Mingdao University upset Chinese Culture University 70-68 as preliminary-round action in the annual University Basketball Association (UBA) tournament continued at the Fu Jen Catholic University in Sinjhuang on Thursday evening.
The newest team in Division I basketball proved that their promotion from Division II this season was no fluke by downing the runners-up from last season’s title game.
Mingdao received an outstanding performance from point guard Wu Min-shien, whose fade-away jumper with under a minute remaining in the game gave his side a four-point lead.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
Also starring for Mingdao was forward Huang Jia-ming, who got himself in a great position under the basket for an easy put-back bucket following a miss by Wu to seal the victory in a game in which they trailed for most of the first half.
“It was a big win for us, there’s no doubt about that,” said Mingdao skipper Chia Fan, who has singlehandedly brought Mingdao to prominence with an elite recruiting class from last year.
Chinese Culture were well on their way to picking up their second victory of the competition after taking the lead early on, but fell victim to foul trouble as their top guns Lu Cheng-ru and Wu Jien-long were held to limited action with three first-half fouls apiece.
NTUA 124, TPEC 83
Fourteen three-pointers boosted National Taiwan University of the Arts (NTUA) to 73 points in the first half as they breezed past Taipei Physical Education College (TPEC) for their first win of the competition.
NTUA vented their frustration over a loss to National Dong Hwa University the night before by converting more than half of their shots from the floor (43-for-76) en route to the lopsided win.
Lai Guo-wei’s game-high 33 points led the way for NTUA.
Thursday’s other results:
• National Taiwan Normal
University 104, Diwan
University 77
• Hsing Wu University 87, National Taiwan College of Physical Education 79
• Fu Jen Catholic University 98, National Donghwa
University 74
• National Taiwan Sports University 68, National Kaohsiung Normal University 65
His nickname might mean “Little Gabriel,” but even though he is just 1.21m tall, Gabriel dos Santos Araujo is a giant of Paralympic swimming. “My name is Gabrielzinho and I’m going for three gold medals at the Paris Paralympics,” the smiling 22-year-old Brazilian said, before receiving a kiss on the forehead from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at an official ceremony last month in Brasilia. Gabrielzinho’s objective at the Paralympics, which opens on Wednesday, is to upgrade from the two golds and one silver he won at the Tokyo Games three years ago. When he is not doing
BACK ON COURT: After arriving on court in a brightly colored outfit with a giant bow, Osaka stunned Ostapenko to record her first top-10 win in four years Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday survived US Open first-round wobbles to stay on course for a semi-final showdown, while two-time champion Naomi Osaka made a tearful and colorful return to Flushing Meadows. World No. 1 Sinner fought back from a set and break down to defeat 140th-ranked Mackenzie McDonald in his first match since being embroiled in a doping test controversy. Italian Sinner battled to a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 win over American opponent McDonald at Arthur Ashe Stadium, racing away with 18 of the last 22 games. The 23-year-old was returning to action just a week after it was revealed
NOT THIS YEAR: Teams from Taiwan have won 17 titles at the tournament, second only to the US with 30. This year was the nation’s first championship game since 2009 Taiwan fell just short in Sunday’s championship game of the Little League World Series (LLWS) in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, losing 2-1 to Florida. Despite the defeat, it was still the best finish for Taiwan at the LLWS since Taoyuan’s Guishan Little League, the country’s representative again this year, lost the 2009 championship game 6-3 to California. Entering Howard J. Lamade Stadium on Sunday on a five-game winning streak in Williamsport, Guishan took an early lead in the opening frame on an RBI single by Hu Yen-chun. However, Guishan failed to extend the margin as its players struggled at the plate, tallying only five
HISTORIC GAME: Taiwan, which have claimed the title 17 times, more than any other international team, have a chance to win it for the first time since 1996 Taiwan could not get much going at the plate on Saturday. However, the way starter Lai Cheng-ci was pitching, it did not matter. Lai struck out 12 batters and allowed just three hits in 5-1/3 innings as Taiwan beat Venezuela 4-1 to advance to the Little League World Series (LLWS) championship. “He’s the ace pitcher for the team and he shows leadership,” manager Lee Cheng-ta said through an interpreter. “He’s calm and he works hard, so every time we’ve had an important game he’s always the one to be carrying the responsibility.” Taiwan also managed only three hits, but collected eight walks and