Play resumed in the Super Basketball League last night after the annual All-Star weekend with Pure Youth Construction trouncing Kinmen Kaoliang 98-69 in the first game and the Fubon Braves beating the Dacin Tigers 73-65 in the second game at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City.
After an evenly fought first quarter that saw Kinmen Kaoliang take an 18-17 lead, the game was all-Builders as they outplayed the Distillers in every facet of the game the rest of the way to take a 26-point lead through the third en route to the blowout win.
Foul trouble on Kinmen big men Chen Guan-chuan and Bryan Davis, with three and two fouls respectively at the half, limited the Distillers’ ability to defend against the Builders’ inside attack.
That meant a field day for Pure Youth center Garret Siler and slasher Chen Shih-chieh, who netted eight points apiece in the first half to put the game away long before the final buzzer.
TONIGHT’S CONTESTS
With three of the six playoff berths still up for grabs among four clubs and the lone loser having to pack up their bags in less than a month, the remaining three weeks of regular season play promise to an exciting time for hoop fans across the nation.
Kicking off tonight’s pair of classic confrontations are to be Taiwan Beer and Bank of Taiwan, where the winners will take a giant leap into the gate of post-season play.
A victory by the Brew Crew will keep them in the running for the top two spots in the standings which means an automatic first-round bye, a luxury consider the demanding intensity of play in the playoffs.
As for the last-placed Bankers, it is a must-win situation as a loss would set them back further behind the Dacin Tigers, the Yulon Luxgens and the Distillers from Kinmen in the four-team race.
Last week’s Player-of-the-Week winner, Patrick O’Bryant, will need to have another solid outing against the Financial Wizards for Taiwan Beer and skipper Yen Chia-hua if they are to extend their current win streak to four straight.
Also worthy of mention is the Brew Crew’s emerging star Liu Cheng, who came off a great All-Star weekend with a solid showing in the mid-season showcase and will need another decent outing to maintain his edge.
In the late game, the Automakers face the best of Kinmen, where the Distillers will be playing their second straight game in as many days against a well-rested Automakers squad who are eager to end a three-game slide.
All eyes will be on the matchup between hired guns Bryan Davis of the Distillers and the Luxgens’ newly arrived Herve Lamizana who will be serving his second tour of duty with Yulon for the rest of the season after playing one full season for the Automakers two years ago.
It would be considered a nice ending to an otherwise troubled season for the Automakers, who have been through a slew of foreign players without success.
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