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.
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said