Taiwan Beer easily handled Bank of Taiwan in a 66-50 final at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City last night to jumpstart the new year in grand fashion.
Patrick O’Bryant showed off his height (2.13m) and a surprisingly effective perimeter game by connecting from downtown and hitting several mid-range jumpers on a game-high, 23-point night with 13 rebounds to lead the victorious Brew Crew.
It was the fourth-straight contest that the former NBA baller out of Bradley University in the US scored 20 or more points, as he continued to dominate the opposing defense, while holding his ground on defense.
Photo: Courtesy of the SBL
Taiwan Beer opened the game with a 10-3 run over the first three minutes and quickly doubled the advantage to 14 points by the end of the quarter with a 21-7 score.
Even though the Bankers answered with a 10-6 run of their own in the opening minutes of the second quarter to pull within 10 points of the men in their familiar green uniforms, the Brew Crew promptly returned the favor with a 6-0 run before settling for a 33-20 lead at the half.
Another 6-0 run by Taiwan Beer to start the second half gave them their biggest lead at 39-20 three minutes into the third.
The Bankers managed to reduce the lead to nine, with Hsu Chih-chiang leading a 10-0 run midway through the third, but that was as close as they got, as Taiwan Beer came up big with several run-stopping buckets against the Bankers to keep a double-digit cushion the rest of the way.
Poor shot selection, coupled with an inability to secure the defensive glass that led to 20 offensive rebounds for Taiwan Beer, ultimately cost the Bankers the win, as they were simply outplayed and outhustled by the Brew Crew in a game that was over long before the final buzzer.
PURE YOUTH 94, KINMEN LIQUOR
63Sparked by a near-flawless third quarter, the top-ranked Pure Youth Construction roughed up Kinmen Liquor in a 94-63 blowout in the second game in Sinjhuang last night.
The Builders put on 25 points on offense, while holding Kinmen Liquor to eight meager points with a spectacular defense that forced seven turnovers in the decisive third to seal the victory before the fourth quarter even began.
Wilyer Abreu watched the ball leave the park and tossed his bat high in the air. His Venezuela teammates streamed out of the dugout in celebration. The comeback was on and the win over the reigning World Baseball Classic (WBC) champion Japan was within reach. Japan, their 11-game WBC winning streak on the line, held a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning of Saturday’s thrilling quarter-final matchup when Abreu put his team ahead with the biggest swing of the game: a three-run shot off Hiromi Itoh that sent the loanDepot Park crowd into a passionate roar and helped seize Venezuela’s 8-5
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