Tuesday, March 26, 2002

Chen Hsin-an Lead TPEC to UBA Title

With three NT members in the starting lineup, Taipei Physical Education College beat Taiwan Art College to win the seventh straight UBA (University Basketball Association) title.

TPEC, who has Chen Hsin-an, Wu Chih-wei and Lee Chi-yi - all NT players - beat Taiwan Art College in both games of the Finals and now increases its winning streak to an eye-popping 64 games.

Led by NT shooting guard Yang Yu-min, Fu-jen University defeated National Physical Education College (NPEC) in the third-place series.

Taiwan Normal University, which features NT member Tien Lei, Ho Sho-jen and A-League players like Wu Yong-jen and Hsu Chen-wen, had a disappointing 6th-place finish. But the school's future looks bright since all four are still freshmen.

Chinese Culture University defeated Taiwan Normal University to finish 5th.

Sunday, March 24, 2002

2002 A-League Regular Season Primer

Date: April 1st - May 10th, 2002

Venue: Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium

Participating Teams:
Men (15)
A-1 (8)
Yulon, BCC Mars, Jutai Tech, Dacin Constructions, Bank of Taiwan, Yi-tong Trust Agency, Taiwan Beer, Military

A-2 (7)
Han-chuan Marketing, Dong-nan College, Fushiang Hotel, Tsai-shin Alumni, Jiana Corp., National Physical Education College (NPEC), Ji-wei-guan (Taipei Physical Education College, TPEC)

*Note:
1) A-2 allows the participation of local college teams. Ji-wei-guan is the main sponsor for the TPEC. NPEC and Dong-nan College do not seek sponsors.

2) Taiwan Beer and Military, who finished 7th and 8th in January's President Cup, will have to play the four-team "Qualification Series" before the regular season starts. Top two teams of the series stay (or advance) to the A-1 level. The other two are dropped to (or stay in) the A-2 level.

Women (5)
Kuo-tai Life, Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Electricity, Tai-yuan Textile, Ya-dong

Competition Format
Men
>Qualification Series
Participating teams: Taiwan Beer and Military, 7th and 8th team in the previous President Cup. Han-chuan Marketing and Dong-nan College, the top two teams in the President Cup A-2.
Format: Single-round robin. Top two teams of the series stay (or advance) to the A-1 level. The other two are dropped to (or stay in) the A-2 level.

>A-1
Preliminary Round
A total of eight teams play in a double-round robin format. Top 4 teams advance to the second round.

Second Round
A total of four teams play in a single-round robin format. Top two teams advance to the Finals. The bottom two play in the third-place series.

Playoffs
Finals: Best-of-Five format
Third-place Series: Best-of-Three format

>A-2
A total of 7 teams play in a single-round robin format to determine the winner, according to the final standings.

Women
A total of five teams play in a 5-round robin format to determine the final champion, according to the final standings.

Saturday, March 16, 2002

Yulon Signs Four HS Prospects

Having the most explosive player on your side is simply not enough. At least that's what Yulon thinks. In order to complement 2001 MVP Chen Hsin-an, Yulon signs four high school graduates, including Tsun Wen-din, Chen Shi-nian, Chou Shi-yuan and Lee Chi-ming, with each is considered the best player in their position.

With these four incoming players, Yulon is loaded and ready to defend its title in the upcoming 2002 A-League Regular Season, which starts play in early April.

204cm center Tsun Wen-din, who is on the NT roster in his sophomore year, led Tsai-shin HS to this year's HBL: title and was named MVP. Tsun is a smart high post player with sound passing ability. He is expected to be the starting center for Yulon right away.

181cm PG Chen Shi-nian, who led Chan-shu HS to the third place finish, is obviously the best point guard prospect. Chen plays with a court savvy and vision that is hard to find in a high schooler. Some observers say his passing is even better than most A-League starting PGs. However Chen is expected to spend most of his time on the bench, since Yulon currently has two point guards in Chao Jia-chun and Hong Chi-chao.

Chou Shi-yuan, a wing player with sweet shooting stroke, quickness and smooth moves from San-min HS, is the first one to sign with Yulon. The 190cm kid is having a disappointing year. After losing Tien Lei in graduation, San-min not only failed to complete its three-peat quest in HBL, it even didn't make it to the final eight.

Yulon completed its recruiting class by signing 175cm phenom Lee Chi-ming from Pin-tung HS. Dubbed as "Taiwanese Allen Iverson" by the fans, Lee is the leading scorer in this year's HBL, averaging 22.9 points per game. He can slash and dash, break down opponents' defense like a knife anytime. He can also shoot the lights out on any given night. Height disadvantage is the only concern for him in the A-League level.

Saturday, March 09, 2002

Twin Towers Lead Tsai-shin to 2002 HBL Title

204cm Tsun Wen-din and 202cm Wu Dai-hao, the tallest frontline in Taiwan high school basketball history and two of the youngest NT members ever, led heavily-favored Tsai-shin HS to the first title since 1998 as expected. Tsai-shin beat Kao-yuan HS in both games of the two-game series, winning 65-60 in Game 1 (March 2) and 76-42 in Game 2 (March 3).

Tsun Wen-din was a man among the boys in the championship series, averaging 21 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and an eye-popping 7 blocks. Meanwhile, sophomore Wu Dai-hao averaged 13.5 points and 7 rebounds in two games.

With its 12-0 record, Tsai-shin HS completed an undefeated season, duplicating a feat that the school also had in 1998 season, when they won 21 straight en route to the first champion in school history.

Chan-shu HS, led by talented 181cm PG Chen Shi-nian, defeated Yi-lan HS and took home the second third-place trophy in school history. Chan-shu beat Yilan by 16 points in the first game and lost by 2 in the second. According to the special two-game format, Chan-shu won the third-place by the better won-lost margin (+14).


■GAME SUMMARY
**Championship Series
Game 1: Tsai-shin 65-60 Kao-yuan
Tsai-shin - Tsun Wen-din 23p+10rb+3a+2s+6blk, Chen Hao-tser 12p, Wu Dai-hao 11p+9rb+6s
Kao-yuan - Wu Kun-nan 13p, Wang Chuan-jian 12p+13rb+3a+2blk, Hu Jin-shun 12p

Game 2: Tsai-shin 76-42 Kao-yuan
Tsai-shin - Tsun Wen-din 19p+12rb+3a+8blk
Kao-yuan - Wang Chuan-jian 13p+11rb+6blk, Hsu Chao-liang 11p

**Third-place Series
Game 1: Chan-shu 89-73 Yi-lan
Chan-shu - Lee Yi-ping 29p, Wu Jun-hsiung 25p+15rb+2blk, Chen Shi-nian 8p+10rb+9a+3s, Lin Chih-tsun 14p+8a
Yi-lan - Wang Nan-kwei 17p, Chen Kuo-wei 17p, Kao Tien-chi 7p+12a+4s, Lin Chih-lung 14p+5a

Game 2: Yi-lan 58-56 Chan-shu
Yi-lan - Hsu Chin-yun 15p+6rb+4blk, Kao Tien-chi 12p+9rb+11a, Chen Kuo-wei 12p+12rb
Chan-shu - Lin Chih-tsun 16p+4s, Chen Shi-nian 9p+6a+4s

2002 HBL Honor Roll

■Official Awards presented by Chinese Taipei High School Sports Federation:
MVP - TSUN WEN-DIN (Tsai-shin HS, 204cm)
Freshman of the Year - WANG CHUAN-JIAN (Kao-yuan HS, 193cm)

■Stats Leader:
Scoring - LEE CHI-MING (Pin-tung HS, 177cm, SG)
Rebounding - CHANG SHAO-AN (Pin-tung HS, 190cm, C)
Blocked Shots - TSUN WEN-DIN (Tsai-shin HS, 204cm, C)
Assists - KAO TIEN-CHI (Yi-lan HS, 176cm, PG)
Steals - CHOU SHI-YUAN (San-min HS, 190cm, F)

■My Honor Roll

First Team
PG - CHEN SHI-NIAN (Chan-shu HS, 181cm, Senior)
SG - LEE CHI-MING (Pin-tung HS, 177cm, Senior)
C - TSUN WEN-DIN (Tsai-shin HS, 204cm, Senior)
PF - WANG CHUAN-JIAN (Kao-yuan HS, 193cm, Freshman)
SF - CHOU SHI-YUAN (San-min HS, 190cm, Senior)

Second Team
PG - KAO TIEN-CHI (Yi-lan HS, 176cm, Senior), CHANG YI-WEN (Tsai-shin HS, 183cm, Senior)
SG - CHEN SHI-JAY (Tsai-shin HS, 173cm, Sophomore)
C - WU DAI-HAO (Tsai-shin HS, 202cm, Sophomore)
PF - HUANG CHI-FENG (Shin-yung HS, 192cm, Senior)
SF - YANG JIN-MIN (Nan-shan HS, 190cm, Senior)

Sixth Man of the Year - LO JUN-CHENG (Tsai-shin HS, 195cm, Senior)
Coach of the Year - TIEN BEN-YU (Shin-yung HS)...for taking a less-talented team to as far as they could, for bring out the best of her players when nobody noticed them...