Yang Yu-ming's uncanny style of play, which rallied the ETTV Antelopes to a pair of come-from-behind victories over Taiwan Beer and the Dacin Tigers last week, has earned the Antelopes captain the Super Basketball League's Player of the Week honor.
The fourth-year sharp shooter for the Antelopes shot a combined 9-for-14 from behind the three-point line in the Antelopes' two wins, including five threes in the third quarter alone, in Sunday's contest against the beer crew, to extend the Antelopes' winning streak to four straight. His 21.5 points per game were also team highs over the two-game span.
"Having not received it [Player of the Week] once in the entire season last year, it's quite a nice change for me," Yang said after learning of his selection for the weekly honor.
"I thought Jin-chang [Hsin] should have gotten it instead of me," Yang added, referring to fellow forward Hsin's great two-game run, which placed Hsin at No. 4 in the voting.
Yang and Hsin will get a chance to see how good they really are this week, with tonight's uphill battle against the top-ranked Videoland Hunters and tomorrow's showdown against the defending champs, the Yulon Dinos, before Sunday's rematch against Taiwan Beer.
To keep pace with the Hunters, the Antelopes must contain US forward Jonathan Sanders, who leads the league in rebounding with 15.1 per game and is second in scoring with 23.8 points per game.
The last time these two squads met, the Antelopes lost not only the game, but also their top defender Delvin Thomas, who suffered a knee injury that took him out of the lineup for nearly three weeks.
Tomorrow's game versus the Dinos will undoubtedly be a physical match since both teams will look to establish an inside game with Thomas in the leading role for the Antelopes and big man Tseng Wen-ding doing the same for the Dinos.
It will take a monstrous game by Yang from the perimeter to draw the Dinos defenders away from the paint and give Thomas some room to maneuver.
Sunday's rematch against Taiwan Beer may favor the beer crew slightly, simply because Taiwan Beer will be playing with a one-day rest, while the Antelopes will be playing their third game in as many days.
Tonight's Action
In addition to the Antelopes' game against the Hunters at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium, the Dacin Tigers will face Taiwan Beer in a highly anticipated game at 8:30pm as the two most popular squads in the league go head-to-head for the second time this season.
The last time these two teams met, Taiwan Beer ran away with a 92-89 win by holding the Tigers to 16 fourth-quarter points in a dramatic comeback win.
Netting only 13 points and six boards, well below his league-best scoring average of 27.4 points and 11.4 rebounds per game (second-best in the league), Dacin great Tien Lei did not have a particularly good game the last time these two teams met. This is bad news for the beer crew, because it is unlikely that they can hold the three-time league MVP to two bad games in a row.
American rugby sevens star Ilona Maher is to join 15-a-side club Bristol next month in a bid to play in next year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, the English club announced on Monday. Maher, 28, helped the US to a bronze medal at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris and is the seven-a-side sport’s most popular player on social media. “This is a huge coup to be able to bring Ilona Maher to Bristol Bears on a short-term deal,” Bristol head coach Dave Ward said. “She is one of the biggest names in women’s sport, let alone rugby, and we believe she will
US skier Mikaela Shiffrin said she sustained an abrasion on her left hip and that something “stabbed” her when she crashed during her second run of an Audi FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom race on Saturday, doing a flip and sliding into the protective fencing. Shiffrin stayed down on the edge of the course for quite some time as the ski patrol attended to her. She was taken off the hill on a sled and waved to the cheering crowd before going to a clinic for evaluation. “Not really too much cause for concern at this point, I just
CLASH OF MANAGERS: Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler and Russell Martin of Southampton accused each other of disrespect, while both were booked Southampton on Friday were denied a priceless victory by a controversial decision as they drew with hosts Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 in the Premier League. Kaoru Mitoma spectacularly headed Brighton into a first-half lead and Flynn Downes hammered home an equalizer an hour in. Minutes later teammate Cameron Archer converted a cross from Saints substitute Ryan Fraser. A video assistant referee check of more than four minutes eventually decided that Archer was onside, but then penalized Adam Armstrong, who was offside, but did not touch the ball, for interfering with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. “I find it hard to accept,” Southampton manager Russell Martin
HISTORIC VICTORY: Botafogo are the last of the four big Rio clubs to win the Copa Libertadores and they earned a spot in next year’s FIFA Club World Cup Botafogo on Saturday overcame playing with 10 men to win their first Copa Libertadores title after beating fellow Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro 3-1 in the final at Estadio Monumental. After just 30 seconds, midfielder Gregore, one of Botafogo’s best players, hit the head of Fausto Vera with his foot and was given a straight red card. “It was so hard to have one less so early in a final. It was an unfortunate move,” Botafogo defender Alexander Barboza said. “But Gregore deserves this title as much as we do. We made history and that won’t ever be erased.” Winger Luiz
RSS