Sports in Briefs
Sports in Briefs
RI spikers to Fukuoka
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's men spikers have to at least finish second in the June 20-27 Asia Pacific volleyball championships at Fukuoka, Japan if they want live up their dreams of places in the national team for October's Asian Games.
National coach Wienarto said Thursday that the annual tournament will serve as the final testing ground for the Indonesian men's volleyball squad.
"We won't let them enter the Asian Games if they fail to meet the target," Wienarto said. The national sports governing body (KONI) has made men's volleyball a non-priority event for the 2- 16 October Asiad in Hiroshima, despite the fact that Indonesian spikers won the gold medal in the last four Southeast Asian Games.
Indonesia reached the final at last year's Asia Pacific meet before going down to Japan. Chinese Taipei, South Korea, Australia, China and the Philippines have also confirmed their entries at the tournament, with Japan poised to stretch its winning run. (amd)
Kafelnikov into semis
MONACO (AFP): Russia's Yevgeni Kafelnikov stormed into the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Open here yesterday with a straight sets win over David Rickl of the Czech Republic.
Kafelnikov, eliminated the tournament's top seed Michael Stich and Andre Agassi on his way to the quarter-finals, won 7-6 (7-1), 6-3.
His semi-final opponent will be the winner of the match between American Jim Courier and the Ukrainian Andrei Medvedev.
Baseball results
NEW YORK (Reuter): Results of Major League baseball games played on Thursday American League Boston 6 Oakland 5 New York 4 Seattle 2 Cleveland 10 Minnesota 6 Milwaukee 6 Chicago 4 California 11 Baltimore 8 National League Philadelphia 6 San Francisco 1 Montreal 5 San Diego 4 Los Angeles 13 New York 3
Badalona wins European crown
TEL AVIV (Reuter): Spain's Joventut Badalona was crowned European club basketball champion on Thursday after beating Olympiakos 59-57 in a dramatic final decided only in the last few moments.
With 17 seconds to go and Olympiakos 57-56 ahead, Badalona's Cornelius Thompson sank a three-point jumper to silence the 3,000 fervent Greek fans.
Then Olympiakos's Zarko Paspalj won a foul 4.8 seconds from time only to miss both shots.
India restricts Pakistan's run
SHARJAH, UAE (AFP): India needs to make 251 runs to win the Australasia cup here yesterday after restricting World Cup champion Pakistan to 250 for six.
Pakistan looked set to make a big score when off-spinner Rajesh Chauhan snapped up three wickets to check them in their stride.
Opener Aamar Sohail, who made 134 in the semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday while sharing a world record stand of 263 with Inzaman-Ul-Haq, top scored with a fluent 69.
Three golfers share lead
BARCELONA, Spain (AFP): Jean-Louis Guepy and Thomas Levet, two Frenchmen with a liking for long-distance travel, shared the first round lead with South African Gavin Levenson in the Catalan Open here on Thursday.
Guepy, a 27-year-old who was born on the Pacific Island of New Caledonia, and Levet, a 25-year-old from Paris, each had six birdies in a five under par 67. As did 40-year-old Levenson from Johannesburg, a former winner of the Belgian and Majorca Opens.
Guepy, who has a base in Bordeaux, is in his first season on the European Tour, having qualified by finishing runner-up on the secondary Challenge circuit in 1993.
Chinese woman judoka banned
TOKYO (AFP): The Judo Union of Asia barred China's Tang Lihong yesterday from competition for two years for testing positive in a doping test at the Asian championships at Macao in November.
The union's technical committee, meeting here, also stripped Tang of her Asian women's 48-kilogram (106 pound) bantam-weight title and left it vacant in the first doping charge clamped on a female Asian judoka.
The committee said Tang was found to have taken a banned substance and she would be banned from competing at the Asian Games at Hiroshima, Japan in October.
Rangers plot double boost
GLASGOW, Scotland (AFP): Glasgow Rangers could edge closer to the Premier Division title today and deliver a psychological blow to its Cup Final opponents at the same time.
If Rangers beat Dundee United at Ibrox and Motherwell slip up at Aberdeen, the Glasgow side will be within two points of confirmation as Scottish champion.
And with Dundee United again the opposition in May's Scottish Cup Final, the chance to claim a psychological edge will add to the significance of Saturday's encounter.