The top five star players, including Chen Hsin-an and Tien Lei, were included in the 30-man rosters of the 2012 Taiwan men’s national teams announced by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association on May 23.
Hsu Chin-tse, who led Pure Youth to its first ever SBL title last month, would be the head coach of Taiwan’s national team while Chiu Da-tsun, coach of Dacin Tigers, would be the head coach of the national second team, which is also known as Kwang Hua team.
Taiwan Beer center Wu Tai-hao has signed a two-year contract with Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), Apple Daily reported Wednesday.
Terms of the contract was not disclosed, but Zhejiang will reportedly pay Wu an annual salary between 1 to 1.5 million Chinese Yuan (US$155,000-232,000, NT$4.47-6.7 million), the report said.
[No Tien Lei (middle) and Tseng Wen-ting (right) for Taiwan NT this year. Lee Hsueh-lin (left) returned from China to be back with the team.]
The Chinese Taipei Basketball Association on Friday announced the final roster for the upcoming East Asian Basketball Championship, the qualifying tournament for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship.
The 12-man lineup is led by three core players who played last season in China, including former Taiwan Beer forward Lin Chih-chieh and a pair of ex-Yulon Luxgen stars -- forward Chen Hsin-an and point guard Lee Hsueh-lin.
Lin Chih-chieh has re-signed with Zhejiang Lions for three years with an annual salary of 1.8 million Chinese Yuan (US$277,220), an 80 percent increase from his previous contract with the team, the Chinese language newspaper Liberty Times reported.
CTBA announced its 16-man men's basketball roster for the Asian Games in Gaungzhou, China on Wednesday with injured core players Tseng Wen-ting, Tien Lei, Lin Chih-chieh and Wu Tai-hao all returning to the national team training camp.
Wu Feng-cheng replaced Jet Chang, who will go back to Hawaii to prepare for his junior season with BYU-Hawaii.
Taiwan men's NT did not perform well during the past Asian Games, finishing for 5th place in 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, 6th place in 1994 in Hiroshima, 5th place in 1998 in Bangkok, 7th place in 2002 in Pusan, Korea and 8th place in 2006, Doha, Qatar.
Wu Feng-cheng 1986.11.27 195 80 Yulon
Yang Chin-min 1984.1.22 188 85 Taiwan Beer
Lee Hsueh-lin 1984.1.31 176 75 Yulon
Chen Shih-nian 1984.4.8 180 76 Taiwan Beer
Chen Shun-hsiang 1985.5.25 190 90 Bank of Taiwan
Hung Chih-shan 1985.7.5 176 75 Pure Youth
Chien Chia-hung 1987.3.6 197 108 Pure Youth
Cheng Jen-wei 1987.4.6 194 90 KKL
Lu Cheng-ju 1986.4.13 194 88 Yulon
Mao Chia-en 1982.11.16 196 90 Pure Youth
Tien Lei 1983.6.1 202 100 Dacin
Wu Tai-hao 1985.2.7 202 100 Taiwan Beer
Tseng Wen-ting 1984.7.6 203 90 Yulon
Chang Chih-feng 1981.4.22 183 90 Dacin
Lin Chih-chieh 1982.6.11 192 95 Taiwan Beer
Chou Po-chen 1990.8.8 196 94 University
Head coach: Zhang Xuelei
Assistants: Chiu Chi-yi, Wei Yung-tai
Bidding wars over SBL free agents and other big-name player is imminent, local newspaper Liberty Times reported Wednesday. An unnamed team has offered Taiwan Beer center Wu Tai-hao a contract that would pay him NT$120,000 per month plus a signing bonus of NT$10 million(US$305,200), the report said.
According to (a funny) SBL regulation, a SBL player can receive a maximum monthly salary of NT$120,000(US$3,662).
Rumor said Taiwan Mobile is the team that made offer to Wu Tai-hao. However, Wu and TM head coach Cheng Chih-lung both denied the rumor.
Dacin point guard Su Yi-chieh, KKL forward Chen Ching-hwan and KKL forward Cheng Jen-wei were among most sought-after free agents. All of them are expected to re-sign with current teams though.
Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor (KKL) made the first off-season move by releasing five players. Lin Kwan-lun, Shan Wei-fan, Shin Jin-jan, Wu Chia-long and Lee Wei-min were released.
CTBA on Sunday announced the 12-man roster for the upcoming East Asian Qualifying Championship, the qualifying tournament for the 2009 Asian Men's Championship.
Head coach Chung Kwang-suk, a South Korean, submitted the final roster which comprised of players from the top three teams -- Dacin, Yulon and Taiwan Beer -- in the regular season.
Since the team has only 10 days to prepare for the tournament, Chung said, he decided to pick players from only the top three teams who had international competition experience.
One glaring absentee is Yulon star forward Chen Hsin-an, who has been plagued by a knee injury all year which resulted in a mediocre season. It was reported that Chen has flown to the U.S. to seek treatment on his knee.
Local media also reported that Wu Tai-hao, Lin Chih-chieh and Chang Chih-feng could all possibly withdraw from the team due to injury.
The qualifying tournament will tip off in Nagoya, Japan on June 10. Taiwan, along with Mongolia, South Korea, China, Japan and Hong Kong, will fight for two seeds for the Asian Championship.
Taiwan is scheduled to meet host Japan on June 10 and Mongolia on June 12 in the preliminaries.
Taiwan NT roster
Po., Name, Ht., Age
G Lee Hsueh-lin, Yulon, 175cm, 25
G Su Yi-chieh, Dacin, 181cm, 22
G Chang Chih-feng, Dacin, 183cm, 28
G Chen Shih-nian, TB, 180cm, 25
G Yang Yu-min, TB, 176cm, 30
F Lin Chih-chieh, TB, 192cm, 27
F Ho Shou-cheng, TB, 196cm, 26
F Tien Lei, Dacin, 202cm, 26
F Lin Yi-hui, Dacin, 193cm, 23
F Yang Che-yi, Yulon, 193cm, 31
C Tseng Wen-ting, Yulon, 202cm, 25
C Wu Tai-hao, TB, 202cm, 24
Avg. Height: 189.6cm, Age: 26
Chang Chih-feng, Dacin.
Two-time SBL Finals MVP Lin Chih-chieh scored 30 points as third-seeded Taiwan Beer cruised past Yulon 78-68 in Game 1 of the SBL first-round playoffs Friday and took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
Led by Chang Chih-feng's 20 points, regular season champ Dacin Tiger regained its focus in the second half and routed fourth-seeded Pure Youth 88-70 to take the opening win in the first round series.
Lin Chih-chieh had 10 of his game-high 30 points in the second quarter. Ho Shou-cheng contributed 15 points. Center Wu Tai-hao was dominant in the paint, collecting 11 points and 9 rebounds. Wu's three consecutive blocks in the third quarter basically set the tone of this high-intensity game.
Chen Hsin-an was once again the only player Yulon could count on in the post season. He had a team-high 21 points. Tseng Wen-ting, Yulon's top scorer in the regular season, only had 12 points and 8 rebounds.
"The better team won the game tonight, obviously, " said Yulon head coach Zhang Xue-lei. Zhang was not pleased with the team's offensive performance.
Chang Chih-feng led Dacin with 20 points while Tien Lei had an off night with eight points. Wu Chien-lung paced PY with 13 and 9.
(Photos: Yahoo Taiwan Sports)
BYU Hawaii's 6-3 guard Jet (Tsung-hsien) Chang was named NCAA Division II Pacific West Conference Freshman of the Year, winning the honor by averaging 12.5 points in 20.4 minutes per contest. (See Alves, Five Others Honored by Conference)
Chang became the second Taiwanese player since 6-8 forward/center Wu Tai-hao in 2006 to win the Freshman of the Year award for the Hawaii school. Wu returned to Taiwan after his sophomore year and is now playing for Taiwan Beer.
The explosive Chang showed a glimpse of promise in his freshman year, pouring in a career-high 32 points in the Feb. 28 game vs. Chaminade and shot 51.8% from the field for the season.
BYUH concluded the 2008-09 season 27-2 following the 59-58 loss to Cal Poly-Pomona at NCAA Div-II West Regional third round. The Seasiders advanced to the postseason after winning the PacWest Conference with a perfect 12-0 record.
Chang had 12 points in 16 minutes in Seasiders' 98-84 opening win over Humboldt State and 19 points in 27 minutes in the 84-71 win vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills. However, he failed to score in the season finale.
Most Valuable Player: Wu Tai-hao, NTNU
Best Five:
Wu Tai-hao
Chien Chia-hong, NTNU
Lin Ching-pang, CCU
Wang Hao-chi, Hsing Wu Coll.
Lai Kuo-wei, NTUA
Freshman of the year: Wang Hao-chi
Wu Tai-hao (Source: UBA)
Wu Tai-hao had 11 points to go with five steals and three blocks and led National Taiwan Normal University to its first ever UBA men's title in school history with a 84-62 rout over Chinese Culture University Thursday night. The 6-8 center became the first player in Taiwanese basketball history to win MVP honors in high school and college levels.
The title game was almost declared over after 10 minutes, when NTNU jumped to a 16-3 lead at the end of the first period. CCU managed to cut the deficit to single digit several times behind Lin Ching-pang's three-pointers, but NTNU answered every time with a little run with its inside advantage.
CCU had a hard time scoring inside with Wu and Chien Chia-hong control the paint. Chien tallied 15 points and six boards while Cheng Jen-wei added 13 and 9. Point guard Su Yi-chieh had 14 points, 6 assists and three steals.
Lin Ching-pang led CCU with 25 points and 9 rebounds.
With the title, NTNU is finally no longer second best. It finished as runner-ups six times in school history, including 2004, 2005 and 2008 when it had current SBL star players such as Tien Lei, Ho Shou-cheng and Wu Yong-jen on its roster.
Su Yi-chieh(No.4)
NTNU’s Deng An-cheng
Defending champ Fu Jen Univ. beat Hsing Wu College 80-77 in the bronze medal game. NTUA beat NTSU-Taoyuan 74-63 o win the 5th place and NKNU upset TPEC 84-67 as TPEC finished as the 8th place -- the worst placing in school history.
In the semifinal matchups, NTNU stomped Hsing Wu College 100-67. Chang Jung-hsuan led the team with 15 points while Wu Tai-hao and Cheng Jen-wei each scored 13 points. CCU used a 18-0 run late in the 4th quarter to break the game open and beat Fu Jen Univ. 75-57, reaching the title game for the first time in seven years.
Lin Ching-pang led CCU with 23 points.
Lin Ching-pang, CCU
Final UBA men placing:
1. NTNU
2. CCU
3. Fu Jen Univ.
4. Hsing Wu College
5. NTUA
6. NTSU-Taoyuan
7. NKNU
8. TPEC
Chang Tsung-hsien, one of the most physically gifted Taiwanese players in years, is scheduled to play his first game in the U.S. NCAA. The 6-3 Chang, nicknamed "Jet", is currently a freshman guard in BYU-Hawaii.
BYU-Hawaii will open the regular season on November 18th in Laie against defending NCAA II champion Winona State at 7:30 pm. The same two teams will meet two nights later at the same time and place for a second game. The Seasiders made it to the "Sweet Sixteen" last season while Winona State has won two of the last three NCAA II titles and finished second in between the two crowns.
Following high school graduation, Chang briefly played for German team BG Goettingen II in 2007 before moving to North America this year.
Chang followed the footstep of Wu Tai-hao, who played for the Seasiders from 2005-07. The 6-9 forward-center helped BYUH to a 20-8 record in the 2006-07 season and an NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance. Wu averaged 10.6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.6 blocks per game in 2006-07, his sophomore season, up from 8.9 points and 3.2 rebounds in 2005-06 when he was named Freshman of the Year in the Pacific West Conference (PWC).
Wu left BYUH after his sophomore season and returned to Taiwan to play for ETSN Antelopes. One year later he signed with Taiwan Beer and led the team to the SBL title.
BYUH has been known for recruiting Asian players. Former Phoenix Sun Yuta Tabuse, a Japanese guard, also played for the school before Wu.
Check out BYHU Men's Basketball website at http://sports.byuh.edu/Mens_Basketball
Players reported to the 35-day training camp for the 2008 Jones Cup tournament, the only major basketball event this year for Taiwan NT, on June 3.
Once again, they will be led by veteran Korean head coach Chung Kwon Suk, who led Taiwan to a 6th place finish last year in last year's Asian Championship.
However, Chung will inherit a team without the big-name players, among them Tien Lei, Chen Hsin-an and Lin Chih-chieh, who all pulled out of the national team due to injury.
Players who are out of the 2008 Taiwan NT included Chen Hsin-an, Tien Lei, Lin Chih-chieh, Tseng Wen-ting, Wu Tai-hao, Ho Shou-cheng, Chen Shih-nian, Chen Chih-chung and Chang Chih-feng. All of them were core players of the national squad in the past five years.
Taiwanese-American James Mao, who was going to be called up as a replacement player, could not play in the Jones Cup either because of right foot injury.
That means the 2008 Taiwan NT will be a young and inexperinced team which consists mostly those who had less than three years of international competition experience.
The original 24-man team is now down to 16 players which are listed as follow:
Taiwan Beer: Yang Chin-min, Hsu Hao-cheng
Yulon: Lee Chi-yi, Yang Che-yi, Lee Hsueh-lin, Lu Cheng-ju
dmedia: Ouyang Ching-heng
Dacin: Yue Yin-li, Lee Feng-yong, Chen Tzu-wei, Wang Chih-chun
Pure Youth: Chien Chia-hong, Wu Chian-lung, Lin Chin-pang
Bank of Taiwan: Hsu Chih-chan
Former Taiwan NT players Cheng Chih-lung and Chou Jun-san will serve as assistants.
Ten teams are expected to play in the men's competition in the 2008 Jones Cup, which will be played in Sinjhuang Stadium, Taipei County next month. The tourney is scheduled to tip off on July 10 but the participating teams and the game schedule have yet to be announced by the CTBA.
On paper, the defending champion improved itself by adding Wu Dai-hao, one of the best inside players in the league, and the streaky shooter Yang Chin-min. Wu and Yang make up for what Taiwan Beer desperately needed last season -- an inside force and an additional perimeter shooter.
