McIlroy captures Deutsche Bank; Tiger finishes two back

NORTON, Massachusetts — In a Labor Day finish filled with some of golf's biggest names, Rory McIlroy sent his stock soaring in the Deutsche Bank Championship.

McIlroy overcame a three-shot deficit Monday in five holes, and then survived mistakes on the final two holes to close with a 4-under 67 and escape with a one-shot victory over Louis Oosthuizen.

McIlroy joined Tiger Woods as the only three-time winners on the PGA Tour this year, and with one of his wins being the PGA Championship, that might be enough for his peers to vote him player of the year. He also finally built a comfortable gap at No. 1 in the world.

Oosthuizen had a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to force a playoff, only it slid by on the right side for a 71.

Woods made an early charge to get back in the hunt, though he never got closer than three shots until a two-putt birdie on the par-5 18th gave him a 66. He finished in third place, two shots behind, and earned enough money to become the first player to surpass $100 million in PGA Tour earnings.

Phil Mickelson also had a 66 and tied for fourth, along with Dustin Johnson, who had a 70 and likely played his way onto the Ryder Cup team. Brandt Snedeker made a strong case for a captain's pick with a 65-67 weekend to finish sixth.

Davis Love III will announce his four picks Tuesday morning.

McIlroy didn't make it easy on himself. The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland had a three-shot lead with six holes to play, and only a clutch bogey putt on the 17th hole kept him from losing all of his lead.

"I had a couple of wobbles coming in, but I obviously did enough and I'm very excited to get a victory," McIlroy said.

Oosthuizen, who had to cope with pain in his right shoulder earlier in the round, came back with two birdies on the back to get within one shot.

McIlroy hit a chip over the 17th green into more rough, and it looked as if he would struggle to make bogey. Oosthuizen, however, missed the green from the fairway, chipped poorly to 10 feet and missed his par putt, and Boy Wonder calmly sank his 5-foot bogey putt to stay one shot ahead.

"The 17th hole cost me," Oosthuizen said.

McIlroy finished 20-under 264 and moved to No. 1 in the FedEx Cup, assuring he will have a shot at the $10 million bonus at the Tour Championship later this month.

It was the second time this year that Oosthuizen, who won the British Open by seven shots at St. Andrews two years ago, failed to win after leading going into the final round.

McIlroy made an early charge with three straight birdies, but the turning point came on the fifth hole when Oosthuizen felt pain in his shoulder on a tee shot that sailed into the trees and led to double bogey.

The pain went away on the back, which the South African attributed to an adrenaline rush.

As always at the TPC Boston, this was quite a show on a late summer day in New England. This is the tournament that delivers duels between Woods and Vijay Singh (twice) and Woods and Mickelson. This time, all of them had fleeting hopes of winning.

McIlroy and Oosthuizen turned it into a two-man race, with Woods lurking until he couldn't convert enough putts.

In the end, neither could Oosthuizen. He missed from just inside 10 feet for par on the 17th and from 12 feet on the 18th.

"I probably made all my putts yesterday," Oosthuizen said.

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Ahn captures back-to-back titles

MIZUNAMI, Gifu Pref. — Ahn Sun Ju fired eight birdies against two bogeys on Sunday for a final-round 6-under-par 66 to win the Golf 5 Ladies by one stroke. It was the South Korean's third title this season and her second in two weeks.

Ahn, the leading earner on the JLPGA in 2010 and 2011, started the day a stroke back of overnight leader Chie Arimura, also looking for her third win this season. Ahn, who compiled a 15-under 201 for the tournament, finished one stroke ahead of compatriot Lee Ji Hee and two ahead of Arimura and Rikako Morita.

Ahn went to the final hole at Mizunami Country Club tied with Lee at 14-under, but birdied it to avoid a playoff.

"I had not imagined I could win two consecutive tournaments," said Ahn, who just turned 25. "I'm really happy. My birthday was the same day as the first round. This is a great present."

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Arimura captures first title of season

ICHIHARA, Chiba Pref. — Chie Arimura held on to her overnight lead to win her first title of the Japan LPGA season in the Cyber Agent Ladies on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Arimura started the day in a tie with South Korea's Lee Ji Woo but pulled away with a bogey-free 65 to finish five strokes ahead of Sakura Yokomine for her 11th career victory.

Lee faded in the final round with a 74, ending up with a share of ninth place.

Arimura had missed the first three events of the year with a nagging injury to her left wrist. She picked up a winner's check of ?12.6 million.

"I managed to finish the round with a birdie, and it just feels so good to win like this," Arimura said at the Tsurumai Country Club, where she had a three-round total of 15-under 201.

"It's a huge monkey off my back. I couldn't be happier. There were some pretty tough times because of the injury to my wrist, but through it all, I learned how to concentrate better on the golf itself," she said.

Ahn Sun Ju, the money title winner the last two years, finished fifth with an 8-under total.

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Yoshimura captures table tennis title

Eighteen-year-old Maharu Yoshimura beat Jun Mizutani on Sunday in a thrilling final on Sunday to win the men's singles title at the national table tennis championships.

Yoshimura won 11-9, 11-6, 6-11, 6-11, 11-9, 5-11, 12-10 at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, denying Mizutani a sixth consecutive crown and becoming only the second player after his opponent to win the title while still in high school.

"I can't believe it," said Yoshimura, who won five straight points to clinch victory after trailing 10-7 in the final game.

"Mizutani-san is a quality player and I just wanted to play without any regrets," he said

Hiroko Fujii and Misako Wakamiya won the women's doubles title for the third year in a row.

Table tennis icon Ai Fukuhara finally won a national singles title by defeating 2011 champion Kasumi Ishikawa four games to one in the women's final on Saturday.

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Fukuhara captures national title

Table tennis icon Ai Fukuhara finally won a national singles title Saturday, defeating 2011 champion Kasumi Ishikawa four games to one in the final.

Fukuhara, making her 13th appearance at the national championships, won 11-7, 11-7, 11-7, 3-11, 11-5 in the matchup many people were hoping to see on the penultimate day of action at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

She clinched victory when 18-year-old Ishikawa's backhand went long.

Fukuhara, currently ranked ninth in the world, made her tournament debut in 1999 at the age of 11. Her previous best finishes were in the semifinals — twice.

"I feel like this is a dream," the 23-year-old said. "Winning a national title was a big hurdle for me. At the London Olympics, I want to show how much I've grown as a player."

Fukuhara came into the final on a high after beating five-time champion Sayaka Hirano 11-9, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 in her semifinal earlier in the day.

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Funabashi captures title

Captain Ryuji Izumi scored a last-gasp equalizer and then went on to win it in extra time as Chiba's Ichiritsu Funabashi captured its fifth high school national championship with a 2-1 victory over Yokkaichi Chuo Kogyo of Mie on Monday.

Yokkaichi drew first blood in the very first minute through Takuma Asano, who finished as the tournament's top scorer with seven goals, and appeared well on its way to its first title in 20 years.

Izumi, however, leveled in the 91st minute before producing the winner in the second half of extra time at National Stadium as Funabashi lifted the trophy for the first time in nine years.

"We had a lot of chances from corners during the stretch and I thought it was just a matter of time before we scored," Izumi said of his first goal. "All I had to do was just tap it in.

"I'm proud to have been a part of this team for the last three years. I thought we were the better team even before the match, from our work rate to our bench to our determination, and I'm glad we were able to prove it."

Yokkaichi, which thrashed Fukushima's Shoshi 6-1 in the semifinals on Saturday, was off to a fast start, reaching the scoreboard moments after kickoff.

From a rightwing corner, Asano, who netted in all six games this tournament, pounced on the deflection of a shot by strike partner Shota Tamura as Funabashi conceded for just the third time in five matches.

Yokkaichi was without suspended captain Yusuke Kuniyoshi, but the Mie side — boasting the competition's most prolific attack with 18 goals from its previous five games — continued to control the match, keeping Funabashi on its heels.

Funabashi regrouped for the second half, pushing forward with aggression in search of an equalizer. It dominated the last 20 minutes, and was rewarded for its efforts in the first of two injury-time minutes.

From a scramble in the box after a corner, Izumi poked in his fourth goal of the competition to invite the 20 minutes of extra time.

The intensity picked up as the teams exchanged punch for punch, but it was Izumi who had the last laugh with a solo effort in the 105th minute.

Funabashi coach Ryuzo Asaoka, who played for the school's first championship team, said he never doubted his team even as it struggled to breach the Yokkaichi defense.

"To catch up to them the way we did in injury time says everything about the heart of our boys," Asaoka said. "I've always felt we had the potential to win it.

"I watched this team mature through the regionals as well as this tournament. The players were set on winning the title, and they went out and showed it.

"I'm so happy I helped them achieve their goal. As I watched these kids climb up to the podium, I thought I was dreaming. It's nothing short of brilliant."

BUCHAREST — Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu is doing well after undergoing surgery following a car accident, a Bucharest hospital said Monday.

Dragos Vinereanu, an official at the University Emergency Hospital, said Monday that Lucescu is conscious and his condition is stable following an operation.

Hospital manager Catalin Carstoiu said earlier that surgery was performed on Lucescu late Sunday because blood was gathering in the Romanian coach's chest. Several broken ribs were also fixed.

Lucescu's SUV was hit by a tram on Friday. Police are investigating.

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Nobeoka Gakuen captures third title of 2011

Mission accomplished. And Nobeoka Gakuen achieved that feat in dominant fashion.

Senegalese center Bamba Diouf scored 25 points and cleared 23 rebounds, and Reo Bendorame had 22 points as the Kyushu school earned its first Winter Cup title with an 88-55 win over Jinsei Gakuen in the boys final of the 42nd All-Japan High School Tournament.

With the national championship title, Nobeoka Gakuen, which won the National Athletic Meet and Inter-High School Athletic Meet, completed the "triple crown" in the same year.

"While we couldn't win in the Winter Cup previously, our players were really serious to finally grab one, and I think it paid off," said Junichiro Hongo, head of the Miyazaki Prefecture delegation after the game at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Thursday.

Nobeoka Gakuen's merciless game on both sides of the ball started from the beginning. While Bendorame helped the team get off to a strong start with his scoring, the team's zone defense gave Jinsei Gakuen a hard time to even get near the basket.

Nobeoka Gakuen led 20-8 at the end of the first quarter, and was ahead 54-28 at halftime.

Despite the large lead, Nobeoka Gakuen didn't get loose in the second half, and continued to make life difficult for Jinsei.

Jinsei's tall second-year player Yuta Watanabe showed some resistance by scoring seven points in the final period, but it was too late for a dramatic comeback for the Kagawa Prefecture school.

"I think we played our own basketball today," said senior Bendorame, who was born to a Brazilian father and a Japanese mother. "That pleased us the most."

Nobeoka Gakuen forced 21 Jinsei Gakuen turnovers — 15 of which came from steals — limited its own to 10 and out-rebounded its opponent 57-42.

Nobeoka Gakuen had 22 offensive boards. It was one of the deciding factors in the game.

"We hardly played our ball," Watanabe said of his school, which had never previously made the Winter Cup final eight. "From the beginning to the end, we didn't play our game."

Nobeoka Gakuen had three 100-point games, with at least a 23-point lead at the end of each of its five games in the tournament. But its dominance, according to Hongo and his players, started from past failures in the yearend tourney.

Last year, Nobeoka Gakuen exited the tournament after a 95-64 loss to Shiga Prefecture's Kosen High School.

"We've played mainly with second-year players since last year," Bendorame said. "We lost (in the All-Japan Tournament) but we really grew from that and it brought us all the way here."

Captain Hiroki Iwata said: "Every year, Nobeoka Gakuen would end the year in the Winter Cup (failing to win the championship). But we've finally done it and I'm extremely excited about winning it with all the members of the team."

In the third-place game, Shizuoka Prefecture's Numazu Chuo defeated Fukuoka Ohori 90-56.

After the game, Diouf, Bendorame, Watanabe, Senegalese Cherif Sow of Numazu Chuo and Fukuoka Ohori's Naoto Fukumoto were named to the all-tournament team.

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Sapporo Yamanote captures another title

Sapporo Yamanote head coach Masamitsu Kamishima said he had an open ticket for a flight back to Hokkaido, so his team could go back to the northern island at anytime.

Twice as nice: Sapporo Yamanote standout Moeko Nagaoka takes a shot during the final of the Winter Cup on Wednesday in Tokyo. KYODO

Well, he ended up keeping it in his pocket until the last day they would possibly stay in Tokyo.

Center and Japan national team player Moeko Nagaoka had game highs of 39 points and 17 boards as Sapporo Yamanote completed their run to back-to-back titles with an 80-73 victory over Yamagata Commercial in the girls final of the 42nd All-Japan High School Tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Wednesday.

"I didn't even dream of coming here," Kamishima said of the run by Sapporo Yamanote, which had lost a few core players from last year's championship team. "We lacked guards who could carry the ball (into the front court), and I didn't doubt for a second that we would struggle. And indeed, we were forced to play tough games from our first game.

"I still don't know how we got here. But our players have played so patiently. I'll give the credit to them."

Yamagata Commercial, which made its first appearance in the Winter Cup final, was aggressive defensively and held the momentum for most of the first half. Yamagata led by as many as 13 at one point.

But Sapporo Yamanote eventuallty warmed up and regained its original form, successfully going ahead behind ace Nagaoka in the second half.

"We didn't do what we were supposed to do early in the game and gave up the lead to the opponent," said Nagaoka, who scored 26 points in the latter half. "But we kept our patience throughout the game."

Nagaoka, a 180-cm senior, added that this year's championship had a different feel compared to last year's.

"We were certainly happy about last year's victory," said Nagaoka, who is scheduled to join WJBL's Fujitsu Red Wave after her graduation next spring. "But it's special we were able to win another with this team."

Kyoka Shinbori helped Sapporo Yamanote take the lead early in the second half. The guard sank three of the four 3s she made in the second half and finished with 16 points.

For Yamagata Commercial, Mikoto Onuma scored 28 points and Rin Kato followed with 22 points.

Nagaoka scored at least 30 points in each game of the tournament. She tied the all-time single-game record of 51 points against Tokyo Seitoku in the quarterfinals.

Kamishima, however, kept his strict attitude toward Nagaoka, which is evidence of his high expectations for her going forward.

"Nagaoka has an outstanding ability to score for a high school player," Kamishima said. "She's an all-around player that can shoot 3-pointers, penetrate in the lane and play in the low post.

"I thought that she'd become a great player in the future if she became more of a complete player, and I've molded her that way since she enrolled in high school."

Kamishima said that Nagaoka lacks physical strength and though she's played her final game in high school, he would keep training her until her graduation.

In the third-place match, Aichi Prefecture's Oka Gakuen beat Gifu Girl's 81-93.

Sapporo Yamanote's Nagaoka and Rena Sato, Yamagata Commercial's Onuma, Rie Nohara of Gifu Girl's, and Naho Miyoshi of Oka Gakuen were selected for the all-tournament team.

In the boys semifinals, meanwhile, three players had more than 20 points as Miyazaki Prefecture's Nobeoka Gakuen crushed Fukuoka Ohori 102-53, and Kagawa Prefecture's Jinsei Gakuen came back from an 18-point deficit to defeat Numazu Chuo 63-58.

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Viletta captures first World Cup win

Beaver Creek, Colorado — Sandro Viletta of Switzerland has a fear of flying. Only, that anxiety doesn't carry over to ski racing.

Viletta soared through a demanding Birds of Prey course on Saturday, flying over bumps on the super-G course and attacking sections of the hill few dared to challenge.

When he crossed the finish line, Viletta glanced up at the scoreboard and quickly began pumping his ski poles in jubilation. He was flying quite high after his first World Cup win.

Starting way back in 30th and with snow falling, Viletta held nothing back and finished in a time of 1 minute, 18.71 seconds to overtake Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway by 0.20 seconds. Beat Feuz of Switzerland finished in third place.

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Porto captures Europa League title

DUBLIN — Porto proved it doesn't need Jose Mourinho to produce something special.

Reason to celebrate: Porto's Radamel Falcao holds the Europa League Cup after his side's 1-0 victory over Braga in the final on Wednesday night in Dublin. Porto won 1-0. AP PHOTO

Eight years after Mourinho led Porto to the 2003 UEFA Cup title, another young Portuguese coach helped the club to victory in the same tournament that helped launch the Special One.

Radamel Falcao scored in the 44th minute, giving Porto and 33-year-old coach Andre Villas-Boas a 1-0 victory over Braga on Wednesday night in an all-Portuguese final of the Europa League.

"You can dream about goals, and we dreamed the most about winning this tournament," Villas-Boas said. "I believe we always felt obliged to win the Europa League. We sort of felt we owed it to ourselves."

After winning the 2003 UEFA Cup, Mourinho led Porto to the title in the 2004 Champions League, Europe's top club tournament. He went on to win the English Premier League with Chelsea in 2005 and 2006, then won consecutive Serie A titles with Inter Milan 2009 and 2010. He also led Inter to the 2010 Champions League title before switching to Real Madrid.

In winning the continent's No. 2 club competition, which was renamed last season, Villas-Boas became the youngest coach with a European title. In his first season at Porto, he has downplayed comparisons to Mourinho and said he wasn't the key factor in the club's success.

"I'm just a gear in a very effective club, with super talents. That's the reality," Villas-Boas said. "Players are decisive in the game of football."

Having gone into coaching as a teenager, Villas-Boas said he doesn't plan to emulate figures such as Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson by remaining on the sidelines for decades.

"I hope to have a very short career," he said with a laugh, adding that he only expects to stay at the top level for about another decade.

"It's very stressful." he said. "I have ambition to leave a mark on the game, and I have an ambition to win much more, don't get me wrong. . . . I am ambitious, and the people around me are ambitious. But everyone has their own prospects."

Falcao played little part in the match before breaking away from his marker to score, heading a perfect cross from Fred Guarin into the top corner.

"The big secret of this team is that we're a big family, a family that gets on well," Falcao said. "We're a very humble team. . . . We always play for the good of the entire team, and when we play like that, each player will give his best."

Porto also won this season's Portuguese League title with a 30-0-3 record. It will try to complete a treble when it plays Guimaraes in Sunday's Portuguese Cup final.

"There's only one trophy missing, which is the Portuguese Cup," Villas-Boas said. "I do hope my team can win another trophy."

Substitute Mossoro nearly scored for Braga one minute into the second half but his low shot was saved by Helton.

Braga was playing in its first major European final after ousting another Portuguese power, Benfica, in the semifinals.

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