The Kaohsiung Aquas’ T1 League home opener against the New Taipei CTBC DEA on Saturday was a tough slog, but thanks to a three-pointer by Chiu Tzu-hsuan they clinched the game 94-93, tying the league record for the largest comeback win after rallying from 25 points behind in the third quarter.
They were also the first team to defeat the DEA this season, breaking the defending champions’ four-game winning streak.
The Aquas were two points behind in the fourth quarter with about five seconds to go, when center Lu Wei-ting grabbed a defensive rebound.
Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung Aquas via CNA
After receiving a pass from point guard Jason Brickman at the left wing with one second remaining, Chiu took the shot from beyond the arc and beat the buzzer, bringing more than 8,000 spectators at the Kaohsiung Arena to their feet.
“I told Jason to pass the ball to me and I could see Da Han [Huang Hung-han] coming toward me, but I tried for the shot anyway. I’ve pulled off game-winning shots in high school and university, but this one definitely impressed me the most,” Chiu said.
The Aquas’ win was particularly surprising considering Chiu’s struggles during his second pro season.
The 23-year-old has failed to score more than five points and has only nailed one-quarter of his 12 three-pointer attempts in his past four games.
He started Saturday’s match much the same, only scoring one of his eight shots in the first half, and missed all six three-pointers. He had missed 12 of 14 attempts, before his late game-winner.
“I know we lost three games in a row, but we won the most important match during our return to the home court today. Let’s go,” the Taichung native shouted in his post-match interview.
Big man Mindaugas Kupsas put up a game-high 29 points for the Aquas, while Mohammed al-Bachir Gadiaga led the DEA with 28 points.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
RSS