gemuhope

China beat Australia 62-53 on Tuesday night to win the title of the four-nation men\’s basketball tournament first leg with a third straight win.

Mo Ko, the only player to score double digit at the game, came off the bench to score a team-high 12 points and grab five rebounds for China, which shoot only 29.5 percent field goals against Australia\’s 25.5 percent.

Both sides played a defensive game and shot a lower percent and combined a total of 50 points at halftime with China scoring 10 of 26 field goals and Australia only 7 of 39.

China finished the first half 31-19 after a 15-11 advantage in the opening quarter and held the Austalians to only eight points in the second quarter, where Australia didn\’t score until 5:40 minutes to play on Ben Smith\’s two free-throws.

The host extended their lead to 15 points, 44-29, but Australia used an 8-0 run to cut it to seven with three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

It was 46-39 when China took the lead into the fourth quarter and there was still nobody from both teams to score double figures.

Australia went on their run and tied it at 50-all after an 11-6 spurt capped by Clint Steindl\’s 3-pointer with 3:20 minutes left. But China, who fielded five benches at the court after Ding Jinghui fouled out in the last quarter, answered with a 5-0 run, backed by center Su Wei\’s one of two free-throws and a layup, to recontrol the game before sealing their last victory in the tourney.

"We defensed badly in the third quarter to give the opponent some chances to come back and they shot the ball better this quarter," said Chinese coach Robert Donewald.

Two Astralians scored double digits with Cameron Glidon 14 points and Tom Daly 11. China outscored Australia but were outrebounded 38-52. "We sometimes not very concentrated on the game so we lost some rebounds," Donewald added. "We also have to confess that Australia played very physically and rebounded well."

Montenegro earlier trounced Turkey, who was the only team without a win in the three-day and round-robin tourney, 92-78 to finish second with a two-wins and one-loss record.

Turkey played a very good defense early and took a 21-16 lead after the first quarter, but Montenegro came back strongly in the second and third quarters with a series of furious defense and offense and entered the third quarter 64-50.

Aleksa Popovic scored 18 points for Montenegro, who were only beaten by China at the opening game on Sunday. Ibrahim Yildrimia finished a game-high 24 points for Turkey.

The second leg of the tournament will be played in Yongcheng, Henan province, from July 15-17.

Source:Xinhua

The Barcelona sporting press on Friday hailed the confirmation of Alexis Sanchez as FC Barcelona\’s first signing of the summer.

The Spanish and European Champions were able to confirm the signing of Chilean international winger Alexis from Italian side Udinese on Thursday evening.

Alexis, who has been playing for his country in the Copa America, cost Barcelona 26 million euros with a further 11 million payable depending on results.

The 22-year-old, who has spent the past three seasons in Europe, has agreed a five year contract and has a buyout clause of 100 million Euros on his contract.

Both Catalan sports papers, Diario Sport and El Mundo Deportivo, hailed Alexis\’ arrival with the front page headline \’Signed!\’

That headline probably reflects the nerves that had been building up over Barcelona\’s failure to bring in any new faces while rivals Real Madrid have bought five new players over the summer as they prepare for the new campaign.

A fast and talented winger who is capable of unlocking packed defenses and also scoring goals, Alexis was a priority signing for Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, who confirmed in his first press conference of the summer on Tuesday that he wanted to see a forward arrive at the club.

Barcelona can now turn their full attention to trying to wrest midfielder Cesc Fabrigas away from English Premier League side, Arsenal, while Alexis\’ arrival will probably help speed up the transfer of Barcelona\’s young striker Bojan Krkic to Roma.

Alexis is expected to arrive in Barcelona this weekend and will be officially presented to the Barcelona supporters on Monday, however, due to having played the Copa America, he will not go on Barca\’s American tour, but will begin training with his new companions on Aug. 8.

Source:Xinhua

Argentinian midfielder Alejandro Alonso will be out of action for nine months as he undergoes surgery Wednesday for knee injury, said his Saint-Etienne club on Monday.

The 29-year-old suffered ruptured right knee ligaments playing in a friendly last week.

Saint-Etienne, the tenth team in French Ligue 1 last season, has another doubtful for the start of the season as defender Yoann Andreu suffered a serious knee injury in preparations for the new season.

Source:Xinhua

Indonesian ace golfer Rory Hie is ready to rumble at this week\’s 1 million U.S. dollar-Indonesia Open, a press statement said here on Tuesday.

Hie energized the country\’s golf fans with second place behind Australia\’s Andre Stolz in the Indonesia PGA Championship, the season-opening event on OneAsia.

Hie would love to put himself in a similar position and this time seal the win at the Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta at Damai Indah Golf – Pantai Indah Kapuk Course.

"I feel like I am in control of my game. I have been working very hard, particularly on my tempo. I have a tendency to swing too fast. I worked a bit with Andrew Argus in Kuala Lumpur two weeks ago but most of the time I practice with my dad in Jakarta," said the Indonesian.

The rising star finished in a tie for ninth at the Negeri Sembilan Masters Invitational on Sunday on the ASEAN PGA Tour and is in confident frame of mind.

"I feel like I can hit all the fairways and greens in regulation. Of course it doesn\’t always happen that way but at least that is how I feel, which is a very positive sign. It has been a very good year so far. Much better than last year\’s scenario when I struggled," he added.

He faces a big challenge as the tournament has attracted a stellar field, including a posse of proven winners.

Defending champion Michael Hendry of New Zealand, OneAsia number one Liang Wenchong of China, Japanese legend Shigeki Maruyama, Irishman Paul McGinley, fresh from a top 15 finish in the Barclays Scottish Open, and multiple winner Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand are among the favorites.

The Thai duo of Chawalit Plaphol and Kiradech Aphibarnat, both winners in Asia this season, and leading Malaysian Danny Chia will also tee it up from July 14-17.

Source:Xinhua

Zimbabwe\’s women athletes dominated the inaugural Sunshine City marathon, while the Kenyans claimed the top positions in the men\’s race, which started and finished at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.

First to cross the finish line in the women\’s category was Zimbabwe\’s Tabitha Tsatsa in a time of 2 hours 43 minutes 37 seconds. Behind her was fellow Zimbabwean Samukeliso Moyo who clocked 2:44:10.

Another top Zimbabwean middle and long-distance runner Lizzie Chokore came third in 2 hours 47 minutes 47 seconds.

Tsatsa went home 10,000 US dollars richer while Moyo and Chokore pocketed 4,000 US dollars and 2,000 US dollars respectively.

In the men\’s competition, Cosmers Kemboi of Kenya was crowned the champion when he ran a time of 2:15:36 to beat a large group of more than 1,000 athletes comprising runners from Namibia, Kenya, South Africa and the hosts.

The Kenyans proved too good for the local athletes. For winning the title he walked away with 10,000 US dollars. His colleague Chelimo Luka came second in 2:15:47 while Julius Kilplimo Maisei followed in third place. Luka and Maisei pocketed 4,000 US dollars and 2,000 US dollars respectively.

Source:Xinhua

Young striker Bojan Krkic admitted his disappointment at leaving FC Barcelona to join Italian side AS Roma.

The 20-year-old has left Barcelona in search of more first team appearances after spending all of his career at the club that he joined as an eight year-old.

Speaking in the Spanish sporting press, Bojan admitted that he was disappointed with the attitude of coach Pep Guardiola.

"I have been here for 12 years and in the end there was not the confidence to allow me to show what I have got and that hurts, although I believe that I have been lucky to have been able to form part of the best team in the world," said Bojan, who clearly thinks that Guardiola has been unfair towards him.

"There were days when I trained poorly and didn\’t play and days when I trained well and still didn\’t get a game. Things were not that clear between us. We have not spoken since the Champions League final (in May) and that was my decision," added the youngster.

"I feel that at many moments they have not been fair towards me and that is one of the reasons that I am leaving. I was very sad not to play in the Champions League final as it is the second time it has happened."

"As a Barcelona supporter, I think that Guardiola is the best coach the club could have, but there are many things that have happened that I don\’t agree with and which have left a bad taste in my mouth," concluded Bojan.

Another player who could leave the club in the near future is young midfielder, Oriol Romeu. The Spain Under-20 international spent last season with the Barcelona B-team in the Spanish second division and is wanted by English Premier League outfit, Chelsea.

Source: Xinhua

Chinese super star Liu Xiang clocked 13.22 seconds to clinch his fourth victory in the 110m hurdles at the Asian athletics championships in Kobe, Japan on Sunday.

Liu clocked 13.50 seconds in the first round.

Source: Xinhua

Sevilla striker Alvaro Negredo this Saturday said he was delighted to know he will be able to remain at the club.

Negredo is a product of the Real Madrid youth system and Real Madrid had until midnight on Friday night to take up a buyback option that was included in the deal that took Negredo to Sevilla two years ago.

There had been some speculation that Madrid would take up that option on the striker, who scored 20 league goals last season, but Saturday arrived with no move from the Spanish giants, much to Negredo\’s relief.

"To tell the truth, I was in bed and asleep not long after 11 o\’clock, although I did get a few messages which woke me up," joked the striker

"I am happy that this whole soap opera is over and that I can now say I am a 100 percent Sevilla player. I was beforehand, but there was always a chance Madrid would take me back, now it is clear that I will stay at Sevilla," continued Negredo in a press conference this Saturday.

The striker\’s goals helped Sevilla to finish fifth in the Primera Liga last season and helped him regain his place in the Spanish national squad.

"I always felt as if I was an important part of the project, the club made a big effort to bring me there and there is mutual confidence between us. Everything has worked out well: the club wanted me to stay and I wanted to stay at the club."

Source: Xinhua

World No. 1 Luke Donald said Wednesday he\’s over his disappointment of failing to make the cut at last week\’s British Open and was looking forward to a return to the form that has seen him win three titles this year.

"Yeah, I was disappointed," said the Englishman in Vancouver on the eve of the start of the Canadian Open. "Obviously I\’d come off a great week (winning) at the Scottish Open and felt very prepared. I just didn\’t short game it well enough. I hit the ball tee to green fine. But I wasn\’t very good around the greens. Getting up and down when I missed greens and not making those putts that you need to do at links golf courses.

"Yeah, certainly over the disappointment. You can\’t really control the past but you learn from it and move on, and I\’m excited to be here."

Donald, who was third at last year\’s Canadian Open in Toronto, said he was impressed with the par-70 Shaughnessy course for this year\’s championship. The 7,010-yard layout has been toughened up considerably over the past week with the abundant rain in Vancouver that has helped the rough grow to as high as 4 and a half inches.

Rain is also in the forecast for Thursday\’s opening round.

"Yeah, it\’s a very good, classic golf course. I think there are a lot of these in Canada. Played one last year, obviously, and I believe next year\’s at Hamilton which is another one. A very good classic golf course that meanders through the trees. The rough is extremely thick, probably the thickest we\’ve played all year. I\’d say it\’s even thicker than the U.S. Open. So there\’s a big premium on hitting the fairway and hitting greens.

【1】 【2】 【3】

Source:Xinhua

The Victorian state government on Sunday said the Australia\’s state is planning a major celebration for Cadel Evans, who will soon become this year\’s Tour de France winner.

Evans will become the first Australian to win Tour de France when he finishes the race in the early hours of Monday morning.

After near misses in the 2007 and 2008 editions of the Tour, Evans\’ triumph is a massive moment for the sport in Australia.

According Victorian state Sports Minister Hugh Delahunty, discussions had already started about how Victorians could significantly remember Evans\’ historic achievement of becoming the first Australian to win the cycling event.

"Whether it be a celebration, obviously that will happen, whether it be a monument or whether it be some special naming, we\’ve got a lot of ideas and we\’d welcome others," Delahunty told ABC News on Sunday.

Delahunty said a parade through Melbourne was one option.

"All those things are being looked at … we do that for the Grand Final of the AFL, but I think this is well above that," he said.

"I think we should look at all options and no doubt tomorrow (Monday) morning we\’ll have some discussions about it at the Cabinet meeting."

Victorian Institute of Sport Cycling Head Coach Dave Sanders said Evans\’ achievement was the equivalent of Australia winning the soccer World Cup.

"For this to happen, I\’m making the statement it\’s the greatest individual achievement in Australian sporting history and I challenge anybody to put up something against it," he said.

Evans is not expected to return to Australia for a couple of months after the finish the Tour.

Source:Xinhua