Top-seeded Pure Youth Construction clinched a berth in the championship finals by topping the fourth-seeded Yulon Luxgens 90-71 in Game 5 of the semi-finals at the University of Taipei Gymnasium in Tianmu last night, to win the best-of-seven series by a 4-1 margin.
The win marked the Builders’ fourth straight, following an improbable loss to the Automakers in the series opener a week ago thanks to Herve Lamizana’s buzzer-beating catch-and-shoot in midair, sending the three-time defending champs into their fourth straight championship finals in as many years.
“This [win] was truly a group effort; we really played as well as I have seen us play in a long time,” Pure Youth head coach Hsu Chin-che said after the game.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
His troops will meet Taiwan Beer in the finals after they won their series against the second-seeded Fubon Braves by a 4-1 margin last night.
What should have been a close game for the Luxgens — winners in three of the five regular season meetings against the Builders — was anything but that from the get-go, as the Builders came out firing with 26 points in the opening quarter to take a seven-point lead.
That set up an evenly fought second quarter that saw Yulon keep the deficit to less than 10 points at half-time, with Doug Creighton’s 13 points in the first half leading the way.
Pure Youth extended their lead to as much as 15 points early in the third, before the Braves went on an 8-0 run to come within seven midway through the quarter.
That was as close as the Luxgens got, as the Builders regrouped in a hurry by rolling off a 9-2 run of their own and went on to defeat the Luxgens by almost 20 points.
Five players finished with double-digit scores for Pure Youth, led by Creighton’s team-high 20 points.
As for the Luxgens, failure to hit their outside shots in the first half dug a hole too deep for them to overcome.
They shot a dismal three-for-16 from the field in the second quarter to leave the door wide open for the Builders to exploit.
TAIWAN BEER 64, BRAVES 81
In the other semi-final series, Taiwan Beer roughed up the Fubon Braves 81-64 in the decisive Game 5 to win the best-of-seven series by a 4-1 margin, thanks to a brilliant defensive effort by the Brew Crew.
The men in green held the second-seeded Braves to 64 points or less for the third straight game to punch their ticket into the championship finals.
“We played great defense, which was the difference in the series,” Taiwan Beer skipper Yen Chia-hua said after the game.
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