar to Filipino fans as they've spent time in the PBA as imports. Ratliffe played for the Purefoods franchise in 2016 and 2017, while Prosper suited up for TerraFirma in 2019.
Prosper, 32, made his debut for Indonesia in the November 2020 window of the qualifiers. In his very first game, Prosper put up 19 points, 13 rebounds, and three assists in a 90-76 win over Thailand.
Meanwhile, the 32-year-old Ratliffe has been playing for South Korea since 2018 and was part of the team that played in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China. He has also been called up to play in the upcoming qualifiers that will take place in Clark, Pampanga.
The Philippines will play South Korea twice, on June 16 and 20, and Indonesia on June 18.
VisMin Super Cup: Mac Cardona, Fran Yu headline loaded Zamboanga squad
Zamboanga City is pulling out all the stops for the Mindanao Leg of the 2021 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup.
The team features the core of the Go for Gold-San Juan Knights team that ruled the 2018-19 MPBL Lakan Cup, including former PBA star Mac Cardona, Larry Rodriguez, Jhonard Clarito, and Aaron Jeruta.
Joining the squad is Letran point guard Fran Yu, the Finals MVP of the Knights' run to the NCAA championship in 2019.
Letran athletic director and NCAA Season 96 president Fr. Vic Calvo has already transmitted Yu's special guest license application to the Games and Amusements Board last May 12. Pro basketball division head Dioscoro Bautista is reviewing the application as of publishing.
Big man Gabby Espinas and gunner Jaypee Belencion will also play as "imports" for Zamboanga City.
Zamboanguenos Jens Knuttel, Rudy Lingganay, Gino Jumao-as, Med Salim, and Kyle Neypes lead the homegrown talents of the team.
Completing the squad are Jonathan Parreno, Jayson Rebollos, Jeff Bernardo, Totoh Indahan, Jerome Ferrer, Wang Alvarez, and Niel Jumao-as.
Serving as head coach of the team is Ateneo de Zamboanga mentor Tony Pardo. He will be joined by assistant coaches Ronie Gallo and Ken Basiri; strength and conditioning coaches Glenn Archangel and Robelino Sardena; and staff member Raymond Mapanao and Jaytone Rakim.
The team is owned by Councilor Pinpin Pareja and Michael Dela Cruz.
The Mindanao leg of the tournament is set to tip-off on May 30 in a province set to be announced this week.
Olympic-bound Nievarez vows to make the most of two-month leadup to Tokyo
Filipino rower Cris Nievarez is confident that two months will be sufficient for him to prepare for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
Nievarez, 21, qualified for the Summer Games after the World Rowing Asia & Oceania Olympic & Paralympic Qualification Regatta held last week in Tokyo, Japan.
A gold medalist in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, Nievarez finished ninth overall in the men's single sculls event, but grabbed one of the five berths at stake as the rowers who finished ahead of him had qualified for the Olympics already.
"Sobrang saya po ng team, lalong-lalo na po ako, family ko," said Nievarez of his feat during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum.
The next couple of months will be a grind, however, as Nievarez gears up for his maiden stint in the Olympics. A native of Atimonan, Quezon, Nievarez is the first Filipino rower to qualify for the Games since Benjie Tolentino competed in the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
According to Nievarez, he has been continuously training since January to prepare for the qualifiers, but he expects his practices to intensify upon the arrival of their Uzbek coach, Shukhrat Ganiev, in the coming weeks.
"Pagdating po ni Coach Shukhrat, ayan po, mas madadagdagan 'yung ensayo," said the rower.
Having already gotten a glimpse of his competition -- as well as the venue for his event -- Nievarez knows what he needs to work on in order to perform at a high level in the Olympics.
Nievarez had crossed the finish line with a time of 7:37.55 in the qualifiers to finish ninth. The winner of the men's single sculls, Ryuta Arakawa of Japan, notched a time of 7:01.59.
"Para sa akin talaga, ang kailangang dagdagan talaga, endurance. Tapos, muscle strength po talaga," said Nievarez. "Kasi 'yun pong sasalihan ko po sa Olympics, hindi po siya lightweight. 'Yung lightweight po kasi, 'yung event ko nung SEA Games na nag-gold ako."
"Ngayon ano po siya M1x, open weight po siya, so parang palakihan siya ng katawan, patangkaran, parang ganoon," he explained. "Ang dadagdagan ko po talaga is endurance, kasi 'yung tangkad, andoon na po ako, 5'11. Tapos 'yung mga nakakalaban ko rin po, mga 6'3, ganoon."
"Ang dadagdagan ko po siguro sa akin, 'yung technique saka muscle strength, tapos endurance po."
He is confident that in the two months leading up to the Tokyo Games, he will improve enough to achieve his goal.
"Susubukan ko po talaga na maibigay ang best ko, dito pa lang sa Pilipinas. Sa bawat training, ma-improve nang ma-improve 'yung time, hanggang sa makadikit doon sa malalakas na countries, sa mga European, New Zealand," said Nievarez.
"May two months pa naman pong preparation, so kaya pa."
In the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, New Zealand's Mahé Drysdale won the gold medal with a time of 6:41.34.
Volleyball: Odjie Mamon looks forward to working with Brazilian head coach
Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News
Veteran mentor Arthur "Odjie" Mamon expects to learn plenty from Brazilian coach Jorge Edson Souza de Brito as they work together in the Philippine women's national volleyball team.
Souza de Brito, an Olympic gold medalist, was assigned by the FIVB to handle the Philippine women's team as part of its national teams project agreement.
He will arrive in the Philippines in July, as per Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) president Ramon "Tats" Suzara.
"Of course, I'm also excited to work with an Olympic gold medalist and veteran coach, now as a colleague," said Mamon, who was named coach of the women's team in March.
"Before kasi, I was handled by an Olympic gold medalist din, noong naglalaro pa ako. So, very much looking forward to working with him," he added.
While Mamon has yet to personally talk with Souza de Brito, he revealed that the Brazilian coach has already e-mailed him, asking for files on the prospective members of the national team.
"'Yun ang ginagawa ko ngayon. I'm trying to meet his request," he said.
Mamon and Souza de Brito's first task will be to choose the remaining members of the women's national team pool.
The PNVF on Wednesday announced that all 16 players who attended the national team tryouts last April 28 in Subic will be included in the pool. This left at least four spots open.
"There will be an additional assessment by Coach Jorge and Coach Odjie when Coach Jorge arrives here," Suzara said in a press briefing. "It will now be open for selection by Coach Odjie and Coach Jorge."
"The National Team Commission leaves that to the coaches, Coach Odjie and Coach Jorge to select the additional four or five or six (players)," he added.
The remaining members of the pool will be taken from the 24 players who failed to attend the tryout last month. All players -- regardless of the reason for their absence -- will be in consideration for the spots.
NBA: Lakers win third straight, edge Rockets in final seconds
Kyle Kuzma drove for the decisive layup with 6.9 seconds remaining to give the Los Angeles Lakers a 124-122 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
Talen Horton-Tucker contributed 23 points and 10 assists, Andre Drummond recorded 20 points and 10 rebounds and Kuzma had 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as Los Angeles (40-30) won its third straight game.
The Lakers played without LeBron James (ankle) for the 26th time in the past 28 games. Anthony Davis (adductor) also sat out.
Houston's chance to win was thwarted when Wesley Matthews forced Kelly Olynyk to fumble the ball. Horton-Tucker recovered it and was fouled, splitting two free throws with 0.9 seconds left, missing the second on purpose.
Armoni Brooks scored a career-best 24 points and Olynyk also had 24 for Houston (16-54), which has lost seven straight games and 44 of their past 49. Kenyon Martin Jr. added 20 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lakers lifted last season's championship banner to the rafters prior to the contest.
Los Angeles is one game behind the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers as it bids to avoid the play-in round. The Lakers are currently in seventh place and would be part of that round if the standings hold.
Houston standout Christian Wood (ankle) missed his fifth straight game.
Montrezl Harrell scored 16 points for Los Angeles.
The Rockets faced a late eight-point deficit before Martin and Jae'Sean Tate connected on 3-pointers and Martin split two free throws with 47 seconds to play to bring Houston within 121-120. Olynyk followed with two free throws with 22.9 seconds left to put the Rockets ahead.
Markieff Morris tallied 14 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alfonso McKinnie scored 10 points apiece for the Lakers, who knocked down 57.1 percent of their shots, and hit 7 of 20 from 3-point range.
Cam Oliver scored 17 points and Tate had 16 for the Rockets, who made 50.6 percent from the field and were 18 of 42 from behind the arc.
Los Angeles led 59-53 at the break.
Anthony Lamb completed an 11-2 surge with a 3-pointer as Houston took a 72-71 lead with 7:13 remaining in the third quarter.
Los Angeles scored seven straight points late in the period to lead by seven. D.J. Augustin ended that streak by being fouled while shooting a 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds left and he made all three attempts to bring Houston within 100-96.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/nba-kyle-kuzma-game-winner-lakers-rockets
Boxing: Marcial urged to focus on Olympics as ABAP coaches express concern
In the wake of the back and forth between Eumir Marcial and the country's boxing federation, the national team coaches have expressed their concern about the Olympic-bound boxer's preparation.
Marcial, one of four boxers qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, recently aired his frustration about the lack of financial support that he has gotten from the government throughout his preparation. It was not the first time that the 25-year-old had opened up about the issue.
In response, the Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (ABAP) as well as the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) insisted that they have not lacked in backing Marcial, even after he turned professional and started training in the United States last year.
"I'd just like to assure him that the PSC support will always be there. It's been there from the beginning, how much more now that he's going to the Olympics," PSC Commissioner Ramon Fernandez said during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum last Tuesday.
ABAP secretary-general Ed Picson also stressed that they made plenty of effort to help Marcial even during the quarantine in 2020, including offering to send Australian coach Don Abnett to his home in Cavite to oversee his training.
"We were taken aback by his statements na wala raw suporta from the PSC and from ABAP, which is completely untrue," said Picson.
Yet in the midst of this most recent exchange between Marcial and the federation, Picson said they cannot lose sight of the most important issue -- which is Marcial's road to the Tokyo Olympics.
"Our message for Eumir [is for him to] train with the Olympic-style boxers and trainers," said Picson.
"We know that professional boxing is good for professional boxing. But we're talking about amateur or Olympic-style boxing here," he pointed out. "He should be training for this kind of an environment."
Marcial left for the United States in October 2020 to train with renowned coach Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym, and made his debut as a professional in December. He outpointed Andrew Whitfield over four rounds for a winning start to his pro career.
He returned to the Philippines in April and has been in his hometown of Zamboanga ever since.
While he continues to work out there to maintain his conditioning and fitness, the national team coaches stressed that he needs to be working with them in their camp in Thailand, where the other Olympic-bound boxers have been training since March.
"Having a look at the footage that Marcial, Eumir's sent to me of his sparring in the US and also the footage that Coach [Gerson] Nietes sent from Zamboaga and also the times in the ring, it's probably far less than what we expected at this time compared to the training block that we had last year," Abnett said.
"It's a bit of a concern," the Australian coach admitted. "I would strongly encourage him, even before we left the bubble, to join us in training and that's probably the best place for him."
Abnett pointed out that the other Filipino boxers who have been training with them -- notably Irish Magno, Carlo Paalam, and Nesthy Petecio -- have made great progress since last year.
"That's proof in the pudding that it's probably the best place for him, definitely the best place for him. So he should be with us," he said.
Another national team coach, Ronald Chavez, implored Marcial to keep his eyes on the prize.
"Sana, ang message ko kay Eumir na 'wag siya magbigay ng mga comment na hindi kontra sa gobyerno at NSA (National Sports Association), dahil isipin niya na ang kwan niya ngayon sa Olympics," said Chavez. "'Yun ang pinaka-focus niya ngayon sa Olympics, na gusto niya makuha ang medal, so hindi niya makukuha ang medal 'pag na-deny siya ng PSC at NSA."
Like Abnett, Chavez hopes Marcial will join them in their camp in Muaklek, Thailand as soon as possible. Marcial has already informed the boxing federation that he intends to go there after he competes in the Asian Elite Men and Women Boxing Championships in Dubai later this month.
"Ang pinagpreparahan kasi natin, Olympic, hindi naman professional eh. Kesyo na naka-commit na siya doon sa professional, pero gusto niya maglaro ng Olympic, dapat andito siya sa amateur style na preparasyon," said Chavez.
A day after the ABAP coaches made their comments in the PSA Forum, Marcial spoke up again on social media, revealing that while he receives P43,000 every month as an allowance, it is not enough to support his training particularly when he was in the US.
"Ngayon ang tanong ko sa sarili ko at tanong ko din sa inyo, mahihina ba kaming mga Pilipinong atleta kung bakit hanggang ngayon walang nakakakuha ng gold sa Olympics, o sadyang may problema na ang pag supporta galing sa inyo?!" said Marcial.
NBA: Damian Lillard scores 30 as Blazers down Jazz
Damian Lillard scored 30 points, CJ McCollum added 26 and the Portland Trail Blazers led the entire second half en route to a 105-98 win over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Wednesday night.
Carmelo Anthony also played a key role in the victory with 18 points off the bench to help Portland (41-29) earn its fifth straight win and its ninth victory in 10 games.
Jordan Clarkson had another nice entry for his Sixth Man of the Year bid with 29 points to lead the Jazz, who struggled to a higher degree than usual in the absence of injured All-Star guards Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley.
The Jazz (50-20) saw their lead over the second-place Phoenix Suns (48-21) slip to 1 1/2 games in the race for the No. 1 position throughout the playoffs. Utah finishes the regular season on the road this weekend against the Oklahoma City Thunder (Friday) and the Sacramento Kings (Sunday).
Rudy Gobert had a solid showing for the Jazz with 15 points and 20 rebounds, but Utah shot just 41.2 percent overall and 12 of 40 (30 percent) from 3-point range. Utah lost its second game in a row after a five-game winning streak.
Portland's Jusuf Nurkic didn't shoot well -- 3-for-14 -- but he had an all-around strong game with 11 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots.
The Trail Blazers also have just two games remaining as they attempt to clinch either the fifth or sixth spot in the West to avoid the play-in tournament. Portland is one game ahead of the seventh-place Lakers (40-30) after Los Angeles beat the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, and the Trail Blazers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage.
Utah had a 32-24 lead early in the second quarter before things took a turn for the worse.
Portland steadily chipped away and managed to take a 59-56 halftime lead thanks to a last-second McCollum jumper.
The Blazers continued to add to the lead thanks some nifty outside shooting by Robert Covington, Lillard and McCollum. A Nurkic free throw midway through the third quarter gave Portland its first double-digit lead at 73-63.
Portland kept the pressure up in the fourth quarter, eventually going ahead 97-81 thanks to a 7-0 run that included a McCollum layup, an Anthony 3-pointer and a Lillard bucket.
The final score was a bit misleading at the Blazers were ahead by double figures until the final 16 seconds and in complete control the entire fourth quarter.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/nba-damian-lillard-scores-30-as-blazers-down-jazz
NBA: Mavs rout Pelicans, bolster playoff positioning
Luka Doncic scored 33 points as the host Dallas Mavericks moved closer to clinching one of the top six spots in the Western Conference and eliminated the New Orleans Pelicans from play-in contention with a 125-107 victory Wednesday night.
Doncic bounced back from a 12-point, 4-of-16 shooting performance in a loss at Memphis on Tuesday to score 17 points in the second quarter as Dallas started the period with a 26-5 run on its way to a 77-58 halftime lead.
The Mavs increased the lead to 31 points in the third quarter and held a 111-80 lead at the end of the period.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 27 points, Kristaps Porzingis returned from a seven-game absence due to right knee soreness to score 19 and Dwight Powell had 12 points as Dallas (41-29) remained in fifth place in the West after winning for the fifth time in six games.
Eric Bledsoe and Jaxson Hayes scored 15 each, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kira Lewis Jr. added 13 each, Willy Hernangomez had 12 points and 10 rebounds, Naji Marshall scored 12 and James Johnson had 11 for New Orleans.
The Pelicans (31-39) played without four injured starters as Lonzo Ball (thumb) joined Zion Williamson (finger), Brandon Ingram (ankle) and Steven Adams (foot) on the sideline.
Porzingis scored 12 points to help the Mavs take a 32-30 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Doncic had eight points as Dallas scored the first 10 points of the second quarter.
Hayes ended the run with a tip-in, but Willie Cauley-Stein scored the next five points.
Doncic made two more 3-pointers as the Mavs extended the lead to 58-35 midway through the period.
Dallas led by as many as 25 points before Alexander-Walker beat the buzzer with a layup that trimmed the Mavs' lead to 77-58 at halftime.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/nba-mavs-rout-pelicans-bolster-playoff-positioning
NBA: Nets defeat Spurs as Harden returns from injury
James Harden collected 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds in his return from a strained right hamstring as the Brooklyn Nets posted a 128-116 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night in New York.
Harden came off the bench for the first time since April 22, 2012, when he was a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Harden played under a minutes restriction after missing the previous 18 games. He played 25:44 in his first game since April 5.
After spending most of the game facilitating others, Harden scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer with 1:53 left that gave the Nets a 122-108 lead that essentially sealed it.
The Nets (46-24) won their third straight and moved within 1 1/2 games of the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers. Brooklyn also inched 1 1/2 games ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks in the race for the No. 2 seed.
Landry Shamet led the Nets with 21 points on a night when Kyrie Irving sat out after sustaining a facial contusion in Tuesday's win at Chicago.
Nicolas Claxton contributed a career-high 18 points, Jeff Green added 16 and Kevin Durant and Bruce Brown chipped in 14 apiece as the Nets shot 60.8 percent from the floor and handed out 33 assists. Brown added 11 rebounds.
DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points, but San Antonio (33-36) dropped three games behind ninth-place Memphis and lost for the seventh time in nine games. Dejounte Murray and Patty Mills added 15 apiece for the Spurs, who shot 42.6 percent and made only 8 of 31 3-point attempts. Murray also collected 11 rebounds.
Brooklyn shot 65.2 percent and held a 35-20 lead through the first quarter. San Antonio got within 44-42 on a layup by DeRozan with 5:13 remaining in the second quarter, and Brooklyn held a 57-51 lead at halftime.
The Nets gradually pulled away in the third as Harden's 3-pointer made it 95-78 with 2:33 left, and Brooklyn led 96-81 entering the fourth.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/nba-nets-defeat-spurs-as-harden-returns-from-injury
Tennis: Nadal off to winning start in 10th Italian Open title bid
ROME, Italy -- Rafael Nadal opened his attempt to win a 10th Italian Open title on Wednesday with a straight sets victory over teenager Jannik Sinner to advance to the third round.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner won through 7-5, 6-4 in two-hours 10-minutes to bring his record to 16-1 in his opening matches in the Foro Italico.
His 18th-ranked Italian opponent had dug deep to try and pull off an upset, saving six set points in the first set in which he had been twice a break up.
Sinner was again a break up in the second before Nadal powered back for 4-4 seeing off the 19-year-old on his fourth match point.
"After Madrid it was important to start with a positive feeling," said Nadal, who was beaten in the last eight at both previous Masters events, in Monte Carlo and Madrid.
"Today was a tough match. I think I did a lot of things well. I made mistakes too but combined these with positive things too."
Nadal, 34, next plays Canadian Denis Shapovalov, the 13th seed, for a place in the quarter-final.
Top seed Novak Djokovic and second seed Nadal have accounted for 14 of the past 16 titles at Foro Italico.
"It's a lesson that's tough to accept," said Sinner, who also lost to Nadal in the quarter-final Roland Garros last year.
The teenager had been hoping to benefit from the presence of the home crowd in later rounds with a 25 percent capacity allowed from Thursday.
"It's tough to accept I'm already out.
"If I'd won today there would have been a bit of a crowd tomorrow and I love to play on front of the crowd. I'm disappointed and sad."
- Medvedev clay woes continue -
Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev, who replaced Nadal this week as world number two, fell 6-2, 6-4 to 27th-ranked compatriot Aslan Karatsev in round two.
Medvedev also exited early in Madrid last week after pulling out of Monte Carlo after testing positive for Covid-19.
Karatsev, who won his first ATP title in Dubai in March, next plays American Reilly Opelka, ranked 47th, in the third round.
Austrian fourth seed Dominic Thiem rallied from a set down to battle past Hungary's Marton Fucsovics into the third round.
US Open champion Thiem, a semi-finalist in Madrid last week, won 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-0 in 2hr 33min against 44th-ranked Fucsovics in the clay-court tournament which acts as a warm-up for the French Open.
Thiem, twice a runner-up at Roland Garros, will next play Italian Lorenzo Sonego who beat wildcard Gianluca Mager 6-4, 6-4.
"It was tough the whole match. I was struggling with the timing a little bit," said Thiem.
"I was fighting a lot with myself but kept fighting from the first to the last point. That paid off today, and I'm super happy about it."
Sixth seed Alexander Zverev of Germany, the 2017 Rome winner, eased past Bolivian Hugo Dellien 6-2, 6-2 to set up a third round meeting with Japan's Kei Nishikori.
Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to a third round meeting with Italian ninth seed Matteo Berrettini.
CJ Perez bracing for tough competition in FIBA 3x3 OQT
Having already proven to be an elite player in the full-court version of basketball, CJ Perez is now looking to conquer the 3x3 court.
Perez, at just 27 years old, has already won two scoring titles in the PBA and is a mainstay of Gilas Pilipinas, having played for the country in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.
He will represent the country in another way on May 26-30 when he, Mo Tautuaa, Joshua Munzon, and Alvin Pasaol compete in the 2021 FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Graz, Austria.
Perez, together with Tautuaa, was part of the 3x3 team that won gold in the 30th Southeast Asian Games, but he is aware that the teams they will face in the FIBA 3x3 OQT are on a different level than their competition in San Juan two years ago.
"Parang dun mo mararamdaman 'yung sobrang pisikal na 3x3," said Perez. "'Yun 'yung nakikita namin sa mga scouting videos namin. Hindi ganun ka-fancy pero nakakagawa sila ng paraan. Mukang matitigas talaga yung katawan ng kalaban."
"'Yun 'yung challenge sa amin, kung paano makakasabay sa kanila," he added.
For Perez, their recent seven-day camp at the Inspire Sports Academy was crucial as the other members of the Gilas 3x3 pool were able to brief him and Tautuaa on what to expect in the OQT. Karl Dehesa and Santi Santillan were both at the Inspire facility to help the team in their preparations.
"Kailangan ko pa matutunan 'yung larong 3x3 lalo na nandun sila Josh," Perez said. "Sila 'yung beterano sa 3x3 at halos lahat ng nakalaban namin, nakalaban na nila. Kabisado na nila paano laruin 3x3 at labanan dun sa pro circuit.
"May tips din sila binibigay kay Coach Ronnie (Magsanoc) kasi kahit alam ni Coach Ronnie ang 3x3, iba pa rin 'yung world stage. Sila Karl at Josh talaga malaking natutulong sa amin," he added.
The Philippines is bracketed in Pool C along with Slovenia, France, Qatar, and the Dominican Republic.
The Slovenians will be composed of club team Piran, a team that has tussled with the Filipinos numerous times in the pro circuit. Same with Qatar, who will have Erfan Ali Saeed, Abdulrahman Saad, Nedim Muslic, and Seydou Ndoye.
Munzon and Pasaol, along with Dehesa and Santillan, have also seen France's Charly Pontens during the 2019 Poitiers Challenger and Raphael Wilson during the 2019 Jeddah Masters.
The Gilas 3x3 pool will return to Inspire on Friday to wrap up their camp before leaving for Austria.
Perez, having already competed at the world stage in 5-on-5, vows to do all he can so that he can also play at the highest level in 3x3.
"Kailangan ko i-maximize 'yung mga ganitong opportunity sa buhay ko, lalo ito Olympics na ang usapan. Kahit ganito kaaga, nabibigay na sa akin 'yung ganitong opportunity kaya igra-grab ko siya," he said.
"Madaming player ang nangangarap na maglaro sa Gilas kaya sobrang grateful ako na binibigyan ako ng ganitong chance ng Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas at nila Boss Al [Panlilio]."
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/cj-perez-bracing-for-tough-competition-in-fiba-3x3-oqt
NBA: Cavs end 11-game skid with win over scuffling Celtics
Kevin Love posted season-highs of 30 points and 14 rebounds as the host Cleveland Cavaliers snapped an 11-game losing streak with a 102-94 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
Love finished 10-for-16 from the floor, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range.
Cleveland (22-48) came into the contest with the longest active losing skid in the NBA, but a stout defensive effort and a 14-2 fourth-quarter run ended the Cavaliers' slide while extending Boston's to four.
The Celtics (35-35) lost for the fifth time in their last six contests, scoring their fewest points since registering just 91 points against Washington on Feb. 14. They shot a dismal 36-for-101 from the floor.
Jayson Tatum scored 29 points on 11-of-26 shooting, Evan Fournier finished with 15 points on 6-of-20 shooting, and Payton Pritchard came off the bench for 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
Wednesday marked Boston's fifth consecutive game without 24.7-point per game scorer Jaylen Brown, who sustained a season-ending wrist injury.
With Love erupting for all but two of Cleveland's made 3-pointers, Collin Sexton delivered 28 points, primarily inside the arc and at the foul line. His 13 made free throws on a career-high 16 attempts paced the Cavaliers on a 22-of-27 night from the foul line.
Sexton also dished a game-high eight assists. Assists set up 27 of Cleveland's 36 made field goals, compared to just 14 assists on Boston's 36 made field goals.
Rookie Isaac Okoro added 15 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Cavaliers, and Damyean Dotson scored nine points off the bench.
Boston came in three games behind New York and Miami for sixth-place in the Eastern Conference, the last spot to qualify for the playoffs without having to participate in the play-in tournament.
The loss trimmed the Celtics' lead over eighth-and-ninth-place Charlotte and Indiana to 1.5 games with two games remaining on their schedule.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/nba-cavs-end-11-game-skid-with-win-over-scuffling-celtics
NBA: Hawks rally to edge Wizards, 120-116
John Collins drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer with 24.8 seconds left to complete an Atlanta Hawks comeback and a 120-116 victory over the visiting Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.
The result had playoff implications for both teams as all of their rivals battling for playoff position had the night off.
The Hawks (39-31) moved a half-game ahead of Miami (38-31) and New York (38-31) in their battle for the No. 4 playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, which carries with it home-court advantage in the first round.
Meanwhile, the loss prevented the Wizards (32-38) from clinching a spot in the East play-in tournament, keeping Chicago (29-40) alive. Washington also lost a half-game to Charlotte (33-36) and Indiana (33-36) in their duel for the eighth, ninth and 10th play-in berths.
The Wizards, playing once again without injured Bradley Beal, rallied from an eight-point, first-quarter deficit and turned it into as much as a 13-point lead late in the third period.
Seeking a fifth win in their last six games, the Hawks scratched back within 116-114 on a Bogdan Bogdanovic 3-pointer with 2:33 to play, before both teams went cold.
With the Wizards failing to score in the game's final 2:43, Atlanta then had four chances to tie or go ahead, but two turnovers and missed 3-pointers by Bogdanovic and Trae Young allowed Washington to retain its slim advantage until Collins connected on his lead-changing 23-footer.
Raul Neto couldn't connect on a short jumper that would have put Washington back in front with 16.7 left, after which Solomon Hill buried two free throws and Kevin Huerter one to account for the final margin of victory.
Young paced Atlanta with 33 points and nine assists. Bogdanovic finished with 20 points, Collins 18 and Onyeka Okongwu 11, while Clint Capela recorded a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Russell Westbrook, who had recorded triple-doubles in each of his previous five games, put up game-highs in points with 34 and assists with 15, but had just five rebounds for the Wizards, who have gone just 5-5 in their last 10 games.
Daniel Gafford added 16 points, Davis Bertans and Neto 14 apiece, and Rui Hachimura 11 for Washington, while Alex Len grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to complement six points.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/nba-hawks-rally-to-edge-wizards-120-116
Football: Chelsea's Champions League push hit by loss to Arsenal
William Schomberg, Reuters
LONDON - Chelsea slipped up in their push for a Champions League spot when they lost 1-0 at home to Arsenal in the Premier League on Wednesday with Emile Smith Rowe's first-half goal settling the London derby after a defensive mix-up by the hosts.
The visitors capitalized on a wayward back pass by Chelsea's Jorginho to goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga who scrambled back to palm it off the line. The ball fell to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who cut it back for Smith Rowe to score in the 16th minute.
Chelsea, who play Leicester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday and Manchester City in the Champions League final on May 29, dominated possession but largely failed to break down Arsenal's defensive lines.
Kai Havertz spurned a glorious chance to put Chelsea ahead in the 11th minute when the German dispossessed Arsenal defender Pablo Mari, ran through on goal but fired over when he looked certain to score.
The Blues turned up the tempo as the final whistle approached and almost drew level in the 90th minute when Kurt Zouma's header was tipped onto the crossbar by Bernd Leno only for former Gunner Olivier Giroud, on as a sub, to hit the bar as well with a volley on the follow up.
The rare defeat under coach Thomas Tuchel - his third in his 26th game in all competitions - left Chelsea in the last of the Premier League's four Champions League qualifying spots with two games to play. They are six points clear of West Ham United who have three matches left and seven ahead of Liverpool with four.
"It’s still in our hands," Tuchel told Sky Sports. "We had some good results but we have to cope now with a loss."
The German said he took responsibility for the defeat, blaming himself for making too many changes to his starting team.
"I’m not happy with my lineup," he said. "There were too many changes. I should not have done it like this."
Arsenal edged up to eighth spot but have played more matches than Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, who are also pushing for a Europa League spot.
"I'm very pleased, we haven't won here in 10 years so it's very good to get the result," Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta told the BBC. "It's a gift because we were pressing through with the right attitude and organization so you force mistakes."
(Reporting by William Schomberg, editing by Ed Osmond )
Seattle Storm hungry for repeat championship as 25th WNBA season kicks off
Amy Tennery, Reuters
Teams across the league will look to calm the reigning champion Seattle Storm as a pivotal 25th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) starts on Friday.
Finals MVP Breanna Stewart, who averaged 19.7 points per game in 2020, two-time All-Star Jewell Loyd and four-time champion Sue Bird - one of the league's most enduring figures as she enters her second decade in Seattle - headline a powerful Storm hungry for a repeat victory.
"(Stewart and Bird) are truly some of the toughest competitors that I've ever been around," head coach Dan Hughes told reporters, comparing the duo's killer instincts to that of six-time WNBA All-Star Becky Hammon.
"I remember exactly when I walked up to Stewie and I just said, 'You know, I appreciate how talented you are but I, even greater, have an appreciation for the toughness that you bring with that talent' and Sue is exactly like that."
The pair will have to do without sharp-shooting forward Alysha Clark, who left the Storm in free agency after nine seasons to join the Washington Mystics and two-time league MVP Elena Delle Donne.
Delle Donne and seven-time All-Star Tina Charles are among the highest-profile players to return after opting out in 2020 due to health concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and are expected to bring added firepower back to the Mystics after a disappointing nine-win and 13-loss season.
Elsewhere in the league, 2020 defensive player of the year Candace Parker rocketed the Chicago Sky into contention after signing with her hometown team in a stunning off-season move after 13 seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks.
Highly touted guard Sabrina Ionescu, a one-time protege of the late Kobe Bryant and the only Division I player to record 2,000 career points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists, returns to the New York Liberty after an ankle injury cut her debut season short in 2020.
The 25th season of the WNBA begins on Friday with the Liberty playing the Indiana Fever in Brooklyn at 7 p.m. ET (2300 GMT).
(Reporting by Amy Tennery Editing by Toby Davis)
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/basketball-wnba-25th-season-preview-seattle-storm
Tennis: Serena Williams crashes out of Italian Open in 1000th career match
ROME, Italy -- Serena Williams, playing the 1000th WTA match of her career, crashed out of the Italian Open in the second round on Wednesday, weeks before her bid to make history at Roland Garros.
Second-seed Naomi Osaka of Japan also fell at the first hurdle in Rome with defending champion Simona Halep of Romania, the third seed, retiring with a calf injury.
But world number one Ashleigh Barty got off to a winning start, the Australian advancing to the third round in the warm-up tournament before the French Open starts on May 30.
Williams, 39, lost 7-6 (8/6), 7-5 on her return after nearly three months away to Argentina's Nadia Podoroska, a player 15 years her junior, who was a surprise semi-finalist at last year's Roland Garros.
"You know, it's tough to have a first match on clay," said Williams, who has won 73 WTA titles over the past two decades.
"It was definitely kind of good to go the distance and to try to be out there, but clearly I can do legions better.
"Maybe I do need a few more matches, so I'm going to try to figure that out with my coach and my team and see what we would like to do."
Williams, a four-time Rome winner and 23-time Grand Slam champion, had not played since her semi-final defeat to Osaka in the Australian Open this year.
And the eighth seed found it tough going, losing in just under two hours to the 44th-ranked Argentine.
"Overall, it was good for me to play such a clay court player on clay today, but it's a little frustrating," she conceded.
"Yeah, just filling out the game, finding the rhythm. Even sliding and confidence with that, with movement, and just not wanting to break my ankle when I moved.
"That's always like a little struggle in the first two matches, and then I'm raring to go."
The early exit is a blow before the French Open in Paris where the American continues her bid to equal Australia's Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam trophies.
Despite a battling performance Williams could not wear down the 24-year-old who broke twice in the first set.
Podoroska forced a tie-break with an ace and squandered three set points before sealing the set.
In the second, Williams was trailing 5-2 but held and broke the Argentine to love while she served for the match to level at 5-5.
- 'Special win' for Podoroska -
Podoroska held her nerve to earn three match points to secure just her third career win over a top-10 player, all in the last eight months.
"It's a special win, she's a great athlete, she's done so many things for our sport," said Podoroska who next meets Croatia's Petra Martic.
"It's history most of all."
For Williams it was her 149th defeat, with 851 wins over the course of a WTA career spanning 1000 matches.
Days after her shock defeat in the Madrid final, Barty advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova.
Barty overcame an early break of serve to see off Shvedova, a three-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist making her way back after giving birth to twins.
She next meets 28th-ranked Russian Veronika Kudermetova as she bids for a first Rome quarter-final on her third appearance.
Osaka slumped to a 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 loss to 31st-ranked American Jessica Pegula.
The reigning US and Australian Open champion from Japan has seven career hard-court titles, but has never managed to lift a clay-court trophy.
She was playing just her third tournament since winning the Australian Open in February and also exited in the second round in Madrid earlier this month.
World number three Halep, the 2018 French Open champion, limped off in tears with a left calf issue while leading Germany's Angelique Kerber 6-1, 3-3 in their second round tie.
"I’m so disappointed to end my tournament in Rome like this...but I will do everything I can to take care of the injury and be back as soon as possible," she posted on Twitter.
Former Rome champion Karolina Pliskova, seeded ninth, also advanced along with fifth seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/tennis-serena-williams-1000th-match-italian-open
Tennis: Serena Williams crashes out of Italian Open in 1000th career match
ROME, Italy -- Serena Williams, playing the 1000th WTA match of her career, crashed out of the Italian Open in the second round on Wednesday, weeks before her bid to make history at Roland Garros.
Second-seed Naomi Osaka of Japan also fell at the first hurdle in Rome with defending champion Simona Halep of Romania, the third seed, retiring with a calf injury.
But world number one Ashleigh Barty got off to a winning start, the Australian advancing to the third round in the warm-up tournament before the French Open starts on May 30.
Williams, 39, lost 7-6 (8/6), 7-5 on her return after nearly three months away to Argentina's Nadia Podoroska, a player 15 years her junior, who was a surprise semi-finalist at last year's Roland Garros.
"You know, it's tough to have a first match on clay," said Williams, who has won 73 WTA titles over the past two decades.
"It was definitely kind of good to go the distance and to try to be out there, but clearly I can do legions better.
"Maybe I do need a few more matches, so I'm going to try to figure that out with my coach and my team and see what we would like to do."
Williams, a four-time Rome winner and 23-time Grand Slam champion, had not played since her semi-final defeat to Osaka in the Australian Open this year.
And the eighth seed found it tough going, losing in just under two hours to the 44th-ranked Argentine.
"Overall, it was good for me to play such a clay court player on clay today, but it's a little frustrating," she conceded.
"Yeah, just filling out the game, finding the rhythm. Even sliding and confidence with that, with movement, and just not wanting to break my ankle when I moved.
"That's always like a little struggle in the first two matches, and then I'm raring to go."
The early exit is a blow before the French Open in Paris where the American continues her bid to equal Australia's Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam trophies.
Despite a battling performance Williams could not wear down the 24-year-old who broke twice in the first set.
Podoroska forced a tie-break with an ace and squandered three set points before sealing the set.
In the second, Williams was trailing 5-2 but held and broke the Argentine to love while she served for the match to level at 5-5.
- 'Special win' for Podoroska -
Podoroska held her nerve to earn three match points to secure just her third career win over a top-10 player, all in the last eight months.
"It's a special win, she's a great athlete, she's done so many things for our sport," said Podoroska who next meets Croatia's Petra Martic.
"It's history most of all."
For Williams it was her 149th defeat, with 851 wins over the course of a WTA career spanning 1000 matches.
Days after her shock defeat in the Madrid final, Barty advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova.
Barty overcame an early break of serve to see off Shvedova, a three-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist making her way back after giving birth to twins.
She next meets 28th-ranked Russian Veronika Kudermetova as she bids for a first Rome quarter-final on her third appearance.
Osaka slumped to a 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 loss to 31st-ranked American Jessica Pegula.
The reigning US and Australian Open champion from Japan has seven career hard-court titles, but has never managed to lift a clay-court trophy.
She was playing just her third tournament since winning the Australian Open in February and also exited in the second round in Madrid earlier this month.
World number three Halep, the 2018 French Open champion, limped off in tears with a left calf issue while leading Germany's Angelique Kerber 6-1, 3-3 in their second round tie.
"I’m so disappointed to end my tournament in Rome like this...but I will do everything I can to take care of the injury and be back as soon as possible," she posted on Twitter.
Former Rome champion Karolina Pliskova, seeded ninth, also advanced along with fifth seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/tennis-serena-williams-1000th-match-italian-open
Tennis: Champion Halep retires injured from Italian Open
ROME, Italy -- Champion Simona Halep was forced to retire injured in the second round of the Italian Open on Wednesday weeks before her bid to reclaim the French Open.
The world number three pulled up with a left calf issue while leading Germany's Angelique Kerber 6-1, 3-3 in their match on clay at the Foro Italico in Rome.
The 29-year-old limped back to her chair helped by officials but left the court in tears after treatment.
"Unfortunately an ultrasound has revealed that I have a tear in my left calf," Halep later said on Twitter.
"I will get an MRI (scan) tomorrow to understand the injury in more detail, but at the moment we are unsure of recovery time.
"I'm so disappointed to end my tournament in Rome like this but I will do everything I can to take care of the injury and be back as soon as possible.
"Thanks so much for your support and I’ll keep you posted on my progress."
Unfortunately an ultrasound has revealed that I have a tear in my left calf. I will get an MRI tomorrow to understand the injury in more detail, but at the moment we are unsure of recovery time. I’m so disappointed to end my tournament in Rome like this... pic.twitter.com/Fx58WWg796
— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) May 12, 2021
The injury comes three weeks before the French Open which she won in 2018 and twice finished runner-up.
The two-time Grand Slam winner also won Wimbledon in 2019.
In Rome, Halep finished runner-up in 2017 and 2018 before winning last year, with the tournament pushed back to September because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Kerber, ranked 26 in the world, next meets 49th-ranked Latvian Jeļena Ostapenko.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/tennis-champion-halep-retires-injured-from-italian-open
Brady, Bucs to face Cowboys in NFL opener, London games return
NEW YORK -- Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will open the defense of their Super Bowl crown against the Dallas Cowboys, the NFL revealed Thursday as the league confirmed the return of international fixtures in London for the 2021 season.
The Bucs will face the Cowboys at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium on September 9, as the new campaign kicks off at the venue where Brady clinched his seventh Super Bowl title against the Kansas City Chiefs in February.
The game could also mark the return of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott following his season-ending ankle injury. The Cowboys finished last season with a 6-10 record and failed to reach the playoffs.
The Buccaneers are aiming to become the first back-to-back Super Bowl champions since Brady and the New England Patriots achieved the feat in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.
Other opening weekend highlights will see Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City face a duel with Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns in a rematch of last season's divisional-round thriller won by the Chiefs.
Discarded New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, meanwhile, will get the opportunity to get revenge over his former team when they travel to Charlotte to face the Carolina Panthers on September 12.
The Jets traded away Darnold to the Panthers last month and are expected to start rookie quarterback Zach Wilson this season, which is the first under new head coach Robert Saleh.
Games will return to London this season after being scrapped last year due to Covid-19.
Two games will be held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the Jets hosting the Atlanta Falcons on October 10 before the Miami Dolphins face the Jacksonville Jaguars a week later.
It means an international debut for Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the number one pick in last month's draft who is widely regarded as one of the most talented college players to enter the NFL in years.
Lawrence will face off against the Dolphins and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in what is a rematch of their college football rivalry.
Lawrence led the Clemson Tigers to the National Championship in 2019 when Tagovailoa was quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Other marquee match-ups in the expanded 17-game schedule released on Wednesday include Brady's first return to New England -- where he won six Super Bowl titles before decamping to Tampa Bay -- when the Patriots host the Buccaneers on October 3.
Mahomes and Kansas City host the Buffalo Bills on October 10 in a rematch of last season's AFC championship game.
The Seattle Seahawks have to wait until week 15 -- on December 19 -- to get a shot at the Los Angeles Rams, who ousted them in the playoffs last year.
Golf: Jason Day won't play U.S. Open qualifier if not in field
Filipino-Australian golfer Jason Day is grinding down to the wire to qualify for the U.S. Open, but he also sounds at peace with the notion of missing out on the third major of the year.
Whether he even plays in next week's PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, S.C., remains to be seen with his wife, Ellie, pregnant with the couple's fourth child.
"She's full term on Friday, so, yeah, I'm on call waiting for her," Day said on Wednesday ahead of this week's AT&T Byron Nelson in MicKinney, Texas.
The former No. 1 player in the world has gone more than three years since his last victory. With his missed cut at last week's Wells Fargo Championship, Day slipped to No. 62 in the Official World Golf Rankings -- outside of the top 60 who, after the PGA Championship, automatically will qualify for the U.S. Open.
The 33-year-old Australian said he would stick with a corporate event for NetJets the Monday after The Memorial (June 7) rather than play in the two-round U.S. Open qualifier.
The U.S. Open is scheduled for June 17-20 at Torrey Pines in San Diego.
That leaves Day with two events remaining to climb back into the top 60, and that's only if he doesn't need to rush home to be with Ellie.
"If I'm playing golf, whatever, it doesn't matter," Day said. "I just want to make sure that I see the birth of our fourth child."
Day has missed consecutive cuts as he continues to work with new swing coach Chris Como. He would love to play the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where he has won twice to go with six other top 10s.
However, Day missed the cut there by five strokes earlier this year and figures if he misses the U.S. Open in June it only means more time to spend with his family and work on his game with Como.
"To be honest, it might be a good little time away if the baby does come early or if the baby comes on time, you know, that I get to spend at home with Ellie and the newborn and obviously the family," he said.
"But don't get me wrong, in that time I'm still going to be working hard, because I'm not thinking about just Torrey Pines. Obviously I would love to play Torrey Pines U.S. Open because I've had a lot of success around that golf course, but my thing is that I'm starting and I'm just trying to build that confidence. I feel like my game is starting to come around nicely and I'm starting to feel good about it."
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/golf-jason-day-wont-play-us-open-qualifier-if-not-in-field
Anderson Silva: 'I think MMA for me is done'
Anderson Silva said he is content to leave the Octagon in his rearview mirror.
The former UFC middleweight champion told ESPN that his career as a MMA fighter is over.
"I think MMA for me is done," Silva, 46, told the network. "Because it's hard to train MMA. It's hard to stay training in a good level because you hurt yourself a lot. Now I just try to enjoy. I don't need to prove nothing for anybody. I just try to enjoy every single moment I fight in different sports. And that's it."
Silva isn't leaving combat sports entirely.
He is slated to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a boxing match June 19 in Mexico. Silva owns a 1-1 career record as a boxer.
Silva has posted a just a single victory in his last nine fights (1-7 with one no-contest) -- a span of more than seven years.
He was soundly beaten by technical knockout by Uriah Hall in the fourth round on Oct. 31 to fall to 34-11 with one no contest in his career across all organizations.
He's also tested positive twice for performance-enhancing drugs, but was cleared of the most recent failed test in 2017.
Silva, who's known as "Spider," was at his fighting pinnacle from 2006-2013, when he set UFC records for the longest title reign (2,457 days), longest winning streak (16), title fight finishes (9) and knockdowns (18).
He ranks second in the promotion in title defenses (10), a record he held until Demetrious Johnson reached 11 in 2017.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/anderson-silva-i-think-mma-for-me-is-done
Firefighters who photographed Kobe Bryant crash scene to be fired
Two Los Angeles County firefighters accused of taking pictures of Kobe Bryant's helicopter crash scene have been notified that they would be fired and a third was given a suspension notice, according to a filing in a lawsuit brought by his widow.
Bryant, 41, a retired, 18-time all-star for the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Lakers, was killed along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and all seven others aboard a helicopter that crashed in foggy weather north of Los Angeles on Jan. 26, 2020.
His widow, Vanessa Bryant, sued Los Angeles County following media reports that first responders took pictures of the victims and showed them to other people in situations unrelated to the crash investigation.
Bryant first sued the Sheriff's Department, alleging deputies used their personal cellphones to take pictures of the dead "for their own personal gratification." The suit was later amended to add the county fire department, accusing firefighters of similar acts.
A filing in the lawsuit, dated Monday and reported by NBC News on Wednesday, makes reference to fire department investigation reports sent to the three disciplined firefighters last year.
"The letters announce an 'intention to discharge' two of the recipients and an 'intention to suspend' the third," said the document that Bryant's lawyers filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
The filing said it only referenced the letters, rather than attach them as exhibits, to respect privacy concerns raised by the defendants and to avoid further paperwork.
The fire department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. NBC News said a spokesman for the department declined to comment because litigation was pending and he could not confirm whether the firefighters were fired or suspended.
Vanessa Bryant has also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the operator of the helicopter.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Peter Cooney)
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-la-county-firefighters
NBA: LeBron (ankle) to sit out again, miss Rockets game
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James said he won't play in Wednesday night's contest against the visiting Houston Rockets due to his right ankle injury.
It will mark the sixth straight game and 26th in the past 28 that James will miss.
"Getting close but I won't be in the lineup tonight but more importantly I will be there to put that CHAMPIONSHIP banner in the rafters at Staples Center in front of our fans!! #No17," James Wednesday said on Twitter.
Getting close but I won’t be in the lineup tonight but more importantly I will be there to put that CHAMPIONSHIP banner in the rafters at Staples Center in front of our fans!! #No17 💜💛
— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 12, 2021
The Lakers are raising their championship banner from last season to the rafters prior to Wednesday's game at Staples Center.
James' next opportunity to play will be when the Lakers visit the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.
Los Angeles initially listed James as questionable for Wednesday's game, though there was optimism he would play.
James considered returning for Tuesday's 101-99 overtime win over the New York Knicks before deciding to take more time to allow the ankle to heal. He initially hurt it March 20 when he suffered a high-ankle sprain against the Atlanta Hawks.
James returned for two games but intense soreness after a game against the Toronto Raptors on May 2 pushed him right back out of the lineup.
Anthony Davis tweaked his groin during Tuesday's game and is listed as questionable to play against the Rockets.
The Lakers (39-30) are in seventh place in Western Conference with three games remaining. They stand one game behind the Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks in the battle to finish among the top six and avoid the play-in round.
Houston has lost six straight games and 43 of its past 48.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/13/21/nba-lebron-ankle-to-sit-out-again-miss-rockets-game
MMA’s McGregor tops Forbes highest-paid athletes list; Messi, Ronaldo in top 3
Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor was the world's highest-paid athlete over the past year ahead of football players Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, according to the annual Forbes list released on Wednesday.
During the 12-month period ending May 1, 2021, McGregor earned $180 million, a figure which includes $158 million from endorsements and the recent sale of the majority stake of his whiskey brand, Forbes said.
Barcelona and Argentina forward Messi was second on the list and set a record as the highest-earning soccer player after bringing home $130 million, while Portugal and Juventus forward Ronaldo earned $120 million to sit third among the top 10 highest-paid athletes.
NFL quarterback Dak Prescott ($107.5 million) of the Dallas Cowboys and four-times NBA champion LeBron James ($96.5 million) rounded out the top five.
Forbes said its on-the-field earnings figures include all prize money, salaries and bonuses earned during the 12-month period while off-the-field earnings are an estimate of sponsorship deals, appearance fees and licensing income. (Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Ed Osmond)
Pop stars, key workers gather for BRIT Awards in London live music return
Marie-Louise Gumuchian, Reuters
Some 4,000 people watched singers Dua Lipa and Arlo Parks triumph as well as perform at the BRIT Awards on Tuesday, in the first major indoor music event with a live audience held in London in over a year.
Britain's pop music honours, for which the audience did not have to wear masks or socially distance, took place at the O2 arena on the River Thames as the country emerges from COVID-19 lockdown.
The ceremony, during which Billie Eilish and The Weeknd were also winners, is part of the British government's Events Research Programme aimed at establishing whether big events can be held in closed environments without social distancing.
The audience, of which 2,500 were key workers with guests, were sat in rows, looking down on two stages - one for presenters and another for performers. Nominees sat at distanced tables.
"This evening we look forward to a brighter future," host Jack Whitehall said. "We have an audience ... we have pop stars, we are back."
Ticket holders had to show proof of a negative lateral flow test result to enter the venue, which has a capacity of around 20,000. They will also need to take a test afterwards and provide contact details as part of the UK's COVID test and trace system.
"It feels surreal because it's been so long," Zunaira Faiz, who works at a north London hospital, said upon arriving at the O2. "It almost feels like I'm experiencing something nostalgic because we haven't been able to do this for so long."
Like elsewhere, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down music events with live audiences in Britain. Under Prime Minister Boris Johnson's phased roadmap out of lockdown, entertainment venues can re-open their doors next week.
Lipa, who won two awards - female solo artist and album for "Future Nostalgia", said she was dedicating her performance to key workers.
"I feel very grateful to be sharing this evening with them," she told Reuters.
While some performances were live, including those of Lipa, breakthrough artist winner Parks and Olivia Rodrigo, others were pre-recorded.
Wanting to embrace the community spirit and kindness seen during COVID-19 lockdown, winners were given two awards and encouraged to share one.
American songstress Taylor Swift became the first female artist to be honoured with the Global Icon award. David Bowie, Elton John and Robbie Williams were past recipients.
"I'm really proud to be a part of this musical community especially in a year when we all needed music so much," Swift, who travelled to London for the awards, said, also paying tribute to frontline workers.
Harry Styles won British single for “Watermelon Sugar”, while Little Mix became the first female band to win British group. For a factbox of winners, click: read more
https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/05/12/21/pop-stars-key-workers-gather-for-brit-awards-in-london-live-music-return
Michael Jordan rookie sneakers sell for $152,500 at kicks-only auction
Robin Millard, Agence France-Presse
A pair of basketball legend Michael Jordan's famous Air Jordans from his rookie season sold at auction for $152,500 on Wednesday, the star item in Sotheby's first international dedicated sneaker sale.
Seen as a niche interest 10 years ago, sneakers are now one of the fastest-growing markets at auctions, attracting attention from the general public as well as leading collectors.
The Gamers Only auction, conducted entirely online, featured 13 pairs of match-worn basketball shoes from some of the NBA's greatest athletes, including Scottie Pippen and Shaquille O'Neal.
They went on show beforehand in Geneva and took their place alongside standout jewels, watches and handbags from Sotheby's Luxury Week of sales in the lakeside Swiss city.
Nike Air Jordan 1s "not only changed basketball footwear forever but are also considered foundational to the development of sneaker culture", Sotheby's said.
The pair sold — in the Chicago Bulls' red, white and black — were worn by Jordan during his stellar 1984-1985 debut season.
Jordan, now 58, went on to become a six-time NBA champion and is widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time.
"The Air Jordan 1s are one of the grails," Josh Pullan, managing director of Sotheby's global luxury division, told AFP.
"There's a bit of wear on the toe and around the heels, and that gives us a feeling for what happened in the game when they were worn.
"This pair is from someone who knew Michael Jordan personally, so they really come with that impeccable provenance."
- MVP pairs -
The second-most expensive pair in the sale was Stephen Curry's Under Armour shoes, both signed, from 2015-16 when the Golden State Warriors point guard was named the most valuable player, for the second straight season.
The yellow and cobalt blue sneakers, worn in four matches, fetched $20,800.
The other shoes that went for five figures were a pair of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Adidas Superstars worn during his 1979-1980 season with the Los Angeles Lakers, which ended with the NBA title and the center's sixth MVP win.
The signed white sneakers went for $18,030.
Sotheby's says the sneaker market has brought a new, younger audience into the world of auctions.
Last month, Sotheby's sold a pair of Nike Air Yeezy 1s worn by rapper Kanye West for $1.8 million, triple the previous record for sneakers.
The shoes, worn during the 2008 Grammy Awards, shattered the previous sneakers auction record of $615,000 set in August last year.
That sum, achieved by auctioneers Christie's, was for the very pair of Nike Air Jordan 1s worn by Jordan when he famously shattered the backboard in a 1985 match.
Wednesday's sale also included sneakers worn by NBA greats Charles Barkley, Steve Nash, Kevin Garnett, Patrick Ewing, Dominique Wilkins, Allen Iverson, Moses Malone and Isiah Thomas.
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