Indian Wells Masters: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal advance to Round 3

Novak Djokovic launched his bid for a sixth ATP Indian Wells Masters crown with a two-set triumph over Kyle Edmund as the stars shone on Sunday in the California desert.

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File picture of Novak Djokovic. AFP

The 46th-ranked Edmund served for the second set at 5-3, but World No 2 Djokovic broke him en route to a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) triumph.

His reward is a tough third-round clash with former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, a 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 winner over fellow Argentine Federico del Bonis.

"I think I played very well in the first set," Djokovic said. "Second set was obviously up and down. But credit to Kyle for playing some really aggressive tennis. He made a lot of winners in the beginning and midway through the second. There was not much wrong I did. I did miss some forehands. But other than that, it was a very solid match. Good, quality tennis, a good test."

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal also reached the third round, Federer flying through with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over France's Stephane Robert in just 51 minutes. Nadal opened his account with a steady 6-3, 6-2 victory over Argentina's Guido Pella.

The three stars are packed together in a remarkable bottom quarter of the draw.

But Djokovic said he can't afford to think about a possible quarter-final clash with either of his longtime rivals with del Potro coming up. While Djokovic has won 12 of their 16 career meetings, the Argentine handed him a crushing two-tiebreak defeat in the first round of the Rio Olympics - a defeat Djokovic avenged in Acapulco this month.

"Big guy, big serve, big forehand," Djokovic said of del Potro. "Definitely not the draw that you like early in the tournament and that you wish for, but it is what it is," added Djokovic, who is trying to get back to the winner's circle after a shock second-round exit at the Australian Open and a quarter-final loss to Nick Kyrgios in Acapulco.

Ninth-seeded Federer, resurgent after a 2016 season marred by injury, downed Nadal in an epic Australian Open final to secure his 18th Grand Slam title.

'Solid' Rafael Nadal

Nadal was pleased with a "solid" opening effort against Pella, made trickier by the oven-like mid-day temperatures and the fact that Pella, like Nadal, is a left-hander. "I didn't try to do amazing things. I tried to play solid," the fifth-seeded Spaniard said. "For moments I played well. For moments I played a little bit less well. Important thing, I won, and I won in straight sets."

Nadal knows he'll have to turn up the intensity if he wants to end a hard court title drought stretching back to 2014.

The bottom half of the draw also features fourth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan, who eased past Britain's Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday.

But sixth-seeded Marin Cilic, who beat Nishikori in the 2014 US Open final, was an early casualty, beaten 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 by 19-year-old American Taylor Fritz.

The jam-packed half of the draw is a contrast to the wide-open top half, which lost a lot of its lustre on Saturday when World No 1 Andy Murray was stunned by 129th-ranked Canadian qualifier Vasek Pospisil.

"That's sport, no?" Nadal said. "Yesterday probably Andy didn't play his best match and Vasek served very well. So then you go to a tiebreak and anything can happen."

Cavs Sign Deron Williams

Cavs Sign Deron Williams

CLEVELAND, OH – The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard Deron Williams, Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin announced on Monday from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Williams (6-3, 200), who was waived by Dallas on February 23, averaged 13.1 points, 6.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 29.3 minutes through 40 games (all starts) with the Mavericks this season. He also shot .348 from the three-point line and .821 from the foul line, while scoring in double figures on 27 occasions and dishing out 10 or more assists five times. He will wear jersey number 31 with the Cavs.

Playing in his 12th NBA season, Williams owns career averages of 16.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 34.6 minutes over 821 games (767 starts) for Utah, New Jersey/Brooklyn and Dallas. Overall, he has shot .444 from the field, .356 from three-point range and .822 from the free throw line. The 6-3 guard has dished out at least 20 assists in a game on six occasions throughout his career and ranks 19th on the NBA’s all-time assists list (6,733).

A three-time NBA All-Star (2010, 2011 and 2012), Williams has also made the All-NBA Second Team twice (2008 and 2010) and won gold medals as part of Team USA at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He was originally drafted out of Illinois by the Jazz with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft and earned All-Rookie First Team honors in 2006. During the 2007-08 season, Williams became the third player in NBA history to have at least 1,500 points and 800 assists while shooting .500 or better from the field in a single season, joining Magic Johnson (1986-87 and 1988-89) and Kevin Johnson (1988-89).

Klay Thomposn Career High 60 points Against the Pacers December 5, 2016

Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors Shooting guard erupted for a career-high 60 points in a 142-106 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. Thompson's previous career high was 52 points last season against the Kings, a contest in which he produced an NBA-record 37 third-quarter points while sitting out the fourth due to a rout.

"I felt like every shot I took was a good shot," Thompson said. "It's the way I was playing off of my teammates, too. It's easy to get open looks when you're running off Zaza [Pachulia] and Draymond [Green] all night, and I think it started for me when I got a few layups in the beginning. That always opens up my game, and whenever I'm active off the ball, that's when I'm at my best."

The best Shooting guard in the league this season.

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La Salle become UAAP Season 79 Champion

The DLSU Green Archers claim their 9th UAAP title and their first since 2013

DE LA Salle completed its domination of the UAAP Season 79 seniors basketball tournament with a 79-72 win over Ateneo on Wednesday for a sweep of the championship series at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Jeron Teng saved his best for last as he crowned his collegiate career with a second career championship, scoring 19 of his season-high 28 points in the first half to set the tone for the Green Archers before a crowd of close to 17,500 fans at the Big Dome.

Overwhelming favorites to win the UAAP Season 79 seniors basketball crown, the Green Archers lived up to the billing by sweeping the best-of-three finals series against a Blue Eagle side that defied all preseason formcharts to reach this far.

It was the first league championship in three years for the Green Archers, who romped through the season with the loss of just one game under first-year coach Aldin Ayo.

Ayo also became the first coach in recent memory to win the NCAA and UAAP crowns on back-to-back occasions, after winning the title for Letran last year.

“Gusto ko lang talagang manalo because of the pressure, the support of boss ECJ (La Salle team manager Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.), the support of La Salle community,” said Ayo.

Save for a lone defeat against Ateneo in the second round, La Salle was simply a cut above the rest this season with a team led by league MVP Ben Mbala and the graduating Teng.

“Right from the start, gusto ko na ibigay ‘yung best ko. Eto ‘yung last game ko. I really want to give my all to La Salle,” said Teng, who was named Finals MVP.

The Green Archers went on an 8-0 run in the second quarter to break the game open, 33-22, and they spent the rest of the game holding off one Ateneo run after another.

The Blue Eagles, who entered the Final Four as second seeds, fought gallantly but couldn't close enough to threaten La Salle, no thanks to turnovers and a spotty performance from the free-throw line.

The scores:

La Salle (79)—Teng 28, Mbala 18, Montalbo 9, Melecio 7, Caracut 5, Perkins 4, Torres 3, Tratter 2, Rivero 2, Sargent 1.

Ateneo (72)—Mi. Nieto 18, Wong 10, Verano 10, Asistio 9, Go 8, Ikeh 6, Ma. Nieto 4, Ravena 3, Black 2, Tolentino 2, Porter 0, Babilonia 0

Quarterscores: 22-16, 45-35, 59-52, 79-72.

Image Source : rappler.com

Barangay Ginebra have won the 2016 Governors' Cup championship

Image source : sports.inquirer.net

Manila Philippines - Barangay Ginebra have won the 2016 Governors' Cup championship

Scores:

Ginebra (91): Brownlee 31, Tenorio 25, Thompson 10, Aguilar 7, Caguioa 6, Helterbrand 5, Ellis 4, Marcelo 3, Cruz 0, Devance 0, Mercado 0.

Meralco (88): Newsome 19, Durham 15, Hugnatan 12, Alapag 8, Faundo 8, Uyloan 7, Amer 6, Hodge 6, Nabong 4, Caram 3.

Quarter scores: 18-27, 32-45, 65-66, 91-88.

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, the league’s most popular ballclub, is back on top of the mountain as champion of the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup after withstanding a valiant stand by the Meralco Bolts, 91-88, in Game 6 on Wednesday, October 19 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

After 8 agonizingly long years and a slew of disappointments, the Gin Kings clinched the franchise’s 9th title, a delayed follow-up to their 2008 Fiesta Conference championship.

Import Justin Brownlee delivered Ginebra to the promised land with the championship-clinching 3-pointer from the top of the key at the final buzzer, breaking the 88-all deadlock for the final time.

Brownlee's big triple capped a long cerebral chess match between champion coaches Tim Cone and Norman Black and it completed the Gin Kings' comeback from a slow 18-4 start and a 13-point deficit at the half.

Brownlee finished with a game-high 31 points on top of 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Rookie Scottie Thompson contributed 10 points, two assists, two steals, and a block off the bench.

Veteran guard LA Tenorio was named Finals MVP with his 17.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in the series. He had 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists in Game 6, including 14 points in a backbreaking 33-21 third quarter Ginebra rally to get back into the game.

Japeth Aguilar had 7 points and 9 boards, as Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand combined for 11 points.

Ginebra, in its 22nd finals appearance, won the best-of-7 series in 6 grueling, tightly-contested games and on the combined strength of its young guns and veterans.

Two-time Grand Slam coach Cone, who was appointed head coach of the Gin Kings just before this season, steered Ginebra to victory with the Living Legend Robert “Sonny” Jaworski in attendance and before a roaring crowd of 22,528 people.

It is Cone’s 19th PBA title overall and his 93rd finals triumph. Cone coincidentally achieved the feat on the 93rd birthday of his coaching idol, the late great Baby Dalupan.

Rookie of the Year Chris Newsome led the Bolts with 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Best Import Allen Durham was shackled to just 15 markers on 7-of-15 field goals, along with 10 rebounds.

Reynel Hugnatan and Jimmy Alapag added 12 and 8 points, respectively, as Meralco failed to go all the way in its first finals appearance in franchise history.