Chou Po-chen landed the Player of the Week honor in Super Basketball League this week for outstanding play at both ends of the court, helping lift the Yulon Luxgens to a perfect 3-0 record for the week.
The former first-round draft pick for the Automakers, who is more known for doing the “dirty work” inside the paint against opposition front-court players than for making headlines, added to his supporting role by averaging nearly 15 points, seven rebounds, and a pair steals and assists per game in last week’s three-game stretch.
His seven-for-15 shooting from beyond the three-point arc has also turned a few heads in the league, with teams beginning to formulate their defensive game plans around him instead of other Luxgens players.
“I guess with all the attention around [Chou] Shih-yuan and [Lu] Cheng-jue, I’ve had more good looks at the basket than before, which is the big difference this year,” Chou Po-chen said upon hearing of his selection for the weekly honor.
He attributed his steady improvement on offense to Yulon’s rigorous off-season training program that took them to China for part of the summer.
His newfound confidence in shooting has boosted Yulon’s stock as a title contender as they remain the only unbeaten team in the league, boasting a 4-0 record.
“[Chou] has added a new dimension to our offense with his improved offensive skills, because teams can no longer play him softly and expect to get away with it like they have been in the past,” Yulon head coach Lin Cheng-ming said of the budding star earlier this week.
Chou’s continued success will undoubtedly play a big role in Yulon’s chances to make it into the post-season, as they place four serious scoring threats on the floor on any given lineup to create a matchup nightmare against opposition defense.
“Teams will have to guard [Chou] more closely, which should open up the inside game for center Aaron Pettway and the perimeter shots for three-point threats Lu and Chou Shih-yuan,” Lin added.
Lin and his troops are to put their unbeaten run on the line this weekend with a tough battle against Taiwan Beer tomorrow afternoon at the Changhua County Gymnasium followed a meeting on Sunday with the Dacin Tigers.
It will be a big game for both the Brew Crew and the Luxgens, as the winners will likely remain atop the league standings, while the loser could drop by as many as two slots with Pure Youth Construction slated to win both of their games against weaker opponents and improve to 5-1.
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