The Taiwan Mobile Cloud Leopards tripped up short-handed Pure Youth Construction in an 82-63 blowout win in their second game of this year’s Taiwan Strait Cup at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City last night to improve to 1-1.
The rematch of last season’s Championship Finals was all-Leopards from the third quarter on as they showed little mercy against a Builders club who were missing three of their regular starters to the Taiwan national team by outscoring the Builders 48-31 in the second half to run away with the victory.
Leading the way for the Leopards was newcomer Kwame Alexander, who netted a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds against a Quincy Davis-less Builders interior defense in a solid outing. The US forward showed a considerable increase in his level of comfort with his new team as he looks toward the upcoming season.
Also starring for the Leopards was Cheng Ren-wei, who racked up 15 points and seven rebounds with a pair of assists in an all-around effort to demonstrate his leadership role on the team.
Playing without Davis, and backcourt duo Chen Shih-chieh and Keh Chi-hao, the defending champs only managed to hang tough with the Leopards for a half as they held a 20-17 lead after one quarter of play and trailed the Leopards by two (34-32) at the half, before letting the game slip away in a horrendous second half.
GOLDEN LIONS 81, GOLDEN BULLS 70
The Tianjin Ronggang Golden Lions made it two wins in a row by topping their countrymen, the Zhejiang Chouzhou Golden Bulls, in an 81-70 final in the second day of play in New Taipei City last night.
The win, coupled with the Builders’ loss, clinched the title in the three-game competition for the Lions, who are to take on the Builders in their final game this afternoon, where the Chinese team will try for a clean sweep in their visit to Taiwan.
After an evenly fought first quarter that ended 17-all, the Lions immediately heightened their defensive effort as they held the Bulls to just eight points in a 23-8 scoring differential in the second quarter to enjoy a double-digit lead.
That was more than ample for them to garner the win, despite a comeback attempt by the Bulls in the third quarter that halved the deficit at one point.
Four different players scored in double digits for the Lions, with Zhang Nan’s team-high 19 leading the way, while the Bulls’ lone highlight was Zhang Da-yu’s game-high 23 points.
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