Celtics rip Raptors as Nets, Magic grab NBA playoff spots
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum powered the Boston Celtics to a 122-100 rout of defending NBA champion Toronto on Friday, keeping the Raptors from clinching the Eastern Conference second seed......»»
Woods makes cut but & quot;struggles& quot; on greens at PGA Championship
Tiger Woods says he is going to have to hit crisper irons and clean up his putting on Saturday if he is going have any chance at capturing his 16th major championship. .....»»
Li at his best and builds early lead at PGA Championship
By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Still young, often inconsistent, forever fearless, Li Haotong is capable of just about anything on a big stage in golf. He was at his best Friday in the PGA Championship. Three years after his 63 in the final round of the British Open, Li hit only four fairways at Harding Park and still managed a 5-under 65 that gave him the early lead and set the target for Jason Day, Brooks Koepka and Tiger Woods to chase. The 25-year-old from China capped a bogey-free round with his eighth straight par and was at 8-under 132, two shots ahead of Tommy Fleetwood of England among the early starters. Surprised? Depends on the day. “The last couple days, I've been pretty much all hit in the right spot,” Li said. Getting as much attention was the logo on his hat — WeChat, the Chinese social media company and one of his biggest sponsors. Li was in the spotlight at Harding Park one day after President Donald Trump signed executive orders on a vague ban of WeChat and TikTok in 45 days. Just as unclear was whether Li was aware of the development. “I don't know,” he said. “Who knows?” Li is a two-time winner on the European Tour, most recently in 2018 at the Dubai Desert Classic when he rallied down the stretch to beat Rory McIlroy by one shot. He was sensational at Royal Birkdale in 2017 — only five other players have 63 in the final round of a major. But he had a terrible week in his Presidents Cup debut at Royal Melbourne in December. When he first came to America, he made fast friends on the developmental tours with his constant laughter, engaging personality and aggressive play. “He's got the arsenal to take it low,” said Adam Scott, his teammate at Royal Melbourne. “But we don’t see that kind of consistency out of him, and that probably matches his personality a little bit. He’s young, though, and that’s the kind of golf he plays. He plays pretty much all guns blazing, and when it comes off, it’s really good.” And when it doesn't? He beat Koepka in the Match Play last year and reached the round of 16. But that was his last top 10 in America. And then there was the Presidents Cup. Li brought his trainer to be his caddie, and the caddie got lost on the course during a practice round, gave up and headed for the clubhouse. Instead of finding him, Li played the rest of the round out of another player's bag. International captain Ernie Els wound up benching him for two days, playing Li only when he had to. Li lost both matches he played. “It's been very tough on me, the Presidents Cup, because I didn't play until Saturday,” Li said. “So not quite in the Presidents that way, actually. But anyways, good experience.” Fleetwood had one of those final-round 63s in the majors two years ago at Shinnecock Hills in the U.S. Open. He had a 64 on Friday and was two shots behind at 134. Much like Li — maybe the only thing they have in common — it's been a slow start back. Fleetwood stayed in England during the pandemic, not returning to competition until Minnesota two weeks ago (he missed the cut). He also played a World Golf Championship last week with middling results, but he found his form in San Francisco. “It’s funny really, like when you’ve played poorly, you feel a long way off, and then you have a day like today and you obviously feel a lot better about it,” Fleetwood said. “I feel like I’ve prepared well last week and this week and felt way more in the groove of tournament golf.” Cameron Champ, who grew up in Sacramento, had a 64. He was three shots behind Li, along with Paul Casey (67). Brendon Todd, who shared the 18-hole lead with Day, settled for a 70 and joined them at 135. Li, who primarily plays the European Tour, went back to China in March when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down golf. He returned at the Memorial and missed the cut, and then tied for 75th in a 78-man field last week in Tennessee. “I didn't even (think) I could play like this ... got no confidence,” Li said. “Probably it helped me clear my mind a little bit.” He's wise enough to realize the tournament is not even at the halfway point. If the lead holds, Li would be the first player from China to hold the lead after any round of a major......»»
Minus stars, Nets clinch playoff spot in victory over Kings
Minus stars, Nets clinch playoff spot in victory over Kings.....»»
Grizzlies roll past Thunder for first win since restart
Grizzlies roll past Thunder for first win since restart.....»»
NBA playoff picture comes into a bit more focus
NBA playoff picture comes into a bit more focus.....»»
Harris, Embiid lead 76ers past Magic 108-101
Harris, Embiid lead 76ers past Magic 108-101.....»»
Holiday scores 28; Pelicans top Wizards without Williamson
Holiday scores 28; Pelicans top Wizards without Williamson.....»»
Let’s not kid ourselves
On Aug. 4, The STAR featured an article by the esteemed and talented Rick Olivares, about the perils of collegiate sports recruiting......»»
East Asia league set to take off
The launch is set over a year away but East Asia Super League CEO Matt Beyer isn’t sitting around waiting for time to pass in laying the groundwork for what could become one of the world’s most watched basketball stages with a potential audience of two billion......»»
Eala trades shots with Nadal
After training in front of Rafael Nadal last month, Filipino rising star Miko Eala experienced an even more special treat in sharing the court with the tennis superstar as part of his non-stop training in Spain......»»
Chot says versatile big ideal for Gilas
Former Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes batted for a tall naturalized player with a fine shooting touch to complement the nationals’ young core that should include a tougher Kai Sotto in the 2023 FIBA World Cup......»»
Bianca tracks down leaders with solid 69
Bianca Pagdanganan broke par after just four rounds in the pros, carding a 69 in the privacy of an early morning start then said she liked where she stood in an event big enough to unnerve the raw, inexperienced bidders......»»
Hidilyn’s training kitty draws P1.5million from MVPSF
Hidilyn Diaz’s quest for an Olympic gold medal received a big boost after the Manny V. Pangilinan Sports Foundation put in P1.5 million to help finance her training for the quadrennial games......»»
UCFC pulls off coup, signs OTT brothers
United City Football Club pull off another signing coup, this time with the Germany-born Ott brothers — Manuel and Mike. .....»»
PLDT-Smart Foundation donates P100K worth of PPE from Smart Mobile Legends fundraising tournament
Dr. Arlene Dominguez of Sta. Ana Hospital in Manila recalls that when the hospital opened its doors to COVID patients in the early days of the pandemic lockdown, they had only 50 PPE......»»
Nano Wave Mask tested by world champions
World-class athletes and champions won't settle for any ordinary face mask during these times......»»
ONE Championship lands in Top 10 in Facebook engagement in global sports
Singapore-based martial arts organization ONE Championship has broken into the Top 10 Most Engaging Sport Profiles on Facebook Worldwide, according to figures released by independent social media marketing company Socialbakers. The data was collected between 1 January and 30 June, 2020......»»
NBA LIVE UPDATES - Toronto Raptors vs. Boston Celtics
The action inside the NBA Bubble continue to heat up as teams from both conferences continue to compete for playoff positioning! The reigning and defending champion Toronto Raptors look to stay hot and keep their hold on the second seed in the Eastern Conference when they face off against the third-seeded Boston Celtics. The Raptors are undefeated in the NBA restart so far with impressive wins over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Miami Heat, and the Orlando Magic. It's been up and down for the Celtics so far, with two wins and two losses. They're coming off a huge blowout victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Tip off is on Saturday, August 9th at 9:00 am! Join us for LIVE UPDATES! .....»»
Jalalon, Thompson steer ship for coach Jamike s NCAA First 5
Jamike Jarin called the shots for National University from 2017 to 2019. Before this, the fiery mentor was at the helm of San Beda University from 2015 to 2016. Through all of that, he has had a hand in the discovery and the development of young talent for his teams as well as the game planning for the opposing rising stars. Among all of those, who are the best of the best for him? Here is Jamike Jarin's NCAA First 5, as he told ABS-CBN Sports: JIOVANI JALALON Jalalon was the biggest obstacle in San Beda's championship run in Season 92. Called by Coach Jamike himself as the best point guard in college, "The Bus Driver" was both the engine and the fuel that drove Arellano to a Finals duel against the Red Lions. There, however, he was met by Robert "The Bus Stop" Bolick and the red and white reclaimed its throne. SCOTTIE THOMPSON Coach Jamike only caught Thompson at the tail end of his collegiate career, but Season 91 still saw the latter total seven triple-doubles. "Scottie was just an extraordinary athlete," the former could only say. It's pretty much a cliché now that University of Perpetual Help's proud product could do it all, but that's just plain truth. Without a doubt, Thompson was the first and foremost problem coach Jamike had to solve as San Beda had to split its two meetings with the Altas in that tournament. KEVIN RACAL Racal was a one-man wrecking crew at either end in Colegio de San Juan de Letran's Cinderella championship in Season 91. Even sweeter for them, they did all that at the expense of archrival San Beda. Still, Red Lions mentor Jarin could only acknowledge all the small things the versatile forward did that all added up into a big-time contribution that put the Knights over the top. JAVEE MOCON The Season 91 version of Racal turned out to be the template for what Mocon could be. And the all-around forward began blossoming under the watchful eye of coach Jamike - first as a sparkplug in the Season 91 Finals and then as a breakout star for all of Season 92. Mocon does it all, and that's all thanks to his fire and desire to always being better. "Javee just kept improving every year," Jarin said. ALLWELL ORAEME For his man in the middle, coach Jamike had to go with the Season MVP in the two years he was calling the shots for San Beda. "Oraeme was just the best when he played in the NCAA. Dominant," he said. Indeed, the Nigerian tower posted per game counts of 16.3 points, 20.3 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks in Season 91 and then 15.8 markers, 19.8 boards, and 2.3 rejections in Season 92 all while putting Mapua University on his back all the way to a return to relevance. --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo......»»