The Fubon Braves picked up their second win in as many days by roughing up the Yulon Luxgens 77-61 at the Kaohsiung Fengshan Gymnasium last night to take a surprising 2-1 lead in their best-of-five post-season series.
Earl Barron had another big day at the office with a game-high 31 points and 15 rebounds for the Braves, dominating the Yulon interior defense at will in the absence of big man Liam McMorrow, who injured his knee during practice on Friday.
The former NBA standout justified his Foreign Player of the Year award by taking the ball strong to the hoop against Luxgen center Lee Teh-wei from the get-go en route to a monstrous night.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
“I had a better start than yesterday and that made a big difference,” Barron said, referring to his four-point first half on Saturday, before he erupted for 21 points in the second half to lead his team to victory.
Also starring for the Braves was Joseph Lin, who celebrated his Rookie of the Year selection with a solid all-around effort that was two assists shy of a double-double (18 points and eight assists).
The point man out of Hamilton College, New York, took the Yulon back-court to school with several off-balance jumpers and some nifty passing to demonstrate his tremendous versatility.
Similar to Saturday’s game, the Automakers had the upper hand early in the contest with three three-pointers in the opening frame to take a 20-17 lead after the first quarter, but that was the extent they were in the game as the Braves outscored them 21-12 in the second by attacking the offensive glass, while holding Yulon to dismal five-for-20 shooting from the floor.
Both teams have today off to regroup before tomorrow night’s Game 3, when the Automakers must win to force a Game 4.
The Braves could clinch the series with another win to earn the right to take on top seeds Pure Youth Construction in the semi-finals which are scheduled to start on Saturday.
DACIN TIGERS 94, BANK OF TAIWAN 90
Third seeds the Dacin Tigers swept their best-of-five series against Bank of Taiwan with a 94-90 win in the series-clincher in Kaohsiung last night.
Chou Yi-hsiang’s two clutch free throws with 18 seconds remaining turned an 89-90 deficit into a 91-90 lead for the Cats as they rallied in a game that featured three lead changes and five ties in the fourth quarter alone, before delivering the final knockout blow to the Bankers.
Chou’s game-winning free throws could not have come at a better time after the Tigers icon had missed a golden opportunity to seal the win by failing to connect on two free throws with 1 minute, 38 seconds to go in the fourth quarter to let the Bankers back into the game.
The victory earned the Dacin Tigers a semi-final berth against second seeds Taiwan Beer on Saturday.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two