Tag: brink

LA Sparks rookie Cameron Brink tears ACL in left knee

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FILE–Cameron Brink #22 of the Los Angeles Sparks reacts during the game Storm at Climate Pledge Arena on June 11, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Steph Chambers / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

UNCASVILLE, Connecticut— Los Angeles rookie Cameron Brink tore the ACL in her left knee, the Sparks announced Wednesday.

The rookie forward had to be helped off the court after suffering the injury in the first quarter of the Sparks’ 79-70 loss to Connecticut on Tuesday night in the WNBA. Brink played under four minutes and committed one foul before getting hurt.

Once over to the sideline, the No. 2 pick in the draft hobbled toward the locker room, but was forced to stop as a result of the pain. A pair of Sparks personnel lifted Brink off her feet and carried her to the locker room.

“You never think it will happen to you. And despite all the hard work sometimes it does. This is hard to fathom but I know it will only make me stronger,” Brink wrote in a post to Instagram. “I will not be derailed and I will continue to love this life — I’m not defined by basketball, but it is something that I love deeply and I will work everyday to get back to it. It’s not goodbye basketball it’s just a see you later. I’m always so thankful for your thoughts and prayers.”

READ: Caitlin Clark, WNBA rookies draw near-record crowds for 1st month

The 22-year-old Brink came into the game averaging 8.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in her first season for Los Angeles (4-11). She’s tied with A’ja Wilson for the second-most blocks in the WNBA.

“Except for the 2019 season I’ve lost a starter to injury every single year I’ve been a head coach in this league,” Curt Miller said. “You just have to have the mentality of next person up and rally around it.”

Brink is on the U.S. 3×3 team for the Paris Olympics and a replacement will have to be named for her.

“Our thoughts are with Cameron as we wish her a speedy recovery. As a result of Cam’s injury, USA Basketball will begin the process of selecting an athlete to join the 2024 USA 3×3 Women’s National Team,” USA Basketball said in a statement. “We hope to see Cam back on the court and representing the red, white and blue soon.”

It’s the second consecutive Olympics that the U.S. team will have to replace one of its original players. Katie Lou Samuelson missed the 2021 Tokyo Games after she caught COVID right before the Olympics. She was replaced by Jackie Young, who helped the team go on to win a gold medal.

The Sparks head to New York to play two games against the Liberty on Thursday and Saturday.



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Meralco on brink of first PBA title with 3-2 lead over San Miguel

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Meralco Bolts’ Cliff Hodge, Allein Maliksi and Raymond Almazan during Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel Beermen. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

HIGHLIGHTS: PBA Finals Game 5 San Miguel vs Meralco

MANILA, Philippines–Meralco played with renewed zest in the payoff frame and then kept it together in the final moments on Friday night to slip past San Miguel, 92-88, and move to the doorstep of a maiden PBA Philippine Cup championship.

Allein Maliksi led the scoring charge at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, as Chris Newsome applied the finishing touches in the Game 5 triumph that put the Bolts ahead 3-2 in the best-of-seven championship duel.

“Both teams are always ready. I don’t think anybody’s gonna have their guard down. Every game has been close, but that last game though, we didn’t do our job. Today was a struggle and it could’ve gone the other way, but we’re now looking at the next game,” head coach Luigi Trillo said in the post-game presser.

READ: PBA Finals: Meralco, San Miguel brace for war with pivotal Game 5 up

“We cannot be too down on ourselves and we cannot be too high on ourselves, and these guys knew that. They were brave today. I have faith in the guys, they are a resilient bunch,” he went on as his crew rebounded from a decisive Game 4 beating last Wednesday.

Maliksi finished with 22 points off the bench, while Newsome delivered just as many–with 18 points coming in the second half of the victory.

Meralco Bolts' Allein Maliksi tries to slip past the defense of San Miguel Beermen's Chris Ross during Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals

Meralco Bolts’ Allein Maliksi tries to slip past the defense of San Miguel Beermen’s Chris Ross during Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

“We just wanted to stay in the moment. Today, I challenged myself. We’ve read articles (about our struggles) so, I told Bong (Quinto), Raymond (Almazan) that we step up,” Maliksi said.

And that’s what Meralco did. Almazan and Quinto tossed in 14 and 8 points as the Bolts limited San Miguel to yet a sub-90 point performance–a trend that has done wonders for the Bolts this finale.

Fajardo had 38 points that went with 18 rebounds. CJ Perez added 17 but was the only other San Miguel player to chip in a double-digit score.

Meralco can wrap this series up this Sunday at the same venue.

“We want to win one to gain respect. And that’s what’s on our mind for this Sunday,” said Trillo.

The Scores:

MERALCO 92 – Maliksi 22, Newsome 22, Almazan 14, Banchero 12, Quinto 8, Bates 6, Hodge 6, Caram 2, Rios 0, Torres 0, Pascual 0

SAN MIGUEL 88 – Fajardo 38, Perez 17, Lassiter 6, Romeo 6, Cruz 6, Tautuaa 5, Trollano 5, Ross 3, Manuel 2,



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QUARTERS: 24-25, 47-46, 69-70, 92-88

Celtics take nothing for granted on brink of crown

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The Boston Celtics bench looks on as Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington attempts a shot during the second half in Game 3 of the NBA basketball finals, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Dallas. The Celtics won 106-99.(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Jayson Tatum has known since he was drafted by the Celtics in 2017 that the measure of success in Boston is an NBA title, but he’s not chalking up championship No. 18 just yet.

“Even now, up 3-0, nobody is celebrating or anything,” Tatum said Thursday, a day after the Celtics thwarted a late Dallas rally to beat the Mavericks 106-99 and take a stranglehold on the best-of-seven NBA Finals.

They’ve piled up 10 straight playoff victories, including a sweep of the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals and can close out the Mavericks in Dallas on Friday.

READ: NBA Finals: Celtics offer little on Porzingis after leg injury

But even though no team has rallied from 0-3 down to win an NBA playoff series, Tatum said he and his Celtics teammates will remain focused only on playing better in game four.

“We still feel like there’s a lot more that we can do,” Tatum said. “There’s a lot more that we want to do.”

The Celtics are currently tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for most NBA titles all-time with 17.

They last lifted the trophy in 2008, and Tatum and teammate Jaylen Brown were on the team that had a chance for No. 18 two years ago but came up short against the Golden State Warriors in a title series that Boston led 2-1 before dropping the last three games.

Vying for redemption last season, the Celtics fell in seven games to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.

READ: NBA Finals: Celtics land biggest punches again to move closer to title

“I think from our experiences over the past couple of years, the thing that we’ve really gotten a lot better at is not relaxing, not being complacent,” Tatum said.

Brown said the “embarrassment” of falling in game seven, on their home floor, to Miami last year had fueled him this season.

“It drove me all summer, drove me crazy,” he said.

Tatum called last season “a great learning experience.”

“For one, to not take things for granted,” he said. “You’re never promised to make it back to the Finals.

“I think each and every person this year has came into the season with a different mindset. I think it has truly shown that we don’t take things for granted, and we approach every single day the same.”

That mindset saw the Celtics grab a league-leading 64 victories in the regular season.

They are unbeaten on the road in these playoffs and have a chance to become just the 10th team to fashion a 4-0 sweep in the NBA Finals.

The most recent sweep was Golden State’s 4-0 victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018.

The first franchise to do it was Boston against the Lakers in 1959. It was the club’s second title and the first of eight straight championships.



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“Being part of Celtics history entails that you’ve got to win a championship,” Tatum said.