Digest

SOCCER

Guangzhou FC and Cannavaro part ways

Guangzhou FC has terminated its contract with Italian coach Fabio Cannavaro, the club announced on Tuesday.

"After a friendly negotiation, the club decided to terminate the contract with Mr. Fabio Cannavaro," read a Guangzhou statement.

"The club sincerely thanks Mr. Cannavaro for his great efforts and positive contributions to the Guangzhou team, and we wish him all the best in the future."

The 48-year-old Cannavaro, a World Cup champion with Italy in 2006, began his second spell at Guangzhou in November 2017, winning the 2018 Chinese FA Cup and the Chinese Super League in 2019.The former Juventus and Real Madrid defender first arrived at the club in 2014, serving a two-year stint before leaving for Tianjin Quanjian.

Former captain Zheng Zhi will take charge of the team.

Guangzhou finished second in the first phase of this season's CSL. The club is owned by financially stricken real-estate giant Evergrande.

BASKETBALL

Team China romps to second win at Asia Cup

Top-ranked Team China on Tuesday thrashed Chinese Taipei 124-50 to earn its second straight win at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup in Jordan.

China jointly leads Group B alongside Australia, which beat the Philippines 120-56 on Tuesday. China next plays Australia to decide the group winner.

Center Li Yueru top-scored for China with 20 points, while Han Xu notched 18 points, five rebounds and four assists.

In Group A, Japan fended off New Zealand 62-50, while South Korea crushed India 107-69.

The winners of each group will qualify directly for the semifinals, to be played on Oct 2. The runners-up and third-place finishers will face off in playoffs to decide the remaining semifinal spots.

BASKETBALL

LeBron: Vaccination aids Lakers' title bid

LeBron James confirmed he had been vaccinated against COVID-19 on Tuesday but said it was "not my job" to convince other NBA players to follow suit.

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar had previously declined to say whether he had been vaccinated, saying it was a "private" matter for him and his family.

However he told reporters on Tuesday he has now been vaccinated, part of a Lakers drive to ensure that 100 percent of the squad and staff have taken the vaccine.

"At the end of the day you're always trying to figure out ways that you can be available and protect one another and put yourself in the best possible chance where you are available to your teammates, available to do what we need to do on the floor," James said.

"The ultimate goal is to win a championship and it starts with being healthy which is the number one thing."

BASEBALL

Cards keep rolling to seal wild-card berth

Dylan Carlson, Nolan Arenado and Jose Rondon homered to back Adam Wainwright, and the St. Louis Cardinals extended their winning streak to 17 games and clinched a National League wild-card berth with a 6-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night.

St. Louis will play in the NL wildcard game on Oct 6 at the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Francisco Giants, whichever does not win the NL West.

St. Louis was 71-69 on Sept 11 before the winning streak, the longest in team history and the longest in the major leagues since Cleveland took 22 in a row in 2017.

Wainwright (17-7) allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings, throwing 102 pitches and stranding seven runners.

Xinhua - Agencies