Filipino-American players are already leaving their mark on Taiwan’s newest professional basketball league, the T1 League, with Taoyuan Leopards forward Caelan Tiongson leading his team in points to record a double-double in his first game on Saturday.
Tiongson had 16 rebounds and 19 points, including 2-5 from beyond the arc, to help his team tie the CTBC DEA in the fourth quarter after being down 20 points at halftime, in their first-ever game. The Leopards eventually fell to the home team 85-77 at New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang Gymnasium.
The 1.97m-tall Tiongson broke his personal average of 11.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists recorded in his professional debut in the 2017-2018 season of the ASEAN Basketball League, when he played for the Chong Son Kung Fu, which is now the Macau Black Bears, before transferring to the San Miguel Alab Pilipinas the following season.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
He retired at 27 in October 2019, but is making his return in Taiwan.
“Stats is never anything that I’m concerned about. I have a great coach, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to help our team win,” Tiongson said. “Stats don’t matter, the only thing that matters tonight is that we lost, so we have to be better, I have to be better.”
Tiongson’s performance follows Kaohsiung Aquas Filipino-American point guard Jason Brickman, who has been instrumental in his team’s 2-0 start.
The 30-year-old Brickman fell three assists short of a triple-double in leading the Aquas to an 87-69 victory over DEA on Dec. 5, registering 12 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
In Saturday’s game, the fourth of the T1 League’s inaugural season, Tiongson nailed a shot from deep to even the score at 71-71 with just less than six minutes left in the fourth quarter after the Leopards trailed for most of the game.
DEA took back its lead in the final minutes, with the Leopards resorting to fouls to stop the clock, but were unable to catch up.
Tiongson said he has a lot of close friends he considers family from Taiwan and views joining the Leopards as a new start.
“The Philippines I kind of left, who knows if I’ll ever go back, but I kind of left on a bad note, so I want to try something new. Being out of basketball for two years, it’s a new experience, new challenge. I love it so far,” Tiongson said.
He enjoys the environment in Taiwan and would like to be in the country for as long as possible, Tiongson said.
“I really want to be where I’m wanted, so if the Leopards want me, then great, let’s stay in Taiwan for as long as possible,” Tiongson said.
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