A pair of three-pointers by Wu Yung-ren led the way in a 26-point third for the Taiwan Mobile Cloud Leopards as they rallied from a five-point deficit at the half to top Taiwan Beer in a 76-74 final at the University of Taipei Gymnasium in Tianmu last night.
The win not only evened the best-of-seven series at 1-1 for the Leopards, who dropped the opener to the Brew Crew the night before, but also brought them back from a near-disastrous first quarter that put them at risk of an 0-2 start in the series.
Taiwan Beer opened with a 14-5 advantage in the first five minutes of play behind a strong effort by Patrick O’Bryant and kept the lead at eight, despite allowing the Leopards to get in the game with a small run of their own toward the end of RUN
After an evenly fought second quarter that brought the Leopards to within five, the second-seeds decided to take their game up a notch by outscoring Taiwan Beer 26-15 in the third, highlighted by a 7-2 run in the first three minutes of the quarter to take a 56-50 lead.
That was the break that the Leopards needed to turn the tide, as they held off a tenacious comeback attempt by the Brew Crew with some clutch baskets late in the game from hired gun Luke Nevill to secure the victory.
TIGERS 80, PURE YOUTH 67
The Dacin Tigers bounced back from a 10-point defeat in Saturday night’s opener with a 80-67 trouncing of Pure Youth Construction in Game Two in Tianmu late yesterday afternoon to knot the best-of-seven series at one win apiece.
Dacin came out firing in the series-equalizer with a stellar defense that held the two-time defending champs to seven points in the opening quarter, before following up that act with an equally impressive second quarter to double up the Builders in a 32-16 affair at the half.
SLUMP
Even though Pure Youth would break out of their scoring slump in the third quarter with 23 points, it did not put a dent in the Tigers’ lead, as they also netted 23 over the same time span to take a 55-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
Pure Youth managed to reduce the deficit to 10 during the fourth and actually came within nine of the Tigers with a pair of free-throws from Chien Chia-hung with approximately a minute remaining in the contest, but that was as close as they got as the Cats buckled down and held on to win it by 13.
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
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
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