The country's best basketball team which joined the Chinese Basketball Association two years ago has now quit the league after two dismal seasons, the official Chinese Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday.
The Sina Lions, who finished next to last in the 2002/2003 season, informed the league that it was dropping out, the agency quoted Wang Du, the CBA's deputy director, as saying.
``We understand the Lions' decision,'' Wang said. ``If they ask to return to the Chinese leagues in the future, we can have discussions on it.''
No one answered calls at the CBA and Sina Lions offices after business hours yesterday.
Before moving to China, Sina was one of the best teams in Taiwan's ailing league, winning the title three years in a row between 1996 to 1998.
But during their CBA debut in 2001/2002, the Lions finished eighth out of 13 teams. They finished last season with a 7-19 record.
Xinhua said Sina President Jiang Fengnian told reporters last month that the team planned to leave the CBA because of financial problems, a lack of reserve players and poor refereeing.
The formerly quasi-professional Sina Basketball Team decided to proceed to China to join the A-class league competition, despite objections from the government.
It accused Sina of risking "dwarfing" Taiwan's status, according to a statement from the Mainland Affairs Council.
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Erling Haaland on Sunday scored twice to propel Manchester City up to second in the English Premier League with a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries started the day in second thanks to the longest unbeaten run in the English top flight, but Andoni Iraola’s side were undone by the scintillating form of the Norwegian striker, who took his tally to 13 Premier League goals in 10 games. Haaland’s relentless streak is maintaining City’s title challenge as they reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal back to six points and edged one point ahead of Liverpool, who they face at the weekend. “Important
Yesterday morning in Japan began with a palpable buzz after the Los Angeles Dodgers announced Shohei Ohtani would start Game 7 of the World Series. By the time countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivered the final out, Tokyo was erupting with joy. “I am so proud today to be Japanese,” said cab driver Seiichiro Okada, who pulled his car to the side of the road to watch the ending. “To be able to watch these legends in real time is something else.” Ohtani had two hits and also pitched, while Yamamoto earned World Series Most Valuable Player after yet another stellar pitching performance as the
RSS