BASKETBALL
Braves lose to Anyang KGC
The P.League+’s Taipei Fubon Braves yesterday lost 94-69 to South Korea’s Anyang KGC in the opening game of the East Asia Super League Champions Week at Nikkan Arena Tochigi in Utsunomiya, Japan. Ihor Zaytsev of Ukraine led Taipei with 20 points, five rebounds and two assists, while Mike Singletary posted a double-double of 17 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. The Braves on Saturday are to play the Japanese B.League’s Ryukyu Golden Kings in Okinawa. The 10-game condensed tournament features eight of the top-performing teams from Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Hong Kong.
SHOOTING
Yang Kun-pi wins trap gold
Taiwan’s Yang Kun-pi on Saturday won gold in the men’s trap shooting at the Asian Shotgun Cup in Kuwait, advancing out of a 33-person field to edge Jordan’s Ahmad Altrabeishi in the final. In the qualifiers, in which competitors shot five sets of 25 shots each, Yang scored 23, 23, 22, 22 and a perfect 25. In the round of eight, he shot a 21 to advance to the final, where he shot a 31, beating out the Jordanian, who shot a 29, to take gold. Yang wrote on Facebook after that he had “given himself a round of applause” for having the determination to “walk such a long road” in the sport. He added that he was yesterday traveling to Qatar to compete in the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup Shotgun competition. Yang, 24, won a bronze medal in the World Shotgun Championships in Croatia last year, becoming the first Taiwanese to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
BASKETBALL
Bryants wins settlement
The family of Kobe Bryant has agreed to a US$28.5 million settlement with Los Angeles County to resolve the remaining claims in a lawsuit over deputies and firefighters sharing grisly photos of the NBA star, his 13-year-old daughter and other victims killed in a 2020 helicopter crash, attorneys and court filings said on Tuesday. The figure includes a newly agreed upon payment from the county of US$13.5 million along with the US$15 million a federal jury awarded Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, at a trial in August last year. “Today marks the successful culmination of Mrs. Bryant’s courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct,” Bryant’s attorney Luis Li said in a statement.
SOCCER
Fan gets premature tattoo
Newcastle United fan Kris Cook was so convinced his club was going to win a first domestic trophy in nearly 70 years that he got a tattoo celebrating it on his leg. The problem was that Newcastle ended up losing 2-0 to Manchester United in Sunday’s EFL Cup final at Wembley Stadium. Cook had the popular club chant, “Tell me ma me ma,” complete with “NUFC Cup winners 26/02/23” etched on to his skin, but it proved somewhat premature as Newcastle’s wait goes on. “I asked the lass who does my tattoos: ‘Can you put cup winners on my leg?’” he told the BBC. “I think she was thinking it was a bad idea at the same time, but I got it done. I think my mam is still a little bit livid, my grandma, she went ballistic — apart from that, all my pals think it’s funny.”
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
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