Tuesday, December 28, 2004

SBL actions Dec. 25-26

Videoland beat Yulon 77-72 to win its fourth straight game and is the only undefeated team in the league. Sina dropped two games this week and, like last season, lost its first three games of the season.

Dec.25
Bank of Taiwan 89-76(OT) Sina
BOT – Yang Chin-min 35p, Ju Yong-hong 17p+12rb, Cheng An-jay 12p+10rb
Sina – Lo Shin-liang 28p

ETSN 83-76 Taiwan Beer
ETSN – Yang Yu-min 22p, Wu Dai-hao 12p+10rb, Wu Cheng-dao 15p, Chou Jun-san 17p+7rb
TB – Lin Chi-jay 23p+9rb, Chen Shih-nian 18p+7rb+5a, Ho Sho-jen 13p

Dec.26
Videoland 77-72 Yulon
Videoland – Yang Che-yi 26p, Lee Chi-yi 12p+15rb
Yulon – Chou Shih-yuan 16p, Hong Chi-chao 14p, Tsun Wen-din 14p, Chiu Chi-yi 11p

Dacin 99-79 Sina
Dacin – Chen Tse-wei 23p(4-4 3PT), Hsu Chi-chao 21p, Tien Lei 19p+5rb, Huang Chi-chun 5p+12a
Sina – Liu Yi-hsiang 16p, Wang Chuan-jian 15p

Friday, December 24, 2004

The Monster leads Taiwan Beer to first win

“The Monster” Lin Chi-jay had 33 points and a game-saving block as Taiwan Beer edged Yulon 79-78 to get their first win of the season. Videoland keeps their hot hands going, winning three straight after a 113-100 win over Bank of Taiwan.

Lin Chi-jay made five of his seven three-pointers in the third quarter as Taiwan Beer opened the second half with a 14-2 run to go ahead. Both team exchanged the lead in the final five minutes. With less than 20 seconds remaining and TB led by one point, Lin blocked Chen Chih-chun’s layup which pretty much decided the final outcome.

Yulon, who trailed by four with 3.5 seconds to go, still wouldn’t give up. Chiu Chi-yi was fouled by Hsu Hao-cheng in a three-point attempt. Chiu made the first two free-throws and tried to miss the third intentionally. Unbelievably, the ball banked in! Yulon didn’t have the time to make the final push.

In the previous game, Videoland was still hot from outside as they made 14 three-pointers in an easy win. Videoland tops the standings with 3-0 and looks like the team to beat, judging from their performance in the first two weeks.

Taiwan Beer 79-78 Yulon (Half 33-44)
TB – Lin Chi-jay 33p(7 3PT), Chen Shi-nian 18p+6a
Yulon – Chou Shih-yuan 14p

Videoland 113-100 Bank of Taiwan
VL – Lee Chi-yi 28p(6-8 3PT), Lai Kuo-hong 18p, Yang Che-yi 17p, We Cheng-yu 15p, Chen Huei 11p+7rb+8a
BOT – Wu Yong-jen 19p, Hsu Chi-chan 17p, Cheng An-jay 16p+7rb, Lin Chun-feng 10p

==

(Note) Wu Yong-jen of Bank of Taiwan was named BALLER OF THE WEEK for the first week. Wu had 24 points and 11 rebounds in an upset win over Taiwan Beer last week.

Chen Hsin-an ready to play for OC Crush


Chen Hsin-an had a great Christmas gift. Orange County Crush of ABA confirmed in a press release that Taiwanese player Chen Hsin-an has received his working visa. Chen will be ready to play for the team in the remaining games. At the same time, the Crush has put their legal issues among owners aside for now. All the postponed games will be re-scheduled in the new year.

Monday, December 20, 2004

Videoland bombs away to win two straight

The first week of SBL action was full of surprises. Videoland, who has not been a spectacular team from outside, bombed away for the second straight game and beat ETSN 90-82 on Sunday. Bank of Taiwan, seen as the weakest team in the league, upset Taiwan Beer 76-72 on the same day.

Led by Lee Chi-yi(5-8 3PT) and Hsiung Jen-jen(4-7 3PT), Videoland made 14 three-pointers and led almost from start to finish. Yang Yu-min led ETSN with 19 points. Veteran point guard Chou Jun-san, who played his first game as an Antelope, was a non-factor.

Wu Yong-jen, who filled in as a starting point guard after the departure of Hsu Hao-cheng(who wnet to Taiwan Beer), had 24 points and 11 rebounds and led BOT to the upset victory. Wu was 5 for 6 from three-point territory. Yang Chin-min and Lin Chun-fong had 19 and 16 points respectively.

Lin Chi-jay, SBL’s leading scorer last season, had an off night. Lin still managed 19 points but was 6 for 20 in the game.

Videoland 90-82 ETSN (Lee Chi-yi 27p, Yang Che-yi 23p, Lin Jia-huang 15p, Hsiung Jen-jen 12p ; Yang Yu-min 19p, Shan Wei-fan 16p, Wu Dai-hao 12p)

BOT 76-72 Taiwan Beer (Wu Yong-jen 24p+11rb, Yang Chin-min 19p, Lin Chun-fong 16p ; Lin Chi-jay 19p, Chen Shi-nian 15p, Ho Sho-jen 13p)

Sunday, December 19, 2004

Chou Shih-yuan leads Yulon past Sina on opening day

Chou Shih-yuan had 18 points, 4 assists and 4 steals and led defending champion Yulon to a 75-70 victory over Sina on the SBL opening day. In the other matchup, Videoland Hunters surprised Dacin 85-79.

Yulon entered the game without three regular players -- Chen Hsin-an (who is in the U.S.), Wu Chih-wei (knee surgery rehab) and Chiu Chi-yi (finger injury). All three will miss the game for at least two to four weeks.

Dacin head coach Liu Jia-fa was furious at the performance of his starters and opted to play the second string for long streches during the second half.

Yulon 75-70 Sina (Chou Shih-yuan 18p+4rb+4a+4s, Tsun Wen-din 17p+11rb ; Lo Shin-liang 20p+7rb, Liu Yi-shian 19p)

Videoland 85-79 Dacin (Hu Yu-wei 19p, Yang Che-yi 19p, Lee Chi-yi 17p ; Tien Lei 20p+6rb+7TO)

Friday, December 17, 2004

04-05 SBL: Wide open race after a successful inaugural season

SBL (Super Basketball League) will tip-off its 2004-05 season tomorrow on December 18th. With a surprisingly successful debut season now in a rearview mirror, the league is looking forward to expand its fan base and re-establish the identity of Taiwanese basketball.

It seems everything is looking good on the court, although the league has so many changes. Two teams (Videoland and ETSN) change owners and team names. Three teams (ETSN, Taiwan Beer and Sina) have new head coaches. And there will be more than a dozen players wearing different uniforms in the upcoming season.

Most of all, there is not a clear-cut favorite among seven SBL teams. Except for the short-handed Bank of Taiwan and rebuilding Sina, the other five teams are capable of making it to the finals. But judging from the pre-season games, BOT and Sina can do some damage too. In other words, winning any game will not be easy this season.

Defending champion Yulon is still loaded with experienced players. The biggest problem for them is the absence of Chen Hsin-an, who is in the US minor league ABA and will not be back until April. Without Chen, Yulon is left without its No.1 scorer and go-to guy. Based on what happened in the past when they play without Chen, Yulon will have problem when things are not going well for them on the court.

Still, Yulon can not be overlooked with its top-notch defense and balanced offense. Lee Yun-kwang will handle the main coaching job while legendary head coach Chien Yi-fei will step aside and work as a consultant.

Sina, who lost two Yulon 3-0 in last year’s finals, is undergoing a big face-lift. Three veteran starters – Chou Jun-san, Huang Chun-hsiung and Hsiung Jen-jen – changed teams after Sina decided not to re-sign them. Sina will rely on Lo Shin-liang and Liu Yi-shian to lead an awfully young roster under new head coach Liu Jun-ching. Consistency will be the main issue for Sina this season.

Videoland Hunters, former BCC Mars, added Huang Chun-hsiung to an already strong frontline. Starting point guard Yen Shin-shu decided to focus on his entertainment business which makes more money for him. Chen Huei will be asked to take the starting role, which he is not unfamiliar with.

The bruising frontlines of Huang, Lai Kuo-hong and Lin Shin-hwa will keep VL every opponent’s nightmare. However the perimeter shooting will be the key for them this season. If they can be consistent from the outside, Videoland will be hard to be stopped.

There will be a lot of expectation on the ETSN Antelopes, formerly in the name of Jutai Technology. With the addition of former Sina lead guard Chou Jun-san plus the inside-outside combination of forward/center Wu Dai-hao and shooting guard Yang Yu-min, ETSN approaches the new season with strong core players. It is also the deepest team in the league with almost twenty players on the roster before the season starts.

Led by last season’s MVP Tien Lei and hard-working head coach Liu Jia-fa, Dacin will definitely try to challenge the title this season. Tien Lei is capable of putting up 20 and 10 in any given game. And Dacin will still use their stamina to wear down opponents. The key for this high-powered offensive team will be consistency and defense. Also, somebody has to step up to take burden off Tien Lei, who will be the focal point of the defensive scheme for every opponent.

Lin Chi-jay, last season’s SBL leading scorer who turned his career around in one year, will be highly-motivated to lead Taiwan Beer, which missed the playoffs last year, into the postseason, even the finals. Lin doesn’t have to do it alone, which was mostly the case last year, anymore. TB signed Bank of Taiwan point guard Hsu Hao-cheng, who was known for distribution and has been one of the most underrated players in Taiwan. Small forward Ho Sho-jen, who used to be the leading scorer of A-League a couple years ago, is finally back healthy after a miserable year when he had both wrist and knee injuries. Former ETSN center Ha Hsiao-yuan will be also looking for redemption in his first year with the club.

Taiwan Beer won the Million-Dollar Challenge in the summer and proves it is a different team from last year.

Bank of Taiwan, who finished dead last in the previous season, will once again try to come from nowhere and surprise people. Losing PG Hsu Hao-cheng and SF Lo Da-wei to Taiwan Beer definitely hurt the team which is already thin and weak. But head coach Wei Chen-ming refuses to back down. BOT will have to rely on blue-collar power forward Ju Yong-hong and the improvement of promising wing player Yang Chin-ming to make something happen.

Monday, December 13, 2004

SBL exhibition games concludes

Yang Chin-min's buzzer-beater helped BOT defeat ETSN 82-81 on Sunday, the final day of the SBL exhibition games. On Saturday, Lee Hsueh-lin had 5 points in the last 1:30 as Yulon beat Videoland 84-81 to win both exhibition games.

However there will be bad news for the defending champ Yulon before the season starts. Veteran center Wu Chi-wei is under rehab after knee surgery and is expected to be out for two months. Shooting guard Chiu Chi-yi had a finger injury(contusion) that will make him out of action for about four weeks.

Minus Chen Hsin-an and two veterans, Yulon's second SBL season will be a lot tougher than the first one.

12/11
Dacin 86-77 Taiwan Beer (Lee Fong-yong 15p+9rb, Yen Jia-wei 22p ; Lin Chi-jay 19p, Ho Sho-jen 13p)
Yulon 84-81 Videoland (Lee Hsueh-lin 15p+5rb+3a, Chou Shih-yuan 18p, Tsun Wen-din 13p+3blk ; Lee Chi-yi 17p+7rb, Lin Shin-hwa 15p+7rb)

12/12
Bank of Taiwan 82-81 ETSN (Yang Chin-min 21p, Cheng An-jay 13p+6rb)
Videoland 101-83 Sina (Lin Tsung-chin 19p, Wu Cheng-yu 18p, Lee Chi-yi 10p+10rb, Chen Huei 7p+9rb+9a ; Yang Shi-hao 22p, Kao Li-min 12p+5rb)

Saturday, December 11, 2004

SBL Exhibition Games and More

SBL exhibition games
Dec.9
Yulon 75-68 Dacin (Hong Chi-chao 15p ; Tien Lei 20p+14rb, Lin Yi-huei 12p+5rb)

Dec.10
ETSN 87-87 Taiwan Beer (Wu Dai-hao 25p+6rb ; Lin Chi-jay 33p, Yang Yu-min 23p)
Bank of Taiwan 85-85 Sina (Ju Yong-hong 19p+11rb ; Yang Shi-hao 18p)

Chen Hsin-an yet to play
Chen Hsin-an will have to wait for as much as another two weeks before he receives his working VISA and play for the ABA’s Orange County Crush. Chen hasn’t played for the Crush although he had been practicing with the team.

Saturday, November 27, 2004

Stankovic Cup Final Day – Qatar slams Korea for Asian title

It’s only fit that Qatari players were awarded the gold medals from FIBA Asia President Sheikh Saud Bin Ali Al-Thani, who’s also from Qatar. For now, Qatar can claim it’s the best team in Asia, period.

The final day of the 1st FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup left no suspense like previous days as Qatar slamed injury-depleted Korea 82-65 in the championship game and host Taiwan routed Syria, who’s also hurt by injuries of key players, 82-60.

Under hard-working American coach Joseph Stiebing, Qatar will be now looking forward to better results in the upcoming 2005 Asian Championship, 2006 World Championships for Men in Japan, and 2006 Asian Games in Doha, where Qatar will be the host.

Final placing of the FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup tournament:
1. Qatar, 2. Korea, 3. Taiwan, 4. Syria, 5. Japan, 6. India, 7. Kuwait, 8. Philippines

Qatar 82, Korea 65
Yasseen Ismail Mousa had 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting and turned the basketball court into his playground. A couple of Mousa’s alley-oop dunks were the highlight of the night which Qatar enjoyed as Asian’s No.1.

E.A. Saeed also scored 26 points, mostly inside the paint where Qatar dominated. Qatar shot an amazing 73% in two-point range and led 40-14 on rebounding.

Qatar used the height advantage to jump in front in the first minute and never gave up the lead. The game was already over before halftime, when the score was 52-19. Korea wasn’t able to mount any comeback in the second half, mostly trailing by more than twenty points.

Korea’s chance of beating Qatar was already slim when it lost its starting PG Kim Tae-sul two days ago. The chance was even slimmer when Korea’s top scorer Cho Sung-min hurt his ankle in the second quarter. Cho sat out the remaining game.

Taiwan 82, Syria 60
Taiwan walked out the horrible slump and beat the short-handed Syria 82-60 in the third-place game. Tien Lei scored 15 of his team-high 16 points in the second half as Taiwan opened up the game with an 18-5 run early in the fourth quarter.

Tien Lei, who had only one point in the first half, made three straight three-pointers to spark the fourth quarter rally, which was concluded by five straight points from Chen Hsin-an. With the run Taiwan turned a nine-point lead into 22-point, 68-46.

Taiwan finally showed their energy following consecutive losses to Korea and Qatar. They moved the ball well and shot the ball better, making 11 three-pointers in the game. Wu Dai-hao operated in the paint and scored all of his 10 points in the first half.

Syria was plagued by the absence of leading scorer Michel Madanli and M.S. Sharif as both players were forced to sit out due to injury. Point guard M. Albo Sada had 13 points to pace the Syrians.

Japan 75, India 65
K. Komiya scored 10 of Japan’s final 12 points as Japan beat India 75-65 to finished fifth-place in the Stankovic Cup. Tomoo Amino kept his strong showing in the tournament with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Sparked by 173cm PG H. Kashiwakura’s five straight points, Japan pulled away and lead 59-45 in the end of the third quarter. Japan led 68-54 with five minutes to go. India’s M.S. Ahmed and S. Robinson made eight free-throws to cut the deficit to eight with less than two minutes remaining. But K. Komiya also countered with four straight free-throws to secure the victory.

Although Japan only finished for the fifth-place in the tourney, the team can fly back to Tokyo with all smiles. Japan had four wins in five games and was out of the semi because of point differential. It shows dramatic improvement on defense and boosted its confidence on offense.

Kuwait 88, Philippines 66
Philippines gave Kuwait a good fight in the first half, trailing by only one 44-43. O. Mubarak was determined not to let Kuwait lose to a Filipino college team though. Mubarak had 32 points and 11 rebounds as Kuwait pulled away in the second half. Philippines lost all five games in the tournament by a humiliating 36.6-point margin.

Final Day Game Summary

Championship Game: Qatar 82-65 Korea (Half 52-27)
Qatar – Y.I. Mousa 28p(11-14 FG)+14rb, E.A. Saeed 26p+6rb
Korea – Chu Cheol-min 25p(7 3PT), Chun Jung-kyu 11p, Kang Eun-sik 10p

Third-place Game: Taiwan 82-60 Syria (Half 29-25)
Taiwan – Tien Lei 15p(4 3PT)+4a+2s, Chang Chi-feng 15p, Chen Hsin-an 13p+5a, Chou Shih-yuan 10p, Wu Dai-hao 10p, Tsun Wen-din 4p+8rb+7blk
Syria – M. Abo Sada 13p+7rb, W. Yakoub 9p+7rb+3blk

5/6 place Game: Japan 75-65 India (Half 39-36)
Japan – T. Amino 20p+11rb, K. Komiya 14p, K. Takeuchi 4p+15rb
India – M.S. Ahmed 22p, S. Robinson 17p

7/8 place Game: Kuwait 88-66 Philippines (Half 44-43)
Kuwait – O. Mubarak 32p+11rb, S. Hasan 18p+5rb
Philippines – B. Ilad 15p+13rb, M. Baracael 17p

Friday, November 26, 2004

Stankovic Cup Day 6 – Korea, Qatar win semi, will meet in final game

In the most important game of the tournament, Taiwan NT didn’t play like a home team. They didn’t even play like a TEAM at all. Qatar outscored Taiwan 41-26 in the second half and came up with a convincing 71-49 victory in the semi final of the Stankovic Cup tournament. Qatar will meet Korea, which beat Syria 88-82 in the other semi final, in the championship game.

In a tournament full of surprises, it’s not really a surprise anymore that both second-place teams in the group advance to the championship game while two group winners meet for third-place.

19-year-old phenom S. Abdulrahman Ali tallied 18 points and 14 rebounds. He scored seven straight points in the start of the fourth quarter to increase Qatar’s lead from nine to 16 points (46-30). With its height advantage, Qatar dominated the paint as star forward Y. I. Mousa had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Both teams struggled to put the ball in the basket in the first three quarters. Six minutes into the game, Qatar led by 7-3. In the end of the first period it was 15-8, Qatar. Thee score was 30-23 Qatar at halftime.

Taiwan NT looked like a group of lost souls in the whole game. For the second consecutive night, they had a hard time to score. Taiwan NT also had trouble containing Qatar’s power frontline downlow. Team leading scorer Chen Hsin-an had only five before the intermission.

The only HIGHLIGHT for Taiwan in the game was in the fourth quarter, Lin Chi-jay and Tien Lei made three consecutive threes to pull within 49-39. But Qatar kept their composure, oce again pulling away with a 22-10 closing run.

In the other semi final, Syria jumpstarted the game with its efficient half-court game to lead 31-17 with 7:30 to go in the second quarter. But Korea, with its starting PG Kim Tae-sul out of the game due to ankle injury, picked up their outside shooting and cut the deficit to 44-41 at halftime.

Syria lost its heart and soul Michel Madanli, who hurt his ankle and sat out the second half. Faciing a 21-46 rebounding disadvantage, Korea shot an astonishing 14 of 34 (41%) on three-pointers to be in front the rest of the way and made it to the championship game.

■Final Day Schedule
Championship: Korea vs. Qatar
Third-place: Taiwan vs. Syria
5/6: Japan vs. India
7/8: Kuwait vs. Philippines

■Day 6 Game Summary
Qatar 71-48 Taiwan (Half 30-23)
Qatar - S.Abdulraman Ali 18p+14rb, Y.I. Mousa 13p+13rb, Ali Turki Ali 13p
Taiwan - Tien Lei 17p+6rb, Chou Shi-yuan 14p, Chen Hsin-an 5p+5rb, Tsun Wen-din 2p+9rb+5blk

Korea 88-82 Syria (Half 42-44)
Korea - Lee Kwan-jae 22p, Cho Sung-min 18p, Kang Eun-sik 17p, Kim Dong-uk 12p
Syria - M. Samman 16p, M. Madanli 13p+12rb. R. Hasaballah 14p+8rb,O. Madani 13p+7rb

Japan 61-48 Kuwait (Half 35-24)
Japan - T. Amino 15p+12rb, K. Takeuchi 11p+15rb, S. Furuta 10p+7rb
Kuwait - O. Mubarak 24p

India 111-93 Philippines (Half 52-36)
India - S. Kumar 25p+6rb, S. Sridhar 23p+8rb, S. Robinson 18p+12rb+4a, M. Ahmed 14p+7rb
Philippines - B. Reroma 24p, R. Ricafuente 17p, E. Merelos 17p

Chen Talks

Chen Hsin-an, who is back to Taiwan for the Stankovic Cup, sat down with reporters and talked about his life in the ABA. Chen will be back to U.S. and join ABA's Orange County Crush on Nov. 30. Chen is the first Taiwanese player to sign with an North American pro team.

On his life in southern California:

I lived with one of my relatives at first before moving to the team hotel. Later I was able to drive myself to practice and back. But I try not to go to anywhere I'm not familiar with and keep myself from getting lost.(Laugh) I always enjoy American food, so basically I have no problem with daily meals. I think I'm doing just fine.

On Crush teammates and coaches:

My coaches and teammates have been very supportive and friendly. As the only international player on the team, I didn't feel any discrimination. Everyone treats me well and accept me as a teammate. I really can't ask for more.

On why he decided to go to U.S. this year:

I'm already 24 and there're only so many chances you can have in life. I really want to compete on a higher level for a long period of time, not just a short tournament, in order to test and improve myself. Probably I'll look bad at first, but I really want to have that chance to play in the U.S.

On why he signed with Crush, an ABA team, instead of NBDL or CBA:

My job is to focus on the court and the games. I let John Kim, my agent, take care of it. I will play for any team if that can make me better.

On his personal goal for the season:

Right now I'm probably the 7th or 8th man on the team. I try not to be too greedy at first. I want to be a starter, improve my defense, and average at least 10 points per game.

On Yuta Tabuse's inspiration:

My coach Earl Cureton coached Tabuse last season in the Long Beach Jam. Coaches have been saying Tabuse is too short to play in the NBA. But now look at Tabuse. He is in Phoenix. That proves if you keep trying and working hard, you will always give yourself an opportunity. If you don't have any opportunity to play in the NBA, it won't be because you are an Asian player or you are too short. Tabuse really inspires me to keep chasing my NBA dream.

His suggestions for Taiwanese top players(like Tien Lei), who want to play overseas:

Keep improving. Keep learning. Keep trying. And make yourself stronger. Tien Lei is very gifted but he's too skinny.

Thursday, November 25, 2004

Stankovic Cup Day 5 – One more surprise, Korea routs Taiwan by 19

One more surprise before moving on to the next stage. One day after a shocking loss to India, South Korea got back their shooting touch and routed Taiwan 94-75 on its home court, thus bumping India out of the Stankovic Cup semifinal.

With three upsets in two nights, suddenly the Stankovic Cup provided all the drama as expected. Six of eight teams finished the preliminary round with 2-1. You have Japan surprising Qatar, India edging Korea, and finally Korea stomping Taiwan by 19 points.

Which pretty much tells you that anything can happen in the next two days.

Cho Sung-min scored 15 points, including Korea’s last 12 points, en route to a game-high 29 points. Korean had five players scoring in double-figure and shot an impressive 12 of 25 three-pointers in a physical and exciting game.

Korea used a 17-0 run in the second quarter and a 16-0 run spanning from late third to early fourth quarter to secure the victory. It’s interesting because they didn’t look like a team which lost to India the night before at all.

Chen Hsin-an once again was the only one Taiwan NT could go to tonight. Chen shot 10-for-18 from the field and led Taiwan with 23 points. His teammates simply couldn’t throw a basket in the ocean. Taiwan NT was 5-for-26 from the three.

Although Taiwan still led Group A, head coach Hu Tsai-lin was all sorry after the game for letting the fans down.

Chen Hsin-an scored 10 of Taiwan’s first 11 points in the game as Taiwan led 22-11 after six minutes and 29-24 in the end of the first quarter. 202cm F/C Wu Dai-hao had seven points in the opening period.

Korean’s hot shooting and Taiwan’s inability to score during the first seven minutes in the second quarter set the tone for the game. Korea pulled away with a 17-0 run.

Taiwan made a run for its own. Chen Hsin-an and Tien Lei combined 13 points in a 19-7 thrid quarter run as Taiwan took the lead, 62-61, with 2:20 to go in the third. But Korea scored the next five points to start the game-deciding 16-0 run.

■Day 5 Game Summary
Korea 94-75 Taiwan (Half 49-43)
Korea – Cho Sung-min 29p, No Kyoung-suk 14p, Kang Eun-sik 13p, Kim Tae-sul 11p, Kim Dong-uk 11p
Taiwan – Chen Hsin-an 23p+6rb, Chang Chi-feng 12p, Tien Lei 11p+6rb

Japan 106-46 Philippines (Half 59-18)
Japan – T. Amino 19p, S. Furuta 14p+6rb, S. Ito 14p+6rb, K. Takeuchi 8p+13rb, J. Takeuchi 4p+11rb, K. Igarashi 13p, R. Sakurai 12p
Philippines – M. Bara 11p

India 71-63 Kuwait (Half 38-29)
India – S. Kumar 21p, S. Robinson 14p+18rb+6a+3s+6blk
Kuwait – O. Mubarak 24p+9rb+5blk, A. Albrahim 14p+6rb+4a

■Final Preliminary Standings
Group A
Taiwan 2-1
Korea 2-1
India 2-1
Kuwait 0-3
(Tie-breaker – Point differential: Taiwan +18, Korea +14, India -32)

Group B
Syria 2-1
Qatar 2-1
Japan 2-1
Philippines 0-3
(Tie-breaker – Point differential: Syria +15, Qatar +6, Japan -21)

■Day 6 Schedule
India(A3) vs. Philippines(B4)
Japan(B3) vs. Kuwait(A4)
Semi: Korea(A2) vs. Syria(B1)
Semi: Taiwan(A1) vs. Qatar(B2)

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Stankovic Cup Day 4 – Robinson’s 36 leads India upset Korea, 81-76

206cm center Sozhasingarayer Robinson scored 36 points, including two game-deciding free-throws with 1.4 seconds remaining to boost the lead to five points, as India pulled out a shocking upset over South Korea 81-76 in the Stankovic Cup tournament.

We don’t have any historical record on hand, but this is probably India’s first win over South Korea in history on every basketball level. And now you know why Robinson got down on his knee and kissed the basketball court after the final buzzer sounded.

India and Korea is both 1-1 in Group A. But because of this key win, India will make the semifinal if Taiwan beat Korea tomorrow.

Robinson totally dominated the Koreans in the game. He scored on dunks, fadaway jumpers, putbacks, finger-rolls, free-throws. Everything. With Korea coming back from a 14-point deficit in the end of third quarter and taking a one-point lead with 1:13 to go, Robinson calmly swished a 14-foot jumper to put India back on top, 77-76. India never gave up the lead after that.

Robinson made sure the Korean All-Stars will remember him for the rest of their lives. He made both free-throws with 1.4 seconds remaining to increasing India’s lead to five points. And the rest is history.

Korea couldn’t buy a basket in the first three quarter. Worst yet, they didn’t have a clue on how to stop Robinson. India led by three in the end of first and five at halftime. India’s opened the second half with an 18-6 run to take the largest lead of the game, 57-40.

Korean College All-Stars finally woke up in the final ten minutes. Cho Sung-min had 14 points, including three back-breaking three-pointers, in a furious 21-3 rally as Korea suddenly changed the momentum and took the lead 69-65 with six minutes to go.

You won’t find any drama in the other matchup though. Syria stomped Philippines 96-65. M.N. Samman led Syria with 27 points. Michael Madanli had 25 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. 210cm center Wissam Yakoub tallied 10 points, 8 rebounds and three blocks. Brian Ilad’s 16 points and 11 rebounds topped Philippines.

Standings
Group A: Taiwan 2-0, India 1-1, Korea 1-1, Kuwait 0-2
Group B: Syria 2-1, Qatar 2-1, Japan 1-1, Philippines 0-2

Stankovic Cup Day 4 – Japan’s upset win not enough for semifinal seed

Japan won, but Qatar advanced. It’s cruel, but it’s that simple.

Japan pulled up the first upset of the tournament today when they rallied and beat Qatar 70-65. However, because of the 26-point loss to Syria, Japan’s chance of making the semifinal came down a couple baskets short.

If Japan beat Philippines tomorrow, which is 99% possible, Japan, Syria and Qatar will be 2-1 all in wins and losses. The first tie-breaker compares head-to-head record, which three teams are the same at 1-1. It takes them to the second tie-breaker – point differential.

In this case, Syria jumps to number one with 15 points-plus, Qatar second with 6 points-plus, while Japan finished last with 21 points-minus. That explains why Qatar lost the game but got the semifinal seed.

However, Japan did shock Qatar today with a tough interior defense and quickness. With the inside presence of twin brothers Joji and Kosuke Takeuchi, both 6-7, Japan limited Qatar’s inside attack and trailed by only two, 34-36, at the half.

Thanks to Qatar’s poor foul-shooting and a 23-14 third quarter, Japan took control of the momentum in the second half. Before the game is done Qatar made the final push, Erfan Ali Saeed scored three points and cut the lead to 68-64 with 1:33 to go. Both team failed to make shot in the next two minutes.

With one minute remaining, Yasseen Ismail Mousa blanked two free-throws, missing a wonderful opportunity to cut the deficit to one basket. Japan’s point guard Kei Igarashi drove the lane and made a high-arching finger-roll, increasing the lead to five points and the final score, 70-65.

As a team, Qatar made only 12 of 25 free-throws and passed for only 7 assists in the game. They have to improve on both categories in the semi in order to do better.

Qatar and Syria both clinched a semifinal birth and the ticket to the next Asian Championship. Top five teams in the Stankovic Cup receive the automatic seeds in the 2005 Asian Championships.

Japan 70-65 Qatar (Half 34-36)
Japan – J. Takeuchi 17p+10rb+2s+2blk, R. Sakurai 14p, Y. Saito 10p, K. Takeuchi 7p+6rb+2blk
Qatar – A.T. Ali 18p, Y.I. Mousa 16p+8rb+3s, E.A. Saeed 12p+8rb

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Stankovic Cup Day 3 – Chen Hsin-an leads Taiwan past Kuwait

Once again, Taiwan NT rided on Chen Hsin-an’s shoulder. Chen had a game-high 20 points as Taiwan won its second straight after a 94-56 win over Kuwait.

Kuwait gave the home team a scare in the first quarter, when they trailed 20-21. In the last 30 minutes Taiwan NT showed no mercy, making 13 of 35 three-pointers in the game as a team to lead by as many as 40 points.

With its height advantage, Tien Lei, Wu Dai-hao and Tsun Wen-din also were able to score on putbacks and dunks on numerous occasions. Taiwan NT also scored a lot on fastbreaks, taking advantage of rebounding and Kuwait’s slowness to get back on defense.

Taiwan 94-56 Kuwait (Half 43-28)
Taiwan - Chen Hsin-an 20p+5rb, Tien Lei 11p+9rb, Chang Chi-feng 11p
Kuwait - O.Mubarak 17p+9rb, S. Hasan 12p

Standings:
Group A: Taiwan 2-0, Korea 1-0, India 0-1, Kuwait 0-2
Group B: Qatar 2-0, Syria 1-1, Japan 0-1, Philippines 0-1

Stankovic Cup Day 3 – Qatar rallies to win West Asia showdown

Qatar avoided the potential upset with a 28-10 third quarter rally to beat Syria 86-75 in the most exciting game so far in the Stankovic Cup. 19 year-old Saad Abdulrahman Ali and Yasseen Ismail Mousa each scored 20 points as Qatar led Group B with 2-0 after winning the West Asia showdown.

Surprisingly, Qatar trailed 36-46 to a highly-organized and efficient Syrian offense. A switch to two-three zone worked wonder. Qatar frustrated Syria’s outside shooting and controlled the paint. A three-pointer by Mohammed Seleem Abdulla put Qatar on top, 51-50, with 5:15 left in the quarter.

Qatar dominated the quarter which included at least five dunks by Mousa and Omer Abdergader Salem, and turned a 10-point halftime deficit into an 8-point lead in the end of third quarter.

Syria refused to give up. Led by Madanli, who was shut out in the third after scoring 17 in the first half, Syria made the score 80-75 with two minutes remaining. Madanli scored 11 straight points during a four-minute stretch.

A looseball foul call on A.A. Abdallah with 1:44 remaining drove Syrian head coach Sherif Osman Ayazmy crazy. Ayazmy challenged the referee on court and was ejected. Mousa made three of four ensuing free throws and iced the game.

Michael Madanli had 31 points after scoring 33 in the first game. He was obvious the brightest star so far in the first two days of the tournament.

Qatar 86-75 Syria (Half 36-46)
Qatar – S. Abdulrahman Ali 20p+4a+4s, Y. I. Mousa 20p+7rb+4s, O.A. Salem 13p+5rb+3blk
Syria – M. Madanli 31p(7-18 FG)+8rb+4a+4s, M.N. Samman 16p+5a

Monday, November 22, 2004

Stankovic Cup Day 2 – Korea and Qatar cruise

The second day of the Tournament made you wonder maybe this competition should split into two divisions. South Korea routed Kuwait 92-64 and Qatar beat Philippines 105-53 with only a handful of fans witnessing on the sideline.

So far Taiwan and South Korea are obvious the teams to beat in Group A. In Group B, Qatar and Syria led with 1-0. Japan is the only team that is capable of pulling an upset and makes the semifinal, if they can somehow manage to beat Qatar.

Standings:
Group A: Taiwan 1-0, Korea 1-0, Kuwait 0-1, India 0-1
Group B: Qatar 1-0, Syria 1-0, Japan 0-1, Philippines 0-1

Sunday, November 21, 2004

Stankovic Cup Day 1 – Taiwan, Syria open with blowout wins

The first edition of FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup opened with two blowout games in the first day of action. A new-and-improved Chen Hsin-an had 16 points and led Taiwan NT to a 98-61 victory over India, while Syria routed Japan 82-56.

Taiwan and India looked like two teams on different levels. Taiwan NT turned every missed shot and defensive rebound into a fastbreak, leading 26-6 in the end of the first quarter and declared the game over.

Chen Hsin-an, who joined the team after practicing with Orange County Crush of ABA for the first time, made 4 of 10 three-pointers and looked extremely confident. Taiwan NT made the game a 40-minutes garbage time and fastbreak drill, leading by more than 30 points before the end of third quarter.

Taiwan had six players scoring in double-digit.

In the opening game, Syria didn’t look like a team whose flight had been delayed for almost two days in Jordan because of a heavy fog and arrived in the gym just 30 minutes before tip-off. Syria opened the game which they never trailed with a 10-0 run and pounded Japan with inside advantage.

There’s more. Syria’s Michael Madanli tortured Japan with his deft shooting touch. Madanli scored a game-high 33 points on 12-for-23 shooting and made 7 of 12 foulshots to go with 5 rebounds and 4 steals.

Japan went through a cold shooting night and never found the basket, shooting an abysmal 31-for-71, including 3-for-23 behind the three-point line. Worst yet, they committed 23 turnovers. Ryota Sakurai led Japan with 10 points.

Syria 82-56 Japan
Syria – M. Madanli 33p+5rb+4s, M. Samman 15p+6rb, R. hasaballah 12p+8rb
Japan – R. Sakurai 10p, S. Furuta 9p+7rb, J. Takeuchi 9p+8rb, K. Takeuchi 2p+10rb

Taiwan 98-61 India
Taiwan – Chen Hsin-an 16p, Tsun Wen-din 15p, Tien Lei 14p, Chou Shih-yuan 12p,, Chang Chi-feng 11p, Wu Dai-hao 11p
India – S. Robinson 10p+9rb+3blk

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Taiwan NT finishes Korea trip 2-3

Taiwan NT lost to Korean All-Stars 68-91 and finished the warmup tour 2-3. The team will be back to Taiwan tomorrow and get ready for the Stankovic Cup with two-a-day sessions, assistant coach Chou Hai-jung said.

Taiwan NT trailed the whole game in part because of foul trouble. Tien Lei and Wu Dai-hao both had three fouls already in the first quarter. Tien commited his fourth foul in the second quarter.

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Stankovic Cup - Iran pulls out, Taiwan NT roster finalized

According to CTBA press release, FIBA Asia confirmed Iran had officially pulled out of the Stankovic Cup, which is now an 8-team tournament.

Taiwan NT also finalized its 12-man roster today. Wu Chih-yuan(injury), Chen Shi-nian and Yang Chin-ming were cut. Chen Hsin-an, who is with ABA's Orange County Crush right now, will join Taiwan NT on Nov. 18th.

Game schedule is revised as below:

*Participating Teams
GroupA: Korea, Kuwait, India, Chinese Taipei
GroupB: Qatar, Syria, Phillippines, Japan

*Competition Schedule
(Local Time)

November 21
15:00 B Syria - Japan
17:00 Opening Ceremony
18:00 A India - Chinese Taipei

November 22
18:00 A Korea - Kuwait
20:00 B Qatar - Phillippines

November 23
18:00 B Syria - Qatar
20:00 A Chinese Taipei - Kuwait

November 24
16:00 B Qatar - Japan
18:00 B Phillippines - Syria
20:00 A India - Korea

November 25
16:00 A Kuwait - India
18:00 B Japan - Phillippines
20:00 A Korea - Chinese Taipei

November 26
14:00 5-8 A3 - B4
16:00 5-8 B3 - A4
18:00 S Final A1 - B2
20:00 S Final B1 - A2

November 27
14:00 7/8 place game
16:00 5/6 place game
18:00 3rd-place game
20:00 Final
21:45 Closing Ceremony

Taiwan NT final roster for the Stankovic Cup

Manager: Lee Chin-chi
Head Coach: Hu Tsai-lin
Assistant Coach: Chou Hai-jung, Fu Min-jen

Players:

Tsun Wen-din 1984.07.06 C 202 86
Chen Hsin-an 1980.07.01 F 196 90
Chou Shih-yuan 1983.11.16 G/F 185 80
Lee Hsueh-lin 1984.01.31 G 176 75
Chang Chi-feng 1981.04.22 G/F 182 84
Lee Chi-yi 1978.10.27 C/F 200 90
Tien Lei 1983.06.01 C/F 202 86
Wang Chih-chun 1982.04.23 G 180 75
Lee Fong-yong 1980.12.15 C/F 197 89
Yang Che-yi 1978.10.20 F 193 85
Lin Chi-jay 1982.06.11 F 193 92
Wu Dai-hao 1985.02.07 C/F 202 98

Taiwan NT lost to Chung-Ang Univ., 81-96

Taiwan NT dropped to 2-2 in the 5-game warmup tour in Korea after a 81-96 defeat to Chung-Ang University. Wu Dai-hao, who was injured yesterday still suited up for the game and had 15 points. Tien Lei and Chou Shih-yuan had 11 points respectively. Lee Chi-yi, Lee Fong-yong and Chang Chi-feng scored 9 points each.

Taiwan NT will face Korea All-Star, which will be coming to Taiwan for the Stankovic Cup, tomorrow in the last warmup game.

Monday, November 15, 2004

Taiwan NT beat Konkuk Univ. to go 2-1 in tour

Tien Lei had 18 points as Taiwan NT beat Konkuk University to go 2-1 in the 5-game warmup tour in Korea. With two more injured players -- Wu Dai-hao(chest) and Lin Chi-jay(ankle) -- along with previous injured Tsun Wen-din and Chen Shi-nian, Taiwan NT will be short-handed in two remaining games. Wu and Lin are not expected to play in Korea but will be ready for the Stankovic Cup, Taiwan coaching staff said. Chou Shi-yuan scored 14 in the third game of the tour. Lee Fong-yong had 9 while Wu Dai-hao had 7 points before sitting out.

Sunday, November 14, 2004

Tien Lei's three-pointer lifted Taiwan NT

Tien Lei made a three-point shot with 2 seconds remaining as Taiwan NT edged Korea University 89-88 in the second warmup game in Korea. Tien Lei made four three-pointers and scored 16 points, while Chou Shi-yuan had a team-high 20 points. Lin Chi-jay and Tsun Wen-din had 10 respectively.

Saturday, November 13, 2004

Taiwan NT lost to Yonsei Univ., 74-81

Taiwan NT for the Stankovic Cup, which arrived in Seoul late last night, lost to Yonsei University 74-81 today in the first of five warmup games in South Korea. Chang Chi-feng led the team with 24 points. Chou Shi-yuan had 15, followed by Tsun Wen-din's 14 and Wu Dai-hao's 11. In addition to their Korean oppnents, Taiwan NT has to adjust to freezing temperature, which was only about 5 degree centigrade -- more than 20 degrees lower than Taiwan.

SBL tip-off will pull back one week

CTBA announced the 2004-05 SBL season will pull back one week from December 10 to December 18. It also confirmed all exhibition games will be played in Keelung City from December 9-12.

Friday, November 12, 2004

1st FIBA-ASIA Stankovic Cup Schedule

Participating Teams
GroupA: Korea, Kuwait, India, Chinese Taipei
GroupB: Qatar, Syria, I.R. Iran, Phillippines, Japan

Competition Schedule
(Local Time)

November 21
1 13:00 B Syria - Japan
2 15:00 B Phillippines - I.R. Iran
17:00 Opening Ceremony
3 18:00 A India - Chinese Taipei

November 22
4 16:00 B I.R. Iran - Syria
5 18:00 A Korea - Kuwait
6 20:00 B Qatar - Phillippines

November 23
7 16:00 B Syria - Qatar
8 18:00 B Japan - I.R. Iran
9 20:00 A Chinese Taipei - Kuwait

November 24
10 16:00 B Qatar - Japan
11 18:00 B Phillippines - Syria
12 20:00 A India - Korea

November 25
13 14:00 B I.R. Iran - Qatar
14 16:00 A Kuwait - India
15 18:00 B Japan - Phillippines
16 20:00 A Korea - Chinese Taipei

November 26
17 14:00 5-8 A3 - B4
18 16:00 5-8 B3 - A4
19 18:00 S Final A1 - B2
20 20:00 S Final B1 - A2

November 27
21 14:00 7-8 #17Loser - #18Loser
22 16:00 5-6 #17Winner - #18Winner
23 18:00 3rd Place #19Loser - #20Loser
24 20:00 Final #19Winner - #20Winner
21:45 Closing Ceremony

Thursday, November 11, 2004

Taiwan NT goes to Korea for a 5-game tour

Taiwan NT for the Stankovic Cup will go to South Korea from Nov. 12-18 for a five-game warmup tour. The team will meet various teams which includes Korea’s perennial college powerhouse Yonsei University and trim the 15-man roster down to twelve after the trip.

The inaugural FIBA Stankovic Cup will be played from Nov. 21-27 at TPEC Gymnasium, Taipei, Taiwan.

Saturday, November 06, 2004

Crush will hold press conference in Taiwan for Chen

According to SFX agent John Kim, Orange County Crush (ABA) will hold a signing press conference in Taipei for Sean Chen. Kevin Copeland, GM of the ABA Orange County Crush professional basketball team today announced the signing of Taiwanese basketball star Chen Hsin-an to the team, the first Taiwanese player to sign with a North American professional basketball team.

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Chen Hsin-an signs with Orange County Crush, SFX

Orange County Crush of the American Basketball Association signed Taiwanese player Chen Hsin-an(aka Sean Chen) to its training camp, making Chen the first player to sign with a North American ballclub.

SFX Basketball Group also announced that Sean Chen has chosen SFX Basketball as his worldwide representative.

The 6-5 Chen participated in the Sacramento Kings preseason training camp in October 2002, becoming the first player from Taiwan invited to an NBA training camp. Chen tried out for the Denver Nuggets summer league in the summer of 2003 and practiced with the National Basketball Development League’s (NBDL) Mobile Revelers.

“We are honored that Sean has chosen SFX Basketball to represent him,” said John Kim, Manager of Asia Pacific Divison. “It is our belief that Sean’s talent and ability make him a natural to play in the NBA.

“I chose SFX because they are the best in the world at representing professional basketball players,” said Chen. “It has long been a dream of mine to play in the NBA and I feel that SFX was the best choice to help me fulfill that goal.”

Chen, 24, is a member of the Taiwan National Team and plays for club team, Yulon Dinos. In 2004, he led Yulon to the SBL title and was named to the Asia-Basket All-Taiwanese SBL 2nd team, as well as to the Taiwanese Super Basketball League All-Star Game squad. In 2001, the Chen-led Dinos captured the A-League title. Chen was named MVP of the series.

Prior to joining the Dinos, Chen played for the Bank of Taiwan in the Amateur League. In 1998, he was named by the Asian Basketball Confederation as the most promising Asian junior player, along with NBA All-Star Yao Ming.

Saturday, October 30, 2004

Chen Hsin-an trying to make ABA roster

Chen Hsin-an, who played for Yulon Dinos, is in southern California and trying to make the ABA roster. Chen has been practicing with both the Orange County Crush and Ontario Warriors. According to O.C. Crush GM Kevin Copeland, the Crush will sign Chen to go to Crush training camp starting in November 4.

Chen, who was in Sacramento Kings pre-season training camp in 2002 and Denver Nuggets summer league in 2003, was granted a one-year release from Yulon

Orange County Crush and Ontario Warriors are both in the ABA Red Division. There will be a total of 35 teams in the ABA in 2004-05 season.

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Lin Chi-jay scored 44, Taiwan Beer wins MD Challenge

Lin Chi-jay, last season’s SBL scoring leader, picked up where he left off with 44 points as Taiwan Beer beat Videoland Hunters in overtime in the Million-Dollar Challenge title game. Lin had 6 of TB’s 12 points in overtime and shot 7-for-16 behind the three-point line.

But the real unsung heroes of the game are Ho Sho-jen and Hsu Hao-cheng, who buried consecutive mid-range jumpers in the final minute and increased TB’s lead to four points.

Ho Sho-jen scored 19 points for the winner. Lee Wei-min, who was often overlooked, had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Center Ha Hsiao-yuan had 8 points and 10 boards.

Lee Chi-yi led VL with 27 points. Hsiung Jen-jen, who left Sina and signed with VL, had 18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Chen Huei had 20 points and dished out 8 assists. Lin Shin-hwa had 16 and 7.

Hsiung Jen-jen made a back-breaking three-pointer from the left baseline with 3.9 seconds left in regulation and leveled the score at 87 all.

Led by forward Wei Yong-tai’s 20 points and 8 rebounds, Yulon beat ETSN 84-74 in the third-place game. Chiu Chi-yi had 19 points and Chen Chih-chun had 15 for Yulon, who entered the game without Chen Hsin-an.

Shin Jin-jan scored 26 points for ETSN. PG Huang Bao-tse had 13 points.

Monday, October 18, 2004

MD Challenge Day 7: TB, Videoland will clash in title game

Taiwan Beer will meet Videoland in the title game. Yulon and ETSN meet for third-place.

Videoland 67-66 Yulon (Yang Che-yi 21p, Lee Chi-yi 13p+10rb, Lin Shin-hwa 13p+9rb ; Chen Chih-chun 24p, Chiu Chi-yi 13p)
Taiwan Beer 86-80 ETSN (Lin Chi-jay 32p+6rb+6a, Ho Sho-jen 14p, Ha Hsiao-yuan 11p+9rb ; Wu Cheng-dao 29p, Shin Jin-jan 13p)
Dacin 90-82(OT) Sina (Tien Lei 16p+12rb, Lee Fong-yong 13p ; Wang Chuan-jian 23p+14rb+3s+4blk, Lo Shin-liang 14p)

Final Prelim Standings
1. TB 4-2
2. Videoland 4-2
3. Yulon 4-2
4. ETSN 3-3
5. BOT 2-4
6. Dacin 2-4
7. Sina 2-4

Sunday, October 17, 2004

MD Challenge Day 6: Yulon 59, Dacin 50

Chen Hsin-an did not play for the second consecutive game but there’s no problem with Yulon, who received 24 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks from Tsun Wen-din and beat Dacin 59-50 on Saturday.

Yulon led the standings with 4-1 but had to say goodbye to Chen Hsin-an, who will be going to the ABA tryout camp and probably stay in the U.S. if he makes the team.

Chang Chi-feng led Dacin with 20 points and 5 boards. Tien Lei had an off day, shooting a miserable 1-for-17 from the field and managed only 5 points and 9 rebounds. Dacin made 6 of 34 shots from three-point range as a team and dropped to 1-4.

Taiwan Beer 102-80 Bank of Taiwan
Lin Chi-jay’s 36 points outburst gave fans in Hsin-chu city an afternoon to remember. Lin scored 15 points in the first quarter alone and led TB to a 32-point rout over BOT. He did not play in the final quarter.

TB’s Lee Wei-min and Ha Hsiao-yuan had 11 pints respectively. Rookie Wang Jian-wei had 10 points and 8 rebounds. Pan Jen-der also had 10 points. Lee Chi-shun had a team-high 16 points for BOT.

Sina 82-72 Videoland
Sina forced VL to 22 turnovers in a surprising win. Lin Yu-shu led Sina with 17 points while rookie Yang Shi-hao had 15 points and 7 rebounds. Yang Che-yi led VL with 14 points and 6 assists. Lai Kuo-hong had 12 and 6.

Standings
Yulon 4-1, Videoland 3-2, ETSN 3-2, TB 3-2, Sina 2-3, BOT 2-4, Dacin 1-4

Saturday, October 16, 2004

MD Challenge Day 5: Videoland 79, ETSN 64

Videoland Hunters made 12-of-20 three-pointers and beat ETSN 79-64 as VL and Yulon, who also won last night, replace ETSN at No.1 in the Million-Dollar Challenge standings. Both team are 3-1 with two games to play while ETSN (3-2) drops to No.3.

VL point guard Chen Huei led with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists. Lee Chi-yi and Lin Jia-huang had 12 each. Huang Bao-tse led ETSN with 17 points. Wu Dai-hao contributed 12 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

Yulon 88-53 SINA
Yulon had no problem without Chen Hsin-an, who sit out the game and will leave for ABA tryout. Chen Chih-chun had 12 points and center Tsun Wen-din had 11 points, 11 rebounds in the blowout victory. Lin Yu-shu of SINA had 13 points.

Bank of Taiwan 83-79(OT) Dacin
Reigning SBL MVP Tien Lei did not dress for the game citing knee injury, although he looked OK. That means Dacin basically threw out the game. Yang Chin-min had 21 points and Ju Yong-hong 20 to pace BOT, who was up to 2-3 after the overtime win.

Dacin was led by Chang Chi-feng’s 19 points and 10 boards. Huang Chih-chun had 14. Chen Tse-wei had 13.

Standings
Yulon 3-1, Videoland 3-1, ETSN 3-2, Taiwan Beer 2-2, BOT 2-3, Dacin 1-3, SINA 1-3

Friday, October 15, 2004

MD Challenge Day 4: TB upsets Yulon in overtime

Ho Sho-jen made two foulshots to take the game into yet another overtime and Lee Wei-min scored all of his 7 points in the extra five minutes as Taiwan Beer upset Yulon, 88-85. Yulon suffered its first loss and the tournament has an overtime game for the third consecutive day.

Chen Hsin-an, who scored a tournament-high 37 points, was the only one Yulon could count on, while Taiwan Beer featured a balanced attack. Lin Chi-jay had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Ha Hsiao-yuan had 17 points and 9 boards. Chen Shi-nian had 11.

Tsun Wen-din of Yulon had 20 points. Chou Shih-yuan had 13.

ETSN 78-58 BOT
Wu Dai-hao had 17 points and 8 rebounds as ETSN routed BOT to lead the standing at 3-1. Wu Cheng-dao scored 14 in the win. Huang Bao-tse turned in 13 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. BOT was led by Ju Yong-hong’s 17.

Videoland 85-72 Dacin
Videoland led from start to finish after a 35-16 first quarter and handed Dacin the second straight loss. Yang Che-yi had 22 points for Videoland. Lai Kuo-hong had 16 points and 8 rebounds. Lee Chi-yi had 14.

Tien Lei and Chang Chi-feng each had 20 points for Dacin, who dropped to 1-2.

Standings
ETSN 3-1, Yulon 2-1, Videoland 2-1, Taiwan Beer 2-2, Dacin 1-2, SINA 1-2, BOT 1-3

Thursday, October 14, 2004

MD Challenge Day 3: Yulon won two straight

Tsun Wen-din’s 19 points, 7 rebounds and 6 blocks led Yulon to a 91-74 win over Bank of Taiwan. At 2-0, Yulon becomes the only undefeated team in the Challenge series.

Chen Hsin-an, who will be leaving next week for the minor league ABA tryout in the US, had 18 points in the game. BOT was led by Lee Chi-shun’s 18 points.

SINA 81-80 Taiwan Beer
The most shocking game of the day. Ha Hsiao-yuan was whistled for a 5-second violation when he was attempting his potential game-tying free-throw with less than three seconds left, as Taiwan Beer lost a heartbreaker 81-80 to SINA, who won for the first time after losing two straight.

Ho Sho-jen tallied 29 points for TB, which also received 21 points and 12 boards from Lin Chi-jay. SINA’s Lin Yu-shu had 13 points. Rookie Wang Chuan-jian had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

ETSN 94-92(OT) Dacin
Unheralded Shin Jin-jan scored 23 points, including 5 in overtime, and Wu Dai-hao had 19 points and 14 rebounds to help ETSN edge Dacin 94-92 in overtime. ETSN veteran Chou Jun-san was still brilliant, collecting 11 points, 10 boards and 5 assists.

Chang Chi-feng led Dacin with 28 points. Lee Fong-yong had 16 and 11, while Tien Lei had 14 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.

Standings:
Yulon 2-0, ETSN 2-1, Dacin 1-1, Videoland 1-1, Taiwan Beer 1-2, BOT 1-2, SINA 1-2

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

MD Challenge Day 2: Lin Chi-jay’s 26 leads TB to OT win

Reigning SBL scoring leader Lin Chi-jay scored 10 of Taiwan Beer’s 11 points in overtime as TB edged Videoland, 95-89, in the second day of Million-Dollar Challenge.

A slimmer and stronger, quicker Lin was too much for Videoland in the extra five minutes, when Lin scored time and again on drives and free-throws. Lin had 26 points and 8 rebounds in the game.

Ho Sho-jen also had 28 for Taiwan Beer, while PG Hsu Hao-cheng had 10 points, 7 rebounds and five assists. Ha Hsiao-yuan, who was traded from ETSN (former Jutai Tech) in the summer, had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Lin Jia-huang had 26 points to pace Videoland, which also received 25 points from Yang Che-yi and 20 points from Lee Chi-yi.

Yulon 78-68 ETSN
Chou Shi-yuan had 15 and Chen Hsin-an 14 as Yulon cruised to an easy win in its opening game. Center Tsun Wen-din had 8 points and pulled down 10 boards. Wu Cheng-dao had 17 points to lead ETSN (1-1). Huang Bao-tse, formerly of Yulon, had 13 points. Wu Dai-hao and Chen Shun-hsiang had 10 points respectively for ETSN.

Bank of Taiwan 70-59 SINA
Chuan Xiao-wen had 13 points to lead a balanced attack as BOT handed SINA its second straight loss. BOT PG Wu Yong-jen had 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. SINA was led by rookie Wang Chuan-jian’s 15 and 10.

Standings: Yulon 1-0, Dacin 1-0, TB 1-1, BOT 1-1, ETSN 1-1, Videoland 1-1, SINA 0-2

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

2004-05 SBL comings and goings

Coaching Changes
(Team: coach replaced, new coach)
ETSN: Liu Hwa-lin(becomes assistant), Cheng Jin-cheng
SINA: Hu Tsai-lin, Liu Jun-ching
Taiwan Beer: Fu Ming-jen, Yen Jia-hwa

Player Movement
Videoland
Addition: Huang Chun-hsiung(SINA), Hsiung Jen-jen(SINA), Lin Tsun-ching(Rookie), Shen Hsin-han(Rookie), Nian Shu-hao(Rookie), Shi Chih-chen(Rookie), Liao Jian-shen(Rookie), Wu Cheng-yu(Rookie), Kao Tian-chi(Rookie)
Substraction: Lee Chi-shun(BOT), Cheng An-jay(BOT), Sam Mao-san(Assistant coach), Yen Shin-shu, Hsu Chi-chan(BOT)

Taiwan Beer
Addition: Ha Hsiao-yuan(ETSN), Hsu Hao-cheng(BOT), Lo Da-wei(BOT), Wang Jian-wei(Rookie), Lin Kwan-lun(Dacin)
Substraction: Liao Wei-chen(ETSN), Wu Jun-hsiung(ETSN)

SINA
Addition: Yang Shi-hao(Rookie), Wang Chuan-jian(Rookie), Lee Chi-lun(Rookie), Chang Yu-lin(Rookie), Lu Cheng-ju(Rookie), Liu Chun-chih(Rookie), Chen Yi-fan(Rookie), Wang Wen-jian(Rookie), Wang Yi-jen
Substraction: Chou Jun-san(ETSN), Huang Chun-hsiung(Videoland), Hsiung Jen-jen(Videoland)

ETSN
Addition: Liao Wei-chen(Taiwan Beer), Chou Jun-san(SINA), Wu Jun-hsiung(Taiwan Beer), Huang Bao-tse(Yulon), Yua Ying-li(Rookie), Liao Yen-lun, Chen Jing-huan(Rookie), Hong Yin-che(Rookie), Hsiao Yuan-chan(Rookie), Chao Jia-chun, Hsieh Chih-wei(Rookie), Chen Ming-feng(Rookie)
Substraction: Ha Hsiao-yuan(Taiwan Beer)

Bank of Taiwan
Addition: Lee Chi-shun(Videoland), Cheng An-jay(Videoland), Kang Chun-jay(Rookie), Hsu Chi-chan(Videoland), Su Hsian-wei(Rookie), Lin Jui-kun(Rookie)
Substraction: Hsu Hao-cheng(Taiwan Beer), Lo Da-wei(Taiwan Beer)

Yulon
Addition: Hsu Wei-shen(Rookie), Chang Yi-wen, Tsun Yi-feng(Rookie), Liu Jui-shen(Rookie), Chang Bu-jin
Substraction: Huang Bao-tse(ETSN), Yen Jia-wei(Dacin)

Dacin
Addition: Yen Jia-wei(Yulon), Deng An-cheng(Rookie), Lin Hwan-chao(Rookie), Lin Yi-huei(Rookie)
Substraction: Lin Kwan-lun(Taiwan Beer)

Monday, October 11, 2004

MD Challenge Day 1: Chou Jun-san leads ETSN past SINA

35 year-old veteran Chou Jun-san had 23 points in 25 minutes and led ETSN Antelopes to an 87-76 victory over his former team SINA Lions last night in the opening game of Million-Dollar Challenge.

Chou said goodbye to SINA and signed with ETSN weeks earlier. Chou did not disappoint his new boss, handing ETSN the first win in franchise victory.

Wu Cheng-dao had 22 points and 7 rebounds and Liao Wei-chen had 11 for ETSN, which changed its name after buying Jutai Technology. Lin Yu-shu led SINA with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Liu Yi-hsiang had 13.

Videoland 89-72 Bank of Taiwan
Hu Yu-wei made all five of his three-point attempts and scored a team-high 19 points for Videoland Hunters in the easy win, which is also the first victory in Videoland’s history.

Lee Chi-yi had 14 points for the winner. Lee Chi-shun had 21 and Ju Yong-hong had 11 points and 7 rebounds for Bank of Taiwan.

Dacin 86-83 Taiwan Beer
Chang Chi-feng exploded for 29 points and led Dacin to the victory in the most thrilling game of the evening. Lin Chi-jay, SBL’s scoring leader last season, had 24 points.

Sunday, October 10, 2004

SBL teams to square off in Million-Dollar Challenge

Prior to the second SBL season, seven SBL teams will square off in the “Million-Dollar Challenge” which starts tomorrow. The mini-tournament is hosted by Videoland TV Network, owner of Videoland Hunters, with tourney champion winning one million Taiwan Dollars.

Teams will play in a single round robin format in preliminary games. No.3 and No.4 meet for third-place while No.1 and No.2 meet for the title.

Game Schedule
(At Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium)
10/11 18:00 ETSN-SINA
10/11 19:40 Videoland-Bank of Taiwan
10/11 21:20 Dacin-Taiwan Beer
10/12 18:00 Videoland-Taiwan Beer
10/12 19:40 ETSN-Yulon
10/12 21:20 Bank of Taiwan-SINA
10/13 18:00 Yulon-Bank of Taiwan
10/13 19:40 SINA-Taiwan Beer
10/13 21:20 Dacin-ETSN
10/14 18:00 Dacin-Videoland
10/14 19:40 Taiwan Beer-Yulon
10/14 21:20 ETSN-Bank of Taiwan
10/15 18:00 Yulon-SINA
10/15 19:40 Bank of Taiwan-Dacin
10/15 21:20 Videoland-ETSN

(At Hsinchu Municiple Gymnasium)
10/16 14:30 Taiwan Beer-Bank of Taiwan
10/16 16:30 Dacin-Yulon
10/16 18:30 SINA-Videoland
10/17 14:30 Taiwan Beer-ETSN
10/17 16:30 SINA-Dacin
10/17 18:30 Yulon-Videoland
10/18 18:00 3rd-place Game:No.3 vs. No.4
10/18 20:00 Title Game: No.1 vs. No.2

Asian U-20: Taiwan finished for 5th-place

Taiwan U-20 beat Jordan 67-55 and finished for 5th-place in the Asian U-20 Men’s Championship. Taiwanese U-18 and U-20 NT both ranked fifth in the Asian Championship this year. Not a result that pleases local fans. Lastly, I have to say sorry for not updating the game results because of lack of information.

Friday, October 08, 2004

Stankovic Cup: Taiwan NT preliminary 15-man roster

CTBA announced its 15-man preliminary NT roster for the Stankovic Cup, which will be held in Taipei from Nov. 21-27. The team will start training camp on October 20th. Taiwan NT will go to Korea for a warmup tour and make the final cut to 12 players after the Korea tour.

Taiwan NT Preliminary Roster

Po. Name DOB Ht./Wt. Team
PG Huang Chih-chun 1982.04.23 180cm/75kg Dacin
PG Lee Hsueh-lin 1984.01.31 176cm/75kg Yulon
PG Chen Shih-nian 1984.04.08 180cm/72kg Taiwan Beer
SG Chang Chih-feng 1981.04.22 182cm/84kg Dacin
SG Chou Shi-yuan 1983.11.16 185cm/80kg Yulon
SF Chen Hsin-an 1980.07.01 196cm/90kg Yulon
SF Lin Chi-jay 1982.06.11 193cm/92kg Taiwan Beer
SF Yang Chin-min 1984.01.22 187cm/81kg Bank of Taiwan
SF Yang Che-yi 1978.10.20 193cm/85kg Videoland
PF Tien Lei 1983.06.11 202cm/86kg Dacin
PF Wu Chih-yuan 1983.10.24 200cm/84kg Taiwan Beer
PF Lee Chi-yi 1978.10.27 200cm/90kg Videoland
PF Lee Fong-yong 1980.12.15 197cm/89kg Dacin
C Tsun Wen-din 1984.07.06 202cm/86kg Yulon
C Wu Dai-hao 1985.02.07 202cm/98kg ETSN

Head coach: Hu Tsai-lin
Manager: Lee Chin-chi
Assistant: Chou Hai-jun, the other one to be named

Tuesday, October 05, 2004

FIBA Stankovic Cup draw

Group A: Taiwan, Korea, Kuwait, India
Group B: Qatar, Syria, Iran, Philippines, Japan

2004-05 SBL tips-off on December 10th

2004-05 SBL regular season will tip-off on December 10th, CTBA announced in its press release today.

A total of 105 games will be played as every team meets its opponents five times in the regular season. Game days will be on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with two games per day.

Playoffs format stays the same. Top four teams advance to the playoffs as No.1 meets No.4 and No.2 meet No.3 in the best-of-three first round. Winners advance to the best-of-five Finals.

All games will be played at Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium. Seven exhibition games are scheduled from December 2-5.

SBL Teams(7)
Yulon Dinos
SINA Lions
ETSN Antelopes
Videoland Hunters
Bank of Taiwan
Taiwan Beer
Dacin Constructions Tigers

Monday, October 04, 2004

Asian U-20: Taiwan's semi dream dim after 2OT loss to Qatar

Taiwan U-20 NT lost to Qatar, 92-103, in double overtime and maybe saw their chance of making the semifinal passing by. The heartbreaking loss makes Taiwan NT will have to beat Korea and Jordan, which is a tough task, to make it to the final four. Taiwan NT led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter, but center Tsun Wen-din, the only force in the middle, fouled out before halftime.

Sunday, October 03, 2004

Asian U-20: Taiwan tops Group D after 75-67 win over Iraq

Taiwan U-20 NT used 2-3 zone defense to frustrate Iraq from outside shooting and emerged with a 75-67 victory in the final prelim. Taiwan finished as Group D leader with three wins and advanced to the second round.

Quarter score:
Taiwan-Iraq: 24-14/17-21/19-16/15-16

Second round bracket:
Group I – Iran, Lebanon, China, Iraq
Group II – Qatar, Korea, Jordan, Taiwan

Saturday, October 02, 2004

Asian U-20: Taiwan 86, Japan 79

Yang Chin-min again led Taiwan U-20 NT on the scoring chart with 21 points in the 86-79 victory over Japan to go 2-0 in Group D in Asian U-20 Championship. Taiwan will meet Iraq in the last prelim.

Taiwan led by 12 and as many as 20 in the fourth quarter. Japan cut the deficit down to less than ten points as Taiwan subbed a couple high schoolers to finish the game. Big men Tsun Wen-din and Wu Jun-hsiung had 16 and 13 points respectively.

Friday, October 01, 2004

Stankovic Cup will be held as expected

The first edition of FIBA-sanctioned "Stankovic Cup" tournament will be held in Taipei as expected from November 21-27, CTBA said in its press release. Nine teams from Asian countries will participate and the draw will be held on October 4th, according to FIBA ASIA.

The participating national teams, which do not include China, will be Taiwan, Japan, Korea, India, Philippines, Iran, Syria, Qatar and Kuwait.

CTBA will decide the head coach of Taiwan NT in its NT commission meeting before the head coach selects 15 players for the training camp.

Asian U-20: Taiwan beat India 92-71

Yang Chin-min scored 20 points as Taiwan U-20 NT beat India 92-71 in the opening game of Asian U-20 Championship in Tehran, Iran. But head coach Liu Jia-fa was surprised at India’s intensity. Taiwan NT led by only five at halftime(40-35) but used a 30-13 run in the third quarter to open up the game. Tsun Wen-din and Chen Shih-nian had 13 points each. Lee Hseah-lin had 11 while Deng An-chen had 10.

Veteran Chou Jun-san signed with ETSN Antelopes

Former Taiwan NT and SINA Lions starting PG Chou Jun-san signed with ETSN Antelopes (formerly known as Jutai Technology), becoming the third veterans to leave SINA. Former Lions Hsiung Jen-jen and Huang Chun-hsiung signed with Videoland Hunters (formerly known as BCC Mars) in September.

SINA, which lost to Yulon 3-0 in last season’s SBL Finals, opted to go into a rebuilding stage early and re-signed only two starters, shooting guard Lo Shin-liang and center Liu Yi-hsiang.

Rumors flied in early September that SINA will drop Chou Jun-san, Huang Chun-hsiung and Hsiung Jen-jen. Eventually Huang and Hsiung did leave the team. It’s believed SINA intended to re-sign Chou but, for whatever reason, team management never went into contract negotiation with him.

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Asian U-20: Preliminary round schedules

(Tehran Local Time)

9/29
09:00 Jordan vs. Malaysia
11:00 Saudi Arabia vs. Kazakhstan
14:00 Korea vs. Lebanon
17:00 Qatar vs. Iran
19:00 China vs. Philippines

9/30
09:00 Kazakhstan vs. Korea
11:00 Japan vs. Iraq
15:00 Kuwait vs. Qatar
17:00 Lebanon vs. Saudi Arabia
19:00 India vs. Taiwan(Chinese Taipei)

10/1
09:00 Malaysia vs. China
11:00 Philippines vs. Jordan
15:00 Iraq vs. India
17:00 Kuwait vs. Iran
19:00 Taiwan(Chinese Taipei) vs. Japan

10/2
09:00 Japan vs. India
11:00 Malaysia vs. Philippines
13:00 Korea vs. Saudi Arabia
15:00 China vs. Jordan
17:00 Kazakstan vs. Lebanon
19:00 Taiwan(Chinese Taipei) vs. Iraq

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Asian U-20: Taiwan meets India in opening prelim

Taiwan U-20 NT will meet India in the opening preliminary game in Asian U-20 Men's Championship, which will be held in Tehran, Iran.

Preliminary Brackets
Group A: Qatar, Hong Kong, Kuwait
Gorup B: Korea, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Lebanon
Gorup C: China, Jordan, Malaysia, Philippines
Group D: Taiwan, Japan, India, Iraq

Taiwan NT prelim schedule(Taiwan Time)
9/30 2330 vs. India
10/1 2330 vs. Japan
10/2 2330 vs. Iraq

Preliminary games will use the single round robin format, as the top two teams in each group advance to the second round.

Second round Brackets
Group I: A2, B1, C2, D1
Gorup II: A1, B2, C1, D2

Cross-over semifinals will be held on October 7th and 8th.

Friday, September 24, 2004

Asian U-18: Taiwan beat Hong Kong 106-82 for fifth place

Hsu Yi-hsiu had 30 points as Taiwan Junior NT beat Hong Kong 106-82 and finished with 5th place in the tournament. Chang Yu-lin scored 16 points and Zo Tsun-kai had 13 points.

Taiwan failed to make the semifinal once again. Two years ago it was also coached by Hsu Jin-che and finished for 6th place in 2002 Asian U-18 Men’s Championship.

Sunday, September 19, 2004

Asian U-18: Taiwan beat Hong Kong 114-81

Taiwan Junior NT found their second wind in mid-3rd quarter, when they managed to lead Hong Kong by only two(60-58), and went on a 54-21 run en route to a 114-81 victory. Taiwan is now 1-1 in the second round with the deciding final game vs. powerful China coming up.

Saturday, September 18, 2004

Asian U-18: Taiwan lost to Lebanon 91-101

Taiwan U-18 NT lost a hard-fought battle to Lebanon, 91-101, in the first second round game of the Asian U-18 Men’s Championship. With the loss, Taiwan has to win the next two games versus China and Hong Kong to advance to the semifinals.

Taiwan is placed in the same group with China, Lebanon and Hong Kong in the second round. Kazakhstan, Iran, India and Korea are in the other group.

Taiwan beat Japan, 92-81, in the second prelim following a 116-76 blowout win over Kyrgyzstan. In the last prelim, Taiwan couldn’t contain Iran’s 7-6 big man Jaber Rouzbahani, who tallied 31 points, and lost the game, 56-76. Taiwan finished 2-1 in the preliminary round.

Paul Coughter, head coach of Lebanon Junior NT, coached three years in Taiwan and was the most successful coach in Taiwanese pro ball history. Coughter led Hong-kuo Elephants to three consecutive championships in now-defunct pro league CBA(Chinese Basketball Alliance).

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

Asian U-18: Taiwan routs Kyrgysztan 116-76

Taiwan Junior NT made the opening victory a blowout. Using a full-court press for almost 40 minutes, Taiwan didn't give Kyrgysztan, which dressed only eight players, any chance. Taiwan Junior opened up the game with a 12-1 run late in the first quarter and led 52-34 at halftime. The final score was 116-76. Taiwan Junior NT will have a one-day rest before playing Japan on Sep. 16th.

Wednesday, September 08, 2004

Taiwan Basketball Notes

Yulon to play in Brunei tournament
Yulon recruits Dacin forward Tien Lei and 6-9 import Alvin Jackson before departing for an international tournament to be held in Brunei from September 20th -October 1st.

A total of six teams from Asian countries will enter the fourth edition of the tourney. They are Yulon from Taiwan, China’s Shanghai, Philippines’ Red Bull and Purefoods, and Laguna from Indonesia.

Yulon starting center Tsun Wen-din and PG Lee Hsueh-lin will not join the team because they are currently in the U-20 NT training camp.

The six participating teams will play in the single round robin preliminary round. Top four teams advance to another single round robin second round.

SINA veterans signed by different teams
Huang Chun-hsiung and Hsiung Jen-jen, who didn’t re-signed by SINA Lions, have been signed by Videoland Hunters, formerly in the name of BCC Mars. Meanwhile, after a long talk with team management, PG Chou Jun-san re-signed with SINA for one year and will probably work in the capacity as a coaching staff member after retirement.

Taiwan Junior Women’s NT head for China
Taiwan Junior Women’s NT will go to China today for a 7-game tour in preparation of the upcoming Asian Junior Women’s Championship, which will be held in Shenzen, China from October 15-21.

Wu Dai-hao withdraws from U-20 NT
Citing recurring injury concern, 202cm center/forward Wu Dai-hao withdrew from U-20 Men’s NT training camp.

Monday, September 06, 2004

SINA dropped three veterans in controversial move

Three former NT veterans, Chou Jun-san, Huang Chung-hsiung and Hsiung Jen-jen, were dropped by SINA in the end of August as criticism flied buzz among Taiwanese basketball fans and observers.

Chou, Huang and Hsiung represented Taiwan NT during the last ten plus years and all have been among the most popular players in the nation. The surprising decision by SINA not re-signing these three shocked almost everyone.

In most people’s eyes, and in fact, all three are still capable of making contribution in the domestic league, namely the SBL, although they may be a step slow in international competitions.

Two of SINA’s five veteran starters – shooting guard Lo Shin-liang and center Liu Yi-hsiang – are retained.

It remains to be seen whether all three players will announce their retirement or not. Maybe they will play for other teams if being signed.

Chou Jun-san, at 173cm, is regarded as one of the best point guard in Asia. Not only he has been the most reliable starting PG in Taiwan NT but he also led the Chinese league CBA during his two years there.

202cm Huang Chun-hsiung, who can play inside and out, has been one of the most impact players on Taiwan NT. And he can still dominate the interior if he wants to.

Obviously SINA decides to enter the rebuilding stage with younger players and save some money at the same time.

Monday, August 30, 2004

Taiwan placed in tough group in Asia U-18 Championship

Taiwan got a tough draw in the 2004 Asian U-18 Men’s Championship as it is placed in the same group with Iran, Japan and Kyrgyzstan. The tournament will be held in Bengalore, India from September 13-22.

This year’s junior class for Taiwan is weaker than previous year. Hopefully, the backcourt combination of Su Yi-chieh and Hsu Yi-hsiu will lead the team to a higher ground. Su and Hsu both played in adidas All-Asia Camp in Shanghai, China this year, made the All-Tourney team and received good reviews.

Taiwan finished for 6th-place in the 2002 Asian U-18 Championship held in Kuwait. The Junior national team was also coached by Hsu Chin-che.

Host nation India surely has the upper hand in the draw, where it is placed in the weakest Group D with Qatar, Hong Kong and Yemen.

Draw
Group A: China, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia
Gorup B: Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Japan, Taiwan
Gorup C: South Korea, Philippines, Kuwait, Lebanon
Group D: Qatar, Hong Kong, India, Yemen

Roster
Name, Height, Position, School, DOB
Yen Cheng-hong, 197cm, C, San-min HS, 1986/2/5
Jian Jia-hong, 196cm, C, Tsai-shin HS, 1987/3/6
Cheng Jen-wei, 192cm, PF/SF, Nan-shan HS, 1987/4/6
Lin Yi-huei, 192cm, SF, Chiang-shu HS, 1986/3/24
Su Yi-chieh, 181cm, PG, Chiang-shu HS, 1987/1/28
Hsu Yi-hsiu , 180cm, SG, Song-shan HS, 1986/1/13
Lin Chun-chin, 185cm, SF/SG, An-le HS, 1986/4/22
Hong Yin-che, 200cm, C, Chiang-shu HS, 1986/1/6
Zo Tsun-kai, 188cm, SG/SF, Tsai-shin HS, 1986/9/15
Liu Jui-shen, 172cm, PG, Nan-shan HS, 1986/7/29
Lu Cheng-ju, 194cm, SF, Tsai-shin HS, 1986/4/13
Chang Yu-lin, 190cm, SF, San-min HS, 1986/1/16

Head Coach: Hsu Chin-che (Tsai-shin HS)

Saturday, August 21, 2004

Taiwan U-20 NT Preliminary Roster

U-20 coaching staff named a 16-man preliminary roster for 2004 Asian U-20 Men’s Basketball Championship, which will be held in Iran from September 29th to October 9th. The training camp will start on August 27th.

Head coach: Liu Jia-fa(Dacin Constructions Head coach)
Assistant: Wei Chen-ming(Bank of Taiwan Head coach)
Roster:
Name, Position, Height, DOB, Team
Tsun Wen-din C 204 1984/7/6 Yulon Dinos
Wu Dai-hao C/F 202 1985/2/7 EHSN Antelope
Wu Jun-hsiung C/F 198 1984/8/26 Taiwan Beer
Lin Hwan-chao C 202 1985/4/18 Dacin Constructions
Yang Chin-min SF 187 1983/1/22 Bank of Taiwan
Chen Tse-wei SF 198 1985/1/30 Dacin Constructions
Hsu Shi-chin PF 194 1984/11/1 Dacin Constructions
Wang Chuan-jian PF 195 1985/12/30 SINA Lions
Deng An-cheng SG 185 1985/11/6 Dacin Constructions
Hsu Wei-sheng PF 198 1985/3/23 Yulon Dinos
Lee Chih-ming PG 176 1984/1/31 Yulon Dinos
Chen Shih-nian PG 180 1984/4/8 Taiwan Beer
Chen Shi-jay SG 173 1984/9/24 SINA Lions
Sun Hwan-bo PG 180 1985/9/11 Tsai-shin HS
Lin Kwan-lun SG 186 1984/1/23 Taiwan Beer
Chen Li-wei SG 179 1986/12/16 Nan-shan HS

Yulon 0-4 in Japan Tour

8/12 Game 4: Japan 75-57 Yulon
Hong Chi-chao 14p, Wu Chih-wei 10p, Chen Hsin-an 8p, Chou Hong-yu 8p

8/11 Game 3: Japan 92-67 Yulon (Half 39-32)
Chen Hsin-an 19p(7-24 FG), Lee Chih-ming 12p, Chen Chih-chung 11p, Chou Shih-yuan 10p

8/10 Game 2: Japan 92-62 Yulon (Half 44-24)
Chou Shih-yuan 15p(6-9 FG), Chou Hong-yu 12p(6-12 FG), Wei Yong-tai 10p, Chen Hsin-an 7p(3-10 FG), Hsu Wei-sheng 6p, Lee Chih-ming 6p

8/9 Game 1: Japan 84-64 Yulon
Chou Shih-yuan 21p, Tsun Wen-din 13p, Chen Hsin-an 11p

Sunday, August 08, 2004

Yulon arrives in Japan for 4-game tour

2003-04 SBL champion Yulon arrived in Tokyo, Japan today for a four-game tour which it will take on the Japanese national team. Yulon accepted the invitation from JABBA (Japanese Basketball Association), who also invited Australia’s Sydney Kings for a two-game friendly series that concluded on August 8th.

Game schedule:
Aug. 9 Opponent TBD (Closed game)
Aug. 10 19:00 vs. Japanese NT @ Yoyogi Stadium 2nd Gym
Aug. 11 19:00 vs. Japanese NT @ Yoyogi Stadium 2nd Gym
Aug. 12 Opponent TBD (Closed game)

Sunday, August 01, 2004

Chen Hsin-an named 2004 Jones Cup MVP

Chen Hsin-an was named 2004 Jones Cup MVP after leading Taiwan White to the title and an undefeated 8-0 record. Chen averaged 14.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists in the tourney.

Chen won the MVP voting 11-4 over teammate Chou Shi-yuan, who averaged 13.4 points in 20.7 minutes per game and scored 50 points in victories over Australia and Korea. Chen was selected probably because of his consistent play and the ability to draw double-team and create for his teammates.

Paul Larmand of Carleton University is the biggest winner in the closing ceremony, winning tournament leading scorer and three-point shooter award while being selected to the 5-man All-Tournament team.

MVP: Chen Hsin-an (Taiwan White) 14.9p, 4.1rb, 2.2a
All-Tournament Team:
Chen Hsin-an
Tien Lei (Taiwan White) 12.6p, 6.4rb, 2.4a, 1.6s, 1.2blk
Paul Larmand (Carleton Univ.) 20.2p, 6.6rb
Ontario Lett (Perth Wildcats) 21.6p, 8.7rb, 1.7s, 1.6blk
Lin Chi-jay (Taiwan Blue) 16.4p, 5rb, 2s

Scoring Leader: Paul Larmand 162 points
Three-point Leader: Paul Larmand 24 3PT-made

Final Day – Taiwan White wins Jones Cup with perfect record

Carleton Univ.(CAN) 82-75 Perth Wildcats(AUS)
Carleton – P. Larmand 25p, O. Jeanty 22p+9rb, M. Smart 12p, M. Ross 12p
Wildcats – O. Lett 24p+10rb, A. Majstrovich 15p+10rb, B. Cox 12p

Qatar 80-70 Philippines
Qatar – A.T. Ali 21p+7rb, M.S. Abdulla 20p+9rb+5a, E.A. Saeed 14p
Philippines – C. Cruz 17p

Taiwan White 95-71 Japan
White – Chang Chi-feng 21p, Chou Shi-yuan 16p+4s, Chen Hsin-an 13p, Tsun Wen-din 12p
Japan – T. Onishi 15p+7rb, M. Omiya 13p+6s

Korea 68-60 Taiwan Blue
Korea – Chun Yen-Kwok 22p, Kim Julian 15p+9rb, Kim Il-Du 11p+7rb
Blue – Lo Shin-liang 11p, Chen Shi-nian 10p

Final Standing
1. Taiwan White 8-0
2. Canada 6-2
3. Australia 6-2
4. Korea 5-3
5. Taiwan Blue 4-4
6. Qatar 4-4
7. Japan 2-6
8. Philippines 1-7
9. Germany 0-8

Saturday, July 31, 2004

Day 6-8 – Taiwan White clinches Jones Cup title

Taiwan White beat Taiwan Blue, 105-83, tonight to clinch the Jones Cup title. This is the second time in history a Taiwanese team wins the tournament, amd also the first time ever Taiwanese teams won the men’s and women’s champions.

Taiwan NT beat Korea to win the 2001 Jones Cup title, the first time ever for the host to leave the championship trophy home.

For the past two days, we saw two offensive explosions from Perth Wildcats team. Wildcats guard Greg Brown tallied a tourney-high 41 points in the victory over Philippines. One night later, Wildcats’ new import Ontario Lett exploded for another 40 points in a win over Taiwan Blue.

Day 6(7/29)
Qatar 97-64 Japan
Qatar – Y.I. Mousa 23p+8rb, H.O. Ismail 13p+13rb, M.O. Al Jabri 12p+12rb
Japan – H. Omiya 12p+4s

Carleton Univ.(CAN) 95-36 IBA(GER)
Carleton – M. Ross 21p, J. Poirier 13p
IBA – E. Kuffour 11p

Perth Wildcats(AUS) 119-79 Philippines
Wildcats – G. Brown 41p+5rb+7a+5s(10-17 2PT, 6-13 3PT), A. Majstrovich 25p, L. Rush 17p+12rb

Taiwan White 90-76 Korea
White – Chou Shih-yuan 27p(10-13 2PT, 2-3 3PT), Tsun Wen-din 18p, Chen Hsin-an 15p, Tien Lei 7p+8rb+4s+3blk
Korea – Yun Byeong-Hak 16p, Kim Il-Du 15p, Lee Won-Soo 15p

Day 7(7/30)
Carleton Univ.(CAN) 56-55 Qatar
Carleton – J. Poirier 11p+7rb, M. Smart 11p, O. Jeanty 10p
Qatar – D.M. Daoud 13p, E.A. Saeed 12p

Korea 83-65 Philippines
Korea – Hu Hyo-Jeen 17p, Yun Byeong-Hak 12p, Kim Il-Du 12p, Kim Julian 12p
Philippines – M. Pingris 15p+11rb

Perth Wildcats(AUS) 77-63 Taiwan Blue
Wildcats – O. Lett 40p+9rb, A. Majstrovich 20p+12rb
Blue – Lin Chi-jay 18p, Lo Shin-liang 17p

Taiwan White 103-69 IBA(GER)
White – Lee Fong-yong 25p, Chang Chi-feng 19p
IBA – M. Huth 20p+11rb

Day 8(7/31)
Japan 95-55 IBA(GER)
Japan – M. Omiya 26p+9rb, T. Onishi 12p
IBA – A. Willemsen 23

Qatar 82-79 Korea
Qatar – Y.I. Mousa 22p+11rb+5a+5s
Korea – Kim Julian 17p, Kim Il-Du 15p, Kim Tae-Sul 12p+8a

Carleton Univ.(CAN) 85-70 Philippines
Carleton – P. Larmand 24p+11rb, J. Poirier 17p+9rb
Philippines – R. Calimag 18p, C. Cruz 15p

Taiwan White 105-83 Taiwan Blue
White – Tien Lei 19p+9rb, Chen Hsin-an 15p+5rb+5a, Chang Chi-feng 14p
Blue – Chen Huei 13p, Chou Jun-san 13p, Lee Chi-yi 12p

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Day 5 – Larmand’s tourney-high 32 help Canada stomp Japan

Paul Larmand just can’t miss.

The Carleton University forward made 14-of-22 shots, including 4-for-6 from three-point range, and scored tournament-high 32 points in the convincing win over Japan, 81-62, tonight.

Carleton Univ. used a 22-7 second quarter to ice the victory before halftime and climbed back to .500 with a 2-2 record. Larmand leads the tournament in scoring with 24.5 points per game.

Led by veteran Lo Shin-liang’s 20 points, Taiwan Blue cruised to an 88-68 victory over Philippines and tied with Perth Wildcats at 4-1 for the second place in the standing.

Wildcats faced a tough opponent, and an intriguing style of play, for the second straight night after losing to Taiwan White yesterday. But Ontario Lett and Greg Brown made sure Wildcats keep their focus as the NBL pro team led by 21 in halftime.

Lett had 71 points in the last three games, virtually scoring at will under the basket. Looks to me he has got the meal ticket with the Wildcats next season.

Carleton Univ.(CAN) 81-62 Japan
Carleton – P. Larmand 32p(10-16 2PT, 4-6 3PT)+7rb, M. Smart 13p+4a
Japan – M. Omiya 14p+6rb, T. Onishi 11p

Qatar 74-39 IBA(GER)
Qatar – O.A. Salem 18p+13rb+4blk, E.A. Saeed 16p, M.S. Abdulla 12p, M. Al Jabri 12p

Perth Wildcats(AUS) 93-86 Korea
Wildcats – O. Lett 21p+11rb, M. Shanahan 16p, G. Brown 17p, A. Majstrovich 13p+8rb
Korea – Kim Il-Du 23p, Kim Tae-Sul 15p+5s, Kim Julian 15p+11rb+3blk, Hu Hyo-Jeen 14p

Taiwan Blue 88-68 Philippines
Blue – Lo Shin-liang 20p, Lin Chi-jay 16p, Wu Dai-hao 14p+5rb+2blk, Yang Che-yi 11p
Philippiines – C. Cruz 17p, R. Calimag 16p

Standing
Taiwan White 4-0
Australia 4-1
Taiwan Blue 4-1
Korea 3-1
Canada 2-2
Philippines 1-3
Qatar 1-3
Japan 1-4
Germany 0-5

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Day 4 – Taiwan White upsets tourney favorite Perth Wildcats

Both home teams didn’t let Taiwanese fans down tonight. Led by Chou Shi-yuan’s surprising 23 points off the bench, Taiwan White upset tourney favorite Perth Wildcats, 83-82. Taiwan Blue, who almost trailed the whole game, had an unbelievable fourth quarter and defeated Qatar NT, 75-68.

Taiwan White enjoyed the sole lead now with 4-0, while Taiwan Blue tied with Wildcats at 3-1. Korea is the other undefeated team at 3-0.

Chou Shi-yuan came off the bench and made 5-of-9 three-pointers. In the meantime, Taiwan White still relied on Chan Hsin-an and Tien Lei, who scored 22 and 17 respectively, to rally from a 9-24 first-quarter deficit for the inspiring win.

Lee Chi-yi’s last of his four three-pointers with 1 1/2 minutes remaining helped Taiwan Blue to its first and last lead of the game. Taiwan Blue’s tenacious defense in the fourth quarter, when they outscored Qatar 18-6, made the difference.

Korea held on for its second one-point victory in the tournament, beating Japan 71-70.

Korea 71-70 Japan
Korea – Han Ji-Hoon 17p+9rb+4s, Yun Byeoung-Hak 15p, Hu Hyo-Jeen 12p
Japan – M. Kabaya 20p, T. Onishi 16p+10rb, H. Omiya 11P+7rb

Philippines 101-50 IBA(GER)
Philippines – D. Villamin 22p, C. Madrid 19p
IBA – M. Huth 11p+10rb

Taiwan Blue 75-68 Qatar
Blue – Lin Chi-jay 17p, Lee Chi-yi 12p, Lo Shin-liang 13p, Chou Jun-san 10p+6rb+4a+3s
Qatar – E. Ali Saeed 22p, Y.I. Mousa 14p+13rb

Taiwan White 83-82 Perth Wildcats(AUS)
White – Chou Shi-yuan 23p, Chen Hsin-an 22p+8rb, Tien Lei 17p+5rb+4a, Tsun Wen-din 7p+14rb+4a
Wildcats – O. Lett 28p+12rb+4s+3blk, L. Rush 14p, M. Shanahan 10p

Standings
Taiwan White 4-0
Korea 3-0
Taiwan Blue 3-1
Australia 3-1
Canada 1-2
Philippines 1-2
Japan 1-3
Qatar 0-3
Germany 0-4

Monday, July 26, 2004

Day 3 – Wildcats keep rolling ; Taiwan Blue suffers first loss

Adrian Majstrovich had 23 points and 18 rebounds and new addition Ontario Lett had 22 points as Perth Wildcats rolled to its third straight victory tonight, beating Japan 110-71.

But Korea and Taiwan White are not far behind. Taiwan White demonstrated its firepower for the second consecutive game, shooting 14-for-37(38%) from three-point range en route to its win over Qatar, 82-71.

Korea, who pounded Germany 119-56, also had a terrific shooting night, making 20 of 46 from three-point range while featuring five double-digit scorers.

Taiwan Blue suffered its first loss after two wins, losing 82-70 to Canada’s Carleton University. Lin Chi-jay scored 28 and is still Blue Team’s most reliable scorer. Lin averaged 21.7 points after three games as the second leading scorer in the tourney behind Carleton’s Paul Larmand(22ppg).

Perth Wildcats(AUS) 110-71 Japan
Wildcats – A. Majstrovich 23p+18rb+5s, O. Lett 22p+5a, L. Rush 20p
Japan – M. Kabaya 17p, H. Omiya 11p, T. Onishi 11p

Korea 119-56 IBA(GER)
Korea – Woo Seung-Youn 21p, Chun Yeen-Kwok 17p, Hu Hyo-Jeen 16p, Yun Byeoung-Hak 13p
IBA – A. Willemsen 20p+11rb, M. Huth 10p+11rb

Taiwan White 82-71 Qatar
White – Tien Lei 21p, Tsun Wen-din 16p, Chen Hsin-an 14p
Qatar – H.Z. Zaiden 21p+17rb, Y.I. Mousa 16p

Carleton Univ.(CAN) 82-70 Taiwan Blue
Carleton – P. Larmand 23p+9rb, J. Poirier 16p+12rb
Blue – Lin Chi-jay 28p+6rb+4s, Lo Shin-liang 16p, Wu Dai-hao 6p+5rb+2blk

Standings
Perth Wildcats 3-0
Korea 3-0
Taiwan White 3-0
Japan 1-2
Carleton 1-2
Qatar 0-2
Philippines 0-2
IBA 0-3

Sunday, July 25, 2004

Day 2 – Wildcats knocks out Qatar

Going into the second day, NBL’s Perth Wildcats is already dubbed as the team to beat in the tournament, as they manhandled Qatar NT, 73-55.

With their great offensive execution and efficient half-court game, Wildcats led by 30 points in the end of the third quarter. It’s hard to imagine they were only the fourth best team in the NBL last season.

Chen Hsin-an and Tien Lei combined for 41 points as Taiwan White beat Carleton Univ., 82-75, with their prolific three-point shooting, making 11-of-30(37%). Taiwan Blue also breezed by IBA, 86-60. Both home teams won for the second straight day to go 2-0 and tied with Perth Wildcats in the standing.

Wlidcats(AUS) 73-55 Qatar
Wildcats – M. Shanahan 17p, A. Majstrovich 12p+9rb, S. Blennerhossett 10p
Qatar – Basher H.Z. 15p+7rb, Abdulla M.S. 12p+8rb

Japan 84-68 Philippines
Japan – Omiya Hiromasa 18p+12rb, Onishi Takano 18p, Nakagawa Kazu 15p+5rb+4a
Philippines – C. Cruz 12p

Taiwan Blue 86-60 IBA(GER)
Blue – Lin Chi-jay 21p, Lee Chi-yi 17p, Wu Dai-hao 8p+6a+4blk
IBA – A. Willemsen 24p+14rb

Taiwan White 82-75 Carleton Univ.(CAN)
White – Chen Hsin-an 27p, Tien Lei 17p+6rb
Carleton – P. Larmand 23p+7rb, J. Poirier 20p+13rb, M. Smart 15p

▓Standing
Taiwan White 2-0, Taiwan Blue 2-0, Australia 2-0, Korea 1-0, Japan 1-1, Qatar 0-1, Philippines 0-2, Canada 0-2, Germany 0-2

Saturday, July 24, 2004

Day 1 – Home teams open with wins over Philippines and Japan

Taiwan White and Blue Teams opened the 26th William Jones Cup Tournament with two convincing wins on the first day, beating Philippines and Japan. But Perth Wildcats scored the most lopsided victory, pounding Germany’s IBA by 63 points.

Led by Chen Hsin-an and Tien Lei, Taiwan White raced to a surprising 25-point lead in the first quarter and easily handled Philippines, which was mostly comprised of amateur players from PBL. Taiwan White routed Philippines, 114-83.

Taiwan Blue also opened the game with a 14-2 spurt and led Japan by as many as 21. Japan’s U-24 NT showed they wouldn’t give up, closing the gap a number of times before bowing out. Wu Dai-hao probably played his best game in NT uniform, scoring 16 points, many on vicious dunks, and blocked two shots early to set the tone for the home team.

Korea, like Japan, is a team made up by college players. A game-deciding three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining saved the day for Koreans. Carleton University wasted their last possession and lost by one in the heartbreaker.

Perth Wildcats(AUS) 99-36 IBA(GER)
Wildcats – B. Cox 17p, S. Blennerhassett 16p, L. Rush 14p+8rb, A. Majstrovich 13p+13rb, G. Brown 13p+6s
IBA – A. Willemsen 9p

Korea 88-87 Carleton Univ.(CAN)
Korea – Hu Hyo-Jeen 23p, Kim Tae-Sul 16p+8a
Carleton – P. Larmand 20p+8rb, J. Poirier 17p, M. Ross 16p

Taiwan White 114-83 Philippines
White – Chen Hsin-an 19p, Tien Lei 15p+8rb, Yang Chin-min 17p+7rb, Tsun Wen-din 14p

Taiwan Blue 82-69 Japan
Blue – Wu Dai-hao 16p+6rb+2blk, Lin Chi-jay 16p+10rb+3s, Lo Shin-liang 12p+6rb
Japan – Masayu Kabaya 13p, Takano Onishi 12p+7rb

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

Taiwanese basketball notes

Videoland names its team Hunters
After a one-month online voting, Videoland Television Network officially named its basketball team Videoland Hunters. The team name is changed from BCC Mars to Videoland Hunters after VL bought the team from BCC. “Hunters” received 42.89% of the votes, edging out “Silverfox” by only 500 votes.

EHSN buys Jutai Technology
Eastern Home Shopping Network, part of the EMG (Eastern Multimedia Group), confirmed its purchase of Jutai Technology Basketball team. EMG is one of the leading cable television networks in Taiwan and owns TV channels including ETTV and EHSN.

With the second TV network entering the ownership of SBL teams, the broadcasting rights for SBL’s second season is expected to be a war. ESPN, SBL’s broadcasting partner in its inaugural season, is probably out of the picture.

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Korea Men/Women NT roster for Jones Cup

Korean Men’s Basketball Team

Head Coach: Kang Jung-Soo
PLAYERS:
# Name D.O.B Position Height Weight
4 Ham Ji-Hoon 84/12/11 C/F 200 98
5 Kim Tae-Sul 84/08/13 G 180 72
6 No Kyoung-Suk 83/10/20 G/F 186 78
7 Lee Won-Soo 83/07/26 G 180 73
8 Yun Byeong-Hak 81/06/30 G 180 74
9 Hu Hyo-Jeen 83/12/31 F 190 87
10 Jin Sang-Won 82/12/23 G 193 88
11 Park Sang-Woo 83/07/30 C 202 100
12 Woo Seung-Youn 84/02/04 F 194 88
13 Kim Young-Jae 81/07/05 C 200 100
14 Kim Il-Du 82/04/23 C 198 98
15 Kim Julian 82/06/16 C 200 93
Average:192cm 87.5kg

Korean Women’s Basketball Team

Head Coach: KIM, TAE IL

PLAYERS:
# Name D.O.B Position Height
4 KIM, YOUNG HWA 02/11/1981 G 164
5 KANG, HYUN MI 09/10/1981 F 176
6 CHOI, UN AH 24/10/1985 G 170
7 KIM, NA YOUN 10/07/1979 G 175
8 HONG, JUNG AE 04/08/1977 F 182
9 PARK, SUN YOUNG 21/02/1980 G 175
10 JIN, MI JUNG 28/01/1978 F 173
11 Park, EUN JIN 07/05/1983 F 178
12 SEON, SOO JIN 11/12/1978 F 180
13 KWAK, JOO YOUNG 21/08/1984 C 185
14 JIN, SHIN HEA 25/03/1980 C 180
15 SIN, JUNG JA 11/12/1980 C 184
Average: 176.8cm

Monday, July 12, 2004

Philippines NT roster for Jones Cup

RP-Cebuana Lhuillier Basketball Team

TEAM OFFICIALS
Team Manager: Jean Henri Lhuillier
Head Coach: Eduard S. Vergeire
Assistant Coach: David D. Zamar

# Name DOB Po Ht.
4 Donn Rez Villamin 1981.10.17 G 193
5 Wilbert Sayson 1979.06.19 G 188
6 Eder John Saldua 1983.06.02 F 193
7 Jayson Tiongson 1980.08.08 F 200
8 Celino Cruz 1977.07.22 G 180.3
9 Chris Denn Madrid 1975.11.17 G 180.3
10 Gerry Cavan 1979.05.28 F 190
11 Richard Melencio 1975.09.03 F 188
12 Samigue Eman 1982.03.12 C 208
13 Recaredo Calimag 1977.06.10 F 195.5
14 Rolly Menor 1981.11.26 F 195.5
15 Ephraim Torio 1979.10.29 C 198

Average: 192.5cm

Thursday, July 08, 2004

Qatar NT Jones Cup roster

TEAM OFFICIALS:
General Manager: Rashed S. AlTakrooni
General Manager: Walid Alissa Ibrahim
Manager: Mohd Anbar Al Jassim
Coach: Joseph Anthony Stiebing
Assistant Coach: Stacy Neal Hollowell
Coach: Rafig A.R. Abu-Hijleh
Trainer: Adil K. Salim

PLAYERS:

# Name DOB Po. Ht. Wt.
1 Mohammed Orabi Al Jabri 1978.02.14 G 175 75
2 Yasseen Ismail Musa 1980.08.12 C 203 95
3 Khalid Masoud Al Nasr 1980.09.10 G 174 75
4 Hashim Zaidan Zaidan 1980.08.13 C 208 105
5 Mohammed Seleem Abdulla 1982.07.17 C 200 90
6 Bakar Abdulla Al Kuwari 1982.03.01 G 176 77
7 Omar Ahmed Mohammed 1982.02.25 C 200 95
8 Daoud Mousa Daoud 1982.02.02 F 192 85
9 Hammam Omer Ismail 1983.09.15 C 200 88
10 Ali Turki Ali 1982.01.10 C 200 90
11 Husam Omar Abdulmajeed 1982.05.19 C 201 93
12 Salman Ahmed Abufaisal 1982.06.04 G 176 77
13 Marzouq Faraj Abusabbar 1976 F 190 88
14 Salah Ateeq Jumah 1970.05.25 G 180 69
15 Saleh Ahmed Al Muhannadi 1974.05.16 G 180 85
16 Erhan Ali Saeed 1983.12.20 F 198 83
17 Omer Abdgeder Salem 1983.10.01 C 200 83

Average: 191cm, 85.5kg

Tuesday, July 06, 2004

Jones Cup: Two Canadien Univ. teams invited

Carlton University Men's Basketball Team and University of Regina Women's Basketball Team will represent Basketball Canada and the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) in the 26th Jones Cup Tournament.

The Ravens, two-time defending CIS Men's champion and riding on a 50-game winning streak in the CIS, will be the first CIS team visiting Taiwan since 2002 Jones Cup(25th), when the University of Alberta Golden Bears earned the Silver Medal in the ten team field. The Golden Bears lost to the team from Australia, 76-68.

The University of Regina Women's Basketball Team will be one of the six women's teams. Univ. of Regina, which ranked as the No. 1 seed in the 03-04 CIS postseason tournament, ended its season in a heartbreaking 60 -53 loss to the UBC Thunderbirds in the National Final.

The Carleton University Ravens

TEAM OFFICIALS:
Head of Delegation: Steve Koo
Head Coach: Dave Smart
Assistant Coach: Bill Arden/Taffe Charles/Bill Fraser
Athletic Therapy: Bruce Marshall/Crissy McPhee
Sports Information: Dave Kent

PLAYERS:
# Name Po. Ht. Wt.
3 Michael Smart G 193 81
5 Matt Ross G 183 79
10 Adam Falsetto F 201 116
11 Ryan Bell G 193 78
13 Robbie Green G 183 79
15 Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie F 191 86
21 Josh Poirier F 196 91
22 Pat Ross G 183 75
23 Paul Larmand F 196 94
31 Andrew Cutler F 193 95
33 Bernards Edmunds G 188 91
43 Osvaldo Jeanty F 191 86
45 James Fleming F 193 91

Average: 191cm 78kg


The University of Regina

TEAM OFFICIALS
Head Coach: Jeff Speedy
Assistant Coach: Dave Taylor/Patrick Ash
Assistant Coach: Amy Moroz
Trainer: Erin Walton

PLAYERS:
# Name Po. Ht.
4 Laura Hunko F 185
5 Tara-Lee Crosson F 183
6 Danielle Ash G 168
7 Jana Schweitzer G 175
8 Janel Walker G 173
9 Lara Schmidt F 178
10 Leah Anderson F 180
11 Leane Phillips C 188
12 Shannon Funk F 175
13 Cymone Bouchard F 175
14 Phoebe DeCiman C 190
15 Maja Kralovcova C 195
21 Alexis McDonald G 175
22 Erica Schmidt F 173

Average: 179.5cm

Monday, July 05, 2004

2004 Jones Cup Teams and Schedules

Women's Competition: Single Round Robin
Teams(6): Germany, Canada, Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei White, Chinese Taipei Blue

7.18(Sun)
14:00 GER vs CAN
16:00 JPN vs ROC-W
18:00 KOR vs ROC-B

7.19(Mon)
15:00 CAN vs KOR
17:00 ROC-B vs JPN
19:00 ROC-W vs GER

7.20(Tue)
15:00 JPN vs GER
17:00 KOR vs ROC-W
19:00 CAN vs ROC-B

7.21(Wed)
15:00 GER vs KOR
17:00 JPN vs CAN
19:00 ROC-B vs ROC-W

7.22(Thu)
15:00 KOR vs JPN
17:00 ROC-W vs CAN
19:00 GER vs ROC-B
21:00 Award Ceremony

Men's Competition: Single Round Robin
Teams(9): Australia(Perth Wildcats), Germany(International Basketball Academy), Korea(College All-Stars), Japan (U-24 NT), Qatar NT, Philippines, Canada, Chinese Tapei White, Chinese Taipei Blue

7.24(Sat)
13:00 AUS vs GER
15:00 CAN vs KOR
17:00 PHI vs ROC-W
19:00 Opening Ceremony
19:30 ROC-B vs JPN

7.25(Sun)
13:00 QAT vs AUS
15:00 JPN vs PHI
17:00 GER vs ROC-B
19:00 ROC-W vs CAN

7.26(Mon)
13:00 AUS vs JPN
15:00 KOR vs GER
17:00 ROC-W vs QAT
19:00 ROC-B vs CAN

7.27(Tue)
13:00 JPN vs KOR
15:00 PHI vs GER
17:00 QAT vs ROC-B
19:00 AUS vs ROC-W

7.28(Wed)
13:00 CAN vs JPN
15:00 GER vs QAT
17:00 KOR vs AUS
19:00 ROC-B vs PHI

7.29(Thu)
13:00 JPN vs QAT
15:00 CAN vs GER
17:00 PHI vs AUS
19:00 ROC-W vs KOR

7.30(Fri)
13:00 QAT vs CAN
15:00 KOR vs PHI
17:00 AUS vs ROC-B
19:00 GER vs ROC-W

7.31(Sat)
13:00 JPN vs GER
15:00 QAT vs KOR
17:00 CAN vs PHI
19:00 ROC-B vs ROC-W

8.01(Sun)
13:00 AUS vs CAN
15:00 PHI vs QAT
17:00 ROC-W vs JPN
19:00 KOR vs ROC-B
21:00 Award Ceremony

Thursday, July 01, 2004

Germany's IBA invited for Jones Cup

International Basketball Academy, which is a youth team for German league pennenial power ALBA Berlin, is invited to participate in the 26th Jones Cup tournament.

International Basketball Academy

TEAM OFFICIALS
Head of Delegation: Carsten Kerner
Coach: Robert Bauer
Coach: Konstantin Lwowsky

PLAYERS
# Name DOB Po. Ht. Wt.
1 Julius Deucker 1984.07.09 F/C 204 104
2 Alex Eichner 1984.07.06 G/F 198 94
3 Armin Willemsen 1985.01.27 F/C 202 104
4 Marius Huth 1986.10.16 F 199 100
5 Enrico Kuffour 1987.09.14 G 182 72
6 Enrico Boehm 1988.01.20 G 186 77
7 Verdinand Bunsow 1987.04.22 F 202 100
8 Thyriss Moldenhauer 1987.12.03 C 207 92
9 Maximilian Rockman 1988.11.25 G 194 81
10 Christoph Foerster 1985.02.24 C 211 98
11 Julian Eichner 1988.04.16 G/F 197 88
Avg: 198cm 92kg