Back-to-back three-pointers by Lu Cheng-rue and Chuo Shih-yuan with less than three minutes to play helped the Yulon Luxgens rally from as many as seven down in the fourth quarter to top Bank of Taiwan 75-74 in Game 1 of their playoff series at the University of Taipei Gymnasium in Tianmu last night.
The win not only salvaged the Automakers from what would have been a tough loss to a lower-seeded opponent, but, more importantly, gave them a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series with the higher-seed automatically getting a one-game lead under the new playoffs format.
“[Bank of Taiwan] definitely gave us a scare tonight,” Chou Shih-yuan said after the game.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
“I’m glad we were able to pull off the victory in the end,” he added.
It was his clutch three-pointer that jump-started what ended up being a game-turning run for the Luxgens in the fourth, after they trailed by as many as a dozen in the second half before prevailing.
After a solid first quarter, in which the Luxgens held the Bankers to just nine points to grab an early 15-9 lead, the momentum quickly swung in the direction of the Bankers, who erupted for 28 points with deadly four-for-four shooting from beyond the three-point line in the second quarter to claim a surprising 37-35 lead at the half.
A pair of three-pointers by Cheng Hao-hsuan helped increase the Bankers’ lead to as many as a dozen midway through the third quarter before the Automakers answered with a 9-4 run to reduce the deficit to seven at the start of the fourth, setting the stage for Yulon’s comeback.
A failure to solve Yulon’s full-court press defense in the fourth proved costly for the Bankers, whose weakness in ball handling due to the absence of a true point guard was fully exposed by the Luxgens with the game on the line.
The Automakers have a chance to wrap up the series with a win in Game 2 this evening.
However, it is to be a do-or-die outing for the Bankers, who let a “winnable” game slip away last night.
TAIWAN BEER 87, KINMEN 60
Outplaying their opponents in every facet of the game, Taiwan Beer cruised to victory over previously red-hot Kinmen Kaoliang in the second game in Tianmu last night to also take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five series.
Lu Chi-min came off the bench and netted 14 points for the Brew Crew, who did not finish the regular season strongly and had big man Patrick O’Bryant missing from a few games, to pocket the crucial win.
“We all played unselfish basketball tonight,” Lu said in a post-game interview.
“That was the difference tonight,” he added.
Also starring for Taiwan Beer were O‘Bryant and Liu Cheng.
O’Bryant showed no signs of rustiness after three weeks off, while Liu broke out of a slump by scoring 18 points, the same amount as O’Bryant.
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