The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Messi back in training and available for Osasuna game Posted: 26 Jan 2013 07:55 AM PST  Reuters file picture of Barcelona player Lionel Messi. The World Player of the Year missed training and needed physiotherapy on Friday after coming off as a precaution late in Thursday's King's Cup quarter-final second leg win at Malaga. "The Argentine forward will be available for selection for the next league fixture," Barca said in a statement on their website (http://www.fcbarcelona.es). The La Liga leaders are looking to get back to winning ways against Osasuna after their unbeaten start to the campaign was ended last weekend by a 3-2 defeat at Real Sociedad. They still have an eight-point lead over second-placed Atletico Madrid, who play at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, with champions Real Madrid a further seven points back in third. Jose Mourinho's Real side, who this week lost captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas to a broken hand, host Getafe on Sunday before Barca visit the Bernabeu on Wednesday for the first leg of their King's Cup semi-final. — Reuters |
| Westports Malaysia Dragons go down fighting Posted: 26 Jan 2013 06:18 AM PST
A strong and boisterous crowd were on hand to welcome the Dragons into MABA stadium for the first time this season. However, the Warriors used a big 3rd quarter to take the advantage over the home team in another close finish. Gavin Edwards played the entire game for the Dragons and flirted with a triple double scoring a team high 20 points, 11 rebounds and 7 blocks on just 11 shots. It was tough going early for the Dragons as they turned the ball over and consistently found themselves on the wrong side of foul calls, which saw the Warriors in the bonus midway through the first quarter. The Dragons were able to use some hot shooting and a 12-5 rebounding advantage to overcome their 7 first quarter turnovers, connecting on 7 of their 11 shots including all four of their 3-point attempts. Cedric Bozeman picked up his 3rd foul in the first 30 seconds of the second quarter and was forced to sit out the rest of the half, leading the way for Shee Fai Loh to enter the game. Shee Fai connected on a 3 with his first touch of the ball and scored 10 for the quarter on 4 of 5 shooting. As the Dragons started finding some consistency in their offense, the calls began going their way and they able to begin building a lead. Much like is counterpart did in their previous match-up on Tuesday night, it was Ban Sin Ooi's turn to become the aggressor and his attacking offense had the Dragons up by 16 after forcing Canada to sit with his 3rd foul and then finding Shee Fai on the next play for a transition lay up. The Warriors were able to reduce the deficit to single digits before the half after Steven Thomas failed to convert a 3 point play and the Warriors capitalised with an offensive rebound and 3 pointer for a 5 point possession, sending the Dragons into the half with a 45-36 lead. The 3rd quarter belonged to the Warriors. The visitors closed the gap early as they opened the second half with back-to-back 3's before Patrick Cabahug opened his scoring account at one end and Edwards picked up his 6th block at the other end. The Warriors were able to take the lead for the first time since early in the first quarter when John Smith hit his teams 4th triple for the quarter midway through the 3 rd. The Warriors finished the quarter with two more 3's and despite a 30 point quarter were only up by 8 heading into the final term. A tight fourth quarter saw the Dragons chip away to tie it up at 68-68 piece, after Edwards connected from downtown, and then again a couple of minutes later after baskets from Moala Tautuaa and Edwards. But it was the Warriors ability to get to the free throw line that was the difference as Mario Wuysang iced the game from the line in the final minutes and hang on for a 79-72 win. Despite the loss, Dragons Coach Ariel Vanguardia remained positive after the game. "We'll bounce back. We know what needs to be worked on." "Turnovers and rebounding are our major concerns. We are facing teams with big imports and we need learn how to match up with them." "We're making them miss, but teams are getting 2nd chances". Defensively the Dragons had held all of their opponents to below 40 per cent shooting this season, but have also taken fewer shots than their opponents in all of those games. The Westports Malaysia Dragons next game will be at MABA stadium on Saturday 2nd of February against the Chang Thailand Slammers. Pre-game entertainment begins at 2.30pm and tip-off will be at 3pm. Tickets are available for purchase online at http://www.tickethotline.com. |
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 – For the second time in a week the Westports Malaysia Dragons have gone down fighting to an Indonesia Warriors team that is looking more and more like the defending champions from last season.| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan