TUESDAY 21 MAY 2019 SPORT 21 We have to accept that it has been a bad season. We can’t TENNIS CRICKET forget it. Football is motivation Zidane promises a WTA events in Ireland vs Afghanistan at ... Next season this is going to different Real Madrid Nuremberg, Strasbourg Belfast; Scotland vs Sri next season. change. ACTION ATP event in Lyon Lanka at Edinburgh TODAY’S Al Attiyah eyes success in Kazakhstan THE PENINSULA BELGIUM Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah on his way to victory in Qatar in February in this file picture. INSET: Al Attiyah. The 2019 FIA World Cup for Cross- Country Rallies resumes with next week’s Rally Kazakhstan (May 26 to June 1). Overdrive Racing will field a formidable line-up of three Toyota Hiluxes for Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Dutchman Bernhard Ten Brinke. Now in its third year as a counting round of the world’s premier off-road series, Rally Kaza- khstan is also the longest round of the series in terms of its six days of punishing special stages and 1,860.13km to be driven against the clock in a slightly modified route that still features tricky sand dunes, camel grass, rocky terrain, vast high-speed plains, steppes and difficult navigation. The opening two rounds of the series in Qatar and Abu Dhabi threw up their fair share of surprises. Al Attiyah heads to Aktau City on the shores of the Caspian Sea tied for the lead in the Drivers’ Championship with Dakar legend Stéphane Peterhansel, despite missing the “We are feeling confident. I have Ten Brinke is determined to second round of the series. Al Attiyah taken part in three other rallies in bounce back into title contention FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies won his home event and his French Qatar, Morocco and Jordan since the with Belgian co-driver Tom Colsoul Standings after round 2: rival prevailed in the Abu Dhabi first round and have enjoyed the in the third Hilux. 1. Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah (QAT) 30pts Desert Challenge. Both drivers now stages in Kazakhstan before. It is not The Dutchman finished sixth in We are feeling confident. 1. Stephane Peterhansel (FRA) 30pts have 30 points and are four clear of an easy rally and the stages are long Qatar after earlier on-stage delays 3. Reinaldo Varela (BRA) 26pts I have taken part in three the Brazilian T3 front-runner and demanding. But we will try our and then a crash in Abu Dhabi ruined 4. Vladimir Vasilyev (RUS) 24pts other rallies in Qatar, Reinaldo Varela. best for the win.” a potential runner-up finish behind 5. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU) 21pts Alongside French co-driver Mat- Saudi Arabian driver Yazeed Al- Peterhansel. The crew have already Morocco and Jordan 5. Khalid Al-Qassimi (ARE) 21pts thieu Baumel, Al Attiyah has already Rajhi teams up with German co- shown their competitiveness this since the first round and 7. Casey Currie (USA) 17pts won the Dakar Rally this year for driver Dirk von Zitzewitz in the season a. 8. Aron Domzala (POL) 16pts have enjoyed the stages Toyota and was the winner of the second Overdrive Toyota. Al-Rajhi The Automotorsport Federation in Kazakhstan before. It first Rally Kazakhstan to be a round is equal fifth in the Drivers’ Champi- of the Republic of Kazakhstan have 9. Yasir Seaidan (SAU) 12pts of the FIA series in 2017. onship after finishing second to Al made some minor changes to the 10. Bernhard Ten Brinke (NLD) 10pts is not an easy rally and 10. Fedor Vorobyev (RUS) 10pts the stages are long and “It is important that we take the Attiyah in Qatar and retiring from the route for the six days of selective sec- win here, or at least finish high up on Abu Dhabi event with mechanical tions that start out of Aktau City and 12. Martin Prokop (CZE) 6pts demanding. But we will the podium, because this is a short issues. He can also call upon the fact then head south towards the border 13. Camelia Liparoti (ITA) 5pts try our best for the win: championship this year with the loss that he gained experience from with Turkmenistan and a bivouac for 13. Mohammed Al-Meer (QAT) 5pts Al Attiyah of Turkmenistan and just Morocco winning this event last year with four nights at the Kenderley resort to come in October,” Al Attiyah said. German co-driver Timo Gottschalk. on the Caspian Sea. Curtains come down on Ramadan Sports Festival of Aspire Zone Foundation Raptors claw back with win over Bucks AFP LOS ANGELES NBA Play-off Result from NBA Eastern Kawhi Leonard scored eight of Conference play-off final on his 36 points in the second Sunday in Toronto (series overtime period on Sunday to best of seven): lead the Toronto Raptors to a Toronto 118 Milwaukee 112 gritty 118-112 victory over the (2 OT) Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA (Milwaukee lead series 2-1) Eastern Conference finals. The Raptors, who dropped the first two games of the best- basket -- but Leonard and the of-seven series in Milwaukee, Raptors roared back. Leonard’s clawed their way back to 2-1 in steal and dunk put Toronto front of home fans and will try ahead 112-109 and his driving to level the set when they host bank shot gave Toronto a game four. 114-110 lead with 32.4 seconds Pascal Siakam scored 25 remaining. points and Spanish center Leonard played a key role in The winners in different sports pose for a picture with officials of Aspire Zone Foundation during the concluding ceremony of the Marc Gasol added 16 for the limiting Antetokounmpo and Raptors, who got off to a Nurse said his defensive play Ramadan Sports Festival (RSF) at Aspire Zone. The festival involved a series of 12 sporting evening competitions and tournaments in quick start and led much of was “probably the biggest key a wide range of sports including basketball, football, volleyball, hockey, table tennis, fitness challenges, wall-climbing and walking. the night but had to battle to of the game.” During this year’s RSF, more than 800 female and male participants took part in the various sporting events. put the Bucks away. “Not only did he just play “We just played a lot good, but he made some huge tougher,” Raptors coach Nick plays with some steals and rip- Nurse said. aways and break aways,” Nurse “We were up guarding, we said. Blues on brink of Stanley Cup final were physical. We were ready “Offense was hard to come to play tonight.” Milwaukee’s by there for both teams for a Most Valuable Player finalist while and any time you can get AFP Martin Jones made 35 saves Schwartz who knocked it into Giannis Antetokounmpo a steal and a break out it’s a huge LOS ANGELES NHL Semi-final for the Sharks, but it wasn’t the open net. struggled to just 12 points on momentum play.” play-off enough to prevent them from Tarasenko was pulled down five-of-16 shooting. Toronto had a chance to Jaden Schwartz scored a hat trick Results on Sunday from the dropping two straight games for by Brent Burns on a breakaway Antetokounmpo’s 23 win it in regulation, but they and Jordan Binnington made 21 semi-finals of the National the first time since they lost and converted a penalty shot at rebounds helped the Bucks stay let a 96-91 lead slip away in the saves on Sunday as the St. Louis Hockey League play-offs games three and four of the first 6:53 to push the lead to 3-0. in touch, but he didn’t reach final 1:13 of the fourth quarter. Blues beat the San Jose Sharks (all series best-of-seven): round against the Vegas Golden Schwartz scored a 5-on-3 double figures in points until the Milwaukee guard Khris Mid- 5-0 to move one win away from Western Conference San Knights. power-play goal 2:19 into the middle of the fourth quarter and dleton’s putback basket from his the NHL Stanley Cup final. Jose 0 St Louis 5 (St Louis Oskar Sundqvist put St. Louis third period to make it 4-0 and he produced eight of the Bucks’ own miss with 2.2 seconds left With the victory in San Jose, lead series 3-2) up 1-0 at 5:50 of the first period. completed his second hat trick 20 turnovers. in regulation forced overtime. the Blues took a 3-2 lead in the After being outshot 11-4 in of the playoffs at 16:02 on a Antetokounmpo fouled out The Raptors led 103-99 with best-of-seven Western Con- the first, the Blues outshot San one-timer. in the first minute of the second 1:29 remaining in the first extra ference final. playoff shutout and Vladimir Jose 36-10 over the final two. The winner of the series overtime period. session. They can reach the champi- Tarasenko had a goal and two The pressure paid off as will take on the Boston Bruins Moments later the Bucks But Malcolm Brogdon onship series for the first time assists for the Blues, who Schwartz made it 2-0 at 3:05 of in the Stanley Cup final, after managed to edge ahead 105-103 floated in a shot and George Hill since 1970 with a home win on improved to 7-2 on the road in the second when Tarasenko’s Boston swept the Carolina Hur- -- taking the lead for the first drained two free throws to tie it Tuesday.