Hsu "the Fridge" Cheng-wen (
The quiet, yet hardworking forward edged out Bank of Taiwan muscleman Chu Yung-hung (
Hsu's outstanding effort in his 15-point, six-rebound night paid an immediate dividend by earning him a spot on the starting lineup the very next game.
Lions versus Taiwan Beer
Looking ahead at tonight's matchup, the Lions will visit Taiwan Beer in an important game that could determine the Lions' fate down the stretch.
Trailing the league-leading Dinos by 2-1/2 games in league standings with five games left to play in the regular season, the Lions must rediscover their shooting touch quickly to draw out the defense that would otherwise guard the boards.
In addition to snapping their three-game losing streak, a Lions victory would cut the Dinos lead to 1-1/2 games, putting the Lions right back in the race for the regular season title.
This is an ideal game for a young and explosive club like Taiwan Beer, because with its post-season hopes practically gone, they can now play the spoiler.
Tigers versus Mars
The Dacin Tigers will take on the BCC Mars in Game 1 tomorrow in a showdown between two teams that are fighting for the third seed in post-season play.
The benefit of being the third seed is that it will not face the top seeded team in the first round.
A Mars victory in this game will up their lead over the Tigers in the standings to 1-1/2 games, while a Tiger win would boost them past the Mars for the third spot.
Both squads have demonstrated their ability to run up the score, but the team with fewer turnovers should come out ahead.
Dinos versus Bank of Taiwan
A rematch between the Dinos and Bank of Taiwan will follow in Game 2. All eyes will be on Dinos standout Chen Hsin-an (
Forwards Chiou Chi-yi (
Coach Chien Yi-fei (
Lions versus Elephants
The Lions will face the Jeoutai Elephants on Sunday in a must-win situation for the Elephants, as another loss will all but put them out of reach for the playoff hunt.
The Elephant guards will have to deny Lions three-point threat Luo Hsin-liang (
The expected return of big man Wu Dai-hao (
Tigers versus Taiwan Beer
Finishing off the weekend will be the Tigers, trying to crash the beer party against the brew-masters on Sunday night.
Both teams will be playing their second game of the weekend, making the outcome of their first absolutely critical to that of this game.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was