Sports
Exclusive: Ateneo, Adamson square off for last semifinal berth
#Ateneo #Adamson #square #semifinal #berth
AC Miner (right) shines in Ateneo’s crucial win over UP. UAAP PHOTO
For defending champion Ateneo, the long road back to the finals is dotted with uncertainty. And the best approach, coach Oliver Almadro said, is to take it “one step at a time.”
The Blue Eagles’ next step, however, could be quite tricky.
Standing in Ateneo’s way is a highly motivated Adamson that is rushing head on into the playoff match for the last semifinal berth in the UAAP Season 84 women’s volleyball tournament feeling like it has nothing to lose and everything to gain.
The Lady Falcons gave a peek of the kind of mentality they approach do-or-die games with after thwarting La Salle last Thursday to force this sudden-death showdown against the Blue Eagles.
“All of us performed our responsibilities because it’s a do-or-die game and we didn’t want to have any regrets,” said wily playmaker Louie Romero, who had 24 excellent sets in Adamson’s 25-23, 17-25, 25-16, 26-24 victory over La Salle.
“I knew it was now or never so I didn’t want to give up on the team,” said Trisha Genesis, who led the Lady Falcons with 20 points.
Ateneo will have to match that resolve if it hopes to earn another day to defend its crown.
But the road ahead will only get tougher regardless of who emerges the No. 4 team after Saturday’s 5 p.m. knockout match at Mall of Asia Arena.
The winner of the match advances to another no-tomorrow showdown on Tuesday against No. 3 University of Santo Tomas.
The winner of that duel then battles No. 2 La Salle, which will be clad in twice-to-beat armor.
Only when that series is done will the survivor finally reach Finals, where the unbeaten National University Lady Bulldogs await.
Clearly, things are far different from when the Blue Eagles ruled the tournament in 2019.
“If it’s for us, it’s for us. The important thing is we do our job well,” said Almadro after Ateneo’s 19-25, 25-11, 25-18, 25-19 triumph over University of the Philippines last Thursday.
“We are finished with UP, now we study Adamson,” he added.
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Sports
Exclusive: NBA: Steve Clifford to be coach of Hornets for second time—report – TalkOfNews.com
#NBA #Steve #Clifford #coach #Hornets #timereport
Oct 9, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Orlando Magic head coach Steve Clifford reacts during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Steve Clifford agreed to a multi-year deal on Friday for a second tour of duty as coach of the Charlotte Hornets, according to multiple reports.
The 60-year-old Clifford went 196-214 with two playoff appearances in five seasons with the club from 2013-18. He was fired after going 36-46 in the 2017-18 campaign.
The move comes after Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson agreed to become coach of the Hornets and later reneged on the deal.
After being dismissed by Charlotte, Clifford spent three seasons with the Orlando Magic and went 96-131. He has an overall mark of 292-345 in eight NBA seasons.
Clifford’s first two Orlando squads made the postseason but his final team went 21-51, the third-worst record in the league. Clifford and the Magic elected to part ways following the campaign.
Clifford spent last season in a consulting role for the Brooklyn Nets.
Clifford is just 11 wins shy of matching the Charlotte record for coaching victories held by Allan Bristow (207 from 1991-96).
Charlotte also considered veteran coach Mike D’Antoni for the job.
The Hornets fired James Borrego after going 43-39 last season. Charlotte lost to the Atlanta Hawks in a play-in game to miss the postseason for the sixth straight season.
Borrego went 138-163 in his four seasons with the Hornets. Last season was his only winning campaign.
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#30year #Origin #hoodoo #haunting #South #Wales
It’s almost 30 years since a Blues team came back to win a State of Origin series after losing the opener in Sydney, but two stars of that memorable NSW team of 1994 have laid down a blueprint for Brad Fittler’s men to follow.
Brilliant fullback Tim Brasher and giant back-rower Paul Sironen admitted things looked bleak for the Blues when Mark Coyne scored the famous last-minute try to win the Queenslanders an epic Game One that series.
“I know how this team feels – because it’s the same way we felt back in ’94,” Sironen, now a member of the Blues’ management team, told Wide World of Sports from Perth.
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“When you have game one at home you just have to win it – and we blew it.
“We didn’t play as well as we could have and we didn’t execute the way we trained and we knew we were really going to be up against it for the rest of the series.
“But what we did was turn that to our advantage by using that frustration, disappointment and anger at ourselves to spur us on.
“We levelled the series in Melbourne and it then all came down to the decider in Brisbane.”
Brasher has vivid memories of the lead-up to the all-important third match at Lang Park.
“Everyone was telling us about Lang Park being the cauldron and how we would cop it up there and I must admit I wasn’t all that confident in the week leading up to the game,” Brasher said.
“But then on game night, as our team bus went down Caxton Street and they came out of the pub and shook the bus and threw bottles at us, I think that actually did us a favour.
“It galvanised us, gave us a siege mentality and we were determined to go all the way.”
The Blues won the decider 27-12, with a young Brad Fittler playing in the centres.
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Players who made their State of Origin debut as teenagers
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