The Kaohsiung Aquas on Sunday clinched top spot in the T1 League’s six-team regular-season standings after powering past the Taoyuan Leopards 119-104.
With the defeat of the Leopards, the Aquas have a 21-6 record and are guaranteed to finish in first place in the regular-season standings, which would see them enter the playoff semi-finals as the top seeds.
Aquas head coach Brendan Joyce at the post-game news conference said that he was very proud of his players, adding that they were creating a legacy in the inaugural season of the T1 League.
Photo courtesy of the T1 League
“The emotion is proud, but also there’s an understanding that for me, the coach, to make sure that everybody celebrates this and we keep improving because our business is not done,” Joyce said.
Joyce said that his side’s work would only be complete with a victory in the playoffs.
“We put ourselves in a really good position now and what we want to do, really, is go all the way,” he said.
Aquas chief executive Wilson Lee told the Central News Agency that the job now was to win the championship title, saying that the Aquas would “continue to work hard as a team.”
“There’s only one goal — bringing the trophy home to the city of Kaohsiung,” Lee said.
The Aquas held a steady lead from the start of the game to claim a 59-38 lead at halftime.
The Leopards came back after the break with some strong performances in the third quarter, including a 12-point outing for small forward Troy Williams.
Williams finished as the game’s leading scorer thanks to a double-double of 35 points and 10 rebounds, while shooting 15 of 17 from the free-throw line.
Even though the Leopards rallied in the second half, it was not enough to make up for the large deficit at halftime.
In the final possession of the game, Leopards captain Cheng Wei seemed hesitant about running a play with just under eight seconds left on the clock.
Wei made a pass to shooting guard Lu Chieh-min, who cut into the key for a step-back jumper, only for Aquas center Willy Lu to block the shot just before the buzzer.
Aquas power forward Ferrakohn Hall led his team in scoring with 31 points and was just one rebound shy of a double-double, while small forward Xavier Alexander posted 28 points and 13 rebounds.
Also winning the attention of the crowd was Aquas point guard Jason Brickman, who put up 16 points.
The Aquas still have three more away games to play before the regular season finishes on May 8.
In the T1 League on Saturday, the Taichung Wagor Suns dominated the Tainan TSG GhostHawks 126-101, pocketing the sixth win in their past seven games.
Suns forward Sani Sakakini recorded 29 points and nine rebounds, while guard Jordan Heading posted 27 points, including six from beyond the arc.
The Suns are second with a 17-9 record, while the GhostHawks are last after only winning five games out of 26 played.
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