Japan edges Qatar in FIBA Asia Cup opener

Power forward Kosuke Takeuchi and guard Kosuke Kanamaru scored 14 points apiece as host Japan defeated Qatar 73-69 in Group B action in the fourth FIBA Asia Cup on Friday night.

"I think our young players really contributed to the team," Japan coach Kimikazu Suzuki said after the game at the brand-new Ota City General Gymnasium. "We could've won more easily had we done a better job in rebounding and not had turnovers. But overall, we played good."

Qatar cut the deficit, which was as many as 12 points in the third quarter, down to three with less than two minutes left in the final period. But Japan survived Qatar's rally, with Takeuchi sinking a pair of clutch free throws in the final 10 seconds.

Veteran center J.R. Sakuragi, a naturalized Japanese citizen playing in his first game for the national team since 2007, also chipped in with 13 points and nine boards.

"It's really disappointing to lose any time," said former Japan national team head coach Thomas Wisman, who became the Qatar coach job two months ago. "But it was the first game of the tournament. We've got seven games in the tournament. We've got to use each game as experience to (become) a better team."

For Qatar, forward Erfan Ali Saeed had a team-high 21 points.

Japan led 41-36 at halftime.

In other games Friday, Lebanon crushed Macau 120-51, Iran beat India 83-71 and China edged the Philippines 71-68.

The 10-team tournament was previously known as the FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup. The tournament winner will earn an automatic berth for the 27th FIBA Asia Championship.

Japan finished runnerup in the last tournament in 2010. It will face Taiwan on Saturday.

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Japan edges Cuba in Olympic women's volleyball qualifier

Japan scraped out its fourth win of the Women's 2012 World Olympic qualification tournament at Tokyo Gymnasium on Friday, needing five sets to beat Cuba.

Perfect timing: Japan's Saori Sakoda spikes the ball against Cuba's Yanelis Santos in a FIVB Olympic Volleyball world qualifier on Friday in Tokyo. Japan defeated the three-time world champions in five sets. KYODO

The hosts, chasing one of the final four berths at the London Olympics available here, beat three-time Olympic champion Cuba 25-23, 18-25, 25-16, 23-25, 17-15. The five-set win earned Japan two points in the standings, moving it into second place on 11, four points back of Russia in the eight-team, round-robin tournament.

It was power against power as the sides blasted away in the first five-set match of the tournament. Saori Sakoda and Saori Kimura spearheaded the Japan attack with 20 and 19 points, respectively. Yukiko Ebata contributed 10 tallies.

It was Sakoda's late-match heroics that carried Japan to the stirring victory this night as she dominated in the fourth and fifth.

Yoana Palacios had a match-high 22 points in the loss. Wilma Salas added 19 for Cuba, while Rosana Giel and Yanelis Santos finished with 17 and 16.

Cuba made 40 unforced errors compared to only 11 by Japan. The defeated side held the advantage in blocks 16-4 and both sides scored via eight aces.

"I was very happy to win," Sakoda said. "We want to do the same thing again tomorrow. Wearing the Japan uniform means always having to be prepared. My job is to chance the flow and mood of the game when I come in. I was able to do it tonight."

Added Kimura: "I was determined to destroy their attack with a strong serve."

The Russians, who take on Japan on Saturday, defeated Serbia 25-18, 25-11, 14-25, 25-22 as the Serbs became the first team in the tournament to take a set off Russia.

Thailand improved to nine points with a 25-19, 25-19, 25-20 victory over Peru, while South Korea joined the Thais at nine with a 25-8, 25-12, 25-18 win over winless Taiwan.

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Stoner edges Lorenzo for Spain win

JEREZ, Spain — World Moto GP champion Casey Stoner won the Spanish Grand Prix for the first time Sunday after holding off Jorge Lorenzo in a close race.

Wet weather had red flagged the preceding Moto2 race but held off with Stoner eventually passing pole sitter Lorenzo after having started fifth. The Yamaha rider — chasing his third straight Jerez Circuit victory — stayed on Stoner's back wheel over the final laps but failed to overtake the Australian.

Stoner won the 27-lap race in 45 minutes, 33.897 seconds, beating his Spanish rival by one second.

"It was a very, very difficult race today but to hold on for the entire race in near enough to dry conditions was really a great day for me," Stoner said.

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Scholes returns as United edges City in F.A. Cup derby

MANCHESTER, England — The F.A. Cup's Manchester derby left Alex Ferguson seething about United's carelessness and Roberto Mancini hailing City's strength and positive attitude.

The winner of Sunday's third-round contest, though, was Manchester United — just.

Having stormed into a 3-0 lead and seen City captain Vincent Kompany sent off in the first half, United stumbled after the break against the holders before clinging on to win 3-2 and book a trip to Liverpool.

"We were 3-0 up at halftime and we thought we were through," Ferguson said. "(We) took our foot off the pedal."

City hauled itself back into contention after strikes from Aleksandar Kolarov and Sergio Aguero, whose goal came after the ball was given away by United midfielder Paul Scholes hours after he surprisingly came out of retirement.

"It was a careless performance in the second half and we should have been home and dry," Ferguson said. "We made mistakes and you suffer if you make mistakes."

Similar mistakes have seen the champions lose back-to-back Premier League matches to slip three points behind leader City, and despite the defeat, Sunday's game only strengthened Mancini's belief that he will deliver the club's first English title since 1968.

"If we show the same attitude and strength in other games that we showed against United with only 10 men then yes we can win the league," the City manager said. "I said we had to improve and I think we are doing so.

"To play 80 minutes against one of the best teams in Europe with ten men and come so close to saving the game was fantastic."

But United advanced and were also joined in the fourth round Sunday by Chelsea, Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday. Chelsea routed Portsmouth 4-0 after scoring all four goals in the second half, Sunderland won 2-0 at Peterborough, and Sheffield Wednesday beat West Ham 1-0.

At the Etihad Stadium, it seemed that United would avenge its 6-1 league loss to City earlier in the season with its own derby rout after a dominant first half.

Wayne Rooney was rampant two days after being forced to deny he was about to leave United due to a rift with Ferguson, scoring the opener after 10 minutes.

City's day took another turn for the worse inside two minutes when Kompany was sent off by referee Chris Foy for a two-footed low lunge on Nani. City will appeal against the red card to prevent Kompany serving a four-match ban.

United made its man advantage count on the half-hour, as Patrice Evra crossed from the left into a crowded penalty area, and Danny Welbeck took advantage of Samir Nasri's failed clearance to smash a spectacular volley into the net with his back turned toward the goal.

The third came five minutes before the break after Welbeck ran onto Giggs' ball and was tripped by Kolarov in the area. Rooney's penalty was saved by Costel Pantilimon — deputizing for the rested Joe Hart — but the striker headed the rebound into the net.

United was never so comfortable again.

After Patrice Evra fouled Richards, Kolarov curled his free kick into the net just three minutes into the second half.

The much-anticipated return of Scholes then came, but United still had a difficult last 30 minutes.

Within minutes — just after United was denied another penalty when Antonio Valencia was fouled by Kolarov — Scholes gave away the ball to James Milner on the right. Aguero latched on to Milner's cross and buried the ball into the net after Anders Lindegaard spilled his initial shot.

"We had other chances to score in the end and we didn't concede any chances for them to score," Mancini said.

The 37-year-old Scholes announced on Sunday morning that he was returning to the squad seven months after retiring, with United in the midst of an injury crisis.

"I was surprised, we didn't find out until we got to the dressing room," Rooney said. "It gave everyone a lift. He's a fantastic player."

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