France's Wembanyama targets Olympic gold in 2028 after US defeat | ABS-CBN

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France's Wembanyama targets Olympic gold in 2028 after US defeat

France's Wembanyama targets Olympic gold in 2028 after US defeat

Agence France-Presse

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France's Victor Wembanyama reacts after losing to the United States in the gold medal game of the men's basketball tournament of the 2024 Paris Olympics, August 11, 2024 at the Bercy Arena in Paris, France. FIBA photoFrance's Victor Wembanyama reacts after losing to the United States in the gold medal game of the men's basketball tournament of the 2024 Paris Olympics, August 11, 2024 at the Bercy Arena in Paris, France. FIBA photo

PARIS, France -- France basketball star Victor Wembanyama said Saturday's defeat by the United States in the Olympic final would serve as motivation to win gold at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

Wembanyama poured in 26 points against the star-studded US team, but it wasn't enough as Stephen Curry helped seal a 98-87 victory for the Americans with a series of clutch three-pointers in the closing minutes.

"We can't take this for granted. In a tournament like this, things can switch in a moment. The games were really high intensity, and we could have lost by 20 points, but we kept fighting," said the 20-year-old Wembanyama.

"I will be going for gold in four years' time."

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France, beaten by Team USA in the Tokyo final in 2021 well, had to settle for another silver, but there was plenty to reflect fondly on for the San Antonio Spurs center.

"I never dreamed of this moment. It is incredible. I couldn't have asked for a better team, better coaches. Everyone contributed... and it was an awesome experience."

"I don't feel like we've wasted anything, we managed to achieve something," he added.

"We still have an Olympic medal round our neck, we don't know when that will happen again.

"We have to learn, grow and trust in the new generation, like we trusted in experience this year.

"We have diamonds coming out of our country, so we have every chance.

"If it wasn't this time it will be the next."

© Agence France-Presse

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MMA: Pacio's decision to train with bigger fighters pays off vs. Brooks

MMA: Pacio's decision to train with bigger fighters pays off vs. Brooks

ABS-CBN News

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Joshua Pacio ahead of his match against Jarred Brooks for the undisputed ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion at ONE 171 in the Lusail Sports Arena in Doha, Qatar on February 20, 2025. Handout/ONE ChampionshipJoshua Pacio ahead of his match against Jarred Brooks for the undisputed ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion at ONE 171 in the Lusail Sports Arena in Doha, Qatar on February 20, 2025. Handout/ONE Championship

MANILA -- While training for his highly-anticipated trilogy bout against Jarred Brooks, Filipino MMA star Joshua Pacio took a big risk that paid off in a major way.

Proving that practice makes perfect, Pacio put himself to the test during his sparring sessions. There, he was put in precarious positions and choked on a daily basis.

His regimen was rewarded when he defeated Brooks in co-main event of ONE 171: Qatar last Thursday at the Lusail Sports Arena in Doha, allowing him to unify the ONE Strawweight MMA World Title.  

The Lions Nation MMA representative endured relentless pressure from Brooks in the first round. He survived a bevy of chokes from the American before responding in kind in the second round with suffocating pressure of his own to get the TKO win. 

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For "The Passion," he wouldn’t have survived those submission attempts if he hadn’t been consistently choked by #2-ranked bantamweight MMA contender Stephen Loman during training sessions. 

"The D'arce [was] not actually close, maybe the guillotine and the last one [was] like 70 percent. But you know, there's a lot of guys choking me out in the gym. I've been there a hundred times in that position, and I know the feeling," he said. 

"I'm used to it. Imagine Stephen Loman choking me every day in the gym." 

Pacio had entered the bout as a massive underdog, but he never succumbed to self doubt.

"I'm confident in my training, in my preparation. Every position we studied in training camp, every position that Jarred [would] do to me. You know, lots of hours, we drilled it. Situational, we drilled it," he said. 

"My jiu-jitsu coach, my wrestling coach, we've been working on every position that Jarred [would] do. So I [was] very confident that wherever the fight [went], ground, stand up, I'd [be] very confident."

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