The action continued on the second day of this year’s Taiwan Strait Tournament when the Dacin Tigers needed overtime to top the Taiwan Mobile Cloud Leopards 91-81 at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium in Tianmu yesterday afternoon.
Dacin captain Chang Chih-fong established his presence for the second straight day since coming back from an ACL injury last season with an even dozen points to give the veteran guard 30 in the two games played thus far.
“I’m at about 80 percent right now,” Chang said after the game, referring to his performance level after the potentially career-threatening injury.
Photo Courtesy of the CTBA
His speedy recovery will be crucial for the Tigers in the upcoming Super Basketball League season as they look desperately to him for leadership and defensive help.
Also starring for the Tigers was Chang Chia-rong, whose pair of free-throws with 14 seconds remaining in regulation time tied the game at 75-all to force it into overtime.
That was the break that the Tigers needed to gain control of the game as they rolled off a 7-0 run and never looked back en route to a 10-point victory.
“Even though we lost both games, I am still quite pleased with our players in terms of the steady progress they are making and the improvement in their understanding of our scheme,” Cloud Leaopards captain Cheng Chih-lung said after the game.
DONGGUAN 69, KINGSTON 67
Bobby Brown and Donte Greene came up big with a strong second half to lead the Dongguan New Century past Shangdong Kingston in the second game of the tournament in Tianmu last night.
The US duo combined for 26 points on the night, outdoing fellow countryman Eugene “Pooh” Jeter III in the decisive fourth quarter to help the New Century edge their opponents and remain unbeaten at 2-0.
Jeter III had a chance to win it for Kingston in the closing seconds, but his potential game-winning three-point attempt did not find the bottom of the net, sealing his team’s loss.
LUXGENS 77, PURE YOUTH 76 (OT)
Wu Fong-chen’s free-throw with 1.3 second left in overtime put the Yulon Luxgens ahead to seal their victory over Pure Youth Construction in Tianmu.
The free-throw came when the Builders’ Lin Chin-bang was called for a foul, with Wu breaking loose on a fastbreak opportunity, and made the difference in the game.
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