Monday, September 28, 2009

Report: Bank of Taiwan overhauls its roster

2077283514_3007bf4727 Bank of Taiwan roster has undergone a complete overhaul which sees release of three veterans, a number of transfers and the signing of eight newcomers, local media reported.

The massive reform is no surprise, considering BOT managed to win only 15 games during the past three seasons and finished dead last among seven SBL teams in each of those years.

Gone are Lin Chun-feng, an inconsistent and temperamental forward who was at one point BOT's best scorer, point guard Chien Ming-fu, who has been the heart and soul in BOT's surprising 2005-06 playoff run in which it pushed the eventual champion Yulon to the brink of elimination, and 200cm center Chou Ben-tang.

Another 200cm center Cheng En-chieh will no longer be playing basketball for BOT. Instead, he will work as a banking staff. Now that's weird!

Guard Lin Chih-lung is expected to sign with Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor (KKL) while eight players -- Lin Kwan-lun, Liu Jui-sheng, Yang Cheng-lun, Sun Hwan-po, Yang Cheng-jung, Hsu Kai-chieh, Hsu Shih-ching and Wu Jun-hsiung -- will be brought in.

Hsu Kai-chieh played for Taiwan Mobile last season. Liu Jui-sheng transferred from Yulon while Hsu Shih-ching played for Pure Youth last season. Lin Kwan-lun played for KKL last year.

Well, BOT will basically be a brand new team after the big change. Will it be a better team? Don't bet on it because it's still coached by someone named Lai Liang-chung. And because BOT management has been doing nothing to promote the team. Actually it desperately wants to get rid of the team which costs it over NT 10 million per year.