Exhibition games kicked off the Super Basketball League (SBL) season on Friday evening with Taiwan Beer downing the Dacin Tigers 106-83 in front of a 4,000-plus sellout Hsinchu crowd.
The rematch of last season's championship finals saw the defending champs holding nothing back against the Tigers despite it being a preseason game, by racking up 32 first-quarter points en route to the big win.
Even though the Tigers finally showed some signs of life by reducing a 41-58 halftime deficit down to as little as nine points (53-62) after a quick 12-4 run early in the second half, they proved no match for the beer crew as top scorer Lin "the Beast" Chih-jeh quickly came to the rescue with a rally-killing three-pointer to maintain a double-digit cushion the rest of the way.
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES
Six different Taiwan Beer players ended up scoring ten or more points in the game, led by the Beast and swingman Ho Sho-cheng, both with 15 points.
Newcomers Yang Jing-min (Bank of Taiwan) and Wu Dai-hao (dmedia, formerly the ETTV Antelopes) also demonstrated their worth by netting 12 and 11 points respectively to take the scoring burden off the Beast.
As for the hapless Tigers, their new campaign did not start off as well as they would have liked under the direction of new head coach Chiou Da-tsung, who saw his troops committing numerous unforced turnovers that led to easy baskets for Taiwan Beer.
Lin Yi-hui's game-high 22 points was the lone highlight for the Tigers as they looked to fine tune their game before the regular season begins in approximately a week.
Bank of Taiwan 72, Pure Youth 75
Ten unanswered points by Pure Youth (formerly the Azio Eagles) in the final three minutes of the contest helped rally them from eight down to top Bank of Taiwan by a 75-72 margin in the earlier game in Hsinchu on Friday.
The seesaw battle that featured more than five lead changes between the two squads had the Builders (Pure Youth's mother company being Pure Youth Construction) leading the Bankers 20-14 after the initial quarter before an evenly fought second quarter increased their lead by one point.
Then came a 24-point third quarter by Bank of Taiwan that included five long-range three-pointers to give the Bankers a slight 55-52 lead heading into the final quarter.
The Bankers actually led by eight points with three minutes remaining before a scoring drought allowed Pure Youth back in.
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with