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.
The 2025 International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Mr Universe Chinese Taipei competition began yesterday at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, with more than 150 athletes showcasing their physiques. It is the first time in 16 years that the IFBB has held a competition in Taiwan, the last being the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung. The professional bodybuilding contest is bringing together athletes from Taiwan and 16 other countries, including Malaysia, Japan, the US, France and Mexico. IFBB Chinese Taipei president Hsu An-chin said in an interview yesterday that the event came to Taiwan thanks to his lobbying efforts at last
Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday homered for the fifth consecutive game, tying a Los Angeles Dodgers franchise record. Yankees star Aaron Judge was the last player to homer in five consecutive games, accomplishing that feat last year. Ohtani, who leads the National League with 37 home runs, homered in the first inning off Minnesota Twins starter Chris Paddack. He hit a slow curveball 134m to center. He carried the bat midway down the first-base line and then did a bat flip. He did not hit a home run later in the game with the Dodgers trailing, but his presence was felt. With two outs
Ben O’Connor won Thursday’s monster Alpine stage to the ski resort of Courchevel as three-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar responded to attacks from Jonas Vingegaard and dropped him to cement his grip on the yellow jersey. With just three stages left before the race ends in Paris, Pogacar looks poised to retain his title, with a comfortable lead of more than 4 minutes over Vingegaard, a two-time champion. Stage 18 featured three extremely difficult ascents, including the 26.4km climb of the Col de La Loze to the finish. At 2,304m, La Loze is the highest summit in this year’s Tour. Two
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
RSS