Monday, September 17, 2001

SINA Officially Join CBA

The day finally came. Xin Lan-chen, president of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) announced yesterday SINA basketball team from Taiwan officially join the CBA, which now has 13 teams, starting from 2001-02 season. It marks the first time of any Taiwanese sports team entering a Chinese organization.

SINA will play under the new team name of "Taiwan-Suchou SINA Lions" and based in Suchou, a southeastern city in China. SINA is allowed to submit a 17-man roster, five more than other teams, and have two TRANSFER PLAYERS (from other teams) because of their first-year status, the league office says.

SINA basketball team and SINA.com president Daniel Jiang is optimistic about the future of SINA in the Chinese league. "From my observation, I believe SINA is better than most Chinese teams - skillwise. Obviously we are relatively undersized compared to other teams, but I still believe we can finish in the top six in the league", Jiang says.

The acceptance brings a sigh of relief from ESV CEO Daniel Tu. "During the negotiation, both sides agreed to be low-key and keep any inside track from leaking out. We don't want to make this a political matter between China and Taiwan. This is a strictly sports business operation and has nothing to do with politics", says Tu. ESV - E-ternational Sports Venture - is a company founded by Daniel Jiang which owns the SINA team and invest in other sports business, like Asian Basketball Association.

Tu stresses that SINA decides to join the CBA because of the downfall of sports business in Taiwan. Hs says' "All we want to do is give the players a stage to showcase their skills. We are also confident that SINA will make the CBA even more entertaining and exciting."

Led by Lo Shin-liang and Huang Chung-hsiung, two of the biggest names in Taiwanese basketball, SINA will arrive in Suchou on October 5th and start pre-season training camp on October 8th. The 2001-02 CBA season will tip-off on December 8th.

SINA is consisted of players mostly from Hong-kuo Elephant, the three-time champion of Taiwan's defuncted CBA (Chinese Basketball Alliance). Daniel Jiang took over the team after Hong-kuo Corp. decided to release the entire team due to financial crisis.

ESV will still field a SINA team in Taiwan's A-League. The team is consisted of mostly younger players and will be coached by team consultant Hu Tsai-lin. Taiwan-Suchou SINA Lions will be coached by Chiu Da-tsun, head coach of the original Hong-kuo and later SINA team.

Sunday, September 16, 2001

Wrapup: ABA2001 Taipei

■GAME SUMMARY
9/12
Beijing Shogang 75-71 Yulon Dinos
BEI - Menk Bateer 26p (4 3PT), 9rb, 3blk (20min)
YUL - Chen Hsin-an 21p ; Chao Jia-chun 13p ; Chiu Tsung-chih 13p

Dacin Construction 75-69 Shanghai Sharks
DAC - Tien Lei 22p, 9rb, 3a, 3s, 4blk ; Huang Chih-chun 17p
SHA - Jia Xiao-zhong 25p, 15rb ; Liu Wei 16p

9/13
Yulon Dinos 81-76 Dacin Construction
YUL - Chen Hsin-an 18p, 8rb, 7a, 2s ; Chou Hong-yu 17p (8-10 FG), 6rb ; Wei Yong-tai 16p ; Chao Jia-chun 14p, 4a
DAC - Chang Chih-feng 27p (5-10 3PT), 4rb, 7s ; Huang Chih-chun 16p ; Tien Lei 14p, 4rb, 3a, 3s, 2blk

Beijing Shogang 85-74 Shanghai Sharks
BEI - Jiao Jian 27p, 9rb, 3s ; Chen Lei 25p, 8rb ; Menk Bateer 6p, 5rb (10min)
SHA - Jia Xiao-zhong 16p, 7rb, 4a ; Liu Wei 14p, 6rb, 6a ; Ger Min-hui 14p

9/14
Yulon Dinos 94-79 Shanghai Sharks
YUL - Chen Hsin-an 24p ; Wei Yong-tai 18p ; Chao Jia-chun 16p ; Chiu Tsung-chih 8p, 8rb, 2blk
SHA - Hai Rui 17p ; Jia Xiao-zhong 12p, 6rb

Dacin Construction 83-69 Beijing Shogang
DAC - Chang Chih-feng 23p (5 3PT) ; Lee Feng-yung 17p, 8rb ; Tien Lei 16p, 10rb ; Huang Chih-chun 8p, 6rb, 8a, 4s ; Shan Wei-fan 14p
BEI - Jiao Jian 28p, 12rb ; Menk Bateer 11p, 10rb

■STANDINGS
Dacin 2-1 ; Yulon 2-1 ; Beijing 2-1 ; Shanghai 0-3

■OTHER RESULTS (Games in Guangdong, China)
9/12
Isuzu Gigacats 76-75 Guangdong Tigers
Samsung Thunders 98-67 Hong Kong YungLung

9/13
Samsung Thunders 75-70 Isuzu Gigacats
Guangdong 98-73 Hong Kong YungLung

9/14
Samsung Thunders 81-79 Guangdong Tigers
Isuzu Gigacats - Hong Kong YungLung (score not available)

Wednesday, September 05, 2001

ABA 2001 Team Rosters

Note - ASPAC of Indonesia and YungLung of Hong Kong rosters not available.

■SAMSUNG THUNDERS
NAME, DOB, POS., HT, WT
Park Sung-bae 1973/10/29 G 180 82
Kang Gyoung-soo 1968/8/1 F 191 82
Kim Hee-sun 1973/6/29 G 187 91
Joo Hee-jung 1977/2/4 G 180 80
Woo Ji-won 1972/10/21 F 190 92
Roh Ki-suk 1972/9/18 F 187 91
Lee Kyu-sup 1977/11/13 F 198 100
Lee Jung-rae 1977/11/28 G 185 84
Park Sang-kwan 1969/11/10 C 200 105
Lee Chang-soo 1969/7/20 F/C 196 98
Artemus McClary 1973/12/18 F 192 100
Mustapha Hoff 1972/2/25 C 200 107
Head Coach - Kim Dong-kwang
Assistant Coach - An Joom-ho, Lee Min-hyung

■ISUZU GIGACATS
NAME, DOB, POS., HT, WT
Kenichi Sako 1970/7/17 G 179 82
Kiyofumi Shioya 1970/7/31 C/F 200 105
Daisuke Hanaoka 1975/7/12 G 183 80
Makoto Hasegawa 1971/4/2 G 185 85
Tstsuya Miyanokoshi 1974/4/24 G/F 188 90
Lucius Davis 1970/7/20 C/F 200 100
Daisuke Ide 1976/10/11 F 197 90
Casey Calvary 1979/4/27 C 203 105
Satoshi Sakumoto 1972/4/28 G/F 190 83
Tadaharu Ogawa 1969/12/20 F 194 94
Walter Matsushima 1975/10/13 F 200 100
Michael Takahashi 1974/9/5 F 198 82
Toru Sasaki 1970/6/23 G/F 195 96
Head Coach - Kohama Mototaka
Coach - Tom Wisman
Assistant Coach - Kato Yasuhiro


■SHANGHAI SHARKS
NAME, DOB, POS., HT, WT
Liu Peng 1977/2/15 G 185 80
Hai Rui 1980/2/22 F 195 90
Chang Wen-Chi 1972/12/20 F 202 100
Jia Xiao-Zhong 1977/3/19 C 205 95
Liu Wei 1980/1/15 G 188 88
Ger Min-Hui 1982/1/26 F 196 83
Wang Si-Zhang 1981/7/5 F 194 82
Du Hua-Guang 1978/12/19 C 198 95
Yao Ming 1980/9/12 C 225 107
Wang Li-Gang 1983/2/15 C 203 89
Head Coach - Lee Cho-ping
Assistant Coach - Wang Chun


■GUANGDONG TIGERS
NAME, DOB, POS., HT, WT
Du Feng 1981/7/30 C 202 90
Chang Bo-Yu 1982/8/14 C 201 100
Shan Tao 1970/5/31 C 215 110
Liang Wei 1980/10/18 G 188 85
Ju Fang-Yu 1983/1/5 F 200 95
Chen Duan 1981/5/2 F 194 90
Lin Li 1980/10/7 G 184 75
Lee Chun 1972/2/14 G 180 75
Song Xi 1976/8/2 F 194 80
Huang Yong 1978/3/2 F 198 95
Wang Shi-Peng 1983/1/26 F 198 90
Chang Yong-Gang 1980/6/20 F 188 90
Head Coach - Lee Chun-jiang
Coach - Guan Der-yo, Lin Yao-sun


■BEIJING SHOGANG
NAME, DOB, POS., HT, WT
Jiang Chao 1978/12/3 F 195 90
An Hong-Le 1982/4/23 F 195 90
Levan S. Alston 1973/6/13 G 194 92
Chang Jing-Dong 1971/4/12 F 190 85
Jiao Jian 1980/2/6 F 200 95
Menk Bateer 1975/11/20 C 210 110
Chen Lei 1983/1/14 F 195 90
Song Yuan-Shan 1980/3/29 F 200 92
Lee Xiang 1983/8/30 C 202 101
Head Coach - Min Lu-lei
Coach - Hsu Li-min


■YULON DINOS
NAME, DOB, POS., HT, WT
Chen Hsin-An 1980/7/1 F 196 90
Chou Hong-Yu 1976/6/15 F 195 90
Lin Jian-Ping 1969/3/7 G 170 71
Chen Chih-Chung 1977/3/2 G 183 75
Huang Pao-Tze 1976/9/18 G 180 68
Chao Jia-Chung 1982/1/12 PG 185 77
Chiu Chi-Yi 1975/10/6 G 182 72
Yang Yung-Kai 1979/8/9 F 197 75
Chiu Tsung-Chih 1968/9/21 F 197 90
Wei Yung-Tai 1978/10/23 F 193 93
Kuo Tien-Lung 1974/12/13 G 187 82
Wu Chih-Wei 1976/7/31 C 202 94
Head Coach - Chien Yi-fei
Assistant Coach - Lin Jen-min, Lee Yun-kwang

■DACIN CONSTRUCTION
NAME, DOB, POS., HT, WT
Tien Lei 1983/06/01 F 202 86
Fang Keng-Xiang 1980/6/22 G 165 65
Huang Chih-Chun 1982/4/23 G 180 75
Chu Chih-Ching 1969/7/18 C 198 103
Cheng Chang-Chun 1980/10/11 G 175 69
Chang Chih-Feng 1981/10/11 F/G 183 83
Chang Ho-Song 1981/8/11 G 185 77
Jiang Jeng-Tse 1982/8/25 F 193 85
Lee Feng-Yung 1980/12/15 F 197 89
Cheng Chih-Lung 1969/8/29 F 192 88 (Will not play)
Shan Wei-Fan 1978/9/3 F 195 90
Liao Wei-Chen 1975/2/23 C.F 197 100
Lee Yen-Chih 1981/1/21 C/F 194 105
Lin Chung-Min 1980/1/11 G 178 72
Hsu Chih-Chao 1974/1/5 G 190 83
Head Coach - Liu Jia-fa

Saturday, September 01, 2001

Asia: ABA 2001 Season Complete Schedule

9/12
Guangdong vs. Isuzu (Guangdong)
Samsung vs. HK YungLung (Guangdong)
Dacin vs. Shanghai (Taipei)
Yulon vs. Beijing Shogang (Taipei)

9/13
Samsung vs. Isuzu (Guangdong)
Guangdong vs. HK YungLung (Guangdong)
Beijing Shogang vs. Shanghai (Taipei)
Dacin vs. Yulon (Taipei)

9/14
HK YungLung vs. Isuzu (Guangdong)
Guangdong vs. Samsung (Guangdong)
Shanghai vs. Yulon (Taipei)
Dacin vs. Beijing Shogang (Taipei)

9/16
Guangdong vs. Yulon (Macao)
ASPAC vs. HK YungLung (Macao)

9/17
Samsung vs. Shanghai (Shanghai)
Beijing Shogang vs. Isuzu (Suzou, China)
HK YungLung vs. Yulon (Macao)
ASPAC vs. Guangdong (Macao)

9/18
Isuzu vs. Shanghai (Shanghai)
Beijing Shogang vs. Samsung (Suzou)

9/20
Samsung vs. ASPAC (Hangzou, China)
Isuzu vs. Yulon (Hangzou)
Shanghai vs. Gunagdong (Shanghai)
HK YungLung vs. Beijing Shogang (Shanghai)

9/21
Isuzu vs. ASPAC (Hangzou)
Yulon vs. Samsung (Hangzou)
Guangdong vs. Deijing Shogang (Shanghai)
HK YungLung vs. Shanghai (Shanghai)

9/23
Final #1: Season Champ vs. Runner-up (Shanghai)

9/24
Final #2: Season Champ vs. Runner-up (Shanghai)

9/26
Final #3: Season Champ vs. Runner-up (Shanghai)

Asia: ABA 2001 Season Facts

■Time: September 12 - 26

■Place: Taipei, Shanghai, Macao, Hangzou, Suzou, Guangdong

■Teams (9):
Shanghai Sharks, Beijing Shogang, Guangdong Tigers, Yulon, Dacin Construction, ASPAC, Hong Kong YungLung, Samsung Thunders, Isuzu Gigacats

■Format:
A 3-game final series between regular season champ and runner-upwill be held in Shnaghai after the 28-game regular season.

■Team Brief:

* Shanghai Sharks, CBA, China - Runner-ups in 2000-01 and 1999-00 CBA season.
* Beijing Shogang, CBA, China - 2000-01 3rd place in CBA.
* Guangdong Tigers, CBA, China - 2000-01 6th place in CBA.
* Isuzu Gigacats, JBL, Japan - 6-time JBL champions, including 1988, 1995-98 and 2000.
* Samsung Thunders, KBL, South Korea - 2000-01 KBL champion.
* Yulon, A-League, Taiwan - 2000 and 2001 A-League champion...2000 CBA Millennium Series champ...CBA (now defuncted) 1994-95 champion.
* Dacin Construction, A-League, Taiwan - 2001 4th place in A-League.