Tigers snatch victory in last second

Chang Chih-fong, right, of the Dacin Tigers, celebrates his game-winning three-point shot with teammate Wang Chih-chuin at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium on Friday. The Tigers defeated Taiwan Beer 89-88. PHOTO COURTESY OF SBL

Chang Chih-fong's desperation three-point shot with time expiring rallied the Dacin Tigers past Taiwan Beer in an 89-88 thriller in Super Basketball League action at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium on Friday night.

Down a deuce with five seconds remaining, the Tigers were forced to take a bad shot in what had appeared to be a sure Taiwan Beer victory. But the beermen's failure to secure the defensive rebound off the miss resulted in another possession for the Tigers, giving Chang one last attempt at the basket, which he miraculously banked off the glass for the game-winner.

"I don't know what happened, but it somehow found its way in," Chang said after the game.

The showdown between the two premier offenses in Taiwan's pro league lived up to its billing as the two teams came out firing in a three-point shootout (13 combined three-pointers in the first quarter alone) that had the Tigers leading by six (33-27) after the first quarter of play.

Lin Beast" Chih-jeh's eight second-quarter points then helped Taiwan Beer cut the Tigers lead to one as the high-scoring first half came to an end with the Tigers leading 53-52.

The Tigers were able to maintain a slight cushion for much of the second half, building a lead as big as seven points early in the fourth quarter.

But several careless turnovers, coupled with a tenacious Taiwan Beer attack, eventually allowed Taiwan Beer to claim its first lead of the game at 79-78 midway through the final quarter.

Neither team managed to take leads larger than three from that point on, taking the seesaw battle into the final seconds.

Game-high Tien Lei poured in a season-high 37 points and forward Lin Yi-hui added 20 more to help the Tigers beat the beermen for the first time in three tries.

The 22 turnovers by the Tigers, compared to Taiwan Beer's 11, nearly cost them the game.

Lin the Taiwan Beer with 36 points, followed by point guard Chen Shih-nian's 20.

The loss set the beermen back by a full game behind the league-leading Yulon Dinos, winners over the Bank of Taiwan in an earlier contest.

Dinos 94, Bank of Taiwan 73

The Dinos had little trouble against the bankers as they cruised to a 94-73 win in Game 1 on Friday to open the second half of the season in grand style.

All-Star Tseng Wen-ding turned in his best performance in over a month by racking up a game-high 21 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots for the defending champs.

The Dinos opened a comfortable 26-14 first-quarter lead and widened it to as many 20 points in the second quarter before the bankers' 15-3 run reduced the Dinos advantage to single digits before the end of the first half (45-37).

Unable run its normal half-court offense because of the Dinos' ball-denying defensive pursuit, Bank of Taiwan fell flat on its face in the second half, making it a forgone conclusion long before the final buzzer.

The win by the Dinos avenged an embarrassing loss to the bankers earlier this season, the Dinos' first defeat versus the Bank of Taiwan in three years.

Today's top Game

The showdown between the ETTV Antelopes and Taiwan Beer is likely to be played in front of a sell-out crowd at the Taipei College of Physical Education Gymnasium.

While center of the attention will be on Taiwan Beer's Lin Chih-jeh, whose 25.9 points per game is second to none in the SBL, the real story will be how well the Antelopes' frontcourt handles the brew crew's iron trio in Ha Hsiao-yuan, Shang Wei-fang and Wu Chih-yuan.