Over 20,000 fans are expected to pack the Taipei Sports Education College Arena tonight for the first Super Basketball League (SBL) All-Star game.
The Scarlet Knights, consisting of All-Stars from the Yulon Dinos, the Sina Lions, and the Dacin Tigers, take on the White Knights, made up of top players from the Jeoutai Elephants, the BCC Mars, Taiwan Beer, and Bank of Taiwan.
The Scarlet Knights will be headed by longstanding Dino icon Chien Yi-fei (
Lions backcourt men Chou Jung-san (
Huang Chuen-hsiung (
Displaying abundant youth and raw talent are the White Knights, led by Mars point man Yen Hsing-shu (
Yen and Yang will team up with Taiwan Beer standout Lin "the Monster" Chih-jeh (
Chen Hui (陳暉), Lee Chi-yi (李啟億), Lin Chia-huang (林佳皇), Shang Wei-fang (尚韋帆), Chen Shih-nian (陳世念), Lin Chuin Fong (林群峰), and Chou Ben-tang (周本堂) will round out the White roster.
The festivities at the mid-season event will begin with an autograph session from 6pm to 6:30pm, followed by a three-on-three "bull fight" between the representatives from the Chinese Professional Baseball League and the SBL's Chen Chien-chou, Tang Chih-chung, and Chien Wei-chuan.
A three-point shootout will conclude the pre-game activities and a slam-dunk competition is scheduled for the 20-minute halftime break.
Luo Hsin-liang of the Lions is the early favorite to take home the three-point crown as Yang Yu-ming looks to spoil Luo's night, while the field remains wide open for the 13 contenders in the slam dunk competition.
The showdown between the top two backcourts in the country: Chou and Luo versus Yen and Yang will unquestionably be the top storyline, as the basketball gods witness the passing of the torch from the 30-something Chou and company to the young and restless tandem of Yen and Yang in an era where only the fittest will survive.
Another main point of interest will be the battle between the Chen Hsin-an/Tien Lei combo and the Lin Chih-jeh/Yang Cheh-yi duo for the right to claim supremacy as the nation's top one-two punch.
Last, but not least, is the well known love-hate relationship between all-star centers Tseng Wen-ding and Wu Dai-hao.
Separated by one year in age, the two Tsai Hsin Senior High School (
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