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SBL: Beer Crew and the Bankers finish the season on a high

Bank of Taiwan forward Hsu Chih-chang jumps to score a basket against the Taiwan Mobile during their SBL game at the Taipei County Sports Complex on Sunday. PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES

Regular season play in the Super Basketball League ended on Sunday afternoon with Taiwan Beer edging past Pure Youth Construction in a 93-91 thriller and Bank of Taiwan downing the Taiwan Mobile Leopards by a 92-83 scoreline at the Taipei County Sports Complex.

Three late-game free throws by Luo "the Natural" Hsin-liang was the difference in the game for Taiwan Beer, as the veteran shooting guard celebrated his retirement after more than 15 years of dazzling play on the court by nailing three of four in the closing seconds to guide the defending SBL champions to victory.

The regular season finale for both squads was a seesaw battle from the off as they played to a 21-21 draw after the first quarter before the builders skidded ahead by three to end the first half leading 45-42.

A 8-2 run by the Beer Crew would briefly give them a 59-56 lead midway through the third, only to spark a 5-0 counterattack by the Builders, who reclaimed a 61-59 lead by the end of the quarter.

Taiwan Beer would go up by as many 11 early in the fourth with three-pointer's from sharpshooter Ho Sho-cheng in an 84-73 game. But the Builders chipped away at the deficit and eventually pulled to within a point to set the scene for Luo's last-minute scoring heroics.

Also playing in his final regular season contest in a Taiwan Beer uniform was Luo's longtime backcourt mate Chou Jung-san who will retire after this season and coach on a fulltime basis in the SBL. The highly heralded backcourt icons for the Taiwan national team over a good part of the past decade will have their squad numbers retired.

Both teams will have a week to prepare for the upcoming playoffs, with Taiwan Beer taking on dmedia Numen in a matchup between the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, while the Builders ready themselves for a meeting with the top-ranked Yulon Dinos in a best-of-five series scheduled to start on April 1.

Bank of Taiwan 92, Leopards 83

Bank of Taiwan ended their season on a high note by topping the Taiwan Mobile Leopards 92-83 earlier on Sunday to snap a two-game losing streak.

The Bankers capitalized on a brilliant second quarter that saw them outscore the Leopards 24-14, turning a one-point deficit at the end of the first quarter into a nine-point 41-32 lead by the halftime interval.

They increased their lead to as many as 19 following a 19-9 run during the third quarter, before letting up when the game was in the bag.

Heading the Bankers' attack were guard Lin Chih-long who scored 24 points and forward Lin "Killer Bee" Chuin-fong, adding a further 20 points.

As for the hapless Taiwan Mobile Leopards, a season that was once filled with promise, given their third-place finish the previous season, turned into a disappointing flop.
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