Top-seeded Pure Youth Construction kept the series alive with a narrow 86-84 win over Taiwan Beer in Game 5 of the Championship Finals at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City last night to trail the Brew Crew by a 3-2 margin in the best-of-seven series.
Lin Chin-bang’s timely rebound off a Chiang Yu-an miss with time running out denied the men in their familiar green uniforms a chance to tie the game as they nearly pulled off another fourth-quarter comeback against the three-time defending champs, which would have clinched the title.
Ten quick points by hired gun Garret Siler in the opening quarter helped the Builders take a 28-24 lead after 10 minutes of play.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Pure Youth added to their lead by three in the second quarter with eight combined points by backcourt duo Chen Shih-chieh and Chen Chien-en to close out the first half with a 47-40 advantage.
The Builders went up by as many as 14 in the third, with Chen Shih-chieh penetrating inside of the paint and Peng Chun-yen hitting two long three-pointers in a 25-point third to stretch the lead to 11 after three quarters of play.
Knowing no deficit was too big, the Brew Crew rallied in the fourth behind a pair of three’s by Patrick O’Bryant and Chiang’s clutch drive to the hoop to move within two.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Taiwan Beer saw a golden opportunity to turn the tide when Tsai Wen-cheng missed two rare free throws with 12.5 seconds remaining, giving them one final possession.
However, Chiang missed a layup after the Brew Crew executed the next offensive possession to near perfection, squandering what would have been a game-tying basket.
The teams face each other once again in New Taipei City this evening in what could the final game of the series should Taiwan Beer deliver a win. They will have history on their side, as no team who have reached three wins before the other finalist have failed to win the title in league’s history.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7pm.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS