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io was 23-of-40 shooting and Belinelli had 14 p
BATA, Equatorial Guinea - Republic of Congos team was stuck in a traffic jam for over an hour on its way to play the opening game of the African Cup of Nations on Saturday. Ross Pierschbacher Jersey . Later, dozens of rowdy fans found their way into a media room at the stadium, knocking over sponsors boards and forcing reporters and officials to scatter as they surged through.It wasnt a perfect start, but the African Cup is underway in Equatorial Guinea. Three weeks remain for organizers to try and keep the tournament together amid criticism that there hasnt been enough time for the small Central African nation to properly organize it.And as for the soccer, the host team drew 1-1 with Republic of Congo to open the traditionally chaotic 16-team, three-week championship at a packed Bata Stadium in the countrys biggest city, temporarily dispelling fears over poor attendances.Those worries might return in games in smaller remote towns not involving the home team.In the second game of an opening-night double-header in Bata, Gabon beat Burkina Faso 2-0 to take the early lead in Group A. Forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored one and set up the second to the delight of the drum-banging Gabon fans who travelled from just across the border.Gabon co-hosted the African Cup with Equatorial Guinea in 2012, but lost in the quarterfinals as Aubameyang, its top player, was the only one to miss in a penalty shootout.Its a new tournament and we start from zero, Aubameyang said.The Republic of Congo squad has been hardest hit by some of the teething problems this week in Equatorial Guinea, which only took over as host two months ago when Morocco pulled out over Ebola.Coach Claude Le Roy has already complained fiercely about their hotel, which he said had no running water and dangerously exposed electric cables. On Saturday, he said his players had to sit on a bus for 65 minutes in the sweltering temperatures and without air conditioning after they were taken through the centre of town and became bogged down in the gridlock. Le Roy said that was probably the reason why his team started so slowly against Equatorial Guinea.If CAF doesnt understand they have to protect teams ... then they (CAF) have to change, Le Roy said, blaming organizers the Confederation of African Football for not ensuring smooth passage for his squad.The Gabon fans who ended up racing through a room where player interviews take place had apparently been given the wrong directions by stadium staff, some journalists said.But on the opening day, at least, there was no problem with attendances.In fact, there were probably more fans than there should have been for the opening game as the red-shirted Equatorial Guinea supporters kept flocking into the stadium even after the seats were full. Many watched from the walkways behind the stands as American R&B singer Akon made a surprise appearance to sing for the crowd, performing in black leather pants and a long coat and standing on a running track next to the soccer field.Equatorial Guinea captain Emilio Nsue then scored the first goal of the African Cup, sliding an early shot under the Congolese keeper to produce an even bigger roar from the crowd than Akon got. Thievy Bifouma equalized for Republic of Congo with three minutes left.___Gerald Imray is on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GeraldImrayAP ;Bryce Love Jersey . (AP) -- The head of the committee that developed Major League Baseballs plan to expand instant replay says he is optimistic the system will be in place this season, even though owners and unions for players and umpires have yet to approve. J.P. Holtz Jersey . The Padres made the moves before Fridays game at Washington. They promoted infielder Jace Peterson from Double-A San Antonio and right-hander Kevin Quackenbush from Triple-A El Paso. MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The San Antonio Spurs had reason to be disappointed. They had lost a 16-point lead in the games final five minutes and were being forced to play overtime Tuesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies. Instead of losing their composure, the Spurs displayed poise as they battled through the five-minute overtime period and beat the Grizzlies, 110-108, winning on a driving layup by Manu Ginobili with 1.8 seconds left. Memphis point guard Mike Conley had an opportunity to win the game, but his 29-foot 3-point attempt fell short at the buzzer. "I told the guys at the (beginning of) overtime that it was all a mental contest," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "It would be easy to go down after losing the lead and playing as sloppily as we did at the end of the game. It would be easy to hang your head. So I thought that was the most important thing: letting go and moving forward mentally." Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 24 points -- including six in overtime -- while Marco Belinelli added 19 and Kawhi Leonard 17. Conley had 30 points, one off his career high, for the Grizzlies, scoring 21 in the second half. "(The Grizzlies) had some great plays down the stretch there," Duncan said. "We thought there was a couple of fouls missed (but) they played horn to horn and we didnt. We slacked off there for a minute, but luckily not enough to be able to regroup in overtime and find a way to win." Memphis trailed by 16 with five minutes left in regulation, and used a 23-7 run to rally and force overtime. Conley hit a runner at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime 3 seconds after Ginobili had scored on a layup. "I was proud of the effort at the end," said Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger. "We kept coming. We started to attack them the way we needed to attack them, which was in transition and with quick attacks. I thought we played pretty hard. We were just too slow in the first half." With the Grizzlies trailing by 10, Conley said he decided to play more aggressively entering the fourth quarter to relieve the pressure on teammate Zach Randolph, whom the Spurs were double-teaming in the low post. Conley scored 12 points iin the quarter, including 9 in the final 1:35 when the Grizzlies rallied from a 96-85. Jerald Foster Jersey. deficit. He added five more points in overtime. "On the last play of the game I would have liked to have gotten it closer to the (3-point) line," Conley said. "But I had a good look." The Spurs won their fourth straight road game and their seventh straight against the Grizzlies. San Antonio was playing its first game without centre Tiago Splitter, who sprained his right shoulder in Saturdays win over the Clippers and is out for three to five weeks. Memphis never led in the game until Conley connected on a 3-pointer with 2:25 to go in overtime for a 103-102 advantage. The Grizzlies also led 106-104 after newly acquired guard Courtney Lee hit a jumper with 1:27 to go, but Boris Diaw scored on a layup 25 seconds later and Duncan hit two free throws with 22.6 seconds left for a 108-106 lead. The Grizzlies dropped to 0-9 against Southwest Division opponents. The Spurs shot 57 per cent in the first half and built a 53-41 lead. San Antonio was 23-of-40 shooting and Belinelli had 14 points. Duncan was 5 of 7 and scored 11 points. The Spurs led by as many as 14 in the opening half. Leading 25-22 at the end of the first quarter, the Spurs extended their advantage to 14 at 47-33 late in the second quarter and maintained a double-digit lead until the second half. In the third quarter, the Grizzlies trimmed San Antonios lead to 62-57 on a jumper by Conley, but the Spurs led by 10 entering the final quarter. NOTES: Grizzlies guard Tony Allen missed his second straight game with a left hand contusion. ... The Grizzlies recalled guard Jamaal Franklin from the NBA Development Leagues Fort Wayne Mad Ants Tuesday. Franklin, the franchises second-round draft pick a year ago, played one game for Fort Wayne and scored 15 points with four steals in 23 minutes. ... Lee, acquired from the Celtics as part of a three-team deal, made his debut and connected on his first shot, a 3-pointer in the second quarter. . . . San Antonio improved to a league-best 14-3 on the road this season. . . . The Grizzlies had won a franchise-record six straight overtime games before Tuesday nights loss. Wholeslae Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Cheap College Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap Baseball Jerseys ' ' '
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