Tsai Wen-cheng was named last week’s Player of the Week earlier in the week after an outstanding weekend of play that paced Pure Youth Construction to a pair of sound wins over worthy opponents.
The soft-spoken team captain for the four-time defending champs, who always seems to be in the right place at the right time to score the clutch basket or come up with a key rebound, demonstrated his value to the Builders once again by downing 24 and 17 points against Bank of Taiwan and the Dacin Tigers respectively.
In doing so, he helped net his club two crucial victories that most likely clinched the top-seed birth in the upcoming post-season.
“It is quite an honor to be selected to the weekly honor, considering the number of great players there are in the league,” Tsai said upon learning of his selection.
“I would like to thank my coaches and teammates for making this possible,” Tsai added.
“Wen-cheng has been an invaluable factor to our team’s success, especially at a time that we need him the most,” Pure Youth head coach Ben Metcalf said of his prized team leader with a lineup that is missing three players to injuries.
“The closer we are to the playoffs, the more [Tsai] wants to play at his best,” Metcalf added.
Metcalf and the rest of his Builders’ crew will look to close out the regular season strong this week with tough games against the Yulon Luxgens and the Fubon Braves.
Those contests star off with this evening’s battle against the Automakers, followed by tomorrow’s season finale against the Braves.
With the third-place spot in the standings, and thus playoff seeding orders, on the line, the Luxgens will undoubtedly give the Builders all they have in this game.
A win tonight will secure a third-place finish in the standings over the Dacin Tigers and send the Automakers to a three-game playoff series against the sixth seeds (still to be determined).
However, a loss will force the Automakers to take on the fifth-seeded team in an arguably tougher series.
Tonight’s Other Contest
Following the match between the Luxgens and Pure Youth at the Banciao Gymnasium in New Taipei City, the Tigers are to take on Taiwan Beer in a must-win situation for both clubs.
Trailing the Builders by one-and-a-half games in the standings, the Brew Crew need a win tonight to keep their regular-season title hopes alive.
As for the Tigers, they also need a win this evening to clinch the third-placed finish and secure a higher-seed berth in the upcoming post-season.
Should Yulon beat the Builders and the Tigers fall on the night, giving both teams an identical 17-13 record for the regular season, the third-placed finish will go to the Luxgens, who hold a decisive 4-1 record against the Tigers in their five games during the regular season.
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