Having grown into a complete player who can hold his own, Bank of Taiwan forward Hsu Chih-chiang narrowly beat out Taiwan Beer swingman Ho Sho-cheng for this week's Player of the Week honor in the Super Basketball League.
The fifth-year veteran out of Tungnan University who began his career with the BCC Mars (currently the Taiwan Mobile Leopards) in 2003 before joining his bankers four years ago, has improved steadily from his usual supporting role into a legitimate star for Bank of Taiwan.
His team-high 15.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game average this season has placed him among the league's top forwards, especially considering that most teams have tried to double-team him whenever possible since the bankers really do not have more than two other "go-to guys" on the team.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES
"It's unbelievable to be considered for the honor, let alone winning it. All the credit should go my teammates and those who have supported me over the years," Hsu said after learning of his narrow win over Ho for the weekly award.
His 56 points and 27 rebounds over a two-game span last weekend were more than enough to convince the members of the voting media to acknowledge his accomplishments, even though the bankers ended up losing both contests.
Next up for Hsu and Bank of Taiwan will be the Leopards in their final game of the season on Sunday.
Both squads have already been eliminated from the playoffs.
"A lot is riding on this game in terms of our team pride," Bank of Taiwan skipper Lai Liang-tsung said about his approach to the game.
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