(Lin Chih-jay scored 30-plus points for the second straight game, photo courtesy of ESPN Taiwan)
Taiwan Beer forward Lin Chih-jay had 33 points, including two three-point plays in the fourth quarter, as TB held off Videoland in a 80-73 win Sunday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first round playoff series.
Three-time defending champion Yulon, which was coming off the first losing streak in its SBL playoffs history and trailed 2-0, used a 30-16 third quarter to beat Dacin 111-93 in the elimination game to stay alive.
May 13
Yulon 111-93 Dacin (Dacin 2-1)
(Yulon F Lu Cheng-ju, photo courtesy of ESPN Taiwan)
Yulon: Lu Cheng-ju 31p(12-17 FG)+9rb, Tsun Wen-din 28p+6rb+5a, Chen Hsin-an 18p, Chou Shih-yuan 10p, Chen Chih-chun 10p
Dacin: Tien Lei 30p+11rb, Wang Chih-chun 15p, Chen Ching-wen 11p
TB 80-73 Videoland (TB 2-1)
TB: Lin Chih-jay 33p+7rb, Hsu Hao-cheng 11p, Ho Sho-jen 10p
VL: Yang Che-yi 20p, Jonathan Sanders 11p+12rb, Wu Yong-jen 14p, Lai Kuo-hong 11p
May 12
Dacin 81-80 Yulon (Dacin 2-0)
(Dacin took a surprising 2-0 lead, photo courtesy of ESPN Taiwan)
Dacin beat Yulon by a one-point margin for the second time in as many nights to take 2-0 lead and pushed the defending champ to the brink of elimination.
Trailing 79-75 with two minutes to go, Dacin never panicked. The Tigers scored six straight points on three consecutive back-door cuts to turned a four-point deficit to a two-point lead, 81-79. Chang Chi-feng failed to increased the lead by missing four straight free-throws but Yulon didn't take advantage of the opportunity as well.
Chen Hsin-an only made one out of three free-throws and missed a last shot that could've tied the score.
Dacin forward Tien Lei almost turned in a triple-double performance by having 20 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. Chen Tse-wei played well for the second straight game, scoring 10 of his 15 points in the 4th quarter.
Dacin: Tien Lei 20p+11rb+9a, Chang Chi-feng 20p, Chen Tse-wei 15p, Chen Ching-wen 12p
Yulon: Tsun Wen-din 29p+9rb, Chen Hsin-an 15p+11rb, Chou Shih-yuan 15p, Lu Cheng-ju 11p
VL 94-88 TB (1-1)
(VL forward Jonathan Sanders, photo courtesy of ESPN Taiwan)
The Hunters took turn dominating the game as Videoland beat TB to tie the series 1-1 after a 94-88 victory.
Yang Che-yi had 14 of his team-leading 25 points in the first half for VL, which received 13 points in the third quarter from Lee Wei-min and 13 points in the final period from point guard Chen Huei.
VL: Yang Che-yi 25p, Lee Wei-min 18p, Chen Huei 19p, Jonathan Sanders 15p+11rb, Lai Kuo-hong 11p
TB: Lin Chih-jay 36p(7 3PT), Hsu Hao-cheng 13p