Sharp-shooter Yang Yu-ming's 26-point effort, including two key three-pointers in the fourth quarter that put the ETTV Antelopes up for good against Taiwan Beer last Friday night, landed him this week's Super Basketball League Player of the Week honor.
With the fourth and final playoff spot on the line, Yang rose to the occasion by hitting 10 of 18 shots from the floor (4-for-8 from the three-point range) to lead the Antelopes to victory. It was the first time in team history that the Antelopes had put together a three-game winning streak.
In the 35-plus minutes that Yang played, the second-year shooting guard committed no turnovers and no fouls, a rare feat that requires the utmost concentration and body control. His performance on Friday had most believe that Yang has finally recovered from a nagging knee injury that had kept him from realizing his full potential on offense, despite the fact that he is already averaging nearly 17 points per contest for the Antelopes.
PHOTO: CPBL
"I've waited for this one [the Player of the Week award] for over a year. I am glad that I was able to fight off the injury and turn things around in the final stretch of the regular season," Yang said after learning of his selection for the weekly honor. He also won the coveted honor once last season.
A healthy Yang could spell trouble for opposing clubs because his deadly shooting on the perimeters will definitely draw the defenders out, freeing up more room inside the paint for the Antelopes' all-star center Wu Dai-hao to maneuver. And all around the league are well aware of what Wu can do against single-man coverage in the low post area; once he gains position of the ball inside the paint, there are only two options: an easy bucket for Wu or a foul by the defender.
Next up for Yang and his mates are the league-leading Yulon Dinos, winners of their past eight straight by an average margin of victory of 12.5 points.
The last time these two teams met, the Antelopes nearly pulled off the upset of the year by rallying from being down by 15 in the third quarter to lose by just a deuce.
Both clubs realize that this is not an automatic win for the Dinos by any means, which is good news for basketball lovers because the streaky Antelopes may just have enough momentum to finally end the Dinos' season-high winning skid.
Another high-profile match that should draw a full house at the Taipei College of Physical Education Gymnasium this weekend will be Sunday's contest between the second-placed Videoland Hunters and fourth-placed Taiwan Beer.
This is a big game for the beermen in that a win will likely keep them among the elite four, a desirable position to be in as far as their chances to play in the postseason are concerned, given their favorable remaining schedule. It would be a huge mental boost for the beermen if they can take this game because the last time that they have beaten either of the top two clubs in the league was on New Year's day, when they edged past the Hunters by one in a come-from-behind thriller.
As for the Hunters, nothing would please Head Coach Chung Chih-mong more than a victory over Taiwan Beer as the Hunters shed off their inconsistent label and peak their way into the upcoming postseason.
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
Jemimah Rodrigues on Thursday hit an unbeaten 127 as India pulled off a record chase of 339 against Australia to set up a Women’s World Cup final against South Africa. Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit 89, put on 167 runs for the third wicket as India won with nine balls and five wickets to spare at DY Patil Stadium, on the outskirts of Mumbai. The hosts finished on a total of 341-5 in reply to Australia’s impressive 338 and ensured there would be a new name on the 50-over trophy tomorrow. Amanjot Kaur hit the winning boundary to trigger wild celebrations
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,”
Jannik Sinner on Thursday eased past Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-1 at the Paris Masters to set up a quarter-final clash with Ben Shelton, while reigning champion Alexander Zverev earned a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round. A maiden crown in the French capital would return Sinner to No. 1 in the world rankings after current incumbent Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock early exit at the hands of Britain’s Cameron Norrie. The Italian four-time Grand Slam champion is yet to drop a set in the tournament as he hones in on what would be a fifth title of the
RSS