National Taiwan Normal University played its best game when it counted the most by erupting for 28 points in the third quarter to defeat previously unbeaten Mingdao University 80-66 in the fifth day of play at the annual University Basketball Association (UBA) tournament on Sunday to improve to 4-1.
The defending champs showed a young Mingdao squad who was really the boss, with great outings from Lin Yi-hui and Cheng Ren-wei, whose combined 34 points and 17 rebounds accounted for nearly half of National Taiwan Normal’s total offense.
The win not only put National Taiwan Normal in a three-way tie for first place at 4-1 — with the other previously unbeaten team, Fu Jen Catholic, losing to Taipei Physical Education College on the same day — but also gave National Taiwan Normal a tremendous psychological boost as it heads into today’s contest against National Kaohsiung Normal University.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Mingdao showed off its speed and talent in the early going, with Wu Min-hsien and Liu Cheng doing most of the damage on the scoreboard to lift the team to a 26-22 lead after the opening quarter.
But the more experienced National Taiwan Normal — fielding eight players from the Super Basketball League — returned the favor by keeping the game close until a 3-on-1 fast break ending with a thunderous slam dunk by Chou Bo-cheng late in the first half gave the defending champs their first lead of the contest at 40-39.
National Taiwan Normal pulled away in the third with a 28-13 run and led by as many as 22 points in the fourth en route to the impressive double-digit win.
“This [the loss] was a good lesson for us because it really taught our younger players playing one good half will not win you the game against good teams,” Mingdao skipper Chia Fan said after the game.
His team had won their four previous games by an average 13.3 points and their past 19 games dating back to last year.
TAIPEI PHYSICAL EDUCATION 85,
FU JEN CATHOLIC 78
Mingdao was not the only previously unbeaten team that stumbled on the day, with Fu Jen Catholic falling victims to a psyched-up Taipei Physical Education squad that had gone 0-4 but managed an 85-78 upset.
Several questionable calls in Taipei Physical Education’s favor may have affected Fu Jen’s mental game as it squandered a six-point first-half lead and was forced to play catch-up for the rest of the contest.
“Good defense and patience on offense really helped us win this game,” Taipei Physical Education head coach Chen Chung-cheng said after the game.
Other Results
• National Kaohsiung Normal University 73, Hsin Wu College 80
• National Taiwan College of Physical Education 62, Chinese Culture University 78
• Diwan University 92, National Donghwa University 84
• National Taiwan University of Arts 70, National Taiwan Sports University 78
Taiwan suffered its first defeat of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12, losing to defending champion Japan 3-1 at the Taipei Dome last night. Japan’s victory put Taiwan’s score at two wins and one loss in WBSC Premier12 championship Group B play. In the top of the first inning, a sacrifice fly from Japanese batter Shota Morishita allowed Masayuki Kuwahara to score a run on Taiwan’s starter Chen Po-ching (陳柏清). Taiwan’s attempt to catch up in the bottom of the first ended to no avail and an uneventful second inning saw the score
Taiwan last night defeated Cuba 2-0 in their World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 Group B game at the Taipei Dome and finished the group second. At the Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium, South Korea yesterday defeated Australia 5-2, while Japan last night won 11-3 against the Dominican Republic. On Sunday, Taiwan scored two three-run homers in an 11-3 blowout win over Australia at the Taipei Dome to advance to the Super Round. Fresh off a defeat at the hands of defending Premier12 champions and Group B winners Japan the previous day, Taiwan’s offense came out slugging against Australia from the
Taiwan scored two three-run homers in an 11-3 blowout win over Australia at the Taipei Dome last night to advance to the Super Round of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 tournament. Fresh off a defeat at the hands of defending Premier12 champion and Group B winner Japan the previous day, Taiwan’s offense came out slugging against Australia from the off. After taking a walk to first base, Taiwan’s Chen Chieh- hsien (陳傑憲) then stole second before Tseng Song-en (曾頌恩) drew a walk to first in the top of the first inning. Chen then
A debate over the soul of soccer is raging in FIFA World Cup holders Argentina, pitting defenders of the social role of the beautiful game against the government of libertarian Argentine President Javier Milei, who wants to turn clubs into for-profit companies. Argentina, which gave the world Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, is home to some of the world’s most devoted soccer fans — a fact attributed by supporters like Gabriel Nicosia to the clubs’ community outreach. Nicosia is a lifelong supporter of San Lorenzo, a more than 100-year-old first division club based in the working-class Buenos Aires neighborhood of Boedo where
RSS