Cruzeiro of Brazil and Estudiantes of Argentina sealed places in the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals on Thursday, while Boca Juniors were held to a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their delayed round of 16 match at Defensor Sporting of Uruguay.
Seven of the quarter-finalists in Latin America’s premier club competition have now been decided.
Cruzeiro and Estudiantes join Brazilian clubs Gremio, Palmeiras and Sao Paulo, plus Nacional of Uruguay and Caracas of Venezuela.
PHOTO: AP
The final spot will be decided when Boca and Defensor play their return leg in the Bombonera Stadium in Buenos Aires next Thursday.
The first leg was postponed because the stadium in Montevideo was unavailable until this week.
Nacional and Sao Paulo received byes after Mexican clubs San Luis and Guadalajara withdrew from the competition because of the swine flu epidemic.
In the quarter-final matches decided, Gremio will play Caracas, Cruzeiro are against Sao Paulo, Nacional will take on Palmeiras and Estudiantes will meet the winner of Boca and Defensor. The first legs will be played later this month.
The home-and-away Copa Libertadores finals are scheduled for July 1 and July 8.
Cruzeiro striker Kleber scored the only goal of the game in Belo Horizonte against Universidad de Chile to give the Brazilian club a 3-1 aggregate victory.
Kleber scored in the 74th minute after receiving a pass from Ramires and hitting a weak shot that Universidad goalkeeper Miguel Pinto should have saved.
The Chilean club needed a victory to have any chance of progressing, but Cruzeiro completely dominated the encounter.
In Asuncion, Estudiantes produced a controlled away performance to hold Libertad to a 0-0 draw. Mauro Boselli had two clear opportunities in each half to give Estudiantes a win on the night, but the 3-0 victory last Thursday in the first leg in La Plata proved enough for the Argentine club to advance.
Boca Juniors will be favorites to clinch the last remaining quarter-final berth after scoring two away goals in the draw with Defensor Sporting.
The result could have been even better for the Argentine club after Martin Palermo opened the scoring with a volley after 3 minutes.
Pablo Gaglianone scored from a corner to equalize for Defensor just before halftime, but Rodrigo Palacio put Boca back in front in the 57th minute.
Boca looked comfortable, but a defensive lapse allowed Rodrigo Mora to get free at the back post for an 83rd-minute header that leveled the score again.
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
TO NO AVAIL: The Denver Nuggets’ Serbian center Nikola Jokic surpassed his 53-point performance in the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix The Washington Wizards withstood a 56-point explosion from Denver star Nikola Jokic to beat the Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday and snap their 16-game NBA losing streak. Jokic, who won his third NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last season, posted a career scoring high — surpassing a 53-point performance in game four of the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix and a 50-point regular-season best against Sacramento in 2021. The Serbian big man added 16 rebounds and eight assists, but it was all to no avail as Washington, buoyed by 39 points from Jordan Poole, won for the first time
RSS