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.
Ademola Lookman on Thursday scored on his Atletico Madrid debut in a 5-0 rout of Real Betis Balompie that sent Diego Simeone’s team to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. David Hancko, Giuliano Simeone, Antoine Griezmann and Thiago Almada also scored for Atletico as they advanced to the last four for the third straight season. Atletico are trying to reach their first Copa final since winning the competition in 2012-2013. Hancko opened the scoring for the visitors in the 12th minute and Giuliano Simeone added to the lead in the 30th, before Lookman got his first goal for Atletico on a fast
GUNNING FOR A WIN: The victory sending Arsenal to the final for the first time in six years was cathartic for a team who had lost their previous four semi-finals Arsenal on Tuesday reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semi-final second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semi-finals in last year’s UEFA Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 UEFA Europa League. In their first final for six years,
SUPERSTAR DELIVERS: Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to propel the Spurs to a 135-123 victory over the Dallas Mavericks The Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday shook off the early exit of injured star Luka Doncic, rallying without him in the second half for a 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Austin Reaves, again coming off the bench in his second game back from a 19-game injury absence, scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, drilling a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lakers their first lead of the game early in the final frame. “Losing Luka, you know nothing’s going to be easy after that because he does so much for us, but we bonded together,” said
France head coach Fabien Galthie on Thursday lauded his team’s attacking performance after their dazzling 36-14 victory over Ireland in their Six Nations opener. A brace of tries from Louis Bielley-Biarrey and one from mercurial flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert helped France storm into a 29-0 lead before taking their foot off the gas and allowing Ireland back into the match, before winger Theo Attissogbe put some gloss on the victory late on. “In an attacking sense, with the ball, the team played with great accuracy,” Galthie said. “It was one of the most accurate attacking performances in a long time, despite the weather
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