Taiwan Beer rallied to eke out a dramatic 78-75 win over Kinmen Liquor at the Hsinchu Municipal Gymnasium on Sunday night.
The win not only gave Taiwan Beer their second straight unbeaten week of play, but also extended their winning-streak to five straight.
What on paper should have been a relatively easy victory against an inconsistent Kinmen Liquor squad turned into an uphill struggle for the defending champs as they found themselves trailing by more than ten for a good part of the first half before a 9-2 run pulled them to within four (40-36) at the halfway point.
An evenly fought third sent the game into a fourth-quarter frenzy where Taiwan Beer eventually forced a tie at 71-all before skidding ahead by three on Chen Shih-nian’s clutch three-pointer.
Kinmen Liquor kept it close with a pair of buckets by Lin Guan-luen against his former team only to see Taiwan Beer make all four of their final free throws to preserve the lead.
Chen was the difference in the game for Taiwan Beer as he came up big with several clutch shots to keep his team from falling further behind earlier in the game before delivering the knockout punch to seal the win.
As for Kinmen Liquor, a 12-point first quarter by red-hot forward Chen Jing-huan on a season-high 20-point effort championed the underdogs through three-and-a-half quarters before a late-game collapse cost them the game.
LUXGENS 81, PURE YOUTH 71
The Yulon Luxgens bounced back from an upset loss to Kinmen Liquor on Saturday night with a strong showing in an 81-71 win over Pure Youth Construction on Sunday.
Tseng Wen-ding took out his frustration in the tough loss to Kinmen Liquor on the builders as he scored 22 points and as many rebounds in addition to seven monstrous blocked-shots to prove his all-star status.
The tenacious defense by the Luxgens kept the builders’ offense in check, nearly 20 points off their league-best 90-plus scoring average over the first eight contests.
Also starring for the Luxgens were Chou Shih-yuan and Chen Chih-chung whose combined 29 points kept the Pure Youth defense honest.
LEOPARDS 84, BANK OF TAIWAN 66
Mario Boggan’s return to action was a splash as he propelled the Taiwan Mobile Leopards to an 84-66 win over Bank of Taiwan on Sunday.
After serving a four-game suspension Boggan netted 17 points and ten boards in his first double-double performance of the season.
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