BASKETBALL
Taiwan A team trounce Iran
Taiwan’s men’s national A team yesterday beat Iran 80-63, recording their fourth win in the William Jones Cup in Taipei. The home squad were leading comfortably at halftime with a score of 41-16, and despite making a comeback in the third quarter, Iran could not hold them off. Taiwan’s B team were edged 71-69 by the United Arab Emirates. In earlier games, the US, represented by the UC Irvine Anteaters, beat South Korea, represented by Anyang KGC, 88-74, while Qatar downed the Philippines, represented by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 93-86.
SOCCER
Chelsea sign Caicedo
Chelsea on Monday took their spending on players to a staggering US$1 billion in 15 months under their US owners by signing Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton & Hove Albion for a reported ￡115 million (US$146 million). It is a record fee for a transfer in the UK, surpassing the ￡106.7 million that Chelsea paid for Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez in the January window. “I didn’t have to think twice when Chelsea called me, I just knew I wanted to sign for the club,” Caicedo said. “It’s a dream come true to be here and I can’t wait to get started with the team.” He has signed an initial eight-year deal, which continues Chelsea’s policy of handing out long contracts to spread “amortization” costs of transfer fees across the whole deal.
SOCCER
United edge Wolves
Manchester United survived an onslaught from Wolverhampton Wanderers and huge claims for a late penalty to start the English Premier League season with a 1-0 win thanks to Raphael Varane’s header on Monday. Wolves had seen manager Julen Lopetegui walk out less than a week before the new campaign, but dominated for long spells at Old Trafford. A combination of wasteful finishing and new United goalkeeper Andre Onana kept the visitors at bay until Varane headed in 14 minutes from time. However, the manner of the performance raises questions over whether United can pose a serious challenge for their first Premier League title in a decade. “There is no easy game in the Premier League and definitely not Wolves,” United manager Erik Ten Hag said. “We hope we’ll be better on the ball in the next game.”
BASKETBALL
Harden slams 76ers boss
NBA star James Harden has said he would never play for the Philadelphia 76ers again while Daryl Morey remains the team’s general manager. In scathing comments which come with the 76ers and Harden locked in a contract standoff, the former NBA Most Valuable Player said he could no longer be part of an organization that employed Morey. “Daryl Morey is a liar, and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” Harden said at an event in China for sponsors Adidas. The 33-year-old 10-time All-Star reportedly told the team last month that he wanted to be traded away from the franchise after joining from the Brooklyn Nets in February last year. US media reported on Saturday that the 76ers had shut down discussions with Harden over a trade and were expecting him to report to a training camp next month. The Athletic Web site, citing sources close to Harden, said the player has no intention of taking part in pre-season training camp.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
Taiwan yesterday defeated the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks’ farm team 5-1 in their final warm-up game ahead of their World Baseball Classic (WBC) Pool C opener. Taiwan’s bullpen used an unconventional rotation, with a different pitcher throwing each inning for the first seven innings. Together, they combined for eight strikeouts while allowing only four hits. The lone run surrendered came in the bottom of the eighth inning after a pitcher from Japan’s independent league took the mound. The pitching strategy was designed to preserve the arms of the Taiwanese ahead of their game against Australia at the Tokyo Dome tomorrow morning. Taiwanese-American Stuart Fairchild
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