With green ribbons showering the floor, Taiwan Beer clinched the SBL title by a 4-2 margin following a convincing 89-67 win over the Yulon Dinos to successfully defend their title.
The men in their familiar white-and-green uniforms took a surprising 24-15 lead after the opening quarter and never looked back en route to a 22-point trouncing of a Dinos squad that was simply outplayed in every facet of the game.
Leading the way for Taiwan Beer was Championship Series MVP Lin “the Beast” Chih-jeh, whose 24 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, all of which were game-high’s, equated to the epitome of total dominance. The Beast would end the series with an astonishing 20.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists average.
“No words can even begin to describe what’s going through my mind right now, it’s awesome,” the Beast said after the game.
Also starring for the Beer Crew was prized off-season acquisition Wu Dai-hao, who knocked down eight of 11 from close range and had a surprising three-pointer for a total of 22 points in one of his best performances of the year.
“This is why I came to Taiwan Beer, it’s unbelievable,” Wu said after the game in the locker room. It was his eleven points in the third quarter that kept a seemingly desperate Dinos rally from materializing in the absence of the Beast, who was getting a much-needed breather on the bench.
Failure to contain the Beast and Wu proved costly for the Dinos, as the three-time champions missed a chance to force the series into a seventh game.
An off-night by Chen “Airman” Hsin-an was another critical factor in the Dinos collapse, as their top scorer managed to net only one point in the first half, after having scored 26 the previous night.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS