Delvin Thomas' exceptional play inside the paint last week, netting 20 points, 12.3 rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists per contest over a three-game stretch for the ETTV Antelopes, earned him this week's Super Basketball League Player of the Week honor.
The power forward from the US, whose season did not start off particularly well after a knee injury that sidelined him for six games early in the season, has come on strong of late with a string of solid performances on the court that helped keep his team's playoff hopes alive.
It was Thomas and center Wu Dai-hao' fine play that powered the Antelopes to a 2-1 record last week that kept the fifth-placed Antelopes in contention with the fourth-placed Dacin Tigers for the fourth and final playoff spot with seven games remaining in the regular season.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Thomas, Wu and the rest of the Antelopes will have an excellent chance to win some ground against the Tigers with relatively easy games against the Azio Eagles and Bank of Taiwan, whose combined record of 8-38 should give the Antelopes' confidence a big boost heading into this weekend.
Tonight's Games
Scheduled for tonight will be the must-see showdown between the Tigers and the Videoland Hunters at the Taipei County Stadium in Sinjhuang, where two high-octane offenses with a three-point attack could run up the score in a hurry.
Both squads badly need the win, because a loss at this junction could mean the difference between being a third-seed and the fourth-seed in the postseason.
A win tonight would give the second-placed Hunters a full game lead over the third-placed Taiwan Beer, who will be rooting for the Tigers because a loss by the Hunters would automatically put Taiwan Beer in a second-place tie.
As for the Tigers, a win tonight will not only give them a two-and-a-half-game lead over the Antelopes in terms of securing the final playoff spot, but would also cut the third-placed Taiwan Beer's lead over them to just two games, meaning that they could potentially end up with a third-seed instead of the fourth-seed in the playoffs.
This will be an extremely physical game as the Hunters look to control the glass on both ends of the floor with top rebounder Jonathan Sanders leading the league with nearly 16 boards per game.
Unless the Tigers find a way to double-team the all-purpose US forward, he should have another big game tonight because he is too quick for the Tigers' Lee Fong-yong and too strong for Tien Lei and Chen Tzu-wei to outmuscle.
Also scheduled for tonight will be the game between Taiwan Beer and Bank of Taiwan in what should be an easy win for the beer crew, as the bankers come into the match with an 11-game losing streak.
This will be an excellent opportunity for Taiwan Beer coach Yen Jia-hua to play his reserves as the starters take some much needed rest in preparation for tomorrow's big game against the Hunters.
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 tennis star Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the second round of the mixed doubles at the French Open, after she and German partner Mark Wallner defeated Slovenian Andreja Klepac and Briton Lloyd Glasspool in straight sets, despite temperatures exceeding 32°C in Paris, while Taiwan’s top men’s doubles player Ray Ho also reached the second round. Hsieh, who made it to the semi-finals in the mixed doubles at Roland Garros in 2024, and Wallner defeated Klepac and Glasspool 6-3, 7-5 in just more than an hour, converting three of five break points, while holding their opponents to just one conversion
FAST AND LOOSE: Despite command struggles, Ohtani has pitched his way out of trouble after falling behind in counts, which manager Roberts credited to his velocity Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday night tossed six innings of no-hit ball, gave himself an early lead with a home run and still was not satisfied with his performance. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar dropped some expletives that were picked up by the on-field mic as he struggled with his command in a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rockies. He struck out seven, walked four and gave up an earned run in the fourth inning while visibly fuming on the mound. Ohtani (5-2) earned his third consecutive victory. “Just command was off, and I just felt like I was battling the lack of
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,
RSS