The Taiwan Mobile Cloud Leopards held off an all-out rally by Taiwan Beer in the final three minutes of play to escape with an 85-80 win at the Kaohsiung Fengshan Gymnasium last night after nearly squandering an 18-point first-half lead.
Luke Nevill played his best game of the season by far with 23 points and 14 rebounds, several of which came during the crucial final minutes to keep the Leopards from dropping what would have been an embarrassing defeat to a resilient Taiwan Beer squad.
Also starring for the Leopards was Liu Sheng-yao, whose eight-point first half propelled his team to an early 30-17 advantage, which was barely enough to fend off the Brew Crew.
Photo courtesy of the SBL
Even though Taiwan Beer lost the game, their relentless attitude must have left a deep impression on the Leopards and the rest of the league as they chipped away at the deficit to get within three of the Leopards with less than two minutes to go before Nevill stepped up with a clutch bucket.
Emerging star Liu Chan also had a big day for Taiwan Beer with a team-high 21 points and four steals to solidify his status as one of the top defenders in the league. Other than a horrendous 1-for-4 shooting at the free-throw line, the third-year forward was virtually unstoppable, attacking the basket with several runaway slams.
PURE YOUTH 90, BANK OF TAIWAN 67
Top-ranked Pure Youth Constructions cruised past Bank of Taiwan in Kaohsiung yesterday afternoon to extend their winning streak to five straight.
The two-time defending champs took advantage of a 13-0 run midway through the opening quarter to help them attain a 26-16 lead and never looked back as they outplayed the Bankers in every facet of the game to walk away with a convincing victory.
Leading the way for the Builders was Quincy Davis who championed a foursome of double-digit scorers with a team-high 14 points in less than 23 minutes of play, giving the deep Pure Youth bench plenty of floor time to tune up for today’s showdown against Taiwan Beer.
Winless in their last 13 meetings dating back to 2011, the Bankers managed to hang with the Builders for the first few minutes of the contest, but reverted to their old form with several ill-advised passes.
LUXGENS 72, TIGERS 74
The Dacin Tigers also overcame a double-digit deficit in the first half with a solid fourth quarter to edge past the Yulon Luxgens in the nightcap game in Kaohsiung last night.
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If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
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