Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/05/2020
By: Chang Ming-hsuan, Hsieh Ching-wen and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, May 5 (CNA) Taiwan's professional baseball league, in which teams are currently playing behind closed-doors due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, has received approval for 200 fans per game but is urging the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) to approve 1,000 fans per game, the league's head said Tuesday.

Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) Commissioner John Wu (吳志揚) made the comment after teleconferencing with team representatives over the matter in response to an earlier announcement from the CECC that it would allow fan attendance at CPBL games.

According to Wu, the league originally asked for a maximum 500 people to attend each game.

Deducting players, coaches, cheerleaders of both teams as well as CPBL staffers, referees, media members and broadcasting crew, who are already allowed to attend, Wu said the league first asked for 200 fans to be able to buy tickets to watch CPBL games.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: May 05, 2020
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Former Haiti international Judelin Aveska on Sunday scored the only goal of the match as Hang Yuan edged Ming Chuan University 1-0, while Taipower and Tatung scored big wins over bottom-of-the-table teams, and Taichung Futuro shut out Taiwan Steel for a surprise 1-0 victory in the Hua Nan Bank Taiwan Football Premier League.

At Fu Jen Catholic University in New Taipei City, Hang Yuan midfielder Lin Ming-wei almost gave the home side the lead in the 20th minute when the former Taiwan youth team captain collected a long pass in the penalty area and hit a bicycle-kick with his back to the goal, only for the ball to hit the crossbar.

However, Hang Yuan were rewarded for their domination of possession just before halftime when the Ming Chuan University defenders attempted to clear a corner, but the ball fell to Aveska, whose header flew past goalkeeper Lee Ming-wei for the all-important goal.

Having played with Hang Yuan in 2018, Aveska signed to play in Chile before returning this season.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/03/2020
By: Chang Ming-hsuan, Hsieh Ching-wen and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, May 3 (CNA) The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Sunday that it expects to soon allow a maximum of 250 fans attend local professional baseball games, which are currently played behind closed-doors due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

According to CECC Deputy Commander Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), the local Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) has proposed allowing a maximum 500 people attend each game, a proposal the CECC is expected to approve as part of measures to gradually loosen restrictions, as Taiwan's efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have been relatively successful so far.

Deducting players, coaches, cheerleaders of both teams as well as CPBL staffers, referees and broadcasting crew, who are already allowed to attend, a maximum 250 fans will soon be allowed to buy tickets to watch CPBL games, according to Chen.

The maximum attendance cap may soon be expanded if the country continues its success in containing the virus, he added.    [FULL  STORY]

SECOND WEEKEND: A crew producing the tourney’s livestream were briefly put at risk when FCC Formosans’ Anthony Liu put one of his five sixes onto the roof of their tent

Taipei Times
Date: May 04, 2020
By: Grant Dexter / Staff reporter

Anthony Liu continued his good form at the Taipei T10 Cricket league, even putting the new-to-the-game technical crew in danger with one six over forward-square at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground yesterday.

The FCC Formosans opener cracked the first half-century of the tournament, although Vishwajit Tawar of the Chiayi Swingers later in the day bettered Liu’s innings of 51 against the ICCT Smashers.

However, the crew who are producing the livestream for the tournament — which was put together to serve cricket-starved fans worldwide amid the COVID-19 pandemic — were momentarily put at risk when Liu put one of his five sixes onto the roof of a tent covering them and their equipment.

His next maximum produced no such danger, easily clearing the long-off fence.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/02/2020
By: Kay Liu

Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League opened its 2020 season on April 12, with all games played behind closed doors to adhere to the government's social distancing guidelines due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the empty stands, the four teams playing in the league found an online audience, broadcast in English, at a time when most professional sports events around the world have been disrupted or even scrapped altogether.

In addition to the games themselves, the teams' responses to the empty stands, including planting cardboard cutouts imitating fans, as well as the actions of their cheerleading squads, all caught attention, both at home and abroad.

The Taoyuan-based Rakuten Monkeys first came up with the idea of filling the empty stands with cardboard cutouts and mannequins to imitate the presence of fans.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: May 03, 2020
By: Grant Dexter / Staff reporter

The Taiwan Dragons produced a surprise pair of dominant performances at the Taipei T10 Cricket League yesterday, winning their two games, although the TCA Indians topped Group 1.

The Dragons upset the Hsinchu Titans with some strong hitting after being sent in to bat in the first match on the third day of competition.

Rishi Josula clattered 43 runs with four fours and three sixes in just 22 deliveries to set a batting standard that was not bettered at the Yingeng Cricket Ground yesterday.

He and Adam Hopkins (23) put on 58 for the second wicket after opener Athula Senadeera contributed 16 from 10. The partnership took the Dragons to 112, the highest team total of the super-short-format tournament so far.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 05/01/2020
By: Yang Chi-fang, Chen Wei-ting and Ko Lin

Taoyuan, May 1 (CNA) A video recording of American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Brent Christensen throwing out the ceremonial first pitch was played at a Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) game at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium on Friday.

The video, which was prerecorded in the stadium's indoor warmup area, was broadcast live by Eleven Sports Taiwan on Twitter before the game between the CTBC Brothers and Rakuten Monkeys.

The recording showed Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) in the batter's box facing Christensen.

The AIT director, who also received a Rakuten jersey bearing his name from Cheng, was at the Brothers-Rakuten game as a special guest, a rare chance for an outside fan to see a game in person.
[FULL  STORY]

MILESTONES: Chou Chun-san became the first person to win SBL titles as both a player and coach, while the Brew Crew set records for scoring and margin of victory

Taipei Times
Date: May 01, 2020
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Taiwan Beer last night dominated the Yulon Luxgen Dinos 117-78 at the Hao Yu Sports Center in New Taipei City to cap their season by winning the Super Basketball League (SBL) championship crown, with their high-scoring performance setting several league final records.

Taiwan Beer point guard Chiang Yu-an played in a manner befitting his leadership role on the team, as he came through while under pressure in the decisive Game 7 to score a team-high 24 points to go with nine assists and was voted SBL Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his standout performance throughout the series.

Chiang had help from his teammates in securing the win, particularly the imported duo of Kentrell Barkley from the US and Ihor Zaytsev from Ukraine, as well as key contributions by fellow Taiwanese forwards Huang Tsung-han and Wang Hao-chi.

Barkley recorded a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Zaytsev and Huang had 17 points and five rebounds each. Wang contributed 14 points and five rebounds, while Chou Po-hsun added 11 points and six rebounds in an all-round team performance.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/26/2020
By: Hsieh Ching-wen and Joseph Yeh

New Taipei, April 26 (CNA) A junior high school baseball team from Taitung County in southeastern Taiwan beat its rival from northern Taoyuan Sunday to win the county's first championship title in the Hsieh Kuo-cheng Cup for 21 years, gaining a berth to represent Taiwan in the Little League Baseball's (LLB's) Junior League Baseball Asia-Pacific Regional Tournament scheduled to be held in July.

Taitung's Pei Nan Junior High School triumphed over Taoyuan's Hsin Ming Junior High School with a 3-1 score at New Taipei's Sanchong Baseball Stadium in a game that was played behind closed doors on account of fears over the COVID-19 coronavirus.

The team's head coach, Huang Kuei-yu (黃貴裕), attributed the hard-earned victory to the joint efforts of the team's two left-handed pitchers, Huang Yu-yao (黃宇耀) and Huang Chin-hao (黃錦豪).

Starting pitcher Huang Yu-yao gave up one run in five innings, with four strikeouts and four hits, while Huang Chin-hao, meanwhile, had two scoreless innings as a reliever, giving up one hit and no runs.    [FULL  STORY]

Fubon FLOURISH: The Guardians hit three homers to edge out the CTBC Brothers 5-4 yesterday, with closer Chen Hung-wen chalking up a save in the final inning

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 27, 2020
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Taiwanese and international sports media lauded slugger Chu Yu-hsien of the Rakuten Monkeys, dubbing him “the new Babe Ruth” and “the world’s home run king” after he blasted another shot out of the ballpark to bring his season total to eight in eight games, but their pitching woes continued as they lost two to the Uni-President Lions over the weekend.

Although Rakuten’s first baseman has had hot hands to start the season, he cooled off somewhat last night, picking up only one hit in four at-bats as his team slumped to second straight defeat to the roaring Lions.

The Monkeys on Friday had made history with their seventh consecutive win, breaking their own 2011 record of six wins to start a season, behind a pitching gem by starter Wang Yi-cheng in a 14-4 rout of the Lions in Tainan.

However, the Lions have awoken from their early-season slumber, scoring 20 runs over the weekend against Rakuten pitching staff and winning 12-5 yesterday.    [FULL  STORY]