Eight-time NBA All Star Dwight Howard on Sunday said he would not give up on the Taoyuan Leopards or allow his teammates to give up on each other after their 10th consecutive defeat set a T1 League record.
“They’ve always talked about me, said: ‘I wasn’t going to be this, I wasn’t going to be that,’ and I’m here today because I’ve never let anyone stop me from doing and being what I believe,” Howard said after the Leopards’ 87-101 defeat to defending champions the Kaohsiung Aquas at Kaohsiung Arena.
The former NBA star posted a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds, with four assists and one block in 26 minutes, 45 seconds of court time.
Photo courtesy of the Taoyuan Leopards via CNA
“And we are going to take that same mentality as a team, and we’re going to fight through this, we’re not going to give up,” he said.
Taoyuan, which Howard joined in November last year, have struggled this season, falling to the bottom of the six-team league standings with a 1-11 record. They are eight wins behind leaders New Taipei CTBC DEA.
Their only win was Howard’s league debut on Nov. 19, played at home at National Taiwan Sport University’s multipurpose arena against the visiting DEA. Howard has since played six games for the Leopards.
Despite their performance, Howard remained determined to get his team out of the losing slump.
“I’ve come from the hardest situations and been on top, so we’re going to do that here. We believe in each other, and we won’t stop believing no matter what and I believe in my teammates,” Howard said.
The season is halfway through and the odds are against the team, but he said Taoyuan could still mount a comeback.
“We know that everything is not going to go our way, and sometimes it might be a double standard with how the games [are] called, but this is where we got to rise above every situation that we have. Everything we have been through as a team is a test of our will and our character, and how strong we can be mentally,” he said.
Howard, who turned 37 last month, was the first overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft, and went on to become an eight-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year. He also won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2019-2020 season.
The Leopards are to play the Taichung Suns in an away game at National Taiwan University of Sport on Feb. 5.
Also on Sunday, the Tainan TSG Ghosthawks beat the Taiwan Beer Herobears 105-102 at Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science’s Shao Tsung Gymnasium.
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to
REUNION: Former Barcelona players Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Miami coach Javier Mascherano are to face their former coach Luis Enrique Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi faces a tantalizing reunion with former club Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup last 16 after both sides on Monday progressed to the knockout phase. Miami drew 2-2 with Palmeiras to go through second in Group A, after the Brazilian side fought back from two goals down to seal top spot. They now face an all-Brazil clash against Botafogo, who lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid, but progressed from Group B in second at the expense of the Spaniards. Champions of Europe PSG won the group with a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders, paving the