In the biggest upset of the season so far, the last-placed Jeoutai Elephants shocked Taiwan Beer with an impressive 94-80 victory on Friday night.
Led by Yang Yu-ming's (楊玉明) 20-point effort, all five Elephant starters scored in the double-digits as they carved through a Taiwan Beer defense that never found its feet.
Despite the Elephants' offensive outburst, it was their tenacious defense against Lin "the Monster" Chih-jeh (
Hitting their marks for the first time in a number of games, the Elephants' "twin towers," Wu Dai-hoa (吳岱豪) and Ou-yang Chin-hen (歐陽進恆), did as they pleased inside the paint combining to score 14 and 17 points respectively and helping their team climb out of the cellar.
Yulon 75, Dacin 67
Saturday's showdown between the Yulon Dinos and the Dacin Tigers lived up to its billing only in the sense that fans were able to witness the two superstars, Chen Hsin-an (
The Dinos saw their 10-point lead after three periods dwindle to as few as three with nearly five minutes left in the game, but managed to answer every Tiger rally down the stretch with key shots to keep the Tigers at bay.
"They [the Tigers] made some great adjustments against our defense late in the game to keep it close, but I am glad we were able to still come out on top to remain undefeated for the season," Chen Hsin-an said.
The Tigers also hurt themselves with a dismal performance from the free-throw line, hitting only eight out of 18 attempts.
Sina 71, Bank of Taiwan 64
Making it six in a row were the Sina Lions, who shone against the Bank of Taiwan on Saturday night in a 71-64 win.
Missing in action for nearly the entire match was Bank of Taiwan's top rebounder, Chu Yung-hung (朱永弘), who did not return after suffering an unspecified injury early in the game. Chu's presence was sorely missed as the Lions went to work, giving Huang Chuen-hsiung (
The Lions' Luo Hsin-liang (
Jeoutai 64, BCC 95
The Elephants were given a rude awakening in Sunday afternoon's 95-64 massacre at the hands of the BCC Mars. The Elephants were "sky high" following their impressive win over the beer men on Friday night, but could not sustain the momentum against a Mars squad desperately needing a win of its own to snap a three-game losing streak.
The Mars were able to take advantage of their deep bench, as 10 different players saw action in the contest. Only two of the starters played more than 30 minutes as the team looked to regain their physical strength against the weaker Elephant club.
"We really won this one on sheer determination, because some of the starters were still nursing injuries that hadn't healed completely," Mars assistant coach Chou Hai-rong (周海容) said after the game.
Yulon 79, Taiwan Beer 69
A poor showing by the Monster exposed the brew masters' lack of depth in the defeat against the Dinos on Sunday.
Hitting a miserable 5-for-21 from the floor, the Monster was not his usual self as his scoring total (12) fell more than 10 points below his league-leading season average of 23.6.
Hitting an incredible 8-for-10 from the floor, Dino sharp shooter Hung Chi-chao (
"You really can't make too many mistakes against them [Dinos]; they can hurt you in so many ways," Taiwan Beer head man Fu Ming-ren (
"Even the small things that normally would not matter too much can turn deadly when you are up against the Dinos," he said.
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