Holding Taiwan Beer to a record-low 16 points in the first half, Kinmen Kaoliang showed their play could match the sting of their 116-proof liqueur as they downed their brewing brethren in a 55-47 victory at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City last night for a huge upset win.
The win not only snapped the Brew Crew’s three-game win streak, but it also disrupted head coach Yen Jia-hua’s weekend plan as he could not to rest his starters in the first of three games this weekend in what should have been an easy win over 10-14 Kinmen.
A physical first quarter that saw the Distillers outrebound their rivals by a 13-8 margin set the tone early in the contest as Kinmen led 11-8 after 10 minutes of play.
Photo courtesy of the SBL
Kinmen led by as many as 11, with Elbert Fuqua and Shang Wei-fan teaming up for seven points, before Taiwan Beer’s Yang Jing-min answered with a pair of three-pointers to cut the deficit to nine by halftime.
Taiwan Beer attacked the paint more frequently in the third quarter to move within a deuce of the Distillers, only to see Fuqua and Shang regain control of the game for their team as they clung to a five-point advantage at the end of the third quarter.
The strong play by Fuqua and Shang kept Taiwan Beer from taking over the game early in the fourth, before lottery pick Liu Chan stole the show in the final minutes of the game by bombarding the basket with two monstrous slams to seal the victory.
“This was a big win for us because it showed that we never give up on ourselves,” Kinmen Kaoliang head coach Hsu Chih-chao said after the game.
His troops might be mathematically eliminated from the postseason, but they sure did not play like a team with a losing record.
PURE YOUTH 93, CLOUD LEOPARDS 79
Pure Youth Construction bounced back from a tough loss last weekend with a dominating second half to top the Taiwan Mobile Cloud Leopards in the second game in Sinjhuang last night, kicking off the weekend with a bang.
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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
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