BARCELONA — Captain Lionel Messi has told Barcelona he wishes to leave the club immediately, a source confirmed on Tuesday, deepening the turmoil within the Catalan side less than two weeks after their humiliating 8-2 defeat by Bayern Munich.

TOP SEED Novak Djokovic made quick work of Tennys Sandgren at the Western and Southern Open on Tuesday, never dropping serve en route to a 6-2 6-4 win over the American, while big-serving Milos Raonic enjoyed a straight sets win over Andy Murray.

THE Games and Amusements Board (GAB) has approved the application of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) to turn professional.

WITH team workouts resuming on Tuesday, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is mulling its next moves in its return-to-activities, including the possibility of mounting a league bubble that would host the resumption of the currently suspended season.

DENNIS SCHRODER converted a key turnover into a layup and the Oklahoma City Thunder evened their Western Conference first-round series with a 117-114 victory in Game 4 over the Houston Rockets in AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando.

AS THE investigation on possible violations of some collegiate teams of government’s health and safety protocols during this time of the pandemic continues, the head of the top sports agency of the land moved to chime in and put things in perspective.

TORONTO — Serena Williams shook off some COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) layoff rust to grind out a 7-6(6) 3-6 7-6(0) win over Dutch qualifier Arantxa Rus on Monday to move into the third round of the Western and Southern Open.

AFTER parading his wares in the Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC), Filipino mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Drex “T-Rex” Zamboanga is set to make his ONE Championship debut this week.

Even by National Basketball Association standards, the stepback three-point shot is a low-percentage one. While taken to create significant separation — up to six feet when well executed — from a defender who will then be reacting too late, it likewise increases the subsequent attempt’s degree of difficulty. Don’t tell that to Luka Doncic, though; the Mavericks All-Star has it as an effective part of his arsenal, and all and sundry have no choice but to accept the outcome either way. The operative word is “effective” as opposed to “efficient,” so its launch is accompanied by anticipation; in the make-or-miss league, the make-or-miss proposition is accepted with bated breath.

LUKA DONCIC’S 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime lifted the Dallas Mavericks to a 135-133 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers and even up the teams’ first-round Western Conference playoff series as two games apiece on Sunday in the NBA bubble near Orlando.

UNABLE to train on-court as a group for the few months because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Alaska Aces are girding to begin some training this week as the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) makes its long-delayed return to activities.

LISBON — Bayern Munich were crowned European champions for the sixth time after beating Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) 1-0 thanks to a second-half header from former PSG youth academy graduate Kingsley Coman in an absorbing Champions League final on Sunday.