Back-to-back 35-point games by Tien Lei in last week's Super Basketball League action landed the Dacin Tigers' premier scorer this week's Player-of-the-Week honor.
The two-time Most Valuable Player was the main reason that the Tigers have won two straight against formidable opponents such as the defending SBL champion Yulon Dinos and a tough ETTV Antelopes squad at the close of the first half of the season.
In the Tigers' two wins, Tien also did a tremendous job on the glass, collecting a combined 29 rebounds.
PHOTO COURTESY SBL
With the 70 points over the two-game span, Tien upped his season scoring average to 23.5 points per game, second only to Taiwan Beer great Lin "The Beast" Chih-jeh's 25.2.
His 29 rebounds over the same span also boosted his rebounds-per-game average to 9.9. That was 0.2 fewer than the Dinos All-Star center Tseng Wen-ding's 10.1.
"It's great to be able to come up with the award [Player of the Week], but what's most important is that we are back on the winning track," Tien said.
Tien and his feline mates will get the week for Lunar New Year before play resumes next Friday.
BIG NAMES GONE: Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title, reaching semi-finals for the fifth time in six years and finishing second on three occasions Alexander Zverev on Tuesday breezed past Rafael Jodar to stay on course for an elusive Grand Slam title at the French Open, while Jakub Mensik halted Joao Fonseca’s scintillating run in the quarter-finals. Zverev, the highest-ranked player left in the men’s draw, put an end to Spanish teenager Jodar’s impressive Roland Garros debut, easing into the semi-finals with a 7-6, (7/3), 6-1, 6-3 win. The 29-year-old Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title. He has finished runner-up on three occasions, including at the 2024 French Open. “I want to win the matches that are ahead of
After letting another big lead slip with an error-strewn performance at the French Open on Wednesday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka felt like getting as far away from the courts as possible. “Just want to quit tennis right now,” Sabalenka said after wasting a lead of a set and two breaks in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss to Diana Shnaider in the women’s singles quarter-finals. “We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.” Sabalenka’s wait for a first French Open title continues despite the four-time major winner leading 4-1 in the second set and being two points from victory while
For some, Cristiano Ronaldo remains the essential spearhead for Portugal’s FIFA World Cup bid, while others believe his presence would prevent Roberto Martinez’s strong side from flourishing. The debate around the five-time Ballon d’Or winner rages on, as it did at UEFA Euro 2024 and four years ago in Qatar — yet Ronaldo endures, ready to play in a record sixth World Cup. The 41-year-old remains a global superstar despite swapping the European elite for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, and is the leading men’s international goalscorer with 143 strikes. With 25 of those coming in 30 games under Martinez, the coach
Taiwanese sprinter Chen Yi-cen on Friday won the silver medal in the women’s 400m final at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships in Hong Kong, with a time of 53.16 seconds. Chen, 15, was the youngest among the eight finalists, and her performance also met the qualifying standard of 53.50 seconds for the Nagoya Asian Games in Japan in September and October. Chen first made her mark at the National Games in Tainan in 2023, at the age of 13, winning the women’s 400m final in 55.55 seconds to become the youngest gold medalist in the history of the event. Meanwhile,