The interesting case of Vita Genomics

Just like I wrote before, Taiwanese basketball never cease surprising us all. The latest case of Vita Genomics -- this year's A-League winner which wanted to get a foot in the SBL so badly -- was a perfect case.

First thing first. Vita Genomics lost all three games so far (I couldn't even find the result of its last game, but it didn't matter anyway) in the "qualification games", which was played from Nov. 6-11, and will not be able to join the SBL next season.

What is the qualification games? It was supposed to be a "relegation games" which have the A-League winner and the 6th- and 7th-place SBL teams to play a double round robin games with the last-placed team in the games demoted to the A-League next year.

However, ETSN and YMY -- the 6th- and 7th-place SBL teams last season -- refused to be demoted ! The very "considering" SBL Committee then decide to make it a qualification games, which means the games will be played to determine whether the A-League winner is qualified to join the SBL or not and no current SBL teams will be demoted.

Vita Genomics lost to YMY twice by the scores of 118-100 and 97-79, and lost to ETSN 99-78 in the series. The results showed the big competition gap between the amateur league and the semi-pro SBL.

Funny thing was that the committee never announced how Vita Genomics can join the league. Will it be able to join if it finshed the seires 4-0? 3-1? 2-2? 1-3? The answer is: nobody knows. Word was that no matter how Vita Genomics performed, it would take a negotiation with current SBL teams to determine the final outcome.

Which makes you wonder: why bother playing all those games if it takes another round of negotiation?

Another funny thing was that the Vita Genomics-ETSN game on Nov.8 was called off by the refs, according to the official FIBA rules, with less than two minutes remaining because there was only one Vita player on the court.

Vita, with many of its core players playing on the same night in the university league, could only dress seven players for the game. Some of Vita players were emergency loans from other A-League teams.

In the second half Vita lost two players for disqualifications and was forced to play the remaining five players. But they couldn't avoid foul trouble. With less than two minutes to go, the game was called off because Vita was left with only one player on the court.

Anyway, it seems to me that the SBL teams simply will not allow Vita enter the league unless it agrees to pay a large amount of admission fee. On the other hand, Vita needs to secure its players (and maybe find a team manager before that...) if it is serious about entering the SBL.

Yitong Trust wins President Cup

Yitong Trust defeated NTCPE (National Taiwan College of Physical Education) 2-0 in the best-of-three final series and won its first President Cup champion in team history. Kuo-kwang Power beat Richway Tech 2-1 in the best-of-three 3rd-place series.

President Cup was divided into two divisions – Division I and II – before the formation of SBL (Super Basketball League). Currently there’s only one division in the President Cup.

President Cup Preliminary Round Standings:
1. Yitong Trust 6-1
2. NTCPE 5-2
3. Kuo-kwang Power 5-2
4. Richway Tech 4-3
5. TNIT 4-3
6. Tsaishin Alumni 2-5
7. Shinwu 2-5
8. Jin-jin Design 0-7

Top four teams meet in the best-of-three playoff series, where Yitong faces NTCPE in the finals and Kuo-kwang Power meets Richway Tech in the 3rd-place series.

New Taiwanese basketball competition format

The current Taiwanese basketball competition format that has been going on for years will have a dramatic change after the launch of SBL.

Since the CBA folded, teams went back to join A-League (Amateur League). There are only two stages - President Cup and A-League regular season - for them to play every year. Men’s teams are divided into two divisions – Div-I and Div-II.

Things will look a little bit different this year. Seven top teams form the new Super Basketball League. That means there will be no more Div-I in A-League. From now on A-League will be a one-division league. All men’s and women’s teams which didn’t join SBL will still play under the old A-League format.

2003 President Cup tip-offs on Nov.2

CTBA announced the 2003 President Cup schedule Monday. Eight men’s teams and five women’s teams will participate in the tournament from Nov. 2 to Dec. 4.

With the formation of the Super Basketball League, the remaining teams will still compete in both annual CTBA-sanctioned events – the President Cup and the A-League Regular Season.

Men’s Competition
Teams (8): National Taiwan College of Physical Education (NTCPE), Yitong Trust, Kuo-kwang Power, Jui-tsai Technology, Shingwu-Chiaotai, Jin-jin Design, Tung-nan Institute of Technology (TIT), Tsai-shin Alumni
Time: Nov. 24 – Dec. 4
Venue: Taipei Municipal Stadium
Format: Single round-robin preliminary games. Top four teams advance to the playoffs, with top two teams go for championship in a best-of-three series. No.3 and No.4 teams play for third-place also in a best-of-three series.

Women’s Competition
Teams (5): Kuo-tai Life, Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Power, Taiyuan, Yadong
Time: Nov. 2 – Nov. 23
Venue: Taipei Municipal Stadium
Format: Double round-robin preliminary games. Top four teams advance to the playoffs, with top two teams go for championship in a best-of-three series. No.3 and No.4 teams play for third-place also in a best-of-three series.

A-League Finals stats

Finals: Yulon 2-1 Mars
-- Yulon:
Chen Hsin-an 15.7p, 7.3rb, 4a
Tsun Wen-din 13.7p, 9rb
Chen Chih-chung 12.7p, 3rb, 2.7a
Hong Chi-chao 9p

-- Mars:
Yang Che-yi 14.7p, 8rb
Lai Kuo-hong 11.7p, 5rb
Lin Jia-huang 11.7p
Yen Hsin-shu 9.7p, 4rb, 3.7a
Lee Chi-yi 8p, 9.3rb
Chen Huei 5p, 4rb, 5a

3rd-place Series: Jutai 2-1 Taiwan Beer
-- Jutai:
Yang Yu-ming 31.3p, 5.3rb, 3a
Hu Yu-wei 15.5p, 3.5rb(2 games)
Ha Xiao-yuan 12.7p, 9rb
Tan Bo-chan 6.7p, 9rb

-- Taiwan Beer:
Lin Chi-jay 24.3p, 12rb
Wu Yang-juei 17p, 5.7rb
Chen Shi-nian 12.3p, 4rb, 5a
Wu Chih-yuan 12.3p, 7rb
Yo Yu-lun 10p, 4.3rb, 3.3a
Chang Hsien-ming 9p, 3rb

2003 A-League All-Star Teams

(This is my pick. All stats are from preliminary round)

First Team
F Chen Hsin-an(Yulon) 16.3p, 6rb, 3a
F Lin Chi-jay(Taiwan Beer) 11.4p, 6.6rb, 2.1a, 1.57s
C Wu Dai-hao(Dacin) 14.5p, 9.2rb, 1.27blk
G Yang Yu-ming(Jutai) 23p, 3.6a, 1.71s
G Yen Hsin-shu(Mars) 12.8p, 5.4rb, 5.3a, 2.1s

Second Team
F Ho Sho-jen(Bank of Taiwan) 19.3p
F Yang Che-yi(Mars) 13.9p
C Tsun Wen-din(Yulon) 11.8p, 7.6rb, 1.93blk
G Chen Chih-chung(Yulon) 10.6p, 2.5rb, 3.6a, 2.86s
G Chen Shi-nian(Taiwan Beer) 12.2p, 4rb, 4.4a, 1.85s

Third Team
F Lee Fong-yong(Dacin) 12.9p, 6.8rb
F Chang Chi-feng(Dacin) 13.7p, 5.2rb, 1.79s
G Chien Min-fu(Military) 11.9p, 4.6rb, 5.8a, 1.64s
G Chiu Chi-yi(Military) 22p
G Hsu Hao-cheng(Bank of Taiwan) 7.6p, 5.1rb, 6.9a, 2.07s

Yulon wins fourth consecutive A-League title

2002-03 A-League season concluded tonight as both the Finals and the 3rd-place series go down to the final deciding game.

Led by Finals MVP Chen Hsin-an's 17 points, Yulon beat Mars, 81-70, in the best-of-three series to win its fourth consecutive A-League title. Sharpshooter Yang Yu-ming had 30 points to lead Jutai past Taiwan Beer, 83-79, in the deciding game of the 3rd-place series.

Embarrassed by its Game 2 performance last night, Yulon came out with a fire in their eyes. Using a 15-0 run, Yulon jumped in front 29-13 in the end of the first quarter and pretty much set the tones of the game.

Mars cut the deficit down to 10 points in the middle of the 4th quarter, but Hong Chi-chao's three-point play put Mars away. Chen Chih-chung, who was held to 3 points last night, had a game-high 21 points.

Mars once again came up short, although is proved it's a better team in the first two games. Yang Che-yi led Mars with 19 points.

Taiwan Beer and Jutai didn't produce a record-breaking third cosecutive overtime game. On the contrary, Jutai Tech pulled in front early and led by as many as 20 points, as yang Yu-ming almost buried his every shot.

Taiwan Beer refused to quit. Just like previous games, Lin Chi-jay took over the game with his powerful one-on-one moves and cut the deficit down to two in the final two minute before bowing out. Lin Chi-jay paced Taiwan Beer with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Fast improving bigman Wu Chih-yuan had 17.

Finals Game 3: Yulon 81-70 Mars(Half 47-27)
Yulon - Chen Chih-chung 21p, Chen Hsin-an 17p+5rb+6a, Hong Chi-chao 15p+9rb, Tsun Wen-din 15p
Mars - Yang Che-yi 19p+7rb, Lai Kuo-hong 15p

3rd-place series Game 3: Jutai 83-79 Taiwan Beer(Half 47-31)
Jutai - Yang Yu-ming 30p, Ha Xiao-yuan 18p+13rb, O-Yang Jin-hen 18p
TB - Lin Chi-jay 22p+13rb, Wu Chih-yuan 17p, Wu yang-huei 14p

Mars, Taiwan Beer even the series at 1-1

Showcasing its best defense of the year, Mars limited Yulon to a miserable 20-for-73 shooting and beat Yulon, 62-56, to even the A-League Finals at 1-1 last night (May 12th). Taiwan Beer and Jutai gave us the second straight overtime game, with Taiwan Beer edging Jutai, 103-96, and tied the best-of-three series.

Mars' outstanding team defense didn't give Yulon too many open looks from tipoff. And when they did get open, Yulon just can't find the basket all night, trailing by 21 at halftime. Yulon rallied in the final quarter, when they outscored Mars 15-2, but it's too late.

Jutai-Taiwan Beer game again was decided in overtime. Lin Chi-jay scored 9 of his 32 points in the extra five minutes as Taiwan Beer won this time, following the Game 1 overtime loss. Yo Yu-lun's fastbreak layup with 3 seconds remaining in regulation tied the game at 87 all and forced overtime.

Jutai Tech's Yang Yu-ming exploded for 43 points, the A-League season high, but it's not enough for a victory.

Finals Game 2: Mars 62-56 Yulon(Half 44-23)
Mars - Yen Hsin-shu 15p+5a, yang Che-yi 15p+12rb, Lin Jia-huang 9p
Yulon - Wu Chih-wei 12p+7rb, Tsun Wen-din 12p+9rb+5s, Chen Hsin-an 7p+8rb

3rd-place Series Game 2: Taiwan Beer 103-96(OT) Jutai(Half 44-49)
TB - Lin Chi-jay 32p(8-25FG, 16-19FT)+14rb, Chen Shi-nian 24p+6a, Yo Yu-lun 15p+6a
Jutai - Yang Yu-ming 43p(15-27FG, 5-8FT), Tan Bo-chan 9p+12rb

A-League Preliminaries Final Standings

1. Yulon 14-0
2. Mars 11-3
3. Jutai 10-4
4. Taiwan Beer 6-8
5. Dacin 6-8
6. Bank of Taiwan 4-10
7. Military 3-11
8. Jin-jin Design 2-12

Chen Hsin-an: Yulon's "Mr. Clutch"

Chen Hsin-an had 12 points in the last 3:12 as Yulon overcame an 8-point deficit and edged Mars, 75-71, in Game 1 of the 2003 A-League Finals last night(May 9th). Yulon led 1-0 in the best-of-three series. In Game 1 of the 3rd-place series, Jutai beat Taiwan Beer, 98-86, in overtime.

Always surrounded by at least three Mars defenders, Chen Hsin-an was quiet in the first three quarters. But he once again came thru in crunch time. With 3 1/2 minutes to go, Yulon was down, 55-63. Chen finally broke free from Mars' defense and made three straight baskets -- including two three-pointers -- while added two free-throws.

Yulon, which hadn't got the lead since tipoff, rallied past Mars with the deciding 14-2 run.

Chen Hsin-an had 23 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Tsun Wen-din pulled down 11 boards and added 14 points. Chen Chih-chun also had 14 points for Yulon. Lin Jia-huang led Mars with 18 points. Lee Chi-yi had 15 and 14.

In the earlier matchup, Lo Jen-kun tied the score off an offensive rebound with 4.7 seconds remaining as Taiwan Beer extendeded the game into overtime, 82-82, with Jutai. But Jutai knocked down Taiwan Beer in the extra session with an unanswered 14-0 run and got away with the 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

With 21 seconds remaining when Jutai lead 82-80, Yang Yu-ming, who had 21 points in the game, missed both of his free-throws and the opportunity to go ahead with a four-point lead.

Taiwan Beer's Lin Chih-jay failed to made the first free-throw with 4.7 seconds to go and intentionally missed the second try. Lo Jen-qun came away with the offensive board and put in the tying basket.

But Taiwan Beer was out of sync after both of its point guards, Chen Shih-nian and Yo Yu-lun, fouled out. Jutai made this game looked easy after scoring 14 straight points.

Jutai's Hu Yu-wei had a breakout performance with 23 points on 10-for-16 shooting. Wu Yang-huei led TB with 25 points and 8 rebounds.

Finals Game 1
Yulon 75-71 Mars(halftime 28-39)
Yulon - Chen Hsin-an 23p+9rb, Tsun Wen-din 14p+14rb, Chen Chih-chun 14p ; Mars - Lin Jia-huang 18p, Lee Chi-yi 15p+14rb, Lai Kuo-hong 10p, Yang Che-yi 10p

3rd-place series Game 1
Jutai 98-86(OT) Taiwan Beer(halftime 43-43)
Jutai - Hu Yu-wei 23p, Yang Yu-ming 21+8rb, Jong Wei-kuo 16p+5a, Ha Xiao-yuan 11p+13rb ; TB - Wu Yang-huei 25p+8rb, Lin Chi-jay 19p+9rb, Chang Hsien-ming 13p, Wu Chih-yuan 10p+10rb

Yulon and Mars will battle in A-League Finals

With the second leg still one week to go, Yulon and Mars have locked up their seeds in the Finals. Yulon edged Jutai, 80-77, on May 4th to stay perfect in 13 games. Mars defeated Jutai the night before, 80-63. Jutai, who suffered consecutive losses in two nights, will likely grabbs the third place.

Tsun Wen-din had 22 points and 18 rebounds in the Yulon victory. Chen Hsin-an had 16 points, including a highlight-reel dunk, and 5 assists. O-Yang Jin-hen led Jutai with 27 points, Yang Yu-ming had 20.

Last night Yang Che-yi had 22 points in the Mars' 80-63 victory over Jutai. Dacin limited Bank of Taiwan to 8 points, all on free-throws, in the last five minutes to a 76-66 come-from-behind win. Dacin will battle the fourth place with Taiwan Beer.

Yulon, Mars, Jutai top standings

Yulon beat Taiwan Beer, 78-60, last night(May 2nd) to stay undefeated in the A-League regular season and won its 11th straight. Yulon was 7-0 in the first leg and has won all four games in the second.

Mars(10-1) and Jutai(8-2) are not far behind. In fact, they are the only three teams with winning record. Among the other teams, Taiwan Beer(4-7), Dacin(3-7) and Bank of Taiwan(3-7) are fighting for the fourth place and the last semifinal seed.

Military beat Jin-jin Design, 95-92, in the other matchup of the night.

On May 1st, Yang Yu-ming poured in 34 points as Jutai beat Dacin, 95-82. Yang was 13-for-24 in the game. Dacin was led by Wu Dai-hao’s 25 points and 13 rebounds.

Mars edged Bank of Taiwan, 87-81, in its 9th consecutive victory. Lin Jia-huang led Mars with 19. Lee Chi-yi had 17 points and 9 boards, while Yen Shin-shu had 16 and 9. Yang Chin-ming led BOT with 20 points. Ho Sho-jen had 19.

Kuo-tai Life wins 12th straight A-League women's title

No surprise here. Kuo-tai Life beat Yadong 2-0 in the best-of-three final series to win its 12th straight A-League women's title. Chunghwa Telecom came back from a 0-1 deficit and defeated Taiwan Power 2-1 in the third-place series.

Yadong, definitely this year's Cinderella team, goes to the finals for the first time in seven years. The second place finish is also its best in years.

■Final A-League women's results:
**Final Series: Kuo-tai 2-0 Yadong
Game 1: Kuo-tai 89-70 Yadong
Game 2: Kuo-tai 80-61 Yadong

**Third-place Series: Chunghwa Telecom 2-1 Taiwan Power
Game 1: Taiwan Power 63-62 Chunghwa Telecom
Game 2: Chunghwa Telecom 89-83 Taiwan Power
Game 3: Chunghwa Telecom 74-53 Taiwan Power

**Semifinals
No.1 Kuo-tai 2-0 No.4 Chunghwa Telecom (100-89, 88-70)
No.2 Yadong 2-1 No.3 Taiwan Power (75-65, 53-57, 79-68)

**Preliminaries
1. Kuo-tai Life 8-0
2. Yadong 4-4
3. Taiwan Power 3-5
4. Chunghwa Telecom 3-5
5. Tai-yuan Textile 2-6

Yulon finishes first leg undefeated

Perennial power Yulon proves once again nobody can beat them. Yulon finishes the first leg of the 2003 A-League regular season with a perfect 7-0 record. With the help from NT point guard Yen Hsin-shu, who came back from a knee surgery, BCC Mars is right behind with 6-1. Jutai Tech is third at 5-2.

President Cup runner-up Dacin Construction surprisingly dropped to 2-5 due to the absence of star forward Tien Lei, who injured his shooting hand in a motorcycle accident and is expected to be out of the entire season.

The second leg starts on April 27th.

First leg standings:
1. Yulon 7-0 ; 2. Mars 6-1 ; 3. Jutai 5-2 ; 4. Taiwan Beer 4-3 ; 5. Dacin 2-5 ; 6. Bank of Taiwan 2-5 ; 7. Military 1-6 ; 8. Jin-jin Design 1-6

High school phenom Wu Dai-hao leads Dacin past BOT

High school phenom Wu Dai-hao had 24 points and 16 rebounds as Dacin beat Bank of Taiwan, 103-83, in tonight’s only Div-I game. Dacin is up to 2-3 while BOT dropped to 1-4, tied with Jin-jin Design in the last place.

With Wu’s presence in the middle, Dacin’s shooters were all over the place from the first minute, opening up the game for the easy victory. Wu made 9-of-12 shots and was 6-for-8 on the charity stripe. Chang Chih-fung and Cheng Chan-jun made four three-point baskets each and scored 16 and 15 points, respectively. PG Huang Chih-chun also had 15.

BOT was led by Ho Sho-jen’s 26 points and 9 boards. PG Wu Yong-jen had 18.

Bank of Taiwan ends three-game losing streak

PG Hsu Hao-cheng dished out 14 assists last night(Apr.18) as Bank of Taiwan found back their high-octane offense and beat Military, 104-89, ending their three-game losing streak. Yang Chin-min contributed 19 points, while Chen Shen-ya had 16. NT forward Ho Sho-jen had 14 points. BOT is now 1-3. Military was led by Wu Chen-tao's 27. Lo Da-wei had 20 points and 8 rebounds.

Jutai Tech beat Dacin, 78-74, to go 4-1 and made a strong push to the second place in the preliminaries, behind powerhouse Yulon(4-0). Trailed by as many as 14 points, Dacin cut the deficit down to two(74-76) with a late rally, which Lee Fong-yong made two consecutive three-pointers. But Jutai hanged on after Yang Yu-min made two free-throws with 5 seconds remaining. Dacin dropped to 1-3 after the defeat.

According to what I heard, Dacin will still keep star forward Tien Lei on the sideline before he is fully recovered from his hand injury.(Although Tien should be able to play maybe in next week)

Final 2003 Women's A-League Standings

Preliminary Round Standings
First Leg
1. Kuo-tai Life 4-0
2. Tai-yuan Textile 2-2
3. Yadong 2-2
4. Taiwan Powers 1-3
5. Chunghwa Telecom 1-3

Second Leg
1. Kuo-tai Life 4-0
2. Yadong 2-2
3. Chunghwa Telecom 2-2
4. Taiwan Powers 2-2
5. Tai-yuan Textile 0-4

Total
1. Kuo-tai Life 8-0
2. Yadong 4-4
3. Taiwan Powers 3-5
4. Chunghwa Telecom 3-5
5. Tai-yuan Textile 2-6

Second Round Matchup(Best-of-Three)
No.1 Kuo-tai vs. No.4 Chunghwa Telecom
No.2 Yadong vs. No.3 Taiwan Powers

Jin-jin Design upset Dacin

Taiwanese NT head coach Lee Yun-kwang(Surprised? Yes, our NT head coach plays in the A-League!) had 17 points as Jin-jin Design pulled out the biggest upset so far in the A-League, defeating Dacin 69-67 and recording their first win last night.

Jin-jin Design, who became the first team in history to be promoted from Div-II to Div-I after winning the qualification series last month, led by as many as 16 points in the game. Lee Yun-kwang had 7 points in the last 1:19, making one of two free throws with 1.6 seconds remaining to ice the game.

Dacin, who is still without injured star forward Tien Lei, struggled from the perimeter, shooting a miserable 9-for-41 from three-point territory. Dacin fell to 1-2 after the game.

DongFan Che-ter(NT assistant coach) had 19 points and 7 boards to lead Jin-jin. Lee Yun-kwang had 17 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists. Lee and DongFan are both over 35 years-old. Dacin was led by Lee Fong-yong's 13 points and 16 rebounds. Hsu Chih-chao had 13.

In the other game, Chen Hsin-an had 21 points as Yulon beat Bank of Taiwan, 90-62. Yulon has won four straight and is the only undefeated team.

Mars top Jin-jin Design

NT point guard Yen Shin-shu is slowly regaining his pre-injury form, collecting 7 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists in Mars' 74-60 win over Jin-jin Design last night. Mars is now 3-1 and ranked second behind the 3-0 Yulon, who pounded Taiwan Beer, 94-72, in the other game.

Div-II results:
Kuo-kwang Powers 95-77 Tsaishin Alumni
Fushian 85-79 NTCPE
CCU 77-59 TNIT

Jutai, Mars grabbed second win

Yang Yu-min had 21 points and Ha Hsiao-yuan had 14 points and 10 boards as Jutai Tech beat Bank of Taiwan, 89-73, tonight. Yen Shin-shu also led BCC Mars over Military, 90-86. Jutai, Mars and Taiwan Beer are now all 2-1 and tied for second behind Yulon(2-0) in the first leg.

Div-II results:
NTCPE 96-94 Kuo-kwang Powers
Yitong 99-82 Fushian
CCU 83-79 Tsaishin Alumni

Standings
Div-I: Yulon 2-0, Mars 2-1, Jutai 2-1, Taiwan Beer 2-1, Dacin 1-1, Military 1-2, Bank of Taiwan 0-2, Jin-jin Design 0-2
Div-II: NTCPE 4-0, Yitong 4-0, CCU 2-1, Fushian 1-2, Tsaishin Alumni 1-3, Kuo-kwang Powers 0-3, TNIT 0-3