The Taiwan Mobile Cloud Leopards held off an all-out rally by Taiwan Beer in the final three minutes of play to escape with an 85-80 win at the Kaohsiung Fengshan Gymnasium last night after nearly squandering an 18-point first-half lead.
Luke Nevill played his best game of the season by far with 23 points and 14 rebounds, several of which came during the crucial final minutes to keep the Leopards from dropping what would have been an embarrassing defeat to a resilient Taiwan Beer squad.
Also starring for the Leopards was Liu Sheng-yao, whose eight-point first half propelled his team to an early 30-17 advantage, which was barely enough to fend off the Brew Crew.
Photo courtesy of the SBL
Even though Taiwan Beer lost the game, their relentless attitude must have left a deep impression on the Leopards and the rest of the league as they chipped away at the deficit to get within three of the Leopards with less than two minutes to go before Nevill stepped up with a clutch bucket.
Emerging star Liu Chan also had a big day for Taiwan Beer with a team-high 21 points and four steals to solidify his status as one of the top defenders in the league. Other than a horrendous 1-for-4 shooting at the free-throw line, the third-year forward was virtually unstoppable, attacking the basket with several runaway slams.
PURE YOUTH 90, BANK OF TAIWAN 67
Top-ranked Pure Youth Constructions cruised past Bank of Taiwan in Kaohsiung yesterday afternoon to extend their winning streak to five straight.
The two-time defending champs took advantage of a 13-0 run midway through the opening quarter to help them attain a 26-16 lead and never looked back as they outplayed the Bankers in every facet of the game to walk away with a convincing victory.
Leading the way for the Builders was Quincy Davis who championed a foursome of double-digit scorers with a team-high 14 points in less than 23 minutes of play, giving the deep Pure Youth bench plenty of floor time to tune up for today’s showdown against Taiwan Beer.
Winless in their last 13 meetings dating back to 2011, the Bankers managed to hang with the Builders for the first few minutes of the contest, but reverted to their old form with several ill-advised passes.
LUXGENS 72, TIGERS 74
The Dacin Tigers also overcame a double-digit deficit in the first half with a solid fourth quarter to edge past the Yulon Luxgens in the nightcap game in Kaohsiung last night.
Jonas Vingegaard on Tuesday claimed the overall Vuelta a Espana lead while Jay Vine earned the stage 10 victory for his second triumph of the race. Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard overhauled Torstein Traen’s lead to head the general classification by 26 seconds from the Norwegian, with Joao Almeida third and trailing the Dane by 38 seconds. Vine put in an unmatchable performance on the final climb to finish ahead of Spanish Movistar riders Pablo Castrillo and Javier Romo. “Back in red, I’m happy with it, it’s a beautiful jersey,” Vingegaard said. “I’m happy with how the day went,
Australian Alex de Minaur reached the second week of the US Open for the third year in a row with little fanfare on Saturday and said he intended to keep winning until the tournament organizers were forced to give him better billing. Despite being the eighth seed and a quarter-finalist last year at Flushing Meadows, De Minaur’s third-round match against German Daniel Altmaier was scheduled for Court 17 — the smallest of the four stadium venues in the precinct. “It is a little bit of a headscratcher for me. I’m not gonna lie,” he told reporters after progressing 6-7 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4,
RIVALRY: Carlos Alcaraz lost his previous two matches against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in the Australian Open quarter-finals this year and Paris Olympics final last year Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday dazzled at the US Open to make the semi-finals before Novak Djokovic of Serbia danced his way through to book a New York showdown with the Spaniard that would mark the latest chapter in their generational rivalry. Former champion Alcaraz produced yet another entertaining display at Flushing Meadows to dismantle 20th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 at a sunbathed Arthur Ashe Stadium, securing his place in the last four without dropping a set this year. “Sometimes I play a shot that I should not play in that moment, but it’s the way I love
Spain are in danger of not getting out of EuroBasket Group C after losing 67-63 to Italy on Tuesday, but the defending champions still control their destiny. Marco Spissu put Italy in front for good at 64-63 with two free throws with 31 seconds left and made two more with 14 seconds remaining. Giampaolo Ricci converted one of two free throws with eight seconds on the clock. Spain, which in 2022 won their fourth title, are tied with Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 2-2 each. Greece and Italy have clinched two of the group’s four spots in the round-of-16,
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