Kinmen Kaoliang put up a stout defense yesterday for a 77-55 win over the Dacin Tigers at the Taoyuan Arena, handing the Tigers their fourth straight defeat of the Super Basketball League (SBL) season.
Kinmen’s American duo, Walter Sharpe and Paris Bass, led the charge to their third victory, after a loss to the Yulon Dinos in the season opener. Kinmen shared second place on the league table.
The Americans both put up double-doubles, as Sharpe scored 10 points with 16 rebounds and Bass scored 19 points with 10 rebounds, while Kinmen guard Yu Huan-ya contributed 12 points with five rebounds.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Facing them was Tigers center Anthony McClain, who scored 19 points with 14 rebounds, the third player to put up a double-double in the game.
Winless after four games, the Tigers are at the bottom of the table.
Their woes were compounded by O.J. Mayo, the Tigers’ other American player and seven-year NBA veteran, having to sit out this week due to a knee injury.
In results from Saturday, Palestinian player Sani Sakakini put up 30 points and 11 rebounds, leading the Yulon Dinos to a 83-79 victory over Pauian Archiland at the Taoyuan Arena.
Michael Holyfield, Pauian Archiland’s American center, netted 22 points and pulled down 14 rebounds for a double-double, but it was not enough to pull his team out ahead.
After the game, Sakakini said that he twisted his left ankle in the first quarter, adding: “But I played through the pain and finished the game. Our head coach, Lee Chih-yi, had complete confidence in me, and I wanted to help the team win.”
“Because of Lee, I came to Taiwan to join the team, but many things are unfamiliar to me — I need to make some adjustments. The Yulon Dinos want to win the SBL title, so I must go all out in every game,” he added.
In Saturday’s other game, Taiwan Beer crushed Bank of Taiwan 103-59 at the Taoyuan Arena.
On the international circuit, Taiwan’s Formosa Dreamers prevailed over Hong Kong Eastern 82-80 on Sunday last week in their ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) game at the Southern Arena in Hong Kong.
The win made two victories in two starts for the Dreamers in this campaign, a complete turnaround from last season when they had one win and 19 losses and landed at the bottom of the table with the league’s nine other teams above them.
The Dreamers opened the ABL season by surprising hosts the Singapore Slingers with a 77-73 victory on Nov. 18 at the OCBC Arena in Singapore.
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