Bank of Taiwan made it two wins in a row with a 68-66 triumph over heavily favored Taiwan Beer at the Sinjhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City yesterday afternoon to pick up win No. 10 of the year.
It was the first time in nearly five years that the Bankers have racked up double-digit wins in a single season, guaranteeing them at least a sixth-place finish in the regular season for the first time since 2006.
“It was a big win for us, since we haven’t finished better than dead-last for quite some time,” Bankers star player Lin Rei-cuen said in a post-game interview.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
It was his four steals and eight points in the decisive third quarter that helped the Bankers turned a four-point halftime deficit into a four-point lead by the end of the quarter to give his team the necessary confidence to pull off the upset win.
Also starring for the Bankers was center John Vaudreuil, whose dozen points in the second half, highlighted by a key basket off a perfectly executed pick-n-roll play that gave his team the lead for good in the closing minutes, kept the Brew Crew off the win column.
Trailing by a deuce with under a minute to go in the game, Taiwan Beer had a chance to tie it on each of their final three possessions, but neither Emmanuel Jones, Yang Jing-min nor Ho Sho-cheng was able to convert attempts that would have tied the game on each occasion, leaving top-ranked Taiwan Beer two points short in a tough loss.
Failure to hit their free throws also cost the Brew Crew big as they collectively shot a dismal eight-for-17 (47 percent) from the charity stripe, well below their season average of 70 percent.
LUXGENS 83, LEOPARDS 80
The Yulon Luxgens clinched a playoff berth in the second game in Sinjhuang last night with an three-point win over the Taiwan Mobile Leopards.
Veteran guard Yang Tseh-yi rose to the occasion by netting a game-high 26 points to lead a quartet of Yulon players who scored in double figures, but the win did not come as easily as expected against a shorthanded Leopards squad missing the services of hired gun Marcus Dove (out with a shoulder injury) and regular starters Liu Sheng-yao and Deng An-cheng.
After Wu Yong-ren’s clutch shot with under a minute remaining tied the game at 80-80, it was Yulon’s Lu Cheng-rue, who scored the go-ahead basket that made it 82-80.
Jermaine Dailey then hit one of two free throws on the ensuing Yulon possession, with the Leopards opting to foul the American center in the interests of freezing the clock.
KINMEN 112, PURE YOUTH 110
Kinmen Kaoliang came up big in overtime to edge past Pure Youth Construction in the nightcap in Sinjhuang last night.
Shawn “the Hawk” Hawkins’ free throw with the clock winding down in overtime gave the Distillers a two-point lead which won the game when the Builders misfired on their would-be game-tying shot.
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
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