The Yulon Luxgens kept their unbeaten record intact, raising their mark to 3-0 by surprising Pure Youth Constructions 69-64 at the National Taiwan University of Sports Gymnasium in Taichung last night.
Lu Cheng-ju’s breakaway layup with the clock winding down following a turnover by the Builders with less than eight seconds remaining put the Carmakers ahead for good as they cashed in on an off night by the three-time defending champs for the big win.
“We just kept on fighting and going after every loose ball we could, and it paid off,” Lu said after the game.
Photo: Lin Tsung-wei, Taipei Times
He ended up with a dozen points on the night to help lift Yulon past their foes.
A 5-0 start by the Luxgens set the tone early in the game, with hired gun Aaron Pettway downing six of his team’s 19 points to gift them a 19-17 lead after one quarter of play.
However, the Builders hung in there, despite shooting an awful 3-for-19 from behind the three-point arc to keep the deficit at two over the next 2.5 quarters before a basket by Lu put the Luxgens ahead 61-54 with 6 minutes and 20 seconds remaining in the game.
A 10-4 run by the Builders in the next four minutes brought them to within one before Pettway’s clutch bucket made it 67-64.
Pure Youth had one last chance to tie the game on their final possession when they charged down the court for a potential game-tying three, but Lin’s attempted pass to a teammate somehow ended up in Lu’s hands and the Yulon player promptly raced down the court to seal the victory for his team.
BANK OF TAIWAN 64, TAIWAN BEER 69
Unbeaten Taiwan Beer upped their winning streak to three straight with a victory over Bank of Taiwan in Taichung yesterday afternoon.
A 15-2 run in favor of the Brew Crew made the difference in the game as the men in green took it strong to the hoop, with Liu Chan leading the way. Last week’s SBL Player of the Week showed no signs of slowing down as he virtually drove the ball inside the paint against the Bankers defense at will to account for six of his team’s final 18 points.
A 12-0 start by Taiwan Beer in the opening minutes gave the Bankers a minor scare, but instead of folding up their tents like they have done in the past, the Financial Wizards countered with a big run of their own to lead the Brew Crew by five before settling for a two-point deficit at the half.
Neither club managed to take leads larger than four in a sloppy third before the 15-2 run by the Brew Crew sealed the deal in the fourth.
TIGERS 81, BRAVES 88
The Fubon Braves finally won their first game of the season by trouncing the Dacin Tigers in Taichung last night.
Injury to Dacin big man Norvel Pelle in the opening minutes of the contest left the inside of the paint wide open for Braves center Darrian Townes, who drew double-team coverage for most of the first half to free up the perimeter for fellow forward Liu Sheng-yao, who racked up 10 in the second quarter to give the Braves an insurmountable 48-32 lead at the half.
“[The Tigers] had to double-team Darrian because of Pelle’s injury and that opened up some opened shots for me,” Liu said after the game.
Pelle did not return after what seems to be a serious injury. His status is to be released later today.
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Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
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