The Yulon Luxgens made it two wins in a row by topping Kinmen Liquor in an 81-67 final at the Miaoli County Sports Complex yesterday afternoon to close out the first weekend of play with a perfect 2-0 record.
Red-hot newcomer Kevin Johnson Jr continued his dominance inside the paint by downing a game-high 28 points with 22 rebounds in his second straight double-double outing to lead the Luxgens, making the departure of All-Star center Tseng Wen-ding and point guard Lee Hsueh-lin to China’s CBA much easier to take for rookie skipper Chiou Chi-yi.
After an evenly fought first quarter that ended in an 18-all tie, the Luxgens managed to edge ahead in the second quarter, with Lee Chih-yi netting nine of his team’s 19 to take a 37-33 lead at the halftime intermission. However, the Distillers fought back in the third with Hong Chi-chao returning the favor by accounting for nine of his team’s 21 in the quarter to fall within two at the start of the fourth.
Photo: Liao Yau-tung, Taipei Times
That was when the Luxgens decided to take their play up a notch as they outscored Kinmen 25-13 in the final quarter to run away with the victory.
The Distillers’ failure to keep the Luxgens off the offensive glass in the decisive fourth was the difference in the game as they allowed 10 offensive rebounds to Yulon to waste an otherwise solid effort over the first three quarters of play.
The highly anticipated professional debut for Kinmen Liquor rookie forward Liu Cheng also did not live up to its hype, as Liu came up empty on both of his three-point attempts and failed to convert on any of his four free throws, ending the day with six points.
LEOPARDS 66,
BANK OF TAIWAN 62
Overcoming a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter, the Taiwan Mobile Leopards rallied from behind to defeat the Bank of Taiwan in the early game in Miaoli yesterday afternoon.
The win was rookie head coach Chia Fan’s first, thanks to an outstanding fourth quarter by forward Deng An-cheng, who scored five of the Leopards’ final seven points, including a game-tying three and a pair of go-ahead free throws with less than a minute to play to lift his team past the Bankers.
TIGERS 86, PURE YOUTH 77
The Pure Youth Construction proved no match for the Dacin Tigers as they lost to the Big Cats last night for their second straight loss in the opening weekend.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two