Chang Chih-fong's pair of clutch free throws with 5.2 seconds remaining in overtime gave the Dacin Tigers a win as they held off a tenacious rally by the Yulon Dinos to win 103-101 at Taipei County Stadium in Sinjhuang on Sunday evening.
Chang, the Tigers' crunch-time star, calmly drained both shots from behind the charity stripe to gave the Tigers a 103-100 advantage. They then intentionally fouled the Dinos on the ensuing play with time running so that Yulon would have to shoot two free throws instead of what could have been a game-tying 3-point attempt.
The Tigers actually held leads as large as 14 points in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, but failed to contain a Dinos three-point attack that was led by shooting guard Chou Shih-yuan, who single-handedly carried his team in a dramatic fourth quarter.
Trailing by three with under 20 seconds remaining in regulation, Chou was fouled by the Tigers' Tien Lei on a three-point attempt, which brought the Dinos guard to the free throw line.
The Dinos perimeter threat was able knock down all three shots to force the contest into overtime.
"That was one heck of a game for both teams," Chou said after the game, even though his team ended up on the losing end of stick.
Chou scored a team-high 28 points in the game.
Racking up 37 points for the first time since early last month was Tigers scoring leading Tien, who also grabbed 15 rebounds to lead his team in both statistical categories as they desperately hung on for a win that kept them a game ahead of the ETTV Antelopes in the fight for the fourth-and-final playoff spot.
Antelopes 88, Bank of Taiwan 83
The Antelopes had a bit more trouble than they expected on Sunday in their 88-83 win over Bank of Taiwan, who had lost 14 in a row for the league's worst record (4-22).
Delvin Thomas and Wu Dai-hao had another huge day against a bankers' defense that played the twin towers of the Antelopes tough for three quarters.
The dynamic duo finally outmuscled their counterparts with 41 combined points to pull away for the win.
A 24-point third quarter by Bank of Taiwan -- compared to the Antelopes' 18 -- actually had the upset-minded bankers thinking of a win heading into the final quarter.
But that was not to be as the Antelopes continued to pound the ball inside against a fast-fatiguing bankers' defense that faltered in the end to lose the game.
Hunters 101, Eagles 94
With their seventh straight win, the Videoland Hunters tied a club record for the longest winning streak with a 101-94 win over the Azio Eagles on Sunday afternoon.
The win propelled the Hunters a half-game ahead of the Dinos for the top spot in the standings as the Dinos lost to the Tigers later on Sunday.
A rapid-firing Hunters offense went to work early against the Eagles' defense to gain a 33-24 lead after the first quarter.
But the Eagles would respond in the second quarter with a ball-denying man-to-man defense that held the Hunters to less than 30 percent shooting.
Azio's effort was rewarded when they cut the deficit to just one point (49-48) at the half.
Only a 7-0 run by the Hunters early in the fourth quarter finally tilted the game the Hunters' way as the Eagles fought hard before falling just short at the end.
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