Beating the Sina Lions for the second week in a row, Taiwan Beer kept its postseason hopes alive with a monstrous 76-68 win on Friday night.
As usual, Lin "the Monster" Chih-jeh (林志傑) led the way for the Beer men with 21 points, four rebounds, and three assists. His 4-for-9 shooting from behind the three-point line helped set the tone for Taiwan Beer, which made 10 from 23 beyond the arc for the night.
Taiwan Beer had its inside game clicking as well, as muscle man Liao Wei-cheng (廖偉成) and power forward Wu Chih-yuan (吳志遠) dominated the paint with a combined 21-point and 13-board effort.
The loss set the Lions back for four straight, turning the once-invincible winners of 12 in a row into a mediocre club desperate to regain their winning form.
Tigers 91, Mars 73
The Dacin Tigers overcame a slow start by outscoring the BCC Mars 75 to 51 in the last three quarters of the game to improve to 10-8 for the season.
Tigers' Lee Fong-yung (李豐永) poured in 27 points to lead all scorers, while off guard Hsu Chih-chao (許智超) chipped in 22 in a dynamite performance.
In a match filled with questionable calls by the referees, Mars coach Chung Chih-mong (鍾枝萌) led his team off the floor in protest with some three minutes left to play.
Mars' fans also tossed empty plastic bottles and other trash onto the arena floor. The game resumed after 10 minutes of mediation by the league officials and Mars senior management; however the damage had already been done.
Dinos 88, Bank of Taiwan 74
Chen Hsin-an's (陳信安) 24 points on Saturday night more than convinced his coaches and teammates that he has fully regained his playing form following a 12-day absence.
The former NBA contender sparked a Dinos offense that had been averaging nearly 88 points a game in their last four contests with his exceptional first step off the pivot and incredible speed out in the open court.
Early foul troubles limited Bank of Taiwan's starting frontcourt to less than 26 minutes a man and opened up the middle for several easy baskets for the Dinos.
The defeat mathematically eliminated Bank of Taiwan from the postseason, which should mean more playing time for the reserve players in the remaining five games of the season.
Elephants 70, Lions 65
Troubles continued for the Lions as their losing skid hit a season-high five with a loss to the Jeoutai Elephants on Sunday afternoon.
Despite a brilliant 43-point first half, the Lions fell short in the second half as they whimpered into the night.
The Lions started the game with a bang as they quickly built a 13-point second-quarter lead.
However, a five-minute scoring drought, coupled with Elephants sharp shooter Yang Yu-ming's (楊玉明) two key three-pointers, gave the lead to the Elephants for good in the fourth quarter.
Lions' veteran center Huang Chuen-hsiung (黃春雄) cut the Elephant lead to one on his long three-pointer with 43 seconds left to play, but Elephant forward Wu Cheng-dao's (吳政道) equalizer with 24 seconds left on the clock proved to be the difference
Taiwan Beer 80, Dacin 79
Taiwan Beer spoiled what would have been a perfect weekend for the Tigers with a 80-79 win on Sunday night.
Fresh off their huge win over the Mars on Saturday to take sole possesion of the third-place spot in league standings, the Tigers seemed destined to make it two in a row.
Their urge to win was overshadowed by Taiwan Beer's Lin Chih-jeh, whose two go-ahead free throws and crucial steal in the game's final seconds sealed the victory for the Beer men.
The win gave Taiwan Beer a rare 2-0 weekend as it fought tenaciously to keep its playoff hopes alive, while the loss put the Tigers in a tie for third with the Mars in the league standings.
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