Boosted by Liu Cheng’s 21-point effort, Taiwan Beer took the game to the Fubon Braves by putting 41 points on the board in the first half, then held off a late rally by the Braves to come away with a 77-64 win at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City last night.
It was Liu’s best game by far in recent weeks after the league’s Most Valuable Player from last season had gone through what some might call a mid-season slump to lead the Brew Crew past their foes.
Other than a fourth-quarter slip-up that saw the Braves rack up 29 points, it was the best three quarters that Taiwan Beer have played since the first weeks of the season.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
“When [Liu] is on his game, we are a very tough team to play against,” Taiwan Beer assistant coach Chou Chun-san said after the game.
His crew had not been at their best having encountered several tough losses against mediocre teams over the past month in which they went 5-7.
Six quick points by Tso Tsong-kai set the tone early for Taiwan Beer as they led the Braves 19-15 after the first quarter.
Then came a dominant second quarter in which the Brew Crew outscored their opponents 22-12 behind a nine-point outburst by Liu to lead the Braves by 14 at the half.
That set up an even more lopsided third quarter where the Braves were held to just eight points in a 23-8 run by Taiwan Beer to blow the game wide open.
Trailing by 29, the Braves finally awoke in the fourth, scoring 29 points in the quarter.
However, it was too little, too late for them as the deficit proved insurmountable in the end.
BANKERS 78, KINMEN KAOLIANG 67
Bank of Taiwan bounced back from a tough loss to the Dacin Tigers the night before with a 78-67 win over Kinmen Kaoliang in the second game in New Taipei last night to settle with a 2-1 mark for the weekend.
Lin Chih-wei played his best game as a professional by downing a season-high 14 points on a night his team needed him the most.
The top draft pick for the Bankers this season filled in nicely for a foul-troubled James Tyler in the fourth quarter to fend off a Distiller squad that featured the league’s top scorer, Bryan Davis.
Also starring for the Bankers was Tyler, who netted 21 with 16 rebounds to lead his team in both statistical categories.
As for the Distillers, Davis led all scorers with 31 on the night as they failed to shut down the Bankers on the perimeters to lose this one by double digits.
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