Kinmen Kaoliang and Taiwan Beer emerged the top dogs from this weekend’s Super Basketball League matchups, before all seven teams take time off for the winter break.
In yesterday’s thriller, Bank of Taiwan edged out Pauian Archiland by one point to win 103-102 at Taipei’s Tianmu Gymnasium.
In the final seconds of a see-saw final quarter, Bank of Taiwan’s American forward Angel Nunez drained a three-pointer to seal the win.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Nunez, a former standout at the University of Southern Florida, had a game-high of 39 points and pulled down nine rebounds.
He was on a shooting streak, hitting 15 of 24 attempts, including four of seven in three-point range, while compatriot and teammate Joseph Taylor added 20 points and nine rebounds.
Guard Chang Bo-sheng contributed 15 points and forward Lin Ren-hong put up 14 to help Bank of Taiwan rack up their fifth win of the season.
Pauian Archiland’s Thomas Tan and Kyle Meyer each put up 17 points, while Atlanta native Meyer added 11 rebounds to make his a double-double.
Also at the Tianmu Gymnasium last night, the Yulon Luxgen Dinos netted 15 three-pointers to thrash the Fubon Braves 105-75.
Tianmu Gymnasium was also the scene of Saturday’s matchup, in which Taiwan Beer prevailed over Kinmen Kaoliang 92-87.
The win puts Taiwan Beer (15-9) within half a game of table leader Kinmen Kaoliang (16-9), who went into the winter break having played an additional game.
In Saturday’s other game, the Dacin Tigers edged out the Yulon Luxgen Dinos 89-87, putting the Tigers in fifth place.
After the Lunar New Year and Lantern Festival holidays, action in the league is to resume on Feb. 21 with two games at the Taoyuan County Stadium.
In other basketball news, Taiwan’s Formosa Dreamers capitalized on two crucial wins over the past seven days, putting them in second place in the ASEAN Basketball League.
On Sunday last week, the Dreamers beat Hong Kong Eastern 92-86 at Hong Kong’s Southorn Stadium. Then, on Thursday, the Dreamers headed to Macau, where they racked up their 10th win of the season, a 122-116 triumph over the Macau Black Bears.
The second-placed Dreamers (10-5) have turned around their performance, which landed them at the bottom of the table last season. Only San Miguel Alab Pilipinas (9-2) sit higher on the table, while Saigon Heat of Vietnam (10-5) share their second-place spot.
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