The Taiwan Mobile Leopards presented their two prized off-season signings to the press yesterday morning, with head coach Cheng Chih-long introducing speedy guard Su Yi-jeh and power forward Hsiao Yuan-chang at a press conference at a sports bar in Taipei’s Xinyi District.
Even though the final roster for the upcoming season has not been set, with the team still in the process of evaluating several foreign prospects, Cheng seemed confident about achieving his goal of reaching the post-season with Su and Hsiao in his lineup.
“They [Su and Hsiao] definitely fill in some holes that we have been wanting to address for some time,” Cheng said. “This should put us in a great position to reach our goal this year, which is to make it to the playoffs.”
Photo: Taipei Times / Taiwan Mobile
The arrival of Su should add not only depth to the Leopards’ offense, with guards Wu Yong-ren and captain Chen Hui already in the lineup, but also versatility, as Su’s ability to penetrate will surely create some problems for their SBL opponents.
The former Dacin Tiger turned down several offers to play in the Chinese Basketball Association to join the Leopards.
“Well, I wanted to finish my final year of graduate school in Taiwan and take care of my military service duty as well,” Su said, explaining why he opted to forgo a potentially more lucrative offer from China to join the Leopards.
Hsiao’s size (1.95m and 95kg) should make the Leopards’ interior defense less vulnerable to the type of inside attack that opponents have employed in the past.
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