Kinmen Kaoliang overcame a sluggish start in the first quarter with monstrous second and fourth quarters to rally past Bank of Taiwan 73-72 for their first win of the season at the Banciao Gymnasium in New Taipei City yesterday.
Lin Wei-han’s timely steal that led to a quick transition basket to put Kinmen Kaoliang ahead late in the game, coupled with a rare missed free throw by Banker captain Chen Hsuen-hsiang, were the game’s key moments.
Newcomer Kyle Barone of the US showed no signs of weakness in his Taiwan debut by netting 27 points and 19 rebounds, one board shy of a double-20 effort to pace the Distillers past their foes in a highly competitive contest.
Photo: Lin Cheng-fang, Taipei Times
“We had another slow start like we did in the exhibition games and that is something we will address,” Kinmen skipper James Duncan said after the game.
His young squad demonstrated unusual poise by erasing a double-digit deficit twice in the match to run away with a victory.
BRAVES 75, TIGERS 69
The Fubon Braves improved to 2-0 for the season with a valiant finish to tame the Dacin Tigers 75-69.
Joseph Lin was the hero of the game for the second straight day after his late-game heroics in the Braves’ opener the night before with a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds from his point guard position, including four free throws in the game’s final minute to put his team ahead for good.
Dacin came out firing with 22 quick points in the opening quarter to lead Fubon by three after 10 minutes, and they enjoyed a slim 39-38 lead at the half, with Chang Chia-rong and Chou Yi-hsiang leading the attack.
However, failure to secure the defensive glass, which led to seven offensive rebounds for Fubon in the third quarter, not only cost the Cats the lead, but also their confidence as they appeared to be a step behind the Braves in the decisive fourth to lose by six.
Marcus Douthit did not have a big offensive impact for the Tigers as expected, as the former Filipino national team icon scored only eight points, despite a 16-rebound effort on the defensive end.
PURE YOUTH 87, YULON LUXGENS 70
Pure Youth Construction bounced back from a surprising loss in the opener on Saturday with an 87-70 win over the Yulon Luxgens to even their season mark at 1-1.
The four-time defending champs opened the contest with an 11-0 run against the Automakers and never looked back.
Five players scored in double-figures for the Builders, led by Chen Shih-chieh’s team-high 19 points.
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
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