Holding Bank of Taiwan to nine points in two separate quarters, Taiwan Beer shook off a hotly contested first quarter to dominate for the rest of the game and earn a 72-50 win at the Miaoli County Arena last night.
The win not only nipped a three-game slide for the Brew Crew, but also propelled them to shared fourth place in the standings with the Dacin Tigers, as they bid to remain competitive after a tough start to the season.
Patrick O’Bryant and Liu Chan teamed up for 30 of their team’s 72 points on a night during which the Brew Crew led by as many as 30 points.
Photo: Courtesy of the SBL
O’Bryant attacked the glass with 15 rebounds, while Chan tied the league mark for most steals in a game — seven — in a display of his outstanding instincts.
The failure to achieve the kind of offensive flow they had on Friday that gave them an upset win over the Tigers ultimately cost the Bankers the game, as they were held to nine points in the second and third quarters to lose the match long before the final buzzer.
KINMEN LIQUOR 83, LUXGENS 76
Kinmen Liquor bounced back from a blowout loss to Pure Youth Construction the night before with a victory over the Yulon Luxgens in Miaoli County yesterday afternoon, thanks to a tremendous effort from hired gun Aaron Pettway in the final minutes of play.
The American, who did not have the spectacular season start that many had expected from him, has steadily started living up to his potential.
He racked up 15 points, 17 rebounds and four blocked shots yesterday, the highlight of which was a three-point play made the old-fashion way when he made the free-throw after being fouled during a put-back slam late in the game to give his club the lead for good.
Also starring for the Distillers was last week’s Player of the Week Chen Ching-huan, who racked up 19 points and eight boards to miss a double-double outing by a pair of rebounds.
The Luxgens had several chances to put the game away, with a big night from imported great Solomon Alabi, who led all scorers with 20 points and nine rebounds. However, a 14-8 turnover margin in favor of the Distillers ultimately cost the sloppy Car-makers the game.
PURE YOUTH 67, LEOPARDS 61
The top-ranked Pure Youth Construction came up big against second-placed Taiwan Mobile Cloud Leopards with a solid win in the nightcap game in Miaoli yesterday.
However, the showdown between the top two squads in the league did not live up to its billing, as the red-hot Builders led from the get-go en route to their eighth straight victory.
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