This week’s Super Basketball League (SBL) Player of the Week honor went to a very deserving Chen Hsuen-hsiang, who won nods from members of the Basketball Writers’ Association for his outstanding performance and tremendous leadership to help his club upset Taiwan Beer last week.
The soft-spoken team captain for the Bankers, who missed the start of the season because of an injury, came on strong in his first weekend of play by converting 11 of 22 three-point attempts in the two games he played to pour in an astonishing 59 points.
His red-hot shooting was the main reason that the last-placed Bankers pulled off an upset against the defending champs Taiwan Beer 90-80 on Friday night.
“I’d like to thank the coaches and my teammates for their support while I was hurt, without which I could not have recovered as quickly as I did,” Chen said upon learning of his selection to the weekly honor.
“All the credit should go to my teammates for creating the open shots for me,” Chen added.
Chen and the rest of his team will have their hands full in a three-game set this weekend, starting with a tough battle against the top-ranked Dacin Tigers this evening followed by tomorrow’s contest versus Kinmen Liquor and Sunday’s match against the New Taipei City Yulon Luxgens.
It will be an uphill battle for the Bankers all the way, because the Tigers match up much better at virtually every position except for Chen’s.
The Bankers would have to get a great effort from him, in addition to containing the Cats’ inside force, Noel Felix, to have a chance at a win.
TONIGHT’S GAME
Tonight’s other contest will feature Kinmen Liquor against streaky Pure Youth Construction, who have won six straight and could easily make it eight in a row with two relatively easy games this weekend.
Even though the Distillers have flashed signs of brilliance against tougher opponents in the past, they are still heavy underdogs in this game against a Chen “Airman” -Hsi-n-an-led Builders squad that put up 86 points in their previous meeting.
Kinmen Liquor will also need to find a way to keep Quincy Davis of the Builders in check with newcomer Anthony Fuqua, who was outplayed by the Tigers’ Felix in his second game with the Distillers last week.
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
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and