After a dismal outing in Game 2 against the BCC Mars on Saturday night, top-seeded Yulon Dinos regained their sharp form in Monday's series clincher to finish off the Mars by a final score of 73-61.
Team leader Chen Hsin-an (
The dynamic dual gave the Mars plenty of trouble on defense because they could never decide on which player they wanted to concentrate in shutting down.
To make matters worse for head coach Chung Chih-mong (鍾枝萌) of the Mars, his normally reliable three-point attack that had averaged over 30 percent in three-point shooting during the regular season had an off night in the most important match of the year by netting only one basket in 13 attempts.
"Our inability to drain the three's really did us in tonight," Mars assistant coach and former member of the national team Chou Hai-rong (
Riding their success inside the paint from Game 2, the Mars actually held a 15-10 lead after the first quarter.
Rather than continuing with what had worked well inside, the Mars decided to fire up a few three-points in an attempt to quickly build on their lead.
The strategy backfired because the three's never went down and it gave the Dinos an opportunity to fight back and take a four-point lead in the second quarter.
The Mars kept on firing up more three-pointers, but by then, they were trying to use the three's to get back into the game.
Reverting to their inside game again in the third quarter, the Mars outscored the Dinos by six to reduce their eight-point, halftime deficit down to a deuce.
The two teams would enter into a seesaw battle until a crucial four-point sequence in the final quarter.
Leading by two, with three and a half minutes to go, Dino reserve center Wu Chih-wei (
The referees ruled the basket good and awarded the Dinos two more free throws both of which they made.
Coach Chung Chih-mong challenged the call in that the foul had happened before the shot, thus nullifying the basket, and requested for a review on the replay.
The officiating crew allowed for the review but upheld the original ruling.
The "four-point play" put the Dinos up by six, a lead that the Mars never managed to overcome.
The victory advanced the Dinos into this tomorrow night's Game 1 of the championship series against the winner of the Dacin Tigers-Sina Lions matchup.
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