Scoring early and often, top-ranked Pure Youth Construction roughed up the Yulon Luxgens in an 83-59 blowout at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City yesterday afternoon to vent their frustration for losing to the last-placed Dacin Tigers the night before.
Coming into the contest with something to prove, the three-time defending champs showed off their patented pressure defense by forcing eight quick turnovers against the Automakers in the opening period to taking a 20-8 lead.
That sparked a 29-point outburst in the second quarter, in which Doug Creighton converted three of four from downtown to give the Builders a commanding 49-23 advantage at the half.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
The 26-point lead at the half allowed skipper Hsu Chin-che to send in his reserve Pure Youth players freely against a deflated Yulon squad in an evenly fought third quarter, setting up a meaningless fourth where Hsu rested his starting lineup for the entire quarter to start the All-Star break early for the team.
“We needed a big showing to get our confidence back and that was exactly what we did,” Hsu said after the game.
Perhaps the loss to the Tigers on Friday night was a blessing in disguise for them as the team heads down the regular season home stretch in preparation for the upcoming postseason.
BANKERS 62, TIGERS 79
The Dacin Tigers took home another victory following their upset win over the Builders on Friday, with a 79-62 trouncing of Bank of Taiwan in the second game in New Taipei City last night.
The win not only marked the Tigers’ first three-game winning streak, but also propelled them out of the cellar in the standings, as they gladly offloaded the distinction onto the Bankers in an intense battle to qualify for the sixth and final spot in the playoffs.
After an evenly fought first quarter, the Tigers quickly assumed total control of the game as they outplayed the Bankers in every facet of the game over the next two quarters to attain a 25-point margin.
Even though the Bankers managed to pull within 14 points of the Cats with a strong effort early in the fourth, it was too little, too late for them as the Tigers shored up their defense in the closing minutes to preserve the win.
Four players scored in double-digits for the Cats, led by Norvel Pelle’s game-high 21.
The Bankers’ hired gun James Tyler also netted 21 on the night, with Player of the Week winner Chen Hsuan-hsiang chipping in 15.
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