Pure Youth Construction made it two wins in a row by topping the Dacin Tigers 85-81 in Game 2 of the SBL Championship Finals at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City last night to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Builders took advantage of another scoring spree in the third quarter, as they had done in Game 1, going on an 18-2 run and scoring 33 points to turn a slim deficit at halftime into a 14-point lead going into the fourth.
Even though the Tigers maintained their poise and went on a 10-2 run of their own in the final frame to fall within three of Pure Youth, they were not able to move past the superior Builders, who put a stop to the Tigers — one rally after another — highlighted by Doug Creighton’s clutch bucket late in the game to preserve Pure Youth’s lead for the entire fourth quarter and to seal the win.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
“With the game on the line, I knew I had to focus on getting the shot off smoothly and I’m glad the one that mattered the most fell in for me,” Creighton said after the game.
The Builders opened the game strong with Creighton netting an even dozen to help his team take a 20-15 lead after one quarter of play, but the Tigers returned the favor with a solid second quarter behind the stellar play of Lin Yi-hui to outscore the Builders 22-16 and take a 37-36 lead at the half.
After rallying from as many as 17 points behind to get to within three, the Tigers had a chance to make it a one-point game with Lin attempting a pair of free throws. However, the normally sure-handed forward let the pressure get to him as he missed both attempts and wasted a golden opportunity for the Tigers, from which they never recovered.
The two teams have today off to prepare for Game 3, which is scheduled to tip off at 6pm tomorrow in Sinjhuang.
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