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Beermen down Dinos to end perfect week

Taiwan Beer's Lin ``the Beast`` Chih-jeh in action during Sunday's game against the Yulon Dinos. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SBL

Using a balanced offensive attack that had four different players scoring 16 points or more, Taiwan Beer downed the top-ranked Yulon Dinos 99-85 at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium on Sunday to close out the week's play with a perfect 2-0 record.

Red-hot Taiwan Beer forward Ho Cho-cheng teamed up with scoring leader Lin "the Beast" Chih-jeh for 48 combined points on the night, including Ho's 7-for-12 shooting from behind the three-point arc.

The showdown between the top two squads in the league opened with a high-scoring first quarter that saw the Beer crew bombard the Dinos with seven threes to take an early 31-24 lead.

Taiwan Beer maintained its shooting rhythm in a slightly slower second quarter that saw the men in green upping their lead by a deuce in a physical battle to end the first half with a 51-42 advantage.

Resorting to their inside attack with all-star center Tseng Wen-ding and power forward Chen "Airman" Hsin-an leading the way, the Dinos chipped away at a deficit that was at one point as large as a dozen points during the third to only six with less than two minutes remaining in the contest.

But that was as close as they got as Ho sank back-to-back baskets in the final minute to end a tenacious Dinos rally.

"We knew they were a little shorthanded today with Chou [Shih-yuan] and Chen [Chih-chung] out of the lineup, and that allowed us to focus more on Tseng and [Chen] Hsin-an," Taiwan Beer player/coach Chou Jung-san said after the game, referring to the absence of Dinos perimeter threat Chou and point guard Chen Chih-chung to unspecified injuries.

Point guard Chen Shih-nian and forward Wu Chih-yuan also starred for the Beer crew with double-double outings on the night; 17 points and 10 assists for the former, 16 points and 14 rebounds for the latter.

As for the Dinos, Tseng and Chen Hsin-an's combined 53 points was the lone highlight as they lost for the first time in five games to remain just ahead of Taiwan Beer in the latest standings.

The 99 points allowed by the Dinos defense was a new season-high, topping the previous mark of 93 in a win over the Dacin Tigers on Jan. 26.

Hunters 104, Eagles 93

Avenging a loss to the last-placed Azio Eagles earlier this season, the Videoland Hunters topped the Eagles 104-93 in a rematch on Sunday for their third victory in a row.

The Hunters unloaded their frustration for being the first team to be beaten by the previously winless Eagles on Feb. 10 in Sunday's game with their first 100-plus point output in six games.

The game began with the versatile Hunters forward Jonathan Sanders netting 15 quick points during the opening quarter to put his team ahead 27-20 after one quarter of play before they padded their lead by five in the second quarter to end the first half leading 51-39.

Thirty-four third-quarter points by the Eagles rallied them to within six of the Hunters by the start of the fourth quarter, thanks to the outstanding three-point shooting by guard Tsuo Tsong-kai (15 points in the third quarter, with three threes).

The six-point Hunters lead would dwindle to zero with the Eagles mustering another counterattack to force a 91-all tie at the 4:25 mark, setting the stage for an amazing 13-2 run that ultimately iced the game for the Hunters.

A missed slam dunk attempt by Eagles guard Chen Shih-jeh with approximately five minutes remaining in the game might have been the turning point, as he failed to deliver what would have been a game-tying basket. Instead, it was all Hunters the rest of the way.

Tigers 108, Bank of Taiwan 98

Bank of Taiwan gave the Dacin Tigers one heck of a run in Sunday's game, overcoming second-half deficits as large as 15 points. But in the end, it was the big cats that had the last laugh as they held the bankers to six meagerly points in the game's final five minutes to run away with a 108-98 win.

Tigers guard Chang Chih-fong continued his recent offensive surge, following Saturday night's 43-point output with a game-high 28 points on Sunday to guide his team to victory.

Fellow forward Lee Fong-yong also had a huge night offensively with three threes in the decisive fourth quarter to keep the bankers from pulling off a major upset win.
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