Having already clinched the No. 1 seed in the four-team postseason, the Yulon Dinos could have taken it easy in the final two weeks of the regular season.
Instead, they held nothing back in a spectacular 86-71 victory over the BCC Mars on Friday night that dealt a devastating blow to the Mars' playoff chances.
Tied with the Dacin Tigers for the third spot in the league, a victory by the Mars would have given them some breathing room before their showdown with the Tigers on Sunday night.
But Dinos coach Chien Yi-fei (
Chien's strategy of keeping the tempo of the game up while giving his starting lineup more rest than usual (all twelve Dino players played at least five minutes in the game) paid off as the Dinos literally ran the Mars off the floor in the win.
Lions 78, Tigers 67
On paper, the Sina Lions had every reason to lose Saturday afternoon's match against the Tigers; they were older, slower, and losers of six straight, compared to the younger, quicker, and hungrier Tigers.
In game action, the Lions showed no signs of fatigue, especially in the final quarter of the contest, to pull away in their victory over the Tigers.
The win provided a much-needed confidence boost to the Lions, as they savored the sweetness of their first victory in over a month.
Veteran center Huang Chuen-hsiung (
His 23 points and seven boards ignited a Lion attack that had five players score in double figures.
As for the Tigers, they missed a great chance to secure a berth in the postseason.
Bank of Taiwan 75, Elephants 68
Chuang Hsiao-wen (
The reserve power forward downed four three-pointers in a 23-point effort to upend the Elephants in a hard-fought game.
While the victory did nothing for the Bank as far as their postseason was concerned, it took the Elephants' destiny out of their own hands. The Elephants could have gotten into the playoffs by winning the final two games of the season; instead, they now have to hope for two Mars' losses and a win over the mercurial Taiwan Beer this weekend for a ticket into the postseason.
Dinos 75, Taiwan Beer 62
Sunday's game between the Dinos and Taiwan Beer had no bearing on the postseason, but it was a delight to see the brew masters play toe-to-toe against the top-ranked Dinos for three quarters before the Dinos shook them loose in the final quarter.
Lin "the Monster" Chih-jeh (
Tigers 91, Mars 85
It took overtime to determine the winner for the battle between the two third-placed squads in the weekend finale Sunday night.
The Mars rallied from being down by as many as 13 in a brilliant fourth-quarter comeback to tie the game up at 77-all before two key players fouled out during overtime in a losing effort.
Both teams took no chances on offense as they abandoned the perimeter game and focused on pounding the ball inside early on. The strategy worked against the Mars because the inside game led to many fouls by a frontcourt that already had been short-handed due to injuries.
Mars' big man Lee Chi-yi's (
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