Print

Mail

wiki links

Chen's surge sends Dacin Tigers past Taiwan Beer

Chen Tsu-wei of the Dacin Tigers, front, leaps to make a basket while Taiwan Beer's Wang Chien-wei commits a personal foul in the SBL finals at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium on Sunday. The Tigers won 84-78. PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

A timely surge by Chen Tsu-wei accounted for 17 of his team's final 25 points and sent the Dacin Tigers to an 84-78 triumph over Taiwan Beer in Game 2 of the Super Basketball League finals at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium on Sunday to even the best-of-seven series at one game apiece.

The normally soft-spoken Tigers forward -- best known for his three-point shooting -- surprised the beer men by coming off the bench with several strong drives to the basket during an incredible second half to deliver the knockout punch.

"I didn't have a good first half, so I had to make up for it somehow," Chen said after the game.

He was 0-for-2 from behind the 3-point line in the first half, but ended up with a team-high 27 on the night.

The contest began the beer crew showing off their high-octane offense with 14 first-quarter points by top scorer Lin "the Beast" Chih-jeh to lead the Tigers 25-18.

They would open leads as large as eleven points with less than four minutes remaining in the second quarter before the Tigers answered with two deadly threes by Tien Lei and Chen Ching-wen to keep the deficit at five to make the halftime score 44-39.

Several turnovers by the beer men, coupled with a 7-2 run by the Tigers offense, gave Dacin their first lead of the game at 56-55 before Tien's buzzer-beating 3-pointer made it 59-55 in favor of the Tigers at the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter turned into a two-man confrontation that saw Chen Tsu-wei take on "the Beast" as the Tigers held on for the win.

Taiwan Beer did try to foul the Tigers in the closing minutes of the game to conserve the clock, but the Tigers were able to hit their free throws to spoil the beer men's plan.

Three Tigers players scored in double digits on the night with Chen leading the way with 27, followed by Tien's 22 and Chang Chih-fong's 10.

As for Taiwan Beer, Lin's game-high 33 points was the lone highlight in the game.

Dinos 77, Hunters 72

A balanced attack that featured five players scoring in double digits provided enough boost to carry the Yulon Dinos past the Videoland Hunters 77-72 on Sunday to even the consolation round at 1-1.

After their ugly loss to the Hunters in the series-opener on Saturday, the defending champs ripped through the Hunters defense with ease to build a 35-25 lead at the half.

It took the tough inside play by the Hunters' Jonathan Sanders during the third quarter to make the game competitive, but the Dinos still enjoyed a 60-56 lead after three quarters.

That was as close as the Hunters would get as the Dinos showed no signs of letting up to get the win.
This story has been viewed 931 times.