Taipei Times
Date: Apr 25, 2016
By: AFP, LOS ANGELES

Jeremy Lin scored 18 points to lead a balanced Charlotte attack on Saturday as the Hornets

beat the Miami Heat 96-80 for their first NBA playoff victory in 14 years.

After two deflating defeats in Miami, the Hornets fed off their home crowd to trim the deficit in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series to 2-1.

In the late game on Saturday, Damian Lillard scored a game-high 32 points as the Portland Trail Blazers beat Los Angeles 96-88 to cut the Clippers lead in the series to 2-1.

The Hornets led by five points at halftime and held the Heat scoreless for almost seven minutes in an 18-0 scoring run in the third quarter that built their lead to 71-53.

The cushion grew to as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter as six Charlotte players finished in double figures.

It was a complete reversal from the Heat’s 106-80 home win in Game 1 and a 115-103 win in Game 2.     [FULL  STORY]

MOST VALUABLE:Patrick O’Bryant had 21 points and 23 rebounds as Taiwan Beer ended Pure Youth’s four-year grip on the title to claim the SBL Finals series 4-2

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 25, 2016
By: Paul Huang / Contributing reporter

Holding the four-time defending champions to 26 points in a dismal first half, second seeds

Taiwan Beer humbled Pure Youth Construction 79-66 in Game 6 of SBL Finals at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City last night to clinch the best-of-seven series by a 4-2 margin.

The win not only gave the Brew Crew their fourth league title, tying them with the Builders and the Yulon Luxgens, but it also ended what had been a four-year Pure Youth dynasty.

Patrick O’Bryant had a monstrous double-20 day at the office with 21 points and 23 rebounds to lead the men in the familiar white and green uniforms, who dominated the Builders in every facet of the game.

He was deservedly named the SBL Finals Most Valuable Player by league officials after the game.

“It feels very good to finally win it after all these years in Taiwan,” O’Bryant said as he savored finally claiming the title having played for Taiwan Beer for three years.

“We weren’t about to let what happened to us last year happen again this time, so we put an end to it when we could,” Taiwan Beer coach Yen Chia-hua said, referring to his team’s failure to win the title despite taking a 3-1 lead against the Builders last year.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 24, 2016
By: Paul Huang / Contributing reporter

Top-seeded Pure Youth Construction yesterday forced the championship finals

into a sixth game with a 75-61 win over second-seeded Taiwan Beer in Game 5 at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City, still trailing the Brew Crew by 2-3 in the best-of-seven series.

Close plays dominated the early stages of the match, with both teams trading leads by less than five points in the first 10 minutes of play, with Darian Townes and Patrick O’Bryant leading the way for the Builders and the Brew Crew on offense with four and nine points, respectively.

Despite six turnovers in the first quarter, Taiwan Beer managed to claim a 14-12 lead after 10 minutes of play, with Pure Youth failing to cash in on their extra ball possessions. However, their small lead lasted less than two minutes as the four-time defending champions quickly poured in 23 points in the second quarter, highlighted by eight from Chen Chien-en to close out the first half with a 35-31 cushion.

That set up an inside attack by Pure Youth with Townes racking up eight points and six rebounds, three off the offensive glass in the third to put the Builders ahead by as many as 10. The hired gun from the US finished with a game-high 18 on a night that was “do-or-die” for his team.

“We knew our backs were against the wall, so we had to come out a little more aggressive,” Townes said after the game.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/21
By: Lee Chin-wei and Kay Liu

Taipei, April 21 (CNA) A total of 29 Taiwanese athletes have already secured a place in the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and Taiwan is hoping to increase the number to least 50, the Sports Administration (SA) said Thursday.

As of Thursday, 29 athletes in 10 sports categories — shooting, archery, athletics, weightlifting, equestrian, taekwondo, cycling, wrestling, table tennis and gymnastics — had secured a berth in the Summer Games, according to the SA.

It said the weightlifting team, comprising three men and four women, is the biggest so far.

Taiwan’s goal is to send at least 50 athletes to the Summer Games, said Hung Chih-chang (洪志昌), head of the SA’s Competitive Athletics Division.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/20
By: Lee Yu-cheng and Romulo Huang

Manila, April 20 (CNA) Two Taiwanese athletes won gold in the women’s

competitions at the 2016 Asian Taekwondo Championships in the Philippines on Wednesday, bringing Taiwan’s total medal count to four – two golds and two silvers.

On the last day of the championships, Taiwan’s Lin Yi-ching (林宜青) defeated Feng Xiao of Macau 5:0 to win the women’s under-62 kg title.

In the under-67 kg division, Chuang Chia-chia (莊佳佳) of Taiwan won the title, beating Ha Thi Nguyen of Vietnam in the finals.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/19
By: Lee Chin-wei and Lilian Wu

Taipei/Lausanne, April 19 (CNA) Wu Ching-kuo (吳經國), the only Taiwanese

member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said on Monday the political turmoil in Brazil will not affect the preparations for this year’s Olympic Games.

Concerns grew over whether the 2016 Rio Olympics can be held as scheduled after the lower house of Brazil passed a motion to impeach President Dilma Rousseff on Sunday.

The impeachment motion will next go to the country’s Senate, and if a majority approves it, Rousseff will have to step down for 180 days to defend herself in an impeachment trial, leaving a potential power vacuum at the top of the country’s government.

In a telephone interview with CNA Monday in Lausanne, Wu said Brazil’s political upheaval will not affect the country’s preparations for the Olympics, being held from Aug. 5 to Aug. 21.     [FULL  STORY]