Sports

AMMAN — Week 7 of the 64th Jordan Professional Football League kicks off Thursday with Wihdat aiming to retake the lead from Shabab Urdun, who play Jazira.

Week 6 matches were postponed amid the downpour that left streets and stadiums flooded two weeks ago. The Jordan Football Association has now rescheduled matches so Week 6 will be played ahead of the conclusion of Leg 1. 

Shabab Urdun now lead the standings following their beating of Sarih (1-0) and Faisali (3-0). Wihdat trail by one point after they lost 1-0 to rivals Faisali, as well as, Hussein Irbid. They next play Sarih hoping to jump back as leaders. 

Hussein play Ramtha, who are now third after they beat Jazira 1-0. Kufrsoum, who lost to Ahli 1-0, next play newcomers Asala.

Ahli are now sixth ahead of their match against Baqa’a and That Ras, who are fourth, play Faisali.

The league had a one-week break to allow the national team’s regrouping for Group B qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup doubling as part of the qualification for 2019 Asian Cup. Jordan beat Malta 2-0 in a friendly, but lost to Kyrgyzstan 1-0 in the crucial qualifier and lost its Group B lead.

So far this season, Jordan Cup titleholders Faisali beat League titleholders Wihdat 1-0 to win the 33rd Super Cup. It was a much-needed win for Faisali after a disappointing 7th place finish the league last season as runner-up and third places went to Jazira and Ramtha. 

League Standings 

(Last week’s position in parenthesis) 

AMMAN – Jordan lost its return game with Kyrgyzstan in Group B of the 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup joint-qualifiers. 

A goal in the 48th minute by Anton Zemlianuhin was enough to give Kyrgyzstan a win over Jordan and its third win in the group. 

The 1-0 defeat to the Central Asian and with Australia easing to  4-0 win over Bangladesh, Jordan is now second on the table with 13 points, followed by Kyrgystan with 11 points. 

Australia, the 2014 AFC Asian Cup holders, lead the table with 15 points. Jordan and Australia still have two games each. Kyrgyzstan played a game more than Jordan and Australia. 

Jordan will play Bangladesh at home on March 24 and Australia in an away match on March 29.  

The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup.

Celtics guard Avery Bradley scored 21 points off the bench and the Celtics turned a pair of back-breaking runs into a 111-95 victory over the struggling Houston Rockets at Toyota Centre on Monday.

Fellow guard Isaiah Thomas added 23 points and six assists as Boston (6-4) erased what was once a 15-point deficit with a 15-0 blitz late in the second quarter, a spurt that included eight points from Bradley.

Boston put the game on ice by closing the third quarter with another 15-0 run, turning a 72-68 lead into an 87-68 runaway entering the fourth.

Forward Jae Crowder added 16 points for the Celtics, whose ball-hawking halfcourt defence set the tone for the staggering momentum swing.

Boston scored a whopping 39 points off 22 Rockets turnovers and ran Houston (4-7) ragged with 22 fast-break points and 16 steals.

“One thing that we’ve been working on since the beginning of the year is being able to finish on the break as far as making the right play, if it’s a finish or making the next pass,” Bradley told reporters.

“I feel like we’re doing a good job with that.”

The Rockets forward Trevor Ariza paired 19 points (on 4-of-10 three-point shooting) with nine rebounds but had four turnovers. Houston guards James Harden (16 points) and Ty Lawson added four turnovers apiece.

Houston appeared inspired early, particularly defensively, harassing the Celtics into a series of miscues and hurried shots beginning with the close of the first quarter.

The Rockets carried that surge into the second, opening a 42-27 lead with a 14-3 run capped by an Ariza three-point play and a transition basket by Lawson following a Corey Brewer steal.

However, the Celtics maintained contact, first with an 11-2 spurt that cut the deficit to 44-38, and also after the Rockets rebuilt their lead to 53-40 with their first devastating run.

Forward Amir Johnson started the push with a transition dunk at that 2:45 mark, and Bradley capped it with a three-pointer.

“We’re hanging our head,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “Things aren’t going our way and we hang our head. We haven’t put together really good basketball all year long.”

Celtics guard Marcus Smart recorded team highs in rebounds (nine), assists (six) and steals (five), and posted a game-high plus-30 despite 1-for-11 shooting.

Boston, which entered the contest fourth in the NBA in defensive rating, has won five of six and claimed its first victory in Houston since March 19, 2010.

“We didn’t defend very well the first 15 minutes and then we defended for about 24 straight,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “We really defended in that time.”

ATLANTA — Atlanta’s Paul Millsap missed on a couple of late attempts and the Hawks were beaten 97-96 by Utah on Sunday, missing a chance to extend their NBA Southeast Division lead.

Derrick Favours scored 23 points and Rodney Hood added 20 for the Jazz, who closed within a game of Northwest leader Oklahoma City, which was comfortably beaten at home by Boston.

Toronto was another division leader to lose, falling at in-form Sacramento, while Charlotte defied a fourth-quarter rally by Portland.

Atlanta’s Millsap had a season-high 28 points but failed to hit the rim on a 3-point attempt in the final minute and missed a 12-footer at the buzzer.

Point guard Jeff Teague sat out with a sore ankle, leaving the Hawks without their second-leading scorer.

Utah took a seven-point lead on Alec Burks’ runner with 2:20 remaining.

Boston’s Marcus Smart scored a career-high 26 points to help the Celtics beat Oklahoma City 100-85.

Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points for Boston, which shot 48 per cent and outrebounded the Thunder 47-34.

Smart also guarded Russell Westbrook effectively. He was part of a collective effort that held the reigning scoring champion to 5-for-20 shooting. Westbrook still scored 27 points and carried a larger load with Kevin Durant out with a hamstring injury.

Westbrook had posted triple-doubles in his previous two games but finished this one with just five assists and four rebounds.

Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins scored 10 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Kings past Toronto 107-101 and to a third straight win.

Rudy Gay had 26 points and Omri Casspi added 14 for Sacramento, which won despite committing 20 turnovers that led to 20 points.

The Kings outscored the Raptors 14-2 over the final 3:22 — including the final 11 points of the game.

DeMar ReRozan scored 24 points for Toronto.

Charlotte’s Nicolas Batum scored 33 points and Al Jefferson added 29 in a 106-94 victory over Portland.

The Hornets led 71-45 at halftime and by 29 points midway through the third quarter but the  Trail Blazers sliced that gap back to six points with 2:58 remaining.

Charlotte responded with an 8-0 run that sealed victory.

Damian Lilliard had 23 points for Portland, which lost its fifth straight.

New York’s Carmelo Anthony had 29 points and 13 rebounds to help the Knicks beat New Orleans 95-87.

Memphis’ Jeff Green scored a season-high 21 points and Mike Conley matched his season-high with 20 points to lead Grizzlies past Minnesota 114-106.

Los Angeles Lakers won their second game and avoided falling to 1-9 for the first time in team history by defeating Detroit 97-85, with Kobe Bryant contributing 17 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.

Guard Jordan Clarkson also had 17 points for Los Angeles (2-8) as Bryant made just 6-of-19 shots from the floor but was effective in involving his teammates.

Guard Nick Young came off the bench to score 13 points for the Lakers, whose only other victory was over the Brooklyn Nets. Centre Roy Hibbert chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds.

Despite suffering a woeful start to the new season, the Lakers defeated the Pistons for the seventh consecutive time and the 10th time in the past 11 meetings.

Reserve guard Spencer Dinwiddie scored 17 points for the Pistons (5-5). Centre Andre Drummond extended his streak of double-doubles to 10 in a row with 17 points and 17 rebounds, but he and the Pistons saw their losing streak reach four games.

Los Angeles was clinging to a 78-74 lead after a dunk by Drummond on an alley-oop pass from Reggie Jackson with 7:28 remaining but the Lakers scored seven consecutive points, starting with a three-pointer by Bryant with 3:44 left.

That sealed the outcome as Detroit got no closer than eight the rest of the way.

AMMAN  — Jordan play Kyrgyzstan in its return leg Group B qualifier for the 2018 World Cup doubling, as part of the qualification for 2019 Asian Cup.

Jordan will be seeking to come home with an away win that would maintain its lead atop the group after it scored two consecutive wins and beat Asian champs Australia 2-0 and Tajikistan 3-0 in the last two qualifiers.

In the first leg, Jordan was held to a disappointing 0-0 draw with Kyrgyzstan. It also beat Tajikistan 3-1, Bangladesh 4-0. Forty teams are playing home and away in a round-robin format in the current second qualifying round which runs until March 2016 

Before leaving to Bishkek, Jordan beat Malta 2-0 in a friendly as part of its final training camp in Turkey.

“We do not take anything for granted. Every match is important and the team needs to focus on winning to reach the Asian Championship and keep World Cup qualifying chances alive,” Jordan Football Association Deputy Chairman Salah Sabra told the press. 

Jordan’s head coach Paul Put added: “We already have four wins and one draw. We need to maintain our lead and secure qualification to the next round.” 

Australia beat Kyrgyzstan 3-0 last week and is now second in the group. It earlier beat Tajikistan 3-0, Bangladesh 5-0 and Kyrgyzstan 2-1. Tajikistan beat Bangladesh 5-0 to score its first win. Bangladesh is last after it held Tajikistan 1-1 and lost to Kyrgyzstan 3-1.

After the two wins and a 3-0 defeat of Iraq in a friendly, Jordan went up 17 spots to 82nd in the latest FIFA World Rankings — its biggest leap in a year.

The Kingdom had the most memorable World Cup qualifying journey in 2013 when it lost a possible chance to play at the World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie for a place in the 2014 World Cup. 

It lost the home game 5-0 and held the former World Cup champs 0-0 in the away match. Jordan had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since taking part in the qualifiers as of 1985. Round 3 had been the furthest Jordan reached in the past seven times in the qualifiers since 1986.

In the Asian Cup, Jordan reached the Championship three times since first taking part in qualifiers in 1972. The pinnacle was at the 13th Asian Cup, when it lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA ranking of 37th in August 2004. In 2011, Jordan again reached the quarter-finals.

Earlier in 2015, Jordan’s line-up was led by Briton Ray Wilkins under whom the team failed to advance past the first round of the 16th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. Ahmad Abdul Qader took over in the transitional phase under whom the team played the first qualifier. Belgian Put took over since July.

  Group B standings

LONDON — Swiss maestro Roger Federer will have an early chance to disprove the notion that Novak Djokovic is untouchable when they meet in their second round-robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday.

Federer outclassed Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-2 to kickstart his 14th consecutive appearance at the season-ender on Sunday, a few hours after World No. 1 Djokovic had demolished Japan’s World No.  8 Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-1.

Both already look odds on to take the top two spots in Stan Smith Group, but Tuesday’s 43rd meeting between the pair (both have won 21) looks set to decide who will advance to the semifinals as group winner.

Djokovic has won his last 23 matches and has been unstoppable since he picked up his third Grand Slam of the year by beating Federer in the US Open final.

Asked if the near 7,000-point gap between Djokovic and the rest in the ATP ranking points was proof of the Serb’s invincibility, Federer was not convinced.

“That depends on who looks at the gap,” Federer, who pulled out of last year’s final against Djokovic with a back problem, said. “I don’t think I’m that far off.

“Then again, let’s speak in two days. Two days is not the match that I care the most about, to be quite honest.

“It’s an important match, very important. But it’s not the match. It’s going to be interesting to see how I play that one. I’m curious to find out myself.”

Federer knows he can ill afford the sloppy start he made against Berdych when two double faults gifted the Czech a 2-0 lead. After that, however, he barely put a foot wrong.

“It was not the best start. I have to clean that up clearly for the next match,” he said.

Sunday’s opening matches were reminiscent of many of the one-sided singles matches here last year, and Federer said the slowish court surface meant it was very difficult to turn around a match once you fall behind.

“Maybe it’s the end of the season, maybe it’s the surface, we saw the faster results here last year,” he said.

“Seems like whoever takes charge of the baseline, and if you cannot serve your way out of trouble often enough, which is hard to do here because of the pace of the court, the guy from the baseline wins, the better one.

“That’s why we see some crushing scores.”

Golden State Warriors won an 11th consecutive game on Saturday night, beating Nets 107-99 in overtime with Brooklyn left with only themselves to blame.

Reserve Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala sent the game to overtime with a tying three-pointer with 5.9 seconds remaining in regulation, allowing them to outlast Nets and remain the NBA’s lone unbeaten team.

But in between, Nets centre Brook Lopez couldn’t convert a lob pass from no more than half-a-metre in front of the rim as time expired, extending the game and eventually leading to the Nets’ ninth loss in 10 games this season.

“I think our tank was on empty emotionally and physically,” Nets coach Lionel Hollins said of the overtime that immediately followed Lopez’s miss.

“It’s a heartbreaking loss. We had a chance to have our shot at point blank and it didn’t go in.”

Brooklyn, which completed its road trip 1-3, had two shots at a win, but point guard Jarrett Jack misfired on an 5.5m before Lopez’s miss at the horn.

The play began with five-tenths of a second remaining, with Nets small forward Joe Johnson inbounding from under Brooklyn basket.

“We feel like we should have had this one,” Lopez said. “I blew that chip shot. Joe made a perfect pass. It was exactly the way the play was drawn up.

“I owe Joe. He put that on a platter and I just blew it.”

Nets didn’t respond well to the misfortune. They scored only two points in the five-minute overtime after they had fallen 10 down in the first 3:10.

Power forward Draymond Green had a hoop and two assists, capping the second triple-double of his career, in the winning burst as Golden State became just the 11th team in NBA history to open a season 11-0.

Warriors won despite a 13-of-31 shooting from the field by star point guard Stephen Curry, who led all scorers with 34 points. Curry missed 11 of his 16 3-point attempts.

Warriors interim coach Luke Walton hailed Iguodala’s clutch three-pointer, which produced a tie at 97 after Nets power forward Thaddeus Young had given his team a three-point lead with 9.9 seconds left.

“Andre plays his best when you need him to,” Walton said. “He’s a luxury to have on the court. He’s never rattled.”

DEAD SEA — Husam Salem on Friday was crowned champion of the fifth and last round of the Speed Test Championship held at Sky Dive Racetrack with the participation of 62 drivers.

Even with this win the title went to Mohamed Tayseer, who topped the standings with 98 points, followed by Jad Nabas (72 points) and Gaith Wraikat (66 points).

Tayseer finished the fifth round in second place.

“It was an amazing event and I was able to take the lead from the start. I have been focusing on rallying more, but I promise to be back stronger in 2016 Speed Test Championship,” Salem told The Jordan Times.

“It was great to feel the power of a Speed Test event and on Friday I felt it and this will make me want to do more Speed Test runs next year,” he added.

Salem clocked 1m06.79s in a Mitsubishi Gladiator to take the first place in the final round, followed by Tayseer (1m07.94s) in a Mitsubishi Evo6 and Nabas (1m09.49s) in a Toyota Corola GT.

Tayseer expressed his happiness to winning the title saying that this is a great moment.

“I feel proud and encouraged to do more next season and I know it will not be easy, but I think I can do it again,” he said.

“I believe that there are many talented young drivers in Jordan and they could make a lot of difference if they find the right guidance,” he added.

ZURICH, — FIFA has approved five candidates for its February presidential election amid the worst crisis in its history, after barring Liberia's Musa Bility on integrity grounds and leaving out UEFA chief Michel Platini while he remains under suspension.

Platini, the original favourite to succeed Sepp Blatter as head of global football’s governing body, was not admitted because he has been suspended for 90 days pending a full Ethics Committee investigation.

FIFA had already announced that it would not process former French international football star while he was suspended, but could review its position if he wins an appeal against the ban.

Buffeted by a series of scandals over the last few years, FIFA was thrown into turmoil in May by the US indictments of 14 football officials, including two FIFA vice-presidents and sports marketing executives for alleged corruption.

Blatter, also suspended for 90 days, is facing criminal investigation in Switzerland over a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.1 million) payment from FIFA to Platini. Both men have denied wrongdoing.

FIFA's electoral committee said on Thursday the five approved presidential candidates were HRH Prince Ali, Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain, former FIFA official Jerome Champagne of France, UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino of Switzerland and South Africa businessman Tokyo Sexwale.

"The integrity check included a review of corporate records, litigation cases, bankruptcy proceedings, potential regulatory actions taken against the candidate and a review of media reports concerning potential red flags [fraudulent behaviour, match manipulation, human rights violations, etc.]," the committee said in a statement.

Bility was not admitted "in view of the content of the integrity check report relating to him", it said.

"For reasons of protection of personality rights, the Ad-hoc Electoral Committee — while it has explained its considerations in detail to Musa Hassan Bility — will not comment publicly on the specifics of its decision."

Sheikh Salman has dismissed as "false, nasty lies" allegations that he was involved in human rights abuses against pro-democracy activists during a 2011 uprising in Bahrain when he was head of the Gulf Arab country's football association.

The electoral committee said it had "assessed any allegations against the candidates carefully, including those against Sheikh Salman concerning his alleged involvement into the events in Bahrain in 2011".

It said no evidence of "any personal and direct involvement" by Sheikh Salman in rights abuses had been found, so the committee had upheld his candidacy.

There are no clear favourites to win the election, in which each of the 209 national associations (FAs) who are affiliated with FIFA hold one vote.

Critics say they are heavily influenced by the continental confederations, such as Europe's UEFA or Africa's CAF, which sometimes ask their members to vote as a bloc for one candidate. But as voting is secret, FAs can easily disobey their confederations without being detected, which makes voting unpredictable.

Infantino announced his intention to stand only one day before the registration deadline in October, and is expected to withdraw if Platini is allowed back into the race.

Last month, Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, one of the top powerbrokers in global sport and a member of FIFA's executive committee, said he hoped there would be "coordination" between Infantino and Sheikh Salman if Platini was unable to run.

Champagne has alleged that already in this election "there is a pre-campaign of arrangements in five-star hotels behind closed doors". He was alluding to alleged back-room deals in which certain candidates do not run against each other and one then drops out to clear the way for the other to win.

MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Stephen Curry scored 28 points and Andre Iguodala added 20 as Golden State Warriors matched a club record for most wins to start a season with a 100-84 victory over Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.

Harrison Barnes added 19 points for Golden State, which won its ninth straight to open the season. Curry’s was 9 of 21 from the field, but only 3 of 10 from outside the arc. Warriors finished shooting 41 per cent from 3-point range, 11 of 27.

Marc Gasol had 26 points, Zach Randolph added 19 and Tony Allen finished with 15 as Grizzlies lost their fourth straight.

San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge scored 23 points in his return to Portland, leading the Spurs to a 113-101 win over Trail Blazers.

Aldridge, who played nine seasons in Portland before leaving as a free agent this summer, added six rebounds. Kawhi Leonard finished with 20 points for Spurs, who won their third straight.

Damian Lillard led Blazers with 22 points, including five 3-pointers, and nine assists. Portland has lost three straight.

In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 31 points to lead Mavericks over Los Angeles Clippers 118-108 in DeAndre Jordan’s first visit since backing out on an agreement to sign with Mavericks in free agency.

A tight second half upstaged the sideshow of the return of Jordan, who was booed throughout before coach Doc Rivers pulled him in the fourth quarter with Dallas successfully using the hack-a-Jordan tactic against one of the NBA’s worst free throw shooters.

As Dallas pulled away in the final minute, the crowd chanted a derogatory phrase at Jordan, who had nine points and 11 rebounds with a minus-23 scoring margin while he was in the game.

Blake Griffin led Los Angeles with 21 points.

Atlanta Hawks downed New Orleans Pelicans 106-98 after Al Horford scored 26 points.

After trailing by 12 points in the first half, Hawks pulled away down the stretch. Paul Millsap converted a couple of three-point plays to help seal the victory for Atlanta, which bounced back from a home loss to Minnesota two nights earlier.

Denver’s Kenneth Faried rebounded Danilo Gallinari’s errant shot in the lane for a putback with 5 seconds remaining to give Nuggets a 103-102 victory over Milwaukee Bucks, while Toronto Raptors defeated Philadelphia 76ers after Kyle Lowry scored 23 points and Luis Scola had 21.

In other games Nik Vucevic hit a fallaway 18-footer at the buzzer as the Orlando Magic edged Los Angeles Lakers 101-99, Charlotte Hornets edged New York Knicks 95-93, Indiana Pacers beat Boston Celtics 102-91, Brooklyn Nets overcame Houston Rockets 106-98 and Los Angeles Kings were 101-92 winners over Detroit Pistons.