Winning nearly half of the 29,914 votes from local basketball fans over the Internet last week, Dacin Tigers' poster boy Tien Lei (
Tien earned the distinction with a stunning 25-point, 14-rebound performance in a losing effort against the league-leading Dinos on Jan. 9.
In addition to leading the league in rebounding with 10.9 bounds a game, the 20-year-old National Taiwan Normal University graduate is a close second in scoring and blocked shots.
Dinos versus Elephants
Tonight's matchup between the Dinos and the Jeoutai Elephants should be an offensive delight as Chen Hsin-an leads the reptilian attack against an Elephant stampede orchestrated by scoring threat Yang Yu-ming (
While the key to success for both teams would be to get the ball to their "go-to" guys as much as possible, the Elephants, a heavy underdog, may have a better chance if they manage to cut down on turnovers, especially, in their transition game.
Tigers versus Beer
Game 1 of tomorrow's double-header features the Tigers and Taiwan Beer in the most evenly matched meeting of the weekend.
Both clubs are coming off back-to-back losses and will be even more determined to win since they are only separated in the standings by half a game.
The game will be a good test for Taiwan Beer's Lin "the Monster" Chih-jeh (
Lions versus Mars
The prime-time showdown tomorrow night will feature the second-place Lions against the injury-plagued BCC Mars.
The two squads operate on two completely different mentalities. While the Mars have achieved moderate success by running a fast-tempo, high-scoring game, the Lions prefer a half-court game while keeping the score in the 60s.
The scale is tipping slightly in favor of the Lions because no one can tell until game time, if some of the Mars players have fully recovered from their injuries to maintain the pace that has brought them five wins.
Dinos versus Bankers
Sunday's game between the Dinos and the last-place Bank of Taiwan has the makings of an upset because Bank of Taiwan will take the court with nothing to lose.
The game will not be a walk in the park for Dino big man Tseng Wen-ding (曾文鼎) inside, because Bank of Taiwan will be sagging in to prevent him from doing much damage in the middle.
It will be a major milestone for the Dinos if they can avoid taking the bankers too lightly and stay perfect at 10-0.
Tigers versus Elephants
Tien Lei will get a date with the "twin towers"of the Elephants (Wu Dai-hao (
The key to victory for the Elephants will be the guards' ability to penetrate against a Tiger defense that has shown vulnerability. If the Elephant guards can successfully penetrate, it will create easy baskets for the twin towers and open up the perimeters for pure-shooter Yang Yu-ming to have a big game.
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