Avenging an embarrassing 20-point loss at the start of the season, the Yulon Dinos trounced the Videoland Hunters in an 84-65 blowout at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium on Saturday evening to take over the top spot in the SBL standings.
The defending champs have come a long way since their 0-2 start by winning eight in a row for the best record in the league, turning what was supposed to be a close contest against the previously top-ranked Hunters into a laugher by the end of the first half.
The Dinos quickly jumped to a 21-13 lead after the opening quarter thanks to a great defensive effort by all-star center Tseng Wen-ding, who dominated the inside of the paint with a size advantage over Hunters greats Jonathan Sanders and Lee Chi-yi.
With Sanders and Lee neutralized for the majority of the half by the outstanding Dinos defense, what was a single-digit lead for the Dinos quickly doubled in the second quarter after several Hunters misses turned into easy transition baskets for the Dinos to help them claim a commanding 45-26 advantage at the half.
The 26 points by the Hunters was the lowest point total in a half for them thus far this season.
The Hunters finally managed to reduce the deficit to a more respectable 13 by the end of the third quarter against the Dinos, who were by then sending in reserve players in the interest of saving the starters for yesterday's game against the Dacin Tigers.
Three differentDino players scored 10 points or more in the game with Tseng leading the way with 24, followed by sharp-shooting guard Chou Shih-yuan and veteran forward Wu Chih-wei with 11 each.
As for the Hunters, Sanders' 14 points and 17 rebounds were still slightly under the US player's season total because of a tough zone defense that the Dinos used.
Fellow guard Yang Tseh-yi also scored 17 in the game for the Hunters over a losing cause.
Tigers 73, Antelopes 77
The ETTV Antelopes scored a mild upset win over the high-flying Dacin Tigers by a 77-73 margin to kick off Saturday's three-game set.
Even though their premier defender Delvin Thomas was forced to leave the game during the third quarter due to an injured left knee, the Antelopes were able to sustain their defensive pressure the rest of the game to overcome a 41-35 halftime deficit for the win.
The match began with the Antelopes playing the Tigers evenly for one quarter before Tien Lei led the Tigers in taking over the floor in the second quarter to give his club a 41-35 cushion at the half.
Then came the 35 combined points by Antelopes three-point threat Yang Yu-ming and forward Hsin Jin-chang in the second half that turned back the Tigers to deliver the big win for skipper Chiou Da-chung.
"We haven't lost since he [Thomas] came back; that's great," Chiou said after the game, referring to Thomas' three-week absence during which the Antelopes fell to a miserable 1-4 mark.
"We did not have our head in the game during the second half because we thought it would be an easy win for us, and were we wrong," a disgusted Tigers coach Liu Jia-fa said after the game.
Taiwan Beer 108, Eagles 70
Taiwan Beer had little trouble downing the winless Azio Eagles in a 108-70 decision late on Saturday night, snapping a two-game losing skid with the easy win.
After a fast start that saw the beer crew grab the No. 2 spot in the standings for more than two weeks, the men in green uniforms have posted a 2-2 mark in their past four games to drop to No. 3 in the standings with ugly losses to the Hunters and the Dinos.
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