Overcoming a three-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter, the Yulon Luxgens rallied for 27 points in the final quarter to edge past the Dacin Tigers 74-69 on the final day of play at the Hualien County Sports Complex yesterday afternoon to settle with a third-placed finish at this year’s Hualien Probation Cup.
Nine quick points by Wu Fong-chen in the first quarter got the Luxgens moving in the right direction as they led the Tigers 18-16 after one quarter of play, but the Cats came back with a superb defensive effort in the second quarter that held the Luxgens to 10 points to set up a 32-28 advantage at the half.
Neither team got the upper hand in a hard-fought third period that saw the Luxgens reduce the deficit to three, before a 27-point scoring spree by the four-time SBL champions shook off the Cats en route to a favorable finish.
Photo: Chang Cheng-pang, Taipei Times
LEOPARDS 90, BANK OF TAIWAN 73
In the battle for fifth place, the Taiwan Mobile Cloud Leopards took a commanding 45-32 lead at halftime and went on to defeat Bank of Taiwan by 17 points.
The Leopards demonstrated their tremendous depth and experience over a young Bankers squad with a 21-7 scoring differential in the decisive second quarter, highlighted by two three-pointers from Liu Sheng-yao and 10 points from Chang Rong-hsuan which sealed the victory long before the final buzzer.
Bank of Taiwan did not have a good game in terms of the wide margin of the loss, but the young group of promising rookies and sophomores did have a good showing over the course of the tournament as they prepare for the upcoming SBL season.
“We are pretty pleased with the way some of our younger players have played in the tournament, it gives us something to build on as we get ready for the regular season,” Bankers coach Wei Chen-ming said after the game.
KT SPORTS 80, ELITE TALENT 76
In the title game between South Korea’s KT Sports and Elite Talent Exchange of the US last night, it was KT Sports who had the last laugh as they rallied from a dismal first quarter with an outstanding effort in the second to run away with the gold medal.
TAIWAN BEER 100, KINMEN 94
Taiwan Beer edged past Kinmen Kaoliang by a 100-94 margin in overtime to settle for a seventh-placed finish yesterday afternoon in an otherwise disappointing showing.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
RSS