IN BRIEF (Page 22)

Basketball

Yao absent as Rockets lose back-to-back games

Yao Ming, Steve Francis and Tracy McGrady all took a rest on the bench as the Houston Rockets lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 96-90 on Wednesday, the Rockets' second straight defeat in as many days.

Kirk Snyder scored 11 points for Houston, while Luis Scola, Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry had 10 apiece. Scola and Landry each had seven rebounds.

Houston took a 52-48 lead into the second half, but Rudy Gay keyed a third-quarter spurt with 10 of his 16 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to victory.

Hakim Warrick scored 17 points, while Tarence Kinsey and Stromile Swift scored 12 each for Memphis.

Memphis led 91-76 after Juan Carlos Navarro connected on a three-pointer with 4:14 left. A 14-2 rally by Houston made the game close down the stretch, but the Rockets could never overtake Memphis.

MOTORSPORTS

Siyang hosts Asian motocross tournament

The 2007 "Yanghe Spirit Classic Cup" FIM Asia Nations of Motocross will be held in Siyang of Jiangsu Province from November 2 to 4.

The event, the highest level of its kind ever held in China, will see Asia's 20 best riders competing for their 10 respective nations and regions.

Shi Yumeng and Liu Lang of the Chinese mainland will join riders from Japan, India, Iran, Singapore, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Mongolia and Hong Kong in the professional 125cc class.

The event is sanctioned by the State General Administration of Sports and the International Motorcycle Association (FIM) and was organized by the Automobile and Motorcycling Administrative Center, the Chinese Motor Sports Association and the Jiangsu Siyang People's Government. The Jiangsu Yanghe Distillery Co Ltd is the title sponsor.

A national 250cc championship event will also be held during the event. Siyang has hosted both the 2006 and 2007 national motocross championships.

SOCCER

Collegiate amateur soccer tournament returns

Another three universities have joined the 2007 Beijing Collegiate Amateur Soccer Championships, increasing the total number of universities involved to a record high 27.

Altogether there will be 35 teams from the 27 universities competing in the tournament, which is supported by Beijing College Sports Union and Jing-Du-Nian-Ci-An, a noted medicine manufacturer.

After the one-month preliminary round, fifteen teams will enter the home-and-away elimination second round.

Like last year, the tournament also includes a competition just for university teaching staff. There will be 20 teacher-teams this time, which will compete in four groups with the top two finishers entering into the next round.

During the opening ceremony over the weekend, former national women's soccer team members Wen Lirong and Gao Hong were present to show their support for the tournament.

(China Daily 10/26/2007 page22)