This year’s Taiwan Strait Tournament opened at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium in Tianmu yesterday with the Yulon Luxgens edging the Taiwan Mobile Cloud Leopards in a 71-68 thriller.
Lu Cheng-rue’s three-pointer with 33 seconds remaining turned a one-point deficit into a two-point lead for the Luxgens, as they held off a late-game rally by the Leopards to escape with a narrow victory.
Also starring for the Luxgens were Chou Shih-yuan and Chen Shan-mei, whose 33 combined points accounted for nearly half of the score posted by a Yulon squad whose top priority this season is to revamp an inside attack after the departure of all-star center Tseng Wen-ding to the Chinese Basketball Association.
Photo courtesy of the CTBA
The Leopards are looking to build on last season’s success with newcomer Luke Nevill from Australia and skipper Cheng Chih-lung said he was relatively pleased with his team’s performance, despite the loss.
“We accomplished our goal for the game, which was to test-run some offensive and defensive schemes with the new guys in the lineup,” Cheng said after the game.
Nevill led all scorers with 21 points and 11 rebounds in a double-double effort for his new team.
NEW CENTURY 85, PURE YOUTH 80
Pure Youth Construction were no match for the visiting Dongguan New Century in their tournament opener, dropping a tight decision to start the exhibition season on a sour note.
Newly acquired three-point threat Chen Tzu-wei made a big splash in his Pure Youth debut by leading the defending Super Basketball League champs with 16 points.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
DAY OF BLOWOUTS: Elsewhere, the Lakers clinched the third seed in the Western Conference with a 140-109 pounding of the under-strength Houston Rockets The Denver Nuggets on Friday improved their playoff position, with a triple double from Nikola Jokic helping them to a 117-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Serbian put up 26 points, 13 assists and 16 rebounds. The triple-double performance, his 34th this season, ensured that he will finish the regular season as just the third NBA player to average a triple double across an entire season. The win meant the Nuggets improved to 49-32 on the season and gave them a real chance of grabbing fourth place and home-court advantage in the playoffs. Aaron Gordon top scored with 33 points for Denver,
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