New Taipei Kings star Jeremy Lin and Daron Russell, a new addition to the New Taipei CTBC DEA, have been named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Players of the Month for March, the league announced yesterday.
The league awards two players every month, one for Taiwanese (called “non-imports”) and the other for foreign nationals (“imports”).
The former NBA star averaged 23.8 points and 5.3 assists over four games to earn the non-imports honor for the second time in the league’s inaugural season. He helped the Kings stay atop the seven-team TPBL with a 4-1 record last month.
Photo: CNA
Lin, a Taiwanese-American, qualifies as a non-import as he obtained a Taiwanese passport in 2020.
He on March 23 scored 36 points, including seven three-pointers, in the Kings’ 108-97 victory over the Taoyuan Leopards. On March 30, he scored 12 points in the fourth quarter to help the Kings outlast the DEA 100-98.
Lin received 15 first-place votes out of 24 from the media and won fans’ support with 1,920 votes — nearly 1,000 more than Leopards point guard Gao Jin-wei, who received 969.
Now 36, the former NBA combo guard first claimed the award in November last year, but the spotlight shifted to Gao in December and again in the first two months of this year.
Russell, who made his DEA debut on Feb. 28, averaged 28.3 points, seven assists, five rebounds and 2.8 steals over four games last month. He scored more than 35 points in two of them.
The DEA went 5-2 during the month, winning all four games in which Russell played.
The American point guard tallied 37 points in the DEA’s 116-106 win over the Leopards on March 2, then scored 40 points on the Taipei Taishin Mars on March 9.
His 21-point fourth quarter on March 2 broke the previous single-quarter scoring record of 16.
Russell emerged the winner of the monthly award for foreign players with an overall 33.6 percent of support, followed by Kings center Jason Washburn, who had 31.4 percent.
As of yesterday, the Kings led the league with a 20-6 record, while the DEA were in fourth place at 14-14.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
Defender Steph Catley says her UEFA Women’s Champions League title win with Arsenal last week will act as motivation to secure continental glory with Australia when the country hosts the Women’s Asian Cup next year. Catley and compatriots Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross were part of the Arsenal squad that defeated Barcelona in Lisbon on Sunday last week, before flying to Melbourne to feature in the Matildas’ 2-0 win over Argentina on Friday. The game was the first in a two-match series against the South Americans as the Australians continue preparations for the continental championship in March next year, when they would