Lin Tsong-ching scored 22 points and Tsai Wen-cheng added another 17 as Pure Youth Construction roughed up the Dacin Tigers 79-63 to win Game 5 of the SBL championship finals at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City last night.
The win means the Builders lead the best-of-seven series by a 3-2 margin. History is on their side, since all teams that have won three games first have gone on to win the title.
An unexpected full-court press defense by the Builders caught the Tigers totally by surprise as they coughed up the ball five times in the opening quarter to 21-13 behind.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
With the Tigers seemingly unable to consistently break the full-court press defense, the Builders extended their lead to as many as 15 points in the second quarter, before reaching the half 41-29 ahead.
That was as close as Tigers came as Pure Youth carried their red-hot momentum into the third quarter, despite having their top inside threat, Quincy Davis, on the bench with three fouls for most of the quarter. A seven-point effort by Lin picked up the scoring slack.
“Our coaches ordered [the full-court press] to give the Tigers a different look and it worked out very well for us,” Lin said after the game.
The Tigers do not have very much time to figure out a way to bounce back as they face a do-or-die situation in tonight’s crucial Game 6.
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