The Taiwan Beer opened the new season on a high note with a 69-58 win over the Dacin Tigers at the National Taiwan University of Sports Gymnasium last night.
Liu Chan picked up where he left off from last season’s MVP-worthy performance with 10 first-quarter points to help the Brew Crew claim a 21-14 advantage.
The third-year man went on to pick up further 15 points against a tough Tiger defense that double-teamed him for most of the night to lift his club past their foes.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Also starring for the Taiwan Beer was Patrick O’Bryant, who showed off his extended shooting range with two long bombs from downtown to contribute to his game-high 19 points and 18 rebounds to humble the Dacin interior defense.
The showdown between two of the most popular teams in the league was all the Taiwan Beer from the get-go, as they led for virtually the entire game against a Tien Lei-less Dacin squad.
Following a solid first quarter that saw the Taiwan Beer take a seven-point lead, the Cats tightened their defense in the second to keep the gap to nine points at half-time.
That was as close as they got, as the Brew Crew outshot and outfought them in the third to take a double-digit lead before holding off a mild rally attempt by Dacin.
Four players scored double-digits for the Taiwan Beer, with O’Bryant leading the way. Rookie guard Chiang Yu-an’s 10 points also showed tremendous promise for the Brew Crew.
“Coach said to play at our own pace and that’s what we did; we played defense really well today,” Chiang said after his professional debut.
Meanwhile, Pure Youth Construction topped the Fubon Braves 75-63 in Taichung to open the season with an impressive “W.”
The rematch of last season’s championship finals saw the Braves put up a tough fight against the three-time defending champions by staying with the Builders for nearly three-and-a-half quarters, overcoming deficits as large as nine points in the third to keep it a two-point game with seven minutes left to play.
However, Pure Youth’s experience came through as they outscored the Braves 10-3 in a crucial run midway through the fourth.
Quincy Davis had a big day at the office with his parents watching on as he netted a game-high 22 points with a dozen boards to lead the Builders.
As for the Braves, newcomer Darian Townes had a solid first half on both ends of the floor with nine points and 14 rebounds to his credit in the first half alone. However, failure to get him involved in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter due to a slew of turnovers by his teammates, ultimately cost them the game.
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