Focus Taiwan
Date: 02/01/2020
By: William Yen

Taipei, Feb. 1 (CNA) Taiwan's Formosa Dreamers got their revenge against the visiting Kuala Lumpur Dragons in Changhua City on Saturday in an ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) game at which NBA superstar Kobe Bryant was also remembered.

The Dreamers topped the Dragons 85-79 after having fallen to the Malaysian team by one point the last time the two teams met on Jan. 12. That game was decided on a late jumper by the Dragons' American forward Amir Bell to give his team an 80-79 victory in Kuala Lumpur.

There were no such theatrics on Saturday, as the Dreamers rode American forward's Jerran Young's 20 points and playmaker Anthony Tucker's 22 points to victory.

Young's explosive play coupled with Tucker's hot shooting from inside and beyond the arc helped the Dreamers build a 79-73 with just over two minutes left, and a series of fouls by the Dragons and a technical on Dragons' center William Artino helped Formosa hold on.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwanese pitcher Wei-Yin Chen hints at new deal with Starbucks mug

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/01/31
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Seattle Mariners have agreed to a deal with Taiwanese baseball icon Wei-Yin Chen (陳偉殷) on Friday (Jan. 31), reports Major League Baseball (MLB) Network insider Jon Heyman.

Currently 34 years of age, the Taiwanese left-handed veteran has been in the big leagues since 2012 and was regarded as the ace for the Baltimore Orioles. His new contract with the Mariners, which is believed to be a minor-league contract along with an invitation to spring training, would allow him to redeem himself after being released by the Miami Marlins and fight for a spot on the Mariners' major league roster.

Chen was bothered by injuries and struggled during his time in Florida despite high hopes from the Marlins' executives. According to CNA, Chen will likely compete for the fifth spot in the Mariners pitching rotation and will surely be a great addition to the team with his experience and leadership.

On Thursday (Jan. 30), the Taiwanese southpaw posted an intriguing picture of himself on Facebook with the caption "Spring training is approaching, so is my long-awaited next stop." In the picture, Chen was seen holding a Starbucks Seattle edition mug printed with the city's famous Space Needle observation tower, which has caused speculation that Chen was hinting at his new deal with the Mariners.    [FULL  STORY]

A THRASHING: Top seeds Hsieh Su-wei and Czech partner Barbora Strycova fell to a 6-2, 6-1 defeat to second seeds Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic in 1 hour, 12 minutes

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 01, 2020
By: Dave Carroll  /  Staff reporter, with Reuters, MELBOURNE

Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Czech partner Barbora Strycova yesterday fell to a comprehensive defeat

in the Australian Open women’s doubles final, but there was a silver lining for the Taiwanese as she is to regain the world No. 1 spot when the new rankings are published on Monday.

The top seeds fell to a 6-2, 6-1 defeat to second seeds Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic at Rod Laver Arena in 1 hour, 12 minutes.

It was almost an exact repeat of the WTA Finals decider in Shenzhen, China, in November last year when the Hungarian-French duo lost just four games on their way to the title.

Strycova, who has said this is likely be her final year on tour, recalled her almost two decades playing at Melbourne Park.    [FULL  STORY]

Team Taiwan bests Australia in women's under-18 ice hockey championship in Finland

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/01/30
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwan women's under-18 ice hockey team took gold at the 2020 International Ice Hockey Federation U-18 Championships in Finland on Wednesday (Jan. 29).

Team Taiwan on Wednesday scored two late goals to put away their Australian opponents with a final score of 4 to 3, raising their world ranking for next year, reported CNA. In this year's tournament, Team Taiwan had to first take out a powerful Dutch team before going on to defeat Kazakhstan to reach the finals.

In Wednesday's game, Taiwan took the lead in the first two periods only to have Australia score equalizers. In the third period, Australia actually took the lead at 3 to 2 with a third goal scored by Phoebe Roberts.

Fortunately, Taiwan was able to battle back with two last-minute goals, including the winning goal scored by Wang Hsuan (王璇).    [FULL STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/30/2020
By: William Yen

Taipei, Jan. 30 (CNA) Taiwanese tennis star Latisha Chan (詹詠然) and her mixed doubles partner Ivan Dodig of Croatia lost in the quarter-finals at the Australian Open on Thursday, leaving Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) the last Taiwanese player in the competition.

No. 6 seeds Chan and Dodig were ousted by No. 3 seeds Henri Kontinen of Finland and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-5, 7-6(7-2) in a match that lasted one hour and 34 minutes in the Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne.

The nail-biter opened with Chan and Dodig holding their serves until Dabrowski and Kontinen started hitting their returns and nailed key volleys to take the first set 7-5.

The second set was even closer before Chan and Dodig fell behind 5-6 and then rallied to force a tie break. However, with the score at 2-3 they conceded four points in a row to lose 2-7 and send Dabrowski and Kontinen into the semi-finals.    [FULL  STORY]

CZECH MATES? A line-call challenge fiercely disputed by Barbora Strycova led to an ill-tempered semi-final against her compatriots, which the world No. 1 called a ‘catfight’

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 30, 2020
By: Dave Carroll  /  Staff reporter, with AP, MELBOURNE

Barbora Strycova yesterday erupted at the umpire after a contentious line call in her women’s

doubles semi-final, but the Czech and Taiwanese partner Hsieh Su-wei had the last laugh in an often heated match as they booked a spot in tomorrow’s final at the Australian Open.

However, there will be no Taiwanese showdown at Melbourne Park after the Chan sisters were ousted in the second semi-final at Margaret Court Arena.

Strycova berated chair umpire John Bloom in the first set of the top seeds’ semi-final against fellow Czechs Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova after he allowed the fourth seeds to challenge a line call, despite two more shots being played in the rally.

Strycova called for the tournament referee, yelling: “You know I am right,” but the benefit went with her opponents after Hawk-Eye showed that Strycova’s shot had gone long.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 29, 2020
By: Dave Carroll  /  Staff reporter, with Reuters, MELBOURNE

Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Czech partner Barbora Strycova yesterday took just 56 minutes to book a

women’s doubles semi-final berth at the Australian Open, while the Chan sisters produced the only upset of the quarter-finals to also advance at Melbourne Park.

Top seeds Hsieh and Strycova crushed American pairing Jennifer Brady and Caroline Dolehide 6-2, 6-2 on Court 3 to keep their bid for a second Grand Slam title on track.

The reigning Wimbledon champions converted five of seven break points, won 51 percent of their receiving points and hit 15 winners to set up a semi-final today against Czech fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, who rallied from a set down to defeat sixth seeds Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour, 50 minutes.

Also advancing were Taiwanese seventh seeds Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan, who pulled off a shock by ousting third seeds Elise Mertens of Belgium and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 in 1 hour, 37 minutes.    [FULL  STORY]

MAIN ATTRACTION: The match of the day was Rafael Nadal against Nick Kyrgios in the men’s singles, partly due to the subplot: The two players do not get along

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 28, 2020
By: Dave Carroll  /  Staff reporter, with AP, MELBOURNE

The Chan sisters yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian

Open, but it was a bad day for Taiwanese in the mixed doubles at the first Grand Slam of the season.

Seventh seeds Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan had to work hard at Melbourne Park’s 1573 Arena for a 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 third-round victory over Misaki Doi of Japan and Monica Niculescu of Romania in 1 hour, 50 minutes.

The Chan sisters saved six of eight break points and converted three of five, winning 63 percent of points on their second serve and hitting 22 winners to set up a quarter-final today against third seeds Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka after the Belgian-Belarusian duo had to rally from a set down to defeat 13th seeds Veronika Kudermetova and Alison Riske 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.

Chan Hao-ching then returned to 1573 Arena later in the day alongside Michael Venus of New Zealand in the second round of the mixed doubles.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/26/2020
By William Yen)

Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) A two-day Lunar New Year basketball tournament for members of an international Philippine Ilocano organization opened in Taichung on Sunday, with hundreds gathering at a local park for the opening ceremony and the day's games.

Rain forced the event to move to a park with a covered basketball court and delayed opening day action to determine Monday's semifinalists. But that did not diminish support for the event, the sixth annual sports festival organized by the Confederation of Ilocano Association, Samahang Ilokano (CIA-SI) Taiwan.

The Ilocanos are one of the largest ethnolinguistic groups in the Philippines and trace their origins to the provinces along the northwestern seaboard of Luzon.

Tournament officials and referees

The tournament is being held just two weeks after the Taal volcano started erupting earlier this month, causing thousands of Filipino families to take shelter in evacuation centers across Luzon, and the group has taken notice.    [FULL  STORY]

BEATEN, BUT PROUD: American teenager Coco Gauff exited in tears after her quest to become the Open era’s youngest Grand Slam winner came screeching to a halt

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 27, 2020
By: Dave Carroll  /  Staff reporter, with AFP, MELBOURNE

Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic yesterday came through a stern

test at Melbourne Park to advance to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while defending champion Novak Djokovic cruised into the quarter-finals of the men’s singles.

Top seeds Hsieh and Strycova battled to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Daria Jurak and Nina Stojanovic in 1 hour, 22 minutes at Margaret Court Arena to keep their bid for a second Grand Slam title on track.

The Wimbledon champions broke earlier to take a 2-1 lead in the first set, but the Croatian-Serbian duo broke Strycova’s serve to level at 3-3, with the top seeds having to dig deep to break back and serve out the set.

The two sides traded breaks again in the second set, before the top seeds gained the edge, with Hsieh serving for the match at 5-4.    [FULL  STORY]