■PALESTINE
Palestine draw at home
Palestinians finally got to play international soccer on home soil on Sunday, drawing 1-1 with Jordan in front of packed stands. The Palestinian team, recognized by FIFA a decade ago, played at a new 6,500 seat stadium in the occupied West Bank town of al-Ram, near Jerusalem, in a match attended by FIFA president Sepp Blatter. The stands overflowed with fans and hundreds also watched from rooftops of vehicles and nearby homes as the Palestinians took an early lead, when in the fourth minute Ahmed Kashkash broke through the Jordanian defense. Kashkash rounded advancing keeper Loay Amayrah and slotted the ball home from the edge of the area. Jordan equalized with a goal in the 48th minute, when with the Palestinian defense in disarray, Raed Nawatir had an easy task putting the ball away after sending goalkeeper Mohammed Shobeer in the wrong direction.
■GREECE
Aris down the champions
Spanish striker Javito scored a first-half goal on Sunday to help Aris beat visiting Olympiakos 1-0 in the Greek league. It was the first defeat this season for the defending champions, who still top the league with 16 points. PAOK beat Levadiakos 3-1 on Saturday to be second with 15 points. Aris controlled play throughout, with Javito scoring with a header in the 18th minute. A disorganized Olympiakos had their best chance in the 90th minute, when a blistering shot by Fernando Belluschi from inside the area sailed over the crossbar. Panathinaikos drew 2-2 at home with Iraklis. Panathinaikos is fourth with 11 points, but has a match in hand. Panathinaikos took the lead in the 33rd minute after a header by Vangelis Mantzios. Iraklis leveled in the 62nd minute when Manolis Papasterianos scored with a deflected shot off Panathinaikos defender Loukas Vyntraon after a counterattack. Two minutes later, 25,000 Panathinaikos fans at Athens Olympic Stadium were silenced when Kiko Raton gave Iraklis a 2-1 lead off a pass from Papasterianos. But Dimitris Salpingidis equalized just seconds before the final whistle after a cross by Sotiris Ninis. Also on Sunday, it was Thrasivoulos 3, AEK 3; Xanthi 2, Panserraikos 1; and Ergotelis 2, Panionios 5.
■PORTUGAL
Nacional join Leixoes at top
Nacional Madeira joined Leixoes at the top of the Portuguese Premier League table after a 1-0 win at home over Vitoria Setubal on Sunday. Brazilian striker Nene gave Nacional victory with a penalty after Setubal defender Auri handled after 78 minutes. The two unheralded teams have 13 points from six games. Benfica, who beat Naval 2-1, are a point behind. Champions Porto, who suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season when they were beaten 3-2 at home by neighbors Leixoes on Saturday, dropped to fourth spot two points behind the leaders.
■ARGENTINA
River Plate lose again
River Plate’s miserable run continued on Sunday when they lost 1-0 at Gimnasia-Jujuy in the Argentine championship, their third such defeat in a week. At the other end of the table, leaders San Lorenzo’s run of six wins came to an end in a 2-1 defeat by Racing Club. Beaten 1-0 by arch-rivals Boca Juniors the previous Sunday and then at home by Mexican side Guadalajara in the Copa Sudamericana on Wednesday, champions River remained 19th in the 20-team table. Diego Simeone’s team have won only once in 11 league games and are ahead of bottom-of-the-table Rosario Central on goal difference.
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
“Please love us. Please cheer us on. We have been working hard. Do not give up on us.” Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien’s heartfelt plea echoed across the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 tournament after a historic victory. Rather than boasting, Chen was making an earnest appeal after leading Taiwan to a 4-0 victory over Japan to claim their first major international baseball title at the senior level. Chen’s decisive three-run homer in the fifth inning and his Premier12 leading .632 batting average secured him the Premier12’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) title. He was also named one of the tournament’s outstanding defensive players
WELL-AGED: Although the youngest team in the tournament, Taiwan featured several veteran stars, including Sunday’s home-run hero Chen Chieh-hsien “I will never forget today,” veteran Taiwanese pitcher Chen Kuan-yu said after Taiwan on Sunday night blanked Japan to secure their first ever gold in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 championship. Chen, who at 34 is the oldest member on the team, said Taiwan “made every difficult step to come to today’s victory. I will never forget today.” Taiwan made history when they won their first gold medal of the Premier12 tournament, beating Japan in a 4-0 shutout victory in the final at the Tokyo Dome. It was a jaw-dropping victory for many baseball commentators who went into the game with
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
RSS