Former NBA point guard Jason Williams yesterday encouraged basketball players in Taiwan to work on building their stamina so they can give their best in an upcoming three-on-three tournament.
Williams in a videoconference from Florida said that three-on-three games are more physically demanding than five-on-five because of the running involved.
“With five-on-five there are more people on the floor and that creates less room to operate, whereas for three-on-three, your one-on-one defense has to be really good because after one or two dribbles, people are going to be at the rim scoring,” said Williams, who played 12 seasons in the NBA.
Photo: Lin Yueh-fu, Taipei Times
In three-on-three games, players need to be quick and agile to be able to play effective defense, because each team lacks two players, Williams said in the promotional videoconference with Taiwanese media.
“For the young hoopers over in Taiwan who are going to do the three-on-three, you’d better get in shape and get ready to play,” he said ahead of the Cathay NBA 3X 2020 tournament that starts on Saturday.
Williams was known for his behind-the-back and no-look passes during his career, which included winning the NBA Finals with the Miami Heat against the Dallas Mavericks in 2006.
He said the dream of every player is to win a tournament and that he was no exception.
“In my opinion, as a player, that’s the only thing you play for, and that is to win a championship,” Williams said. “There were so many naysayers saying that I would never be a part of something like that and to be able to achieve that goal was the most precious moment in my life, as pertaining to sports.”
In addition, basketball has allowed him to travel all over the world and to learn how to interact with others, because it is not a one-on-one sport, he said.
“Without basketball I wouldn’t be sitting here with you guys in Taiwan from over the other side of the world,” Williams said.
The Cathay NBA 3X 2020, hosted by NBA Taiwan and sponsored by Cathay Financial Holdings, is to begin with preliminaries in Taichung at the weekend, before moving on to Taoyuan on July 18 and 19, Taipei on July 25 and 26, and Kaohsiung on Aug. 2.
The top 40 teams that emerge are to face off in the finals in Taipei on Aug. 22 and 23.
TOOTHLESS: Bologna never looked like finding a way back, and Antonio Conte and his substitutes were waiting to celebrate long before the final whistle SSC Napoli on Monday lifted the Italian Supercoppa with a 2-0 win over Bologna in Riyadh, David Neres netting both goals to earn the league champions a deserved victory over the toothless Coppa Italia winners. Neres opened the scoring with a stunning strike from distance six minutes before halftime and found the net again in the 57th minute when Bologna were caught trying to play out of defense. “We came here as champions of Italy, we wanted this trophy and we showed it with a great performance,” Napoli forward Matteo Politano told Mediaset. “We could have scored a few more goals, but
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue
RSS