The New Taipei Kings yesterday survived the Kaohsiung Steelers and 2013 NBA No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett to take possession of first place in the P.League+.
The Steelers, at the bottom of the six-team league, had a road upset on their mind as they took a 54-52 lead at halftime with 25 points and nine rebounds from Bennett, who finished the game with 36 points and 13 rebounds.
Captain Lu Cheng-ju gave the visitors a further boost early in the third quarter when he scored the 6,000th point of his career in Taiwan. A total of 5,743 of those came in the semi-professional Super Basketball League, Taiwan’s main professional league for 20 years until the P.League+ started in 2020.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The Kings pushed ahead to end the period 81-75, before finishing the game 105-94, improving their record to 13-6 to edge past the Fubon Braves at the top of the standings.
Calling his side’s defense subpar in the first half, Kings head coach Ryan Marchand said they had to adjust to take charge of the game.
“I know over the course of 48 minutes there’s going to be a couple of bad stretches, but I think we’ve been shortening those stretches and that really helped us in the second half,” he said.
Former NBA veteran DeAndre Liggins, playing more aggressively than he had in recent games, recorded a double-double of 22 points and 13 rebounds.
“For him [Liggins], it’s just picking his spots. You know he’s not a scorer per se, he’s a little bit more of a creator on offense, but [we’re] showing him when he can be aggressive and when he needs to pull back,” Marchand said.
In yesterday’s games, the Hsinchu JKO Lioneers beat the Braves 114-103, while the Formosa Taishin Dreamers beat the Taoyuan Pilots 111-77.
On Friday, the league fined the Pilots’ Devin Robinson of the US and Lioneers forward Lin Yi-huei NT$25,000 for cheap shots taken during Hsinchu’s 116-97 win over Taoyuan.
Lin was also suspended for two games for instigating the altercation by hitting Robinson in the groin area early in the third quarter.
Robinson retaliated on the team’s next defensive possession, waiting for Lin to drive to the basket and then smacking him in the face well after he had passed the ball to a teammate. Lin fell to the ground and had to be helped off the court, while Robinson was ejected.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
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