BARCELONA -- World number five Dominic Thiem captured his second title of the year after thrashing Russian Daniil Medvedev 6-4 6-0 in the Barcelona Open final on Sunday.

The traditional Dubai Open was held in the first week of April this year with a starting list of 31 international grandmasters, 24 international masters, two woman grandmasters and eight woman international masters. The top seed was Vietnamese GM Le Quang Liem (the only player who is 2700+) followed by Maxim Matlakov (RUS 2692), Yuriy Kuzubov (UKR 2653), Sandro Mareco (ARG 2651) and Venezuela’s first GM Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli (2633). As is common with these big international opens nowadays, there were a total of 80 Indians participating. This is because their country’s federation supports their travel abroad to compete. They are really serious about retaining and even exceeding India’s current status as the No. 4 chess power in the world!

Game One of the conference semifinals-round series between the Warriors and the Rockets looked to be the most anticipated contest so far through the 2019 National Basketball Association Playoffs, and not simply because of their shared history. This time last year, their best-of-seven battle for the right to represent the West in the Finals went the distance, and not a few quarters figured the rematch would be just as hotly contested. Even the protagonists themselves viewed the affair as inevitably protracted, hence their desire to hit the ground running and come up with the first strike.

Reporting Bjorn Biel Beltran Video Nina M. Diaz Paolo L. Lopez Illustration Fortunato V. Dañas Editor Sam L. MarceloOnly one of them plays full-time. In fact, two of their players are still...

THE Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws sprang up a surprise on the final play date of the elimination round of Season 81 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines on Sunday at the FilOil Flying V Arena, checking the De La Salle Lady Spikers in five sets, 25-22, 13-25, 15-25, 27-25 and 15-8, to derail the latter in its bid to claim outright the twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four.

LOS ANGELES -- Nikola Jokic had 21 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, Jamal Murray finished with 23 points, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the San Antonio Spurs 90-86 in Game 7 of a Western Conference quarterfinal series on Saturday night.

BACK in the finals of the PBA Philippine Cup for a fifth straight time, the San Miguel Beermen feel good about their chances especially with the kind of team they have and the road they took to get where they are right now.

DESPITE the controversy surrounding its official kickoff, the Philippine Premier League (PPL) went ahead with its season opener on Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium with Kaya FC-Iloilo emerging victorious and Philippine Air Force and Mendiola FC 1991 fighting to a draw.

PHILADELPHIA 76ers center Joel Embiid said his left knee, hampered by tendinitis, remains painful but he intends to play more minutes in the second-round playoff series against the Toronto Raptors than he did in the first round.

WHILE their 2018-19 NBA campaign was a rough one that saw them missing the playoffs altogether, it was a totally different scenario for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on the league merchandise front where they were tops.

It took nearly two decades before the San Juan Knights could repeat the feat it once did in the regional basketball scene -- and what a way to win it.

Kevin Durant no longer needs any audition to prove his worth heading into free agency. When he is officially free from his contract with the Warriors in July, he will be fielding offers from the rest of the National Basketball Association. Indeed, he’s that good; outside of -- and, arguably, even more than that of -- the on-the-decline LeBron James, he has the game that would suit any type of system. He certainly made the two-time defending champions even better with his presence; not for nothing was he named Most Valuable Player in their last two Finals appearances.