BASKETBALL
US trounce Taiwan B
Taiwan’s men’s national B team were thoroughly thrashed by the US, represented by the UC Irvine Anteaters, in the William Jones Cup in Taipei yesterday. The home squad initially put up a decent fight, ending the first quarter five points down at 32-27, but things only went downhill from there and they ultimately lost 117-59. In earlier games, Qatar beat the United Arab Emirates 81-57, while the Philippines, represented by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, edged Iran 98-90. South Korea, represented by Anyang KGC, beat the Japan U22 squad 97-89.
SOCCER
Messi, Miami on a roll
Lionel Messi on Tuesday extended his remarkable goal-scoring streak as Inter Miami powered into the final of the Leagues Cup with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Philadelphia Union. The Argentina superstar took his tally to nine goals in six appearances for Miami in an entertaining semi-final at Philadelphia’s Subaru Park. Venezuelan international Josef Martinez, Messi’s former Barcelona teammate, Jordi Alba, and substitute David Ruiz scored Miami’s other goals, with Alejandro Bedoya the lone scorer for outgunned Philadelphia. The result leaves Messi preparing for the 42nd final of his career with Miami facing Nashville SC in Saturday’s final of the World Cup-style tournament for teams from the US’ MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX. Nashville booked their place in the final later Tuesday with a 2-0 win over Mexican side CF Monterrey.
SOCCER
Neymar signs with Al-Hilal
Neymar on Tuesday became the latest superstar soccer player to take the riches on offer from the Saudi Pro League, completing a move to Al-Hilal after six seasons at Paris Saint-Germain. The clubs reached an agreement on the transfer of the Brazil forward for a reported 90 million euros (US$98 million), a record for a league that is now financially backed by the oil-rich state. The 31-year-old Neymar signed a two-year contract that is expected to earn him an annual salary of about US$100 million. “I have achieved a lot in Europe and enjoyed special times, but I have always wanted to be a global player and test myself with new challenges and opportunities in new places,” Neymar said in the club’s announcement.
BASEBALL
Elder, Ozuna back on track
Bryce Elder and Marcell Ozuna have never lost faith in themselves, and it is paying off. Bouncing back from a rough stretch, Elder pitched seven innings to lead a one-hitter, getting all the run support he needed when Ozuna hit a three-run homer in the first to lead the Atlanta Braves past the reeling New York Yankees 5-0. “I’m not going to sit up here and say I was always confident,” said Elder, a first-time All-Star this season, but just 1-3 with a 7.94 earned run average over his previous six starts. “You just have to say: ‘Forget it. I’m just going to go back to trying to make one pitch at a time,’” Elder said. At the end of April, Ozuna was hitting .085 with a pair of solo homers accounting for his only RBIs, prompting plenty of fans to call for his release. The Braves stuck with the burly designated hitter, who has batted .275 with 22 homers and 58 RBIs since. “I knew I was a good player,” Ozuna said. “I just never give up. The only thing I have in my mind is to show them what I can do.”
The qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is to be held at the Taipei Dome between Feb. 21 and 25, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced today. Taiwan’s group also includes Spain, Nicaragua and South Africa, with two of the four teams advancing onto the 2026 WBC. Taiwan, currently ranked second in the world in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings, are favorites to come out of the group, the MLB said in an article announcing the matchups. Last year, Taiwan finished in a five-way tie in their group with two wins and two losses, but finished last on tiebreakers after giving
North Korea’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup-winning team on Saturday received a heroes’ welcome back in the capital, Pyongyang, with hundreds of people on the streets to celebrate their success. They had defeated Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the U17 World Cup final in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 3. It was the second global title in two months for secretive North Korea — largely closed off to the outside world; they also lifted the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in September. Officials and players’ families gathered at Pyongyang International Airport to wave flowers and North Korea flags as the
For King Faisal, a 20-year-old winger from Ghana, the invitation to move to Brazil to play soccer “was a dream.” “I believed when I came here, it would help me change the life of my family and many other people,” he said in Sao Paulo. For the past year and a half, he has been playing on the under-20s squad for Sao Paulo FC, one of South America’s most prominent clubs. He and a small number of other Africans are tearing across pitches in a country known as the biggest producer and exporter of soccer stars in the world, from Pele to Neymar. For
Coco Gauff of the US on Friday defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to set up a showdown with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the final of the WTA Finals, while in the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching was eliminated. Gauff generated six break points to Belarusian Sabalenka’s four and built on early momentum in the opening set’s tiebreak that she carried through to the second set. She is the youngest player at 20 to make the final at the WTA Finals since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Zheng earlier defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to book
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