The Dacin Tigers used a 19-3 run in the third quarter to break away from Taiwan Beer, beating the defending champs 81-63 to win Game 5 of the Championship Finals at the Taipei County Sports Complex in Sinjhuang on Saturday for a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Tigers’ third straight win leaves them a game shy of clinching their first-ever league title in team history.
Unlike their two previous wins, which saw team captain Chang Chih-fong and big-man Byron Allen championing the attack with deadly outside shooting and inside domination, Saturday night’s victory belonged to three less visible players — Wang Chih-chuin, Chen Tzu-wei and Lin Yi-hui.
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES
Wang’s trio of three-pointers in the third sparked the Tigers’ game-deciding run while Chen and Lin chipped in 14 points apiece, with the three scoring 44 of their team’s 81 points.
Taiwan Beer opened the game strong with the appearance of team icon Lin “the Beast” Chih-jeh, who had been listed questionable for the game after injuring his left ankle in the early minutes of Game 4.
But the momentum would quickly swing the Tigers’ way, with Huang Bao-tzu nailing a pair of threes to start what ended up being an 11-0 run for the Tigers for a 32-28 lead at the half before the Tigers’ run in the third put them ahead by as many as 20.
Similar to their 89-68 blowout win in Game 3, the Tigers enjoyed another big day off the glass, with 49 rebounds to the Brew Crew’s 31.
Dacin also held the injured Beast to five meager points for the game, well short of his 27-point average during the first three games of the series.
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Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
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