Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Third-place finish for Taiwan NT in East Asia Qualification

Taiwan NT beat Hong Kong 92-58 in the last game of the East Asia Qualification and came home with a 3-2 record and the third-place finish. It is not a good result but at least they got the Asian Championship seed.

South Korea, who sent its military team Sanmu to the tournament, beat China 68-59 to win the tourney with a perfect 5-0 record. China is second with 4-1. From fourth to sixth place are Japan (3-2), Hong Kong (1-4) and Mongolia (0-5).

All teams except Mongolia got the five East Asia seeds for the Asian Championship which will be held in Qatar in September.

Japan beat Mongolia 56-55 in its last game.

Taiwan NT will once again on the road after a short rest. It will go to Los Angeles for a one-month training tour.

Taiwan NT will be busy in the bottom half of the year as three competitions -- William Jones Cup Invitational at Taipei in July, Asian Championship at Qatar in September and East Asian Games at Macau in October -- are taking place.

Monday, May 30, 2005

Aisin beat TB to win Guan-hu Cup Invatational

Led by J.R. Henderson’s 28 points, Aisin Seahorse beat Taiwan Beer 92-84 in the 2005 Guan-hu Cup Invitational title game. Antwain Barbour and Eric McArthur had 12 points each.

Videoland edged Jutai Tech 95-92 to finished third. Lin Jia-huang, who scored 41 points earlier in the tournament, had another outstanding game. 17 of his 34 points came in the final quarter. VL rookie Lin Tsun-ching had 21 points.

Rookie Hsu Wei-shen scored 9 of his 21 points in the final quarter as Yulon routed ETSN 79-60 for the fifth-place. Yulon also received 18 points from center Wu Chih-wei and 13 points from guard Hong Chi-chao.

Lin Chi-jay scored the winning layup with 5 seconds left as Sina beat Spring Cooking Oil 100-99 for the 7th-place. Chang Yu-lin had 26 points for Sina. Lu Cheng-ju had 21 and Kao Li-min had 22.

May 29
Title game: Aisin 92-84 TB
3/4 Game: Videoland 95-92 Jutai Tech
5/6 Game: Yulon 79-60 ETSN
7/8 Game: Sina 100-99 Spring Cooking Oil

May 28
TB 83-72 ETSN (TB: Lin Chih-tsun 23p, Lee Wei-min 20p)
VL 99-75 Sina
Aisin 92-72 Yulon (Aisin: J.R. Henderson 28p, Antwain Barbour 24p)
Jutai 117-111(2OT) SCO (Jutai: Chen Chuan-hsu 29p)

Group Standings:
Group A: Aisin, VL, Yulon, Sina
Group B: TB, Jutai, ETSN, SCO

East Asian Qualification Action

May 28
China 83-73 Taiwan (Taiwan: Yang Yu-min 14p, Tien Lei 13p, Tsun Wen-din 12p, Lee Hsueh-lin 11p, Chen Chih-chun 10p)
Korea 82-65 Mongolia
Japan 72-50 Hong Kong

May 29
Japan 59-51 China
Hong Kong 70-62 Mongolia
Korea 89-80 Taiwan (Taiwan: Tsun Wen-din 18p, Chen Chih-chun 14p, Tien Lei 12p+7rb. Taiwan only made 19-of-32 free-throws, while Korea made 16 three-pointers.)

Standings:
Korea 4-0, China 3-1, Taiwan 2-2, Japan 2-2, Hong Kong 1-3, Mongolia 0-4

Saturday, May 28, 2005

Taiwan NT wins two straight, gets Asian Championship seed

Taiwan NT defeated Japan and Mongolia in the first two games in the East Asian qualification in Guangdong, China and secured its ticket to the Asian Championship, which will be held in Qatar later this year.

Led by Tien Lei’s 25 points, Taiwan beat Japan 73-61 in the opening game. The following night center Wu Dai-hao scored 17 points in a balanced attack to help Taiwan beat Mongolia 88-73.

Taiwan, minus top players Chen Hsin-an and Lin Chi-jay, opened the game vs. Japan with a 20-8 run and led the whole game. Tien Lei had 25 points and 8 rebounds, follwed by Tsun Wen-din’s 15 points and 9 rebounds. SG Chang Chi-feng scored 10 points.

Joji Takeuchi led Japan with 13 and 7.

Taiwan cruised in the second game vs. Mongolia with all 12 players seeing action. Wu Dai-hao had 17 points, followed by Chen Chih-chun’s 14, Chou Shih-yuan’s 12, Chang Chi-feng’s 11 and Yang Yu-min’s 10 points.

Taiwan NT, however, showed one of their most glaring weaknesses as they trailed Mongolia in rebounding 37-47, allowing 20 offensive rebounds.

East Asian Qualification scores:
May 26
Taiwan 73-61 Japan
China 94-70 Mongolia
Korea 93-69 Hong Kong

May 27
Taiwan 88-73 Mongolia
China 77-56 Hong Kong
Korea 73-64 Japan

Standings:
Taiwan 2-0, China 2-0, Korea 2-0, Japan 0-2, Mongolia 0-2, Hong Kong 0-2

Guan-hu Cup Day 2 – Lin Jia-huang scores 41, VL upsets Aisin in OT

Lin Jia-huang scored tournament-high 41 points, including 7 three-pointers, to help Videoland upset tourney favorite Aisin Seahorse 96-93 in overtime.

J.R. Henderson led Aisin with 20 points but was ejected in the fourth quarter because of two technical fouls.

Jutai pulled off another upset with an 83-80 win over ETSN. Chen Chuan-shu topped Jutai with 21 points, while O-Yang Jin-hen led ETSN with 22 points.

Yulon beat Sina 85-79 to stay undefeated. Wu Chih-wei led Yulon with 20 points. Liu Shen-yao had 16 points. Chen Shi-jay of Sina scored 35 points.

Philippine’s Spring Cooking Oil beat Taiwan Beer 91-85.

Standings:
Group A: Yulon 2-0, Aisin 1-1, VL 1-1, Sina 0-2
Group B: SCO 1-1, TB 1-1, ETSN 1-1, Jutai 1-1

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Guan-hu Cup - Henderson scores 34, smashes backboard with dunk

Former UCLA and NBA forward J.R. Henderson scored 34 points as Japan's Aisin Seahorse opened the 2005 Guan-hu Cup Invitational with a 100-93 win over Taiwan's Sina Lions.

Henderson’s dunk in mid-third quarter smashed the backboard and brought the crowd to its feet. The game was delayed for 20 minutes before game organizer installed a new backboard.

New Aisin import Kris Johnson, who’s also from UCLA and the son of former NBA great Marques Johnson, scored 18 points.

Scores:
Aisin Seahorses 100-93 Sina
Yulon 90-82 Videoland
Taiwan Beer 87-70 Jutai Tech
ETSN 102-94 Spring Cooking Oil

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Guanhu Cup International Invitational Tournament tips-off tomorrow

2005 Guanhu Cup International Invitational Tournament, hosted by local Hua-lien County Basketball Commission, tips-off tomorrow in Hua-lien County, Taiwan as eight teams from three countries will play in the 16-game mini-tournament.

Two invited teams are Aisin Seahorses from Japan’s JBL and Spring Cooking Oil from Philippines. Among the local teams, five teams come from the SBL – Yulon, Videoland, ETSN, Taiwan Beer and Sina – and Jutai Technology comes from the second division.

Guanhu Cup is in its third year of existence. This is the first year foreign teams are invited.

With Taiwan NT playing in the East Asian Qualification in Guangdong, China, local teams have to play without their top-caliber players.

Bracket:
Group A: Yulon, Videoland, Sina, Aisin
Group B: TB, ETSN, Jutai, Spring Cooking Oil(SCO)

Schedule
5/26
12:30 Yulon-VL
14:00 Jutai-TB
15:30 Sina-Aisin
17:00 SCO-ETSN

5/27
14:30 ETSN-Jutai
16:00 Yulon-Sina
17:30 TB-SCO
19:30 VL-Aisin

5/28
13:00 VL-Sina
14:30 ETSN-TB
16:00 SCO-Jutai
17:30 Aisin-Yulon

5/29
13:00 7/8 Game: A4 VS B4
14:30 5/6 Game: A3 VS B3
16:00 Third-place Game: A2 VS B2
17:30 Title Game: A1 VS B1

Roster
Spring Cooking Oil Basketball Team

Coaching Staffs: Victor Sanchez, Benjamin Da Jose , Benito Victoria

Christopher Corbin 6' 6" Center
Rodel Manuel 6' 4" Forward/Center
Mario Reyes 5' 9" Guard
Marlon Kalaw 5' 10" Forward
Rolando Basilides 6' 3" Forward
Samigue Eman 6' 9" Center
Jimboy Robillos 6' 4" Forward/Center
Leonito Vilar 6' 3" Forward
Jhayson Alminario 6' 6" Center
Anastacio Mendoza 5' 10" Guard
Bobby Ray Parks 6' 3" Forward
Jeremy Robinson 6' 3" Forward/Center

AISIN SEAHORSES

HEAD COACH: SUZUKI KIMIKAZU
ASSISTANT COACH: KAGAYA HISASHI

# NAME HEIGHT WEIGHT POSITION age
0 KOMIYA KUNIO 188 76 SG 30
1 TAKUSHI NAOTO 182 80 G 23
2 SAKO KENICHI 179 80 G 34
7 TOYAMA HIDEAKI 197 85 F 38
8 YAMASAKI TAKAFUMI 187 83 SG 26
11 YAMAGUCHI KENTARO 191 85 F 28
25 KOHARA SHINJI 194 86 F 27
32 JR HENDERSON 206 110 C 28
34 SETOYAMA KYOSUKE 187 75 SG 23
43 TAKATSUJI KANETAKA 194 86 F 31
55 ERIC MCARTHUR 197 110 C 36

Taiwan NT head for China without its top players

Taiwan NT enters the East Asian Qualification without its top players. Chen Hsin-an and Lin Chi-jay, both top wing players in Taiwan, and Wang Chih-chun, one of the top point guards, all withdrew because of injuries.

Fortunately, it’s only the qualification stage and other countries are not sending their top players either. Under FIBA Asia rule, five of the six participating teams will get the East Asia Zone seeds for the Asian Championship.

Head coach Lee Yun-kwang admitted that most of the players are tired after a grueling SBL season, which concluded on May 16. Taiwan NT departed for China after practicing for only four days.

Lee said the goal for the tournament is getting the seed, so he will not put too much pressure on the players. For Taiwan, beating Mongolia and Hong Kong shouldn’t be too hard.

Taiwan NT game schedule:
5/26 21:00 Japan
5/27 21:00 Mongolia
5/28 19:00 China
5/29 21:00 South Korea
5/30 21:00 Hong Kong

Taiwan NT Roster:
Chen Chih-chun (Yulon)
Lee Hsueh-lin (Yulon)
Chou Shih-yuan (Yulon)
Tsun Wen-din (Yulon)
Tien Lei (Dacin)
Chang Chi-feng (Dacin)
Chen Shih-nian (TB)
Ho Sho-jen (TB)
Yang Che-yi (VL)
Lee Chi-yi (VL)
Yang Yu-min (ETSN)
Wu Dai-hao (ETSN)
Yang Chin-min (BOT)

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Chen Hsin-an doubtful for East Asian qualification

Chen Hsin-an, Taiwan's most celebrated player, sustained a knee injury in Game 3 of the SBL Finals on Sunday. Chen partially tear his lateral knee ligament and will more than likely sit out the upcoming East Asian Qualification in Guangdong, China later this month.

Worse yet, it's possible Chen can not play in Sacramento Kings' summer league this summer as planned.

Chen slipped on a wet spot and twisted his knee while chasing a Dacin offensive player with 1:30 left in Game 3, when the outcome was already decided. He lied on the floor for a couple minutes and went to the lockerroom to ice his knee. Chen stayed in the lockerroom when his teammates celebrated their second consecutive SBL title.

Later his injury was diagnozed as partially tear lateral ligament and will have to rest for at least four weeks.

Unfortunately for Chen, this is the third time he got injured in the same year when Asian Championship takes place. It's unbelievable but Chen did miss the last two Asian Championship due to injury. Without Chen, Taiwan finished 7th and 11th in the last two Asian Championships.

Monday, May 16, 2005

Yulon repeats as SBL champion, Tsun Wen-din wins MVP

In a hard-fought series where no victory came easy, Yulon still swept Dacin 3-0 to repeat as SBL champion. Yulon beat Dacin 92-84 last night in Game 3 of the 2004-05 SBL Finals to become the first repeat champion in the league’s short two-year history.

Center Tsun Wen-din had 27 points and 8 rebounds and was named Finals MVP, edging out teammates Chen Chih-chun and Chen Hsin-an. Tsun averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds in the series and received 41 points in the voting, including 10 first-place votes.

Chen Chih-chun, who averaged 19 points and 5.3 assists in the series, received 38 points while Chen Hsin-an only 4 points behind. Chen Hsin-an averaged 20.7 points in three games.

*Yulon 92-84 Dacin (Half 46-43)
Yulon: Tsun Wen-din 27p(13-16 FG)+8rb, Lee Hsueh-lin 19p(7-12 FG, 5-8 3PT), Chen Hsin-an 18p(6-15 FG)+6a, Chen Chih-chun 14p+4a+3s
Dacin: Tien Lei 19p(9-20 FG)+11rb, Chang Chi-feng 13p+6rb+9a, Lee Fong-yong 17p+6rb, Wang Chih-chun 12p, Chen Tse-wei 11p, Lin Yi-huei 10p

*SBL Finals scores:
Game 1: Yulon 92-88 Dacin
Game 2: Yulon 87-75 Dacin
Game 3: Yulon 92-84 Dacin

Saturday, May 14, 2005

SBL Finals - Chen Chih-chun leads Yulon to 2-0 lead

PG Chen Chih-chun fought through injury and had a heroic performance of 21 points, 12 rebounds as Yulon beat Dacin 87-75 in Game 2 of the SBL Finals to take a convincing 2-0 lead in the series.

Game Three is on Sunday night. If Yulon wins tomorrow, it can win its second straight SBL title, with both years sweeping its opponents. Yulon beat Sina 3-0 last year.

Yulon jumped on Dacin in the first minute and cruised in the first half, leading 49-33 in halftime.

Just when it seemed the game was in control, Yulon’s quick team foul trouble in the third quarter allowed Dacin change the momentum. Chang Chi-feng had 8 points in a 14-4 run to cut the deficit to single-digit. Dacin had another 10-0 run to close the quarter 68-64. Chang Chi-feng scored 14 points in the quarter.

Chen Chih-chun, who injured his shooting hand in Game 1, make a crucial three-pointer in the fourth quarter and Chen Hsin-an was his usual self, pouring in 12 points in the final period. The CHEN-CHEN combo helped Yulon pulled away in final five minutes.

Chen Chih-chun made 7 of 10 shots and all four of his free-throws. While seen as a team-first playmaker, Chen stepped up in the series, scoring more than 20 points in both games.

Yulon center Tsun Wen-din also followed game 1 with another good outing, collecting team-high 25 rebounds and 11 rebounds.

Dacin star forward Tien Lei struggle for the second consecutive game, picking up his third and fourth foul before the final quarter. Tien also had trouble finding shots, shooting 8 for 21 in the game. Tien Lei had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.

Chang Chi-feng led Dacin with 26 pointsand 6 rebounds. Forward Lee Fong-yong had 14 points and 5 boards.

* University of South Alabama head coach John Pelphrey, who visited Taiwan for a coaching clinic, was in attendance at both SBL Final games. Pelphrey had a successful four-day clinic and left for U.S. tonight after the game.

Thursday, May 12, 2005

Yulon rallies to beat Dacin 92-88 in Game 1 of SBL Finals

Chen Hsin-an once again came through in clutch time, scoring 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter as Yulon rallied in the final six minutes to beat Dacin 92-88 in Game 1 of the SBL Finals.

PG Wang Chih-chun sparked an 18-8 run to close the third quarter and helped Dacin take a 68-64 lead into the final 10 minutes. Yulon didn’t panic. Chen Hsin-an knocked down two crucial three-pointers as Yulon regained the lead. Chen Chih-chun made both free-throws with 8.2 seconds remaining to make the final score.

Yulon had a sub-par game tonight. SG Chou Shih-yuan’s shot weren’t falling. Yulon’s switching man-to-man defense also had trouble countering Dacin’s motion offense, especially in the third quarter. When it switched to zone defense the result was even worse. There were “holes” everywhere.

But Dacin No.1 man Tien Lei again had foul trouble, committing his fourth fouls early in the fourth. Yulon took advantage in the final quarter, posting Tsun Wen-din against Tien whenever they had a chance.

Yulon led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but Dacin closed the first half with a 13-2 run.

Chang Chi-feng picked up the offensive void left by Tien Lei, who struggled with foul trouble and only had 15 points, almost seven points off his season average. Chang had his playoff career-high 34 points and took the primary responsibility of defending Chen Hsin-an.

Yulon 92-88 Dacin (Half 47-42)
Yulon: Chen Hsin-an 27p(9-24 FG), Tsun Wen-din 17p+14rb+5blk, Chen Chih-chun 22p(7-10 FG)+6a
Dacin: Chang Chi-feng 34p(13-22 FG), Wang Chih-chun 20p+6a, Tien Lei 15p(5-14 FG)+8rb

Monday, May 09, 2005

South Alabama head coach John Pelphrey to conduct coaching clinic in Taiwan

University of South Alabama men’s basketball head coach John Pelphrey and assistant coach Tom Ostrom will conduct a coaching clinic in Taiwan from May 10-12. The coaching staff was invited by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association.

The primary purpose of the clinic is to provide Taiwanese coaches with a deeper understanding of the American style on the court, which will include full-court offense and various defensive strategies.

CTBA invited the University of South Alabama coaching staff with the help from Steve Chen, a former coach in Taiwan and current professor at the United States Sports Academy in Daphne, Alabama.

“We are looking for several different ways to continue this relationship between the University of South Alabama and the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association,” Chen said.

JOHN PELPHREY PROFILE

Age: 36
Birthdate: July 18, 1968
Height: 6-foot-7
Hometown: Paintsville, Ky.
College Playing Experience: Four years at the University of Kentucky (1989-1992)
Professional Playing Experience: Two years in France and Spain in 1992 and 1993
Coaching Experience: Head Coach – South Alabama (2003-present); Assistant Coach – Oklahoma State University (1993-94); Marshall University (1994-96); University of Florida (1996-2002).

Other things to note:
* He is one of 29 former Kentucky Wildcat players to have his jersey retired (#34)
* In 1987, Pelphrey was named Mr. Basketball for the state of Kentucky at Paintsville High School. Finished his prep career with 2,477 points and 1,316 rebounds
* In high school, he was a pitcher and a shortstop for the baseball team
* All-SEC first-team forward in 1991; second team by AP
* Played on 1992 Kentucky team that lost to Duke in the NCAA Elite Eight, a game that is considered one of the best games of all-time
* Started 90 of 114 games at Kentucky and finished his career with an 11.0 scoring average

Record at South Alabama
2002-2003 14-14
2003-2004 12-16
2004-2005 10-18

Sunday, May 08, 2005

Dacin beat VL in Game 3, advances to SBL Final

VL point guard Chen Huei had two crucial turnovers in the last two minutes and Dacin rookie Lin Yi-huei made a key basket down the stretch as Dacin edged VL 65-62 in the deciding Game 3 of the semifinal series and advanced to the Final, where they will face defending champ Yulon.

As both teams see-sawing the score all game, Dacin was clinging on a two-point lead with less than two minutes remaining and VL seemed to find its last momentum. But Chen Huei threw away a baseline inbound pass and an east pass that led to Dacin steal in the last two minutes.

Dacin rookie Lin Yi-huei made a basket that increased Dacin lead to 65-59. VL forward Lee Chi-yi's three-pointer once again cut the deficit down to three. But VL failed to get off the final three-point shot before the buzzer sounded. Dacin players and coaching staff stormed the court in celebration.

In the first half, VL F/C Lai Kuo-hong kept pounding the paint and scored at will against every Dacin defender, scoring 25 of VL's 34 first half points. Dacin changed its defensive assignment in the second half, sending smaller Chang Chi-feng to replace Tien Lei, Lee Fong-yong and Chen Tse-wei as Lai's primary defender. The change paid dividends as lai managed to score three more points in the last 20 minutes.

Tien Lei had 19 points and 14 rebounds to pace Dacin but also committed 8 turnovers, disappeared in the second half and fouled out in the last minute. Chang Chi-feng had 14 points. PG Wang Chih-chun had 13 and Lin Yi-huei had 10.

Lai Kuo-hong led VL with 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting. Lee Chi-yi collected 15 points and 5 rebounds. Yang Che-yi had 11. Chen Huei pulled down 11 rebounds and dished out two assists.

Once again, Videoland crashed out in the SBL semifinal. VL (then named BCC Mars) lost to Yulon 2-1 in the semi last season.

The Best-of-Five SBL Final starts on May 12th.

Saturday, May 07, 2005

Yulon eliminates TB ; Dacin ties VL 1-1

As expected, defending champion Yulon beat Taiwan Beer 94-77 to wrap up the semifinal series 2-0 and advance to the SBL Finals. Dacin edged Videoland 79-77 to tie the series 1-1. Dacin and VL will meet in the deciding Game 3 on Sunday.

Yulon showed everyone why it is looking for a second straight SBL title trophy, pulling away in the second half. Tsun Wen-din led with 23 points. Chen Hsin-an had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Chen Chih-chun taliied 18 points and 11 assists, both personal season-high. Chou Shih-yuan scored 17.

Lin Chi-jay, who had 29 points and 12 rebounds in the game, left the game after an eye injury with 8 minutes remaining and never play again.

In the second game, Videoland rallied in the fourth quarter which they outscored Dacin 23-13 to cut the deficit down to two points with less than a minute left. But Yang Che-yi missed an easy layup and Lin Jia-huang's potential game-winning three-pointer bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

Tien Lei, who played with four fouls starting in late third quarter, was still brilliant. Tien Lei had 26 points and 16 rebounds to lead four Dacin players in double-digit.

Dacin led by as many as 14 points.

Yulon 94-77 TB (Half 44-44)
Yulon: Tsun Wen-din 23p, Chen Hsin-an 19p+11rb, Chen Chih-chun 18p+11a, Chou Shih-yuan 17p
TB: Lin Chi-jay 29p+12rb, Ho Sho-jen 17p+9rb

Dacin 79-77 VL (Half 39-31)
Dacin: Tien Lei 26p+16rb, Wang Chih-chun 12p, Lee Fong-yong 12p, Chang Chi-feng 11p
VL: Lee Chi-yi 22p, Chen Huei 16p+10rb, Yang Che-yi 16p, Lin Jia-huang 10p

Friday, May 06, 2005

SBL semifinal: Hunters' inside attack too much for Dacin

Videoland Hunters finally realize what their strength is. VL dominated inside for the whole 40 minutes and beat Dacin 102-97 in Game 1 of the SBL semifinal series. Hunters' inside advantage negated Tien Lei's SBL playoff-high and personal best 47 points.

Veteran Lai Kuo-hong tallied 29 points on 12 for 19 shooting and Lee Chi-yi had 22 points, making 14 of 15 free-throws. Videoland -- a team boasts bruising frontline with below-average speed -- decided to stay within their strength, with Lai Kuo-hong, Lee Chi-yi, Lin Shin-hwa and even poing guard Chen Huei posting down low whenever possible. Dacin's weak interior defense was obvious, as VL making 29 of 39 foul shots.

After a 50 all first half, VL pull ahead with a 31-18 third quarter. Lai Kuo-hong virtually beat every defender Dacin sent to cover him. VL led by as many as 16 points.

Dacin, which could only count on Tien Lei most of the game, rallied in the last quarter with a full-court press and cut the deficit down to single digit but that was the best they could do.

Tien was 17 for 28 from the field, including 8 for 14 from three, to go with 10 rebounds. Dacin made 15 of 18 free-throws and had three players fouling out.

Videoland 102-97 Dacin
VL: Lai Kuo-hong 29p(12-19 FG), Lee Chi-yi 22p+5rb, Yang Che-yi 13p
Dacin: Tien Lei 47p(8-14 3PT)+10rb+3s, Chang Chi-feng 23p

Thursday, May 05, 2005

SBL Semifinal: Yulon takes 1-0 lead over Taiwan Beer

MVP-candidate Tsun Wen-din took advantage of Taiwan Beer's weak interior defense, collecting 18 points including 14 for 14 from the free-throw line and 12 rebounds, as defending champion Yulon routed Taiwan Beer 82-59 in Game 1 of the SBL semifnal.

Chen Hsin-an had 17 points and 8 rebounds, Chen Chih-chun had 12 points for the winner. Reigning SBL scoring leader Lin Chi-jay, who had 13 points, was the only TB player in double-figure.

In a game both team having a hard time finding basket, the final outcome was decided on the free-throw line, where Yulon made 24 of 28 free-throws and TB was only 7 of 15. Taiwan Beer was plagued by foul troubles throughout, with key players Ha Hsiao-yuan and Lin Chi-jay both fouling out with 8 minutes left in the game.

The officiating of two european referees, who were hired by CTBA to ref in the postseason and recommended by FIBA, deserved a thumb-up compliment. They took away the constant grabbing and holding which is common in Taiwanese players, and also paid close attention to the traveling violation.

Yulon 82-59 TB (half 43-36)
Yulon: Tsun Wen-din 18p(14-14 FT)+12rb+4a, Chen Hsin-an 17p+8rb, Chen Chih-chun 12p
TB: Lin Chi-jay 13p

* European Referees
Under CTBA's request, FIBA recommended three distinguished european referees to work the SBL playoffs. The refs are Ladislav Janac(Slovakia), Fedor Dmitriev(Belarus) and Regis Bardera(France).

* April MVP
Chen Hsin-an, who broke two SBL single-game record with 11 three-pointers and 52 points on April 16 vs. ETSN, was named Most Valuable Player for April. Chen led Yulon to a 7-1 record in the month and averaged 23.3 poiits and 5 rebounds.

Monday, May 02, 2005

Taiwan Beer makes playoffs on final day

Lin Chi-jay had 37 points and 13 rebounds as Taiwan Beer beat Sina 97-76 and clinched the final playoff seed on the final day of the regular season. TB and ETSN both finished 16-14 but TB advanced by a better head-to-head record(3W-2L).

With his 37-point output, Lin Chi-jay also repeated as SBL's leading scorer. Lin averaged 22.8 points per game over Dacin forward Tien Lei's 22.64 points. But Tien Lei also led the league in rebounding for the second year in a row, averaging 10.7 per game.

Yulon overcame an eight point halftime deficit and beat Videoland 90-82 in the final regular season game to finish 25-5. Videoland lost its fourth straight game and tied Dacin with 18-12, but VL will get the second seed because of a better head-to-head record vs. Dacin.(3W-2L)

TB 97-76 Sina
TB: Lin Chi-jay 37p(13-21 FG)+13rb+3blk, Ho Sho-jen 15p, Ha Hsiao-yuan 14p+9rb
Sina: Lo Shin-liang 16p, Kao Li-min 15p, Chen Shi-jay 12p

Yulon 90-82 Videoland(Halftime 33-41)
Yulon: Chen Hsin-an 20p, Lee Hsueh-lin 16p+6rb, Tsun Wen-din 10p+9rb, Chou Shih-yuan 12p
VL: Yang Che-yi 16p+7rb, Lee Chi-yi 14p+8rb, Lai Kuo-hong 14p, Lin Shin-hwa 10p

*Final standing:
1. Yulon 25-5
2. Videoland 18-12
3. Dacin 18-12
4. Taiwan Beer 16-14
5. ETSN 16-14
6. Bank of Taiwan 9-21
7. Sina 3-27

SBL 2004-05 stats leaders

Rank, Player(Team), Games, Total, Average

Scoring
1 Lin Chi-jay (TB) 30 684 22.8
2 Tien Lei (Dacin) 30 679 22.63
3 Yang Yu-min (ETSN) 30 547 18.23
4 Yang Chin-min (BOT) 29 514 17.72
5 Chou Shih-yuan (Yulon) 30 524 17.47
6 Yang Che-yi (VL) 30 495 16.50
7 Ho Sho-jen (TB) 30 463 15.43
8 Lo Shin-liang (Sina) 25 385 15.40
9 Wu Dai-hao (ETSN) 28 401 14.32
10 Chang Chi-feng (Dacin) 30 429 14.30

#Chen Hsin-an of Yulon averaged 21.8 points in 10 games played.

Rebounding
1 Tien Lei (Dacin) 30 320 10.67
2 Tsun Wen-din (Yulon) 25 209 8.36
3 Wu Dai-hao (ETSN) 28 229 8.18
4 Lin Chi-jay (TB) 30 225 7.5
5 Cheng An-jay (BOT) 30 224 7.47
6 Liu Yi-hsiang (Sina) 16 117 7.31
7 Ha Hsiao-yuan (TB) 28 185 6.61
8 Lee Chi-yi (VL) 28 180 6.43
9 Ju Yong-hong (BOT) 28 177 6.32
10 Wu Jun-hsiung (ETSN) 29 176 6.07

# Lu Jia-hao of Sina averaged 6.38 rebounds in 8 games played.

Assists
1 Chen Huei (VL) 30 162 5.4
2 Chen Shih-nian (TB) 30 144 4.8
3 Wang Chih-chun (Dacin) 24 101 4.21
4 Chou Jun-san (ETSN) 30 115 3.83
5 Chen Chih-chun (Yulon) 30 111 3.7

Blocks
1 Tsun Wen-din (Yulon) 25 61 2.44
2 Tien Lei (Dacin) 30 66 2.2
3 Wu Dai-hao (ETSN) 28 48 1.71
4 Lee Chi-yi (VL) 28 41 1.46
5 Cheng An-jay (BOT) 30 31 1.03

SBL 2004-05 playoffs schedules

*Semifinals (Best-of-Three)
May 4, 19:00, (1)Yulon vs. (4)TB
May 5, 19:00, (2)VL vs. (3)Dacin
May 7, 17:00, (1)Yulon vs. (4)TB
May 7, 19:00, (2)VL vs. (3)Dacin
May 8, 17:00, (1)Yulon vs. (4)TB ...if necessary
May 8, 19:00, (2)VL vs. (3)Dacin ...if necessary

*Finals (Best-of-Five)
Game 1: May 12, 19:00
Game 2: May 14, 19:00
Game 3: May 15, 19:00
Game 4: May 17, 19:00 ...if necessary
Game 5: May 19, 19:00 ...if necessary

All games @ Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium and broadcasted by ESPN

Asia-basket.com 2004-05 SBL Regular Season Awards

(Selected by Taiwanese correspondent Chris Wang)

Most Valuable Player: Chou Shih-yuan (Yulon)

SBL First Team
PF: Tien Lei (Dacin)
SF: Lin Chi-jay (TB)
C: Wu Dai-hao (ETSN)
SG: Chou Shih-yuan (Yulon)
PG: Chen Huei (VL)/Chou Jun-san(Sina) tied

SBL Second Team
PF: Lee Chi-yi (VL)
SF: Chen Hsin-an (Yulon)/Ho Sho-jen(TB) tied
C: Tsun Wen-din (Yulon)
SG: Yang Yu-min (ETSN)
PG: Wang Chih-chun (Dacin)

Coach of the Year: Lee Yun-kwang (Yulon)

Most Improved Player: Chou Shih-yuan (Yulon)

Defensive Player of the Year: Chou Shih-yuan (Yulon)

Rookie of the Year: Lin Yi-huei (Dacin)

Most Under-rated Player: Hsu Chi-chao (Dacin)