Luo Hsin-liang's (
"We clearly outplayed them in every facet of the game," Dacin head coach Liu Jia-fa (
The Tigers shot slightly better than the Lions from the field (51 percent versus 49 percent) and at the free-throw line (71percent versus 69 percent). They also committed fewer turnovers (12 versus 15) in the hard-fought battle.
All-Star power forward Tien Lei (
Filling in for Tien in terms of point total was Tiger big man Lee Fong-yung (
His 14 first-half points clearly made the Lions wonder if double-teaming Tien was the right decision.
With the crowd behind them, the Lions actually took a two point lead at the end of the first quarter before the Tigers shifted into another gear on offense in the second quarter to take a 42-39 half-time lead.
Their intention to push the ball up the court not only resulted in several easy fastbreak buckets, it also kept the game at a faster pace than the Lions felt comfortable, which ultimately cost the older Lion squad the game.
"We had our chances down the stretch," Luo said after the game. "I actually had plenty of time to line up for the last shot," referring to his final three-point attempt.
"The shot just didn't go down and that's part of the game."
The Lions would have had the edge in overtime if Luo's shot had gone in because they had the momentum in the game's final seconds.
Game 2 of the series will begin at 7pm tonight at the Taipei Sports Education College Arena as the Lions face possible elimination.
All eyes will be on how the Lion frontcourt deals with the Tigers scoring tandem of Tien and Lee, and how the Tigers defend Lions guard Chou Jung-san (
The Lions must find a way to bring the ball inside. Even though the team has survived by scoring three-pointers in the past, the game will most likely be decided by how well they can muscle their way in close to the basket for high-percentage shots.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
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Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB