Luo Hsin-liang's 17-point, seven-assist night, including a couple of jaw-dropping, no-look passes, made him the unanimous choice for the game's Most Valuable Player honor in the Super Basketball League All-Star game on Saturday.
For the second year in a row, the 33-year-old Sina Lion scoring machine claimed the coveted award.
PHOTO: SBL
The veteran point man twice brought the sold-out crowd of 2,500-plus to its feet at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium with a pair of outstanding four-point plays (sinking the ensuing free throw after being fouled after a three-point score) for the Scarlet Knights, despite their 96-89 loss against the White Knights in the annual midseason classic.
"I'm quite surprised that they [the media] would pick the [MVP] winner from the losing team," Luo said. "The honor should go to my teammates for giving me so many scoring opportunities."
The game began with the Scarlet Knights jumping to a 26-20 lead during a loose and lively first quarter, as players from both teams showed off moves that they would dare use during a regular season contest.
The White Knights fought back in the second quarter to pull within a point of the lead, settling for the 43-42 halftime score.
Lee Chi-yi of the Videoland Hunters then erupted with four three-pointers during the Scarlet Knights' 27-point third quarter as they built a 70-64 lead, before the White squad countered again with an explosive 32-point final quarter for the win, highlighted by two impressive scoring runs of 11-0 and 8-0, respectively.
Offensively for the White Knights, Chou Shih-yuan and Tseng Wen-ding of the Dinos led the way with double-double performances (17 points, 10 rebounds and 11 points and 14 rebounds, respectively), while the Scarlet Knights' Lee Chi-yi celebrated his second straight All-Star Game appearance with a game-high 19 points.
slam dunk
In the highly publicized slam-dunk contest, Dacin Tigers' Tien Lei soared above the rest of the seven contenders to take home the top honor, earning the crowd favorite the trophy that he had just missed in last year's competition.
Tien's rim-grabbing baseline jam and towering slam with a foul-line takeoff called for a near-perfect score of 99 score that humbled challenger Wu Yang-hui of the Taiwan Beer, who was only able to score a 92.
Legends Game
Former national great Cheng Chih-long showed why experience still mattered with his 23 point night in the SBL's first Legends Game as the group of "old timers," including current coaches Liu Jia-fa (Tigers) and Chou Hai-rong (Hunters), beat up on a rookie squad in a 74-61 final.
As for the three-point shootout, Wu Cheng-yu of the Hunters edged Bank of Taiwan's Chuang Hsiao-wen and the Lions' Hung Chih-shan by a 16-to-15 margin (both Chuang and Hung scored 15 points) in the final round to take home top honors.
Defending champ Wu Yung-ren of the Bank of Taiwan participated in this year's preliminary round, but did not qualify for the final round of competition to defend his title.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
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
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and