Monday, February 28, 2000

ELLIOTT HELPS RAMS WIN FOURTH STRAIGHT

It's hard for everyone to imagine Hong-fu almost released Mike Elliott two weeks ago, if you saw THE SAME Mike Elliott who averaged 27.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists this week.

Elliott dominated in both games in the week and helped Hong-fu Rams to a four-game winning streak after a 0-4 start. With two games remaining for each team, Hong-fu now has a legitimate chance to squeeze into the playoffs for the first time in team history.

Hong-fu now ties with Hong-kuo at 4-4, trailing only Yulon(6-2) and Luckipar(5-3), but leads fifth place BCC Mars only one game. Dacin, which lost its both games this week, is out of the 4-team playoffs.

Elliott's hot hand showed in the Feb.25 Mars game. He swished his first eight three-point attempts in the first half, finished with 9-12 from three-point range and a game-high 32 points. His 7.5 assist average this week also erased earlier critics from the coaching staff saying he played too selfish.

Elliott's playing style obviously changed a lot compared to his first stint in the CBA. He played with Yulon Dinos back in 97-98 season and also was labeled "too selfish".

Elliott said he matured a lot and began to learn hwo to play under team concept better over the past two years. Before he joined Yulon in 97-98, he was the leading scorer in 1997 KBL(South Korea) season. He said that kind of made him look for scoring first.

Meanwhile, Luckipar has plenty of reasons to smile, and Erik Martin is still their lucky star. With Martin's 23 points and 18 rebounds, Luckipar trounced league-leading Yulon by 31 points and won its fifth straight game. Luckipar now ranked second behind Yulon in the Millennium Series.

Yulon shot only 29.7% from the field in the game, registered both the lowest FG percentage and scoring record(59) in the series.


2/28 HONG-FU RAMS 102-84 DACIN TIGERS
HF- Mike Elliott 23p, 6rb, 7a, 7s ; Shan Wei-fan 26p, 6rb ; Ma Chao-min 12p
DACIN- Von Bennett 28p, 13rb, 6a, 5blk ; Lin Chia-shen 18p ; Chen Jun-jay 16p, 7rb

2/27 LUCKIPAR PANTHERS 90-59 YULON DINOS
LUCKIPAR- Erik Martin 23p, 18rb ; Yang Yu-min 20p ; Chen Chi-chun 13p
YULON- Chen Hsin-an 12p ; Emmett Hall 10p

2/26 HONG-KUO ELEPHANTS 86-83 DACIN TIGERS
HK- Lo Shin-liang 23p ; O-Yang Jin-hen 21p, 4a
DACIN- Von Bennett 27p, 14rb ; Hong Yi-chun 15p

2/25 HONG-FU RAMS 87-86 BCC MARS
HF- Mike Elliott 32p, 7rb, 8a(9-12 3PT) ; Chu CHi-chin 16p, 11rb
MARS- Brian Reese 24p, 9rb, 4a ; Yen Hsin-shu 18p, 5rb, 6a, 8TO

STANDINGS thru February 28
YULON 6-2
LUCKIPAR 5-3
HONG-KUO 4-4
HONG-FU 4-4
BCC MARS 3-5
DACIN 2-6

Friday, February 25, 2000

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS ON TAIWAN IMPORTS

VON BENNETT, 6-8, Oklahoma State, DACIN TIGERS, Rank:***
Ever since he joined Tigers in their debut 95-96 season, Bennett has been one of the CBA's most dominating inside presences, twice leading the league in rebounding, including the suspended 98-99 season.

Bennett is a traditional wide-body who's ultra-effective in the paint, which explains why he is always among the top FG pct. shooters. The presence of Bennett forces opponents to double down almost every time he touches the ball, therefore creating more open shots for his teammates.

Bennett has a sweet touch around the basket, also features a nice mid-range jumper. Meanwhile, this terrific rebounder is always relentless on the looseball and missed shots.

The knock on him, obviously, is his passing ability. He never averages more than three assists per game, a fact hard to take because he is always doubled. To many times Bennett decides to take the whole game upon himself and forget about his teammates. Ill-time temper is also one of his weaknesses.


ERIK MARTIN, 6-5, Cincinnati, LUCKIPAR PANTHERS, Rank:****
Martin is clearly one of the most versatile imports in CBA history because he can play four positions except center. Registering a 20-20 is no easy task for any player but it's a piece of cake for Martin.

Martin's awesome upper body strength makes him hard to stop around the block. He is also a matchup nightmare for opposing team. When facing a shorter opponent, Martin can eat him down low with ease.When facing a taller defender, Martin can take him off the dribble and knock down jumpers from three-point line and in.

The versatility and experience of Martin makes him the perfect ball handler for Luckipar in end-game or crucial situation. And he rarely lets his teammates down on the isolation play, whether it's a 24-feet three-pointer, mid-range jumper or powering inside for a three-point play. Martin has single-handedly delivered W for the Panthers and saved them from several potential upset losses.

Tough defense used to be Martin's trademark but his defense has slided down a bit in Taiwan, probably because he focuses on scoring most of the time.


EMMETT HALL, 6-5, South Carolina, YULON DINOS, Rank:***
Emmett Hall is maybe a tweener in the States, but under the CBA's 6-8 height limit, he is not that small in the league. It makes Hall a perfect "combo forward" for Yulon, being able to score, slash, rebound and defend.

Hall's shooting range expands to the three-point line, but most of the times he scores from the wing. He's agile and strong enough to defend anybody and quick enough to run the fastbreak. The only problem is, Hall is an above-average defender only when he WANTS to play defense. Sometimes he focuses on scoring too much and forget about the other end.

The biggest upside for him is he plays under team concept and works well with teammates. His monster dunk has become one of fans' favorite within a short period of time.

Thursday, February 24, 2000

Chen Named CBA's New Leader

CHEN CHENG-CHUN, owner of HONG-FU RAMS, was elected President of the "new" CBA on February 22. Chen said he will work toward the goal of re-launching the league in November.

After DACIN TIGERS, YULON DINOS and LUCKIPAR PANTHERS dropping back to the A-League, the CBA is left with three teams, which includes HONG-FU RAMS, HONG-KUO ELEPHANTS and BCC MARS.(Broadcasting Corporation of China, the biggest broadcasting company in Taiwan, is now the official sponsor of the MARS.)

Rumors said president Chen will try to include a fourth team, possibly LUCKIPAR, to start a 4-team new league. Sources said TBA(Taiwan Basketball Association), TBL(Taiwan Basketball League) and others are among the new league names under current discussion.

Chen also said he plan to field a tournament in April or May to keep the local professional basketball going, until the brand new opening in November.

Mars' head coach CHUN CHI-MUN was named the director of the CBA re-structuring committee a couple of months ago. He had worked relentlessly since the first day to bring back the professional basketball for Taiwanese fans.

Chen Cheng-chun is a powerful legislator in Taipei City Council and owns business which includes insurance, real estate, stock and others. Rumors came last year saying Chen is in serious financial trouble, but it looks like his business is in a more stable situation at this moment.

Sunday, February 20, 2000

Erik Martin Keeps Rolling

It was a dreadful week for the CBA. We saw Dacin scored 64 in 48 minutes, with a 31.4% shooting percentage, while Yulon beat long-time rival Hong-kuo despite making only 34.5% of its shots. Obviously most of the players are worrying more about the league's future than the game they're playing.

The only player catching everybody's attention is Erik Martin, 6-5 import of Luckipar Panthers who did not joined the Panthers until their third game of the season. Martin scored below 25 points only one time in five games he's played, helping Luckipar rebound from a 0-3 start with a four-game winning streak.

Martin's 18 points, 22 rebounds and 11 assists performance last week is the CBA's first triple-double of the season. His 27.8ppg average ranks him on the top of the scoring, surpassing Dacin's Von Bennett.

Besides Yulon and Luckipar, there's a longjam between the other four teams. With the regular season approaching to the end and the playoffs coming, the remaining games are important for the teams that want to squeeze into the playoffs.


2/18 Yulon 74-71 Hong-kuo
Yulon - Emmett Hall 16p, 14rb, 3a ; Chen Hsin-an 15p ; Wu Chi-wei 13p ; Chou Hong-yu 12p, 4s, 3blk
Hong-kuo - Lo Shin-liang 17p, 5rb, 4a ; Liu Yi-shian 17p, 7rb ; Rex Manu 16p, 17rb

2/17 Luckipar 91-82 Mars
Luckipar - Erik Martin 30p ; Hong Chan-chin 17p, 4rb ; Lin Shin-hwa 14p, 8rb

2/16 Hong-fu 86-64 Dacin
Hong-fu - Ma Chiao-min 23p(6-12 3PT) ; Liao Wei-chen 19p, 6rb ; Mike Elliott 16p, 7rb, 4a, 5s ; Shan Wei-fan 14p, 5rb
Dacin - Von Bennett 28p, 16rb ; Hong Yi-chuan 13p ; Chen Jun-jay 12p

STANDING thru February 18
Yulon 6-1
Luckipar 4-3
Hong-kuo 3-4
Mars 3-4
Hong-fu 2-4
Dacin 2-4

Sunday, February 13, 2000

Hong-fu Got First Win; Three Teams Tie at 3-3

In the first week after the Chinese New year's break, Hong-fu Rams finally got their first win with a 94-92 victory over Yulon Dinos. Player of the week goes to Erik Martin(Cincinnati) of Luckipar Panthers, who recorded the first triple-double of the series with 18p, 22rb and 11a.

Meanwhile, Mars, Luckipar and Hong-kuo tie at second place with 3-3 record. With 4-5 games remaining for each team, the scramble makes the playoff picture even more interesting, because No.5 Dacin and last -place Hong-fu are only one and two games behind, respectively.

Mike Elliott(Montana State) banked in a deciding three-pointer with under a minute to go. Hong-fu edged Yulon Dinos 94-92 on February 11 and finally receive its first W. Elliott's 31p, 11rb, 5a and 6s performance not only help the team but also helping himself. Hong-fu decided to keep Elliott, who was said to be "playing selfish" by Rams coaching staff.

Luckipar surprisingly trounced Hong-kuo 100-68 the next day, thanks to Martin's brilliant triple-double performance. The 32-point winning margin is the biggest margin so far in the series. Luckipar made 10-21 behind the 3-PT line. Hong-kuo played its worst game in the series with 22 turnovers and 40.8% shooting.

In the last game of the week, Dacin limited Mars to 12 points in the final quarter and escaped with a 97-94 come-from-behind overtime victory. Von Bennett scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and pulled down 23 rebounds. Tiger PG Hong Yi-chun, who scored 6 of his 8 points in overtime, knocked down a three-pointer and completed a three-point play in the extra session.


Three Teams Re-join A-League

CTBA(Chinese Taipei Basketball Association) officially accepted Yulon, Dacin and Luckipar as its members on February 12. The three teams will start playing in the semi-pro A-League in April, after they finished the Millennium Series of the CBA.

However, the CTBA requires three teams playing a complete season, at least thru the end of the year, to prevent them from going back to the pro ranks if the CBA shows any "sign of life".

The Re-structure Committee of the CBA was dissppointed at the announcement. Sources say, the committee has set up the plan to re-open the season in November.

Hong-kuo, Mars and Hong-fu, the three remaining teams of the CBA all said they won't DROP BACK to the amateur ranks.


2/13 HONG-FU 94-92 YULON
HONG-FU - Mike Elliot 31p, 11rb, 5a, 6s ; Liao Wei-chen 18p, 6rb ; Shan Wei-fan 16p, 6rb ; Ma Chao-min 11p
YULON - Emmett Hall 30p, 11rb, 4a, 3s, 2blk ; Lee Yun-kuang 13p

2/12 LUCKIPAR 100-68 HONG-KUO
LUCKIPAR - Erik Martin 18p, 22rb, 11a, 5s, 4blk ; Hong Chan-chin 14p, 4s ; Yang Yu-min 16p
HONG-KUO - Rex manu 25p, 13rb ; Huang Chun-hsiung 13p, 5rb

2/11 DACIN 97-94(OT) MARS
DACIN - Von Bennett 26p, 23rb, 4a, 5blk ; Chen Jun-jie 18p, 7a ; Lin Chia-shen 18p
MARS - Matt Bryant 18p, 6rb ; Yen Hsin-shu 16p, 4a ; Brian Reese 15p, 9rb ; Lee Chi-yi 14p, 11rb

STANDINGS(thru February 13)
Yulon 5-1
Mars 3-3
Luckipar 3-3
Hong-kuo 3-3
Dacin 2-3
Hong-fu 1-4

Tuesday, February 01, 2000

Yulon wins five stragiht; Hong-fu still winless

Hottest young star Chen Hsin-an knocked down seven shots in 16 attempts behind the three-point line and scored a game-high 29p, helping Yulon to a 5-0 perfect record with a 102-96 triumph over Hong-fu Rams, which lost its fourth straight and finished dead last in the league.

Import Emmett Hall collected 20p and 10rb in the game. Hall's monster slam in the 3rd quarter destroyed the rim, the league staff had to instructed the alternate backboard before the game could resume.

Hong-fu 6-5 rookie forward Shan Wei-fan, the MVP of A-League last season, showed promising future with a 26p+10rb(7 Orb) outing. PG Mike Elliot again turned in a solid performance with 23p and 10rb, although some still questioned his selfishness and high turnover-rate.

In the best game of the week, we saw Luckipar's Erik Martin and Dacin's Von Bennett engaged in a personal dual. Bennett shattered Martin's CBA season high scoring record(33p) with 35p on 14-20 shooting and pulled down 16rb but came up short in the W-L column. It told Dacin once again that Bennett alone was not enough. Although having trouble guarding big-body Bennett, Martin tallied 33p and 17rb to give Luckipar the most important win of the first half of the season. Luckipar is now 2-3 and in a position to grab the last ticket to the playoff.

All teams will have a 10-day break for the upcoming Chinese New Year before the bottom half of the season starts. League games will not resume until February 11.

1/30 Yulon 102-96 Hong-fu
Yulon - Chen Hsin-an 29p(7-16 3PT), 5rb, 5a, 3s; Emmett Hall 20p, 10rb; Chou Hong-yu 16p; Huang Bao-tze 12p; Wu Chih-wei 11p, 7rb
Hong-fu - Shan Wei-fan 26p, 10rb; Mike Elliot 23p, 10rb, 3a, 6TO

1/29 Mars 87-85 Hong-kuo
Mars - Brian Reese 25p, 14rb; Song Tao 17p, 9rb; Yen Hsin-shu 14p, 6rb, 5a
Hong-kuo - Lo Shin-liang 20p; Chiu Ter-chi 17p; Huang Chun-hsiung 13p; Rex Manu 12p, 10rb; Liu Yi-shian 11p, 11rb

1/28 Luckipar 98-91 Dacin
Luckipar - Erik Martin 33p(10-13 FG, 12-16 FT), 17rb, 3a, 3s; Chen Chih-chun 13p, 6a
Dacin - Von Bennett 35p(14-20 FG), 16rb, 3a, 3s; Hong Yi-chuan 18p

STANDING(thru January 31)
Yulon 5-0
Mars 3-2
Hong-kuo 3-2
Luckipar 2-3
Dacin 1-3
Hong-fu 0-4