Taiwan Beer last night dominated the Yulon Luxgen Dinos 117-78 at the Hao Yu Sports Center in New Taipei City to cap their season by winning the Super Basketball League (SBL) championship crown, with their high-scoring performance setting several league final records.
Taiwan Beer point guard Chiang Yu-an played in a manner befitting his leadership role on the team, as he came through while under pressure in the decisive Game 7 to score a team-high 24 points to go with nine assists and was voted SBL Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his standout performance throughout the series.
Chiang had help from his teammates in securing the win, particularly the imported duo of Kentrell Barkley from the US and Ihor Zaytsev from Ukraine, as well as key contributions by fellow Taiwanese forwards Huang Tsung-han and Wang Hao-chi.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Barkley recorded a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Zaytsev and Huang had 17 points and five rebounds each. Wang contributed 14 points and five rebounds, while Chou Po-hsun added 11 points and six rebounds in an all-round team performance.
With Chiang leading the way, Taiwan Beer’s starters were hot right from the starting whistle, playing a fast-paced attacking game to jump ahead 69-34 by halftime.
They did not let up and continued their turbocharged offense in the second half, draining more baskets to pull away for the huge title-clinching victory and setting SBL Finals records for points scored in one match and the 39-point margin.
The Brew Crew also put up a good defense, limiting the Dinos’ American forward Marcus Keene to 13 points, but Canadian Sim Bhullar was in his usual tough, bruising form under the post, tallying 23 points and 12 rebounds.
It was Taiwan Beer’s fifth championship title in the SBL’s 17 seasons, putting them level with Pauian Archiland for most league titles.
It was a night to savor for Taiwan Beer’s players and coaches, who were the dominant team throughout the 2019-2020 season with a league-best 25-7 record, followed by Pauian Archiland in second at 17-15 and the Dinos third at 16-16.
Holding the MVP trophy, Chiang said: “Our team does not depend on one individual, it was a collective team effort.”
“I have also made demands on myself to make progress each year, and it is a great way to finish this season,” he said.
Taiwan Beer head coach Chou Chun-san was elated to win the title, which made him the first person in SBL history to win championship titles as both a player and coach.
“I needed each of our players to do their part, and they were fantastic this season,” Chou said.
“When I was a player, I had coaches and teammates to rely on, but now, as head coach, I have had to face many defeats and failures — it is all my responsibility,” he said. “However, I cannot do it all, so I needed everyone on this team to work together.”
“I have stressed drilling basketball fundamentals and basic training regimens for our players,” Chou said.
“Although they might have performed such drills when they were students, we drill our players repeatedly — including our foreign players, who have been great in this respect, as they were willing to work and train,” he said.
“Not too many foreign players in Taiwan would agree to such hard training regimens, but they did,” he added.
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