Su Yi-jeh's clutch jumper that bounced off the back of the rim before it went in with 19.3 seconds left on the clock gave the Dacin Tigers the lead for good as they rallied past Taiwan Beer 91-89 at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium Saturday night.
The Tigers now hold a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five first round playoff series.
An injured Lin "The Beast" Chih-jeh, Taiwan Beer's top scorer, took the floor by a storm with a game-high 32 points, but failed to make the pair of free throws with five seconds remaining that would have tied the game at 91-all.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SBL
"We definitely would have had the advantage had it gone into overtime," Taiwan Beer coach Yen Jia-hua said.
Yen was referring to the fact that Tigers icon Tien Lei had fouled out of the game at that point.
The game began with the Tigers resorting to their well known 3-point attack that rang up nine 3s against a loose Taiwan Beer defense en route to a 56-49 halftime lead.
But a 13-0 run by the beer crew early in the third quarter helped the men in green to their first lead of the series, only to see the Tigers answer with an equally impressive run to keep their lead at six (75-69) heading into the final quarter.
Taiwan Beer was able to chip away at the Tigers lead with great efforts from Lin and point guard Chen Shih-nian on several fast-break finishes in the fourth quarter to claim an one-point lead with under a minute to go, setting the stage to Su's late-game heroics.
The Tigers had 19 offensive rebounds, giving them a host of second chances to score.
Bank of Taiwan 82, Dinos 87
Game 2 of the series between Bank of Taiwan and the Yulon Dinos had the bankers giving the defending champs another scare before the Dinos pulled away with a great late-game surge for the 87-82 win.
In a game that featured several scoring runs by both teams, it was the Dinos who took control of the first quarter with an 11-0 run to lead by 13 (25-12) after the first. Then came a 22-7 run by the bankers in the second quarter cut a Dinos lead as large as 19 to just four by the end of the first half (42-38).
Carrying their newfound momentum into the third quarter, the bankers enjoyed a brief 58-53 lead with under five minutes remaining in the quarter before the Dinos countered with a 14-0 run to reclaim the lead for good.
Bank of Taiwan guard Jien Ming-fu led all scorers with 26 points, including a solid 6-for-12 shooting from behind the three-point arc. But the bankers were held scoreless in the game's crucial final 45 seconds.
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