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Tuesday April 24, 2018

MARK SELBY has vowed to return better than ever next year after a fi rst-round defeat to Joe Perry at the Betfred World Snooker Championship.

A year ago the Leicester potter was the King of the Crucible, cel-ebrating a third world crown, but this time he hardly had time to unpack following a 10-4 defeat on day one.

It brings the curtain down on a strange season for Selby, who has won two titles but too often been found wanting in the major tournaments.

And this was no exception, with Perry dominant from ball one of their match in Sheffi eld in a one-sided win Sunday.

“I have had a great run here. I can’t complain but I need a good rest now and will come back next year even better,” Selby said.

“Until you get your fi rst round out of the way, you don’t feel like you are in the tournament so to go out before it has even started is disappointing.

“Performance-wise the season is not up to standard but then I have won two tournaments. Inconsistent is what I would say.”

By Selby’s high standards there

WHEN Liaoning’s center Han Dejun slam dunked in the last minute in Shenyang on Sunday night, the whole stadium erupted.

It was a moment long in the making as Liaoning won the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) championship for the fi rst time in its 23-year history.

As one of the most competitive teams in CBA, Liaoning has been in the Finals six times.

But this season, Liaoning fi elded a star-studded squad including former NBA players Lester Hudson and Brandon Bass as well as Chinese national team players Guo Ailun, Zhao Jiwei, Han Dejun and Li Xiaoxu.

Their Finals opponent Guang-sha is also a very strong team featuring regular season MVP Courtney Fortson, along with Ioannis Bourousis, Hu Jinqiu and Lin Chih-chieh.

In the fi rst game of the best-of-seven series, the injury to center Su Ruoyu was a harsh blow for Guangsha who was out-rebounded 47-36. Guang-sha conceded six more turnovers than Liaoning and slipped to a 108-120 defeat at home.

Game 2 was a thriller. Guang-sha led by six points with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter before Hudson hit two long-range three-point-ers in the fi nal minutes to take the game into overtime.

Overtime saw Liaoning catch a second wind and Guangsha failed to match them. Liaoning fi nally ended the game with a fi ve-point advantage and Hudson turned out to be the most crucial player.

Losing two straight games on their home court devastated Guangsha. Liaoning beat them 104-100 Friday at home, notch-ing up a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Liaoning head coach Guo Shiqiang said that he was “espe-cially calm ” after the game.

Guangsha couldn’t challenge Liaoning in game 4 as the CBA powerhouse swept the regular season champions 4-0 to take home the CBA title.

Former NBA guard Hudson was elected Finals MVP by virtue of averaging 30.5 points in the Finals. (Xinhua)

THE Pacers had the Cavaliers hanging perilously close to the brink, only to give the East’s reigning champs new life with a dreadful shooting stretch at the worst possible time.

Cleveland defeated Indiana 104-100 in Game 4 at the Bank-ers Life Fieldhouse on Sunday, evening a back-and-forth fi rst-round series at two games apiece.

The result qualifi ed as sweet relief for LeBron James, who posted monster numbers (32 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists) but nearly watched the Cavaliers blow a big lead for the second straight game.

If not for a pair of three-point-ers by Kyle Korver in the game’s fi nal four minutes, Cleveland could easily have returned to Quicken Loans Arena facing elimination Wednesday.

After launching a successful second-half comeback in Game 3, Indiana again dug itself out of a 16-point hole in Game 4. During its best moments, Indiana kept the ball moving one step ahead of Cleveland’s spotty defense: Seven different Pacers scored in double fi gures, and Domantas Sabonis punished the Cavaliers’ interior defense for a team-high 19 points off the bench.

Presented with an opportunity to seize control of the series, the Pacers instead went cold, choppy and predictable. Just four of the Pacers’ 25 assists came in the fourth quarter, and they made just one fi eld goal during a fi ve-minute stretch of the fi nal period.

“We just didn’t play the game the right way,” said Pacers coach

LeBron, Cavs outlast Pacers in Game 4

Nate McMillan. “I thought there were quick shots, some heroic shots, that were taken through-out this game. You’re not going to win if you play the game like that. … Sometimes you get in games like this, emotional games, you’re so pumped up that you try to do things by yourself. And a lot of times it doesn’t work.”

Victor Oladipo, a fi rst-time All-Star and the favorite to win Most Improved Player, fi nished with 17 points on 5-20 shooting. He forced a series of shots down the stretch and occasionally looked uncomfortable in the face of Cleveland’s more aggressive double-teaming.

“They did a good job doubling me,” Oladipo admitted. “Just got to go back to the drawing board and get better. It’s all part of the process and all part of the growth. They did something a little different. … I’m a person that learns. … It’s a tough loss and it doesn’t feel good. But it’s a series and you’ve got to be even-keel.”

James called Game 4 a “must-win” and he was right to do so. Cleveland’s offense endured its own cold stretches, and coach Tyronn Lue was forced to play James 46 minutes due to foul trouble for Kevin Love and poor play in the third quarter.

James played the entire second half in both Games 3 and 4 out of necessity, with his supporting cast weakened by injuries and inconsistent play.

Kevin Love scored just fi ve points on 2-10 shooting, George Hill missed the game due to injury, Tristan Thompson was scoreless in seven minutes and reserve guard Rodney Hood failed to make much of an impact for the fourth time in four games. As a result, James appeared to be pacing himself for stretches of Game 4, including during the third quarter, when he didn’t make a shot.

(SD-Agencies)

Liaoning wins fi rst CBA championship

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) shoots the ball over Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) during their game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Sunday. SD-Agencies

MANCHESTER City’s jubilant fans ran onto the fi eld in the thousands, singing and dancing as the Premier League champi-ons’ title celebrations exploded into life at Etihad Stadium.

The mood was more muted at Emirates Stadium at the start of Arsene Wenger’s long goodbye to Arsenal.

City and Arsenal enjoyed big home wins in the league amid contrasting atmospheres Sunday, a clear signal of the state the two clubs fi nd them-selves in with three weeks left of the season.

A 5-0 win over Swansea was the latest master-class delivered by City, which has turned to chasing records after clinching the title in record-equaling time last weekend. There was a party feel throughout the game and, after the fi nal whistle, City fans stormed the fi eld and mobbed players in a good-natured cel-ebration.

Hours earlier, Wenger had stepped onto Arsenal’s pitch before kickoff against West Ham, two days after announcing he would be leaving the London club after 22 years as manager. There was no acknowledgment

Wenger’s farewell starts with win

of the 68-year-old Frenchman from the stadium announcer and fans only chanted about him in response to taunts from West Ham supporters.

Arsenal, languishing in sixth place and 33 points behind City, ran out a 4-1 winner in Wenger’s third-to-last home match in charge.

Another team celebrating was Chelsea, which beat Southamp-ton 2-0 at Wembley Stadium to reach the FA Cup fi nal.

(SD-Agencies)

Mark Selby crashes out on day one

Mark Selby

will inevitably be a tinge of disap-pointment after a poor return in all three of the snooker’s triple crown events — with a last-64 loss at the U.K. Championship followed by a fi rst-round defeat at The Masters.

However, there was little he could go against a rampant Perry, who moved 4-0 ahead early on and maintained that steady gap through to the end — despite a brief wobble when Selby could have closed to 8-5.

(SD-Agencies)

Arsene Wenger

Liaoning players celebrate after winning the Chinese Basketball Association championship in Shenyang on Sunday night. Xinhua