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.