THE Adelaide 36ers trounced defending champion Shanghai Sharks to win the 2017 Merlion Cup in Singapore recently.
The Sharks pressed the 36ers for most of the deciding match, only to see the latter pull away in the last quarter to win by 20 points, for a convincing final score of 101-81.
A communication from the organizers stated that “the Australians’ preseason preparations showed on the court as their high tempo game caused Sharks problems with a total of 17 points from turnovers.
“With all of their starters hitting double figures, the Adelaide 36ers showed their quality against a hardworking Shanghai Sharks team, dominating the boards with 40 rebounds and an impressive 60% conversion in the paint.”
The Philippines’ representatives to the event, the NLEX-SCTEX team skippered by coach Jojo Lastimosa, had a less than stellar campaign. They did win a match against the Yulon Luxgen Dinos, 81-76, in their qualifier for the 5th/ 6th placed tie.
About that game, the organizers said “NLEX got off to a good start as they took the first quarter 19 – 8, and went on to lead at the close of the second and third 40-27 and 53-51 as power forward Jason Perkins earned himself a double-double by the third quarter, en route to ending the game with 28 points and 13 rebounds.”
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Nonito Donaire (38-4, 24 KOs) scored a unanimous decision win over Ruben Garcia Hernandez of Mexico (22-3-1, 9 KOs) in their recent 10-round fight for the World Boxing Council Silver Featherweight World Title.
“I boxed very well, which is something I haven’t done in a long time,” said Donaire. “I moved my legs well and maintained it throughout the whole fight. I’ve always been an aggressive boxer but this time I used my jab and combinations. I had the urge to just brawl and I felt like I hurt him. But ultimately I did a great job showing versatility in my game.”
Donaire took control over the fight, outclassing Hernandez with speed and movement. “Nonito was very smooth and moved around well,” said Hernandez. “I couldn’t get to him because of that. He adjusted to everything I did. It was a fair decision at the end of the night.”
Judges scored the 10-round fight 100-90, 99-91, and 97-93 in favor of Donaire.
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Do politics and religion have a place in sports?
The “taking a knee” controversy surrounding US President Donald Trump and some National Football League players is big news here as people ponder whether athletes should interject their personal beliefs and stands into the games they play.
From Tim Tebow’s kneeling to pray to the present use of the gesture to protest institutionalized racism and violence against people of color, there is an increasing visibility of players using their media exposure to take stands on social issues.
Many players suffer the negative impact of racism and other forms of discrimination and aggression. Their tendency toward self-expression of political views at games is a reflection of and a response to the greater turmoil and unease in the world at present.
There comes a time when circumstances dictate struggle rather than the silence that means consent, because there is no one to fight for you except yourself. It looks like that time is here.
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Dr. Ortuoste is a California-based writer and researcher. Facebook: Gogirl Racing and Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @gogirlracing and @jennyortuoste
