Top-seeded Pure Youth Construction successfully defended their title by downing Taiwan Beer 79-67 in the decisive Game 7 of the Championship Finals at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City last night for an unprecedented fourth straight league title.
The win marked the first time in league history that a team has overcome a 1-3 deficit in the best-of-seven championship series, as the Builders came out ahead after dropping a pair of tough losses in Games 3 and 4 to the Brew Crew by winning the next three games to accomplish the improbable feat.
“I am just so proud of our guys for believing in themselves no matter how bad the situation was,” Pure Youth skipper Hsu Chin-che said after the title-clincher. His troops managed to fight off every odd in terms of league history to claim the last laugh.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
What should have been an easy series for the regular-season champs, who had won all five of their contests against a very young Brew Crew during the regular season, surprisingly turned into an uphill battle after Taiwan Beer shocked the basketball world by pulling off a 78-67 upset win in the opener before taking Games 3 and 4 to fall within a win of basketball immortality.
However, with the title on the line, the Builders made sure they would come away as the winners by rallying from a slight deficit at the half with a strong third quarter to grab a 59-54 lead and stay ahead for good.
Leading the way for the men in orange was big man Garret Siler, whose team-high 21 points and game-high 22 rebounds in a rare double-20 effort capped off one of the most impressive comeback rallies in league history. Siler was properly recognized for his tremendous performance by being named the Championship Finals’ Most Valuable Player.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
“I would like to thank my teammates and the coaches for giving me the opportunity to help our team win,” a very excited Siler said after the game.
Despite the double-digit margin of victory, Taiwan Beer flashed several signs of brilliance in the game when they rolled off a 10-0 run late in the second quarter to turn a 20-15 deficit after one quarter of play into a 39-36 lead at the half, with center Patrick O’Bryant netting 17 in the first half alone.
They even managed leads as large as six points in the third quarter before allowing the Builders to go on a game-turning 11-0 run to pull ahead for good.
“I am very proud of our players for going as far as they have. We showed everyone what we are capable of doing,” Taiwan Beer head coach Yen Chia-hua said after the game.
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