Pure Youth Construction made it eight wins in a row by roughing up the Taiwan Mobile Leopards in a 96-78 final at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City yesterday afternoon, upping their season series record against the Leopards to a perfect 3-0.
Absences by team icons Chen “Airman” Hsin-an, Chien Jia-hong and James Mao did not affect the Builders in any way, as hired help Quincy Davis did as he pleased with 25 first-half points toward a season-high 35-point explosion to lead his team to victory.
His game-high 23 rebounds were icing on the cake as far as Pure Youth skipper Hsu Jin-tseh was concerned in a game in which Davis bombarded the basket with several vicious slams to help his team take control of the game for good midway through the second quarter.
Photo provided by Bros Sports Marketing
Thirteen quick points between the Leopards’ Liu Sheng-yao and Chang Rong-hsuen gave their team a surprising 23-19 lead after the opening quarter, but that was as close to victory as the Leopards got, as the Builders went on an 8-0 run midway through the second to erase the deficit and added to their lead by a few to close out the half with a 41-34 advantage.
Pure Youth picked up where they left off in the second half with seven players ringing up points in the third quarter to double their lead to 14, booking the victory long before the final buzzer sounded.
The win, coupled with a Dacin Tigers loss in the ensuing game, propelled the Builders atop the standings with sole possession of first place with an 11-3 mark.
TAIWAN BEER 76, TIGERS 66
Resurging Taiwan Beer exploited a sluggish Dacin Tigers defense with newcomer Kibwe Trim tearing it up in the paint on 29 points and 16 rebounds to run away with a 76-66 win in the day’s second game.
With his spot on the team on the line, Trim left nothing to the imagination as he attacked the basket relentlessly with several strong drives and for seven boards off the offensive glass to make a strong case for his future with the Brew Crew.
Taiwan Beer head coach Yen Jia-hua will have a tough decision to make today in choosing between Trim and incumbent Emmanuel Jones, who played a big part in Taiwan Beer’s title-winning run last season and is more familiar with the team.
The loss set the Tigers back by half a game in the standings as they closed out the weekend with back-to-back losses for the first time this season.
LUXGENS 72, BANK OF TAIWAN 68
The Yulon Luxgens bounced back from a one-point loss to the Tigers on Saturday with a narrow 72-68 win over Bank of Taiwan in the finale at night to force a 1-1 split in the two games they played over the weekend.
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