BASKETBALL
Lin out with foot injury
Jeremy Lin yesterday did not play in the New Taipei Kings’ 94-83 victory over the Kaohsiung 17LIVE Steelers due to a lingering foot injury. The P.League+ team on Saturday said he would also miss the team’s two other regular season games next month before the Lunar New Year holiday or their East Asia Super League (EASL) match against the Seoul SK Knights on Wednesday in the South Korean capital. Lin wrote on Instagram that an MRI scan showed he had a plantar fascia injury. “I know the best thing I can do right now is to fully recover. I’ll give my 100% during this rehab process and do my best to fully trust God with the timeline and surrender to the results.” This would be the first time the 35-year-old veteran would be sidelined for an EASL game this season.
CYCLING
Pithie claims 1st Tour win
New Zealand’s Laurence Pithie yesterday powered home to nudge out Eritrea’s Natnael Tesfatsion in a split finish to claim his first World Tour victory in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in Geelong, Australia. The Groupama-FDJ rider lunged at the finish line to pip Tesfatsion (Lidl-Trek) by a half-wheel in the tightest finish in the eighth running of the 176km race along the southern coastline of Victoria. Pithie had to wait for the photo-finish confirmation before he could celebrate his first World Tour victory with his teammates.
SOCCER
Xavi says he is quitting
Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez on Saturday said he would quit his “cruel and unpleasant” job at the end of the season after his struggling team were beaten 5-3 by Villarreal in La Liga. “On June 30, I will leave the club, it’s a decision I have taken with the president, with the staff,” Xavi told reporters. Champions Barcelona, third in the top flight, are 10 points behind leaders Real Madrid with their title defense virtually over. “The feeling of being Barca coach is cruel, unpleasant, it feels like people lack respect for you a lot of the time,” Xavi said. “It’s terrible on a mental health level, your morale ... to the point where you think there is no sense in continuing.” After elimination in the Copa del Rey by Athletic Bilbao this week and a thrashing by Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final earlier in January, Xavi said he made the decision for the good of the club. “I’ve thought about the club ... and above all the players,” he said. “I have the feeling that I am doing the right thing, that I am acting with common sense.”
GOLF
Frenchman bags PGA win
Matthieu Pavon on Saturday became the first player to win a PGA Tour event under the French flag since World War II when he made an eight-foot putt on No. 18 at Torrey Pines South for a dramatic birdie and a one-shot victory in the Farmers Insurance Open. He raised his arms in celebration and shouted before hugging caddie Mark Sherwood after the putt rolled in as the municipal gem high above the Pacific Ocean glowed under the late-afternoon sun. Pavon glowed, too. He said he almost quit golf 10 years ago because of the yips. “It is big for our country,” the 31-year-old PGA Tour rookie said. “I hope it will inspire a lot of people, because coming from an amateur player which is 800 in the world to a PGA Tour winner is pretty big.”
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
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