Page 19 - ARUBA TODAY

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SPORTS Saturday 7 September 2019

Divac leads Class of 2019 into Basketball Hall of Fame

By JIMMY GOLEN a season (.922 in 1987-88). night,” said Weatherspoon,
AP Sports Writer Divac, who won an Olym- who won an Olympic gold
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — pic silver medal with Yugo- medal in 1988 and also
Jack Sikma used his Basket- slavia and another with Ser- played in Italy and Russia.
ball Hall of Fame induction bia after the country broke “The game has meant so
speech to make a plea for apart in a civil war, was many things to me,” she
the NBA to return to Seattle, one of the NBA’s first Euro- said. “It’s been my sanctu-
where he led the SuperSon- pean stars. Among those ary; it’s been my safe ha-
ics to the 1979 NBA title. he thanked were his former ven. The game has allowed
It was the only title for the Yugoslav teammate Toni me to see things I never
franchise that moved to Kukoc, who is Croatian. thought I’d see, meet
Oklahoma City in 2008. “The people of the Balkans people I never thought I’d
“There’s a hole in Seattle are like a dysfunctional meet.”
that needs to be filled,” family. We may fight and Cooper, who died in 1984,
Sikma said to a crowd that Inductee Vlade Divac speaks during the Basketball Hall of Fame argue, but in the end we was a Celtics forward who
included NBA Commission- enshrinement ceremony Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, in Springfield, are family,” said Divac, who was the first African-Ameri-
er Adam Silver and many Mass. played eight years with the can player drafted by the
other league executives. Associated Press Los Angeles Lakers and six NBA. He made his debut in
“Speaking for all Sonics Also honored at Spring- won a record 131 consecu- with the Sacramento Kings. 1950 at the same time as
fans, it’s our greatest hope field’s Symphony Hall were tive games in the 1950s. “To me basketball was al- Earl Lloyd and Nat “Sweet-
that the NBA will soon find the 1957-59 teams from Sikma had a large contin- ways about love.” water” Clifton.
a pathway to bring basket- Tennessee A&I, a histori- gent to support him, and Weatherspoon was pre- “The NBA’s color barrier
ball back to Seattle. cally black school that won they broke into laughter sented by Cynthia Coo- was broken, and the game
“It’s time.” three straight NAIA titles a when the video screens per, Sheryl Swoopes and of basketball was forever
Sikma was joined in the decade before Texas West- showed a picture of him Tina Thompson, who were changed,” his son, Chuck
Class of 2019 on Friday ern fielded the first all-black with a blonde bowl cut on the Houston Comets Cooper III said.
night by Vlade Divac, Sid- starting five in the NCAA shortly after he was drafted when Weatherspoon hit Cooper’s presenters — 10
ney Moncrief, Paul West- Tournament. in 1977. A seven-time All- “The Shot” — a half-court Hall of Famers that includ-
phal, Bobby Jones, Al Attles The Hutcherson Flying Star in nine seasons with buzzer-beater to give the ed Bill Russell, Larry Bird,
and Teresa Weatherspoon. Queens from Wayland the Sonics, he also played New York Liberty a victory Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and
Chuck Cooper and Carl Baptist — the first school to five years with the Milwau- in Game 2 of the WNBA Fi- Julius Erving — were so il-
Braun were inducted post- offer women’s basketball kee Bucks and remains the nals. lustrious that host Ahmad
humously, and Bill Fitch was scholarships — were also in- only center in league his- “I know you guys are still Rashad stopped the cer-
unable to attend for health ducted. Sponsored by a lo- tory to lead the league in salty about that shot, but emony to take a selfie with
reasons. cal aircraft company, they free throw percentage for you got to see it again to- them.q

Lyles clocks 19.74 to win 200 at rainy Diamond League finals

BRUSSELS (AP) — American season-best time of 19.86 Norman’s victory on Fri-
sprinter Noah Lyles raced as runner-up. day in 44.26 seconds was
to the 200 meters title at Third-placed Andre de a warmup of sorts, though
the Diamond League finals Grasse of Canada clocked the 16-degree (60 F) tem-
on Friday, extending his 19.87, also his best time of perature in Belgium’s capi-
winning run ahead of the 2019. tal city is well below the 30
world championships. “My main goal is to reach C (86 F) evenings expected
A chill Brussels evening the (worlds) podium,” said in Qatar.
was hardly good prepara- De Grasse, the 2016 Olym- It suited Dina Asher-Smith
tion for Qatar’s heat, but pic silver medalist. “It’s go- in the 100 as she beat two-
steady rain and stomach ing to be hard to beat Lyles time Olympic champion
pains tested Lyles in clock- and (Christian) Coleman.” Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of
ing 19.74 seconds. Only two Victory on Friday made Jamaica in her season-best
other men have been fast- Lyles the Diamond League 10.88 despite a slight head-
er this season. season-long champion at wind.
“What a chaotic race it 200, adding to the 100 title “Today it was typical British
was. But I’m glad I could he won last week in Zur- weather,” said Asher-Smith,
handle this,” said Lyles, who ich. It also earned a fourth the European champion.
was poised in the starting place in the worlds 200 line- “The world championships U.S.’ Noah Lyles, left, competes to win Men’s 200m during the
block when rain began fall- up for the United States. will be completely differ- Diamond League Memorial Van Damme athletics event at the
ing. Lyles is skipping the 100 ent, another climate.” King Baudouin stadium in Brussels, Friday, Sept. 6, 2019.
A little legal wind assistance when the world champi- In the triple jump, Christian Associated Press
helped carry the gold- onships start on Sept. 27 in Taylor’s winning leap of in the high jump, at 1.99 Sifan Hassan added the
medal favorite to within Doha, leaving teammate 17.85 meters set a record meters, and Katerina Ste- Diamond League 5,000 title
0.24 of his personal record, Coleman as favorite. for the Van Damme Memo- fanidi with her season-best to the 1,500 she won last
set in July in Lausanne, Swit- Another American, Mi- rial meeting, set by Britain’s clearance of 4.83 meters in week, and Ajee Wilson of
zerland. chael Norman, is faster this Jonathan Edwards 24 years the pole vault. the U.S. won the 800.
The defending world season over 200 than Cole- ago. Danielle Williams won the Her time was over two min-
champion, Ramil Guliyev of man — timing 19.70 when Other winners in the last 100 hurdles in 12.46 and utes, more than five sec-
Turkey, was level with Lyles he edged past Lyles in major meeting before the Timothy Cheruiyot cruised onds off Caster Semenya’s
deep into the straight, and Rome — but is focusing on worlds, included 2017 gold to a 1500 victory in 3 min- world-leading time this
was pulled through to his the worlds 400. medalists Mariya Lasitskene utes, 30.22 seconds. year.q