Last week’s SBL Player of the Week award went to a very deserving Yang “Precious” Che-yi of Kinmen Liquor, who beat out imported greats Quincy Davis of Pure Youth Construction and Luke Nevill of the Taiwan Mobile Cloud Leopards by a close 16-15-14 margin respectively.
The veteran swing man who is best known for his ability to finish a fast break on the open court, but has seen his floor time reduced considerably, was instrumental in the Distillers’ recent success as they ploughed through a three-game weekend against formidable opponents to end with a 2-1 record last weekend.
His 15-point-per-game scoring average was definitely not the highest among the top scorers last weekend, but his uncanny basketball sense and tremendous experience and leadership more than made up for the lower point production to win just enough votes from members of the Basketball Writers’ Association to land the weekly honor for the first time in several years.
“I’d like to thank my teammates and coaches for believing in me and giving me the floor time I need to do my best,” a pleasantly surprised Yang said after learning of his selection to the weekly honor.
He also promised the Kinmen Liquor fans that the team will fight to the end regardless of the score in any given game.
Yang and the rest of the finest from Kinmen will have to brace themselves for a tough two-game sequence this weekend with uphill battles against the fourth-placed Yulon Luxgens and third-placed Taiwan Beer before the month-long Lunar New Year break.
Victories over Yulon and Taiwan Beer will not only improve the Distillers’ chances to make it into the post-season with about 10 games remaining in the regular season, but also likely earned them a lighter training regiment during the break.
TONIGHT’S GAMES
Bank of Taiwan square off against the Leopards in tonight’s first game at the University of Taipei’s Tianmu Gymnasium, followed by Kinmen Liquor’s showdown against the Luxgens. Tip-off for the first game is scheduled for 6pm.
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