Rallying from a double-digit deficit at the half, the Yulon Luxgens roughed up the third-ranked Dacin Tigers 80-71 at the Banciao Gymnasium in New Taipei City last night to avenge a close loss in their previous meeting.
The win not only gave the Automakers a 4-1 margin in their five regular-season matches against the Cats, but also brought them to within 1.5 games of their opponents as they look to close out the regular session on a high note.
Lu “Male Model” Cheng-ju shook off a horrendous first half in which the Yulon perimeter threat shot an awful zero for five from the field with a tremendous second half that saw him connect on six of 10 from the floor, including three three’s to lift his club past the Tigers.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
“I do not know what happened in the second half, but the shot just seemed to fall for me after we switched ends,” Lu said, in an attempt to explain the difference in his performance between the two halves.
The showdown between the third and fourth-ranked teams was all Tigers in the first half, with Chou Yi-hsiang converting eight of 14 from the floor with a season-high 23 points in the half to lead the Cats to a 47-34 advantage.
However, the momentum quickly swung in the direction of the Automakers, who opted to go with a 2-3 zone defense in the second half as they opened the third quarter with an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to seven before tying the game at 52-52 with less than four minutes to play in the period with a 10-3 run.
That was the extent that the Tigers were in the game as they continued to struggle against an effective Yulon zone defense.
The Tigers shot nine for 41 (21.9 percent) from the field in the second half, compared with the Automakers’ 20 for 37 (54.1 percent) to lose the game long before the final buzzer.
BRAVES 89, BANK OF TAIWAN 64
The Fubon Braves topped Friday night’s 80-78 win over Kinmen Kaoliang with a rout of Bank of Taiwan in the second game in New Taipei City last night to boost their record for the week to a perfect 2-0.
Earl Barron and Joseph Lin teamed up for at least 45 points for the second straight game with 54 last night to lead the Braves past their foes in the fight for fifth place in the standings.
“We knew we had a chance to take fifth [in the standings] if we beat [Bank of Taiwan] and that was what happened,” Lin said after the game.
The Fubon guard, who is often called Jeremy Lin’s kid brother, poured in 20 or more points for the second straight game, finishing with 21 last night to breathe a little life into the once-struggling Braves.
Lin “is playing so well as of late that we almost forget that he is just a rookie,” Fubon skipper Yen Hsing-shu said after the game.
Barron led all scorers with 30 after downing 25 the night before to give the Braves offense a much-needed boost.
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Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
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