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CPBL: Numen trounce shorthanded Tigers 78-71

The dmedia Numen bounced back in full force with an impressive 78-71 win over a shorthanded Dacin Tigers squad in Kaohsiung County on Friday to snap a three-game losing skid.

Jonathan Sanders dominated the contest from the start to finish by scoring the first dozen of the Numen's points and capping off the night with 21 points and 21 rebounds for his second double-20 effort of the season.

Having dropped three in a row last weekend, the previously high-flying Numen suddenly found themselves sliding two spots in the standings (from second to fourth) and were in desperate need to get back on the winning track.

And a win was exactly what the doctor ordered as Sanders outmaneuvered a smaller and overmatched Tigers frontcourt that was missing its top scorer Tien Lei (out with a wrist and knee injury) with 21 points and as many rebounds (ten off the offensive glass) en route to a monstrous night.

Flashy forward Ouyang Jing-hen also poured in 12 points, while reserve guard Wang Nan-guei shot an outstanding 5-for-8 from behind the three-point line to account for the bulk of the Numen's offensive production.

The contest began with the Numen claiming a 19-16 lead after the first quarter and leading by as many as ten midway through the second before the Tigers answered with four straight three's, including Chang Chih-fong's buzzer-beating bomb to end the first half trailing 34-37.

Dacin would eventually knot the game up at 46-all in the early going of the second half before the Numen countered with a 7-0 run late in the third take a 55-50 lead into the fourth.

The Tigers would cut the Numen's lead down to a deuce with center Lee Fong-yong downing six in a row at the start of the fourth. But that was as close as they got with Ouyang hitting several key jumpers down the stretch to deny the Tigers any realistic chances of a comeback.

The loss by the Tigers was their second straight and third in their past four as they look to regain their winning form from the second-place finish of last season.

Taiwan Beer 93 Bank of Taiwan 61

Taiwan Beer took a commanding 25-11 lead after the first quarter and never looked back as they crushed Bank of Taiwan by a whopping 93-61 final in the earlier game at Kaohsiung Friday evening, dealing the winless bankers their tenth straight defeat of the season.

Big men Wu Dai-hao and Yang Jing-min continued to demonstrate their grasp of the brewers' offensive scheme by scoring 28 of Taiwan Beer's 45 first-half points before head coach Yen Jia-hua decided to send in his bench in the interest of conserving his starters for today's showdown against the top-ranked Yulon Dinos.

The two prized offseason acquisition for the defending champs began the season with some trouble fitting into Taiwan Beer's offensive flow, but has come around nicely to find their respective roles in a star-filled squad that looks to repeat as the champs this year.

Making the most of his rare playing time was Taiwan Beer reserve center Hsu Cheng-wen who connected for seven points, six rebounds, and a season-high of three blocked-shots to put a big smile on skipper Yen's face.
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