Behind a season-high 21 points from Lin Chin-ban, top-ranked Pure Youth Construction overcame an early deficit with a strong second quarter to stifle Taiwan Beer 67-61 at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City last night to finish the weekend with a perfect 3-0 record.
It was Lin’s best offensive outing of the season by far as he shot an incredible nine-for-10 from the field to lead the Builders past a struggling Brew Crew.
“Everything just came together for me today, I really can’t explain why,” Lin said after the game.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
His timely surge was the lone spotlight for a Builders’ squad that shot an otherwise awful 16-for-50 from the floor in one of their lowest-scoring games of the season.
“Even though [Pure Youth] did not have a good game, they still managed to win it... this is why they are the team to beat in the league,” Taiwan Beer assistant coach Chou Chun-san said after the game.
His troops suffered their second straight losing weekend after having won five of six prior to their current slump.
Taiwan Beer held the Builders to just 10 points in a subpar first quarter to lead the three-time champions 14-10 after one quarter of play, but the Builders refused to lie down as they quickly returned the favor with interest by outscoring the Brew Crew 15-8 in the second to take a 25-22 lead at halftime.
That was the edge that Pure Youth needed turn the tables on Taiwan Beer as they kept their composure in the second half to preserve the victory.
The win also marked Pure Youth’s sixth straight as the defending champions look to get some much deserved rest this week and get ready for Thursday night’s match against the Yulon Luxgens.
BRAVES 65, KINMEN KAOLIANG 56
The second-placed Fubon Braves also won their game against Kinmen Kaoliang yesterday afternoon in New Taipei City to keep pace with the Builders.
The Braves cashed in on an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Kinmen Kaoliang’s Bryan Davis in the third quarter to steal the momentum from the Distillers and frustrate the big American in the decisive fourth quarter with constant pressure to chase Kinmen off the floor.
Neither team managed to pull away as they traded the lead several times during the game, with Davis and his counterpart Darian Townes leading their respective attacks.
Even though Davis had the upper hand as far as his game-high 21 points and 15 rebounds were concerned, Townes had the last laugh as the Braves remained on track for the win.
LUXGENS 74, TIGERS 69
The Yulon Luxgens bounced back from a tough two-point loss to the Fubon Braves the night before with a 74-69 victory over the Dacin Tigers to close out their three-game weekend on a high note.
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