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NBA to Return to China with Multiyear Deal in Macau

Grant Chum, president and CEO of Sands China, speaks during a press conference to announce NBA pre-season games coming to China in 2025, at the Londoner Hotel in Macau on December 6, 2024. (Photo by Eduardo Leal / AFP)
Grant Chum, president and CEO of Sands China, speaks during a press conference to announce NBA pre-season games coming to China in 2025, at the Londoner Hotel in Macau on December 6, 2024. (Photo by Eduardo Leal / AFP)
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NBA to Return to China with Multiyear Deal in Macau

Grant Chum, president and CEO of Sands China, speaks during a press conference to announce NBA pre-season games coming to China in 2025, at the Londoner Hotel in Macau on December 6, 2024. (Photo by Eduardo Leal / AFP)
Grant Chum, president and CEO of Sands China, speaks during a press conference to announce NBA pre-season games coming to China in 2025, at the Londoner Hotel in Macau on December 6, 2024. (Photo by Eduardo Leal / AFP)

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has signed a multiyear deal to play pre-season games in Macau from 2025, marking the league's return to the Chinese market after a years-long absence that followed controversy over the 2019 Hong Kong protests.
Local media quoted NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum as saying the NBA would host two pre-season games annually for the next five years at casino operator Sands China's Venetian arena in Macau, a special administrative region of China. The first games, scheduled for October of next year, will pit the Brooklyn Nets against the Phoenix Suns, Reuters reported.
A source familiar with the matter confirmed the local media reports of the deal. The NBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Although China has recently hosted NBA legends celebrity games, including one scheduled for Saturday at the Venetian property, the pre-season deal will mark a return of regularly scheduled NBA play to China.
The NBA's absence followed a firestorm of controversy around comments five years ago by the Houston Rockets' then-General Manager Daryl Morey, who posted a message on social media in support of anti-government protests in Hong Kong.
Beijing suspended the broadcast of NBA games following that incident, prompting corporate sponsors to flee and the league to suffer what it described at the time as dramatic financial consequences. Pre-season NBA games in China were also scrapped.
In February, Joe Tsai, owner of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team and chairman of Chinese tech company Alibaba, said the incident was water under the bridge and that the NBA would love to bring games back to China and Macau.

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Morocco Frees Senegal Fans after Sentences Served

The Moroccan flag is seen in front of a destroyed building following the devastating earthquake in Marrakesh last month. (Reuters)
The Moroccan flag is seen in front of a destroyed building following the devastating earthquake in Marrakesh last month. (Reuters)
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Morocco Frees Senegal Fans after Sentences Served

The Moroccan flag is seen in front of a destroyed building following the devastating earthquake in Marrakesh last month. (Reuters)
The Moroccan flag is seen in front of a destroyed building following the devastating earthquake in Marrakesh last month. (Reuters)

Morocco on Saturday released three Senegalese fans from jail after they completed a three-month prison sentence for participating in the violence that broke out during the Africa Cup of Nations final in Rabat, an AFP journalist saw.

The trio left Al Arjat 2 prison, northeast of Rabat, in a police vehicle to go to a police station before being released.

Upon leaving the police station, the three smiling Senegalese fans were greeted by members of the Senegalese embassy. One said to AFP, "dima Maroc, dima Maghrib" ("long live Morocco").

Senegalese defense lawyer Patrick Kabou thanked "diplomatic and consular representation for their efforts" in a post on X.

On the eve of the trio's release, he asked that the public "support them and, above all, help them come to terms with the initial shock of leaving prison".

In connection with the same case, 15 other Senegalese fans remain incarcerated after receiving sentences ranging from six months to one year and which were upheld on appeal on Monday.

Detained since the January 18 final, won by Senegal but later awarded on appeal to hosts Morocco, they were charged with "hooliganism," an offence including acts of violence, notably against law enforcement, as well as damage to sports facilities, invading the pitch and throwing projectiles.

A Frenchman of Algerian origin was also released on Saturday after serving three months in prison for throwing a water bottle during the final.

Sports

'We've Already Beaten Other Favorites,’ Lyon's Endrick Warns PSG

Lyon's Brazilian forward #09 Endrick (L) fights for the ball with Lorient's Cameroonian defender #44 Darlin Yongwa (R) during the French L1 football match between Olympique Lyonnais (OL) and FC Lorient at the Groupama Stadium in Decines-Charpieu, central-eastern France, on April 12, 2026. (Photo by OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP)
Lyon's Brazilian forward #09 Endrick (L) fights for the ball with Lorient's Cameroonian defender #44 Darlin Yongwa (R) during the French L1 football match between Olympique Lyonnais (OL) and FC Lorient at the Groupama Stadium in Decines-Charpieu, central-eastern France, on April 12, 2026. (Photo by OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP)
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'We've Already Beaten Other Favorites,’ Lyon's Endrick Warns PSG

Lyon's Brazilian forward #09 Endrick (L) fights for the ball with Lorient's Cameroonian defender #44 Darlin Yongwa (R) during the French L1 football match between Olympique Lyonnais (OL) and FC Lorient at the Groupama Stadium in Decines-Charpieu, central-eastern France, on April 12, 2026. (Photo by OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP)
Lyon's Brazilian forward #09 Endrick (L) fights for the ball with Lorient's Cameroonian defender #44 Darlin Yongwa (R) during the French L1 football match between Olympique Lyonnais (OL) and FC Lorient at the Groupama Stadium in Decines-Charpieu, central-eastern France, on April 12, 2026. (Photo by OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP)

Brazilian forward Endrick told AFP that he believes his Lyon side can spring a surprise when they take on French and European champions Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 on Sunday.

The clash at PSG's Parc des Princes home will have repercussions on both the title race and on Lyon's bid to secure a place in the Champions League next season.

"I know everyone will say they are the favorites, but we've already beaten other favorites," Real Madrid loanee Endrick said in comments sent to AFP late on Friday by his press team.

PSG enter the fixture in fine form, sitting one point clear atop Ligue 1 and having qualified for the Champions League semi-finals after beating Premier League title-holders Liverpool 4-0 on aggregate.

Lens' win on Friday has chipped away at PSG's lead but ahead of their meeting with Lyon they now have two games in hand on their surprise title challengers.

As the season reaches its business end, the side from the French capital are fully locked in to replicating their historic 2024/25 campaign, in which they won Ligue 1 and lifted the Champions League trophy for the first time in their history.

"It's going to be a tough game. The biggest title in Europe is still theirs, and they have the Ballon d'Or winner (Ousmane Dembele) in their squad, as well as several players who will be at the World Cup," Endrick added.

As for Lyon, they sit fifth in the French league with 51 points. However, they are just one point behind fourth-placed Marseille, who occupy the final Champions League qualification spot.

Endrick, 19, is trying to recapture the blistering form he showed when he first joined Lyon in January from parent-club Real Madrid -- in a bid to earn more playing time to secure his place in Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil squad for the 2026 World Cup.

The teenager, who came through the Palmeiras youth system in his home country, made a scintillating start to life in France, which included a hat-trick in a 5-2 win over Metz.

But his form has tapered off since.

After scoring five goals in his first five matches, Endrick has found the net just once in his last 11 outings in all competitions.

The Brazilian going off the boil has also coincided with Lyon encountering a tough patch, although they returned to winning ways last Sunday, beating Lorient in a match in which Endrick started on the bench.

"We're back to winning ways again and our aim is to secure a place in the Champions League," Endrick said.

Sports

Holders Al-Ahli Advance in Asian Champions League as Machida Oust Al-Ittihad

Galeno celebrates after scoring. Photo: Al-Ahli
Galeno celebrates after scoring. Photo: Al-Ahli
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Holders Al-Ahli Advance in Asian Champions League as Machida Oust Al-Ittihad

Galeno celebrates after scoring. Photo: Al-Ahli
Galeno celebrates after scoring. Photo: Al-Ahli

Defending champions Al-Ahli battled back to defeat Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim 2-1 on Friday to move into the Asian Champions League Elite semi-finals despite playing much of the game with 10 men.

Al-Ahli are the only Saudi Pro League club left in the competition after domestic champions Al-Ittihad were knocked out by Machida Zelvia, the Japanese side winning 1-0 through Tete Yengi's deflected strike, Reuters reported.

Matthias Jaissle's title-holders advanced despite Ali Majrashi giving JDT the lead in the 19th minute when he put the ball into his own ⁠net under pressure ⁠from Marcos Guilherme.

Matters worsened for Majrashi when he was sent off eight minutes before the interval for knocking Jairo unconscious with a kick to the head as he sought to make an acrobatic clearance.

Al-Ahli responded positively to being reduced to 10 men, however, and the home ⁠side levelled three minutes into added time when Franck Kessie outjumped the defense to head home Riyad Mahrez's corner.

Galeno sidestepped Natxo Insa's challenge to unleash an unstoppable strike beyond Andoni Zubiaurre early in the second half to end JDT's hopes of becoming the first Malaysian side to reach the semi-finals.

"Until the red card, we didn't play our best game," said Jaissle. "We see more and more in football when teams sit in defense, we need to ⁠be patient.

"It's ⁠something we can do better but we made it and that's the most important."

Al-Ittihad had no such fortune as Sergio Conceicao's side were eliminated.

The Saudi champions went behind when Yengi's strike took a deflection off former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho to beat Predrag Rajkovic in the 31st minute.

Machida will face Thailand's Buriram United or Shabab Al-Ahli from the United Arab Emirates in the semi-finals with the pair due to meet in Jeddah on Sunday.

Al-Ahli will take on Japan's Vissel Kobe following their penalty shootout win over Al-Sadd from Qatar on Thursday.