Underdogs rose to the occasion in two of the three games played in the Super Basketball League on Sunday with Pure Youth Construction rallying from behind to beat the dmedia Numen 114-105 in overtime and Bank of Taiwan shocking the heavily favored Taiwan Beer 90-85 at the Taipei County Sports Complex.
Trailing by three after rallying from eight down in the closing minute of regulation time, Pure Youth guard Chen Jung-jeh hit an off-balanced three-pointer with the clock winding down to force overtime.
That was the boost the builders needed as they went on to win the game to clinch their first playoffs berth in three seasons.
"What happened out there today was unbelievable," Pure Youth head man Hsu Jin-tseh said after the game. His team had come back from being second-to-last in the standings in January to legitimate playoff contenders in what has turned out to be a Cinderella season no matter how they finish out the year.
Leading the Pure Youth attack was forward Huang Chi-fong with 32 points.
Failure to convert on the free throws late in the game proved costly for dmedia as misses by Lin Guan-luen and Ouyang Jin-hen breathed new life into the builders.
BoT 90, Taiwan Beer 85
Behind a season-high 31-point outing by Chen Hsuen-shiang, Bank of Taiwan also found a way to drown Taiwan Beer in a 90-85 upset win to snap a 10-game losing skid against the beer crew that dated back to the start of last season.
Playing without the services of forwards Hsu Chih-chiang and Lin "Killer Bee" Chuin-fong due to injury, the bankers needed a strong showing by guard Lin Chih-long and Chen to even have a remote chance against the defending champs.
And that was exactly what they got as Chen converted 11 of 22 from the field, including seven three's while Lin chipped in his season-high of 21 as well to help their team pull off the upset.
With their postseason berth already determined (whether they finish out the regular season with a second or third finish, they will be playing the Numen), Taiwan Beer might have been taking the game lightly.
Dinos 77, Leopards 64
Winning their sixth in a row, the top-ranked Yulon Dinos easily handled the Taiwan Mobile Leopards 77-64 on Sunday to clinch their fifth straight regular season title.
The Leopards defense proved no match for the league-leaders as they bombarded the Leopards with 15 three-pointers on the night, with an excellent outing from Chen Chih-chung. The veteran Dinos point man ended up with a game-high 18 points and four assists.
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
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