The annual University Basketball Association (UBA) tournament continued at I-Shou University in Greater Kaohsiung yesterday afternoon with Chinese Culture University downing National Taiwan College of Physical Education (NTCPE) in a 93-87 final to improve to a 3-0 record.
The battle between the two previously unbeaten squads saw Chinese Culture get right at NTCPE with speedy guard Soong Yu-hsuan and power forward Long Hong-yuan netting 30 and 19 points respectively to account for more than half of their team’s total offense.
Their success also occupied the NTCPE defense enough to open up the game for teammates Lin Ong-yi and Lin Chih-wei, who combined for 39 points and nine rebounds, making Chinese Culture clearly the team to beat this year.
Unable to contain the Chinese Culture offense, NTCPE turned it into a shootout with offensive threats Chiang Yu-an and Wu Chih-hsiang pumping in 28 and 13 points to keep their team in the game, before Chinese Culture pulled away in the end to win it by a half-dozen.
NATIONAL PINGTUNG UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION 65,
NATIONAL CHUNG HSING UNIVERSITY 64
National Pingtung University of Education nearly suffered an upset loss to National Chung Hsing University with a narrow 65-64 win at National Kaohsiung Normal University yesterday afternoon to make it two wins in a row.
What should have been an easy victory for National Pingtung turned into a dog fight with Chung Hsing holding a surprising lead for a good part of the first half, before National Pingtung buckled down and held Chung Hsing to just six points in the third quarter to help avoid an upset loss against a team they beat twice earlier this year.
HSIN WU COLLEGE 62,
SHIH HSIN UNIVERSITY 45
Taking advantage of a 14-0 run in the fourth, New Taipei City’s Hsin Wu College broke away from an evenly fought match in the final quarter to top cross-town rivals Shih Hsin University by a 62-45 margin at National Kaohsiung Normal University yesterday afternoon.
Freshman guard Yang Chun-rue showed no signs of inexperience with a pair of clutch three-pointers in the second half to give the struggling Hsin Wu offense just enough confidence to blow the game wide open in the fourth.
He and fellow backcourt mate Hsieh Chih-cheng have developed into a formidable one-two punch for skipper Huang Chih-tsai.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
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Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was