Three US basketball players returning to the Super Basketball League this season said on Thursday that the competition this year is just as fierce as ever, despite the fact that some of the best-known Taiwanese players have left the league and joined professional teams in China.
Twenty-eight-year-old Californian Jonathan Sanders of Pure Youth Construction returned to the league after taking a year off. He said although those who left were star players, the SBL has not changed much.
“This isn’t an environment for superstar players like them. Here, they focus more on team basketball, not on individuals,” Sanders said. “With them leaving, however, the competition level in the league is still the same.”
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Sanders also said that having more imported players from overseas would help raise the level of competition this year, which would be good for players and fans.
“They [the fans] already knew Tien Lei and some other local players,” he said. “Now they get to see some new faces on the court, maybe they will come to more games. Nobody wants to get dumped on every single day. When you see someone else train himself just as hard as you do, it makes you stronger and faster. Then the whole game changes.”
Bryon Allen of the Dacin Tigers also commented on the former SBL players who have moved to China.
“For them, that was a good move, because the competition there is high and they get paid more, but now each team has a foreign player to complement other local players. It helps level the playing field,” Allen said.
Delvin Thomas of Taiwan Beer said he is also happy that the league has brought in more imported players this season.
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