Last week, Patrick O’Bryant was selected as the Super Basketball League’s Player of the Month for December due to his outstanding effort and inside presence over an eight-game span last month.
The Iowa native, who played college ball at Bradley University before being drafted in the first round by the Golden State Warriors in 2006, has excelled in his latest role as a Taiwan Beer center.
His dominant style of play inside the paint has led him to post a league-best average of 21.3 points per game, while his keen instinct for the ball saw him record nearly three steals per game last month and make him a rare double threat on the court.
Photo Courtesy of the SBL
Members of the Basketball Writers’ Association were torn between honoring the US big man or fellow forward and teammate Liu Cheng, but O’Bryant ultimately edged Liu by a narrow 30-27 margin in one of the closest races yet for the monthly accolade.
“I’d like to thank my teammates, especially Liu Cheng, whose relentless desire to improve his game as inspired me a lot, for making [winning Player of the Month] possible,” the soft-spoken O’Bryant said upon learning that he had won the honor.
His late arrival to the league in November last year and some initial adjusting to the local style of play somewhat hindered the American’s ability to shine right away.
However, O’Bryant has now made a believer out of Taiwan Beer skipper Yen Chia-hua, with his performances earning him lofty praise from Yen.
“[O’Bryant’s] addition to our team, though it came several weeks later than we would’ve liked, has been critical to our success. We are definitely playoff contenders now,” Yen said, referring to the American joining the team two into the season.
With the former NBA star leading the Brew Crew on both ends of the floor, Yen should have a lot to look forward to with the season more than halfway over and his troops enjoying a two-game lead over the fourth-placed Yulon Luxgens ahead of the final week of play before the league takes a month-long break for the Lunar New Year.
NO HARD FEELINGS: Taiwan’s Lin Hsiang-ti and Indonesia’s Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi embraced after fighting to a tense and rare 30-29 final game in their Uber Cup match The Taiwanese men’s team on Wednesday fought back from the brink of elimination to defeat Denmark in Group C and advance to the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup, while the women’s team were to face South Korea after press time last night in the Uber Cup quarter-finals in Horsens, Denmark. In the first match, Taiwan’s top shuttler Chou Tien-chen faced a familiar opponent in world No. 3 Anders Antonsen. It was their 16th head-to-head matchup, with the Dane taking his fourth victory in a row against former world No. 2 Chou, winning 21-14, 13-21, 21-15 in 1 hour, 22 minutes. The
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Tennis players are facing an unexpected opponent at the Madrid Open. A stomach virus or food poisoning has affected Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Marin Cilic and others, raising concerns. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka avoided an upset by Naomi Osaka on the court on Monday and said she is trying to avoid illness by sticking to a diet of chicken breasts, rice and salad. The rumor among the players was bad shrimp tacos were to blame. Sabalenka knocked on wood for luck and said, “So far, so good. I heard that I have to avoid those tacos,” she laughed, adding “I stick to the
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
RSS