American center Garrett Siler yesterday dominated the board with 30 points and 20 rebounds, leading the Fubon Braves to a 87-80 victory over Bank of Taiwan in Taipei.
Siler came out on top in the battle between two standout foreign stars, as his counterpart, Charles Garcia for Bank of Taiwan, stood on the other side of the buzzer with 26 points and 16 rebounds.
The Super Basketball League’s (SBL) first week of the season saw the Fubon Braves roar out of the gate with a 92-71 triumph over Kinmen Kaoliang on Sunday last week.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
In their next outing on Friday, the Braves lost to the Yulon Luxgen Dinos 99-83, before grabbing their second win yesterday to close out the week with a 2-1 record.
Bank of Taiwan had something to celebrate despite yesterday’s loss, as forward Chen Shun-hsiang scored 15 points, becoming the fourth SBL player to surpass 4,000 points.
After the game, team officials handed Chen an award to commemorate the milestone, as the veteran forward had spent his entire 13-season career with Bank of Taiwan.
Chen said the award was very special, because the milestone was hard-fought after tearing his Achilles tendon last year, undergoing an operation this year and being benched for several months while he recovered.
The coaches wanted him to shoot more over the past week, “but I made passes to the younger players to give them more scoring opportunities, since they need the experience,” Chen said. “I am getting older and these youngsters represent the future of our team.”
The Bankers ended the first week 2-2 after downing Taiwan Beer 78-70 on Saturday.
In last night’s other match, Kinmen Kaoliang seized their second victory with a 92-78 thrashing of the Yulon Luxgen Dinos at the Taipei Heping Gymnasium.
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