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DETROIT: Ja Morant had 31 points and eight rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies closed out their preseason with a 126-111 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night.
Desmond Bane went 1 for 7 from 3-point range and finished with 16 points for Memphis. Brandon Clarke also scored 16 points while playing extended minutes after starting center Stephen Adams left with a sore neck.
Saddiq Bey led the Pistons with 17 points and eight rebounds. Isaiah Stewart had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Cade Cunningham had 15 points and six assists. Kevin Knox II finished with 13 points as Detroit went winless in four preseason games.
The Pistons played without center Marvin Bagley III, who suffered a sprained MCL in the first minute of Tuesday’s loss to Oklahoma City. Bagley is expected to miss two to three weeks. Stewart started at center.
Both teams went with their usual starters in their final preseason game and stayed close to expected rotations through the first three quarters.
The Grizzlies used their backcourt duo of Morant and Bane for an offensive burst in the first half, while Stewart kept the Pistons close. Morant scored 15 points in the third as Memphis built its lead before Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins went to his reserves with three minutes left in the period and finished out the game.
Memphis rookies David Roddy and Jake LaRavia scored 12 and 10 points, respectively. Pistons rookie Jaden Ivey, the fifth overall pick in the draft, had seven points, going 3 of 11 from the field, including missing all four of his 3-points attempts.
Adams was injured in a scrum under the Memphis basket and went straight to the locker room just before halftime. He didn’t return.
Memphis finished the preseason 3-2 and opens the season next Wednesday, hosting the New York Knicks. Detroit also opens the regular season on Wednesday, playing at home against the Orlando Magic.
THUNDER 118 SPURS 112
In San Antonio, rookie Jalen Williams, the 12th overall draft pick from Santa Clara, had 19 points and Josh Giddey added 18 and six assists as Oklahoma City pulled away at the end to beat the Spurs.
Tre Mann finished with 17 points for Oklahoma City. Jaylin Williams, the 34th pick out of Arkansas, grabbed 11 rebounds.
Joshua Primo, a first-round pick in the 2021 draft, had 23 points to lead San Antonio, converting 8 of 12 shots. Keldon Johnson added 19 points and Devin Vassell had 18.
San Antonio’s Jakob Poeltl made all four of his shots and finished with eight points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
The game was tight throughout the second half after the teams went into halftime tied at 62. From there, neither team managed to stretch its advantage to double digits.
The game was tied at 110 with 3:24 left, but San Antonio managed only two points the rest of the way.
The Spurs open the season at home on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets. The Thunder start regular-season play the same night on the road in Minnesota against the Timberwolves.
KARACHI: Pakistan included top-order batter Fakhar Zaman in their 15-man squad for the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia on Friday, replacing spinner Usman Qadir after he suffered a thumb injury.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said 32-year-old Zaman is recovering from a knee injury.
“Pakistan have made one change in their squad for the T20 World Cup Australia with Zaman included in the squad while Qadir will be in the travelling reserves,” said a PCB statement.
Zaman was initially picked as a reserve, while Qadir was in the 15-man squad.
Qadir has yet to recover from a thumb injury picked up last month, and will not be available for selection before October 22, the PCB added.
All 16 teams can make changes to their squads until October 15, after which they need the approval of the World Cup’s technical committee.
Zaman suffered a knee injury during last month’s Asia Cup held in the United Arab Emirates.
“Zaman will be available for selection in the two warm-up matches against England (17 October) and Afghanistan (19 October),” the PCB said.
Earlier this week, Pakistan received a boost to their World Cup chances when pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi was declared fit to play after recovering from a knee injury.
Pakistan is in Group Two of the Super 12 stage, and will play their first match against India in Melbourne on October 23.
South Africa, Bangladesh and two qualifying teams will join them in Group Two.
Title holders Australia, England, Afghanistan, New Zealand and two qualifying teams are in Group One.
The first round of the tournament begins on Sunday.
Revised Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood.
Travelling reserves: Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir.
MADRID: Spanish soccer club Real Madrid have renewed a sponsorship deal with the airline Emirates until 2026, the team said on Friday.
While the parties did not disclose financial details, Spanish sports newspaper Marca reported the contract’s value at about 70 million euros per year plus variables.
The UAE flag carrier’s logo has been emblazoned on the jerseys worn by Real Madrid players since 2013.
Emirates first became Real Madrid’s global sponsor in 2011. Since then, the Spanish club have won 22 titles, including five coveted UEFA Champions League cups.
Jersey sponsorships are crucial for popular teams with high shirt sales like Real Madrid, as they expose the brands’ logos to millions of viewers across the globe.
Last season, Real Madrid led global soccer jersey sales through online retailer Amazon with 3.3 million euros ($3.21 million) in merchandising revenue, according to data from consulting firm Kiliagon.
RIYADH: Saudi sporting history was made on Thursday night as the SAFF Women’s Premier League marked its official launch with Al-Nassr defeating Sama at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium’s reserve pitch in Riyadh.
This marks the latest step taken by women’s football over the past few years in the Kingdom.
Last year’s inaugural Regional Women’s Football League was a big success, crowning three champions across Riyadh (Al-Yamamah), Jeddah (Jeddah Eagles) and Dammam (Eastern Flames), and welcoming more than 400 players from 16 teams. Riyadh side Al-Mamlaka then went on to claim the National Championship following an eight-team knockout battle in Jeddah.
Since then, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation has restructured the competition to launch the Premier League and First Division League.
The new structure has attracted traditional men’s Saudi Pro League clubs such as Asian Champions League champions Al-Hilal, in addition to Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad and Al-Shabab, to join the new top-tier league.
The newly launched league has not only captured attention locally but has also welcomed an influx of talented players from across the region and rest of the world.
With a historic prize pool of almost $380,500 (SR1.43 million), the Premier League will see eight teams compete on a home-and-away basis over the next 14 weeks, for a total of 56 matches. Meanwhile, the First Division League, launching on Nov. 11, will play host to 17 teams from across the Kingdom who will battle over a prize pool of almost $175,580 (SR 660,000), with the champion promoted to the Premier League.
The new leagues come on the back of major progress across all areas of women’s football in Saudi Arabia, from youth development to coaching to refereeing.
Last month, the national team took part in its first-ever matches on home soil against Bhutan, with the first fixture seeing the hosts bounce back from a 3-1 deficit at half-time to claim a 3-3 draw thanks to Bandari Al-Mubarak and Nora Ibrahim’s strikes in the closing 15 minutes.
The second match was also a six-goal thriller with the visitors getting the upper hand in a 4-2 victory. Led by German head coach Monika Staab, the Saudi team made its international debut earlier this year with two victories against the Seychelles and Maldives.
Transformative grass-roots investment has also seen the launch of three regional training centers welcoming hundreds of 6 to 17-year-old girls.
In addition, the newly launched 2022 Girls’ Schools League has welcomed almost 50,000 registrants representing 4,768 teams in 1,906 schools across all corners of the Kingdom. SAFF delivered a total of 40 D license coaching courses, certifying 857 teachers in the process. It also upskilled 544 teachers to officiate the matches by undergoing 15 extensive courses.
Saudi Arabia’s investment in the women’s game also stretches to staging regional tournaments. It recently staged the West Asian Football Federation 3rd Women’s Futsal Championship in Jeddah, with the hosts finishing with a silver medal. SAFF also announced an intention to host the 2026 Women’s AFC Asian Cup, with growing the game across the continent central to the bid.
ABU DHABI: Just eight days before Abu Dhabi hosts UFC 280: Oliveira versus Makhachev on Oct. 22, the UAE capital will feature the second Mixed Martial Arts Youth Championship at Zayed Sports City’s Jiu-Jitsu Arena.
This Friday’s event will see male and female fighters from the UAE contest a number of divisions in the second round of the championship, after the first tournament at the Etihad Arena one month ago.
The city is set to witness high-profile combat sports action as the annual Abu Dhabi Showdown Week — climaxing with the headline title fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev — kicks off on Monday.
Given the rapidly growing popularity of MMA in the emirates, Friday’s youth event is likely to represent the ideal precursor, attracting a host of officials, MMA stars of past and present, and representatives from the international organizations that oversee it.
“This second MMA Youth Championship arrives in the city at the ideal time,” said Mohammed bin Dalmouj Al-Dhaheri, head of the UAE MMA Committee. “Abu Dhabi Showdown Week is around the corner and some of the sport’s most prominent names are coming to the capital, so this is the perfect precursor.”
Al-Dhaheri, who was recently chosen as the Asian MMA Association’s first vice-president, said as many as 30 potential MMA judges will also receive accreditation certificates from the International MMA Federation and the UAE MMA Federation during a special session that will be held in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi Showdown Week. Renowned UFC referee and IMMAF Director of Regulatory Affairs Marc Goddard will oversee the session.
Mohammed Al-Hosani, board member of the UAE MMA committee, added: “The second MMA Youth Championship is expected to feature 20 fights, including featured fights for each category. We have some interesting and surprising announcements to make in the next few days regarding the development of MMA in the country.”
JEDDAH: American superstar Phil Mickelson has urged his Hy Flyers teammates to play in the manner “they are capable of” at this weekend’s LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah Presented by Roshn, in a bid to build momentum for the season-ending championship in Miami later this month.
The Hy Flyers GC team of six-time Major winner Mickelson, Bernd Wiesberger, Matthew Wolff and Cameron Tringale currently sit ninth in the 12-team standings and have a chance to climb the rankings at the series’ Middle East debut at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club this weekend.
That could be all-important going into the Team Championship at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami from Oct. 28 to 30, a seeded three-day, knockout tournament with a $50 million prize purse that will feature both match play and stroke play formats.
The top four teams in the standings will receive a bye on day one in Miami, with teams seeded five to 12 competing in head-to-head match play competitions for the chance to make it to the weekend.
Mickelson said: “We’re pretty far down the list and we’re not in a position to get a bye on Friday. So, we’re trying to use this week to get our game sharp. We have a lot of good players. We haven’t put it together. We need to build a little bit of momentum as we head into the final event of the year.
“We’ll have some time then to kind of regroup, get ready for the upcoming year. And there’s a lot of things internally that are happening within as we transition from LIV (Invitational) to the League … But we have a chance here to gain a little bit of momentum, play well on a golf course that’s fun to play, very similar to when we’re going to be playing in Doral, to try to build some momentum.
“Let’s go out and play well, win our points and move on to the weekend. I think that we have enough good players to do it, we just have to start playing the golf that we’re capable of playing.”
“Lefty” is one of 12 major winners in the field with other notable names including current Open Champion Cameron Smith, four-time Major champion Brooks Koepka and past Saudi International winners Dustin Johnson, Harold Varner III and Graeme McDowell.
