WESTERN BUREAU: The 2015 staging of the CUMI (Committee for the Upliftment of the Mentally Ill) Come Run 5K and 10K Road races is set to attract its biggest number of participants in the seven years since its inception, with early projections pointing to more than 800 athletes. The disclosure was made at the event’s press launch at Pier One in Montego Bay on Thursday, along with news that local conglomerate, Wisynco Group Limited, has joined forces with CUMI as title sponsor to the tune of one million dollars. Wisynco Group regional manager, Vivian Newman, told The Gleaner the move was a strategic one, which will serve to help place mental health issues at the forefront of national issues needing special attention. “The work that CUMI is undertaking is a critical one which serves to uplift the nation. We at Wisynco therefore thought it best to join forces with them in order to keep the light shining on this very important issue of mental health,” said Newman. “We hope to have a long and beneficial association with CUMI as we strive to play our part in Jamaica’s development,” Newman added. CUMI Come Run will once again take place at the picturesque Tryall Golf Club in Hanover on September 19, starting with pre-race warm-up session at 6 a.m., before the actual races at 7 a.m. The course will take runners and walkers around and over the challenging course, which includes two hill climbs, making it one of the most challenging 5K courses in the island. Four hydration stops are also included. Track events managers, Running Events, will be on board for another year, while some of the usual sponsors Xerox, Sandals Foundation, National Health Fund (NHF), the CPJ, Rainforest Seafoods, Solo Jamaica, JMMB and Fontana Pharmacy have all returned. All proceeds from the event will go towards providing the necessary medical and other needs of mentally ill and mentally challenged persons in Montego Bay and throughout western Jamaica.
Bolt to conquer Beijing again – Mills
NEW YORK (CMC):Usain Bolt’s coach, Glen Mills, has backed the superstar to come good at this month’s World Championships in Beijing.The 28-year-old Bolt will enter the August 22-30 showpiece at the Bird’s Nest Stadium with question marks over his form, after a series of lacklustre performances in recent months.However, Mills said while Bolt had suffered several injury setbacks recently which had affected his preparation, he was the type of athlete who was always highly motivated for the major championships.”The last two years have been very challenging for both Usain and myself,” Mills was quoted as saying.”Unfortunately, he has had a number of different injuries to overcome which have affected his training and the number of competitions he has been able to compete in.”But Bolt is a champion who knows nothing but excellence when performing on the world stage.”Gatlin challengeBolt enters the World Championships as the defending champion in both the 100 and 200 metres following his conquests in Moscow two years ago, but with a serious challenge expected from resurgent American Justin Gatlin.This year, Gatlin has produced the better form, posting world-leading times of 9.74 seconds in the 100 metres in Doha back in May and 19.57 seconds in the 200 metres at the US Trials in Oregon the following month.Bolt’s 100 metres best this year has been a 9.87 clocking under pressure in London last month.The injury issues last year and early this season have been a major problem, but Mills said a few changes to his training regime had proven productive.”We have been making a number of changes on the way he trains and have been getting results,” said Mills. “However, I would have wanted him to have had more races.”Bolt is the finest sprinter in the history of the sport. He captured the sprint double at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and successfully defended the titles at the following Olympiad in London three years ago.He also did the double at the Berlin World Championships in 2009 and only a false start in the 100m at the 2011 edition in Daegu prevented him from completing yet another double.
Hubert Lawrence: Sherone Simpson – comeback of the year
Awards are flying around the world in this festive season and, thankfully, some have come Jamaica’s way. Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and young Christopher Taylor have gotten their share from sporting bodies and media organisations alike. There may well be more to come. One oft overlooked category might include sprinter Sherone Simpson. When she came back from a minor drug suspension for unintentional use of a stimulant in 2014, she was a shadow of the woman who had been a mainstay of the Jamaican team for more than a decade. Her return to prominence is the comeback of the year. An Olympic 100m finalist in 2004, Commonwealth 200m winner and world number one over 100 metres in 2006, joint Olympic silver medallist in the 100m in 2008, and repeat World Championship finalist in the 200m, Simpson has a portfolio many envy. Added to that, her speed and safe hands have made her a key member of the 4x100m unit that has become the best in the world. REGAINING COMPETITIVE FORM Asafa Powell managed to regain his usual sub-10 form late in the 2014 sprinting campaign with victory over Commonwealth champion Kemar Bailey-Cole. Simpson, however, struggled and aborted her 2014 season early. It was painful to watch. This year, with the guidance of coach Maurice Wilson, she gradually regained competitive form. Instead of the slouchy 2014 200-metre fourth place at the Jamaican National Championships, she looked more like her urgent self. A near dead heat with former MVP Club training partner Fraser-Pryce in the 200 metres at the UTech Classic heralded her progress. At this year’s Nationals, she was a strong second-place finisher in the 200 metres, and a flying fourth in a fast 100-metre final. In 2014, she logged times of 11.34 and 23.38 seconds in the 100m and 200m, respectively, at the Nationals. This year, the corresponding figures depicted a much brighter picture at 11.14 and 22.62. Her 100-metre win at the Pan-Am Games was wonderful. Seizing the moment, Simpson produced a winning time of 10.95 seconds. It was her 13th sub-11 clocking and her first since 2008. Out in the 100-metre semis in the World Championships, the 32-year-old comeback kid reached the 200m final, where she ran a season’s best time of 22.50 seconds and chipped in with a high-speed first leg to help Jamaica to reach the 4×100-metre final. CLEAN SLATE Her comeback would be perfect if the authorities would wipe her slate clean. After all, it’s been proven that the company that supplied the tainted supplement that got her and Asafa Powell in trouble was guilty of incomplete product labelling. She and Powell sued the offending company and won an out-of-court settlement. If the USA track and field association, USATF, can back Allyson Felix in her quest to run both the 200 and 400 metres at the 2016 Olympic Games, perhaps the JAAA can help our two heroes erase the blot on their reputations. That, and an individual Olympic medal next year, would make Simpson’s comeback complete. If she stays injury free, success is possible. – Hubert Lawrence was making notes at track side when Sherone Simpson ran for Manchester High School at Girls’ Championships 2002.
McCatty: Refs to blame for basketball foul up
Veteran basketball official, Howard McCatty, has agreed with the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association’s (ISSA) competition’s director, George Forbes, that the referees are to blame for the incident which forced game one of the ISSA Southern Conference under-19 basketball final to be ruled null and void and ordered replayed.McCatty, a former basketball president and currently a referees’ trainer and technical commissioner, said the match officials erred by not ensuring that the teams were checked, even though others are sometimes assigned to fulfil this task.”They (referees) should have checked the identification cards before the game started. But, here in Kingston, we usually have someone checking it, and they (refs) thought it was checked by the table,” he explained.CHECKING ID’S”But I would put the blame on the referees because a technical commissioner should be at the table to check all IDs. In Northern (Conference), I check all IDs before the games starts,” he added.Calabar won game one of the series, only for Camperdown to launch a protest against their opponents for not having their IDs available for the game.However, ISSA investigations revealed that Calabar had no IDs. Camperdown did not have their full complement either and, as a result, a replay was ordered. Forbes blamed the match officials for not upholding the rules.”Our rules are quite simple, and that is you must have an ISSA-issued ID. The referees are the ones causing the problem. How do they know that a player has an ID? If I am the referee and I know you and I say you can play, that does not mean you satisfy the criteria,” Forbes said recently.McCatty admitted that sometimes schools have ID issues when they come to games, and insists that once it can be verified that a player is legitimate, they try to accommodate the schools as best as they can. However, he says next season, there will be no room for such leniency with the regulations.
Campion cruises to title with draw
KINGSTON: Campion College are winners of the PCJ Group National Schoolgirls Chess Champion-ship, securing a 1.5-1.5 draw against Immaculate Conception High in the final round of the tournament at PCJ Auditorium, in St Andrew. Campion went into the fourth and final round on six points, needing only a draw against Immaculate to secure seven points and top honours. Despite being the superior team on paper, Campion’s Sheanel Gardner, Aulanni Kidd and Janique Lee decided not to take any chances, eventually offering draws to their less-fancied opponents on all three boards. Three teams ended on six points each, including Wolmer’s Girls ‘A’, Immaculate Conception and Excelsior High ‘A’. Wolmer’s Girls ‘A’ took home second place on a tiebreaker over Immaculate, adjudged third. Excelsior ‘A’ ended fourth. Green Island High ‘A’ and Holy Childhood High ended on four points each. However, when the tiebreaker system was employed, Green Island ‘A’ took fifth place over Holy Childhood, who had to settle for sixth position. TIEBREAKER Wolmer’s Girls ‘B’ were seventh with three points and Excelsior High ‘B’ took eighth place on a tiebreaker over Green Island ‘B’, as both teams ended on two points. The Best Rural team award went to Green Island ‘A’. Individual category prizes were awarded to Campion’s Sheanel Gardner, Aulanni Kidd and Janique Lee, who were declared Best Board One, Best Board Two and Best Reserve, respectively. The Best Board Three prize went to Alliyah Yankana of Wolmer’s Girls ‘A’. Campion’s coach, National Master Ryan Blackwood, was adjudged best coach. In closing the championship, chair of the Jamaica Chess Federation’s (JCF) women’s chess committee, Listra Clemetson, said they want to use the championship as a springboard. “The JCF’s women’s chess committee is very pleased with the revival of schoolgirls chess, and we plan to use the foundation we have laid this year to build for the future,” said Clemetson. “We are thankful to the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, who, over the last year and a half, has embraced the vision for the growth of the sport of chess in Jamaica at the junior level, through their support of the high schools chess championships, and we are encouraging other corporate bodies to throw their weight behind the sport,” she added.
Tony Becca: The minnows of cricket going well
The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) T20 World Cup got under way in style this past week with Chris Gayle of the West Indies, New Zealand, and England setting the stage for some glorious action to come. T20 cricket is known for its excitement, especially for its power-hitting and acrobatic catching, and the 2016 T20 World Cup needed no kick-start. Gayle got the proceedings under way with a scintillating and glittering innings of 100 runs off 47 deliveries with 11 towering sixes against England; New Zealand followed up by handing stinging defeats to India and Australia; and England redeemed themselves and stayed in the race with an impressive record-breaking run chase against South Africa. For Gayle, it was nothing new and, therefore, not surprising. For New Zealand, however, victory and over India and Australia, especially one behind the other, and so quickly at that, was almost surprising, and so, too, was England’s grand recovery after falling so easily to the West Indies. New Zealand first knocked off India, scoring 126 for seven, and then nailing India for 79 in 18.5 overs before taking care of Australia, first by scoring 142 for eight and then by limiting Australia to 134 for nine. The real excitement, however, came on Friday morning (local time) when South Africa raced to 229 for four after scoring 58 run off 4.2 overs before falling to England, who dashed to 230 for eight after making a rousing start of 44 off just two overs. Apart from those four interesting and exciting matches, however, the 2016 tournament belongs to the minnows. With the tournament featuring a qualifying round which saw six minnows, Affiliates and Associates members, Ireland, The Netherlands, Scotland, Afghanistan, Oman, and Hong Kong, plus two Full Members, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, playing against each other in two groups, with the two winners going through to the Super 10 stage, the qualifiers were quite interesting and produced some fairly good, but exciting cricket. Ireland and The Netherlands, the usual upsetters in ICC tournament, were expected to do well but not to top the groups and advance in the tournament, not with the presence of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Bangladesh did make it to the tournament proper, but Zimbabwe did not, and with rain forcing two no-results, both Ireland and The Netherlands who lost points due to the rain, failed to go through. The surprise teams to make it to the Super 10 were Oman who after defeating Ireland with two deliveries to spare, lost easily to Bangladesh and failed to qualify, and Afghanistan, who defeated Zimbabwe in January, beat Zimbabwe and won all three qualifying matches to reach the Super 10. While the batting of the minnows was highlighted by some towering sixes, and barring a few who are exposed to first-class cricket, reminded more of the ‘curried goat’ variety, the bowling was fairly good, only lacking at times in consistency of line and length. The ground fielding also was generally good, but for lapses by Afghanistan against Sri Lanka. The catching, however, was brilliant, and four catches to remember were by one Michael Leask of Scotland to get rid of Richmond Mutumbami of Zimbabwe at long off; one by Sikander Raja of Zimbabwe at cover to remove Kyle Coetze of Scotland; one by Zeeshan Masqood of Oman at short extra-cover to take care of Paul Sterling of Scotland; and what must be the catch of the tournament so far, Gary Wilson’s effort on the square-leg boundary to remove Aamir Ali of Oman. Qualifying round FAILED TO SAVE As good as that catch was, it failed to save Ireland. For years now, ever since the coming of the World Cup and the T20World Cup tournaments, the weaker teams, the minnows, have been calling for greater opportunities, for more cricket so that they can improve their play. Despite the performances of teams like Ireland and Netherlands, however, their calls have fallen on deaf ears. As we laud the performances of Oman and Afghanistan, who have joined Ireland and The Netherlands as upsetters, we think of teams like Kenya, East Africa, Papua New Guinea, Namibia, America, and Argentina, among others, and what has happened to them. In 1969, the West Indies went to Ireland and were badly beaten, albeit in a friendly match; in 1992, the West Indies lost Kenya in the World Cup; in 2003, Sri Lanka lost to Kenya; in 2007, Pakistan lost to Ireland in the World Cup; in 2007, England lost to The Netherlands in the T20 World Cup in 2009; Ireland beat Bangladesh in 2009 in T20 World Cup; and England again lost to The Netherlands in the T20 World Cup in 2014. “I think we are as good as Zimbabwe,” said Preston Mommsen, the captain of Scotland, although he lost a close match to them this time around. William Porterfield of Ireland has always complained about the lack of opportunity, and Mommsen also lamented the fact that Scotland had only two matches against Full members recently, one against Australia in 2013 and one against England in 2014. The minnows of cricket deserve better than this. They deserve an opportunity, an opportunity to become as good as the West Indies were before they became the champions of the world in all three versions.
Milo serves up $750,000 for prep/primary swim champs
Nestle/Milo will serve up a whopping $750,000 sponsorship and other incentives at the 19th renewal of an eagerly anticipated Milo Prep/Primary Schools Swimming Championships slated for June 3- 4, at the National Aquatics Centre. The event was launched at the same venue on Wednesday. The annual championship serves as a major development meet for children not involved in club competitive swimming at the prep and primary school level, between ages four and 12. More than 200 swimmers will compete for the respective honours and prizes this year. Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) president, Handel Lamey, praised NestlÈ for its 19 years of sponsorship. “I am very very pleased that Milo has increased their sponsorship, it’s a tremendous boost to swimming in Jamaica, because it is very expensive to host a meet like this over a two-day period, so this sponsorship is very significant and we want corporate Jamaica to come on board and to really give back to the sport,” Lamey told The Gleaner. According to Lamey, he has no doubt outstanding swimmers like Zaneta Alveranga of St Hugh’s Prep who said the prayer on Wednesday, Zacharay Jackson-Blaine from Creative Kids Learning Academy who gave the vote of thanks and Christanya Shirley of Wolmer’s Prep will several records at the meet. John Sinclair delivered the meet overview yesterday, tipping the event to be one of their ‘most exciting and competitive.’ The reigning Champion Schools are Wolmer’s Prep in the boys’ category and Immaculate Preparatory for girls while Excelsior are the Champion Primary school. Director of Sports in the Ministry of Culture and Sports Florette Blackwood lauded the efforts of Nestle/Milo for being “good corporate citizens and for their stewardship in the development of the sport of swimming.” Marketing manager of Milo, Ockino Petrie, said besides their $750,000 sponsorship they are introducing a $100,000 incentive to make his company’s 19th year as sponsors a memorable one.
High numbers for CB Group UWI 5K
It’s two days before the highly anticipated CB Group UWI 5K and Smart Eggs Kids K and the registration has reached an all-time high.The increasing requests have forced the organisers to extend the closing date to accommodate the registrants. From all indications, the target of $20 million should be attainable, the race organisers said in a release yesterday.”We have to be brave in our efforts to support these students who are anxious to obtain a tertiary education despite their dire circumstances. They have fought all odds to make it this far, and it would be a travesty to have them not attain their degrees because of lack of funds,”said Elizabeth Buchanan-Hind, executive director, Institutional Advancement Division, the University of the West Indies.According to Buchanan-Hind, the university has been reaping the fruits of its labour with the scholarship programme, and many of the beneficiaries have graduated with honours in the medical field, law, and other vocations.Thalia Lyn, chair of the 5K event, pointed out that the continued support of corporate Jamaica and other entities is an indication of their serious intent to have an educated population that will contribute to national development. She was referring to the five-year commitment by the CB Group as the title sponsor and other companies that are on board such as the National Baking Company, Scotiabank, Port Authority, Smart Eggs, European Union, Proven Investments, Mayberry Investments, Visual Vibes Limited, Rainforest Seafoods, European Union, RJR Group of Companies, Supreme Ventures, The Gleaner Company (Media), Newstalk, Island Grill, Sun Bloc Awnings and Tents, Power 106, The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, Jamaica Producers, Dunlop Corbin, Newstalk, It’s Pixel Perfect, and Running Events.The annual fundraiser, which is again under the professional direction of Alfred Francis of Running Events Jamaica, last year attracted over 4,000 participants, and the organisers are hoping to increase this number to 5,000 on Sunday. Besides the healthy lifestyle feature of the event, which race director Francis has been advocating, there is always the fun element of entertainment and the fabulous prizes, which this year ,include phones for first-place winners.Another feature of the annual event is an award, which is presented to a Jamaican who has given outstanding and dedicated service to sports. This year, the award will be presented to Molly Rhone, who has served with distinction in the field of netball.Entry fee is J$1,000. Students with IDs will pay $500. Registration can be done both online at runningeventsja.com or at The University of the West Indies’ Sports Department.
PH bamboozles Iraq
Indian national gunned down in Camarines Sur LATEST STORIES Filipinos turn Taal Volcano ash, plastic trash into bricks PLAY LIST 01:40Filipinos turn Taal Volcano ash, plastic trash into bricks01:32Taal Volcano watch: Island fissures steaming, lake water receding02:14Carpio hits red carpet treatment for China Coast Guard02:56NCRPO pledges to donate P3.5 million to victims of Taal eruption00:56Heavy rain brings some relief in Australia02:37Calm moments allow Taal folks some respite It wasn’t enough that he was tossed out of the contest by the referees as Reyes sent him to the locker room.Iraq is bracketed with the Philippines in the Fiba-Asia in Lebanon from August 8-20, and Reyes admitted that, while they learned something from facing the Iraqis, he also exposed some of their strengths.“It’s going to help us down the line. But in as much as it is going to help us, it is going to help them as well,” Reyes said.The scores:GILAS PILIPINAS 84 – Myers 16, Ravena 13, Pogoy 12, Cruz 10, Jalalon 10, Wright 8, Standhardinger 4, Jose 4, Ferrer 3, Paras 2, Parks 2.IRAQ 75 – Mayfield 29, Al-hchaimi 17, Abdullah 8, Khajehzadeh 7, Ismael 4, Hameed 4, Alazawi 3, Aljuboori 3, Al-tameemi 0, Talib 0, Hamzah 0.Quartes: 15-19, 36-22, 63-49, 84-75.Sports Related Videospowered by AdSparcRead Next Marinerong Pilipino continues to stay afloat, tops Wangs Myers flushes it down with two hands in the first half of Thursday’s game against IraqPhoto by MUSONG R. CASTILLOTAIPEI – Gilas Pilipinas showed remarkable improvement on the thing it was miserable at just the day before, and the Filipinos learned precisely what Chot Reyes likes and what can set him off.The Filipinos were respectable from three-point range – as what they are really capable of – and broke away early from Iran for an 84-75 victory which could have been a lot more one-sided had Reyes not disciplined some of his players during the very physical Jones Cup encounter at Taipei Peace Basketball Hall here.ADVERTISEMENT 787 earthquakes recorded in 24 hours due to restive Taal Volcano McGregor blasts Cerrone in 40 seconds in UFC return End of his agony? SC rules in favor of Espinosa, orders promoter heirs to pay boxing legend LeBron James scores 31 points, Lakers beat Rockets Kawhi Leonard, Clippers rally to beat Pelicans View comments MOST READ Reyes ordered Christian Standhardinger back to the locker room with 4:55 left after his 6-foot-7 Fil-German center got slapped for a second technical foul, and Carl Cruz finished what had been a brilliant game on the bench after decking Iraq’s dirty-playing center early in the fourth.Still, the Philippines bounced back from a lethargic shooting night that resulted in an 83-72 loss to South Korea on Wednesday night, connecting on a 7-for-21 clip against the Iraqis with Cruz, RR Pogoy and Matthew Wright hitting two apiece.FEATURED STORIESSPORTSEnd of his agony? SC rules in favor of Espinosa, orders promoter heirs to pay boxing legendSPORTSRedemption is sweet for Ginebra, Scottie ThompsonSPORTSMayweather beats Pacquiao, Canelo for ‘Fighter of the Decade’That put the Philippines at 4-2 and it stayed alive in the medal hunt after Canada 150 drubbed the Koreans, 98-72, earlier on Thursday for the solo lead at 5-1.“That’s not the way we play Gilas basketball,” Reyes said after the game. ‘I’m out!’: PewDiePie releases last video before taking break from YouTube IT happens: Facebook sorry for Xi Jinping’s name mistranslation Don’t miss out on the latest news and information. Marcosian mode: Duterte threatens to arrest water execs ‘one night’ The Iraqis were downright dirty right from the start, and Reyes feels that that’s still not an excuse for his players losing their heads in a critical juncture of the contest.“I don’t care if we lost the game, I told them that in the huddle,” Reyes said. “That’s not the way we play basketball. I will not tolerate that.”Cruz played almost 20 minutes and finished with 10 points in his worthiest game, but after decking Navid Khajehzadeh with an elbow to the back of the head in one defensive play, Reyes promptly called it a night for the former Far Eastern ace.Standhardinger, meanwhile, got into a trash talking match with 7-foot center Karrar Hamzah early and clearly lost focus in the second half.After the Filipinos had opened up a 73-58 lead with a Mike Myers basket, a TV timeout was called and Standhardinger was whistled for his second deliberate foul when he hit Dhulfiqar Al-hchaimi.ADVERTISEMENT
Yao Ming Rockets deal rumors fizzle out
Don’t miss out on the latest news and information. Indian national gunned down in Camarines Sur “I have no time to consider anything else (including buying Houston Rockets),” said Yao, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last September.His comments came after long-time Rockets owner Leslie Alexander put the club up for sale last week.FEATURED STORIESSPORTSEnd of his agony? SC rules in favor of Espinosa, orders promoter heirs to pay boxing legendSPORTSRedemption is sweet for Ginebra, Scottie ThompsonSPORTSMayweather beats Pacquiao, Canelo for ‘Fighter of the Decade’The Chinese centre’s strong ties to the club had fueled speculation about his possible interest in buying. He was feted by the Rockets earlier this year when they retired the ground-breaking Chinese player’s number 11 jersey. LATEST STORIES View comments Filipinos turn Taal Volcano ash, plastic trash into bricks PLAY LIST 01:40Filipinos turn Taal Volcano ash, plastic trash into bricks01:32Taal Volcano watch: Island fissures steaming, lake water receding02:14Carpio hits red carpet treatment for China Coast Guard02:56NCRPO pledges to donate P3.5 million to victims of Taal eruption00:56Heavy rain brings some relief in Australia02:37Calm moments allow Taal folks some respite LeBron James scores 31 points, Lakers beat Rockets McGregor blasts Cerrone in 40 seconds in UFC return OSG plea to revoke ABS-CBN franchise ‘a duplicitous move’ – Lacson ‘I’m out!’: PewDiePie releases last video before taking break from YouTube MOST READ Sports Related Videospowered by AdSparcRead Next Lesser lights deliver for Gilas in rout of India Marcosian mode: Duterte threatens to arrest water execs ‘one night’ Yao, who averaged 19.2 points and nine rebounds for the Rockets, became a global ambassador for the sport during his eight NBA seasons. He continued promoting the game after he was forced into retirement by repeated foot injuries and purchased his hometown team, the Shanghai Sharks, after returning to China. The Rockets are the eighth most valuable franchise in the league at $1.65 billion and their annual revenue is $244 million, according to Forbes magazine. ADVERTISEMENT End of his agony? SC rules in favor of Espinosa, orders promoter heirs to pay boxing legend Former NBA star Yao Ming attends a press conference after being elected president of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) in Beijing on February 23, 2017.NBA Hall of Famer Yao Ming called for “urgent” reform and said he was facing a multitude of problems as he was elected president of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) on February 23. / AFP PHOTO / STR / China OUTFormer NBA star Yao Ming has scotched rumors he was interested in buying his old team the Houston Rockets, saying he was too busy to consider the possibility. Yao, who played for the Rockets from 2002 to 2011 before retiring, told the official Xinhua news agency on Friday he was dedicated to his role as president of the Chinese Basketball Association.ADVERTISEMENT Kawhi Leonard, Clippers rally to beat Pelicans 787 earthquakes recorded in 24 hours due to restive Taal Volcano