Lionel Messi returns to the spotlight as he led Argentina to victory over Haiti in a friendly, but he isn’t the only player to grab headlines today as Schalke’s Amine Harit and three NBA guards also reached spectacular heights in their respective careers.
The 20-year-old Harit, for his part, is off to a fantastic Bundesliga career after winning the league’s top prize for a rookie. Meanwhile, NBA stars Eric Gordon, Fred VanVleet and Lou Williams were selected as the finalists for the Sixth Man of the Year award.
For today’s football updates and NBA news, SBOBET Blog highlights the abovementioned players and how they were able to make their mark.
Superb Messi fires Argentina to friendly victory
Lionel Messi is the leader of Argentina, and ahead of the nation’s World Cup 2018 title bid, he made sure to let everyone know that.
The Barcelona star scored three goals and set up another as Argentina thrashed Haiti 4-1 in an international friendly at Estadio Alberto Jose Armando.
Messi slotted home a 17th-minute penalty to break the deadlock before completing his hat-trick with two goals in the second half. However, he didn’t stop there as he turned provider in the 69th minute, setting up substitute Sergio Aguero for their fourth and final goal.
With his scoring tally in the game, Messi extended his hat-trick record to 47 for club and country. He has 41 triples for Barcelona and six for La Albiceleste—having reached five hat-tricks in Argentina’s decisive win over Ecuador in the qualifiers last year.
Messi thanked the Argentina fans after their victory and vowed to play with determination in hopes to win the title in the upcoming summer spectacle in Russia.
“We are going to Russia with all the enthusiasm. We will put all what we have on the field as our fans always ask. We are the first ones who want to accomplish the dream of winning the World Cup,” the 30-year-old striker said.
Schalke’s Harit bags Bundesliga’s rookie honour
Another reason to celebrate for FC Schalke 04.
After surprising everyone with their second-place finish in the Bundesliga, Schalke received another good news after their 20-year-old rising star Amine Harit was voted as the league’s Rookie of the Season.
Harit, who is part of Morocco’s 2018 World Cup squad, played in 31 Bundesliga games this 2017/18 campaign and tallied three goals and six assists.
The young midfielder beat seven other players who, like him, had been previously voted as Bundesliga Rookie of the Month. The other candidates were Hamburger SV’s Jann-Fiete Arp and Tatsuya Ito, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Sebastien Haller, Hertha Berlin’s Valentino Lazaro, VfB Stuttgart’s Benjamin Pavard, and Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho and Dan-Axel Zagadou.
Gordon, VanVleet and Williams are top candidates for Sixth Man award
The NBA’s top reserves this season are Houston’s Eric Gordon, Toronto’s Fred VanVleet and LA’s Lou Williams. However, only one of them will bag the Sixth Man of the Year award this June.
Gordon, the defending Sixth Man of the Year, has been pivotal for the Rockets as they finished at the top of the Western Conference. He averaged 18 points a game in the regular season, playing in 69 matches while only starting in 30.
The 30-year-old also played a crucial role as the Clutch City team reached the West Finals before eventually falling to the Golden State Warriors in seven games. He averaged 15.4 points in 17 matches this postseason.
Fred VanVleet, on the other hand, never started for the East-leading Toronto Raptors in the regular season. And while his 8.6 points, 3.2 assists and 2.4 rebounds don’t show it, he is considered as the best player in the best bench in the league.
The 24-year-old is a solid scorer, defender and playmaker, ranking second in the NBA in plus-minus off the bench—a testament to his impact to the Raptors that finished with 59 wins this campaign.
Meanwhile, Williams made a strong case this year for the award. After missing out on the prestigious honour last year, the Clippers guard exploded and was a borderline All-Star.
He leads the three other candidates in almost all statistical categories, finishing the regular season with 22.6 points, 5.3 assists and 2.5 rebounds. More amazingly, he did it while only starting in 19 games out of 79—though one could argue that he averaged 32.9 minutes a night.
The NBA announced the finalists for the award along with the other top three candidates for the five other prizes: MVP, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE SPORTS STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
