The long awaited first victory for new First Securities Agan skipper Tsai Rong-tsung (
Agan starter Liang Rue-hao (
Reliever Lee Fong-hua (
Tsai Chung-nan's (
The most anticipated matchup of the week was the three-game series between the second-placed Chinatrust Whales and the third-placed President Lions, with the series ending 1-1-1.
A whale of a time
The series began with the favored Whales taking the first game in Hsinchuang in a 4-1 win on Thursday. Four costly Lions errors led to three unearned runs against Lions starter Joe Davenport, denying the pitcher a chance to win his ninth game of the season.
Game two of the series on Saturday in Tienmu was a 2-2 affair until Whales first baseman Hung Chi-fong (
Led by second baseman Yoshimi Hiroaki's bases-loaded two-run single, the Lions came back by scoring three runs of their own in the top of the ninth to send the game into extra innings.
With the bases loaded, Yoshimi told reporters after the game that all he wanted to do was hit the ball to deep right to bring in at least one run.
"I am glad though, it turned out to be a two-run hit," he said.
The 5-5 tie got Lions starter Pan Wei-luen (
Similar to game two of the series, the Whales lost the lead late in the game, giving up just one run too many.
Whales starter Nakayama Hiroaki cruised through seven scoreless innings with a 4-0 lead before giving up five runs eighth inning, ending Nakayama's 23-1/3 innings of scoreless play. Lions closer Tsao Chun-yang (
Although the series ended in a 1-1-1, it was a moral victory for the slumping Lions.
The Brother Elephants fell to the Makoto Gida 5-3 in Tienmu on Sunday, preventing and Elephants sweep in the series. The last time the Elephants lost a series was in mid-April against the Gida.
Elephants starter Nakagomi Sin fell victim to some poor fielding as two of the five runs were unearned. Along with three Elephants errors, an unsuccessful attempt to tag out a runner at second and a wild pitch during a suicide squeeze sealed the Elephants fate.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care