Sports

AMMAN — The Dead Sea Ultramarathon is to return and continue to be sponsored by LG Electronics, according to Run Jordan, the sole entity dedicated to bringing together different marathon events and races in Jordan under one umbrella.

In 2016, the Ultramarathon went through some serious changes that required it to be rescheduled to 2017.

“Run Jordan has opened registration for all participants and we expect a host of local and foreign runners to take part in the event which will be focused on the Dead Sea area as a place that enjoys touristic and sporting appeal,” Lina Kurd, Run Jordan general manager told The Jordan Times said.

“For many years the marathon was linked with charity work especially with the Society for Care of Neurological Patients and we are proud to be part of this drive,” she added.

The marathon consists of three events: Ultra Marathon, Half Marathon and the 10k Fun Run.

Registration for the April 14th event and the Children’s race April 7th is open to all.

“LG Electronics started sponsoring Dead Sea Ultramarathon in 1993 and today it signed with Run Jordan for sponsoring the coming next five years starting with the marathon’s 23rd event which will be held in April 14th,” noted Kurd.

“We are really excited to have LG onboard and looking forward to starting working on the coming event in which LG will assist in making the Ultramarathon a global event through attracting world champions and presenting financial prizes to winners,” she added. 

The marathon enjoys strong popularity among runners and families, and in 2015 a record number of over 7,000 runners took part in the event which saw Jordan runner Mithqal Abbadi clocking 2h58m19s to win the ultra-marathon 50km.

The Dead Sea Ultramarathon acquired the International Association of Athletics Federations Bronze Label status after changes to the route of both the 50km and the 21km races were made.

In a statement, LG Electronics said that they are proud of being part of the event: “We consider ourselves partners to the Ultramarathon, which also promotes sport and a healthy lifestyle and works towards transforming Jordan to a sport tourism sector.”

DEAD SEA — Mohammed Tayseer on Friday was crowned champion of the first round of the Speed Test Championship held at the Dead Sea Service Park with the participation of 28 drivers.

Tayseer clocked 1m29.61s in his Mitsubishi Evo 6, followed by Husam Salem in second place (1m29.86s) in his Mitsubishi Evo 7 and Ayman Najjar in third place (1m30.30s) in his Mitsubishi Evo Proto.

Gaith Wraikat settled in the fourth place with 1m31.30s and Yazan Qatan in the fifth place with 1m34.57s.

The season’s opener witnessed a lot of determination from Tayseer, winner of last year’s title, who wanted to seal the win of the first round and face the challenge from Salem, who returned to the Speed Test events after a long absence, and Najjar who wanted to secure the first win of the season.

Tayseer expressed his satisfaction of his performance and promised to keep his strategy alive for the rest of the rounds with his eyes on the title.

Meanwhile Salem told The Jordan Times that his return to the Speed Test championships will focus on the title.

“I am happy with the result of the first round and looking forward to keeping the pace and secure the first place in the second round. Speed Test events have always been very challenging and I think I have the right experience to make a difference,” he said.

“The level of competition is high and very promising. It shows that everyone is preparing well for such events,” he added.

The second round will be held March 11.

AMMAN — Jordan dipped to 112th in the latest FIFA rankings issued on Thursday.

The squad is still out of the Asian top 10, trailing Iran (32), South Korea (39), Japan (52), Australia (54), Saudi Arabia (56), Uzbekistan (63), UAE (68), Qatar (85) China (86) and Syria (93). 

The world ranking is led by Argentina in first place, ahead of Brazil, Germany, Chile, Belgium, France, Columbia, Portugal, Uruguay and Spain. 

African semi finalist Egypt is the top ranked Arab team at 23rd, followed by Tunisia (36), Morocco (48) and Algeria (50).

The national team has just returned from a training camp in the UAE, during which Jordan beat 125th ranked Georgia in the first match under new head coach Abdullah Misfer, from the UAE, with Jamal Abu Abed as coach and Abdullah Abu Zameh as assistant.

The camp and a match against Hong Kong in March are part of preparations for the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers kicking off in March. The draw put Jordan in Group C with Afghanistan, Vietnam and Cambodia.

A total of 24 teams were divided into six groups, with the top two from each group moving on to the finals. The qualifiers will start March 28 and end on March 27, 2018.

After putting behind elimination from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, Jordan is hopeful it will overcome the upcoming Asian qualifiers and advance to the Asian finals. 

Observers have been scrutinising the national's team's plan over the past period, as its performance has been marked by a combination of inconsistent results and frequent changes in coaches.  

Jordan's best FIFA ranking was 37th in 2004 while the lowest ranking was 152nd in 1996.

Jordan's FIFA ranking 

AMMAN — Leaders Orthodoxi play Kufr Youba, while holders Riyadi-Aramex play Awdeh as the Jordan Basketball League play-offs tip off on Saturday.

Riyadi, whose only defeat was against Orthodoxi, will seek to change course as the play-offs continue through February 28.

While the top four will fight for the championship, the bottom four from the regular season already battled it out in the relegation play-offs, with Deir Abi Saied and Hurrieh taking the last two spots.

In the 2015-2016 season, Riyadi-Aramex were crowned league champs — a title which had eluded them for 20 years — when they beat titleholders Orthodoxi to win the best-of -seven play-offs 4-0. 

Hurrieh were third last year, sealing the best-of-five play-offs 3-2 against Awdeh.

The Basketball League, which was launched in 1952, has had 58 editions, with eight teams crowned champion. 

It was cancelled during three seasons and discontinued once. 

Orthodoxi have won 23 times, Ahli 21, Zain 6 times, Applied Science University four times, Jazira-Aramex twice, while Riyadi, Urdun, Watany and the Electricity Co. won once each.

BASKETBALL PLAY-OFFS SCHEDULE

Saturday, February 11

Kufr Youba v Orthodoxi — Al Hassan Hall at 5pm

Riyadi v Al Awdah — Prince Hamzeh Hall at 5pm

Tuesday, February 14

Al Awdeh v Orthodoxi — Prince Hamzah Hall at 5pm

Kufr Youba v Riyadi — Al Hassan Hall at 6pm

Saturday, February 18

Orthodoxi v Riyadi –Orthodoxi Hall at 5pm

Kufr Youba v Al Awdeh– Al Hassan Hall at 6pm

Tuesday, February 21

Al Awdeh v Riyadi — Prince Hamzah Hall at 5pm

Orthodoxi v Kufr Youba — Orthodoxi Hall at 6pm

Saturday, February 25

Orthodoxi v Al Awdeh — Orthodoxi Hall at 6pm

Riyadi v Kufr Youba — Prince Hamzah Hall at 5pm

Tuesday, February 28

Al Awdeh v Kufr Youba — Prince Hamzah Hall at 5pm

Riyadi v Orthodoxi — Prince Hamzah Hall at 6:30pm

AMMAN — Jordan Motorsport the sporting authority for all motorsport events in Jordan, has revealed its calendar of activities for the 2017 season, with a total of 24 events — three more than last year — including speed tests, rallying, karting and drifting.

Jordan Motorsport CEO Othman Naseef told The Jordan Times that this season will witness a new championship.

"The calendar, which was approved by the board of directors headed by HRH Prince Feisal, will include a championship for the 4x4 vehicles for the first time in Jordan due to the importance of such a category in the world of autos," he said.

"In addition, we will have special events where we will have a mixture of [activities] such as speed test, drifting and karting which will appeal to everyone," he added.

According to the calendar, five speed test events, five drifting events, five karting events and four rallies are scheduled, in addition to the Jordan Rally, Al Hussein Rumman Hill Climb and three 4x4 events.

Drifting was introduced for the first time as part of the agenda in 2014, gaining popularity in a short time. 

The sporting authority is hoping that the 4x4 events will have the same impact, according to Naseef.

"The first Speed Test round will be held on Friday at the Service Park of the Dead Sea area, and we expect this round to be challenging and very popular among fans," he said.

"We hope that this season we will see more participation from women drivers and also from young talents."

Jordan Motorsports 2017 Calendar:

Speed Test

1^st Speed     February 10

2^ndSpeed     March 11

3^rd Speed     July 7

4^th Speed     August 24

5^thSpeed      November 10

Al Hussein Rumman Hill Climb         July 28

Drifting

1st Drift      Februray 24

2nd Drift     March 24

3rd Drift     May 19

4th Drift      August 26

5th Drift      September 22

Rallying

1st National Rally           April 7

2nd national Rally          May 6

3rd National Rally          August 11

4th National Rally          September 15

5th National Rally          October 27

Jordan Rally (2nd round of MERC) May 4-6

Karting

1st Karting           June 8

2nd Karting          July 13

3rd Karting           July 14

4th Karting           August 25

5th Karting           September 29

4x4

1st 4x4        March 3-4

2nd 4x4       April 21

3rd 4x4       November 3-4

AMMAN — Jordan plays Algeria in two friendlies this month as part of preparations for the 2018 AFC Women's Football Championship.

The Algerian team, which is preparing for the qualifiers of the African Cup 2018, will play its first match Thursday, before playing a second one on Sunday.

Jordan was drawn in Group A with Bahrain, UAE, Iraq, Tajikistan and the Philippines for the qualifiers, which will kick off in Tajikistan on April 3.

The qualifiers will see 21 teams divided into four groups and vying for four slots in the 2018 AFC Women's Championship, which will be held in Amman, grouping the continent's top eight teams.

The event is held every four years. Japan is the reigning champion.

The four group leaders will move to the championship, which includes Japan, Australia, China and host Jordan, which has automatically qualified. 

If Jordan tops its group, the runner-up will also advance.

The last time the senior team competed regionally was in 2015, when they exited the AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament with a winless record. Jordan is now 52nd in the latest FIFA rankings, 11th in Asia behind leaders Australia, Japan and North Korea. 

It will be the first time a West Asia country hosts the AFC Women's Championship. That comes after Jordan successfully hosted the U17 FIFA World Cup in 2016 and was eliminated from the first round after playing Spain, Mexico and New Zealand. 

Hosting the event was a big boost not only for the Kingdom, but for women's sports in the region. It was the first of its kind to take place in the Middle East. Jordan was the only Arab team at the U-17 World Cup after Egypt and Morocco were eliminated from the qualifiers. 

The Kingdom's women's football teams have been competing in all age divisions in the Asian zone. 

In 2007, the Kingdom qualified to the AFC U19 Women's Championship as the only Arab team, but in 2014 and 2016, the team was eliminated from the qualifiers. The U16 team qualified to the AFC U16 Women's Championship in 2013, but failed to qualify to the 2015 and 2017 championships.

AMMAN — The Jordan Professional Football League resumes on Thursday, with Leg 2 of the competition kicking off after a three-week break during which the national team held a training camp and teams regrouped to refocus and amend gaps.

Jazira topped the standings at the end of Leg 1. However, Leg 2 is bound to see heated competition, with three teams closely behind. Wihdat are second, while Faisali are third. 

Manshieh, who joined the pro league this season with Sahab, have tipped the balance and are now in fourth place, while teams like Ramtha, Ahli and Shabab Urdun are further down the standings with inconsistent results. 

That Ras are going through financial strains that have taken their toll, and the club are now in the relegation zone together with Baqaa, who are usually among the upper half of standings.

Wihdat are looking to win their fourth consecutive and 16th overall title, while Faisali have not won the league in the past four years and eye a 33rd record title.

A total of 147 goals were scored in the past 66 matches. Jazira's Syrian pro Mardig Mardigian still leads the scorers list with eight goals. 

Ahli won the first major competition on the 2016/17 football calendar, making history when they beat reigning league champs Wihdat 2-1 to nab the 34th Super Cup.

In the Jordan Football Association Shield — back on the calendar after four years — Shabab Urdun scored a major 5-1 win over Faisali. It was Shabab Urdun's second Shield title after they first won it in 2007.

In the Jordan Cup, four teams have made it to the semis, in which Wihdat will face Faisali while Ramtha play Jazira in two legs on May 12 and 16, before playing the final on May 20.

Wihdat and Ahli will also shift focus to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.

Reigning league champs Wihdat lost 3-0 to UAE's Wihda on Tuesday in the 2017 AFC Asian Champions League playoff, which is a stage before Round 1 of the prestigious event. Wihdat had earlier beat AFC Cup runners-up India's Bengaluru FC 2-1 in the preliminary round match.

Kevin Love scored 39 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers stopped the Washington Wizards' 17-game home winning streak, with a thrilling 140-135 overtime win on Monday night, despite LeBron James fouling out for the first time in more than three years.

Kyrie Irving had 11 of his 23 points in overtime. Seven of those came in the final 62 seconds for the Cavaliers, who forced overtime on a miraculous three-pointer off the backboard by James with 0.3 of a second left in regulation.

James finished with 32 points and career-high 17 assists before picking up his sixth foul with 4:13 remaining in overtime.

Meanwhile, Goran Dragic scored 33 points, including a career-high seven three-pointers, and Hassan Whiteside had 19 points and 13 rebounds as Miami Heat extended their winning streak to 11 games by overtaking the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-113.

Dragic made his first seven three-point attempts and was 13 of 17 from the field for the game. He added nine assists for Miami, which have the current longest winning streak in the NBA and are one behind the season-best, 12-game streak by Golden State.

Rodney McGruder had 15 points for Miami, which held on despite Minnesota closing within a basket several times in the fourth quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns had 35 points for the Timberwolves, who have lost four games in a row.

Pacers 93, Thunder 90

Paul George had 21 points, including a clutch basket with 1:20 remaining, and Indiana extended their season-best winning streak to seven.

Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, who finished with 27 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists, missed two potential game-tying 3-pointers in the final 7.8 seconds, including one at the buzzer.

Jeff Teague added 17 points for Indiana, who won despite shooting only 37.9 per cent from the field.

Lakers 121, Knicks 107

Los Angeles won in Madison Square Garden to snap a 13-game road losing streak.

The Lakers had not won on the road since beating the Philadelphia 76ers 100-89 on December 16. Los Angeles posted their first win at the Garden since February 11, 2011. Lou Williams scored 22 points to lead seven Lakers in double figures.

The Knicks, who lost for the ninth time in 13 games, were led by Carmelo Anthony with 26 points.

Pistons 113, 76ers 96

Marcus Morris led seven Detroit players in double figures with 19 points against Philadelphia at The Palace.

Andre Drummond collected his 33rd double-double with 16 points and 17 rebounds. Reggie Jackson had 14 points and six assists, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Aron Baynes and Jon Leuer added 12 points apiece for Detroit.

Jahlil Okafor's 16 points led Philadelphia.

Bulls 112, Kings 107

Dwyane Wade scored 31 points, and his baseline jumper with a defender draped on him with 13 seconds lifted Chicago over Sacramento.

Wade scored Chicago's final five points to help the Bulls hold off a furious Kings rally from a 27-point, second-half deficit. Michael Carter-Williams finished with 21 points, and Robin Lopez added 17 for Chicago.

Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, but he was ejected after his second technical foul in the final seconds. He earned a one-game suspension for the Kings' Wednesday contest against the Boston Celtics, an automatic punishment for reaching 16 T's on the season.

Grizzlies 89, Spurs 74

Marc Gasol scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds as Memphis defeated San Antonio.

The Grizzlies won for the fifth time in six games, taking advantage of 17 Spurs turnovers that translated into 19 points. 

Mike Conley finished with 12 points and a game-high nine assists. Zach Randolph had 15 points and six rebounds off the bench, and Vince Carter finished with seven points, six rebounds and his first four-block game since April 2009.

The Spurs played without forward Kawhi Leonard, sidelined due to a right quad contusion. David Lee led San Antonio with 14 points off the bench. Forward LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

In other games, Jazz beat the Hawks 120-95, the Pelicans outshone the Suns 111-106, the Raptors overtook the Clippers 118-109 and the Nuggets beat the Mavericks 110-87.

LIBREVILLE, Gabon — The African Nations Cup in Gabon will be remembered for delivering an inspiring success story culminating with Cameroon's brilliant come-from-behind victory over Egypt to claim a fifth title in Libreville.

The dramatic return of the Indomitable Lions to the summit of the African game came against expectation, achieved with a squad of little experience after several key players put club above country in the preceding months.

Overcoming difficult odds to come through a taxing tournament — played in stifling humility, on poor pitches and with complex travel arrangements — and claiming the trophy gave the tournament a much-needed new lease on life.

Too many previous tournaments have suffered from the burden of poor football, disappointing crowds and a distinct lack of on-field drama. Usually it is controversy that marks the event.

Cameroon's exploits, however, ensured the 2017 edition concluded as one of the better recent Nations Cup.

Cameroon, last champion 15 years ago, was given little chance at the start, a side in transition after coach Hugo Broos made a comprehensive, almost cavalier, overhaul of the side in the preceding months.

Just a month before kick-off, his plans looked in tatters as eight players declared their unavailability, rejecting call-ups to stay with their clubs.

It was the first significant show of dissent from African footballers, who are placed in an awkward position every two years by the tug of loyalty between club and country that the timing Nations Cup, in the middle of the European club season, forces on them.

It was an issue quickly forgotten as the tournament kicked off with some favourites quickly falling by the wayside.

Algeria was in trouble from the first game, host Gabon and holder Ivory Coast went out in the first round and Cameroon's post-match penalty shootout win over impressive Senegal in the last eight proved the biggest upset.

"Our ambition was to finish in the top two in our group, get to the knockout round and see what happened from there. Over the weeks, we went from being a squad to becoming a family," said winning coach Broos after Sunday's 2-1 victory.

The progress to the semifinal of Burkina Faso, also little regarded at the start, added another exciting element in the same way the progress of unheralded nations spiced up the European Championship last year.

Refereeing showed a dramatic improvement in another boost for the African Football.

New-look Cameroon now has an immediate burden of expectation as African champion. It hosts the next finals in 2019, where vociferous home support will be demanding repeat success.