Rallying from as many as six down midway through the third quarter, Japan’s Link Tochigi Brex topped fellow Japan-based Chiba Jets 69-65 in the title game of this year’s Probation Cup at the Hualien County Sports Complex yesterday.
Ryan Rossiter converted three of four free-throw attempts in the final minute of play to cool off a tenacious Chiba comeback attempt, which included a pair of three-pointers by Paris Horne to make it a one-point game.
The Jets had one final chance to send the game into overtime with 3.2 seconds remaining, but Justin Burrell never got full control of a pass to launch the potential game-tying shot.
With game time pushed forward to accommodate the teams schedule to leave from Taipei later in the day, the title game began at the unusual time of 10am. However, that did not keep fans from packing the lower level of the arena to cheer their favorite players from the land of the Samurais.
Neither team had much success offensively in the early going, with the Brex enjoying a slim 15-12 advantage after 10 minutes.
The Jets were able to erase the deficit with a brilliant second quarter by Yuta Miyanaga, who scored eight of his team’s final 14 points in the first half to give the Jets a 35-32 lead.
A 12-9 run by the Jets in the first five minutes of the third quarter increased their lead to six.
That was when the Brex dialed their games up a notch by going on a 10-6 run of their own to cut the Chiba lead to two to start the fourth quarter, setting the stage for the see-saw finish.
TIGERS 0, BANK OF TAIWAN 0
In the battle for third place, the Dacin Tigers and Bank of Taiwan were awarded a tie after only one quarter of play as the game was suspended due to stormy weather.
PURE YOUTH 78, LUXGENS 63
Pure Youth Construction finished off the tournament well with a 78-63 win over the Yulon Luxgens in the battle for fifth place.
SMAA 58, TAIWAN BEER 93
In the day’s other match, US-based SMAA lost to Taiwan Beer.
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