Back-to-back threes by Yang Yu-ming and Ho Sho-cheng sparked a 10-1 run in overtime that helped Taiwan Beer defeat the Dacin Tigers 93-85 at the Hsinchu Municipal Gymnasium on Saturday night.
The Beer crew made sure they would not miss the chance to win the game twice after failing to seal the deal earlier when they allowed the Tigers’ Tien Lei to nail a buzzer-beating three to force the game into extra session, treating the Hsinchu crowd to one of the most competitive games this season.
“Their threes really hurt us today; that’s something we had planned to stop but couldn’t,” Tigers coach Chiou Da-tsong said after the game.
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES
His Tigers allowed a total of 11 threes.
Taiwan Beer led the game from the get-go, taking a 23-17 lead in the first quarter and holding it all the way to the final seconds of regulation.
The fact that the Tigers had played a game the night before while the Beer crew rested might have made the difference as the Cats simply ran out of gas in the end.
The win stretched the Beer crew’s run to three straight wins and nipped the previously red-hot Cats’ five-game winning streak, reducing the Tigers’ lead over second-place Kinmen Liquor to only a half-game.
Kinmen Liquor 88, Leopards 83
Overcoming a double-digit deficit in the final quarter, Kinmen Liquor outlasted the Taiwan Mobile Leopards by forcing the game into overtime before winning it 88-83 on Saturday afternoon.
Failure to protect the glass and the ball in the decisive fourth wasted what had been three solid quarters of play on the part of the Leopards as Kinmen Liquor rallied from 11 down at the start of the quarter and forced a 70-all tie on a pair of free throws by Shawn “the Hawk” Hawkins in the final minute of regulation time to send the game into extra session.
A timely surge by forward Cheng Ren-wei also played a critical role in the Distillers’ comeback as he shook off a dismal two-point first half by racking up a dozen in the second half to lead the Kinmen Liquor rally.
Pure Youth 103, Bank of Taiwan 83
Pure Youth Construction broke the century mark for the first time this season in their 103-83 thrashing of Bank of Taiwan on Saturday.
The Builders played like they did not want to fall victim to another Bank of Taiwan upset win following the Bankers’ 93-82 shocker over the Yulon Luxgens on Friday.
The Builders were up 55-46 at the half, which was more than ample for US standout Jonathan Sanders and company to follow through with the blowout win and end a three-game slide for Pure Youth.
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