Tien Lei's incredible scoring run last month and fellow teammate Chang Chih-fong's outstanding week of play earned the Dacin Tigers duo the Player of the Month and the Player of the Week honors, respectively, in the Super Basketball League this week.
In the seven games that Tien played during last month, the second-year, all-purpose forward saw over 37 minutes of floor time to net the Tigers 27.9 points, 12.7 boards and 3.9 assists per contest, placing him atop the league in both the scoring and rebounding statistical categories. Besides his impressive averages, Tien also reached several key milestones last month by becoming the first player in league history to collect 1000 points, 500 rebounds, 100 blocked-shots and 100 assists.
"Coach Liu [Jia-fa] asked me to just go out there and have fun on the court. I really appreciate his giving me as much floor time as he did to prove myself out there," Tien said at the award ceremony in Taipei on Wednesday.
PHOTO: SBL
outstanding effort
Playing alongside Tien with an outstanding effort last week was shooting guard Chang Chih-fong, whose ball-denying defense on Taiwan Beer's Lin "The Beast" Chih-jeh in their meeting on Sunday helped the Tigers to a 90-71 victory.
Chang's 15.5-point, 5.5-rebound average in the two games last week was just the icing on the cake for the Tigers, because it was his stellar defense that set the Tiger captain head-and-shoulders above the rest of the league.
Tien and Chang have their work cut out for them this week as they get ready to take on the league-leading Yulon Dinos in an uphill battle on Sunday. The game of the week will feature the top two offenses in the league in what should be a fast-pace, high-scoring affair.
For the big cats to have a chance against the defending champs, they must attack the middle of the Dinos' defense early to establish an inside game and perhaps get the Dinos' Tseng Wen-ding in early foul trouble. Focusing inside the paint on offense early on should free up the perimeters for the Tigers' outside shooters, Chang Chih-fong and Hsu "Birdie" Chih-chao.
big challenge
It will be a big challenge for Coach Liu Jia-fa of the Tigers this Sunday in deciding which of the Dinos' two outside scoring threats his best defender (Chang) will cover in the game because either man (power forward Chen "Airman" Hsin-an or sharp shooter Chou Shih-yuan) can light up the scoreboard in no time if the Tigers do not watch them carefully.
Other league action over the weekend that will surely draw a full house at the Taipei College of Physical Education Gymnasium will be tonight's game between Taiwan Beer and the ETTV Antelopes.
Losers in their past two meetings by a combined margin of three points, the Antelopes are due for a big win tonight, which should push them into a tie for fourth place in the standings on Monday with the beermen's expected win over the Sina Lions tomorrow.
The Antelopes' "Wu Brothers," consisting of all-star center Wu Dai-hao and power forwards Wu Jung-hsiung and Wu Jia-long (all unrelated), will have their hands full in an effort to contain Taiwan Beer's "The Beast" (Lin Chih-jeh).
A rusty Hao Hsiao-yuan will return for this game after having served a two-game suspension for his rough play against the Lions two weeks ago.
The big man for Taiwan Beer will need to shake off his rustiness in a hurry, especially on defense, if the brew masters want to keep the score respectable.
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