Saturday, January 06, 2007

Taiwan Beer upset Yulon in opening game

Led by Lin Chih-jay's 33 points and 7 rebounds, Taiwan Beer made three 3-pointers in overtime to upset defending champion Yulon in the opening game of 2006-07 SBL regular season, snapping Yulon's three-game winning streak in season openers.

Lo Shin-liang, a 35 years-old veteran who came to Taiwan Beer from Azio (formerly YMY, ) made a game-deciding three to increase TB's lead to six points with 25.9 seconds remaining in overtime. Lo only scored five in his first game in TB uniform but his big-game experience obviously helped the new team.

Reigning SBL scoring leader Lin Chih-jay outscored his counterpart Chen Hsin-an 33 to 13, making 6 of 13 three-point tries and pulling down 7 boards. TB point guard Chen Shih-nian had 16 points and 8 rebounds while Ho Sho-jen added 12.

Taiwan Beer, which trailed by as many as 12 in the second half, closed the regulation with a 14-4 run to tie the score 70 all.

Yulon, which received their championship rings prior to the game, did not play like the defending champion. The Dinos made 2 of 17 from threes and had many mental lapses in its defense to allow TB come from behind.

Tsun Wen-din led Yulon with 21 points and 6 boards. Lee Hsueh-lin had 17. Chou Hong-yu had 14. Chen Hsin-an turned in 13 points and 8 rebounds in a mediocre game.