LOS ANGELES -- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told ESPN on Wednesday he takes delight in the plights of the Los Angeles Lakers, who have followed a tumultuous season with more than a few negative headlines this offseason.

PARIS -- Four of the survivors in French Open women’s singles face the prospect of playing three days in a row to win the title after heavy rain washed out the day’s action on Wednesday.

IT WILL BE a busy weekend for Philippine national football teams as they play abroad as part of their preparation for upcoming tournaments.

For the first time in the Finals, the Warriors managed to have a significant advantage in shot attempts yesterday. After taking just 78 and 81 stabs at the basket in their stints at Scotiabank Arena, they came away with a whopping 91 in Game Three. If nothing else, it was indicative of their conscious effort to dictate the pace to their liking. Unfortunately, they couldn’t translate it to actual production; with Klay Thompson joining Kevin Durant in the sidelines, they had only Steph Curry to rely on for points. And as much as they moved the ball and strive to find open shots, their depleted lineup told on their capacity to make the most of their opportunities.

THE ALASKA Aces raced to their second straight win in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup after defeating the debuting Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok, 103-80, in league action on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

PARIS -- French Open fans will be treated to the semifinal they had always hoped for as great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal advanced in contrasting fashion on Tuesday to set up a last-four encounter at Roland Garros.

TORONTO -- The Toronto Raptors may have a prime opportunity to jump ahead in the NBA Finals given the whack of injuries that have plagued the Golden State Warriors but they are not changing their approach to the pivotal contest.

THE ASIAN Football Confederation (AFC) Member Associations recently confirmed China PR as the host for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 at the AFC Extraordinary Congress in Paris, France.

BASILAN STEEL will be one of the 12 teams that will compete in the upcoming Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 Patriots’ Cup presented by Coca-Cola.

Michael Angelo S. Murillo

I maintain a small file on games that catch my eye and last Tuesday’s column on attacking ideas against the Berlin inspired me to look it up to bring you some more choice samples. As you know the Berlin Defense lately has become almost synonymous with “boring endgame.” Well, given two individuals contented with the draw the likelihood of a boring end game indeed is very high, but as long as one of the protagonists is after a fighting game there are still lots of avenues to consider. Today we take up two of them.

Roger Federer must have been feeling good about himself -- literally -- to commit to a return to clay for the first time since 2016. True, that he did so on short notice indicated an ambivalence borne of the seeming incongruity of his strengths to the demands of the surface. Nonetheless, his choice was, if surprising, justifiable. After all, he does have three major wins over the last two and a half years, as clear a manifestation as any of his climb back to the sport’s elite. And he does have an affinity for the mineral aggregate, on whose courts he first started, and particularly for red clay, on whose bounces the Coupe des Mousquetaires is decided.