The Kaohsiung Aquas on Saturday rallied in the final minute of the T1 League opener to edge the Taiwan Beer Herobears 107-106 in a nail-biter in Taipei.
The game at the University of Taipei’s Tianmu campus gymnasium was the opener of the new six-team league’s inaugural season. The 3,456 fans in attendance, about 80 percent of capacity, were treated to a game of huge swings decided in its final seconds.
The Herobears were up by four with less than 90 seconds remaining, when the Aquas’ Filipino-American guard Jason Brickman nailed a three-pointer to narrow the deficit to 104-103.
Photo:Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
A lay-up by Herobears captain Chiang Yu-an widened the lead to three, but American Ferrakohn Hall pulled the Aquas even at 106 with a bomb from behind the arc.
With 10 seconds left, Brickman drew the defense toward him before dishing the ball to Lithuanian Mindaugas Kupsas, who was fouled while taking a shot. Kupsas sank the first free-throw, but missed the second, giving the Aquas a 107-106 lead.
The Herobears grabbed the rebound, but missed a desperation shot just before the buzzer.
Herobears center Diamond Stone of the US led all scorers with 44 points and also snagged 13 rebounds.
Brickman, known for his passing and playmaking ability, led with eight assists.
Aquas head coach Brendan Joyce, the former head coach of the Australian Opals, said he was happy with the win and how the team’s plans came together.
“We talked about having to play to the last possession before the game, and it came down to that, so I’m very happy for the players,” Joyce said. “It’s our first win, but it’s only the beginning.”
The Herobears had sped off to a 14-point lead after the first quarter, but found themselves down by 10 after a disastrous third quarter in which they only scored 11 points.
They came back and gave themselves a shot to win in the final minutes before the Aquas rallied.
In the league’s second game, the Herobears on Saturday face the CTBC DEA in New Taipei City.
The T1 League is one of two professional basketball leagues in Taiwan, along with the P.League+, which starts on Saturday in Taipei.
Kylian Mbappe struck from the penalty spot as Real Madrid beat a dogged CA Osasuna 1-0 on Tuesday to make a winning start in Spanish La Liga under new coach Xabi Alonso. The France striker, last season’s European Golden Shoe winner, scored early in the second half, after he was fouled in the area by Osasuna defender Juan Cruz. It was enough to seal the points in Alonso’s first game in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Madrid now unbeaten in their opening fixture of a league campaign since 2008. “You can see that Kylian wants to do even more
TO THE TOP: After securing the international title on Saturday, Team Taiwan were to face Las Vegas to potentially win their 18th Little League World Series championship A team from Taipei’s Dong Yuan Elementary School won the Little League Baseball World Series’ international title on Saturday by defeating Aruba 1-0 in the annual baseball tournament held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Taiwan team, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, were after press time last night to face a team from Las Vegas, Nevada, which beat a team from Fairfield, Connecticut, in the US championship 8-2. Taiwan are seeking to win their first Little League Baseball World Series title since 1996. “Really haven’t taken a moment to data dump right now on Taiwan,” Nevada manager T.J. Fescher said. “They’re a
‘CATASTROPHE’: Despite losing several key forwards in the summer transfer window, Bayern were up 3-0 in the first half before Harry Kane scored a hat-trick in the second Harry Kane hit a hat-trick, Michael Olise a double and newcomer Luis Diaz also scored as Bayern Munich made a “statement” against RB Leipzig 6-0 at home in the Bundesliga season opener on Friday. Bayern’s big-money arrivals, all brought in from the Premier League across the past three seasons, were dominant as the Bavarians begun their title defense in style. Olise scored twice in the first half, either side of a Diaz strike. Not to be outdone, Kane scored three goals in the second half — with two assists coming from Diaz, to bring Bayern’s total to 6-0. Kane told the Bundesliga
Kevin de Bruyne is to lead SSC Napoli’s Serie A title defense today when he makes his full debut at promoted US Sassuolo, but the champions head into the new season rocked by a long-term injury to star striker Romelu Lukaku. De Bruyne was, alongside aging icon Luka Modric, the big new name to arrive in Italy this summer and fans were hoping his linkup with Belgium teammate Lukaku would push Napoli to success both at home and in their return to the UEFA Champions League. The 34-year-old has suffered from hamstring injuries which caused him to miss significant chunks of the