OAKLAND, California — Dorell Wright had been off to a quiet start this season, reverting back to the form that forced the Miami Heat to part ways with the forward last summer and land LeBron James in his place.A visit from his former franchise provided the spark the Golden State Warriors have been waiting for.Wright scored 20 points and made a season-high six 3-pointers, including a tying shot late in regulation, and the short-handed Warriors rallied from 17 down to spoil Dwyane Wade's return with a 111-106 overtime victory on Tuesday night."I had a feeling tonight would be the night," Wright said. "It couldn't have gotten any worse."The former Miami forward also converted a go-ahead 3-pointer in the extra period, ending Golden State's five-game losing streak. Wright, who spent six years in Miami after being drafted 19th overall out of high school in 2004, also finished with 10 rebounds."Heck yeah I care, I was there six years," he said. "It's your old team, you want to beat them."Wright beat back one of his best buddies in the process.Wade scored a season-high 34 points after missing the last three games with a bruised left foot, but missed shots late in regulation and overtime. James had 26 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists before missing a potential tying 3-pointer in the final seconds of overtime.With Miami's three-game winning streak over, Wade sounded adamant that he wants to play Wednesday night at the Los Angeles Clippers and quickly brush off this swift and stunning defeat."I did feel like I had a layoff but it was good to get back on the court," Wade said. "I just tried to be aggressive early. That's the only way you're going to know how you're feeling. Just came out with an aggressive mind-set."Bulls 111, Timberwolves 100In Minneapolis, Derrick Rose scored a season-high 31 points and had 11 assists to outlast Ricky Rubio in a thrilling duel.Mavericks 100, Pistons 86In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 points, and Dallas reached the .500 mark by routing Detroit.76ers 112, Kings 85In Philadelphia, Elton Brand had a season-high 21 points and 10 rebounds.Thunder 100, Grizzlies 95In Memphis, Russell Westbrook scored 30 points and Kevin Durant added 22 points and 11 rebounds.Wizards 93, Raptors 78In Washington, Rashard Lewis and Nick Young each had 15 points to lead the Wizards to their first win after eight straight losses.Rockets 82, Bobcats 70In Charlotte, rookie Chandler Parsons scored 20 points and Kevin Martin added 17 points.Lakers 99, Suns 83In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 48 points, his fifth straight game with 25 or more.Bucks 106, Spurs 103In Milwaukee, the Bucks got a big lift from the return of center Andrew Bogut, who had 14 points and 11 rebounds after missing four games to return home to Australia for an undisclosed personal issue.Trail Blazers 105, Clippers 97In Portland, Gerald Wallace scored 20 points, making a key 3-pointer with two minutes left.Jazz 113, Cavaliers 105In Salt Lake City, Al Jefferson scored a season-high 30 points and Paul Millsap added 19.
Showing posts with label shock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shock. Show all posts
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Reysol ready to take on world after shock title
It would have taken a brave person to tip Kashiwa Reysol for the 2011 J. League title before the season had begun. But as the newly crowned champions prepare to take on Auckland City in the Club World Cup on Thursday, it would take an even braver person to deny they deserved it.
Kashiwa captured its first-ever championship with a nerveless 3-1 victory over Urawa Reds last Saturday, pulling off the extraordinary feat of winning the second- and first-division titles in successive seasons. The Chiba side began the campaign as many people's dark horse to make an impact after a year away from the top flight, but what we got instead was a thoroughbred that charged out the gate and never let up until it had crossed the finish line ahead of the rest.Reysol served notice of their intent with a 3-0 thrashing of Shimizu S-Pulse on the first day of the season, and went on to drop only five points from their opening nine fixtures. That strong start was soon proven to be founded on genuine quality rather than simple promotion momentum, but to make it stick until the end of the campaign must go down as one of the most remarkable achievements in J. League history.Kashiwa's strength was its organization, with attack and defense working in perfect synch and the team slipping effortlessly between playing styles as the ebb and flow of each game dictated. No team in the country looked as well-drilled as Reysol, and manager Nelsinho deserves enormous credit for the work he has done since taking over midseason in 2009.The Brazilian's appointment came too late to arrest the club's slide toward the second division that year, but with the less-demanding environment of J2 providing ideal conditions for his methods to take root, Kashiwa's relegation turned out to be something of a blessing in disguise.
Don't stop: Jorge Wagner and Kashiwa Reysol head into the Club World Cup on Thursday as surprise J. League champions. KYODONelsinho rebuilt a team that had been overly reliant on the gifted but ponderous Franca, shifting the emphasis to a more dynamic style and bringing in playmaker Leandro Domingues to run the midfield. The success this season of Leandro — named J. League Player of the Year on Monday — and fellow Brazilian Jorge Wagner proved how important it is to choose one's foreign players wisely, and their effort was backed up by a similarly outstanding contribution from their teammates.Forward Junya Tanaka, who chipped in with 13 goals, and force-of-nature right back Hiroki Sakai both caught the eye, but it was the unflashy, cast-iron reliability of players like defender Naoya Kondo, captain Hidekazu Otani and spiritual leader Hideaki Kitajima who laid the foundations. Kitajima's tears at Saitama Stadium showed just how much it meant to a player who almost took the club to the title in 2000, and in recent weeks there has been a quiet determination about Reysol that this opportunity would not go to waste.With this season's championship also bringing qualification for the Club World Cup, Kashiwa's story is not finished yet. Nelsinho has experience of the tournament in its previous Toyota Cup incarnation, losing to Borussia Dortmund as manager of Cruzeiro in 1997, and the lack of a pause in action means Kashiwa goes into Thursday's match against the Oceania representatives still bubbling with title-winning intensity.The prospect of meeting Santos in a semifinal and Barcelona in the final is surely not one that anyone at the club seriously entertained at the start of the year, but with success comes belief and Reysol now know that anything is possible.Other teams at the Club World Cup may underestimate the surprise J. League champions, but they will do so at their peril.
Kashiwa captured its first-ever championship with a nerveless 3-1 victory over Urawa Reds last Saturday, pulling off the extraordinary feat of winning the second- and first-division titles in successive seasons. The Chiba side began the campaign as many people's dark horse to make an impact after a year away from the top flight, but what we got instead was a thoroughbred that charged out the gate and never let up until it had crossed the finish line ahead of the rest.Reysol served notice of their intent with a 3-0 thrashing of Shimizu S-Pulse on the first day of the season, and went on to drop only five points from their opening nine fixtures. That strong start was soon proven to be founded on genuine quality rather than simple promotion momentum, but to make it stick until the end of the campaign must go down as one of the most remarkable achievements in J. League history.Kashiwa's strength was its organization, with attack and defense working in perfect synch and the team slipping effortlessly between playing styles as the ebb and flow of each game dictated. No team in the country looked as well-drilled as Reysol, and manager Nelsinho deserves enormous credit for the work he has done since taking over midseason in 2009.The Brazilian's appointment came too late to arrest the club's slide toward the second division that year, but with the less-demanding environment of J2 providing ideal conditions for his methods to take root, Kashiwa's relegation turned out to be something of a blessing in disguise.Don't stop: Jorge Wagner and Kashiwa Reysol head into the Club World Cup on Thursday as surprise J. League champions. KYODONelsinho rebuilt a team that had been overly reliant on the gifted but ponderous Franca, shifting the emphasis to a more dynamic style and bringing in playmaker Leandro Domingues to run the midfield. The success this season of Leandro — named J. League Player of the Year on Monday — and fellow Brazilian Jorge Wagner proved how important it is to choose one's foreign players wisely, and their effort was backed up by a similarly outstanding contribution from their teammates.Forward Junya Tanaka, who chipped in with 13 goals, and force-of-nature right back Hiroki Sakai both caught the eye, but it was the unflashy, cast-iron reliability of players like defender Naoya Kondo, captain Hidekazu Otani and spiritual leader Hideaki Kitajima who laid the foundations. Kitajima's tears at Saitama Stadium showed just how much it meant to a player who almost took the club to the title in 2000, and in recent weeks there has been a quiet determination about Reysol that this opportunity would not go to waste.With this season's championship also bringing qualification for the Club World Cup, Kashiwa's story is not finished yet. Nelsinho has experience of the tournament in its previous Toyota Cup incarnation, losing to Borussia Dortmund as manager of Cruzeiro in 1997, and the lack of a pause in action means Kashiwa goes into Thursday's match against the Oceania representatives still bubbling with title-winning intensity.The prospect of meeting Santos in a semifinal and Barcelona in the final is surely not one that anyone at the club seriously entertained at the start of the year, but with success comes belief and Reysol now know that anything is possible.Other teams at the Club World Cup may underestimate the surprise J. League champions, but they will do so at their peril.
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