Kinmen Kaoliang accomplished mission impossible by downing Bank of Taiwan 83-57 at the Sinjhuang Sports Complex in New Taipei City last night in their regular-season finale to clinch the sixth and final playoff berth.
Coming into the weekend needing to win both of their games and for the Dacin Tigers to lose to qualify for the final spot in the post-season, the Distillers did just that by winning their game against Taiwan Beer on Saturday and watching the Tigers lose to the Yulon Luxgens the same day, before completing a convincing victory over the Bankers.
Kinmen Kaoliang played the Bankers tough in an evenly fought first quarter that ended in a 19-19 tie.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Chen Ching-huan then took matters into his own hands by racking up seven to spark what ended up being a 23-9 run in favor of the Distillers in the second quarter as they grabbed a 42-28 lead at halftime.
That was the difference in the game as Kinmen maintained their level of intensity in the second half, with Bryan Davis outmuscling fellow countryman James Tyler of Bank of Taiwan inside the paint and Yang Che-yi orchestrating several fastbreaks in a transition game that blew the game wide open.
“We knew what we had to do to get the job done and that was exactly what we did,” Kinmen Kaoliang rookie head coach Wu Chun-hsiung said.
His troops had lost seven straight prior to the weekend to drop out of playoff contention.
Three players scored in double digits for the Distillers, led by Davis’ game-high 33.
The Bankers shot a dismal 14 of 31 from the free-throw line and the game was out of their reach from early in the second quarter.
YULON LUXGENS 75, TAIWAN BEER 57
The Yulon Luxgens made it two wins in a row by trouncing Taiwan Beer 75-57 in New Taipei City yesterday afternoon to close out the regular season in grand fashion.
Herve Lamizana had a field day against a Taiwan Beer defense which was missing big man Patrick O’Bryant, scoring a game-high 26 points which included three three-pointers from downtown and 10 rebounds.
The hired gun from the Ivory Coast who played college ball in the US always seemed one step ahead of the Taiwan Beer defenders.
Even though the Brew Crew did not play their first-choice lineup with coach Yen Chia-hua opting to give his reserves more floor time than usual ahead of the playoffs, Lamizana clearly established himself as an inside force for the Automakers in the post-season.
PURE YOUTH 84, FUBON BRAVES 61
Top-ranked Pure Youth Construction picked up where they left off following Saturday night’s big win over Bank of Taiwan by roughing up the Fubon Braves 84-61 to finish the regular season on a high.
The Builders came out firing with 23 quick points in the opening quarter, thanks to 11 combined points by Garret Siler and Doug Creighton to lead 23-12.
Despite a low-scoring second quarter in which neither team managed to put up more than 14 points, the three-time defending champions were able to regroup and outscore the Braves 29-11 in the third with a suffocating defense that led to nine turnovers to put the game away long before the final buzzer.
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