A stunning half-court shot made by Taiwan Beer Herobears captain Chiang Yu-an at the end of overtime to defeat the CTBC DEA on Saturday night did beat the buzzer, the T1 League said on Monday, as it dealt with its first controversy.
With his team down by two and the game clock about to run out, Chiang launched a shot from half court that banked of the glass and through the hoop.
The referees ruled that Chiang got the shot off in time, giving the Herobears a 95-94 victory at the Sinjhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Following the game, CTBC DEA head coach Lee Yi-hua said that his club would contest the decision.
“After looking at videos, we saw that the shot was taken after time expired, so we’ve formally submitted an appeal to the league to review it,” Lee said.
In a statement on Monday, the T1 League said that a technical committee meeting was held to review the shot from various angles using the league’s real-time playback system, as well as footage from broadcasters.
No evidence contradicted the original ruling, so the shot was counted, the league said, confirming Taiwan Beer’s victory.
It was their first win of the season after losing their opener, 107-106, to the Kaohsiung Aquas.
On Sunday, the Taipei-based Herobears led 52-39 at the end of the first half before the CTBC DEA rallied to tie the game at 80-80 at the end of regulation and send the game into overtime.
Herobears center Diamond Stone posted a double-double of 17 rebounds and 26 points, while Chiang contributed eight rebounds, five assists and 25 points.
P.League+
On its opening weekend, the P.League+, Taiwan’s other professional basketball league, drew big crowds and healthy viewership numbers on television and online, giving the league a boost as it competes with the T1 League for fans.
The P.League+ opened its second season at the 7,000-seat Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium, the home court of the Taipei Fubon Braves, with the home side losing to the Formosa Taishin Dreamers on Saturday before topping the Kaohsiung Steelers on Sunday.
The Saturday opener, a matchup of last year’s P.League+ finalists, drew a near-capacity crowd of 6,788, while the game against the Steelers, added to the league this year, drew 6,064.
The two games generated NT$8.06 million (US$290,231) in revenue from ticket sales and another NT$1.43 million in merchandise sales, the P.League+ said in a statement on Monday.
Television viewership during the opening weekend was 479,000, while the league’s YouTube and Yahoo! Sports (Taiwan) channels generated 579,054 and 211,836 hits respectively, league data showed.
“It shows that the excitement of P.League+ games has attracted the backing of people who watch basketball,” the league said.
The next league contests are to take place on Saturday, with the Dreamers taking on the expansion New Taipei Kings in Taichung and the Braves going on the road to face the Hsinchu Jko Lioneers.
On Sunday, the Dreamers are to host the Taoyuan Pilots in Taichung, while the Steelers are to face the Lioneers in Hsinchu.
The P.League+, established last year, was Taiwan’s first professional basketball league since the Chinese Basketball Alliance shut down more than 20 years ago. The league expanded from four teams to six teams for its second season.
The T1 League, which also has six teams, began its first season on Nov. 27.
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