■ BASKETBALL
Arenas frustrated with injury
Washington Wizards star guard Gilbert Arenas admitted on Saturday he was frustrated that yet another knee operation will sideline him for the start of the NBA season. “The frustrating part is when you show signs of coming back, but you can’t do too much or it sets you back further,” said Arenas, who had arthroscopic surgery on his knee 10 days ago.” It was his third procedure in 17 months, and means the three-time All-Star will miss the first month of the season. “So I’m [thinking] ‘When is this ever going to end,’” Arenas said. “When can I just go out there and play?” Arenas, who signed a six-year, US$111 million contract in the offseason, was fined US$15,000 by the NBA on Friday after he declined to speak at the Wizards’ designated pre-season media day. He said he just didn’t think his injury should be the main topic of conversation.
■ BASKETBALL
Golden State sign Williams
The Golden State Warriors NBA team has signed center Justin Williams, the Californian outfit said on Saturday. No contract details were given however for the 24-year-old former Sacramento and Houston player. Williams has played 49 matches the last two seasons, averaging 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds with the Kings and the Rockets. Last season was a difficult one for Williams, who was let go after 22 matches by Sacramento and then signed a 10-day contract with the Rockets, only making one appearance. The Warriors are based in Oakland across the bay from San Francisco. The NBA season starts on October 28.
■ FORMULA ONE
Singaporeans lack interest
Singapore punters have been slow to catch Formula One fever, a newspaper reported yesterday ahead of the sport’s first-ever night race. Legalized betting on football, horse racing and lotteries is widespread in Singapore but the city-state’s first F1 Grand Prix on Sunday seemed a hard sell, The Straits Times reported after checking three betting outlets. “It’s the first time and the process seems quite complicated,” Joseph Koh, a 54-year-old factory worker, was quoted as saying. Another punter, Adrian Koh, 36, who works as a systems engineer, said he did not know how F1 betting works. “I’d rather watch EPL,” he said, referring to English Premier League football.
■ HORSE RACING
Curlin wins earnings record
Curlin became the first North American thoroughbred to surpass the US$10 million mark in earnings on Saturday with a come-from-behind victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. The reigning US Horse of the Year captured his 11th victory in 15 career starts with his triumph in the US$750,000 race at a sloppy Belmont Park. The winner took home US$450,000 to take his career earnings to US$10.24 million. The four-year-old son of Smart Strike passed Cigar, who earned US$9.99 million in 33 career starts. “It’s amazing,” Curlin jockey Robby Albarado said. “I’m sure it is not going to hit me for a while. I’m sure this record will be broken one day, but it will take a helluva horse.”
■ CPBL
Typhoon postpones games
A match between the Sinon Bulls and the Uni-President Lions scheduled for yesterday was postponed until Oct. 6. A match between the Chinatrust Whales and the Brother Elephants was postponed until Oct. 12. The Sinon Bulls and the La New Bears are scheduled to play at 6:35pm this evening.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
Armand Duplantis will be among the reigning Olympic champions adding star power to the world indoor championships this weekend when the Chinese city of Nanjing hosts the first major global athletics meet since the Paris Games last year. The three-day event was originally slated for 2020 and faced multiple postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nanjing’s Sports Training Center would finally welcome more than 570 athletes for the start of the showpiece today. One of the main attractions would be pole vaulter “Mondo” Duplantis, who soared 6.27m to break the world record for a staggering 11th time in Clermont-Ferrand last
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