IN PHOTOS: EJ Obiena vaults to gold, shelved PBA Governors’ Cup restarts

MANILA, Philippines – Local and world sports clicked into a higher gear during the second week of February following the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics and the resumption of the PBA Governors’ Cup.

Here are the photos of the top sports moments of the past week:

LeBron surpasses Kareem in all-time scoring list

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James notched a new personal milestone as he took the top spot in the all-time scoring list – regular season and playoffs combined – by unseating NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

James churned out 26 points in a 115-117 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, February 12 (Sunday, February 13, Manila time) to raise his tally to 44,157 and surpass Abdul-Jabbar, who scored 44,149 points.

The four-time NBA MVP, though, missed two crucial free throws in the dying moments as the Lakers lost for the third game in a row, slipping to 26-31 for ninth place in the Western Conference.

Miller submits DNF in first Winter Olympics event

Filipino-American skier Asa Miller ended his first event in the Beijing Winter Olympics in disappointment as he submitted a DNF (did not finish) in the men’s giant slalom on Sunday.

Just like 32 other skiers who registered a DNF amid the steady snowfall at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre, Miller failed to advance to the second run following an early slip.

It was a dismaying finish for the 21-year-old considering he ranked 70th in the same event in the Pyeongchang Games in Korea four years ago.

Obiena claims first season win in Poland

Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena captured his first gold medal of the year after reigning in the Orlen Cup in Poland on Friday, February 11 (Saturday, February 12, Manila time).

Obiena cleared 5.81 meters for the first time this season as he bested 2016 Rio Olympics champion Thiago Braz of Brazil and Piotr Lisek of Poland, who settled for silver and bronze, respectively.

Already assured of the gold, Obiena raised the bar to 5.95m with the goal of breaking his Asian record of 5.93m on his final try.

However, the world No. 5 did not vault himself and ran through the landing mat.

Obiena then stripped his name tag which showed “I tried” written on the back of the paper.

Shelved PBA Governors’ Cup restarts

After a month-long postponement caused by the rise of coronavirus cases in Metro Manila, the PBA resumed the stalled Governors’ Cup on Friday, February 11.

Magnolia and Meralco picked up wins to stay unbeaten as they share the top spot with identical 4-0 records.

Terrafirma, Rain or Shine, and Phoenix also came out victorious during the first weekend of the conference restart, while TNT, NLEX, Blackwater, NorthPort, and Ginebra all went winless.

End of an era for figure skating icon Hanyu

Japanese star Yuzuru Hanyu saw his bid for a historic third straight Olympic gold crushed as he finished fourth in the men’s figure skating in Beijing on Thursday, February 10.

Earning the moniker “Ice Prince” for his poise and elegance, Hanyu somehow struggled from the get-go after failing to land the quadruple Axel, considered the most difficult jump in the sport.

USA’s Nathan Chen crowned himself as new figure skating king by taking home the gold, while Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno pocketed silver and bronze, respectively. – Rappler.com