Four straight threes in double overtime, including a pair by Chen Jing-huan, lifted Kinmen Liquor past Taiwan Beer as the Distillers needed two extra sessions to settle their differences with the Brew Crew in a 102-94 triumph at the Hsinchu Municipal Gymnasium on Sunday night.
The win gave Kinmen a firm grasp of the second-place spot in the latest standings — only one game behind the top-ranked Dacin Tigers — and closed out the week on a high note. Having lost to the Tigers the night before, Kinmen needed a strong showing to avoid going into the three-week break for the Lunar New Year holidays on a low note.
Chen’s clutch threes might have made him hero for the night, but it was Cheng Ren-wei’s buzzer-beating long-range bomb in regulation that forced the game into the first overtime. The red-hot forward, who set a career-high in scoring with 34 against the Bankers on Friday, poured in 19 against the Tigers on Saturday before erupting for 27 more in Sunday’s weekend finale.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
“It’s been one crazy weekend for me,” Cheng said.
Also starring for the distillers was Shawn “the Hawk” Hawkins, who chipped in a team-high 29 with 16 rebounds and seven assists in another fine, well-rounded game.
Despite an outstanding effort from American import Delvin Thomas (33 points, 14 rebounds), Taiwan Beer lost their second straight.
TIGERS 89, BANK OF TAIWAN 84
Byron Allen did as he pleased inside the paint against an outmatched Bankers defense in a huge win for the Dacin Tigers as they extended their winning streak to three for a league-best 8-2 mark after one month of play.
After playing an integral role in the Tigers’ title-winning season last year, the big man played his best game by far in the current campaign, with a season-high 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Cats.
LEOPARDS 93, PURE YOUTH 89
The Taiwan Mobile Leopards pulled off mission impossible by defeating Pure Youth Constructions to close out a grueling three-game weekend with a perfect 3-0 mark.
In a seesaw battle that featured several lead-changes in the second half, the Leopards had the last laugh as they outscored the Builders 23-11 in the fourth to overcome a double-digit deficit for the win.
Alexus Foyle’s 37 points marked a new high for the American forward as he strives to become the impact player that the Leopards have been looking for.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
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