Satria Muda Coach Plans to Spread Minutes in KL

Jakarta - If Satria Muda Britama hopes to avoid a second defeat in the Asean Basketball League when it travels to Kuala Lumpur over the weekend, the Jakarta club will have to work out its trust issues.

Satria Muda fell 94-93 to the Singapore Slingers last week, the loss highlighting the club’s odd coaching tactics more than its players’ performance.

New head coach Ocky Tamtelahitu opted to keep his rookies on the bench for much of the ABL opener, and relied heavily on a six-man rotation.

Veteran guard Mario Wuysang, the lone holdover from the squad that finished runner-up last season, was the only Indonesian to log heavy minutes.

Center Doni Ristanto, one of the rookies, played just a minute.

Ocky said he was not confident that the team’s newcomers “were ready,” but acknowledged that his decision to rely on just six players took a toll on them.

“It was my choice. I didn’t think most of my players were ready,” he said on Friday.

“I want to give them more time to adjust. I know they’ll be ready as we play more games, and I’ll be more comfortable using them when that time comes.”

Ocky said he planned to expand his rotation to include Doni, Ryan Febrian and Fattah Arifin against Kuala Lumpur’s Westsports Dragons.

But he is still inclined to rely on his imports, notably American forward Marcus Morrison and Filipino guard Francis Adriano, to lead the team.

The Dragons lost their ABL opener on the road, 79-74 to the Chang Thailand Slammers.

Filipino guard Rudy Lingganay scored a team-high 30 points for the Dragons, but Slammers forward Chris Kuete scored nine of his 31 points in overtime to give Chang the win. (Wimbo Satwiko)

Read More

Pagunsan Has Perfect Start in Mercedes-Benz Indonesia

Juvic Pagunsan took the first-round lead in the Mercedes-Benz Masters Indonesia on Wednesday to make the perfect start in his bid to finish the year ranked No. 1.

The Filipino carded an eight-under-par 64 at Emeralda Golf and Country Club to take the lead ahead of Thailand’s Borwon Chaisri, who shot 66.

The $80,000 tournament is the last of the season on the Mercedes-Benz Tour, and Pagunsan heads the Order of Merit with earnings of $22,450.

Pagunsan claimed the Mercedes-Benz Masters Thailand in June by seven strokes and carded a flawless round on Wednesday, making eight birdies.

He played the front nine in five under helped by three birdies in a row from the second.

He also made three on the trot from the 14th.

“That was one of my best rounds of the year. I did not put a foot wrong,” Pagunsan said.

Indonesian No. 1 Rory Hie, whose sole victory since turning professional came in the 2008 International Championship on the Mercedes-Benz Tour, shot an even-par 72.

Rory made an eagle in the par-5 seventh hole and a birdie in the 17th, but hit bogeys in the first, fifth and 15th holes to finish the day tied at 18th with seven others.

Burhan Bora and Johannes Dermawan had the next best score in the Indonesian field coming in at joint 26th with a 73.

In a rare treat for the crowd, two players recorded aces. Thai Atthaphon Prathummanee had a hole in one on the 16th while his countryman Philip Matsson, an amateur, aced the fourth.

Thailand’s Pinsawat Pariwat, the youngest of all amateurs at the age of just 13, fired a very respectable 73. 

Leading first round scores (par 72):

64 - Juvic Pagunsan (PHI)

66 - Borwon Chaisri (THA)

68 - Namchok Tantipokhakul (THA), Antonio Lascuna (PHI). Wittawat Sae-ung (THA), Artemio Murakami (PHI)

69 - Nicholas Fung (MAS), Wisut Artjanawat (THA), Panuwat Muenlek (THA), Mohd Sukree Othman (MAS), Ferdie Aunzo (PHI), Pawin Ingkhapradit (Am) (THA), Atthaphon Prathummanee (THA)

Agence France-Presse

Read More

Murray Crushes Federer to Take Shanghai and 2nd Title of the Year

Shanghai - Andy Murray buried remnants of his 2010 slump in indisputable fashion on Sunday with a crushing 6-3, 6-2 defeat of Roger Federer to win a second Masters trophy of the season with victory in Shanghai.

It took less than 90 minutes for the fourth-ranked Murray to completely rewrite his 2010 scenario and earn his second title of the year — also recording his second consecutive defeat of the Swiss in a Masters final.

The loss prevented Federer from pulling even with Rafael Nadal for the most career Masters titles, at 18.

“It was obviously a very, very good week,” Murray said. “The match was, from my side, very solid. Roger had a couple chances to get back in the first set.

“It was obviously a great, great match for me. I made few mistakes, but as a tournament, overall I’m very happy with it,” said Murray, who was ill last week and lost in the Beijing quarterfinals. “I had to play great to have a chance against Roger. But I was able to do that today.”

Murray now has a solid 8-5 lifetime record against Federer, who will move back to second in the world on Monday, just behind Nadal thanks to his semifinal defeat of Novak Djokovic, which followed a hammering of two-time Roland Garros finalist Robin Soderling.

But Federer’s form tapered away when it counted against Murray, who struck 20 winners, saved six break points and broke four times.

The performance is bound to restore the confidence of the prickly Scot, who was laughingly admonished during the trophy ceremony with pleas from the emcee to promise to smile more on his next visit.

Federer, with 30 unforced errors, saved a match point in the final game before Murray pulled through for victory under the open roof of the Qi Zhong center.

The defeat dropped Federer to 2-4 in 2010 finals, with Murray improving his overall season record to 41-14.

“I’ve played some of my best tennis against Roger,” he said.

In August, a fortnight before the start of the US Open, Murray lifted the Toronto trophy at Federer’s expense. The 23-year-old Scot lost the Australian Open final to the Swiss in January.

Federer acknowledged that he was outplayed on Sunday.

“I know how tough it is to win these Masters titles,” the Swiss star said. “He made me work hard. I couldn’t find many great shots; he was too good.”

Tennis

Agence France-Presse
It took Britain’s Andy Murray less than 90 minutes to deny Roger Federer his 18th Masters title.

Read More

Webber Upbeat Despite Crashing Out in South Korea

Yeongam, South Korea - Australian Mark Webber remained bullish about his chances of winning this year’s Formula One world championship, despite losing his leadership after crashing out of Sunday’s Korean Grand Prix.

The 34-year-old Red Bull driver spun his car during the early laps of a delayed and interrupted, but wildly dramatic, rain-hit race while running in second place and hit a curb and a wall before colliding with German Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes car.

The accident left him pointless and cost him top spot in the title race with two events remaining in Brazil and Abu Dhabi. Fernando Alonso of Ferrari took over as leader.

Webber collected himself, however, and remained defiant in his bid to become the third Australian after Jack Brabham and Alan Jones to lift the title.

“It’s not easy, but I can still do it, absolutely,” he said on Monday. “Positions are not really important at the moment — the points are the important thing. They can change very quickly. This is my second non-finish of the year, but there are still two races to go and I will do my absolute best.”

Webber conceded that his accident was all his own fault.

“I got a wheel on the curb on the exit of turn 12 and it was a very slow-motion moment. Totally my mistake,” he said.

“It was a very long slide and so frustrating. I thought I had done enough, but in the end it wasn’t enough,” he added.

While Webber bemoaned his fortune, Briton Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, the 2008 champion, is optimistic that he is still in the hunt thanks to finishing second, his first podium finish in four races. “It is definitely back on and it is possible, but we need to keep pushing and we need some luck,” he said.

“We will keep pushing and as you saw anything can happen, we didn’t expect two Red Bulls to go out, but that is how close this championship is. Fernando is quick but it is still open.”

His McLaren teammate and countryman Jenson Button was downbeat after finishing 12th and acknowledged his title defense was virtually over. He is 42 points behind Alonso with two races remaining.

“Everyone else needs to have failures,” Button said. “That’s the way it is. I don’t know what happened, but there must have been something wrong because the car was undriveable,” the defending champion added.

“If I can’t mathematically win it I’d do whatever I needed to, to help the team. My championship, if the other guys don’t have non-scores or issues, is pretty much over. But you don’t win championships by sitting back and saying ‘I can’t win it any more’. You have to keep on fighting.”

Agence France-Presse

Read More

City deny Rooney contact as clubs weigh up offers

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini denied on Wednesday that his club had approached Wayne Rooney in a bid to sign the striker from cross-town rival Manchester United.

Big-spending City was one of the teams heavily linked to speculation about Rooney, who has told United manager Alex Ferguson he does not want to extend his contract at Old Trafford beyond 2012.

Mancini said City hasn't spoken to the Englad international and believes the 24-year-old Rooney won't go anywhere.

"Rooney is a great player but I think he'll stay at United," said Mancini. "He's a good player, he's an important player for United.

"He is a United player. It's not correct to speak about that situation. I have respect for him, for Ferguson, for United. I want to speak only about my players."

Chelsea and Real Madrid have already said they would be interested in signing Rooney if he carried out his threat to leave United, as Europe's major clubs weigh up bids in the January transfer window.

City, which is owned by Abu Dhabi billionaire Sheikh Mansour, would be one of the few clubs who could afford to pay the wages Rooney may demand.

Mansour has spent more than 300 million pounds ($475 million) on players, including Carlos Tevez, who left United in 2009 after his contract ran out to join City. Tevez had a season earlier teamed up with Rooney to win the Champions League with United in 2008.

Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said on Tuesday "everybody will be interested" if United was willing to sell Rooney before his transfer value starts to plummet as the end of his contract approaches.

"If at the end of the day Man United decide that he is to leave, then give me a call," said Mourinho.

If Rooney was to favor a move to Madrid, he would link up again with Cristiano Ronaldo, who struck up a superb partnership with the England striker at Old Trafford before leaving for the Spanish giants for 80 million pounds in June 2009.

"But I believe he belongs to Man United, he belongs to Man United fans, he belongs to Old Trafford. I believe he is going to stay," Mourinho added.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said on Monday that his club would be keen to move for Rooney if the striker was on the market.

Spanish champion and three-time European Cup winner Barcelona was also widely reported as a potential bidder for Rooney.

"He is one of the greatest players in the world as there are very few players with his qualities," Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola was quoted as telling The Sun newspaper. "He's a player I very much admire."

Sections of the British press said on Wednesday that money was the key factor behind Rooney's decision to walk away from United, despite Ferguson's claim that the club was willing to offer "the best terms possible for any player in the country."

Read More

Spain players head FIFA Ballon d'Or nominations

Seven players from Spain's World Cup-winning team, including Barcelona trio Andres Iniesta, David Villa and Xavi Hernandez, were nominated Tuesday for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or world player of the year award.

The 23-man list also has three players who starred both at the World Cup and for their club last season: Golden Ball winner Diego Forlan of Uruguay and Europa League champion Atletico Madrid; Wesley Sneijder of runner-up the Netherlands and Champions League winner Inter Milan; and Thomas Mueller of Germany and Champions League runner-up Bayern Munich, who was top scorer and voted best young player in South Africa.

The past two winners - Lionel Messi of Argentina and Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Real Madrid - are nominated despite disappointing World Cup campaigns.

"Hopefully the trophy will remain in Barcelona," Messi told France Football magazine. "I hope it will be for one of ours."

Six players from Barcelona - Daniel Alves, Iniesta, Messi, Carles Puyol, Xavi and Villa, who joined the Catalan outfit from Valencia - are on the shortlist.

Barcelona retained the Spanish title last season with Messi scoring 34 goals to finish as the league's top scorer. Messi scored 47 goals in all competitions and won the Golden Boot, a prize awarded to Europe's top marksman.

"Of course I would be happy to win the Ballon d'Or for a second straight year," Messi said. "But I think the World Cup will weigh a lot in the balance."

Messi failed to score a single goal at the World Cup in South Africa, where Argentina lost 4-0 to Germany in the quarterfinals.

The 23 players nominated all took part in the World Cup while nine of them played the Champions League final won by Inter over Bayern Munich.

The 2007 winner Kaka is left off the list, which includes of his Brazil teammates Daniel Alves of Barcelona, and Inter Milan pair Julio Cesar and Maicon.

Chelsea's Ivory Coast forward Didier Drogba and Arsenal's Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas are among the three English Premier League players nominated while no English, French or Italian players are sortlisted.

The award, formerly known as the FIFA World Player of the Year, is being staged jointly for the first time by FIFA and France Football magazine, which first presented the original Ballon d'Or in 1956.

Votes will be cast by captains and head coaches of men's and women's national teams plus ivited journalists.

A top-three shortlist will be announced Dec. 6, and the winner named at a ceremony in Zurich on Jan. 10.

Among the 10 candidates for the women's world player award are Brazil's Marta and Germany's Birgit Prinz, who have combined to win the past seven titles.

Awards for the best en's and women's coach will be made for the first time.

Spain's Vicente del Bosque is competing for the men's honor with nine rivals including Oscar Tabarez of World Cup semifinalist Uruguay and Jose Mourinho, who won the Champions League with Inter Milan before joining Real Madrid.

The women's list cntains Maren Meinert, who led Germany to the Women's Under-20 World Cup title in July, and Albertin Montoya of FC Gold Pride, champion of the United States' Women's Professional Soccer league.

At the January gala, FIFA also will announce a World XI team in conjunction with the FIFPro group of players' unios, the Puskas Award for most beautiful goal of the year, a presidential award and a prize for fair play.
-----
FIFA Ballon d'Or men's nominations: Xabi Alonso (Spain), Daniel Alves (Brazil), Iker Casillas (Spain), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Dider Drogba (Ivory Coast), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Cesc Fabregas (Spain), Diego Forlan (Uruguay), Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Julio Cesar (Brazil), Miroslav Klose (Germany), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Maicon (Brazil), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Thomas Muller (Germany), Mesut Oezil (Germany), CarlePuyol (Spain), Arjen Robben (Netherlands), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands), David Villa (Spain) and Xavi (Spain).

Read More

Yamaha allows Rossi to test for Ducati

By Matt Beer

Valentino Rossi has been given clearance to test the Ducati for the first time in the post-season sessions at Valencia next month.

Yamaha's contract with Rossi does not expire until the end of the season, but he had urged the team to give him dispensation to start work with his new employer immediately after the 2010 racing season ends.

Two months after his deal with Ducati was announced, Rossi said he finally has permission from Yamaha racing boss Masao Furusawa to switch to Ducati for the Valencia tests, which take place in the days after the season finale at the Spanish track on 7 November.

"Last night I spoke with Furusawa," Rossi was quoted as saying by Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, "and he said that I can test the Ducati after the Valencia GP.

"I think that it's the right choice after everything there has been between us and a way to thank me for my work and commitment. I would like to thank them; it's a nice sportsmanlike gesture, also because with the limits on testing it's not as if you decide when you can do the tests."

News that Rossi can test that Ducati next month, plus his improved form in the last two grands prix, also makes it virtually certain that he will complete the season and wait until the winter break before having surgery on the niggling shoulder injury that has affected his form this year.

The Valencia test will also see Casey Stoner having his first run with Honda after leaving Ducati.

Read More

Archive