Sunday, December 28, 2003

Hsu Chi-chao, Tien Lei help Dacin shut down Taiwan Beer

Dacin played its best game of the season on both ends of the court as they beat Taiwan Beer 65-61 in an intensive battle tonight to even their winning percentage at .500. Veteran F Hsu Chi-chao burned TB with 23 points and Tien Lei help shut down the middle with his season-high 5 blocks.

Led by Lin Chih-jay’s 22 points, Taiwan Beer once again rallied in the second half when they cut the 16-point halftime deficit to under five points. However, a couple of controversial calls cost them the chance to win.

Taiwan Beer dropped two straight in three days and went from third-place to fifth. Dacin is 3-3 and tied with SINA for third.

In another game, Jutai ended its four game losing streak by defeating Bank of Taiwan 81-74. O-Yang Jin-hen and Wu Cheng-dao had 21 and 20 points respectively to make up for the absence of leading scorer Yang Yu-ming, who was listed injured.

Sources told me that Yang actually is not injured. He clashed with owner and served an one-game internal suspension. Sources also said former NT coach Lee Chin-chi, who was without a job right now, will join Jutai’s coaching staff within a week. It’s possible Lee will replace current head coach Liu Hwa-lin eventually.

Summary
Jutai 81-74 Bank of Taiwan (Half 36-33)
Jutai – O-Yang Jin-hen 21p, Wu Cheng-dao 20p, Shan Wei-fan 13p
BOT – Ju Yong-hong 18p+10rb, Lin Chun-feng 16p, Yang Chin-ming 11p, Wu Yong-jen 11p

Dacin 65-61 Taiwan Beer (Half 39-23)
Dacin – Hsu Chi-chao 23p, Chang Chi-feng 14p+7rb, Tien Lei 11p+8rb+4s+5blk, Lee Fong-yong 11p+11rb
TB – Lin Chih-jay 22p+8rb, Chen Shi-nian 13p, Wu Chih-yuan 7p+10rb

Saturday, December 27, 2003

SINA routs Mars to win three straight

Huang Chun-hsiung had his third double-double in 4 games this season as SINA routed Mars 76-50 tonight to win three straight after a three-game losing streak. SINA climbs up to .500 for the first time this season.

Mars, who lost injured starting PG Yen Shin-shu for the third straight game, was a disaster throughout the whole game. Mars dug a big hole early in the first quarter, trailing 9-24. Everything went downhill for them thereafter. Mars set the lowest single-game scoring mark for the season and trailed by as many as 30.

Summary
SINA 76-50 Mars (Half 52-31)
SINA – Huang Chun-hsiung 22p+12rb, Liu Yi-hsiang 16p, Hsiung Jen-jen 14p, Lo Shin-liang 7p+7a
Mars – Lee Chi-yi 10p+6rb

Friday, December 26, 2003

Lin outscores Chen 31-15 but Yulon prevails

18 points in the third quarter. Game-high 31 points. Lin Chih-jay showed why he is the hottest young star in Taiwan tonight and almost completed the unbelievable feat again. But Taiwan Beer couldn’t hang on with league-leading Yulon for four quarters and eventually lost the roller-coaster game, 78-90.

In the most anticipated individual rivalry, Chen Hsin-an paled in comparison with Lin, managing to score only 15 points. However it was Chen’s baseline jumper with one minute remaining sealed the victory for Yulon, who won six straight and remained the only undefeated team in the league.

It looked like the game would end up in lopsided results after halftime with Yulon leading 53-37. But Lin Chih-jay refused to lose. He had four three-pointers, two of which from NBA-range, and completed a three-point play when he made a left-handed twisting layup between three defenders.

Within 10 minutes, Taiwan Beer turned a 17-point deficit into a one-point lead, jumping front 66-65 at the end of the third quarter. However Taiwan Beer finally ran out of steam in the final quarter. Lin managed to score three more points in the final 10 minutes.

Taiwan Beer is now back at .500 with three wins and three losses, ranking third behind Yulon and Mars (4-2).

Summary
Yulon 90-78 Taiwan Beer (Half 53-37)
Yulon – Tsun Wen-din 16p, Chen Hsin-an 15p(6-16 FG, 1-8 3PT)+4a, Chen Chih-chun 13p, Chiu Chi-yi 12p, Wu Chih-wei 11p+5rb
TB – Lin Chih-jay 31p(11-26 FG, 6-18 3PT)+6rb, Wu Yang-huei 13p, Liao Wei-chen 11p, Pan Jen-der 10p

Thursday, December 25, 2003

Chen-Lin rivalry highlights SBL action after X’mas

After a BYE week, SBL resumes its schedule tomorrow PM 19:00 when No.1 Yulon (5-0) faces No.3 Taiwan Beer (3-2) for the first time this season. Most of all, the “Chen Hsin-an vs. Lin Chih-jay” rivalry will give fans more than one reason to feel the excitement.

Chen Hsin-an has been praised for the No.1 baller in Taiwan for years. Although his stats hardly show he’s No.1 (14.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists), Chen is trying to help his team in a more versatile way and never take personal stats seriously. Still, fans expect to see Chen’s breakout performance. With Chen’s game and gifted athleticism, he can practically dominate any game he’s in.

Chen is the first Asian player invited to an NBA pre-season training camp in 2002. Although he was cut eventually by Sacramento Kings, Chen is still regarded as Taiwan’s great hope.

Lin Chih-jay is a prodigy who burst onto the scene this year. He showed flashes of brilliance in limited playing time with Taiwan NT in Harbin, China. But it was until SBL started that he captivated with his awesome skills. Within two weeks, Lin pulled down the backboard with one of his trademark power dunk and had two games in which he scored more than 30. He made 9 three-pointers and single-handedly led Taiwan Beer to an overtime victory over BCC Mars.

At this moment, Lin is leading the league in scoring with 23.2 points per game. He also averaged 5.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.2 steals per game, shooting 37% behind the three-point line.

Lin is two years younger than Chen, but in terms of experience in both international play and upper level, he is a couple more years back compared to Chen.

Lin only played one year of high school ball. Before catching anyone’s notice, his school dropped men’s basketball program. Lin was selected to the national team in his freshmen year in college but didn’t reported to the camp and later was banned for one year in NT play by CTBA.

Without a doubt, everyone will be looking forward to see these two young men tomorrow.

Sunday, December 14, 2003

SINA wins two straight after 0-3 start

Lo Shin-liang had 33 points as SINA routed Bank of Taiwan 83-60 tonight to win two straight after the season-opening 0-3 start. Jutai lost its fourth consecutive game despite Yang Yu-ming’s game-high 27 points.

SINA 83-60 BOT (Half 47-37)
SINA – Lo Shin-liang 33p+7rb, Huang Chun-hsiung 12p+7rb, Chou Jun-san 9p+5rb+5a
BOT – Yang Chin-min 23p+6s, Ju Yong-hong 14p+6rb

Mars 88-70 Jutai (Half 53-34)
Mars – Lai Kuo-hong 23p+10rb, Lee Chi-shun 17p, Lee Chi-yi 11p+10rb
Jutai – Yang Yu-ming 27p, Shan Wei-fan 11p+8rb, Wu Dai-hao 8p+9rb

Saturday, December 13, 2003

Lin Chih-jay scores 32 as Taiwan Beer upset Mars in OT

Rising star Lin Chih-jay scored 32 points tonight as Taiwan Beer edged Mars 88-86 in overtime. Lin made nine three-pointers in the game, including the game-tying three-pointer with 15.4 seconds remaining that took the game into overtime.

Lin Chih-jay, the No. 2 leading scorer in the SBL, had his second 30-plus game of the season, following a 39-point outburst two weeks ago. With his unstoppable one-on-one skills and charisma to excite the crowd, Lin is right now the hottest player in the league that everyone talks about.

Although Mars was able to stop Lin from his penetration, they couldn’t stop him in the perimeter. Forward Lee Chi-yi, Lin’s high school teammate, had 22 points and 14 boards for the Mars, who had its three-game winning streak stopped.

Mars starting PG Yen Shin-shu did not suit up tonight because of tendonitis.

Yulon beat Dacin 74-71 in another intense battle to extend its winning streak to five games. Dacin used its trademark three-point attack and rallied in the fourth quarter, when they outscored Yulon 26-15. But that was not enough. Yulon guard Lee Chih-ming’s crucial three-pointers in the final minutes made sure Yulon came away with a big W.

Taiwan Beer 88-86(OT) Mars (Half 51-43)
TB – Lin Chih-jay 32p, Wu Yang-huei 17p+5rb, Chen Shi-nian 10p+10rb+8a
Mars – Lee Chi-yi 22p+14rb, Lin Jia-huang 22p, Chen Huei 12p+7rb+6a

Yulon 74-71 Dacin (Half 34-24)
Yulon – Chen Hsin-an 15p+6rb+6a, Wei Yong-tai 13p+9rb, Lee Chih-ming 13p, Tsun Wen-din 10p+12rb+4blk
Dacin – Tien Lei 18p+7rb+3blk, Hsu Chi-chao 18p, Chang Chi-feng 13p

Friday, December 12, 2003

BOT held off Jutai’s late rally

Bank of Taiwan, who led as many as 15 points in the final period, held off a furious rally by Jutai in the final four minutes and won 67-61 tonight. BOT is now 2-3, while Jutai lost three straight and dropped to the league-worst 1-4.

Height disadvantage didn’t stop BOT from attacking the boards, as the shortest team in the league beat their opponents on the boards for the fifth consecutive game, winning the rebounding battle 50-36 tonight. Little-known BOT center Chou Ben-tang had one of the best games in his career with 16 points, 16 rebounds and 2 blocks. PF Ju Yong-hong also had 16 points and 14 rebounds.

BOT used its quickness to increase the lead in the third period and seemed taken control of the game with 4 minutes left. But NT shooting guard Yang Yu-ming refused to give up and single-handedly led his team back in the game. Held scoreless in the first 36 minutes, Yang Yu-ming scored Jutai’s last 14 points before BOT pulled away once again in the final minute.

Bank of Taiwan 67-61 Jutai (Half 32-32)
BOT – Chou Ben-tang 16p+16rb+2blk, Ju Yong-hong 16p+14rb, Chen Shen-ya 13p, Lin Chun-feng 10p+9rb
Jutai – Wu Cheng-dao 16p, Yang Yu-ming 14p+9rb, Wu Dai-hao 11p+4rb+3blk

Sunday, December 07, 2003

Mars wins three straight despite missing 20 FTs

They missed 20 of 38 free-throw attempts and were beaten on the boards (31-45), but Mars still showed their balanced attack by defeating Bank of Taiwan 88-74 tonight as Mars won three straight following the season-opening loss.

Led by Lee Chi-yi’s 14 points and 8 rebounds, Mars had five players scoring in double figures and made 53% of their shots. Thanks to an 11-0 run in less than two minutes midway in the 4th quarter, Mars managed to put the game away.

SBL scoring leader Tien Lei had another outstanding game of 19 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals as Dacin edged Jutai 65-61. Dacin is now tied at 2-2 with Taiwan Beer. Jutai dropped to 1-3 along with SINA and BOT.

Dacin 65-61 Jutai (Half 36-32)
Dacin – Tien Lei 19p+17rb+5a+4s, Huang Chih-chun 14p, Hsu Chi-chao 10p
Jutai – Shan Wei-fan 24p, Yang Yu-min 15p, Wu Cheng-dao 11p

Mars 88-74 Bank of Taiwan (Half 38-34)
Mars – Lee Chi-yi 14p+8rb, Lai Kuo-hong 12p, Yen Shin-shu 12p, Chen Huei 11p+7rb, Lin Jia-huang 10p
BOT – Chuan Xiao-wen 17p, Hsu Hao-cheng 14p+5rb+5a, Yang Chin-min 10p, Lin Chun-feng 9p+8rb

Chiang-shu beat Japan’s Rakunan to win HS tournament

PG Su Yi-chieh had 17 points and 7 assists and C Hong Ying-che had 16 points and 9 rebounds as Chiang-shu HS beat Japan’s Rakunan HS 76-70 in the 2003 International High School Tournament title game. Chiang-shu’s SF Lin Yi-huei also had 16 points.

Results
Men’s final: Chiang-shu 76-70 Rakunan(Japan)
Men’s 3rd-place: Nan-shan 56-55 Kao-yuan
Men’s 5th-place: Tsai-shin 84-60 Tongya(South Korea)

Women’s final: Sowa(Japan) 68-58 Tam-shui
Women’s 3rd-place: Hai-shan 62-58 Jin-O
Women’s 5th-place: Soong-il(South Korea) 62-53 Taipei First Girls’

Saturday, December 06, 2003

International High School Tournament - Day 3

Results
Men's: Rakunan 57-45 Kao-yuan ; Nan-shan 64-59 Tongya
Women's: Sowa 63-52 Taipei First Girls' ; Jin-O 75-47 Soong-il

Preliminary Final Standings
Men's
Group A: Rakunan 2-0, Kao-yuan 1-1, Tsai-shin 0-2
Group B: Chiang-shu 2-0, Nan-shan 1-1, Tongya 0-2

Women's
Group A: Sowa 2-0, Hai-shan 1-1, Taipei First Girls' 0-2
Group B: Tam-shui 2-0, Jin-O 1-1, Soong-il 0-2

Playoffs Schedules
Men's
Final: Rakunan vs. Chiang-shu
3rd-place: Kao-yuan vs. Nan-shan
5th-place: Tsai-shin vs. Tongya

Women's
Final: Sowa vs. Tamshui
3rd-place: Hai-shan vs. Jin-O
5th-place: Taipei First Girls' vs. Soong-il

SINA ends three-game losing streak

SINA finally found back their offensive rhythm, as veterans Huang Chun-hsiung, Chou Jun-san and Lo Shin-liang had 50 points collectively to lead SINA (1-3) get past Taiwan Beer (2-2) 75-70 and ended their three-game losing streak.

In the other game, Chen Hsin-an had 23 points and 10 rebounds to power Yulon (4-0) to a 74-66 victory over Bank of Taiwan (1-2), which lost two straight. Yulon won four straight and remained the only undefeated team.

Summary
SINA 75-70 Taiwan Beer (Half 35-32)
SINA – Huang Chun-hsiung 17p+15rb+2blk, Lo Shin-liang 17p, Chou Jun-san 16p, Liu Yi-hsiang 12p+7rb

Yulon 74-66 Bank of Taiwan (Half 36-33)
Yulon – Chen Hsin-an 23p+10rb+4a, Chen Chih-chun 9p+3s
BOT – Lin Chun-feng 24p, Hsu Hao-cheng 16p+12rb, Wu Yong-jen 10p

Friday, December 05, 2003

International High School Tournament – Day 2

Men’s – Kao-yuan 57-47 Tsai-shin ; Chiang-shu 59-54 Nan-shan
Women’s – Hai-shan 63-62 Taipei First Girls’ HS ; Tam-shui 44-40 Jin-O

Standings
Men’s
Group A: Rakunan 1-0, Kao-yuan 1-0, Tsai-shin 0-2
Group B: Chiang-shu 2-0, Nan-shan 0-1, Tongya 0-1

Women’s
Group A: Sowa 1-0, Hai-shan 1-1, Taipei First Girls’ 0-1
Group B: Tam-shui 2-0, Soong-il 0-1, Jin-O 0-1

Lin Jia-huang helps Mars rout Dacin

Lin Jia-huang had 21 points, including 5 three-pointers, and helped Mars beat Dacin 93-79 in the only SBL game tonight. Mars pulled the game away early, leading 30-20 after the first quarter, and was never threatened. Tien Lei led Dacin with 25 points and 9 boards.

Mars 93-79 Dacin
Mars – Lin Jia-huang 21p, Lee Chi-yi 18p+10rb, Lai Kuo-hong 14p, Yen Shin-shu 9p+7rb+9a
Dacin – Tien Lei 25p+9rb+3s, Lee Fong-yong 13p, Chang Chi-feng 12p+9rb

Thursday, December 04, 2003

International High School Tournament - First day

Date: 12/4-12/7
Place: Taipei
Men’s teams(6): Tsai-shin HS, Chiang-shu HS, Kao-yuan HS, Nan-shan HS, Tongya HS (South Korea), Rakunan HS (Japan)
Women’s teams(6): Tam-shui HS, Hai-shan HS, Jin-O HS, Taipei First Girls’ HS, Sowa HS (Japan), Soong-il HS (South Korea)


Results:
Men’s - Rakunan 80-78 Tsai-shin ; Chiang-shu 60-50 Tongya
Women’s – Tam-shui 74-67 Soong-il ; Sowa 58-47 Hai-shan

Yitong Trust wins President Cup

Yitong Trust defeated NTCPE (National Taiwan College of Physical Education) 2-0 in the best-of-three final series and won its first President Cup champion in team history. Kuo-kwang Power beat Richway Tech 2-1 in the best-of-three 3rd-place series.

President Cup was divided into two divisions – Division I and II – before the formation of SBL (Super Basketball League). Currently there’s only one division in the President Cup.

President Cup Preliminary Round Standings:
1. Yitong Trust 6-1
2. NTCPE 5-2
3. Kuo-kwang Power 5-2
4. Richway Tech 4-3
5. TNIT 4-3
6. Tsaishin Alumni 2-5
7. Shinwu 2-5
8. Jin-jin Design 0-7

Top four teams meet in the best-of-three playoff series, where Yitong faces NTCPE in the finals and Kuo-kwang Power meets Richway Tech in the 3rd-place series.

Sunday, November 30, 2003

SINA lost three straight

SINA Lions, who is everyone’s SBL title contender, suffered another heartbreaking loss tonight to drop to 0-3 in the inaugural SBL season. SINA was out of sync at both ends of the court and lost to Dacin 67-77.

Tien Lei led Dacin’s attack with 27 points and 13 rebounds. Tien had his best game of the season, scoring 5 straight points on an alley-oop dunk and a three-pointer in a decisive 4th-quarter run to put the game away.

In another game, Lin Chih-jay showed everyone why some folks said he can be better than hotshot Chen Hsin-an. Lin scored his career-high 39 points and single-handedly led Taiwan Beer to a come-from-behind victory over Bank of Taiwan, 83-81. Lin was 15-for-27 in the game and virtually unstoppable, scoring 16 points in the final period.

Lin’s one-hand tomahawk dunk in the second period was obviously the best play of the game. The powerful dunk pulled down the backboard post. The screaming sound from the fans almost brought down the house.

Summary
Dacin 77-67 SINA (Half 43-35)
Dacin – Tien Lei 27p+13rb, Chang Chih-feng 15p+6rb, Hsu Chi-chao 12p
SINA – Huang Chun-hsiung 17p+11rb, Chou Jun-san 13p, Liu Yi-hsiang 11p+7rb, Hsiung Jen-jen 11p, Lo Shin-liang 10p

Taiwan Beer 83-81 Bank of Taiwan (Half 29-34)
TB – Lin Chih-jay 39p+5a,Chen Shih-nian 16p+9a+5s
BOT – Yang Chin-min 26p, Wu Yong-jen 19p+8rb, Lin Chun-feng 13p+8rb+5a

Saturday, November 29, 2003

Yulon beat clueless Jutai

NT PG Chen Chih-chung turned in a brilliant performance with 17 point, 6 boards, 5 assists and 6 steals as Yulon beat Jutai 83-78 tonight to top the SBL standings with a 3-0 record. BCC Mars routed Taiwan Beer in another game to win its first game of the season.

Chen Hsin-an had another so-so game but Chen Chih-chung, Chou Hong-yu and Chiu Chi-yi stepped up for Yulon, who rallied in the second half and took control of the game. Chou and Chiu scored 17 and 16 respectively to lift Yulon out of the first-half slump.

Once again, Jutai was led by its backcourt, with Yang Yu-min scored 22 points and Hsu Tse-shin 20. For the third consecutive game, Jutai played like five lost souls on the court and failed to take advantage of its towering frontline consisted of Wu Dai-hao, Ha Xiao-yuan, Shan Wei-fan and Lin Che-wei. Head coach Liu Hwa-lin’s substitution and X’s and O’s skills is highly questioned.

In another game, Mars bulked its way to a 50-30 first-half lead. The rest of the game is history after that.

Summary
Yulon 83-78 Jutai (Half 40-42)
Yulon – Chen Chih-chung 17p+6rb+5a+6s, Chou Hong-yu 17[, Chiu Chi-yi 16p, Tsun Wen-din 9p+10rb+8blk
Jutai – Yang Yu-min 22p, Hsu Tse-shin 20p, Wu Dai-hao 8p+10rb, Ha Xiao-yuan 10p+7rb

Mars 88-70 Taiwan Beer (Half 50-30)
Mars – Chen Huei 17p+7a, Lee Chi-yi 16p+7rb, Lai Kuo-hong 12p+7rb
TB – Wu Yang-huei 12p, Lin Chih-jay 11p+9rb+6a, Wu Chih-yuan 10p

Monday, November 24, 2003

Heavy-favorite SINA drops two straight to open season

SINA hasn’t been playing like the team that rocked the Chinese basketball scene during the last two years, as they dropped another game tonight. Out of everyone’s imagination, SINA lost to Jutai Tech 74-76 and opened the SBL season 0-2.

SINA was the odds-on favorite to win the title because they have the experience. They are tough inside. And they have one of the best backcourt in Lo Shin-liang and Chou Jun-san. But they simply looked lost on the court in the last two games. As the oldest team in the league, SINA also has problem catching on with opponents’ quickness.

SINA looks like a different team under new head coach Hu Tsai-lin, who replaced Chiu Da-tsun. Chiu stayed in China after SINA pulled out of the CBA and is now the new head coach of Jiangsu Dragons, which opens the CBA season winning three straight.

In the other game, Yulon beat BCC Mars 79-74 to wrap up the first week with a 2-0 record. Center Tsun Wen-din led Yulon in scoring for the second consecutive game with 21 points and 11 boards.

Yulon 79-74 Mars (Half 40-46)
Yulon-Tsun Wen-din 21p+11rb, Chen Hsin-an 13p+9rb+4a, Lee Chih-ming 12p, Chen Chih-chun 10p+4s
Mars-Chen Huei 15p, Lee Chi-shun 12p, Cheng An-jay 11p, Yen Shin-shu 7p+9rb+5a

Jutai 76-74 SINA (Half 39-43)
Jutai-Hsu Tse-shin 20p, Yang Yu-ming 16p, Wu Chen-dao 11p, Wu Dai-hao 2p+7rb+3blk
SINA-Lo Shin-liang 13p, Hsu Yong-yi 13p, Liu Yi-shiang 12p+11rb, Chen Shi-jay 10p

Saturday, November 22, 2003

Two upsets in Day 2

Day 2 of the 2003-04 SBL season featured two upsets which will raised some eyebrows. Taiwan Beer upset Jutai Tech 68-60 while Bank of Taiwan edged Dacin 89-87. If you count Yulon’s victory over SINA in the opening day a minor upset. That will be three consecutive upsets in the first three SBL games.

Taiwan Beer demonstrated a balanced offensive game with five double-digit scorers to overcame the loss of top player Ho Sho-jen, who suffered a wrist tendon tear and expected to miss the entire season. Led by Lin Chih-jay’s 19 points and 7 boards, Taiwan Beer shut down the imposing Jutai frontline and grabbed their opening win.

In the second game, Bank of Taiwan used its 52-31 rebounding advantage to create numerous second-chance points and gave new head coach Wei Chan-ming his first victory. Lin Chun-feng led BOT with 14 points and 11 boards before fouling out in the 4th quarter.

Summary
Taiwan Beer 68-60 Jutai Tech
TB – Lin Chih-jay 19p+7rb+4a+3s, Pan Jen-der 13p, Liao Wei-chen 12p+9rb, Wu yang-huei 12p, Chen Shih-nian 11p+6a
Jutai – Yang Yu-min 18p, O-Yang Jin-hen 16p, Wu Dai-hao 9p+7rb

BOT 89-87 Dacin
BOT – Yang Chin-min 16p, Lin Chun-feng 14p+11rb, Ju Yong-hong 14p+10rb, Chou Ben-tang 12p+10rb+3blk, Hsu Hao-chen 4p+4rb+7a
Dacin – Tien Lei 24p+5s+2blk, Huang Chih-chun 17p+7rb, Hsu Chih-chao 16p

Friday, November 21, 2003

Chen Hsin-an leads Yulon to SBL season opener victory

Chen Hsin-an had 16 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists as Yulon beat SINA 88-81 in the opening game of the inaugural SBL season. Chen had 14 of his 16 points in the second half.

Yulon’s tenacious defense forced experienced SINA to 20 turnovers. And SINA didn’t help themselves as they missed 15 of 31 free-throw attempts. Both numbers became the deciding factors of the game.

Center Tsun Wen-din had a team-high 17 points. Chiu Chi-yi had 14. Chen Chih-chun had 13 points and successfully shut down SINA lead guard Chou Jun-san, forcing him to 8 turnovers – which doesn’t happen often.

SINA was hurt by the absence of forward Huang Chun-hsiung, who sat out the game because of neck muscle strain.

The first SBL season tipped-off tonight to begin the five-month crusade, which is trying to bring back fans’ interest toward basketball.

Saturday, November 15, 2003

SBL Warmups: Yulon routs SINA

Surprisingly, Yulon routed SINA 95-74 in the most anticipated game in SBL warmup series. Bank of Taiwan tied Jutai Tech 94-94 in another game (no overtime played in warmup series).

Bank of Taiwan 94-94 Jutai Tech
BOT – Yang Chin-ming 23p, Ju Yong-hong 19p, Wu Yong-jen 13p, Lin Chun-feng 13p, Chou Ben-tang 13p+8rb
Jutai – Wu Chen-dao 20p+6rb, Yang Yu-ming 19p, O-Yang Jin-hen 18p

Yulon 95-74 SINA
Yulon – Chen Hsin-an 17p+5a, Chou Shi-yuan 17p, Liu Shen-yao 10p
SINA – Hsu Yong-yi 17p, Liu Yi-hsian 11p+7rb, Chou Jun-san 10p

Friday, November 14, 2003

2003-04 SBL Preview

Yulon Dinos

Head coach: Chien Yi-fei

Projected Starters:
C Tsun Wen-din (203, 1984)
PF Chou Hong-yu (195, 1976)
SF Chen Hsin-an (196, 1980)
SG Chiu Chi-yi (180, 1975)
PG Chen Chih-chung (182, 1977)

Key Subs: PG Lee Chih-ming (173, 1984), C Wu Chih-wei (202, 1976), SG Chou Shih-yuan (190, 1983), PG/SG Hong Chih-chao (187, 1982)

Key Additions: SG Liu Shen-yao (188, 1983, Rookie), SG Lin Ming-shien (184, 1975, Military), PG Huang Bao-tse (180, 1976, Retired from Army)

Key Losses: None

Strengths:
Chen Hsin-an, arguably Taiwan’s best player, can take over the game single-handedly anytime. Yulon features the most sounded half-court offense scheme, discipline, chemistry and the most reliable switching man-to-man defense. Every position goes two deep. Head coach Chien Yi-fei’s experience cannot be overlooked.

Weaknesses:
Not many. Sometimes their offense is too predictable. Coach Chien prefers the walk-it-up, cut-down-turnover half-court offense. He is reluctant in accepting the open-court style, which most players like to play. With every team boosting up their frontline, Yulon has to take care of the rebounding.

Outlook:
Still the heavy-favorite to win the title, although they didn’t make any dramatic roster change. Keep in mind, Yulon’s starting lineup features five current/former NT players, whose skill level and experience in big games are unparalleled.

Dacin Constructions

Head coach: Liu Jia-fa

Projected Starters:
C Yeh Shu-wei (195, 1983)
PF Lee Feng-yong (197, 1980)
SF Tien Lei (202, 1983)
SG Chang Chih-feng (182, 1981)
PG Huang Chih-chun (180, 1982)

Key Subs: F/G Hsu Chih-chao (190, 1974), Lin Kuan-lun (186, 1984), Chen Tse-wei (198, 1985), Hsu Shi-ching (192, 1984)

Key Additions: None

Key Losses: Wu Dai-hao (202, 1985, Jutai Tech)

Strengths:
This is a team that is strong in the perimeter, with at least seven players that can launch three-pointers. And they really excel in the transition, fast-paced game, if they can control the boards. With Dacin, no lead is big enough because if they go crazy behind the three-point line, you’re in deep trouble.

Tien Lei is one of the best players in Taiwan, as he led Taiwan NT in scoring in Asian Championship easily. He has the athletic ability and sweet shooting stroke that you just can’t find among bigmen who are taller than 6-7. In short, he can dominate the game all by himself.

Liu Jia-fa is one of the most hard-working coaches in Taiwan whose experience will grow. Chang Chih-feng is a underrated shooter who will be benefited from his experience in the World University Games.

Weaknesses:
Starters’ average height is not bad. And if he wants, Tien Lei will be the most feared rebounders in the game. But Dacin is still a DONUT team which needs help in the middle, because Tien Lei is gradually playing his game further away from the basket. As a team, they fall in love too much with the three-pointers sometimes.

Outlook:
Losing NT C/PF Wu Dai-hao means Dacin will have to work extra harder if they want to make it to the top four in SBL. If Tien Lei learns how to dominate with his inside-outside skill and the backcourt is hot from the outside, Dacin can’t be overlooked. Lee Feng-yong also has to get himself more in the paint to give Dacin a powerful inside presence.

If none of the above happens, it will be hard for Dacin to play with the big boys.

Bank of Taiwan

Head coach: Wei Chen-ming

Projected Starters:
C Ju Yong-hong (194, 1976)
PF Lo Da-wei (193, 1976)
SF Lin Chun-feng (187, 1979)
SG Chen Shen-ya (187, 1983)
PG Hsu Hao-cheng (176, 1982)

Key Subs: PG Chien Ming-fu (162, 1979), PG Wu Yong-jen (176, 1982), SG/SF Yang Chin-min (187, 1984), PF Chuan Xiao-wen (188, 1984)

Key Additions: Chien Ming-fu, Lo Da-wei and Lin Chun-feng (All came back from Military Team)

Key Losses: Ho Sho-jen (Taiwan Beer)

Strengths:
Look at their lineup, BOT is what we call a “no-position” team except for their point guard. Virtually every player can play inside and out and interchangable, especially Lin Chun-feng, Lo Da-wei and Chen Shen-ya.

BOT is at its best when they push the ball downcourt, play the fast-paced, open-court type of game. They don’t have to many set plays in the half-court game. They love to mix it up inside and bang with people although they don’t have height advantage.

And BOT is blessed with the deepest point guard combination in the league (although they are all small), featuring Hsu Hao-cheng, Wu Yong-jen and Chien Ming-fu. All three are capable of starting.

Weaknesses:
This is a very inconsistent team, and losing top scorer Ho Sho-jen to Taiwan Beer definitely hurts them. Head coach Wei Chen-ming is in his first year after being promoted from the assistant coach position. His experience is limited.

Outlook:
Most people rank them as the last-placed team in the league, which is very possible. BOT had been an underachieving team after former head coach Tien Shi-ho left and Hu Tsai-lin took over (Hu is now SINA’s head coach). And now they lost Ho Sho-jen. BOT has to work very hard to escape from the last-place finish.

BCC Mars

Head coach: Chung Chih-mung

Projected Starters:
C Lai Kuo-hong (196, 1974)
PF Lee Chi-yi (198, 1978)
SF Yang Che-yi (193, 1978)
SG Lin Jia-huang (185, 1975)
PG Yen Shin-shu (183, 1976)

Key Subs: SF Lin Jen-da (195, 1976), PG Chen Huei (185, 1978), C Cheng An-jay (200, 1979), C/PF Lin Shin-hua (198, 1975)

Key Additions: SG Hu Yu-wei (189, 1983)

Key Losses: None

Strengths:
Argubly Taiwan’s No. 1 PG, Yen Shin-shu is Mars’ key to success. In the half-court set, he has the uncanny ability to find the open man in a split of second. And he is even better at handling fastbreaks. Yen’s scoring is also highly underrated.

For years Mars are known for their bruising frontline and the ability to create mismatches. Plus, their core players haven’t changed for almost four years. That means they will have better chemistry and understanding on the court. If they can keep focus and intensity for the whole game, Mars are tough to beat.

Coach Chung knows his players well, and Mars players feed off of him. Basically they will die for their head coach. You can’t say the same thing about the other teams.

Weaknesses:
Mars is very good at playing 35 minutes of good basketball but ends up losing the game because of five bad minutes. They need to keep the same intensity thru out the whole game.

Mars will be in deep trouble if its outside shot doesn’t fall, which happened often. Lin Jia-huang and Yang Che-yi have to be consistent on the perimeter to open up the paint for big guys.

Outlook:
This is a team no one knows about. If they bring the A game, they can practically beat anybody. If it’s not the case, they’ll be probably upset by anyone. Mars definitely belongs in the top four. After that, in the playoffs, you just don’t know.

SINA Lions

Head coach: Hu Tsai-lin

Projected Starters:
C Liu Yi-shian (201, 1972)
PF Huang Chun-hsiung (201, 1971)
SF Hsiung Jen-jen (192, 1972)
SG Lo Shin-liang (183, 1971)
PG Chou Jun-san (173, 1969)

Key Subs: SF Hsu Yong-yi (192, 1973), C Tan Bo-chan (203, 1980), PG Chung Wei-kuo (177,1977)

Key Additions: Chung Wei-kuo (Jutai Tech), Tang Bo-chan (Jutai), PF Sun Kuo-chan (195, 1972), SG Chen Shi-jay (173, 1984), PG Hong Chih-shan (174, 1985), PF Hsu Kai-jay (198, 1985), PF Kao Li-min (194, 1979)

Key Losses: Shan Wei-fan (Jutai Tech)

Strengths:
Chou Jun-san and Lo Shin-liang is the best backcourt you can find. At 34, Chou is still capable of putting on a 20 point-10 assists show night in and night out. And you can only wish you don’t leave Lo open. He will punish you with his deadeye shooting.

Center Liu Yi-shian is a late-bloomer who earned his reputation as the best post defender in China’s CBA. Huang Chun-hsiung is so versatile that he can play all three frontcourt positions. Hsiung Jen-jen is a hard-nosed defender who will take on anybody.

In other words, SINA has an almost perfect starting five. Some people go as far as saying they are even better than the current national team.

Weaknesses:
SINA’s starters average 32 years old, which means it’s not a good idea to play them a lot of minutes. And because of the gap between starters and the second-unit, the veterans can’t afford to have serious injuries.

Coach Hu doesn’t have a good reputation in X’s and O’s. SINA players pretty much have to figure out the way they want to play on their own.

Outlook:
SINA is definitely the team to beat in the inaugural SBL season, coming into the season as the No.1 favorite. With the experience in numerous international tournaments and the Chinese league, these guys know how to play. If the second unit can develop within a short time, you can count on seeing SINA in the finals.

Taiwan Beer

Head coach: Fu Ming-jen

Projected Starters:
F Wu Chih-yuan (200, 1983)
F Wu Yang-huei (194, 1981)
F Ho Sho-jen (195, 1982)
SG Lin Chih-jay (192, 1982)
PG Yang Chih-hao (175, 1974)

Key Subs: PG Chen Shi-nian (180, 1984), C/F Wu Jun-hsiung (198, 1984), C Hsu Cheng-wen (197, 1983), PF Chen Jian-cho (190, 1977), SG Huang Jin-ju (188, 1981)

Key Additions: Hsu Cheng-wen (Jutai Tech), Pan Jen-der (NTCPE, Div-II), Huang Jin-ju (Yitong Trust, Div-II)

Key Losses: None

Strengths:
NT players Ho Sho-jen and Lin Chih-jay form the best scoring punch at the 2/3 position. And Taiwan Beer (also named TTL) has been one of the deepest teams in the league for a long time.

They are not big, but they play a junkyard-dog style of game and will fight opponents to the last second.

Bringing in Huang Wan-long, one of the brightest high school coaches and is known for his high-intensity defense, will definitely make Taiwan Beer one of the best defensive teams in the league. It’s possible Taiwan Beer will use a lot of full-court press to wear down opponents.

Ho Sho-jen, Lin Chih-jay, Wu Chih-yuan and Chen Shi-nian are all players on the rise. Given a couple more years, they will be an awesome bunch.

Weaknesses:
This is a young team that needs time to grow together and learn from mistakes before playing consistently every night. Their perimeter shooting is always up-and-down and questioned.

Taiwan Beer has some tough mid-sized players who like to mix it up inside, like Wu Yang-huei and Lin Chih-jay. The interesting thing is, big men like Wu Chih-yuan and Wu Jun-hsiung are too soft inside.

Outlook:
Taiwan Beer needs a total upgrade at both ends of the court if they want to make it to the semi-final round. Talent is not a question. Focus, determination and executions are.

Jutai Technology

Head coach: Liu Hua-lin

Projected Starters:
C Ha Xiao-yuan (200, 1981)
PF Wu Dai-hao (202, 1985)
SF Shan Wei-fan (196, 1978)
SG Yang Yu-min (178, 1979)
PG Hsu Tse-shin (176, 1982)

Key Subs: PG/SG O-Yang Jin-hen (192, 1979), SF Lin Che-li (186, 1981), F Lin Che-wei (195, 1980)

Key Additions: Wu Dai-hao (Dacin), Shan Wei-fan (SINA), Wu Chen-dao (Military), Chen Shun-hsian (188, 1985, Rookie), Lo Chi-wen (194, 1985, Rookie)

Key Losses: Tan Bo-chan (SINA), Hsu Cheng-wen (Taiwan Beer), Hu Yu-wei (Mars), Chun Wei-kuo (SINA)

Strengths:
Not many teams can say they have two 6-7 guys at 4 and 5 and a 6-5 SF on the wing. Except Jutai. The frontline of Wu Dai-hao, Ha Xiao-yuan and Shan Wei-fan is probably the most complete frontcourt in the league. You have height advantage, defense and offense.

Don’t forget Yang Yu-min, the most reliable shooter in the league. Yang has the explosive first step to break down any defense. And his pull-up jumper is just unstoppable.

With the powerful frontline and deep bench, Jutai can beat anybody.

Weaknesses:
There is only one full time PG Hsu Tse-shin. And almost two-thirds of the players on the roster joined the team this season. Chemistry will be a problem. Also, Jutai’s half-court execution needs improvement.

Outlook:
Has the potential to challenge any team. The talent is there. All they need is good coaching and time to blossom.

Mars beat SINA in first warmup game

NT member Lee Chi-yi turned in a solid 18 points-8 boards-4 assists performance as BCC Mars edged SINA Lions 70-68 in the first of seven SBL warmup games last night. Mars’ starting PG Yen Shin-shu didn’t play after a minor injury in practice few days ago. SINA simply couldn’t find any basket, shooting 25-of-73 for the game.

Mars: Lee Chi-yi 18p+8rb, Yang Che-yi 16p, Lai Kuo-hong 10p+7rb
SINA: Lo Shin-liang 15p, Chun Wei-kuo 13p, Tan Bo-chan 8p+14rb

SBL Warmups: Hsu Chih-chao’s Buzzer-beater lifts Dacin over TB

Hsu Chih-chao came off a steal and scored on a coast-to-coast driving layup to lift Dacin over Taiwan Beer 70-68 tonight in the second day of the SBL warmup games. Hsu Chih-chao had 16 points on 6-10 shooting in 26 minutes. Tien Lei led Dacin with 17 points and 9 rebounds.

Newcomer Pan Jen-der had 16 points in an outstandsing debut with Taiwan Beer before his bad pass was intercepted by Hsu Chi-chao.

Dacin 70-68 Taiwan Beer
Dacin – Tien Lei 17p+9rb, Hsu Chih-chao 16p+3s, Huang Chih-chun 12p+7a
TB – Pan Jen-der 16p(6-9 FG), Wu Chih-yuan 6p+11rb, Chen Shi-nian 10p

BCC Mars 80-65 Bank of Taiwan
Mars – Lai Kuo-hong 17p, Lee Chi-yi 15p+11rb
BOT – yang Chin-min 16p, Chuan Xiao-wen 15p

Tuesday, November 04, 2003

New Taiwanese basketball competition format

The current Taiwanese basketball competition format that has been going on for years will have a dramatic change after the launch of SBL.

Since the CBA folded, teams went back to join A-League (Amateur League). There are only two stages - President Cup and A-League regular season - for them to play every year. Men’s teams are divided into two divisions – Div-I and Div-II.

Things will look a little bit different this year. Seven top teams form the new Super Basketball League. That means there will be no more Div-I in A-League. From now on A-League will be a one-division league. All men’s and women’s teams which didn’t join SBL will still play under the old A-League format.

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

2003 President Cup tip-offs on Nov.2

CTBA announced the 2003 President Cup schedule Monday. Eight men’s teams and five women’s teams will participate in the tournament from Nov. 2 to Dec. 4.

With the formation of the Super Basketball League, the remaining teams will still compete in both annual CTBA-sanctioned events – the President Cup and the A-League Regular Season.

Men’s Competition
Teams (8): National Taiwan College of Physical Education (NTCPE), Yitong Trust, Kuo-kwang Power, Jui-tsai Technology, Shingwu-Chiaotai, Jin-jin Design, Tung-nan Institute of Technology (TIT), Tsai-shin Alumni
Time: Nov. 24 – Dec. 4
Venue: Taipei Municipal Stadium
Format: Single round-robin preliminary games. Top four teams advance to the playoffs, with top two teams go for championship in a best-of-three series. No.3 and No.4 teams play for third-place also in a best-of-three series.

Women’s Competition
Teams (5): Kuo-tai Life, Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Power, Taiyuan, Yadong
Time: Nov. 2 – Nov. 23
Venue: Taipei Municipal Stadium
Format: Double round-robin preliminary games. Top four teams advance to the playoffs, with top two teams go for championship in a best-of-three series. No.3 and No.4 teams play for third-place also in a best-of-three series.

SBL starts warm-ups on Nov. 13

Super basketball League, which aims to bring back top-level competition like old days, released its warm-up games schedule Monday. A total of seven warm-ups will be played.

The inaugural SBL season will tip-off on November 21 with Yulon vs. BCC Mars in the opening game. The 20-week season, which will not allow the hiring of import players, will see each team playing 24 games, facing every other teams four times. All games are scheduled on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The regular season will run from Nov. 21 to April 11, 2004 and followed by the playoffs. The top four teams will advance to the playoffs with No.1 vs. No.4 and No.2 vs. No.3 in the best-of-three first round games. Winners meet in the best-of-five finals.

CTBA also confirmed the transfer of Wu Dai-hao from Dacin Construction to Jutai Technology.

*Warm-ups schedule
Nov. 13 – BCC Mars vs. SINA
Nov. 14 – Taiwan Beer vs. Dacin, Bank of Taiwan vs. BCC Mars
Nov. 15 – Jutai Tech vs. Bank of Taiwan, SINA vs. Yulon
Nov. 16 – Dacin vs. Jutai Tech, Yulon vs. Taiwan Beer

Sunday, October 12, 2003

Chen Hsin-an doing fine in Sacramento

Chen Hsin-an (aka Sean Chen) had the first DNP-CD in his career when he sat thru the whole game, which the Sacramento Kings beat Utah Jazz 102-92 in a pre-season game in Reno, Nevada.

Chen, wearing No.9, made his debut in Kings' first pre-season game vs. the Mavs in Dallas on Oct. 8. He checked into the game in the 4th quarter, replacing Bobby Jackson, and had 2 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist in only four minutes.

Sean Chen made the first cut last weekend, when the Kings released three forwards. The number of players of Kings' training camp was down from 20 to 17, not counting injured Mateen Cleaves and Brent Price.

Before the cut, Chen made 6-of-9 shots and had 14 points, 2 rebounds in Kings' annual "Fandemonium", which Kings players are devided into two teams and scrimmage. Chen, who's on the Black team in the first half, switched to the White team, which is conprised of mostly starters, in the third and final quarter. His play in the scrimmage drew rave review from Kings staff and observers.

Chen becomes the first Taiwanese player invited to NBA pre-season training camp, when he accepted Kings' invitation in September. Taiwanese fans are very supportive of Chen, posting tons of messages on dicussion boards and university BBS systems.

Thursday, October 09, 2003

Focus shifts to SBL

Amid all the criticism and turmoil following the 11-th place finish in the Asian Championships, Taiwanese basketball is looking toward the next stage – Super Basketball League, which will start on November 21st and try to bring back the love of the game from disappointed local fans.

The current annual competitions hosted by CTBA – the President Cup and the A-League Regular Season – are not popular among local fans, evidenced by all those empty seats in the stands. Obviously, Taiwanese basketball needs some changes.

With the sponsorship from ESPN Taiwan and NIKE Taiwan, the idea of innovating Taiwanese basketball scene becomes possible. Eight teams in the Division I are cut down to seven teams, with the Military Team shutting down. All players who are serving military obligations are allowed to re-unite with their original teams.

The main purpose of the change is to make the competition level stronger and create fans’ interests and following. ESPN and NIKE will take care of the marketing part of the project.

On paper, the future of SBL looks promising to me. With more than 20 player transfers, virtually no team will be guaranteed a win on any given night.

But you have to worry about the league after Taiwan NT’s poor showing in the Asian Championships. Fans blasted the association, asked the president step down, and screamed out loud for the total reform.

They simply couldn’t accept the fact that Taiwan, which used to be one of Asia’s basketball powerhouses, are only good enough for the 11th-place right now after finishing for 7th-place two years ago.

And this group of young players are the best ones Taiwanese basketball has to offer in the history of Taiwanese basketball, the fans are told by the association in 2001, when CTBA decided to get rid of the veterans and fill the NT with all younger kids.

Will fans’ anger translate to sorry attendance of SBL? It remains to be seen. It will be up to the fans to decide whether they want to give Taiwanese basketball one more chance.

Wednesday, October 01, 2003

Asian Championship – Taiwan beat Kuwait for 11th place

At least, Taiwan NT left everyone with a good impression in their last game. NT rookie Yang Che-yi had 26 points and 7 rebounds to lead a balanced attack as Taiwan pounded Kuwait 102-81 last night to finish the 11th-place before saying goodbye to the disappointing Asian Championship.

Taiwan’s frontline exploded on the shorter Kuwait team. Wu Dai-hao and Tien Lei saved their best performance for the last game. Wu tallied 22 points and 11 rebounds, Tien added 21 points and 14 rebounds. Tsun Wen-din scored 17. PG Yen Shin-shu had 8 assists.

Alsarraf led Kuwait, which trailed 31-49 in halftime, with 25 points.

In the other actions, Korea edged Lebanon 85-83 in overtime to advance to the championship game. Korea will meet China, which breezed past Qatar 86-61, today in the most anticipated finale in the tournament.

Classification games results
15/16: Philippines 78-63 Malaysia
13/14: Hong Kong 106-85 Uzbekistan
11/12: Taiwan 102-81 Kuwait
9/10: Syria 92-75 Jordan

Semifinal
Korea 85-83(OT) Lebanon
China 86-61 Qatar

Sunday, September 28, 2003

ABC Day 6 – Taiwan lost to Jordan, will play for 11th

Taiwan lost to Jordan 72-83 today as they finished 2-1 in the second round group in the Asian Championship. Taiwan will meet Kuwait in the 11th-place game. And no matter what the outcome may be, this is going to be Taiwan’s worst outing in the Asian Championship history.

Taiwan trailed thru the whole game, once again dominated by Jordanians in the paint. They pulled down 22 less rebounds (19:37) and had 22 less tries (3:25) on the free-throw line than its opponent, which was totally unacceptable.

Tien Lei led the team with 18 points and 6 boards. Tsun Wen-din had 12 points. Chen Chih-chung and Yen Shin-shu added 12 and 11 respectively.

Y.A. Baker led Jordan, which will meet Syria in the 9th-place game, with 23 points. Z.A. Khas had 20 points and 14 rebounds. H. Abshir had 18.

Other results
(No.1-8)
Korea 99-88 Kazakhstan
China 88-60 Japan
Qatar 72-64 Iran
Lebanon 117-82 India

(No.9-16)
Uzbekistan 98-76 Malaysia
Hong Kong 79-77 Kuwait
Syria 95-77 Philippines

Second Round Standings
Group I: Korea 3-0 ; Qatar 2-1 ; Iran 1-2 ; Kazakhstan 0-3
Group II: China 3-0 ; Lebanon 2-1 ; Japan 1-2 ; India 0-3
Group III: Jordan 3-0 ; Taiwan 2-1 ; Uzbekistan 1-2 ; Malaysia 0-3
Group IV: Syria 2-1 ; Kuwait 2-1 ; Hong Kong 2-1 ; Philippines 0-3

Upcoming Matchup
Semifinal #1: China vs. Qatar
Semifinal #2: Korea vs. Lebanon
5/6th place: Japan vs. Iran
7/8th place: Kazakhstan vs. India
9/10th place: Jordan vs. Syria
11/12th place: Taiwan vs. Kuwait
13/14th place: Uzbekistan vs. Hong Kong
15/16th place: Malaysia vs. Philippines

Saturday, September 27, 2003

ABC Day 5 – Tien Lei leads Taiwan past Uzbekistan

Tien Lei had 22 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks and led Taiwan to a 115-74 victory over Uzbekistan in the second round of the Asian Championship today. With two wins in hand, Taiwan is looking to a 3-0 record in the second round, which will clinch their spot in the 9th-place game.

Taiwanese players obviously were more loosened up after the disappointing preliminary round. Taiwan NT dominated the tempo in each period, leading 59-32 in halftime, and won by more than 35 points for the second consecutive game. They beat Malaysia 101-63 in the previous game.

Taiwan used its three-point attack to open up the game. Tien Lei made 6-of-10 three-pointers. Lin Chi-jay made 5 out of 10 en route to his 18 points. Chen Chih-chung had 14 points and 4 assists. Chiu Chi-yi and Tsun Wen-din each had 12, while Lee Chi-yi had 11.

S. Kvchin and H. Nurajyev paced Uzbekistan with 18 points each.

Today’s other results so far: Jordan beat Malaysia 69-58, Syria beat Hong Kong 109-77.

Friday, September 26, 2003

ABC Day 4 – Taiwan routed Malaysia

Finally you could see some smiles on Taiwanese players’ faces. Lin Chi-jay had 24 points to power Taiwan past Malaysia 101-63 in the first game of the second round, where Taiwan is placed in the same group with Jordan, Malaysia and Uzbekistan.

Every game in the second round matters for Taiwan NT. If they finish 3-0, they will have a chance to go for 9th-place with the winner of the other group. With every loss, their final ranking will be lower.

Already knocked out of the final eight, Taiwan NT was highly motivated facing the weaker Malaysia. Lin Chi-jay made 6-of-11 three-point tries. Tien Lei came away with 20 points and 9 boards, while Chiu Chi-yi had 16 points and 4 assists.

For the first time in the tournament Taiwan outrebounded its opponent, leading 39-20 on rebounding with 17 coming from the offensive end.

However, this is expected to be the easiest game for them. The next two opponents will be Uzbekistan and Jordan.

Today’s biggest surprise is definitely Hong Kong upsetting Philippines. Forward Tam Wei Yeung led Hong Kong with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Second Round Brackets
(No.1-8)
Group I: Kazakhstan, Korea, Iran, Qatar
Group II: Lebanon, India, China, Japan
(No.9-16)
Group III: Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Jordan
Group IV: Hong Kong, Kuwait, Syria, Philippines


Other results
(No.1-8)
China 117-62 India
Korea 105-81 Iran
Lebanon 76-63 Japan
Qatar 83-61 Kazakhstan

(No.9-16)
Jordan 86-83 Uzbekistan
Hong Kong 66-58 Philippines
Kuwait 80-75 Syria

Thursday, September 25, 2003

ABC Day 3 – Taiwan beat Syria in a meaningless game

Combo guard combination Yen Shin-shu exploded for 28 points and Chen Chih-chung scored 17 as Taiwan beat Syria 94-84 today for the first win in the Asian Championship today. However, the victory doesn’t mean anything, since Taiwan is out of the final eight after two losses.

In the final preliminary game, Taiwan NT finally sees some light. Yen Shin-shu (12-17 FG) tallied 21 points in the first half, Chen Chih-chung (6-9 FG) took over in the second half, when he scored 15 of his 17 points and helped Taiwan to bounce back from the 50-51 halftime deficit and changed the momentum in the last 20 minutes.

Wu Dai-hao had 16 points and 7 rebounds for the Taiwanese, while Tien Lei turned in an outstanding game with his 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals.

M. Madanli led Iran with 22 points. M. Lmam followed with 20 points and 9 boards.

Local fans are very disappointed with the performance once again. Taiwanese media isn’t hesitant to blast the basketball association either. Several columnists expressed their disgust for the highest basketball governing body today.

Other Results:
Kazakhstan 86-82 Hong Kong
Lebanon 88-60 Uzbekistan
China 93-69 Iran
Qatar 68-47 Japan
Philippines 83-67 Jordan
Kuwait 86-81 Malaysia
Korea 121-76 India

Group Standings (Top two advance to the quarterfinals)
Group A: Lebanon 3-0, Kazakhstan 2-1, Uzbekistan 1-2, Hong Kong 0-3
Group B: Korea 3-0, India 2-1, Kuwait 1-2, Malaysia 0-3
Group C: China 3-0, Iran 2-1, Taiwan 1-2, Syria 0-3
Group D: Qatar 3-0, Japan 2-1, Philippines 1-2, Jordan 0-3

Wednesday, September 24, 2003

ABC Day 2 – Another humiliating loss for Taiwan

Taiwan was officially out of the quarterfinal today as they suffered another blow, losing to China 61-121 in the Asian Championship. The 60-point margin marks the biggest defeat in the head-to-head history for both sides.

With Iran defeating Syria, the Group C winners are set. China and Iran will advance to the second round. The best finish for Taiwan NT will be 9th-place, the lowest in history.

The game is a no-match. China is too strong for Taiwan NT to handle. Just check the quarter score: 28-16, 30-12, 29-9, 34-24. However, the performance of Taiwan NT is still disappointing. It seems every time they face the Chinese, they give up the game from the first minute.

Yao Ming had 29 points (13-16 FG) and 13 rebounds in less than 21 minutes. Li Nan had 11. Li Ke, Sun Jun and Zhu Fang-yu scored 10 apiece.

Taiwan was led by Tsun Wen-din’s 10 points. Lin Chi-jay and Yang Che-yi both had 9 points. Yen Shin-shu had 7 points and 4 assists. Tien Lei only managed to score 7 points.

Other results:
Lebanon 90-67 Hong Kong
Kazakhstan 86-66 Uzbekistan
Iran 82-67 Syria
Qatar 77-69 Philippines
Japan 63-59 Jordan
India 81-62 Malaysia
Korea 95-71 Kuwait

Tuesday, September 23, 2003

ABC Day 1 – Taiwan humbled by Iran

Taiwan’s dream of making to the final eight in the Asian Championship takes a big blow in the first day, when they lost to Iran 74-83. With China and Syria the remaining opponents in the preliminaries, Taiwan’s chance of making the quarterfinal is approximately to zero.

Taiwan NT again and again failed to keep Iran off the backboard, trailing by a humiliating 20-44 on the boards. Iran used its ferocious inside attack and led almost the entire game. The halftime score was 38-34, Iran.

Tien Lei led Taiwan with 20 points (5-12 3PT). Yang Che-yi had 13 on 5-for-7 shooting. Chiu Chi-yi and Lin Chi-jay had 7 points each. Ironically, Yang, Chiu and Lin all didn’t start. That tells you how the starters did in the game. Yen Shin-shu dished for 6 assists though.

Karam Ahmadian and Iman Zandi had 17 each for the Iranians. Mohammad Samad Nikkh had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Taiwan will face China, which routed Syria 103-51 today, in the second game tomorrow.

Other results:
Uzbekistan 68-64 Hong Kong (M. Shaffnkov 19, V. Beloklirov 19 ; Poon Chi Ho 11, Li Wai Lun 11)
Lebanon 79-70 Kazakhstan (Joe Vogel 30+12, G. Rida 18 ; Y. Issakov 16, S. Vdovin 13+10, A. Yemelyanov 9+15)
India 94-74 Kuwait (S. Robinson 21+18, Desraj 26 ; O. Moubarak 17, H. Babroun 18)
China 103-51 Syria (Zhu Fangyu 19, Yao Ming 18+12 ; Michel Madanli 17)
Qatar 66-53 Jordan (Daoud Mousa 17, Yasseen Ismail 16 ; Zaid Al Kahs 12+12)
Japan 66-64 Philippines (M. Takahashi 24)

Monday, September 22, 2003

Asian Championship Preview: Back against the wall

Latest news: Taiwan NT set its final 12-man roster after cutting SG Yang Yu-ming (thigh injury), SG Hong Chi-chao and F Wu Chih-yuan.


No doubt about it. Taiwan NT is staring down at the potential all-time worst finish in the Asian Championship, which starts tomorrow in Harbin, China.

Since superpower China is placed in Group C, the group winner is set. If Taiwan NT fails to beat BOTH Iran and Syria, it is out of the quarterfinal. That means: 1) It will not finish higher than No.9 in the tournament. 2) It will break the all-time worst record for Taiwan NT in the Asian Championship. The current record is 7th-place, set in the previous tournament (2001, Shanghai).

Entering the third year of “Rebuilding” and “Youth Movement”, Taiwan NT still features one of the youngest lineups in Asia. They are quick, physically-talented but inexperienced. They excel in open court but somehow I think that also means lack of half-court discipline. They love to launch three-pointers but the accuracy is up-and-down.

One of the greatest weaknesses of the team is fear for banging, which is going to bring them a lot of trouble in the preliminaries when they have to face three bully opponents (China, Syria and Iran).

▓Positioanl Analysis

Point Guard
With Yen Shin-shu and Chen Chih-chung handling the point, this is the most reliable position on the team. Yen excels in open court. His court vision and passing is one of the best in Asia. And his shooting is highly underrated. Chen Chih-chung is more of a traditional PG who makes few turnovers. It’s possible that head coach Lee Chin-chi put Yen and Chen in the same backcourt.

NT rookie Chen Huei will be the back-up. He is a strong player who can take defender in the paint.

Shooting Guard
Cutting Yang Yu-ming and Hong Chi-chao definitely hurts. Chiu Chi-yi becomes the only full-time SG left. Without Yang, the most explosive scorer in recent years, Taiwan NT’s outside shooting is down a notch.

Center
Either Wu Chih-wei or Tsun Wen-din will get the nod at the starting center. If you’re looking for experience and the high-post passing, Wu is the man. If you’re looking for the overall speed and help-side defense, the younger Tsun will be the choice. Anyway, neither is good at banging inside.

18-year-old phenom Wu Dai-hao will see time between C and PF. With his 7-1 wingspan, athleticism and better offensive game, if he puts his mind into it and gets enough court time, this tournament will probably be his coming-out party.

Power Forward
Other than Wu Dai-hao, Lee Chi-yi will be the only player at the 4 spot. Lee’s game is somewhat weird. He is not quick, strong or particularly tall (198cm), but he is effective on the court. He can take shorter defender underneath, hit the offensive board out of nowhere. And he can hit the 3s.

Small Forward
The most crowded position on the team. Tien Lei will start, with Ho Sho-jen, Lin Chi-jay and Yang Che-yi backing up. Lin and Yang will also probably see time in SG.

Tien Lei is the Kevin Garnett-type big man. He is very quick for his height. The ultra-quick second-jump makes him one of the most dangerous offensive rebounders. At the same time, he can hit the threes and run the court. However observers think he should develop his back-to-the-basket game and rely less on long-range jumpers. And he has to learn to love banging inside.

Ho Sho-jen isn’t afraid of mixing it up inside. In fact, he has the best footwork on the team. But he is a little bit short (195cm) and, for the past three years, only viewed as the second-string player in NT play, which is a pity.

In his NT debut, Lin Chi-jay will have the chance to be the go-to guy in crunch time with his strong body and one-on-one skills. At 190cm tall, he is the closest thing to a Power-SF or power-SG. He can rebound, pass and shoot. He knows how to slice inside, take the pounding from defenders and still finish. Like Cheng Kwon-suk, the former South Korean coach who coached Taiwan Junior NT, said, Lin is a “diamond in the rust”.

Yang Che-yi, another NT rookie, is the most improved player in the past year. He is good at moving without the ball and hit the break. His shooting is also more consistent.

▓Outlook
Pray for a miracle. Like I said, Taiwan NT needs two perfect games in Harbin. Unless they play a flawless zone-defense, hit every uncontested jump shot, fight for every rebound, it will not be easy for them to beat Iran and Syria.

However, in the downtime of Taiwanese basketball, the expectation is not high. All everyone hopes to see is a team that fights for 40 minutes. Everyone is still going to support for the national team.

Saturday, September 20, 2003

Dispute over Wu Dai-hao transfer

18-year-old NT member Wu Dai-hao, who is in Harbin, China, for the upcoming Asian Championship, shocked the basketball community when his parents confirmed Wu will transfer from Dacin Construction to Jutai Tech. Wu’s transfer raises dispute over the transfer rule of Taiwanese basketball players.

Wu’s parents said in the telephone interview that Wu has not been happy playing for Dacin. And there are many reasons leading to his unhappiness, including salary and failed promises. Dacin promised to help Wu play in the NCAA before signing him. But, Wu’s parents said, Dacin hasn’t been doing anything.

Also because of Dacin’s carelessness, Wu didn’t attend NTNU (National Taiwan Normal University), the university he wanted all along. Instead, he settled for choosing the TPEC (Taipei Physical Education College).

Wu and his parents assumed that they could sign with other teams directly, since almost all Taiwanese teams don’t actually sign players to a contract. But Dacin just wouldn’t let go, claiming Wu is still under labor contract with the team. Jutai Tech management claimed Dacin doesn’t have any reason to keep Wu.

As far as I’m concerned, here’s the problem. The relationship between players and teams is more like an oral commitment in Taiwan. And the basketball association doesn’t have any rule regulating players transfer. In the past, player movement usually happened when both teams agree with the transfer.

That’s why there’s always a dispute when a big-time player transfers. You don’t have contract and transfer rules to start with. And that leads to the endless argument. CTBA needs to review and complete all the regulations to prevent same incidents happening over and over again.

At this moment, the dispute is still going on. I would assume that, eventually, Dacin will let Wu go.

Super League player registration completed

Seven teams that will enter the inaugural Super League completed payer registrations yesterday (Sep. 19), as there are over 20 player transfers. The complete player rosters will be posted on asia-basket.com later.

Under the Super League format, Military team is dismissed. That means players who are serving two-year military obligation get to play for their original teams.

Saturday, September 13, 2003

Taiwan needs two perfect games in Harbin

As Taiwan NT headed for Cebu, Philippines for the final warmup games Thursday, they were physically tired from the extensive training in the past six months that took them to Oregon, Sacramento and Philippines – and within two week, Harbin China.

But I would say they are mentally upbeat about the upcoming Asian Championship. Following the disappointing performance in the past two years (7th in the previous Asian Championship, 7th in 2002 Jones Cup and 7th in the Asian Games), thisi s a good chance for a sweet redemption.

The road will not be easy though. They are once again without top gun Chen Hsin-an, who’s in the middle of CTBA’s one-year suspension in NT play. And they need two perfect games in Harbin to advance to the second round, which means they have to beat both Iran and Syria in group play.

Traditionally, Taiwan NT did not match up well with teams from West Asia. They had trouble containing the more physical, stronger inside play of West Asian teams like Iran and Syria. They are always at a disadvantage in international competition because of smaller size.

Coincidentally, all three opponents in the group play – China, Iran and Syria – have good size inside.

Taiwan NT features a stable and reliable backcourt combination in PG Chen Chih-chung, Yen Shin-shu, SG Yang Yu-ming, Chiu Chi-yi and Hong Chi-chao. They should be able to do just fine, although the perimeter shooting is still shaky.

That leaves the big men with something to prove. Will Tien Lei develop an inside-outside game and becomes one of the most versatile SF in Asia? Are skinny centers Tsun Wen-din and Wu Dai-hao now stronger to face opposition? Will veteran Wu Chih-wei motivate himself to play hard every minute?

Latest on Taiwan NT

Taiwan NT head coach Lee Chin-chi will take all 15 players to Harbin, China and submit the final roster before the competition starts. The team is without any major injury right now, although guards Yang Yu-ming and Chiu-chi-yi are hurt. Both are expected to be able to play in Harbin. Lee Chin-chi also has not made up his mind on the starting lineup.

Roster
Centers
Tsun Wen-din 204cm 90kg
Wu Dai-hao 202cm 100kg
Wu Chih-wei 202cm 94kg

Forwards
Tien Lei 202cm 86kg
Wu Chih-yuan 200cm 77kg
Lee Chi-yi 198cm 88kg
Lin Chih-jay 192cm 88kg
Ho Sho-jen 195cm 88kg
Yang Che-yi 193cm 85kg

Guards
Chen Chih-chung 182cm 80kg
Yen Shin-shu 183cm 75kg
Yang Yu-ming 180cm 73kg
Hong Chi-chao 187cm 78kg
Chiu Chi-yi 180cm 78kg
Chen Huei 185cm 85kg

Injury
Yang Yu-ming – Sprained ligament(thigh)
Chiu Chi-yi – Sprained ankle

Monday, September 08, 2003

Taiwan NT Pre-Asian Championships Primer

15-man NT roster (Po. Name Ht./Wt. DOB Age Team)
C Tsun Wen-din 204/90 1984/7/6 19 Yulon
C Wu Chih-wei 202/94 1976/7/31 26 Yulon
G Chen Chih-chung 182/80 1977/3/2 26 Yulon
G Hong Chi-chao 187/78 1982/2/13 21 Yulon#
G Yen Hsin-shu 183/75 1976/9/8 26 BCC Mars
F Lee Chi-yi 198/88 1978/10/27 24 BCC Mars
G Chen Huei 185/85 1978/4/17 25 BCC Mars#
F/G Yang Che-yi 193/85 1976/10/2 26 BCC Mars#
G Yang Yu-ming 180/73 1979/10/22 23 Jutai Tech
C/F Wu Chih-yuan 200/77 1983/10/24 19 Taiwan Beer#
F Lin Chi-jay 192/88 1982/6/11 20 Taiwan Beer
F Tien Lei 202/86 1983/6/1 20 Dacin Construction
C Wu Dai-hao 202/100 1985/2/7 18 Dacin Construction
G Chiu Chi-yi 180/78 1975/10/6 27 Military
F Ho Sho-jen 195/88 1983/2/15 20 Bank of Taiwan

Head coach: Lee Chin-chi(Military)
Assistant coach: Chou Hai-jun(Mars)

Average Height: 192.3 Age: 22.6
# - First appearance in senior men's NT

Taiwan NT Training Program
June 1 Training camp opened at Songshan HS Gymnasium.

June 1-22 Training camp first stage.

June 23-July 7 Warmup tour at United States Basketball Academy(USBA), Oregon, USA. They were tutored by a couple U.S. coaches like Jim Harrick and Bob Hill and playeda couple of friendlies with USBA All-Stars.

July 7-16 Seven selected players were trained by Sacramento Kings counselor Pete Carril and Kings assistant(current Milwaukee Bucks coach) Terry Porter.

July 17-August 5 Training camp second stage. Played three warmup games with WUG squad and won them all.

August 6-16 Warmup tour in Philippines, where they met teams from PBA, NBL and the Philippines senior and junior NT. Record: 3 wins, two ties and 1 loss.

August 17-September 10 Training camp third stage(in Kaohsiung and Taipei).

September 11-17 Warmup tour in Philippines. Will play in the National Open. The tournament features six teams, including NBL champion M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu, NBL all-star team Burlington All-Stars, and four national teams -- Jordan, Qatar, Philippines and Taiwan.

September 23-October 2 22nd Asian Championships at Harbin, China.

Star players
Tien Lei: A 6-7 versatile small forward who can play inside and outside. Tremendous second leap, perimeter skills and wingspan. Needs to develop more inside skills though.

Wu Dai-hao: The incoming college freshman features a 7-1 wingspan although he’s only 6-8. Most promising big man Taiwan has ever had. Sky is the limit for him.

Yen Hsin-shu: The No.1 PG in the nation who excels in open-court style of play. Great court vision and passing ability. His outside shooting is highly underrated. Coming off a severe knee injury and operation.

Asian Championships Preview
For local fans, Taiwan NT has been disappointing in the past two years. The basketball association opted to build the national team with all younger kids instead of bring them along with veterans. The decision pays its price.

Taiwan NT finished seventh both in the previous Asian Championships and Asian Games. Obviously that was not acceptable, considering these kids are much more talented than their predecessors. Experience and coaching are two most important ingredients for them right now.

Head coach Lee Chin-chi notes that the team will set making the semifinals as the ultimate goal. But his brave statement is not likely to happen in Harbin.

Taiwan NT will have to beat either Iran or Syria to have a chance making the second round. All three opponents in the same group, China, Iran and Syria, have the inside advantage over Taiwan NT. In short, these kids will have to learn to bang inside and take the pounding from their opponents in order to balance their perimeter-oriented style. And it will be a difficult job.

If everything goes well, that means beating both Iran and Syria, I think Taiwan NT will have a chance to squeeze into the second round. The first preliminary round game vs. Iran will probably the deciding game for Taiwan NT in the championships.

Thursday, September 04, 2003

Sponsor jerseys cause trouble for Taiwan NT

Local newspaper Liberty Times blasted Taiwan NT for putting on sponsor jerseys instead of NT uniform in a game during the Philippines warm-up tour in August. The news story said it’s a “disgrace” for Taiwan NT to put on sponsor jerseys and forget about their country.

In the August 10th game featuring Taiwan NT and PBA pro team Ginebra, Taiwan NT was asked by the organizers before the game to put on jerseys provided by local sponsors, since the company “Mail and More” paid for the game operations.

“Mail and More Chinese Taipei” team, as it was called, was reluctant at first but finally agreed to change uniforms. Players followed the order from team officials.

CTBA secretary general Wang Jen-shen was quoted in Philippines Daily Inquirer saying, "The Taiwanese team would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to Air21 chair Bert Lina for sponsoring our trip here in Manila."

The incident was kept unknown after the team came back to Taiwan until yesterday. Wang denied taking money from the sponsors and said he decided to do so because he didn’t want to hurt the relationship from both sides. Unlike Philippines NT, Taiwan NT never sells naming rights to local sponsors, although they have been sponsored by NIKE Taiwan.

Wednesday, September 03, 2003

Transaction

Ho Sho-jen, member of Taiwanese NT for the past three years, will leave Bank of Taiwan and sign with Taiwan Beer. Shan Wei-fan ends his one-year contract with SINA Lions and return to Jutai Technology.

Monday, September 01, 2003

Asian Championship - China eyes for revenge

No doubt about it. China is once again targeting South Korea as their biggest roadblock in the upcoming Asian Championship. And they desperately need a revenge for the upset loss to South Korea in last year’s Asian Games, when they wasted a 7-point lead in the last minute and lost to the Koreans in overtime.

You can see that in the draw. As the host nation, China enjoys the privilege of changing the draw format that has been used in the Asian Championship for the past few years.

Instead of placing top six teams in S-order like old times, teams finishing 2nd to 11th are placed in S-order this year. The order of finish from 2nd to 11th in 2001 Asian Championship goes like this: Lebanon, Korea, Syria, Qatar, Japan, Taiwan, India, Uzbekistan, UAE and Hong Kong. Due to the no-show of UAE, 12th-place Kuwait gets into the mix. After that, the other teams go to the real draw. So…you get the picture how the preliminary grouping is decided.

The defending champ China has the right to choose which group they want to be in. They chose Group C in order to make sure they won’t face South Korea before the semifinals, even the final game.

On paper, China will win Group C and Korea is virtually guaranteed the Group B winner, since Group B is regarded as the weakest. That puts China and Korea on different second round groups.

In the second round, China should have no problem winning the group, which includes maybe Lebanon, Kuwait, Japan/or Qatar. Korea will have a tougher battle, being in the same group with Kazakhstan, Qatar/or Japan, Syria/or Iran/or Taiwan.

Plus, keep an eye on the schedule. Second round games involving C1 (Group C winner) are all scheduled at 19:30 – prime time for local TV broadcast.

Unless South Korea finishes second in the second round group, China won’t face South Korea before the championship game.

However, South Korea doesn’t send its strongest team to Harbin, with three primary players, Seo Jang-hoon, Chun Hee-chul and Hoon Joo-yup, out of the lineup because of injury.

Word is China considers bringing back Wang Zhi-zhi before Sep. 9, the deadline for submitting the final roster.

Considering all factors, I would have to say this: China is expected to get the only ticket to Athens. Everything works to their advantage. The 2003 Asian gold is China’s to lose.

Saturday, August 30, 2003

22nd Asian Championship Schedule

■Preliminary Round

Group A: Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Hong Kong
Group B: Korea, India, Malaysia, Kuwait
Group C: China, Taiwan, Syria, Iran
Group D: Qatar, Japan, Philippines, Jordan
Format: Each group plays a single round-robin
Venue: Group A & C at Tienruin Gymnasium ; Group B & D at Heilongjian University Gymnasium

9/23
Group A
1000 Uzbekistan-Hong Kong
1400 Lebanon-Kazakhstan
Group B
1600 India-Kuwait
1930 Korea-Malaysia
Group C
1600 Taiwan-Iran
1930 China-Syria
Group D
1000 Qatar-Jordan
1400 Japan-Philippines

9/24
Group A
1000 Hong Kong-Lebanon
1400 Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan
Group B
1600 India-Malaysia
1930 Korea-Kuwait
Group C
1600 Iran-Syria
1930 China-Taiwan
Group D
1000 Philippines-Qatar
1400 Japan-Jordan

9/25
Group A
1000 Kazakhstan-Hong Kong
1400 Lebanon-Uzbekistan
Group B
1600 Kuwait-Malaysia
1930 Korea-India
Group C
1600 Taiwan-Syria
1930 China-Iran
Group D
1000 Qatar-Japan
1400 Philippines-Jordan

■Second Round

Group I: A1, B2, C1, D2
Group II: A2, B1, C2, D1
Group III: A3, B4, C3, D4
Group IV: A4, B3, C4, D3
Format: Each group plays a single round-robin

9/26
Group III(Tienruin Gymnasium)
1000 A3-D4
1400 B4-C3
Group I(Tienruin Gymnasium)
1600 A1-D2
1930 B2-C1
Group IV(Heilongjian University Gymnasium)
1000 A4-D3
1400 B3-C4
Group II(Heilongjian University Gymnasium)
1600 A2-D1
1930 B1-C2

9/27
Group III(Tienruin Gymnasium)
1000 B4-D4
1400 A3-C3
Group II(Tienruin Gymnasium)
1600 C2-A2
1930 B1-D1
Group IV(Heilongjian University Gymnasium)
1000 A4-C4
1400 B3-D3
Group I(Heilongjian University Gymnasium)
1600 B2-D2
1930 A1-C1

9/28
Group III(Tienruin Gymnasium)
1000 A3-B4
1400 D4-C3
Group I(Tienruin Gymnasium)
1600 A1-B2
1930 D2-C1
Group IV(Heilongjian University Gymnasium)
1000 A4-B3
1400 D3-C4
Group I(Heilongjian University Gymnasium)
1600 A2-B1
1930 D1-C2

■Final Round

9/30
Ranking Games
(Heilongjian University Gymnasium)
1400 III4-IV4(15th-16th)
1600 III3-IV3(13th-14th)
1930 III2-IV2(11th-12th)

(Tienruin Gymnasium)
1400 III1-IV1(9th-10th)

Semifinals(Tienruin Gymnasium)
1600 I2-II1
1930 I1-II2

10/1
Ranking Games(Heilongjian University Gymnasium)
1400 I4-II4(7th-8th)
1600 I3-II3(5th-6th)

Finals(Tienruin Gymnasium)
1500 3rd-place Game: Semifinals losers meet
1930 Championship Game: Semifinals winners meet


Note:
1. All games involving host China will be scheduled at 19:30
2. Second round and finals schedule could be changed due to TV broadcast

WUG – Final ranking

Russia will meet Serbia-Montenegro in the gold medal game today (Aug. 31). China meets Canada for the bronze medal.

Ranking Game results:
5/6: Bulgaria 76-72 Turkey
7/8: Australia 91-88 Ukraine
9/10: Estonia 80-78 Germany
11/12: Sweden 86-81 Mexico
13/14: Czech 107-95 Korea
15/16: Japan 112-105(OT) Taiwan
17/18: South Africa 69-56 Hong Kong
19. Kazakhstan

*Women’s final ranking
Gold: China, Silver: Italy, Bronze: Russia
4. Taiwan, 5. Serbia-Montenegro, 6. USA, 7. Czech, 8. Ireland, 9. Slovenia, 10. Korea, 11. Finland, 12. Japan, 13. Canada, 14. Thailand, 15. Hungary, 16. Mexico, 17. South Africa

WUG – Taiwan lost to Japan in heartbreaker

Taiwan could not stop the furious rally by Japan and lost in overtime, 105-112, in the final ranking game (15th-16th) of the 2003 World University Games. Chang Chih-feng and Chen Hsin-an had 37 and 35 points respectively in the heartbreaking loss.

Led by Chang Chih-feng’s four three-pointers, Taiwan jumped to an early lead in the first quarter, leading by as many as 19 points. But the Japanese controlled the boards and came back.

Taiwan still led by five with 1:44 remaining in the game, but Japan made three consecutive three-pointers to pull ahead by two. Wu Yang-huei’s two free-throws with 4 seconds left leveled the score at 94-94. The game went into overtime as Japan failed to make the desperation shot.

Japan quickly decided the outcome in the extra session after a 7-0 run. Taiwan settled for the 16th-place in their debut in the WUG, while Japan was ranked 15th. Taiwan was 2-4 in six games.

Chen Hsin-an scored 35 points for the second straight game, shooting an astonishing 13-for-15 from the two-point range but only 1-for-9 from 3-PT and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. Chang Chih-feng was even more eye-catching with his 37 points outburst, including 8 three-pointers.

For the entire tournament, Taiwan counted on Chen and Chang. Chen Hsin-an averaged 22 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists while Chang averaged 19.2 points and 4.2 rebounds. Chen and Chang both ranked in the top six in tournament scoring.

Ironically, both Chen and Chang are banned from the national team play this year by the CTBA (Chinese Taipei Basketball Association) – Chen for skipping the Asian Games last year because of participation in the Sacramento Kings training camp, Chang for skipping NT training camp while playing for a Div-II team in China.

With NT’s shaky outside shooting, they can definitely use the perimeter scoring of Chen and Chang. Too bad they can’t play for the national team in Harbin (Asian Championship).

Taiwan will meet Japan again in WUG ranking game

Taiwan will meet Japan again in the final ranking game (15th-16th) of the World University Games as they beat Kazakhstan but lost to Czech Republic on Aug. 28 and 29 in advancing games.

Led by Chang Chih-feng’s 19 points, Taiwan beat Kazakhstan, 71-59, on Aug. 28 and grabbed its second win in the games. Chen Hsin-an had 12 and Chien Ming-fu had 11 in the victory.

In the following day Taiwan had trouble containing the inside attack of the Czech Republic and wound up losing, 86-98. However Chen Hsin-an finally had a break-thru game by exploding for 35 points (7-14 3-PT) in 37 minutes. Chien Ming-fu had 16.

WUG Men’s ranking game:
1/2 Russia vs. Serbia-Montenegro
3/4 China vs. Canada
5/6 Turkey vs. Bulgaria
7/8 Australia vs. Ukraine
9/10 Germany vs. Estonia
11/12 Mexico - Sweden
13/14 Korea vs. Czech
15/16 Taiwan vs. Japan
17/18 Hong Kong vs. South Africa

Note – Taiwan Women will meet Russia in WUG bronze medal game.

Tuesday, August 26, 2003

Asian Championship – Taiwan in same group with China

Taiwan is placed in the same preliminary group with China, Syria and Iran in the 22nd Asian Championship, as the draw results is announced today in China. Once again, Taiwan has to face unfamiliar opponents from West Asia on their way to challenge the top 8.

Draw Results:
GROUP A – Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong
GROUP B – South Korea, India, Malaysia, Kuwait
GROUP C – China, Taiwan, Syria, Iran
GROUP D – Philippines, Japan, Qatar, Jordan


As China is the hands-down favorite to win the group, Syria will be the toughest opponent for Taiwan, who finished an all-time worst 7th-place in Asian Championship two years ago. Syria was the Cinderella story two years ago by advancing to the semifinal.

Big men will be the key for Taiwan NT, since all three opponents are much taller inside. They have to protect the rebounds and play tougher defense to keep opponents from dominating inside, which is not an easy task for these Taiwanese youngsters. Tsun Wen-din, Wu Dai-hao and Tien Lei are all younger than 22 years-old.

Sunday, August 24, 2003

Chien Ming-fu leads Taiwan to first win in WUG

165cm “Little Giant” Chien Ming-fu scored all of his 18 points in the second half on 7-8 shooting as Taiwan edged Japan, 85-82, and finally got their first victory in the World University Games.

Sitting out the first half, Chien was inserted when starting point guard Lee Chih-ming committed his fourth foul. In 15 minutes, Chien teared Japan apart with his dazzling speed. Chien’s two free-throws with 11.2 seconds remaining iced the 3-point victory for Taiwanese.

Chen Hsin-an topped the team with 21 points, although shooting 1-7 from the three-point range. Chang Chih-feng had 14. Japan was led by Hiroyuki Kinoshita’s 18 points. Kyosuke Setoyama had 14. Identical twins Joji Takeuchi had 11 points and Kosuke Takeuchi with 7 points, both pulling down 7 baords.

Thursday, August 21, 2003

WUG – Taiwan 81-99 Mexico

Chang Chih-feng again paced Taiwan NT with a team-high 16 points but he was unable to beat Mexico on his own. Taiwan lost to Mexico, 81-99, in the second group game of the WUG in Daegu, and finished last-place in the preliminary round.

Chen Hsin-an turned in a disappointing 5-for-20, 14-point performance. Taiwan was beaten on the boards by the Mexicans, trailing 23-52 in that department. They will have to play for the No. 13-20 classification games.

Wednesday, August 20, 2003

Taiwan lost to Yugo in WUG opener

Taiwan lost to Serbia-Montenegro, 89-104, in their opening game of the World University Games, which is held in Daegu, Korea. Chang Chih-feng led Taiwan, which led 44-40 in halftime, with 21 points (4 3-PT) and 5 rebounds. While Chen Hsin-an had 15. Taiwan will meet Mexico tomorrow in their second and last game in the preliminaries.
Quarter score: 16-21, 44-40, 67-71, 89-104

Saturday, August 16, 2003

Taiwan NT Update

Philippines tour concluded
Taiwan NT tied PBA’s Purefood TJ Hot Dogs, 74-74, in the sixth and last warmup games of the Philippines tour and finished the tour with 3 wins, 2 ties and one loss. They defeated another PBA team, Shell Turbo Charges, 74-66, in the previous game.

Taiwan NT will be back to Taiwan today and continue training before going back to Philippines again for the NBL Open Championship (See below).

BAP-NBL National Open Championship
Sources say the eighth team, San Miguel All-Stars, is being added to the BAP-NBL National Open Championship to complete the 8-team field. Taiwan NT is one of 4 foreign teams invited to the tourney, which will be held from Sep. 11-17. CTBA says Taiwan NT will head for Harbin, China directly after the tournament.

Wednesday, August 13, 2003

Taiwan NT edges Philippines Young Men, 85-84

Nearly blowing a 12-point lead, Taiwan NT held on and edged Philippines Young Men NT, 85-84 last night (Aug.12) in the fourth warmup game of the Philippines tour. They will meet PBA’s Shell Turbo Charges tonight.

Taiwan NT record in the Philippines tour:
Game 1: Taiwan 90-90 Pampanga Bulls (NBL)
Game 2: Taiwan 61-78 Barangay Ginebra Kings (PBA)
Game 3: Taiwan 66-65 Philippines NT
Game 4: Taiwan 85-84 Philippines Junior NT

At the same time, Taiwan NT will visit the Philippines once again next month. This time they will participate in the “BAP-NBL National Open Championship”, which will be a 7-team tournament including four foreign teams.

The tournament will be held in Cebu City from Sep. 10-17. The participating teams are: Taiwan NT, Jordan NT, Qatar NT, Satria Muda Britama (Runner-up in Indonesian League), Cebuana Lhuillier RP Team, NBL All-Stars North, NBL All-Stars South

Tuesday, August 12, 2003

Taiwan NT lost to Ginebra, beat Philippines NT

Taiwan NT, who is touring Philippines for the preparation of the upcoming ABC Championship, lost to PBA’s Ginebra, 61-78, in a friendly game on Aug.10. They did edge Philippines NT, 66-65, the next day thanks to Tien Lei’s go-ahead layup with 18 seconds remaining. Taiwan NT will meet Philippines Junior NT tonight(Aug.12) in the fourth warmup game.

Saturday, August 09, 2003

Taiwan NT levels Pampanga 90-90

Taiwan NT leveled Pampanga Bulls 90-90 in the first warmup game of its Philippines tour. The game was held on Aug.7 at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center, City of San Fernando, with no overtime period being played.

The Taiwanese clung to a slim 29-28 lead after the first period. From there, it was an all-Pampanga show as Dave Bautista, Billy Bansil and Marlon Tadeo defied their much taller opponents to take the half, 53-48.

The Bulls then got a big boost after Taiwan main man Tien Lei got his fifth and final foul with still over seven minutes to play. However, the Taiwanese rallied to take the lead with less than a minute to play behind Tsun Wen-din and Wu Dai-hao, 90-89. Tadeo then drew a foul with 25 seconds to play but could only split his free throws to tie the score at 90-90. Taiwan NT then failed to score as the Bulls recovered possession. Ariel Garcia missed the potential game winner as his jumper with 1.8 seconds to go bounced off the rim.

Bautista, the current NBL MVP race leader, topped the Bulls with 20 points. Bansil and Tadeo added 17 points each. Chiu Chi-yi paced the visitors with 18 points while Wu added 15. Yen Shin-shu tallied 11 points, all in the first half.

PAMPANGA (90) РD. Bautista 20, Bansil 17, Tadeo 17, Santos 12, Tolentino 6, A. Garcia 5, Duyag 5, Alberto 2, Ma̱alac 2, Yambao 2, Manlutac 1, Coronel 1, R. Garcia 0, S. Garcia 0, Cocjin 0.

TAIWAN NT (90) – Chiu Chih-yi 18, Wu Dai-hao 15, Tsun Wen-din 14, Yen Shin-shu 11, Tien Lei 10, Chen Chih-chung 7, Chen Huei 5, Yang Che-yi 4, Hong Chi-chao 4, Lin Chi-jay 2, Wu Chih-wei 0, Wu Chih-yun 0, Lee Chi-yi 0, Ho Sho-jen 0, Yang Yu-ming 0.

Period Scores: 28-29, 53-48, 72-67, 90-90.

Wednesday, August 06, 2003

Super League opens on November 21st

Key dates and more details were announced after the second meeting of the Super League Committee meeting yesterday. The Super League will open its first season on November 21st and each team will play a 24-game schedule.

Teams(7): Yulon Dinos, BCC Mars, Bank of Taiwan, Taiwan Beer, Jutai Technology, Dacin Construction, SINA Lions
Regular Season: Nov. 21, 2003 - Apr. 11, 2004
Playoffs: Starts on Apr. 15, 2004
Venue: Taipei Physical Education Gymnasium
Competition Format:
-- Game: Four 10-minute periods.
-- Regular season: 4-round robin format (Each team plays its opponents four times); each team plays a total of 24 games. Games will be scheduled only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
-- Playoffs: Top four teams in the regular season advance to the playoffs. No.1 seed meets No.4 seed and No.2 meets No.3 in the best-of-three semi-final series. Winners meet in a best-of-five Finals which starts on April 21st, 2004.
-- All-Star Game: January 30th.

Main Sponsor/Marketing Group: NIKE Taiwan/ESPN Taiwan

Sunday, August 03, 2003

Taiwan basketball notes

Super League
With the help from the NSC(National Sports Council), CTBA will launch the new-formatted A-League which is called the “Super League” in November. The new league is still semi-pro, but in some way is trying to push Taiwanese basketball to the professional level.

A total of 7 teams are expected to play, including Yulon Dinos, Jutai Technology, Dacin Constructions, BCC Mars, Bank of Taiwan, Taiwan Beer and SINA Lions.

A couple of principles are set after the meetings last week. First of all, from now on teams will not pay high school players, which is seen by observers as the biggest reform in Taiwanese basketball in the last ten years. High school players will have to go thru the annual DRAFT to sign with any team. Currently, most A-League players are still college students.

Also, in the first year the league will not set the team salary cap and will not allow imports, in order to cut down budgets.

The inaugural season will open in November and schedule games only on weekends. Details of the new season remained to be discussed.

ESPN Taiwan and NIKE joined forces and won the bidding war(over Videoland TV/ERA TV) of the league’s marketing/broadcasting rights for the first three years.

NT-WUG Squad warmups
Taiwan Senior NT beat the WUG squad, 83-75, last week in the second warmup game. Taiwan NT also won the first game with a 20-point margin.

Taiwan NT will open its last stage of preparation on August 6th with a tour to Philippines, where they will meet a couple of NBL teams in a series of exhibition games.

“Anklebreaker” visits Taiwan
Occidental College(NCAA Div-III) guard Song Cun, a second generation Chinese-American, is now touring Taiwan for a NIKE streetball campaign “Battleground Asia” along with a French group “SlamNation”.

Standing only 5-6, Cun is known for his ill crossover dribble and is nicknamed “Anklebreaker”. Cun is a all-conference guard and led Occidental to NCAA Div-III elite eight this year. He will try to pursuit a professional career in Asia.

Saturday, July 12, 2003

Chen Hsin-an cut by Nuggets

Chen Hsin-an was cut by the Denver Nuggets this morning, failing to make the Nuggets' 17-man summer league team roster. Chen will be back to Taiwan soon and return to the WUG NT training.

Chen make the first cut Wednesday, when the Nuggets trimmed their free agent camp roster from 34 to 23. Nuggets assistant Jarinn Akana said Chen has a strong body, show his potential to be an effective back-up 2 or 3, and was able to hold his own in the camp. However, with his limited experience in the upper competition, poor defense and the whole knowledge of the game, it was very difficult for Chen to make the roster.

Chen was cut by the Sacramento Kings in last year's pre-season training camp.

Saturday, June 28, 2003

Chen Hsin-an will tryout for Nuggets summer league team

Chen Hsin-an(aka Sean Chen) will give the NBA his second try this summer. Cut by the Sacramento Kings in last year's pre-season training camp, Chen will tryout for Denver Nuggets' summer league team this year. He will leave for Denver on July 3rd.

Nuggets will hold its summer league team tryout in July 9-12. The team will then enter Southern California Summer Pro League on July 13th, playing a total of four games. Once again, Taiwanese fans will root for Chen to chase his NBA dream.

Taiwanese NT at USBA for US Training tour

Taiwanese NT arrived in USBA(United States Basketball Academy) at Eugene, Oregon for a two week training tour. The team will play 6-8 warmup games with USBA All-Stars and other teams, meanwhile instructed by a coaching staff consisted of Lakers assistant Tex Winter, former Georgia head coach Jim Harrick and former Fordham head coach Bob Hill. The training camp concludes on July 6th.

After the two-week training, six players(Tien Lei, Wu Dai-hao, Tsun Wen-din, Lee Chi-yi, Yang Yu-ming, Yen Shin-shu) will go to Sacramento for another special training camp, which will be conducted by Kings assistants Pete Carril, Terry Porter and guard Bobby Jackson during July 7-16.

CTBA says Taiwan NT is planning to play in an international tournament in Philippines early August, completing the final warmup stage before the Asian Championship.

Taiwanese NT for World University Games

Led by Chen Hsin-an, who graduated from college earlier this year, Taiwanese WUG NT opened its training camp on June 26th in suburban Taipei, looking for its first ever appearance in the World University Games.

Chen was suspended for an year on the senior NT level, after he withdrew from the national team last year and went to NBA's Sacramento pre-season training camp. But Chen is still qualified to play for the WUG NT. There are 15 players on the preliminary roster, which will be cut down to 12 prior to the games, which will be held in Daegu, Korea in late August.

Taiwanese WUG NT 15-man roster:(college, A-League team)

F Chen Hsin-an(TPEC, Yulon); Chang Chih-feng(TPEC, Dacin); Chou Shih-yuan(TPEC, Yulon); Wu Cheng-dao(NTCPE, Jutai); Lin Che-li(Chen-chi Univ., Jutai)

G Hsu Hao-cheng(TPEC, Bank of Taiwan); O-Yang Jin-hen(NTUA, Jutai); Lee Chih-ming(TPEC, Yulon); Chen Shih-nian(TPEC, Taiwan Beer); Jian Ming-fu(CCU, Military)

C Chou Hong-yu(NTCPE-Linko, Yulon); Lee Fong-yong(TPEC, Dacin); Cheng An-jay(CCU, Mars); Ha Xiao-yuan(NTUA, Jutai); Wu Yang-huei(NTUA, Taiwan Beer)

Head Coach: Lee Yun-kwang
Assistants: Dong-fan Che-ter, Chiu Tsung-chih

Actually, Taiwan can send an even stronger team to the WUG. But a couple of top college players were not available since they were selected to the senior NT, which is preparing for the upcoming Asian Championship.

Taiwan is placed in the same group with Yugoslavia(Serbia and Montenegro), Greece and Mexico.

Yen Shin-shu maybe out of Asian Championship

Yen Shin-shu, expected to be the starting PG for Taiwanese NT, re-injured his knee in the Taiwanese NT training camp. Yen probably has no enough time te recover and will be out of the Asian Championship this year. If Yen is out, Chen Chih-chung will take his starting role but Taiwanese NT will be thin at the PG position.

Monday, June 02, 2003

Taiwan NT opens training camp

Taiwan NT opens its training camp today in Songshan High School Gymnasium for the preparation of the Asian Championship, which will be held in Harbin, China in September.

Hu Tsai-lin, head coach of Bank of Taiwan, was added last week as the second assistant coach for the national team. Taiwan NT now completes the 3-man coaching staff with Lee Chin-chi as the head coach, Hu Tsai-lin and Chou Hai-jun(Mars assistant) as assistants.

Almost half of the Senior NT players will also participate in the World Univsersity Games in Daegu, Korea in late August. Taiwan NT is expected to train together with the University Games NT, which is led by former NT head coach Lee Yun-kwang.

Taiwan NT now has 15 players on its roster. The number will be cut to 12 prior to the ABC Championship. But they will bring 15 players to the US training tour. Taiwan NT plans to stay two weeks in the Basketball Academy in Eugene, Oregon, where they will have a couple of warmup games with unknown teams. Word is CTBA will have five younger players stay in the Academy after the camp. The players will be instruted by Sacramento Kings counselor Pete Carril in the extended mini-camp.

Ths status of Men's Asian Championship is unclear. Although the SARS outbreak has been under control in most Asian countries, no one knows for sure what is going on in China. Japan has postponed the Women's Asian Championship. CTBA has decided to suspend the annual William Jones Cup Tournament this year. The latest situation for the ABC Championship and the World University Games remains to be seen.

Chen Hsin-an, who is suspended from the NT competition for a year, is expected to be on the WUG roster.

Monday, May 26, 2003

Jones Cup will not be held this year

CTBA officially announced to day that the annual William Jones Cup Invitational Tournament will not be held this year, due to the SARS outbreak in Asia.

Thursday, May 22, 2003

CTBA announces NT roster

CTBA announces 2003 Taiwan NT roster this morning. While the roster hasn't changed that much, Chen Hsin-an doesn't get his suspension lifted and becomes the most surprsing absentee. Without him, Taiwan NT's hope in this year's ABC Championship is very slim.

Chen Hsin-an left the national team prior to the Asian Games last year and went to Sacramento King's pre-season training camp. He was suspended in national team competition for the year of 2003 by CTBA national team committee.

Rumors say his suspension will be lifted early because CTBA wants to see better results in the ABC Championship. However it doesn't happen.

**15-man NT roster(Po. Name Ht./Wt. DOB Age Team)
C Tsun Wen-din 204/90 1984/7/6 19 Yulon
C Wu Chih-wei 202/94 1976/7/31 26 Yulon
G Chen Chih-chung 182/80 1977/3/2 26 Yulon
G Hong Chi-chao 187/78 1982/2/13 21 Yulon#
G Yen Hsin-shu 183/75 1976/9/8 26 BCC Mars
F Lee Chi-yi 198/88 1978/10/27 24 BCC Mars
G Chen Huei 185/85 1978/4/17 25 BCC Mars#
F/G Yang Che-yi 193/85 1976/10/2 26 BCC Mars#
G Yang Yu-ming 180/73 1979/10/22 23 Jutai Tech
C/F Wu Chih-yuan 200/77 1983/10/24 19 Taiwan Beer#
F Lin Chi-jay 192/88 1982/6/11 20 Taiwan Beer
F Tien Lei 202/86 1983/6/1 20 Dacin Construction
C Wu Dai-hao 202/100 1985/2/7 18 Dacin Construction
G Chiu Chi-yi 180/78 1975/10/6 27 Military
F Ho Sho-jen 195/88 1983/2/15 20 Bank of Taiwan

Head coach: Lee Chin-chi(Military)
Assistant coach: Chou Hai-jun(Mars)

Average Height: 192.3 Age: 22.6
# - First appearance in senior men's NT

Taiwan NT will head to United States Basketball Academy(Eugene, Oregon) for a two week training tour on June, 23. The 15-man roster will be cut down to 12 prior to the tournament, which will be held in Harbin, China in September.

Thursday, May 15, 2003

A-League Finals stats

Finals: Yulon 2-1 Mars
-- Yulon:
Chen Hsin-an 15.7p, 7.3rb, 4a
Tsun Wen-din 13.7p, 9rb
Chen Chih-chung 12.7p, 3rb, 2.7a
Hong Chi-chao 9p

-- Mars:
Yang Che-yi 14.7p, 8rb
Lai Kuo-hong 11.7p, 5rb
Lin Jia-huang 11.7p
Yen Hsin-shu 9.7p, 4rb, 3.7a
Lee Chi-yi 8p, 9.3rb
Chen Huei 5p, 4rb, 5a

3rd-place Series: Jutai 2-1 Taiwan Beer
-- Jutai:
Yang Yu-ming 31.3p, 5.3rb, 3a
Hu Yu-wei 15.5p, 3.5rb(2 games)
Ha Xiao-yuan 12.7p, 9rb
Tan Bo-chan 6.7p, 9rb

-- Taiwan Beer:
Lin Chi-jay 24.3p, 12rb
Wu Yang-juei 17p, 5.7rb
Chen Shi-nian 12.3p, 4rb, 5a
Wu Chih-yuan 12.3p, 7rb
Yo Yu-lun 10p, 4.3rb, 3.3a
Chang Hsien-ming 9p, 3rb

2003 A-League All-Star Teams

(This is my pick. All stats are from preliminary round)

First Team
F Chen Hsin-an(Yulon) 16.3p, 6rb, 3a
F Lin Chi-jay(Taiwan Beer) 11.4p, 6.6rb, 2.1a, 1.57s
C Wu Dai-hao(Dacin) 14.5p, 9.2rb, 1.27blk
G Yang Yu-ming(Jutai) 23p, 3.6a, 1.71s
G Yen Hsin-shu(Mars) 12.8p, 5.4rb, 5.3a, 2.1s

Second Team
F Ho Sho-jen(Bank of Taiwan) 19.3p
F Yang Che-yi(Mars) 13.9p
C Tsun Wen-din(Yulon) 11.8p, 7.6rb, 1.93blk
G Chen Chih-chung(Yulon) 10.6p, 2.5rb, 3.6a, 2.86s
G Chen Shi-nian(Taiwan Beer) 12.2p, 4rb, 4.4a, 1.85s

Third Team
F Lee Fong-yong(Dacin) 12.9p, 6.8rb
F Chang Chi-feng(Dacin) 13.7p, 5.2rb, 1.79s
G Chien Min-fu(Military) 11.9p, 4.6rb, 5.8a, 1.64s
G Chiu Chi-yi(Military) 22p
G Hsu Hao-cheng(Bank of Taiwan) 7.6p, 5.1rb, 6.9a, 2.07s

Wednesday, May 14, 2003

Yulon wins fourth consecutive A-League title

2002-03 A-League season concluded tonight as both the Finals and the 3rd-place series go down to the final deciding game.

Led by Finals MVP Chen Hsin-an's 17 points, Yulon beat Mars, 81-70, in the best-of-three series to win its fourth consecutive A-League title. Sharpshooter Yang Yu-ming had 30 points to lead Jutai past Taiwan Beer, 83-79, in the deciding game of the 3rd-place series.

Embarrassed by its Game 2 performance last night, Yulon came out with a fire in their eyes. Using a 15-0 run, Yulon jumped in front 29-13 in the end of the first quarter and pretty much set the tones of the game.

Mars cut the deficit down to 10 points in the middle of the 4th quarter, but Hong Chi-chao's three-point play put Mars away. Chen Chih-chung, who was held to 3 points last night, had a game-high 21 points.

Mars once again came up short, although is proved it's a better team in the first two games. Yang Che-yi led Mars with 19 points.

Taiwan Beer and Jutai didn't produce a record-breaking third cosecutive overtime game. On the contrary, Jutai Tech pulled in front early and led by as many as 20 points, as yang Yu-ming almost buried his every shot.

Taiwan Beer refused to quit. Just like previous games, Lin Chi-jay took over the game with his powerful one-on-one moves and cut the deficit down to two in the final two minute before bowing out. Lin Chi-jay paced Taiwan Beer with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Fast improving bigman Wu Chih-yuan had 17.

Finals Game 3: Yulon 81-70 Mars(Half 47-27)
Yulon - Chen Chih-chung 21p, Chen Hsin-an 17p+5rb+6a, Hong Chi-chao 15p+9rb, Tsun Wen-din 15p
Mars - Yang Che-yi 19p+7rb, Lai Kuo-hong 15p

3rd-place series Game 3: Jutai 83-79 Taiwan Beer(Half 47-31)
Jutai - Yang Yu-ming 30p, Ha Xiao-yuan 18p+13rb, O-Yang Jin-hen 18p
TB - Lin Chi-jay 22p+13rb, Wu Chih-yuan 17p, Wu yang-huei 14p