The Super Basketball League season closed out on a high note with the annual awards ceremony taking place at the Gis MOTC Convention Center in Taipei on Sunday afternoon.
Quincy Davis of Pure Youth Construction walked away as the top winner of the season by claiming the coveted Most Valuable Player (MVP) distinction along with the blocked-shot title, the top defensive frontcourt player of the year honor and a spot on the All-SBL team.
The American center, who became a formidable force inside the paint for the Builders, was a big factor in helping his team cruise through the regular season with a team-best 22-8 record, before storming through the post-season to -capture their first-ever league title.
“It’s an honor to be recognized among the elites in a league that is filled with so many great players. I’m very happy for being able to help the team win [their first-ever title],” Davis said on Sunday.
Joining Davis as the other big winner on the day was Pure Youth head coach Hsu Jin-tseh, who won an unprecedented third straight Coach of the Year honor for his style of coaching, guiding a group of younger players along with veterans Chen “Airman” Hsin-an and Doug Creighton.
“This one is for the entire team,” Hsu said, crediting his team’s success to the hard work they put in from every position throughout the organization.
Taiwan Mobile Cloud Leopards center Ryan Wright was the -scoring champ in the regular season for netting a league-best 19.3 points per game in the 22 contests in which he participated, while fellow guard Su Yi-jeh took home the top assist-man honor, with nearly six dish-outs per game (5.7).
Yulon Luxgen forward Kevin Johnson landed the rebound title for snatching up 15.1 boards per game as fellow guard Chen Chih-chung walked away with the top defensive backcourt player of the year honor and a spot on the All-SBL team for his in-your-face defense, which caused opposing teams immense problems all season long.
Kinmen Kaoliang rookie standout Liu Tsan’s league-best 2.2 steals per game was the deciding factor that helped him beat out Yulon rookie Chou Bo-chen for the Rookie of the Year honor as the members of the Association of Basketball Writers were split between the two rookies and went with Liu for his quick thinking and quick hands.
Rounding out the All-SBL team were Su, the Airman and departing Taiwan Beer forward Yang Jing-min, who signed a three-year deal with China’s CBA last week.
Snagging the sixth man of the year was Kinmen Kaoliang’s Hong Chi-chao, whose leadership in a very young ball club was deservingly recognized.
Last, but not least, was the most improved player of the year award, which went to Bank of Taiwan’s Hsu Chih-chiang, who came back from a season-ending injury last year with a solid campaign that ended with a late-season scoring spree that also earned the Bankers’ team captain the Player of the Month honors for March and last month.
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