Monday, March 02, 2009

30-point turnaround helps FJU advance to final four

Lu Cheng-ju of TPEC (Source: UBA)

The defending UBA champion Fu Jen University survived a scare and advanced to the final four, turning a 24-point halftime deficit to a six-point victory. FJU pulled off the biggest comeback in UBA history with a 87-81 win over NTSU-Taoyuan.

Trailing 48-24 at halftime, the defending champ found their shooting touch in the second half. Wu Chih-wei, who scored 22, made six 3-pointers to spark a 63-point second half outburst. Lin Wei-han knocked down a go-ahead three with 42.8 seconds left on the clock to set up the unbelievable comeback. Lin had 18 points.

Wei Wei and Wu Fong-cheng each scored 23 points for NTSU-Taoyuan.

CCU beat TPEC 81-70 by a 16-3 closing run and set up a meeting with FJU in the semifinal tomorrow. TPEC, which has been a UBA powerhouse for as long as you can imagine, saw its record of making the final four for 21 consecutive year snapped. Last year, its 12 straight UBA title win and 155-game win streak were also stopped.

In the other semifinal game, Hsing Wu College is scheduled to meet National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), the hands-on favorite to win it all this year.