Basketball

There’s plenty of football, including fourth round Champions League action. Only Barcelona ( group C), Atletico Madrid ( D) and Leicester City ( G) have perfect three- from- three records and are close to reaching the knockout stage. The big game is in group C as Manchester City host Barcelona, with the Spaniards taking a five- point lead into this one. Group E remains tight. Tottenham ( second) host Bayer Leverkusen ( third) while Monaco ( first) host CSKA Moscow ( fourth) but with only three points separating the teams. The Chosen One will want better from Man U on Friday when they travel to Fenerbahce for Friday's Europa League contest. United ( second in group A), are just two points clear of their Turkish rivals. Closer to home, there’s A- League action, with the Phoenix away on Monday to Melbourne Victory. It’s a big one for both teams. Given a fair rub of the green, the Nix might just break their duck. They need to, or they will drop further off the pace. In the domestic premiership, Southern United and Canterbury United are under the roof in Dunedin tomorrow. The latest NBA season up and running, 70 years after the league tipped off in 1946. There’s no place for faint hearts here as the 30 teams — 29 from the United States and one ( Toronto Raptors) from Canada — play 82 games in the regular season before April 12. One game is scheduled for London and two for Mexico City in the sport regarded as the world’s second- biggest behind football ( soccer). There’s an early treat for Kiwi fans as Steven Adams’ Oklahoma City Thunder are in televised games on Thursday against the Los Angeles Clippers and Friday against hot favourites Golden State. Closer to home, there’s a double chance to see the Breakers in action. They haven’t had a great start but there’s always the hope things will get better. They’re at Vector tonight to face the Adelaide 36ers who have had a 2- 3 start to their season, with the Breakers 1- 3. Struggling to convert from the free throw line, the Breakers have still been competitive, winning once by five points and then losing by two, nine and six. They’re across the Tasman on Friday to play Melbourne again, after beating them 76- 71 at Vector in round one. Formula One returns to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodrguez in Mexico City for the 18th running of the Mexican Grand Prix. First held as a non- championship event in 1962, the GP has been off and on the F1 calendar since. Last year’s race was the first since 1992 — a race won by Brit Nigel Mansell, who was on hand to make the presentations a year ago. That race was a Nico Rosberg benefit as the German claimed pole, the race victory and the fastest lap in beating teammate Lewis Hamilton, who had wrapped up the championship and held off Valtteri Bottas to ensure a Mercedes one- two. Denny Hulme won the 1969 Mexican GP — the 11th and last round of that year’s F1 championship. Driving a McLaren, Hulme, from fourth on the starting grid, beat Belgian Jacky Ickx in a close battle, with pole- sitter Jack Brabham a distant third. Bruce McLaren qualified seventh but did not make the start after being stalled with a fuel injection problem. Rosberg starts here with a 26- point lead over Hamilton with three races remaining.