The Yulon Dinos lived another day by downing Taiwan Beer in an 87-85 thriller in Game Five of the Championship Series at the Taipei County Sports Complex Saturday night, still trailing the favored beer crew 2-3 in the best-of-seven series.
Chen “Airman” Hsin-an regained his regular-season scoring champ’s form with 26 first-half points on a 39-point night to help his team prevail in the do-or-die battle against a Taiwan Beer squad that was looking to clinch the win that would have given them back-to-back titles.
Also starring for the Dinos was offseason acquisition Yang Tseh-yi whose 18-point effort, highlighted by a seven-point scoring spree over an 18-second span late in the game, sealed the win that would force at least one more game on Sunday.
“This is the kind of series that shows what we are really made out of,” the Airman said after the game.
His team has adopted a “Never Quit” slogan in an attempt to will its way back from a 1-3 deficit.
And it the Dinos could maintain the level of intensity that they had, they will not only take the series into a decisive Game Seven, but also likely to win it all as the momentum will undoubtedly be on their side.
The showdown that drew a near-capacity crowd of 7,000 saw the Dinos came out firing with the Airman taking charge early by hitting two three-pointers and slamming one down on a strong drive to the hoop to account for 15 of their 19 first-quarter points.
With the Airman on the bench for a breather, Taiwan Beer quickly took advantage of his absence with its top scorer Lin “the Beast” Chih-jeh showcasing his scoring ability with seven straight points to help his team claim a 34-29 lead.
That prompted Dinos coach Lee Yun-kuan to send his ace back into the game which propelled a 15-8 run on the part of the Dinos to give them a slim 44-42 lead at the half.
Unlike in two of their three previous losses where the Dinos managed to score only seven points in the third quarter, they actually put up 18 compared to Taiwan Beer’s 14 to add to their lead by four after three quarters of play.
But that did not matter much to the streaky beer crew as they rallied from as many as eleven down to tie the game at 72-all before Yang’s late-game heroics timely pushed the Dinos lead back to eight at 81-73.
Fortunately for the Dinos they would never trail in the second half despite an all-out rally by Taiwan Beer that ultimately fell to within a deuce of the Dinos and actually had a chance to tie the game in the final second if the clock had not expired just a tad before the Beast’s final shot.
Four different players scored in double-digits for Taiwan Beer compared to the Dinos’ three, with the Beast leading the way with his team-best 24 points and ten rebounds.
But that would not be enough to translate into a title-clinching win as they look to wrap up the series with a win in Game Six on Sunday at the Taipei County Sports Complex.
The 2025 International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Mr Universe Chinese Taipei competition began yesterday at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, with more than 150 athletes showcasing their physiques. It is the first time in 16 years that the IFBB has held a competition in Taiwan, the last being the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung. The professional bodybuilding contest is bringing together athletes from Taiwan and 16 other countries, including Malaysia, Japan, the US, France and Mexico. IFBB Chinese Taipei president Hsu An-chin said in an interview yesterday that the event came to Taiwan thanks to his lobbying efforts at last
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Cycling great Marianne Vos won the opening stage of the women’s Tour de France with a brilliant late attack on Saturday. The 38-year-old Dutchwoman overtook her Visma–Lease a Bike teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prevot approaching the line, and then held off Mauritian rider Kim Le Court in the closing meters of a grueling uphill finish. Ferrand-Prevot looked set to win the stage, but the Frenchwoman attacked too early from 600m and could not withstand the late surge from Vos, who punched the air with her left fist as she crossed the line. Moments later, Vos hugged an exhausted-looking Ferrand-Prevot, the Paris-Roubaix winner. “I didn’t know if
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
RSS