A timely resurgence by Liu Sheng-yao, who converted all four free throws in the final 16 seconds of the game, held off a tenacious rally by the Yulon Luxgens to give the Taiwan Mobile Leopards a thrilling 79-76 win at the Hsinchu Municipal Gymnasium on Friday evening.
The soft-spoken Leopard forward, who is finally seeing the floor time he deserves after two years of play, was able to rise to the occasion by nailing the clutch free throws against his former team after the Luxgens were forced to foul intentionally with less than a minute remaining.
“I have been playing a lot better as of late and I hope the trend will continue,” Liu said after the game.
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES
He has averaged nearly 20 points per game over a four-game stretch to help the Leopards — under the direction of coach Cheng Chih-long — pull off upset wins over Pure Youth Constructions and the Luxgens in the same span.
Seven straight points by Leopards newcomer Alexus Foyle in the first quarter sparked a 10-0 run that gave the Leopards a surprising 19-11 lead before the cats upped the cushion to a whopping 13 (46-33) by the half, highlighted by a buzzer-beating three-pointer from mid-court by Ou Yang Jing-hen.
The Luxgens finally got back on track with a solid third quarter, tied the game up in the fourth and led briefly before coming up empty in all four of their final possessions to let the game slip away in the end.
KINMEN LIQUOR 95, BOT 85
Red-hot Kinmen Liquor continued its winning streak on Friday with a convincing win over Bank of Taiwan (BOT), thanks to an outstanding effort by local boy Cheng Ren-wei and last week’s Player of the Week Shawn “the Hawk” Hawkins.
The Kinmen scoring tandem’s combined 63 points accounted for nearly two-thirds of the team’s total offense for the night has been the main reason the distillers are tied for the lead with the Dacin Tigers with a 7-2 record.
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
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
Alex Michelsen on Thursday rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s singles, converting his seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the Canadian Open. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world. “It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put
RSS