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.
By the time Cameron Menzies finally left the arena on Monday, the blood gushing from the gash on his right hand had trickled down his wrist, part of his forearm and — somehow — up to his face. Smeared in crimson and regret, and already mouthing sheepish apologies to the crowd, he disappeared down the steps, pursued by a stern-looking Matt Porter, the chief executive of Professional Darts Corp (PDC). The physical scars from Menzies’ encounter with the Alexandra Palace drinks table after his 3-2 defeat against Charlie Manby at the Darts World Championship would be gone within a few weeks.
Manchester United on Monday blew the lead three times to miss out on moving up to fifth in the Premier League as AFC Bournemouth would not be beaten in a thrilling 4-4 draw at Old Trafford. United have lost just once in their past 10 games, but Ruben Amorim would be frustrated as more points at home were frittered away despite arguably the best attacking display of his reign in charge. Amad Diallo and Casemiro gave the hosts a halftime lead either side of Antoine Semenyo’s equalizer. Two Bournemouth goals from Evanilson and Marcus Tavernier in seven minutes at the start of the
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LACKLUSTER FIGHT: At one stage, the referee lost patience with the two fighters, warning them in the fourth round that ‘the fans did not pay to see this crap’ Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on Friday knocked out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in their controversial Netflix-backed bout in Miami. The fight at the Kaseya Center, which saw both men reportedly splitting a mammoth purse of US$184 million, had triggered alarm across boxing due to the gulf in physical size and class between Britain’s two-time former world champion Joshua and Paul, an Internet personality who has forged a lucrative career through a handful of novelty boxing contests. However, in the event, Joshua made hard work of defeating his vastly less accomplished opponent, before his superior size and power eventually told
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