Category: 6. Sports

LAUSANNE – USA’s AJ Dybantsa was named the TISSOT Most Valuable Player of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 after leading his country to their record ninth junior world title.

Dybantsa starred all tournament with his electric all-around game. He poured in 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in USA’s win over Germany in the Final, 109-76, and averaged 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game for the tournament.

It was the second time Dybantsa was named to an All-Star Five after earning top-five status from the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024.

Dybantsa was joined on the SwissBorg All-Star Five by USA teammate Mikel Brown Jr, the Germany duo of Christian Anderson Jr and Hannes Steinbach and Zak Smrekar of Slovenia.

Brown contributed 12 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists to USA’s victory in the Final. For the event, the point guard tallied 14.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game.

Anderson had 18 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals in the Final against USA. The point guard finished with 17.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Steinbach added another strong showing in the Final with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. The big man averaged 17.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 blocks per game.

Smrekar scored 20 points to go with 5 rebounds and 3 assists in Slovenia’s 91-87 win over New Zealand in the Third Place Game. For the competition, the forward averaged 16.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

FIBA

Norway’s win, combined with a victory for hosts Switzerland against Iceland later in the evening, guaranteed their progress to the next round as Group A winners, making them the first team to book a place in the knockout stages of Euro 2025.

Having already defeated the Swiss in their opening fixture, they were made to work hard for a second victory against a Finland side who also triumphed in their first game.

It initially looked like Norway – with Reiten starting on the left flank for her country – would have things all their own way. Caroline Graham Hansen’s cutback from the byline was diverted in for an own goal by Eva Nystrom before it could reach the Chelsea winger at the back post, giving Norway the lead after just three minutes.

However, Finland equalised before half-time and then took the initiative, hitting the post after the break. But Norway had hit the woodwork twice themselves, while it needed a fingertip save from the Finland keeper to deny Reiten a spectacular overhead-kick goal after another dangerous Graham Hansen delivery.

In the end, the bounce went in Norway’s favour again, to give them a winning goal six minutes from the end. Reiten fed the ball to Graham Hansen on the right and, following a slaloming run into the box, on this occasion her looping cross came off the inside of the post and into the back of the net.

They saw out the victory with vice-captain Reiten wearing the armband. That left Norway top of Group A on six points after two games, awaiting the outcome of Switzerland’s match against Iceland to confirm their top spot and progress into the quarter-finals, needing anything other than an Iceland win to go through with a game to spare.

That result duly went their way too, as Chelsea’s new goalkeeper Peng kept her first clean sheet at a major tournament to help the Swiss to a 2-0 victory in relative comfort.

Although it wasn’t until the 90th minute that Switzerland got their second goal through Alayah Pilgrim to finally put the game to bed, they had been on top even before Geraldine Reuteler fired them into the lead in the second half, with Peng rarely troubled throughout.

Those two results leave Norway with an unassailable three-point lead at the top of the group, due to their superior head-to-head record against both Switzerland and Finland, who are level on three points with the hosts edging ahead on goal difference, before they meet in their final game.

That decisive fixture takes place at 8pm next Thursday. Norway’s guaranteed first place takes all the pressure off their last group fixture, against already eliminated Iceland at the same time. They can start to look ahead to their quarter-final on Wednesday 16 July, which will be against the second-placed team from Group B, currently Italy.

Kevin Durant’s trade to the Houston Rockets is official and officially record-setting.

The deal got approved by the NBA on Sunday as part of a seven-team transaction, a record number of organizations to be part of a single deal, one in which a slew of other trade agreements got folded into one massive package.

“Kevin impacts the game on both ends of the court and is one of the most efficient scorers in the history of basketball,” Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said. “We liked the growth our team showed last season and believe Kevin’s skill set will integrate seamlessly.”

Involved in the deal: Phoenix, Houston, Atlanta, Minnesota, Golden State, Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Lakers. It includes a total of 13 players – the headline moves include Durant going to Houston from Phoenix, the Rockets sending Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to the Suns, and the Rockets acquiring Clint Capela from the Hawks.

The seven-team involvement in the Durant trade tops the previous record, a six-team transaction last summer that most notably sent Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks. Golden State – Thompson’s former team – obviously was another part of that trade, as were Charlotte, Minnesota, Philadelphia and Denver on varying levels.

“One of the greatest to ever play the game, we are grateful for the impact Kevin made on our organization and in our community,” Phoenix general manager Brian Gregory said of Durant. “As a member of the Suns, he climbed the scoring charts to become just the eighth player in NBA history to score 30,000 career points, and we wish him the best as he continues his career in Houston.”

There will be at least five second-round draft picks in the deal before all terms are satisfied, the potential for another second-round pick swap and the Hawks and Timberwolves both had to receive some cash considerations to make all the math work. And some of those draft picks won’t actually be made until 2032, which raises the serious possibility that some players who will go down in history as being part of the trade haven’t reached high school yet.

Durant averaged 26.6 points last season, his 17th in the NBA — not counting one year missed because of injury. For his career, the 6ft 11in forward is averaging 27.2 points and seven rebounds per game.

The move brings Durant back to the state of Texas, where he played his only year of college basketball for the Longhorns and was the college player of the year before going as the No 2 pick in the 2007 draft by Seattle.

Houston becomes his fifth franchise, joining the SuperSonics (who then became the Oklahoma City Thunder), Golden State, Brooklyn and Phoenix. Durant won his two titles with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018, and last summer in Paris he became the highest-scoring player in US Olympic basketball history and the first men’s player to be part of four gold-medal teams.

Durant is a four-time scoring champion, a two-time Finals MVP and one of eight players in NBA history with more than 30,000 career points.

“Having played against Kevin and coached him before, I know he’s the type of competitor who fits with what we’ve been building here in Houston,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “His skill level, love of basketball, and dedication to his craft have made him one of the most respected players of his generation, and my staff and I are excited to work with him.”

Houston sent Green and Brooks to Phoenix, along with the rights to Khaman Maluach from last month’s draft, a second-round pick in 2026 and another second-rounder in 2032. The Hawks got David Roddy, cash and a 2031 second-round pick swap from the Rockets. Brooklyn gets a 2026 second-round pick and another in 2030 from the Rockets, and the Warriors received the rights to Jahmai Mashack from last month’s draft.

Every point in tennis is worth the same as the next, but some are more valuable than others. At 3-3 in the third set here on Sunday, after two and a half sets of outrageous hitting, Carlos Alcaraz held a break point to finally move ahead in the match for the first time. He then produced the kind of athleticism and shot-making that make him such an incredible champion, going side to side, sliding across the court and ripping an unstoppable forehand past the onrushing Andrey Rublev.

Until that point, the Russian had played outstanding tennis, testing the Spaniard with big serving, huge ground strokes and staying calm, which has not always been the case. But Alcaraz, like all great champions, has an uncanny ability to turn it on when he needs to and from that point on, he pulled away for a 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory that takes his winning streak to 22 matches and secures a clash with Britain’s Cameron Norrie.

Alcaraz hit 22 aces and even served and volleyed 15 times, winning 13 of those points, as he moved into the last eight for the ninth time in his past 10 slams. He has won 18 matches in a row here, too, and remains ­favourite to win the title for a third straight year.

“Andrey is one of the most powerful players we have on tour,” Alcaraz said of Rublev. “You kind of feel he’s pushing you to the limit on every ball. I am just really happy with the way I moved today. I think I played intelligent, smart today, tactically, which I’m really proud about.”

Taylor Fritz, meanwhile, may be beginning to believe that the tennis gods are on his side at Wimbledon this year. After a narrow escape against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France in the first round, when he trailed by two sets to one and 5-1 in the fourth set tie-break, the American was given an easy passage through to the quarter-finals when his opponent, Jordan Thompson, pulled out due to a hamstring injury.

The fifth seed was leading 6-1, 3-0 when Thompson called it quits. The Australian had been battling a lower back problem throughout the tournament and pulled up early on clutching his right hamstring. Clearly hampered, especially in his sideways movement, he took a medical ­timeout at 2-0 down in the second set but after playing one more game, he decided to give up.

The match lasted just 41 minutes in all, including the timeout, which Fritz will doubtless be grateful for as he prepares to face Russia’s Karen Khachanov, who beat Kamil ­Majchrzak of Poland 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. Khachanov has won both his matches with Fritz, even if the most recent one was five years ago.

“I think our games are quite ­similar overall,” Fritz said. “To be honest, we practise [together] all the time, so we’re pretty familiar with each other’s games. But I think I improved a ton and have become a much, much better player since the last time we played.”

Nottinghamshire Outlaws grabbed a narrow and thrilling victory over Leicestershire Foxes, winning by one wicket with one ball to spare, on a day which saw Durham, Derbyshire and Worcestershire all post wins in T20 Blast North Group.

Durham defended a big total, Derbyshire chased one down and Northants’ slide continued, this time at the hands of Worcestershire.

Meanwhile, in the South Group, Essex claimed their first win in a rain-affected game with Surrey, while Somerset, Gloucestershire and Glamorgan were also victorious.

But the prize for the most nerve-racking finish went to Trent Bridge.

After visitors Leicestershire had posted 188-2 from 20 overs, with half-centuries from Rishi Patel (51) and Sol Budinger (56), Nottinghamshire had looked in control of the chase after 50 from Joe Clarke and a gutsy cameo from Tom Moores (42).

But the loss of Moores for the seventh wicket saw the game tighten with 10 still needed from 14 balls and prompted a late wobble.

Needing five for the win and four for a tie from the final over, three singles then a wicket brought last man Farhan Ahmed to the crease with two needed from two balls.

His hit out to the cover boundary was gathered by his brother Rehan but with Farhan gambling on a second the throw came in just too late to prevent Notts getting home.

Australia clinched a series win over West Indies with a resounding victory in the second Test in Grenada.

After setting the home side 277 to win on a difficult pitch, the tourists ripped through the West Indies batters in 34.3 overs to take an unassailable 2-0 series lead.

Having wrapped up the first Test inside three days in Barbados with a 159-run victory, Australia enjoyed a similar winning margin on day four in Grenada, by 133 runs.

They can complete a series clean sweep when the two sides meet in Jamaica next week.

Day four started with Shamar Joseph (4-66) and namesake Alzarri Joseph (2-52) cleaning up the Australia tail inside 45 minutes.

But on a pitch offering the bowlers plenty, chasing 277 for victory was always going to be a daunting task for West Indies.

And so it proved once John Campbell fell leg before for a duck in the second over off the bowling of Josh Hazlewood (2-33).

Mitchell Starc had Keacy Carty caught for 10 for the first of his three wickets, while opener Kraigg Brathwaite was also caught off the bowling of Beau Webster for seven to leave West Indies 29-3.

The home side were then four down at lunch as Pat Cummins dismissed Brandon King for 14.

Shai Hope (34) and captain Roston Chase (17) provided some resistance in the afternoon session before both fell to Hazlewood and Starc respectively.

Starc then dismissed Justin Greaves for two before brief fireworks from Shamar Joseph (24) and Alzarri Joseph (13) – hitting five sixes between them – were brought to an end by Nathan Lyon’s spin.

Lyon then removed Jayden Seales to wrap up the win and end with figures of 3-42.

It also leaves him on 562 Test wickets – just one behind Glenn McGrath’s 563 and second on the list of Australia’s all-time Test wicket-takers.

The late, great Shane Warne remains out in front with 708 Test wickets.

“The wickets have been challenging in this series so far but they have also been a lot of fun to play on because Test cricket can be a grind,” said Australia’s Alex Carey, who was named man of the match.

“It was always a challenging task but you have to believe,” West Indies skipper Chase said.

“The guys have to try and stay confident and keep believing in themselves.”

The sprint king and queens of the Pacific Mini Games in Palau were crowned over the weekend, with the 100 metre and women’s athletics final taking place on Saturday night.

PNG’s Pais Wisil claimed gold for PNG in the men while Australia’s Keyedel Smith beat out PNG’s Isila Apkup in the women.

Action continues today with the games’ showcase event baseball set to conclude later today in a gold medal showdown between Guam and home nation Palau.

However as for the ABC’s Declan Bryne and Sam Wykes – their time in Palau is finished, but not before some deep reflection on their experience.

Hamilton said Ferrari had upgrades coming to the car in forthcoming races – these would follow a new floor that was introduced at the previous race in Austria.

The 40-year-old said he wanted “a consistent balance, a car that turns at a low speed, just a more stable car”.

He added: “We were looking great through this weekend. In practice. we were always right up there. Still weren’t able to fully extract everything in qualifying. And then the race is a little bit harder. So that’s where I want to get stronger.”

Hamilton’s third fourth place of the season means he is still to finish on the podium since joining Ferrari at the start of this season.

Team-mate Charles Leclerc finished second-last in 14th after making the wrong call to come in for slick tyres on a damp track after the formation lap. His race spiralled downhill from there.

Leclerc said: “We were kind of nowhere the whole race, and when I say nowhere it’s like really nowhere, I was a second off (the pace) and on top of that I was doing lots of mistakes.

“I was really struggling to keep the car on track so it was an incredibly difficult day.”

Team principal Frederic Vasseur said: “The main issue we had today was that we struggled a lot when we were in the dirty air to overtake.

“We spent our lives overtaking sometimes 10 laps and then we were much faster. I think it was a difficult weekend, difficult for the strategy.”