Sunday, January 03, 2010

Defending champ Song-shan HS first to make elite eight

Defending High School Basketball League (HBL) champion Song-shan High School beat Youth Senior High School 91-78 in overtime Sunday, becoming the first team to advance to the elite eight stage this year.

Led by sophomore center Hu Lung-mao, who had 8 of his 22 points in the extra session, Song-shan avoided a huge upset en route to its 25th consecutive victory which spanned three seasons. Hu, one of the most promising players in the league this year, also grabbed 12 rebounds and had two blocks in only 22 minutes of playing time.

Hong Kang-chiao had a career-high 31 points to go with 12 boards, six steals and five assists for Song-shan, which was known as the "Green Shields" for their defensive tenacity, before fouling out in the final quarter.

The HBL is currently in the second round which eight teams will advance to the quarterfinal round in a 12-team field.

By the way, this is the 1500th post of this blog, which started in 1999. It's a nice little accomplishment for me after 10 years.