Top seeds Pure Youth Construction bounced back from a tough loss in the series opener on Saturday night with an 85-67 win over Taiwan Beer in Game 2 of the SBL finals series at the Kaohsiung Fengshan Gymnasium last night to even up the best-of-seven series at 1-1.
Three three-pointers by Chen Jian-en in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter sparked a 13-2 run by the Builders that proved to be the difference as they shook off a pesky Brew Crew who rallied from two double-digit deficits earlier in the contest to stay ahead for good.
“I’d like to thank my teammates for encouraging me to keep on shooting, their confidence was a big help to me,” Chen said.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
Chen’s timely surge helped the three-time defending champions avoid what would have been a 0-2 hole in their quest for an unprecedented fourth straight title.
A sloppy start by the Builders’ defense paved the way for the Brew Crew in the early going as they took a 16-14 lead after one quarter of play behind six quick points by Liu Cheng, but Pure Youth regrouped by converting six of nine from behind the three-point arc to outscore their opponents 29-19 in a dominant second quarter to claim a 43-35 advantage at halftime.
Taiwan Beer put together two small runs in the third quarter to keep the deficit at six ahead of the fourth quarter, even though the Builders were able to skid ahead by 10 points or more on two separate occasions.
That was as close as the Brew Crew got, though, as the Builders saved their best for last, attacking the offensive glass in the fourth with six second-chance shots, while Chen did his bit with the three three-pointers from downtown to put the game away long before the final buzzer.
Both squads get some rest today before Game 3 in Kaohsiung tomorrow evening.
The tip-off is scheduled for 7pm.
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