Overcoming a three-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter, the Yulon Luxgens rallied for 27 points in the final quarter to edge past the Dacin Tigers 74-69 on the final day of play at the Hualien County Sports Complex yesterday afternoon to settle with a third-placed finish at this year’s Hualien Probation Cup.
Nine quick points by Wu Fong-chen in the first quarter got the Luxgens moving in the right direction as they led the Tigers 18-16 after one quarter of play, but the Cats came back with a superb defensive effort in the second quarter that held the Luxgens to 10 points to set up a 32-28 advantage at the half.
Neither team got the upper hand in a hard-fought third period that saw the Luxgens reduce the deficit to three, before a 27-point scoring spree by the four-time SBL champions shook off the Cats en route to a favorable finish.
Photo: Chang Cheng-pang, Taipei Times
LEOPARDS 90, BANK OF TAIWAN 73
In the battle for fifth place, the Taiwan Mobile Cloud Leopards took a commanding 45-32 lead at halftime and went on to defeat Bank of Taiwan by 17 points.
The Leopards demonstrated their tremendous depth and experience over a young Bankers squad with a 21-7 scoring differential in the decisive second quarter, highlighted by two three-pointers from Liu Sheng-yao and 10 points from Chang Rong-hsuan which sealed the victory long before the final buzzer.
Bank of Taiwan did not have a good game in terms of the wide margin of the loss, but the young group of promising rookies and sophomores did have a good showing over the course of the tournament as they prepare for the upcoming SBL season.
“We are pretty pleased with the way some of our younger players have played in the tournament, it gives us something to build on as we get ready for the regular season,” Bankers coach Wei Chen-ming said after the game.
KT SPORTS 80, ELITE TALENT 76
In the title game between South Korea’s KT Sports and Elite Talent Exchange of the US last night, it was KT Sports who had the last laugh as they rallied from a dismal first quarter with an outstanding effort in the second to run away with the gold medal.
TAIWAN BEER 100, KINMEN 94
Taiwan Beer edged past Kinmen Kaoliang by a 100-94 margin in overtime to settle for a seventh-placed finish yesterday afternoon in an otherwise disappointing showing.
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