Rookie forward Lu Jia-hao's key put-back following an offensive rebound with less than a half-minute left to play, led the Sina Lions past the Bank of Taiwan in a 86-83 victory on Friday at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium.
The first-year big man made the most out of a rare start following injuries sustained by three of the Lions' regular starters by ringing up 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds in his first career double-double performance.
The game began with the heavily favored bankers putting up 23 points in each of the first two quarters with the Lions trailing by four at the half (46-42).
The big cats would reduce the bankers' lead to just a deuce by the end of the third quarter (61-59), before outscoring them in the game-turning final quarter by a 27-22 margin for the win.
"We could have easily beaten these guys if we had hit the free throws," Bank of Taiwan coach Wei Chen-ming said after the game.
The bankers were only 18-for-36 from the charity stripe.
Wei watched a 10 point second-quarter lead gradually evaporate -- culminating in a loss.
Dinos 98, Hunters 80
Following the Lions' victory on Friday was the showdown between the top two squads in the league, where the top-ranked Yulon Dinos easily handled the second-placed Videoland Hunters in a 98-80 final.
Great defensive coverage on the perimeter by the Dinos kept the Hunters' outside game in check, resulting in only 5-for-28 shooting from behind the three-point line (17.9 percent), far below their season average of 33.6 percent heading into the game.
The Hunters' inability to hit the three's played right into the hands of the speedy Dinos, as they turned the long rebounds off the Hunters' misses into several fast-break baskets.
"We all know that they live and die by the three-pointers," Dinos' game-high scorer Chen "Airman" Hsin-an said. "That's why the coaches told us before the game to play them tight, even out on the perimeter. Once we had the rebound off their misses, we were able to run the fast break effectively out in the open court."
The former team leader for the Dinos seemed to have fully integrated himself into the offensive scheme since his return from the US two weeks ago.
"Any time you lose the rebounding battle by as much as we did [17], it's almost impossible to win the game," Hunters assistant coach Chou Hai-rong said.
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