RUGBY SEVENS
Taiwan grab last-game win
Taiwan exited the Malaysia leg of the Asian Sevens Series yesterday in 11th place after an easy 24-7, four tries to one win against the United Arab Emirates in the lowest bracket playoff. Earlier, Taiwan trailed 7-5 at halftime in their Bowl semi-final against the Philippines after Chen Chi-kun dived on a loose pass to score, but wilted in the second half, losing two players to the sin bin and conceding two tries to finish 19-5 down. They struggled to secure possession at all in the second spell and never made it out of their half.
BOXING
Frampton beats Martinez
Carl Frampton won the IBF super-bantamweight belt from Kiko Martinez of Spain by unanimous decision before an ecstatic home crowd of 16,000 in a purpose-built outdoor arena in the Titanic Quarter of Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Saturday. Frampton put Martinez down once in the fifth round of a fight he dominated, and which the judges agreed by 119-108, 119-108 and 118-111. The unbeaten Frampton (19-0, 13 KO) became the first Northern Irishman to hold a world title in 18 years. Last year, he also relieved Martinez (31-5 23 KO) of the European title in nine rounds.
GOLF
Minjee Lee turns pro
Top-ranked amateur Minjee Lee turned professional yesterday, a day after leading Australia to the women’s world amateur team championship. The 18-year-old Lee, who shot a seven-under 65 to lead Australia’s comeback win on Saturday in Japan, made the announcement in a light-hearted video with Matthew Pavlich, captain of the Fremantle Australian Rules football team. She will make her first appearance as a professional at this week’s Evian Championship in France. Lee, who was born in Perth and is a member of the Royal Fremantle Golf Club, won the US Junior Girls’ Championship in 2012 and back-to-back Australian amateur championships last year and this year. She also received the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the No. 1 women’s amateur this year. Lee was the low amateur at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in California in April in her first start in a major championship.
GOLF
Storm leads Masters
Graeme Storm of England fired a hole-in-one in his third round 6-under 64 to lead the European Masters in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Saturday. Storm’s 16-under total of 194 was one stroke clear of Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, who shot 63 on the sunbathed, 6,848-yard Severiano Ballesteros course. Using a 6-iron in thin Swiss Alps air, Storm aced the 217-yard par-three 11th to win a car worth US$186,000. Brooks Koepka of the US trailed Storm by two after making double-bogey on the par-four 18th, his only dropped shots in a 66. Another American, David Lipsky, shot 66 to be three strokes off the lead in fourth. Ryder Cup rookie Jamie Donaldson of Wales was a further stroke back, losing the lead after triple- and double-bogeys on par-fours coming home.
RUGBY LEAGUE
Roosters finish first
With a little help from their friends in North Queensland, the defending champion Sydney Roosters finished in first place heading into the National Rugby League finals. The Roosters beat South Sydney 22-18 on Thursday, then waited on the outcome of the North Queensland Cowboys match against Manly, when the Sea Eagles could have moved into first place with a win. Instead, the Cowboys beat Manly 30-16, giving the Roosters the minor premiership.
BOUNCE BACK: Curry scored 46 points in the Warriors’ victory over the Spurs, after ‘everybody stepped up’ following Tuesday’s blowout loss to Oklahoma City Nikola Jokic scoring 50 or more points had never been enough for the Denver Nuggets to win — until now. Jokic on Wednesday night tied the highest-scoring performance in the NBA this season with 55 points, as the Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 130-116 for their sixth straight victory. The Nuggets were 0-4 in his previous 50-point outbursts. “It’s a good feeling,” the three-time NBA Most Valuable Player said. He equaled Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 55 in a double-overtime game at the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 23. Jokic has been on a roll during Denver’s winning streak. He is the
TIGHT GAME: The Detroit Pistons, the NBA’s second-best team, barely outlasted the Washington Wizards, who fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’ three-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135 on Monday, stretching the Pistons’ win streak to seven games. In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss. “We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We wasn’t going to let nothing stop us from getting this W.” Cunningham made 14-of-45 shots and 16-of-18 free throws for a career-high 46 points, and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two
The tri-nation Twenty20 international series featuring hosts Pakistan, as well as Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, is to be played entirely in Rawalpindi from Tuesday next week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday, after this week’s suicide bombing in the capital, Islamabad. The change came after at least eight Sri Lankan players asked to leave over security fears following Tuesday’s bombing that killed 12 people and wounded 27. Their country’s cricket board issued a stern directive to the team to stay put or face consequences. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said the decision to stay was taken after “close consultations” with hosts Pakistan who
Italian champions SSC Napoli on Sunday came unstuck at Bologna, losing 2-0 to cede the Italian Serie A summit to Inter, who downed SS Lazio by the same scoreline. AS Roma, who beat Udinese 2-0 earlier, briefly held the summit, only for Inter to dislodge them on goal difference. With the game just three minutes old, Lautaro Martinez put Inter in control with Ange-Yoan Bonny doubling the lead on the hour with a shot from close range. Goals in the capital either side of the break by Lorenzo Pellegrini and Zeki Celik sent Gian Piero Gasperini’s Roma temporarily to the
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