Action resumed in the University Basketball Association (UBA) tournament on Monday with the defending champs from National Normal University beating Diwan University 78-72 at the Chinese Culture University in Taipei.
Lin Yi-hui’s (Dacin Tigers) second-half surge, highlighted by seven three-pointers, proved decisive as National Normal shot past Diwan in the fourth quarter to earn victory.
“I guess I got hot at the right time,” Lin said after the game, referring to his career-high 35-point performance.
Diwan hung tough but failed to contain Lin when it mattered the most, falling short in the final quarter.
“A lack of big-game experience really hurt us today,” Diwan head man Huang Yi-shiang said after the game.
His young crew was unable to guard against a red-hot Lin, who connected on four straight threes at one point during the decisive fourth.
NTCPE 95, MINGDAO UNIVERSITY 87
Sparked by a 19-0 run in the third quarter, National Taiwan College of Physical Education (NTCPE) overcame a 10-point half-time deficit to upset second-seeded Mingdao University 95-87 in Taipei on Monday.
Mingdao seemed well on their way to a straightforward victory against a team that they had beaten 94-77 in the second round of play in November when they had a 44-34 lead at the half.
But things took a nasty dive in the second half as National Taiwan Physical Ed managed to close the gap to within a deuce on a magnificent effort by Chiou Chi-wei before erupting for 19 straight to claim a 65-48 lead.
Even though Mingdao regained their poise and rallied to within two in the closing minutes, it was Chiou’s clutch bucket late in the game that prevented Mingdao from turning things around.
Chiou ended up with a game-high 19 points along with five rebounds, and a trio of assists and steals.
CHINESE CULTURE 74, FU JEN 58
Chinese Culture University avenged a bitter loss to Fu Jen Catholic University in November by defending their home court 74-58 on Monday.
Lu Cheng-rue (Yulon Luxgens) led all scorers with 25 points while fellow forwards Wu Jien-long (Pure Youth) and Wu Fong-cheng (Luxgens) combined for another 25 to account for the bulk of Chinese Culture’s offense.
NTU OF ARTS 76, HSING WU 69
National Taiwan University of Arts swept the season series against Hsing Wu College by winning 96-76 on Monday.
Chang Bo-wei’s double-double performance with 14 points and a dozen boards led a foursome of double-digit scorers in the big victory.
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
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
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