Thanks to a loss by Videoland, Bank of Taiwan accomplished the impossible. BOT grabbed the final playoff seed and made the postseason for the first time since SBL established three years ago.
But BOT wanted to take the matter in their own hands and did not let down. Led by Chien Ming-fu's 32 points, including 10 points in the final 1:33, BOT beat ETSN 100-93 to ensure a .500 finish by securing its 15th win of the season.
In the first game Taiwan Beer edged Videoland 102-99 in overtime to knock VL out of the playoffs and send BOT in. BOT holds a 4-1 tiebreaker advantage in head-to-head record even if it ties VL in the standings in season's end.
TB's Hsu Hao-cheng made 4 three-pointers in the game, including the deciding three with 2.8 seconds left in overtime to put TB on top 102-99. Lin Chi-jay scored a game-high 27 points and dished out 7 assists.
For Videoland, this is a disappointing results in head coach Chou Hai-jun's debut season and also the team's worst finish in three years. Known as the BCC Mars, VL finished 12-12 and 18-12 in the last two years.
Bank of Taiwan is another story. It had finished 5-19 and 9-21 in the previous two years. BOT was 1-4 in December last year but became one of the hottest teams in the second half of the season, winning six of seven in one stretch. Credit head coach Wei Chen-min to hold the players together and made playing ball fun again.
TB 102-99(OT) VL
TB: Lin Chi-jay 27p+7a, hsu Hao-cheng 16p, Lee Wei-min 16p, Ho Sho-jen 12p
VL: Lee Chi-yi 24p+16rb+6a, Yang Che-yi 16p, Hong Chi-chao 13p
BOT 100-93 ETSN
BOT: Chien Ming-fu 32p+5a, Ju Yong-hong 27p, Yang Chin-min 16p, Wu Yong-jen 12p
ETSN: Wu Jia-long 21p, Yang Yu-min 18p, O-Yang Jin-hen 16p, Hsiao Yuan-chan 14p+16rb
Standings:
Yulon 23-6, Dacin 19-9, TB 18-10, BOT 15-14, VL 12-16, ETSN 10-18, YMY 2-26