Bank of Taiwan rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit with a decisive 12-1 run to pull off a 68-65 win over the Fubon Braves at the Banciao Gymnasium in New Taipei City last night.
The victory not only extended their current winning streak to four, but also put the Financial Wizards within a game of the fourth-placed Yulon Luxgens in the standings with three weeks remaining in the regular season.
Earl Barron’s nine first-quarter points helped the Braves claim a quick 23-20 lead after 10 minutes of play before both teams cooled off in a slower-paced second quarter to close out the first half with Fubon holding a 39-31 lead.
Bank of Taiwan were able to pull within two of the Braves, with Lee Wei-che downing nine of his season-high 16 points in the third, but never managed to take the lead despite several golden opportunities.
That set up a timely 7-2 run in by the Braves to give them a seemingly comfortable 65-58 lead with about five-and-a-half minutes left on the clock.
The diehard Bankers took their game up a notch, with Nevill netting five of his team’s next six to fall within one of the Braves, before Chen Hsuan-hsiang calmly nailed a pair of free throws with under two minutes to play to put his team ahead.
The Braves’ poor shooting down the stretch was the difference in the game as the Bankers held them scoreless for more than five minutes to deny Fubon any chance of a win.
“We really shut the Braves down in the fourth, that was the difference in the game,” Lee said after the game.
Fubon big man Barron had a huge first half with 14 points and 11 rebounds, but ran out of gas in the fourth quarter with several misses from close range, leaving the door open for the Bankers.
Tigers 88, Kinmen Kaoliang 79
The Dacin Tigers bounced back from a devastating defeat against second-place Taiwan Beer on Friday with an 88-79 triumph over Kinmen Kaoliang in the second game in New Taipei City last night to close out their weekend on a high.
Chou Yi-hsiang shook off a recent slump with a team-high 22 points to spearhead a Dacin attack that netted 47 points in the first half. The Tigers led by as many as 17 before allowing the Distillers back in the game midway through the fourth.
Rookie point guard Lu Chi-er also contributed to the Cats’ win by playing his best game of the season with 17 points.
Hired gun Kyle Barone missed his season-high mark by two with 35 points, but failed to knock down the big shots with the game on the line in a losing effort.
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