The Dacin Tigers made it four in a row by trouncing Kinmen Liquor 74-60 at the Miaoli County Sports Complex yesterday afternoon to give them a perfect 4-0 record over the first two weeks of the season.
Chang “Mr Hustle” Chih-fong continued his red-hot shooting by netting a game-high 22 points with four steals to lead the Cats, showing no signs of a flu bug that had sidelined him for a good part of last week.
It was the second straight day in which he led the Cats in scoring, with a two-game total of 40 points.
Photo: Chan Chao-yang, Taipei Times
“We had a chance to blow [Kinmen Liquor] out early, but some of our younger guys let down their guard to allow them to hang around,” Chang said after the game.
The Tigers are one win shy of a NT$100,000 prize to be given to the team with the best record through the first six games of the season.
Also starring for the Cats was newcomer Noel Felix of the US, who poured in 20 while blocking three shots to give his team the inside presence they had been looking for.
The Tigers took advantage of a slow start by the stone-cold Distillers, who simply could not buy a basket in the first six minutes until hired help Antoine Broxsie finally sank a pair of free throws to break open the scoring.
Three first-quarter fouls on Broxsie also kept the Distillers’ interior defense on their heels as Broxsie spent more time on the bench than skipper Hsu Chih-chao had wanted.
The loss set Kinmen Liquor’s record this season to an even 2-2 mark, a tad better than expected given the vast changes that the team has undergone, with a new head coach and an all-new lineup with none of the players remaining from last season’s starting five.
YULON 87, BANK OF TAIWAN 66
The Yulon Luxgens bounced back from a tough loss to the Tigers on Saturday night with a convincing 87-66 win over Bank of Taiwan to improve their season record to 3-1.
Yulon rookie sensation Chou Bo-chen posted his first career double-double — 10 points and 11 rebounds — for the four-time champions to spearhead a well-balanced Yulon attack, with seven players scoring nine points or more.
The Yulon three-point attack was also at its best with 10 from behind the three-point arc that bombarded the Bankers’ defense all night.
After an evenly fought first quarter that saw the Bankers stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Luxgens, the scales quickly tipped in Yulon’s favor as they outscored the Bankers 20-10 in the second to take a 10-point lead at halftime, before putting the game to bed with a 25-14 run in the third quarter.
Failure to secure the ball in the second quarter, which led to nine turnovers, cost the Bankers as they remained winless with a 0-4 record.
PURE YOUTH 72, LEOPARDS 69
Pure Youth Construction picked up their second win with a narrow 72-69 triumph over the Taiwan Mobile Leopards in the nightcap to close out the weekend with two straight wins.
The victory evened their record at 2-2 after they dropped back-to-back games on the opening weekend.
Forward Lin Tsong-ching scored 14 points against his former team to further solidify his role within the Builders squad in a winning effort.
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