ZURICH — The 2012 J. League champion will open the Club World Cup against New Zealand's Auckland City at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama after the draw was held for the Dec. 6-16 tournament on Monday.European champion Chelsea has a bye to the Dec. 13 semifinals, also in Yokohama, where it will face either Monterrey of Mexico or the winner of the Asian Champions League, which will be determined in November.The J. League season ends Dec. 1. With eight games left, Sanfrecce Hiroshima lead Vegalta Sendai by just two points with former Asian champion Urawa Reds another three points back.The new J. League champion or Auckland City will play the African champion to be crowned in November, with the winner of that matchup to face Copa Libertadores holder Corinthians in the last four on Dec. 12 at Toyota Stadium, Aichi Prefecture.
Showing posts with label champs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label champs. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Monday, September 3, 2012
Tevez leads Man City as champs beat QPR
LONDON — A rejuvenated Carlos Tevez inspired Manchester City to a 3-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, moving the defending champions to within two points of early pacesetter Chelsea in the Premier League.
Eat my dust: Manchester City's Carlos Tevez avoids a tackle by QPR's Nedum Onuoha on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium. City won 3-1. APTevez spent the bulk of last season on strike but has settled his differences with the club and is now back to his best form, scoring for the fourth straight game this campaign and his 50th in the league for City.The Argentina forward also set up the other two goals, by Yaya Toure and Edin Dzeko, as the team joined surprise packages West Bromwich Albion and Swansea on seven points from three games.The misery continues, however, for Tottenham and its manager Andre Villas-Boas, who is still searching for the first league win at his new club after a disappointing 1-1 home draw against Norwich on Saturday.The Portuguese coach was hoping to repair his reputation at White Hart Lane after being fired by Chelsea after just eight months last season, but Robert Snodgrass' 85th-minute equalizer leaves Spurs with just two points from three matches.After Tottenham was booed off at the final whistle, Villas-Boas said: "I understand why the fans are frustrated . . . we will repay their faith. It is only our third game, so it may take some patience."Swansea missed the chance to climb to the summit above Chelsea by drawing 2-2 with Sunderland, needing Michu's fourth goal of the season to salvage a point.West Brom beat Everton 2-0 to go third on goal difference behind Swansea and ahead of City, while West Ham eased past Fulham 3-0 following an encouraging debut from Andy Carroll after his loan move from Liverpool.Wigan drew 2-2 with Stoke in the other game.City was in cruise control in the first half, keeping possession well and deservedly going in front when Tevez's volley was deflected into the path of Toure, who fired home left-footed.However, tiredness appeared to creep into its display in the second half, allowing Bobby Zamora to equalize in the 59th minute for QPR — the team which City beat in dramatic circumstances on the final day of last season to win the title.Tevez crossed for Dzeko to equalize less than two minutes later, before the Argentine glanced in the third in injury time."What we need to take out of this game was how much character and strength we showed," City captain Vincent Kompany said.After a 2-1 loss at Newcastle and a home draw with West Brom, Villas-Boas will have been hoping for much more against Norwich, which had conceded five goals in its only other away game this season — at Fulham.However, Moussa Dembele's 68th-minute goal — a fine effort from the edge of the area on his debut after a ?15 million ($23.8 million) move from Fulham — came slightly against the run of play. And Norwich deserved the point earned by Snodgrass' low finish into the corner.
Eat my dust: Manchester City's Carlos Tevez avoids a tackle by QPR's Nedum Onuoha on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium. City won 3-1. APTevez spent the bulk of last season on strike but has settled his differences with the club and is now back to his best form, scoring for the fourth straight game this campaign and his 50th in the league for City.The Argentina forward also set up the other two goals, by Yaya Toure and Edin Dzeko, as the team joined surprise packages West Bromwich Albion and Swansea on seven points from three games.The misery continues, however, for Tottenham and its manager Andre Villas-Boas, who is still searching for the first league win at his new club after a disappointing 1-1 home draw against Norwich on Saturday.The Portuguese coach was hoping to repair his reputation at White Hart Lane after being fired by Chelsea after just eight months last season, but Robert Snodgrass' 85th-minute equalizer leaves Spurs with just two points from three matches.After Tottenham was booed off at the final whistle, Villas-Boas said: "I understand why the fans are frustrated . . . we will repay their faith. It is only our third game, so it may take some patience."Swansea missed the chance to climb to the summit above Chelsea by drawing 2-2 with Sunderland, needing Michu's fourth goal of the season to salvage a point.West Brom beat Everton 2-0 to go third on goal difference behind Swansea and ahead of City, while West Ham eased past Fulham 3-0 following an encouraging debut from Andy Carroll after his loan move from Liverpool.Wigan drew 2-2 with Stoke in the other game.City was in cruise control in the first half, keeping possession well and deservedly going in front when Tevez's volley was deflected into the path of Toure, who fired home left-footed.However, tiredness appeared to creep into its display in the second half, allowing Bobby Zamora to equalize in the 59th minute for QPR — the team which City beat in dramatic circumstances on the final day of last season to win the title.Tevez crossed for Dzeko to equalize less than two minutes later, before the Argentine glanced in the third in injury time."What we need to take out of this game was how much character and strength we showed," City captain Vincent Kompany said.After a 2-1 loss at Newcastle and a home draw with West Brom, Villas-Boas will have been hoping for much more against Norwich, which had conceded five goals in its only other away game this season — at Fulham.However, Moussa Dembele's 68th-minute goal — a fine effort from the edge of the area on his debut after a ?15 million ($23.8 million) move from Fulham — came slightly against the run of play. And Norwich deserved the point earned by Snodgrass' low finish into the corner.Monday, May 14, 2012
Niigata prevails over defending champs in series opener
The Niigata Albirex BB had six players reach double figures in scoring in Saturday's 89-80 victory over the two-time reigning champion Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix in Game 1 of their bj-league Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series.
Time to regroup: After an 89-80 series-opening loss to the visiting Niigata Albirex BB on Saturday, guard Kenya Tomori, seen competing against the Sendai 89ers earlier this season, and his Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix teammates will look to bounce back in Game 2 on Sunday. DOMINIKA FITZGERALDErron Maxey, a former Providence forward, paced the Albirex with 18 points in 18-plus minutes off the bench. Ex-Texas Christian University guard Nile Murry had 16 points and nine rebounds, while Chris Holm scored 14 points, raked in 14 boards and swatted three shots. Bennet Davis added 13 points and nine rebounds, Shuhei Komatsu scored 12 and Kimitake Sato had 11.The Albirex (28-24 in the regular season) trailed 47-37 at the break, then put 52 points on the board the rest of the way to earn the win at Hamamatsu Arena.Niigata shot 24-for-33 at the foul line; Hamamatsu was 8-for-14.Guided by first-year coach Matt Garrison, the Albirex out-rebounded the hosts 53-43 and grabbed 25 offensive boards.For Phoenix coach Ryuji Kawai's club, which finished atop the East standings with a 37-15 record, 2011-12 Best Five guard Jermaine Dixon had 23 points on 7-for-21 shooting, including 4-for-12 from 3-point range, and nine rebounds. Big man Gyno Pomare contributed 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Lawrence Blackledge and Shoji Nakanishi each had 11 points and Jeffrey Parmer scored 10. Kenya Tomori contributed eight points. Best 5 member Atsuya Ota, a backup center, had zero points, two rebounds, one assist, one steal, one turnover and four fouls in 20:05 of playing time.Phoenix standout Wayne Arnold, who was held to 1-for-11 shooting, reflected on the loss in a post-game interview with The Japan Times"They made plays down the stretch and we didn't, bottom line," Arnold said. "We came out of the gate fast in the first half behind a strong effort by Jermaine and Shoji Nakanishi. Gyno also gave us a big lift on the glass. I think we as a team were complaining to the refs too much, although the foul call were pretty uneven in the first half. I think that carried over to the second half."We got out in transition and forced some turnovers. We definitely did that well," he continued. "They made a great adjustment to slow the game down and took away a lot of opportunities that we get by playing fast. In turn, they were able to go inside more and spread the court with their Japanese shooters, who played well. Once the game slowed, I think we lost our aggression and they stole the momentum."Looking ahead to tomorrow, we have to continue to play our brand of basketball for 50 minutes (including the mini-game tiebreaker). We can't just rely on Jermaine to create all of our scoring opportunities. Everyone has to be aggressive on D and on offense. This is playoff basketball, no one is going home without a fight."Golden Kings 71, Lakestars 61In Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, Narito Namizato scored 17 points and Dillion Sneed had 16 on 7-for-10 shooting as Ryukyu defeated Shiga in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series.The Golden Kings, the league's winningest team in the regular season at 39-13, held Shiga to nine fourth-quarter points to lock up the win.Anthony McHenry had 13 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots for the Golden Kings, who shot 2-for-23 from 3-point range. Forward David Palmer, the league's top 3-point shooter in the regular season at 50 percent, missed all five of his 3-point shots, but added eight points and eight boards.Yu Okada scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the first half for Shiga, which finished fourth in the West under first-year coach Alan Westover. Julius Ashby had 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks and Shinya Ogawa added eight points. Ray Nixon had a team-high 10 rebounds.Ryukyu held Shiga to 22-for-70 shooting from the field."Down 0-1 in best-of-three playoff series only motivates me to overcome this obstacle and prevail through adversity," Nixon wrote on Facebook. (We're) not going down without a fight! Tough loss today but we get back at it tomorrow."Hannaryz 64, Evessa 59In Osaka, in a low-scoring, defensive struggle, Kyoto edged the Evessa, who were playing their first playoff game in the post-Lynn Washington era.Jermaine Boyette scored a team-high 17 points for the Hannaryz and Lee Cummard poured in 16 points. Former NBA center Lance Allred (eight points, 10 rebounds) and Taizo Kawabe (eight points) provided key contributions for bench boss Honoo Hamaguchi's club.Kyoto shot 16-for-17 at the foul line, compensating for its 22-for-64 effort from the field. The Hannaryz exhibited patience and poise on offense in turning the ball over only seven times.For Osaka, which had reached the Final Four for six consecutive seasons (three championships) with two-time MVP Washington, whose so-called retirement was announced in April, as the franchise cornerstone, Mike Bell finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Longtime Tokyo Apache star Cohey Aoki scored 13 points in his playoff debut for the Evessa and Wayne Marshall added 12 points and eight rebounds.Though they sank 16 of 18 free throws, the Evessa missed 43 of their 63 shots from the field.
Time to regroup: After an 89-80 series-opening loss to the visiting Niigata Albirex BB on Saturday, guard Kenya Tomori, seen competing against the Sendai 89ers earlier this season, and his Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix teammates will look to bounce back in Game 2 on Sunday. DOMINIKA FITZGERALDErron Maxey, a former Providence forward, paced the Albirex with 18 points in 18-plus minutes off the bench. Ex-Texas Christian University guard Nile Murry had 16 points and nine rebounds, while Chris Holm scored 14 points, raked in 14 boards and swatted three shots. Bennet Davis added 13 points and nine rebounds, Shuhei Komatsu scored 12 and Kimitake Sato had 11.The Albirex (28-24 in the regular season) trailed 47-37 at the break, then put 52 points on the board the rest of the way to earn the win at Hamamatsu Arena.Niigata shot 24-for-33 at the foul line; Hamamatsu was 8-for-14.Guided by first-year coach Matt Garrison, the Albirex out-rebounded the hosts 53-43 and grabbed 25 offensive boards.For Phoenix coach Ryuji Kawai's club, which finished atop the East standings with a 37-15 record, 2011-12 Best Five guard Jermaine Dixon had 23 points on 7-for-21 shooting, including 4-for-12 from 3-point range, and nine rebounds. Big man Gyno Pomare contributed 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Lawrence Blackledge and Shoji Nakanishi each had 11 points and Jeffrey Parmer scored 10. Kenya Tomori contributed eight points. Best 5 member Atsuya Ota, a backup center, had zero points, two rebounds, one assist, one steal, one turnover and four fouls in 20:05 of playing time.Phoenix standout Wayne Arnold, who was held to 1-for-11 shooting, reflected on the loss in a post-game interview with The Japan Times"They made plays down the stretch and we didn't, bottom line," Arnold said. "We came out of the gate fast in the first half behind a strong effort by Jermaine and Shoji Nakanishi. Gyno also gave us a big lift on the glass. I think we as a team were complaining to the refs too much, although the foul call were pretty uneven in the first half. I think that carried over to the second half."We got out in transition and forced some turnovers. We definitely did that well," he continued. "They made a great adjustment to slow the game down and took away a lot of opportunities that we get by playing fast. In turn, they were able to go inside more and spread the court with their Japanese shooters, who played well. Once the game slowed, I think we lost our aggression and they stole the momentum."Looking ahead to tomorrow, we have to continue to play our brand of basketball for 50 minutes (including the mini-game tiebreaker). We can't just rely on Jermaine to create all of our scoring opportunities. Everyone has to be aggressive on D and on offense. This is playoff basketball, no one is going home without a fight."Golden Kings 71, Lakestars 61In Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, Narito Namizato scored 17 points and Dillion Sneed had 16 on 7-for-10 shooting as Ryukyu defeated Shiga in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series.The Golden Kings, the league's winningest team in the regular season at 39-13, held Shiga to nine fourth-quarter points to lock up the win.Anthony McHenry had 13 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots for the Golden Kings, who shot 2-for-23 from 3-point range. Forward David Palmer, the league's top 3-point shooter in the regular season at 50 percent, missed all five of his 3-point shots, but added eight points and eight boards.Yu Okada scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the first half for Shiga, which finished fourth in the West under first-year coach Alan Westover. Julius Ashby had 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks and Shinya Ogawa added eight points. Ray Nixon had a team-high 10 rebounds.Ryukyu held Shiga to 22-for-70 shooting from the field."Down 0-1 in best-of-three playoff series only motivates me to overcome this obstacle and prevail through adversity," Nixon wrote on Facebook. (We're) not going down without a fight! Tough loss today but we get back at it tomorrow."Hannaryz 64, Evessa 59In Osaka, in a low-scoring, defensive struggle, Kyoto edged the Evessa, who were playing their first playoff game in the post-Lynn Washington era.Jermaine Boyette scored a team-high 17 points for the Hannaryz and Lee Cummard poured in 16 points. Former NBA center Lance Allred (eight points, 10 rebounds) and Taizo Kawabe (eight points) provided key contributions for bench boss Honoo Hamaguchi's club.Kyoto shot 16-for-17 at the foul line, compensating for its 22-for-64 effort from the field. The Hannaryz exhibited patience and poise on offense in turning the ball over only seven times.For Osaka, which had reached the Final Four for six consecutive seasons (three championships) with two-time MVP Washington, whose so-called retirement was announced in April, as the franchise cornerstone, Mike Bell finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Longtime Tokyo Apache star Cohey Aoki scored 13 points in his playoff debut for the Evessa and Wayne Marshall added 12 points and eight rebounds.Though they sank 16 of 18 free throws, the Evessa missed 43 of their 63 shots from the field.
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