Chang Chih-fong nailed a pair of tie-breaking free throws with 10 seconds remaining to lift the Dacin Tigers past Kinmen Liquor in a 73-71 thriller at the renovated Taipei Municipal Gymnasium on Saturday.
The Dacin captain — who has been known more for his ball-denying style of defense over the past five seasons than the offensive threat he has become this season, with a team-leading scoring average of 19.9 points per game — played the hero to help extend the Tigers’ winning streak to four in a row.
What should have been an easy win for the top-ranked cats against the fourth-place Kinmen Liquor turned into a dogfight as Kinmen Liquor used a 24-11 run in the second quarter to turn a 10-point first-quarter deficit into a 39-36 advantage at the half.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
With Tien Lei leading the way, the Tigers awoke in the second half to reclaim a double-digit lead only to trigger another counterattack by Kinmen Liquor in the final quarter that forced a tie at 71, setting the table for Chang’s late heroics.
Kinmen Liquor had a chance to tie or win the game with a final possession following Chang’s free throws, but Lin Guan-luen was unable to hit what would have been a game-turning three with time expiring, ending what was otherwise a valiant comeback on a sour note.
LUXGENS 80, TAIWAN BEER 73
The Yulon Luxgens used a strong outing by Yang Tseh-yi — who scored 20 on the night — to cool off Taiwan Beer in an 80-73 final on Saturday afternoon, nipping a five-game win streak for the Beer crew.
Out with a shoulder injury for two weeks, the Yulon veteran swingman returned with a bang by making his presence felt by holding the league’s top scorer, Taiwan Beer’s Yang Jing-min, to a season-low nine points (well short of his 22-plus season average) in the big win.
The rematch of last season’s championship finals saw neither team able to pull away early, with leads no larger than five points until Yulon erupted for a 14-4 run in the third to finish out the quarter up 64-51.
Down by more than a dozen, Taiwan Beer turned to its top scorer Lin “the Beast” Chih-jeh for the bulk of the baskets, but it was too little too late for the defending champs as they fell short by seven in the end.
PURE YOUTH 107, LEOPARDS 95
Pure Youth Construction snapped a three-game losing skid by downing the Taiwan Mobile Leopards 107-95 on Saturday, thanks to spectacular three-point shooting by Hong Chih-shang.
The veteran guard, hampered by injuries all season that held him to only 16 points in seven games, came off the bench and shot an impressive 6-for-10 from behind the three-point arc on a 20-point offensive outburst.
Also starring for the builders was center Jien Jia-hong, who came off a one-game suspension strong with a game-high 24 points, mostly inside the paint, to help his club return to the win column.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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