Overcoming a double-digit deficit early in the third quarter, Pure Youth Construction baffled the Dacin Tigers in a 94-85 final at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City late yesterday afternoon to close out the weekend with a perfect 2-0 record.
The win not only upped the Builders’ winning streak to five, but widened their lead over second-place Taiwan Beer to a season-high four-and-a-half games.
Doug Creighton continued his red-hot three-point shooting from the night before, in which he drained six treys, with four more long bombs to blow the Big Cats out of the water. His timely surge, coupled with the consistent inside play of center Quincy Davis of the US are the main reasons Pure Youth are head-and-shoulder above the rest of the league.
Both teams came out with their game faces on as they combined for 40 points in a relatively fast-paced first quarter that saw the Tigers enjoy a slim 21-19 advantage.
After an evenly fought second quarter that kept the margin at two, the Tigers rolled off a 13-2 run early in the third to take a 13-point lead before the Builders answered with a 21-8 run of their own to make it a one-point game at the start of the fourth.
That was as close to a victory as the Tigers got, as Creighton took over with an even dozen in the final frame to spark a 29-point spurt to run away with the win.
A failure to shut down the Builders’ perimeter game proved costly for the Tigers, as they wasted a solid first-half performance with a lethargic second half that led to 10 turnovers en route to their seventh defeat in the past eight games.
Kinmen Kaoliang 65, Luxgens 54
The slumping Yulon Luxgens were no match for Kinmen Kaoliang as they dropped their fourth in a row by 11 points in the first game in Sinjhuang yesterday afternoon.
Eleven first-quarter points by Kinmen Kaoliang’s Anthony Fuqua helped the Distillers take a surprising 27-15 lead after 10 minutes of play and that was all they needed to pocket the win.
Even though the Luxgens rallied with a strong comeback attempt midway through the fourth to force at tie, it was not enough to turn the tide as the Distillers reclaimed the lead and sank their free throws late in the game to hold on for the win.
Fuqua led all scorers with 20 points despite some weak shooting and grabbed 19 rebounds, just one shy of the 20-20 mark.
Leopards 99, Bank of Taiwan 77
The Taiwan Mobile Cloud Leopards used a strong second half to turn an eight-point halftime lead into a 22-point rout over Bank of Taiwan in the weekend finale to close out the week with a 2-1 mark.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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