Tuesday, March 28, 2000

Yulon grabs 2-0 lead in Millennium Series Finals

Powered by import Emmett Hall's 25 points and 11 rebounds, Yulon Dinos routed injury-plagued Hong-kuo Elephants 107-75 in Game two of the best-of-five Millennium Series Finals on March 26, grabbing a quick 2-0 lead and is one win away from the title. The deciding Game 3 is scheduled on March 28.

Yulon took advantage of the short-handed Elephants, who were forced to play without two of their big men, and led from start to finish in the game. Hong-kuo's 6-8 import Rex Manu was out due to left hand fracture, 6-7 local center Liu Yi-shan also was out because of left ankle sprain in Game 1.

Local young star Chen Hsin-an tallied 31 points, single-handedly helping Yulon with a 80-77 close win in Game 1. Chen, who's dubbed "Prince of Dunk" by local fans, scored 15 of Dino's 19 points in the fourth quarter. With his 6-4 height, unlimited shooting range and awesome explosiveness, most observers think Chen is a potential hoop star in Asia in the 21 century.


*Game 1 Summary
YULON 80-77 HONG-KUO 3/25
Yulon - Chen Hsin-an 31p, 4rb, 4s ; Lee Yun-kwang 13p, 10a ; Emmett Hall 18p, 10rb
Hong-kuo - Chou Jun-san 16p ; Rex Manu 15p, 9rb ; Lo Shin-liang 14p, 7rb

*Game 2 Summary
YULON 107-75 HONG-KUO 3/26
Yulon - Emmett Hall 25p(10-15 FG), 11rb ; Dong-fan Che-ter 16p(7-11 FG) ; Wu Chi-wei 19p
Hong-kuo - Chiu ter-chi 17p ; Yang Shi-how 11p

Friday, March 24, 2000

Long-time rival Yulon, Hong-kuo meet again in Millennium Series Finals

After three months, it's still Yulon vs Hong-kuo. Yulon Dinos trounced BCC Mars 2-0 in CBA's Millennium Series semifinals, while Hong-kuo Elephants surprisingly knocked out regular season second place Luckipar Panthers 2-1. Both teams will meet in the best-of-five Finals, which begins on March 25.

Yulon and Hong-kuo met three straight years from 1995-1997 in the previous CBA Finals, with Hong-kuo winning two championships in '97 and '98. Yulon vs Hong-kuo has become the most intense rivalry in taiwan basketball history.

Hong-kuo was not expected to step into the finals, considering they only finished third place in the regular season with a mediocre 5-5 record. With their top player Cheng Chih-lung opted playing in China, Hong-kuo has been inconsistent under young coach Chiu Da-tsun. However they surprised everybody with their effective 1-3-1 zone defense and upset favorite Luckipar in the best-of-three semi.

On the other hand, clear-cut favorite Yulon dominated the regular season with 8 wins and 2 losses, featuring high-flying 6-4 young star Chen Hsin-an and 6-5 import Emmett Hall. Obviuosly, they are the most explosive offensive team in the league.

Most experts believe the talent and cohesiveness of Yulon is too much for Hong-kuo to overcome this time, not like the old years they clashed in the CBA Finals, when star-loaded Hong-kuo was always the favorite. But you never know.


SEMI - (1)YULON DINOS VS (4) BCC MARS
RESULTS: Yulon wins series 2-0
GAME RECAP:
Game1 - March 14, Yulon 99-89 Mars
Behind Chen Hsin-an's hot shooting, Yulon led from start to finish...
Yulon - Chen Hsin-an 30p, Emmett Hall 18p; Mars - Yen Hsin-shu 15p, Matt Bryant 16p, Chianti Roberts 16p, 9rb, 4a

Game2 - March 16, Yulon 89-74 Mars
Yulon take a quick 14-point lead they never relinguished just 14 minutes into the game, the rest is history...Mars lead guard Yen Hsin-shu did not play due to waist injury...
Yulon - Emmett Hall 31p, Dong-fan Che-ter 16p, Chiu Chun-chi 18p; Mars - Chianti Roberts 20p, Matt Bryant 15p

SEMI - (3) HONG-KUO ELEPHANTS VS (2) LUCKIPAR PANTHERS
RESULTS: Hong-kuo wins series 2-1
GAME RECAP:
Game1 - March 15, Hong-kuo 90-89(2OT) Luckipar
Puzzled by Hong-kuo's 1-3-1 zone, Luckipar lost the big lead late in the regulation...Erik Martin made just 1 of 4 free-throws in the deciding moments in the second overtime
Luckipar - Erik Martin 27p, 23rb

Game2 - March 17, Luckipar 81-59 Hong-kuo
Luckipar did not make the same mistake in Game 1, they jumped on Hong-kuo early and led 49-31 in halftime...
Luckipar - Erik Martin 21p, 19rb, 9a, Hsu Yun-yi 16p; Hong-kuo Rex Manu 14p, 18rb, Chou Jun-san 13p

Game3 - March 20, Hong-kuo 77-74 Luckipar
Lo Shin-liang tallied 21 points and iced the victory for Hong-kuo with two clutch free-throws with 3 seconds remaining...
Hong-kuo - Lo Shin-liang 21p, Rex Manu 23p, 11rb; Luckipar - Erik Martin 17(6-18 FG, 5-10 FT)p, 24rb, 7a, Chen Chi-chun 26p, 4a, 3s

FINALS SCHEDULE
GAME1 - March 25
GAME2 - March 26
GAME3 - March 28
GAME4 - March 30(if necessary)
GAME5 - March 31(if necessary)

Monday, March 13, 2000

Brian Reese Released by Mars

Former North Carolina standout Brian Reese was released by BCC Mars prior to the Mars vs. Hong-kuo game, Mars' last regular season game.

Mars coach Chun Chih-mun said Reese has been told to improve his bad attitude and unwillingness to work under team concept but has not shown improvement.

Mars will head into the Millennium Series playoffs without American import but right now is contacting former import Chianti Roberts, team official said.

Saturday, March 11, 2000

Top Under-18 Prospects In Taiwan

(Rank, Name, Position, Height/Weight, Class, School, Birthdate)

1. TIEN LEI, C/F, 201/81, HS Sophomore, San-min HS, 1983/6/1
Most dominant big man in high school basketball...possesses great instinct while is a potential small forward in the future...Averaged 11.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.8 blocks this season...

2. CHOU SHI-YUAN, SF/G, 190/71, HS Freshman, San-min HS, 1983/11/16
Led the team in scoring as a freshman...Can score from perimeter and underneath...very athletic, great speed...Averaged 21.1 points and 5.2 rebounds this season...

3. TSUN WEN-DIN, C, 203/85, HS Freshman, Tsai-shin HS, 1984/7/6
With his height and young age, putting on some extra weight can make him a promising big man...

4. HO SHO-CHENG, PF, 194/81, HS Sophomore, Song-shan HS, 1983/2/15
Averaged just 9.5 points and 5.1 rebounds this season...but insiders say he has great potential to be a special player

5. CHAO CHIA-CHUN, SG, 184/76, HS Senior, Tsai-shin HS, 1982/1/12
Scored HBL(High school basketball League) season-high 43 points in February...can switch to PG

6. WU YONG-YEN, PG, 178/70, HS Sophomore, San-min HS, 1982/9/22
Arguably the best PG in Taiwan HS basketball...always control the tempo with cool demeanor...Averaged 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists this season...shooting over 50% from three-point range

7. HUANG CHI-CHUN, PG, 180/69, HS Senior, Nan-shan HS, 1982/4/23
Led school to league final last year...voted the best defensive player in last year's NIKE JAPAN CAMP...a lead guard who can also score...

8. KAO JIAN-WEI, PF, 195/85, HS Senior, Nan-shan HS, 1982/1/27
Great body...sweet touch around the rim...needs to improve outside shooting to expand his game...

9. WU DAI-HOW, C, 200/100, Incoming HS Freshman, Mucha Junior High School, 1985/?/?
A 14 1/2 year-old who was discovered recently...raw but has good coordination and athleticism...

10. LU GONG-YI, F, 184/83, HS Sophomore, Kao-yuan HS, 1982/12/7
Tenacious on both ends of the floor...always give 110% on the court...plays forward, even center, on a relatively weak team...Drew rave reviews from American coaching legend Pete Carril in last year's NIKE TAIWAN CAMP...

NOTE: 3-year high school classification in Taiwan--Freshman, Sophomore, Senior

Friday, March 10, 2000

Millennium Series Report

3/10 YULON 100-84 DACIN
Yulon -- Chen Hsin-an 22p, 6rb ; Emmett Hall 18p, 9rb, 4s ; Chiu Chi-yi 18p, 6a ; Chou Hung-yu 13p, 6rb
Dacin -- Von Bennett 26p, 23rb, 3a ; Hong Yi-chuan 28p, 6a

3/3 LUCKIPAR 110-101 DACIN
Lucki -- Erik Martin 31p, 18rb, 10a ; Chen Chih-chun 20p, 4a, 4s ; Lin Hsin-hwa 17p
Dacin -- Von Bennett 32p, 14rb, 3a ; Hong Yi-chuan 27p, 6a, 5s ; Chen Jun-jay 17p

3/2 HONG-KUO 78-75 HONG-FU
Hong-kuo -- Lo Shin-liang 29p, 5a ; Liu Yi-shian 21p, 7rb ; Rex Manu 15p, 10rb, 4a
Hong-fu -- Shun Yen-cheng 20p, 8rb ; Shan Wei-fan 17p, 6rb ; Chu Chi-chin 13p, 9rb, 3s

3/1 YULON 85-74 MARS
Yulon -- Emmett Hall 23p, 14rb, 4s, 3blk ; Chen Hsin-an 19p, 5rb ; Chiu Chun-chi 15p
Mars -- Yen Hsin-shu 20p ; Lee Chi-yi 14p, 6rb ; Brian Reese 9p, 11rb, 4a

STANDINGS (thru March 10)
Yulon 8-2
Luckipar 6-3
Hong-kuo 5-4
Hong-fu 4-5
Mars 3-6
Dacin 2-8
(*clinched playoff spot ; each team plays 10 games)