sport 쐽 THE STRAITS TIMES THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6 2008 PAGE B11
Boston’s ‘Big Three’
PAUL PIERCE KEVIN GARNETT
쐽 Playing time: 44:28 쐽 Playing time: 36:28
쐽 Rebounds: 9 쐽 Rebounds: 11
쐽 Assists: 4 쐽 Assists: 1
쐽 Steals: 3 쐽 Steals: 0
쐽 Points: 13 (5-15) 쐽 Points: 14 (6-15)
Boston Celtics 109
Houston Rockets 99
HOUSTON: Throw three National Basket-
ball Association All-Stars together and it
is an automatic title. The formula is
fool-proof, right?
Celtics captain Paul Pierce said: “You
design your team to beat the champi-
ons.”
Well, imitation is the sincerest form
of flattery and Ron Artest admitted as
much shortly after getting traded to the
Rockets, comparing his new set-up to
Boston.
The Celtics’ decorated trio of Pierce,
Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen met their
2008-09 reflection in Artest, Yao Ming
and Tracy McGrady on Tuesday and re-
minded Houston how much better they
need to be.
Allen scored 29 points. Garnett added
14 points and 11 rebounds, and the Celt-
ics shut down Artest and Yao in a
103-99 win.
McGrady scored 26 points but could
not rally Houston down the stretch.
Yao went just 4-for-14 from the field
and scored eight points for Houston.
“Probably one of my worst games of all
time,” the Chinese star admitted.
The Rockets were also out-rebounded
46-41, went 7-for-24 from three-point
range (29.2 per cent) and were outscored
42-26 in the paint.
“We did not play well at all,” said Art-
est, who missed 13 of 16 shots and
scored 15 points by sinking six free
throws. “Usually, you can say you’ve
got to give them credit. But there were
things that we could’ve done better to
pull out the victory.”
Boston led 101-97 when McGrady
rose for a three-pointer and was fouled
by Tony Allen. McGrady landed awk-
wardly and grabbed his sore left knee.
He was given three foul shots and made
two, cutting Boston’s lead to 101-99.
Eddie House hit two free throws at
the other end with 9.6 seconds remain-
ing. Brent Barry then shot an airball and
Garnett caught it to secure the win.
Lam one shot off the lead at Mercedes-Benz Masters
LAM Chih Bing fired a five-under 67 to
get his Mercedes-Benz Masters cam-
paign off to a sizzling start yesterday.
The Singaporean golfer is one stroke
behind leader Malaysian M. Sasidaran at
the US$50,000 (S$74,000) event, the
seventh leg of the Asean Tour.
“It’s going well at the moment,” said
a beaming Lam, who on Tuesday earned
his ticket to the Nov 20-23 Hong Kong
Open in a qualifier in Johor.
“I’ve no complaints and it’s certainly
the right time of year to be playing well
Rugby stars
coming for
tournament
BY LEONARD LIM
SOME of world rugby’s top names will
showcase their skills in Singapore in an in-
augural 15-a-side tournament at the Pa-
dang next year.
England’s Steve Borthwick, Iain
Balshaw, Mike Tindall and Australia’s
Matt Giteau will be among the stars in the
four teams that will clash here in the Rug-
by World Club Challenge.
Two of the teams – Saracens and
Gloucester – feature in England’s highest
tier of club rugby, the Guinness Premier-
ship.
Western Force are from the Super 14,
the biggest rugby union club champion-
ship involving top teams from Australia,
New Zealand and South Africa. The
fourth side will be an unconfirmed
French team.
“This promises to be a top rugby
event,” said Phil Greening, director of or-
ganisers The Amici Group. The former
England hooker said that Western Force
have already confirmed their participa-
tion in the tournament for five years.
Based in Perth, their line-up includes
Wallabies Giteau, Nathan Sharpe and
Drew Mitchell.
Gloucester are one of the top sides in
England, having won the domestic league
in 2003, 2007 and this year.
Several fringe events will be built
around the July 28-31 tournament. There
will be a Junior World Club Challenge for
age-group sides from Singapore and Ma-
laysia, plus coaching clinics for local
youngsters by some of the internationals.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Com-
munity Development, Youth and Sports)
Teo Ser Luck , who was present at yester-
day’s announcement at the Singapore
Cricket Club, welcomed the event, noting
that it would continue to enhance Singa-
pore’s reputation as a regional sports
hub.
RAY ALLEN
쐽 Playing time: 35:06
쐽 Rebounds: 5
쐽 Assists: 5
쐽 Steals: 0
쐽 Points: 29 (11-15)
NOT SO FAST,
ROCKETS
Boston show Houston that even with
3 All-Stars, they’ve a long way to go
Boston’s Paul Pierce (right) driving the ball around Houston’s defensive specialist Ron Artest.
Pierce was limited to 13 points but still walked away a winner. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
with so many tournaments on.”
The 31-year-old won the opening
event of the two-year-old Asean Tour,
the Indonesia Masters in May.
Lam is using the Mercedes-Benz Mas-
ters as a final warm-up for next week’s
US$5 million Barclays Singapore Open,
Asia’s richest national Open.
Sasidaran’s impressive bogey-free
round on the Laguna National Golf and
Country Club’s Masters Course yester-
day did not come as a surprise, as he
won the Champion of Champions tourna-
Former sprint champion C. Kunalan, who set a national 100m record at the 1968 Games in Mexico, holding a torch aloft as he showed
students at an adventure camp how an Olympic torch relay was conducted. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Olympic camp attracts 200 kids
FORMER Singapore sprinter C. Kuna-
lan, who set the national 100m record
at the 1968 Games in Mexico, was
among those who re-enacted the torch
relay of a typical Olympics at an adven-
ture camp yesterday.
Over 200 students from some 40
secondary schools participated in the
three-day event organised by the Singa-
pore Olympic Academy. The camp be-
gan on Monday.
Other activities at the Labrador Ad-
venture Centre included a mini An-
cient Olympic Games competition and
flame-lighting ceremony.
Guest of honour Ng Ser Miang, who
Houston’s ‘Big Three’
TRACY MCGRADY YAO MING
쐽 Playing time: 36:46 쐽 Playing time: 28:25
쐽 Rebounds: 2 쐽 Rebounds: 7
쐽 Assists: 6 쐽 Assists: 0
쐽 Steals: 3 쐽 Steals: 0
쐽 Points: 26 (9-18) 쐽 Points: 8 (4-14)
ment there in 2004.
“I’ve been working on keeping a good
tempo and staying patient and it helped
today,” said the Kuala Lumpur native.
Singapore No. 1 Mardan Mamat, who
won the 2006 European Tour-sanc-
tioned Singapore Masters at Laguna, is
among four who carded 69s to remain in
contention. He said: “I had a comforta-
ble start, I’m hoping to do a lot better
over the next few days.”
Meanwhile, the Republic’s Koh Deng-
shan, 20, leads the Singapore Open Ama-
chairs the Singapore Youth Olympic
Games organising committee
(SYOGOC), said he was heartened to
see so many young people involved.
He said: “These activities are a good
introduction to the Olympic move-
ment, and what will happen at the
YOG in 2010.
“Many of them will serve as volun-
teers then, and help spearhead Olym-
pic education in their schools.”
At a separate event yesterday, Sen-
ior Parliamentary Secretary (Communi-
ty Development, Youth and Sports)
Teo Ser Luck said that preparations for
the YOG were going well.
RON ARTEST
쐽 Playing time: 37:02
쐽 Rebounds: 7
쐽 Assists: 1
쐽 Steals: 2
쐽 Points: 15 (3-16)
Houston should feel more equipped
to win games like this with defensive spe-
cialist Artest. He guarded Pierce, who
finished with 13 points and nine re-
bounds, from the opening tip and stole
the ball on Boston’s second possession.
Yao, guarded by Kendrick Perkins,
had a dunk and two hook shots in the
first five minutes. But he went to the
bench with his second foul with 6min
35sec left in the first quarter and the
Celtics went on a 15-4 run.
Boston’s lead swelled to 16, but the
smaller Rockets’ line-up mounted a 25-4
run in the second quarter, sinking nine
straight shots,
three-pointers.
including three
The Celtics hit 11 of 16 shots in the
third quarter to keep a slim lead heading
into the fourth, before consigning the
the memory of their 79-95 loss to Indi-
ana on Saturday to memory.
Meanwhile in San Antonio, Jason Ter-
ry scored 29 points, Dirk Nowitzki add-
ed 30 points and the Dallas Mavericks
쏆 HSBC Champions: Day 2 (Live, Ch26, noon).
“Probably one of my worst
games of all time.”
YAO MING, after going 4-for-14 against
Boston
beat the Spurs 98-81 and hand the hosts
their first 0-3 record in 35 years.
San Antonio are off to their worst
start since opening the 1973-74 ABA sea-
son 0-4. It was their first season in San
Antonio after playing in Dallas as the
Chaparrals. The Spurs joined the NBA in
1976.
Tony Parker led San Antonio with 22
points and Tim Duncan scored 19 as the
Spurs continue to play without Manu Gi-
nobili. He is not expected back until next
month after ankle surgery.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
teur Championship at the Tanah Merah
Country Club after two rounds.
The Singapore Polytechnic student
shot one-under 71 in yesterday’s rain-de-
layed round for a 142 total and a
one-stroke lead over the 127-strong
field.
Thai Vasin Sripattranusorn (71) and
Filipino Rufino Bayron (72) are tied sec-
ond on 143, while Kiwi Ben Wallace (68)
is a further stroke adrift in third spot.
The winner of the four-day event will
get an invitation to play the Barclays Sin-
gapore Open.
Most of the 19 competition venues,
such as the Bishan Stadium, were ap-
proved last week when an Internation-
al Olympic Committee team met organ-
isers.
But the SYOGOC is still looking at
several other venues, such as the Pa-
dang, where 10,000 people gathered
on Feb 21 to see if Singapore would win
the bid.
“The Padang will be great as it will
showcase the city skyline well,” said
Mr Teo.
“It also holds sentimental value for
many of us.”
LEONARD LIM
Next 72 hours
Today
Badminton
Ashaway/Pilot Pen International Club C’ship
(Bedok Sports Hall, 9am and 6pm).
Football
S-League: Gombak v Woodlands (Jurong
West), Geylang v Dalian (Bedok) – 7.45pm.
Uefa Cup: VfB Stuttgart v FK Partizan (Live,
Ch27, tomorrow, 12.55am), Slavia Prague v
Aston Villa (Live, Ch113, tomorrow, 3.45am).
Golf
Mercedes-Benz Masters Singapore (Laguna
National Golf & Country Club, 7.15am)
Singapore Open Amateur C’ship (Tanah Merah
Country Club, Tampines course, 7.25am).
HSBC Champions: Day 1 (Live, Ch26, noon).
Children’s Miracle Network Classic: Day 1
(Live, Ch26 & Ch304, tomorrow, 2am).
Tennis
WTA C’ship Doha: Preliminaries (Live, Ch113,
10pm).
Tomorrow
Badminton
Ashaway/Pilot Pen International Club C’ship
(Bedok Sports Hall, 9am).
Basketball
NBA: Houston Rockets v Portland Trailblazers
(Live, Ch24, 11.30am).
Football
S-League: Albirex v Tampines (Jalan Besar,
7.30pm). Live, Ch5, 7.25pm.
FA Cup 1st rd: Leeds United v Northampton
Town (Live, Ch24, Saturday, 3.30am).
Golf
Mercedes-Benz Masters Singapore (Laguna
National Golf & Country Club, 9am)
Singapore Open Amateur C’ship (Tanah Merah
Country Club, Tampines course, 7.25am).
Children’s Miracle Network Classic: Day 2
(Live, Ch26 & Ch304, Saturday, 2am).
Tennis
WTA C’ship Doha: Preliminaries (Live, Ch113,
10pm).
Saturday
Badminton
Ashaway/Pilot Pen International Club C’ship
(9am). Finals (6pm) – Bedok Sports Hall.
Basketball
NBA: Miami Heat v San Antonio Spurs (Live,
Ch23, 9am).
Football
English Premier League: Hull v Bolton (Live,
Ch21, 10.55pm), Sunderland v Portsmouth
(Live, Ch22, 10.55pm).
Golf
Mercedes-Benz Masters Singapore (Laguna
National Golf & Country Club, 9am)
HSBC Champions: Day 3 (Live, Ch26, noon).
Children’s Miracle Network Classic: Day 3
(Live, Ch26 & Ch304, Sunday, 2am).
Tennis
WTA C’ship Doha: S-finals (Live, Ch113,
10.30pm).
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Becker’s wedding off
PARIS: Former Wimbledon
champion Boris Becker has
separated from his fiancee of three
months. Becker, 40, and Sandy
Meyer-Woelden (above), 24, had
got engaged in August.
He told Bild: “We wanted to get
married next year, but sadly it
wasn’t working. There was no
third person involved; we just
couldn’t get on on a day-to-day
basis. Maybe the 15-year age
difference was too much.”
“I do want to be No. 1.
And quite frankly, everyone
thinks I am anyway. So you
know I never correct them.
I just let them believe
what really should be.”
World No. 3 Serena Williams, who
is 2-1 this year against No. 1
Jelena Jankovic, who has yet to
win a Grand Slam singles title
Scoreboard
Basketball
NBA Phoenix 114 New Jersey 86, Boston 103
Houston 99, Dallas 98 San Antonio 81.
Singapore Challenge Series Singapore
Slingers 92 Malaysian All-Stars 80.
Football
Uefa Champions League Group A: CFR Cluj 1
Bordeaux 2, AS Roma 3 Chelsea 1. Gp B:
Anorthosis Famagusta 3 Inter Milan 3, Werder
Bremen 0 Panathinaikos 3. Gp C: Barcelona 1
FC Basel 1, Sporting Lisbon 1 Shakhtar
Donetsk 0. Gp D: Liverpool 1 Atletico Madrid
1, Marseille 3 PSV Eindhoven 0.
Golf
Singapore Open Amateur C’ship 1st rd: 70
Quincy Quek (Sin), Pawin Ingkhapradit (Tha).
71 Rufino Bayron (Phi), Koh Dengshan (Sin),
Michell Slorach (Sin), Aaron Leech (Nzl). 72
Gary King (Eng), Waruth Oupun (Tha), Vasin
Sripattaranusorn (Tha), Keshav Kapoor (Ind),
Antonio Asistio (Phi), Manav Das (Ind).
Mercedes-Benz Masters Singapore 1st rd 66
M. Sasidaran (Mas). 67 Lam Chih Bing (Sin).
68 Piya Swangarunporn (Tha). 69 Nakul
Vichitryuthasastr (Tha), Mardan Mamat (Sin),
Juvic Pagunsan (Phi). 70 Varut Chomchalam
(Tha), Michael Bibat (Phi), Danny Chia (Mas).
Selected Singaporeans: 72 Poh Eng Wah. 74
Chang Ren Chiat, Dino Kwek, Mohd Said. 75
M. Murugiah, Goh Kun Yang, Marc Kawasoe.
Tennis
WTA C’ships in Doha – White group: Vera
Zvonareva (Rus) bt Svetlana Kuznetsova
(Rus) 6-2 6-3, Jelena Jankovic (Srb) bt Ana
Ivanovic (Srb) 6-3 6-4. Maroon group: Venus
Williams (USA) bt Dinara Safina (Rus) 7-5 6-3.