Print

Mail

wiki links

SBL: Dinos, Beermen will meet in Championship Series

Yulon Dinos players, background, celebrate after defeating Pure Youth Constructions in Taipei on Saturday to qualify for the Championship Series. PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES

The Yulon Dinos qualified for their fourth Championship Series appearance in five years by beating Pure Youth Constructions 3-1 in the best-of-five semi-final series with a convincing 98-78 win in Game 4 at the Taipei Arena on Saturday evening.

Top forward Chen “Airman” Hsin-an shook off a sub-par performance in Game 3, in which the Dinos lost 84-86, by dominating the builders from the start to score 25 points on the night. Prized preseason acquisition Yang Tseh-yi was the other big scorer, downing a season-high 23 points.

“The loss last night was really a wake-up call for us,” Chen said after the game.

His team will have to prepare quickly for their showdown with defending champions Taiwan Beer, who completed a series sweep against the dmedia Numen last Friday to qualify for their third-straight championship series. The series starts on Friday at the Taipei Arena.

The contest began with the Dinos’ dynamic dual putting up 23 points between them for a sizable 27-14 lead after the opening quarter.

The Dinos added to their lead with a 17-9 run midway through the second, before Pure Youth answered with a 9-4 run in the final minutes of the quarter to end the half trailing 32-48.

After an inspirational halftime talk by Pure Youth skipper Hsu Jin-tseh, the builders opened the second half with a surprising 10-4 run that reduced the Dinos’ lead to 10. But that did not rattle the three-time champs, as they responded with a 10-0 run of their own to make the game safe.

The 20-point lead proved too much for the builders, making the final quarter a formality.

“No one expected us to make the playoffs, let alone win a game against the Dinos. I’m very proud of our guys,” Hsu said after the game.

He has every right to be happy, having turned a club that finished second-to-last last season with a 7-23 record into playoff contenders.
This story has been viewed 987 times.