03092017 sports

SPORTS SECTION E

CHAMPS LEAGUE

Barcelona, Pg 18

THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2017

High School Track & Field Nationals postponed TOP HIGH

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE National High School Track & Field Championships was originally scheduled to commence today but logistical issues forced the event to be postponed.

Addressing the House of Assembly yesterday, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Dr Daniel Johnson promised a merger of events with several marquee meets on the schedule.

“Over the next several weeks we have three major events, all involving high school students. We have

a major event set in the coming weeks. There will be a combined effort with the National Championships, the CARIFTA Trials, and the IAAF World Relays 2017 Test Event for 2017,” he said.

“I want the young people around the Bahamas to know there will be a combined event with the best talent around the country in one place, at one time, in one meet.”

The new date for the meet has yet to be solidified.

Representing the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, former BAAA President Mike Sands said the accommodation of hundreds of visiting Family Island athletes

became a challenge for the event organisers.

“Due to the overwhelming response of entries from the Family Islands, which totals over 550 athletes, we had a difficult time securing hotel rooms.

“Despite our best efforts with the hotels identified, we were still unable to secure the sufficient amount,” he said.

The 2016 event was hosted at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex in April.

Taking first place in the Girls’ Under-14 division was the Bishop Michael Eldon Warriors with 98.50 points. Queen’s College

was the Girls’ Under-16 champion school with 109 points and also won the Girls’ Under-18 division with 162 points. The CR Walker Knights won the Girls’ Under-20 division with 176 points.

In the male division, the Tabernacle Falcons, with 85 points, won the Under-14 title. QC was the Under-16 division winner with 128.50 points, the Falcons dominated the Under-18 Division, taking first place with 121 points, and the Under-20 boys a first place finish with 162 points.

The CARIFTA Track and Field Championships is scheduled for April 15-17 in Curacao.

‘Buddy Fresh’ climbs to No.5 on Rookie Ladder

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

A

s he continues to settle into his new surroundings in Sacramento, Buddy Hield has had a productive stretch for the Kings and has risen to No.5 on the NBA Rookie Ladder.

Headed into last night’s matchup against the San Antonio Spurs (See NBA Capsules on page 17), Hield has averaged 13.2 points per game, shot 53 per cent from the field and 48 per cent from three-point range.

The numbers compare favourably to his season averages of 41 per cent shooting from the field and 38 per cent from beyond the arch.

Among rookies, that has moved him into sixth among rookies in scoring, first in three-point makes per game, 12th in three-point percentage. A further look at the analytics suggests that Hield has thrived with more freedom in the Kings’ offensive scheme.

His numbers in isolation situations and catch-and-shoot opportunities have measured against some of the league’s leaders despite playing approximately 25 minutes per game.

“In situations considered “tight” defence by NBA.com, where a defender is within two to four feet, Hield is shooting 75 per cent from the floor,” according to NBA.com. He also has a 64 per cent effective field goal percentage and a true-shooting percentage of 67 per cent.

Hield, the former No.6 pick of the New Orleans Pelicans,

was one of the principals in a trade, packaged along with Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway, a future 2017 firstround and second-round pick to Sacramento in exchange for All-Star centre DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi.

Following the trade, stories suggesting Kings’ owner Vivek Ranadive’s thought Hield would be “the next Steph Curry” went viral, but the rookie guard refuted those claims in an interview with Bleacher Report columnist Grant Hughes.

“People said [I was like] Steph Curry in college. Yeah, I guess, but I’ve got to develop. Steph Curry, he’s a different animal. He’s in his own world. He does whatever he wants. I can’t do the things Steph Curry does right now.

I’m not Steph Curry,” Hield said. “I’m Buddy Fresh. I’m Buddy Love. I’m just me. I’m just Buddy.”

Hield will be expected to be a major component of a rebuilding young core for the Kings which will include 2015 lottery pick Willie CauleyStein, last year’s first round draft pick Skal Labissiere and the future picks in 2017.

The Kings have been 1-5 in the timespan since the trade at 25-38, 0.5 game ahead of the Pelicans but still four games out of the eighth and final playoff spot.

“Losing is not in my DNA,” he said. “No just cruising these last couple games and saying, ‘oh, we don’t have DeMarcus. Oh, we’re not expected to win.’ No. I want to finish out strong. I don’t want to be on my couch watching those other 16 [playoff] teams playing. I want to do something better than that.”

BAHAMIAN ROOKIE GUARD Buddy Hield has had a productive stretch so far for the Sacramento Kings and has risen to No.5 on the NBA Rookie Ladder. (AP)

SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYERS IN SPOTLIGHT

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net SEVERAL of the best high school basketball players in the country took full advantage of the opportunity to showcase their skills at the second edition of the National High School Basketball Championships.

The Bahamas Basketball Federation along with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology hosted the event in Grand Bahama, which featured the top senior boys and girls and Family Island divisions.

St George’s Jaguars emerged as the story, as they protected home court in their gymnasium by claiming the Division I title in a 61-53 win over the Tabernacle Baptist Falcons.

Several other athletes raised their stock in an effort to secure scholarships, set the tone for next year or simply end the season on a positive note.

The Jaguars Howard Hinzey was named the MVP after his 16-point, 13-rebound performance in the title game. He led the All-Tournament team selections along with fellow Jaguars teammates Mateo King, Davonte Jennings, Ahmard Harvey and Kyle Smith.

Other All Tournament selections included Dominick Bridgewater (Anatol Rodgers), Franco Miller (Tabernacle), Justin Burrows (St Augustine’s), Adam Johnson (Jordan Prince William), Kenneth Johnson (Teleos), Delano Dean (Eight Mile Rock) and Ackeem Hanna (Jack Hayward).

Bridgewater finished as the tournament’s leading scorer at 17 points per game, while Hinzey made the most field goals with 33.

He scored his tournament high of 22 in the second of the T’Wolves three games of the tournament in a win over SAC. Kenneth Johnson of Teleos was the second leading scorer at 16 points per game.

Other top scorers in the tournament were Eight Mile Rock’s Dean at 15 points per game (three games) and Hanna’s 13 points per game (three games).

Burrows, from the Big Red Machine, was the tournament’s top rebounder

SEE PAGE 16

MUNNINGS AND COOPER HELP WARHAWKS TO 73-70 OT WIN OVER RED WOLVES

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net IT was a disappointing regular season for the ULM Warhawks men’s basketball programme but their Bahamian duo helped lead the team to an upset in round one of their conference tournament to keep their postseason hopes alive.

Travis Munnings, Prince Cooper and the Warhawks scored a 73-70 overtime win over the fifth ranked team in the bracket, the Arkansas State Red Wolves, yesterday in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Munnings, the sophomore forward, scored 11 points on an efficient 5-6 shooting from the field, grabbed a team high seven rebounds and stuffed the stat sheet with two assists, two steals and one blocked shot.

Cooper, the senior guard, scored five points on 2-5 shooting

off the bench.

With the score tied at 60 and the Warhawks in possession, Munnings had an opportunity to end the game in regulation, but lost the ball on a turnover with 13 seconds left to play. The Red Wolves were unsuccessful on the opposite end of the floor and the game went into overtime.

He dished a key assist to teammate Marcus Washington to give the Warhawks their biggest lead of the game (70-62) with 2:02 left to play in overtime.

The No.12 seed in the 12-team field, the Warhawks will advance to face fourth ranked Texas State, at 3pm on Friday, March 10.

The Warhawks completed the regular season at 8-23 mark, following the season finale, a 70-65 loss to Texas State on Senior Day, while the Red Wolves were 20-11, coming off back-to-back losses to South Alabama and Troy to close the regular season.

The Red Wolves swept the season series from the Warhawks this

TRAVIS MUNNINGS

year to move the all-time series to a 37-24 advantage for Arkansas State.

One of only two returning players to start at least one game last season for the Warhawks, Munnings was thrust into a leadership position as a sophomore.

Munnings finished the regular season with averages of 13.1 points, eight rebounds and two assists per game.

Following the Sun Belt Conference regular season, Munnings’ rebound total ranked fourth and he was third in the league at 5.9 defensive rebounds per game. He also ranked seventh in the league with a 33.4 minutes per game average.

In conference play, Munnings had 7.6 rebounds per game which ranked fifth in the league while shooting seventh in the league with 45.8 per cent from the field.

He also averaged 35.3 minutes per game in SBC action, which ranked in fifth place.

Munnings made an immedi-

ate impact last year in his freshman season with the Warhawks.

He appeared in every game with 18 starts and averaged 7.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 50 per cent from the field.

The Warhawks finished just one game shy of an automatic NCAA Tournament berth in 2016, but eventually lost in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship.

“Last season was tough, we had a great year and the way it ended it doesn’t take away from what we did, but losing that game was heartbreaking. I still think about that game to today and it just made us more hungry. It motivates us more and puts a chip on our shoulder to get back to that point and make it to the dance. I think we have a great chance to make it there I really do,” Munnings said in the preseason. “We are trying to make it to the tournament. That’s a major key, the number one goal for the year.”

PAGE 16, Thursday, March 9, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

BAHAMAS’ TOP HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYERS TAKE THE SPOTLIGHT FROM PAGE 15 with 10.5 per game, the only player to average double figures in the category.

The T’Wolves’ Tyriq Bain grabbed 9.67 boards per game while Asher Scavella of the CI Gibson Rattlers grabbed 9.25 per game and Harvey finished at nine per game.

Scavella was also the top free throw shooter with 24 makes.

The Falcons versatile big Adam Johnson was the tournament’s leading shot blocker at four blocks

per game. The Rattlers Dominick Burniside was second at 1.8 blocks per game while Harvey was third at 1.71.

Bridgewater also led the tournament in steals at 4.33 per game followed by Eight Mile Rock’s Dean at 3.33 per game and Desmond Butler of Tabernacle at 3.25 per game.

Mateo King was the top threepoint shooter with 18 made field goals. The top three-point shooters in the tournament all belonged to the Jaguars and Falcons with Smith, Jennings, the Falcons Seandre Todd and Desmond Butler

with eight and Miller with seven.

Butler also led the tournament in assists at 3.25 per game.

In the Senior Girls’ division, the Jordan Prince William Falcons won the national title but the Rattlers’ Latavia Brennen was heralded as the top individual performer. Brennen averaged 18.8 points and 18 rebounds per game.

Doris Johnson’s Thyrell Thompson led the tournament with 2.6 assists per game, Paula Greene of Bishop Michael Eldon School was the top shot blocker at four per game, Delilah Rigby of Eight Mile Rock was the leader

in steals at 5.67 per game and Mya Greene of Tabernacle was the top three point shooter with 10 made field goals.

In the Family Island division, the Gateway Eagles out of Bimini won the national title, led

by Bradley Lightbourne who was named the MVP. Menalich Smith of South Andros was the leading scorer at 16.5 points per game (two games), while Lightbourne and Colin Storr of San Salvador both finished with 14.8 points per game (four games).

Lightbourne was also the leader

in steals at 4.25 per game Storr averaged a double double and also led the tournament in rebounds at 10 boards per game while Lightbourne averaged nine per game.

Dwayne Bullard of Central Eleuthera led the tournament with 1.75 blocks per game and also averaged 9.25 rebounds per game.

Dremeko McIntosh of Abaco Central led the tournament with 2.6 assists per game and Gateaway’s Lemardrae King was the top three point shooter with five makes.

POWER PLAYS: A number of the best high school basketball players in the country, boys and girls, compete in the second edition of the National High School Basketball Championships, hosted by the Bahamas Basketball Federation and Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in Grand Bahama.

Photos: 10thYearSeniors

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 9, 2017, PAGE 17

Support grows for UB Fit Fun Run Walk Skate on April 1 AS the University of The Bahamas continues to celebrate the recent launch of its new athletics brand and Mingoes Mascot, new trails are being blazed once again with the introduction of the inaugural UB Fit Fun Run Walk Skate 5K/10K event.

The event, set for 6am on Saturday, April 1, at the Oakes Field Campus, will bring together UB stakeholders, students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Targeting 500 runners, walkers and skaters, Bahamians are encouraged to support the first fundraiser of its kind as University of The Bahamas.

Conceptualised by an avid runner, UB FIT Health and Safety Committee chair Kandice Eldon created the event to bring the UB community and friends of the university together to promote health and wellness.

The event culminates the institution’s annual Health and Safety Week under the theme: “Fit, Healthy, Safe.”

“The genesis of this event was a desire to see the university community and friends of UB come together for a worthy cause.

As a committee, we determined that funds raised would augment UB’s Annual Fund and also increase mobility on campus for students with special needs.

We are extremely thankful for our sponsors and supporters and believe this will be a memorable event for years to come.”

University of The Bahamas will join the ranks of many other organisations who have used fun run, walks to galvanise the com-

FUN RUN/WALK: Shown (l-r) are UB FIT Health and Safety Committee chair Kandice Eldon, Generali client services manager, Vivienne Forbes, Generali sales communications manager, Anya Smith, vice president institutional advancement and alumni affairs, Davinia Blair and Generali business development manager, Sherelle Johnson.

munity and support worthwhile causes.

UB Fit has garnered the support of corporate Bahamas with Generali as the title sponsor along with National Health Insurance (NHI) as the platinum sponsor.

Longstanding supporters of UB, BTC is the gold sponsor and JS Johnson, the bronze sponsor for the race.

On March 3, executives from Generali visited the Oakes Field Campus for a cheque presentation.

Davinia Blair, vice presi-

dent of institutional advancement and alumni affairs, underscored the value of philanthropy and supporting initiatives such as UB FIT and others.

“Generali’s excitement and enthusiasm with being the title sponsor for UB Fit is extremely encouraging to use as a strong vote of confidence in the vision of the University and the need for the University to have events which support good health and productive citizens.

“We are very appreciative of their support and all our

corporate sponsors who’ve come on board to support this initiative,” said Blair.

As a proud graduate of University of The Bahamas, Generali Sales Communications Manager Anya Smith, AA’94 expressed the partnership with UB came at a pivotal time for the company.

“We’re very pleased at Generali to give back to the community as this is our 10th year of operations here in The Bahamas. We thought this would be one of the good ways to give back to our community.

This year we are rolling out several wellness initiatives and we want our members and community partners to be active so we were so happy to join up with University of The Bahamas in this endeavour.

“It provides us the opportunity to ‘Live the community’ which is one of our company’s values so we are pleased and excited.”

Smith implores other alumni to give back to their alma mater, “it’s also a great way to encourage future students to attend UB, realising it is a very good option

for tertiary education.”

A clarion call is being made to all UB alumni and corporate Bahamas to register for the race which will include UB Blue Powder with a post-race health expo, medal ceremony and special performance by Dyson Knight.

Interested persons may register at Sports Center Harbour Bay and Club One Fitness, Sandyport and Chapter One Bookstore.

Registration is $25 for adults, $15 children 17-andunder and $10 for UB students with ID.

‘Buddy’ scores 11 in 114-104 loss to the Spurs SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Bahamian rookie guard Buddy Hield scored 11 points, including three three pointers, and grabbed two rebounds with an assist in 18 minutes on the court last night.

Grand Bahamian Hield shot 4 of 9 from field goal range in the Sacramento Kings’ 114-104 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

Manu Ginobili had 19 points, David Lee added 18 points and 10 rebounds and the Spurs rallied without Kawhi Leonard for the victory. San Antonio won its ninth straight and extended its league record for 50-win seasons to 18 straight, the longest in league history.

Sacramento lost its sixth straight despite a season-high 26 points from Tyreke Evans and 15 from rookie Skal Labissiere.

The Spurs rested Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge after the team rallied in four

WESTERN CONFERENCE

straight games, including a pair of overtime victories. Leonard averaged 33.8 points in 39.3 minutes in leading the Spurs to those come-from-behind victories.

Sacramento took advantage of their absence in building a 25-point lead in the first half.

The Spurs shot 26 per cent in scoring 15 points in the first quarter, one shy of its season low for the opening period. They rallied in the second half, outscoring the Kings 66-41 after halftime.

San Antonio’s first lead came with 6:27 remaining in the game on a 3-pointer by Patty Mills. Mills had 17 point and Danny Green added 14 points as both hit four 3-pointers against the Kings.

TIP-INS Kings: Sacramento has lost nine straight to San Antonio, including eight consecutive games at the AT&T Center. The Kings last victory was November 15, 2014 at home and their previous win in San Antonio was January 20, 2012. G Buddy Hield has scored in double figures in five of his past six games. G Arron Afflalo had scored in double figures in six straight games. Labissiere’s previous season high was 12 points against Denver on February 23.

Spurs: Leonard has missed six games this season, including two for rest. The All-Star forward has also sat out two games due to a stomach ailment, one for sore left hand and another for a bruised quadricep. . Aldridge has also missed six games, sitting out three for rest, two due to a sore right knee and one for a stomach ailment. . Ginobili picked up his first technical foul since 2011 with 3:11 remaining in the first quarter after pleading for a foul from official Kane Fitzgerald. . San Antonio is 50-13, its third best record after 63 games. The Spurs set the top mark at 53-10 last season and were 51-12 in 2011.

UP NEXT Kings: Host Washington on Friday night.

JAZZ 115, ROCKETS 108 HOUSTON (AP) — Rudy Gobert and Gordon Hayward each scored 23 points to help the Utah Jazz beat the Houston Rockets 115-108 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory.

James Harden had 35 points for the Rockets. They dropped their second in a row.

The Rockets trailed by double digits for much of the game as they struggled from 3-point range. Houston was just 8 of 32 to end a streak of 18 straight games with at least 10 3-pointers.

The Jazz won two of the three meetings, the first time since the 2011-12 season that they’ve won a season series over the Rockets.

RAPTORS 94, PELICANS 87 NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jonas Valanciunas had 25 points and 13 rebounds, and Toronto beat a New Orleans squad that

played without All-Star forward Anthony Davis during the second half.

The Pelicans announced that Davis hurt his left wrist, an injury that appeared to occur when he crashed to the court during the team’s possession of the first half. Davis was fouled by Normal Powell as he tried to catch an alley-oop pass. Davis, who shoots right-handed, made two free throws after the foul, but never emerged from the locker room after halftime.

DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Pelicans.

TIMBERWOLVES 107, CLIPPERS 91 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 29 points and 14 rebounds and Minnesota beat Los Angeles.

Andrew Wiggins scored 20 points, and Ricky Rubio had 15 points, 12 assists and six rebounds for the Timberwolves. They were well-rested after having their game against Portland on Monday night postponed because of condensation on the court. DeAndre Jordan had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Blake Griffin scored 16 points for the Clippers. Chris Paul had 10 assists, but scored just seven points on 3-for-9 shooting.

BUCKS 104, KNICKS 93 MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 22 of his 32 points in the second half to help Milwaukee rally to beat New York.

The Bucks extended their winning streak to four games and moved to within a halfgame of Chicago for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Antetokounmpo also added 13 rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Derrick Rose led the Knicks with 26 points.

HEAT 108, HORNETS 101 MIAMI (AP) — Dion Waiters scored 24 points, Goran Dragic added 22 points and 10 assists, and Miami beat Charlotte to move within a half-game of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Luke Babbitt scored 12 points, Hassan Whiteside had 10 points and 15 rebounds, and James Johnson added 10 points for Miami. The Heat are 20-4 in their last 24 games — the NBA’s best record in that span. Kemba Walker scored 33 points for Charlotte.

MAGIC 98, BULLS 91 ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Elfrid Payton had 22 points, 14 assists and 14 rebounds for his second straight triple-double, and Orlando rallied to beat Chicago.

Evan Fournier added 20 points to help Orlando erase a 13-point, second-half deficit and snap a two-game losing streak.

Jimmy Butler scored 21 points for Chicago.

The Bulls have lost three straight.

HAWKS 110, NETS 105 ATLANTA (AP) — Dennis Schroder scored 31 points, Paul Millsap added 24 and the Atlanta Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over Brooklyn.

Atlanta had lost six of eight to fall three games behind fourth-place Toronto in the Eastern Conference. Sean Kilpatrick scored 27 points for NBA-worst Brooklyn.

PACERS 115, PISTONS 98 INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Paul George scored 13 of his 21 points in the third quarter to lead Indiana past Detroit.

The Pacers swept the four-game season series and moved two games in front of Detroit in the playoff chase. Tobias Harris had 22 points for the Pistons.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

PAGE 18, Thursday, March 9, 2017

Barcelona makes history with 6-1 comeback win over PSG

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona completed the biggest comeback in Champions League history by beating Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals yesterday, scoring the decisive goal of a 6-5 victory on aggregate in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

With Neymar on inspired form, Barcelona scored three times from the 88th minute. Sergi Roberto’s dramatic late goal set up by Neymar sent the Nou Camp fans wild and made their team the first to overturn a 4-0 first-leg defeat since the Champions League format started in the 1992-93 season.

PSG seemed certain to go through after Edinson Cavani scored a valuable away goal following Barcelona’s opening salvo of three goals, which included a Lionel Messi penalty.

Barcelona needed three more goals to advance, and the feat seemed impossible even after Neymar found the net with a free kick in the 88th minute.

But the Brazil striker converted a penalty in the 90th and then followed up with a chipped pass for substitute Roberto to steer the ball beyond goalkeeper Kevin Trapp in injury time.

“This is the best match of my career,” Neymar said. “It was difficult after the match in Paris. For the past week I have been crazy to play this match, and we have made history.

“I just told Sergi Roberto to get in the area, that he would score a goal.”

The winner sent Barcelona’s bench flooding onto the pitch as the stadium celebrated the club’s 10th consecutive appearance in the quarter-finals. Coach Luis Enrique, who announced he would leave the club this summer, embraced Neymar and any other player or staff member within reach.

THE TRIBUNE

MAN CITY’S TITLE HOPES DAMAGED WITH 0-0 DRAW VS STOKE

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer

BARCELONA’s Sergi Roberto celebrates after scoring the sixth goal during the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match against Paris Saint Germain at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, yesterday. Barcelona won 6-1.

(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) “What defines this victory is faith, the faith of my players, the faith of our fans. No child or adult here at Camp Nou will forget this night,” Luis Enrique said.

“I have never seen a better communion between team and supporters. We overran them, they didn’t cross midfield.”

Barcelona played with all the intensity that PSG was lacking for the entire match, and didn’t need its trademark passing attacks to get its first three goals.

PSG coach Unai Emery’s strategy of not pressuring Barcelona backfired, as his team sat back and passively let the hosts hem them into their box.

“We wasted a great chance and we know it,” Emery said. “The first half was more about our mistakes.”

The visitors’ entire backline was frozen when Rafinha’s routine cross came into

the box in the third minute, and Luis Suarez was able to nod a bouncing ball over Trapp.

PSG was running scared from there on, lamely trying to hunker down in its area and wait for the clock to tick down.

Defender Layvin Kurzawa was at fault for Barcelona’s second goal in the 40th, when he turned Andres Iniesta’s back-heeled flick into his own net and ignited the 96,000-plus crowd.

Another PSG defender, right back Thomas Meunier, was behind Messi’s penalty in the 50th after he clumsily thrust his shoulder into Neymar’s legs while trying to recover his position in the box.

Emery finally ordered his players briefly forward.

That was when Cavani stepped in for French champions, rifling in Kurzawa’s headed pass in the 62nd

moments after he had hit the post in the visitors’ only threats.

But Barcelona never stopped pressing, despite needing three goals.

And Neymar led the way, pulling off one of the most remarkable sequences seen at the ground of the fivetime champions.

He struck first with a curling free kick from the left flank that slipped inside Trapp’s near post.

Next, he took responsibility for converting the spot kick after Suarez was shouldered down by Marquinhos in the box.

The best was saved for last, when his pass was lofted over the defence and fell for Roberto to stretch out far enough and turn the ball into the net.

“I just threw myself forward,” said Roberto, who went on in the 76th minute.

“After the loss in Paris, we were all very down. But this

team, if there is something it has proven, it’s that it is made for nights like this.”

Barcelona had set a precedent in the 2012-13 season’s Round of 16 when it became the first team to erase a 2-0 away leg loss by roaring back to beat AC Milan 4-0.

Nothing, however, compared to the challenge faced against PSG, a side that hadn’t lost in 16 matches overall and completely outplayed Barcelona during the first leg in Paris.

Barcelona midfielder Arda Turan tweeted after the match: “You call it “football team”, we call it “Barça”. You call it “miracle”, we call it “normal” #ForçaBarça.”

It was a demoralising end for PSG. The French side was on the verge of avenging quarter-final exits to Barcelona in 2013 and 2015 and earning an elusive marquee victory that its Qatari

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City’s faint ambitions of catching Premier League leader Chelsea were damaged by a 0-0 home draw against Stoke yesterday.

It was the first match in which City failed to score at Etihad Stadium under Pep Guardiola this season, leaving the team 10 points behind Chelsea with 11 games remaining.

With Guardiola choosing to rest in-form winger Raheem Sterling completely amid a busy schedule and only using playmaker David Silva in the second half, City lacked energy and imagination going forward.

Stoke — coached by former City manager Mark Hughes — packed its defence and impressive centre backs Ryan Shawcross and Bruno Martins Indi didn’t offer up a clearcut chance to City’s star striker, Sergio Aguero. owners were longing for.

Instead, it must remain in the second-tier of talented but ultimately flawed European teams.

“Three weeks after winning 4-0, we lose 6-1. That’s very, very hard to accept,” said PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

In the night’s other second-leg match, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a hat trick and Christian Pulisic claimed his first Champions League goal as Borussia Dortmund overcame Benfica 4-0 to advance with a 4-1 win on aggregate. The draw for the quarter-finals will be held in Nyon, Switzerland on March 17.

TCU routs Oklahoma 82-63 in opening round of Big 12 tournament

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jaime Dixon looked back at the seven-game losing streak that TCU carried into the Big 12 Tournament and felt oddly encouraged, thanks in large part to the number of close games the Horned Frogs played.

They took Iowa State to the wire. Ditto for West Virginia and Kansas State.

“I felt good about this team,” Dixon said, “even though we had a long stretch of losing tight.”

Well, there was nothing tight about TCU’s tournament opener.

Vladimir Brodziansky had 20 points, Kenrich Williams added 19 and the eighth-seeded Horned Frogs routed No. 9 seed Oklahoma 82-63 last night to roll into the Big 12 quarter-finals.

They’ll play top-ranked Kansas this afternoon.

“It means a lot that we get to go on, but like coach said, we can’t get too high or too low,” said TCU’s Alex Robinson, who had 17 points and nine assists without a turnover. “We have to treat every game the same, prepare for it like we did this one.”

Jaylen Fisher also scored 11 for the Horned Frogs (18-14), who used a 15-2 run to close the first half and assume control, then punched the Sooners (11-20) with a second-half run to put the game away.

Khadeem Lattin had 18 points and Kristian Doolittle scored 11 for the rebuilding Sooners, who had won lost their 20th game in a season for the first time

in school history and won their tourney opener the last two seasons.

But those teams were anchored by stars such as Buddy Hield, Ryan Spangler and Isaiah Cousins, all of whom graduated last year. This bunch didn’t even have senior guard Jordan Woodard on the floor in the Sprint Center after he tore the ACL in his right knee with six games left in the season.

“It’s been an emotional year, for sure. We’ve had some woes. But we grew a lot this year,” Lattin said.

“I’m just excited for what we’re going to do next year.”

The game was tied 29all with 3:59 left in the first half when Williams scored the first of back-to-back baskets, kick-starting the Horned Frogs’ first big run.

Robinson added a 3-pointer, Brodziansky scored while getting fouled and Williams finally capped a 15-2 charge with a basket just before the buzzer that gave the Horned Frogs a 44-31 advantage.

“That under-4 timeout in the first half, from that point on it seemed TCU dictated it,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “They did what they wanted to do.

We were reacting for the next 25 minutes and again, I thought they played great.

We didn’t do the things we needed to do to make it difficult.”

Oklahoma, despite missing five straight free throws, did trim its deficit to 55-48 midway through the second half. But the Horned Frogs responded with another run, this time fueled

by Brandon Parrish, who hit his first two baskets of

the game to help stretch the lead back out.

Part of the Horned Frogs’ success came from a zone defense that gave Oklahoma fits.

“We noticed when we switched defenses there was some confusion on the offensive end,” Robinson said. “We figured we would stick with that, do whatever coach told us to do.”

Fisher’s basket gave TCU its biggest lead at 67-50 with 8:35 to play, and Dixon’s squad stretched the advantage to 19 before cruising the rest of the way into a date with the Jayhawks.

“We’ve got to come in and play the same way we played tonight — play with a lot of energy, get stops,” Williams said, “and that’s going to give us a good outcome.”

BIG PICTURE Oklahoma will miss the postseason entirely for the first time since Kruger’s first team went 15-16 during the 2011-12.

The Sooners’ 11 wins are their fewest since going 9-18 in 1980-81, and fewest for Kruger since his first team at Florida went 11-17 in 1990-91.

TCU had lost 19 of its last 22 games to the Sooners, including its regular-season finale on the road last Saturday. But the Horned Frogs have now won tournament games three straight years.

UP NEXT • Oklahoma gets a jumpstart on preparing for next season.

• TCU will play Kansas, the tournament’s No. 1 seed, this afternoon.