Aisin beat TB to win Guan-hu Cup Invatational

Led by J.R. Henderson’s 28 points, Aisin Seahorse beat Taiwan Beer 92-84 in the 2005 Guan-hu Cup Invitational title game. Antwain Barbour and Eric McArthur had 12 points each.

Videoland edged Jutai Tech 95-92 to finished third. Lin Jia-huang, who scored 41 points earlier in the tournament, had another outstanding game. 17 of his 34 points came in the final quarter. VL rookie Lin Tsun-ching had 21 points.

Rookie Hsu Wei-shen scored 9 of his 21 points in the final quarter as Yulon routed ETSN 79-60 for the fifth-place. Yulon also received 18 points from center Wu Chih-wei and 13 points from guard Hong Chi-chao.

Lin Chi-jay scored the winning layup with 5 seconds left as Sina beat Spring Cooking Oil 100-99 for the 7th-place. Chang Yu-lin had 26 points for Sina. Lu Cheng-ju had 21 and Kao Li-min had 22.

May 29
Title game: Aisin 92-84 TB
3/4 Game: Videoland 95-92 Jutai Tech
5/6 Game: Yulon 79-60 ETSN
7/8 Game: Sina 100-99 Spring Cooking Oil

May 28
TB 83-72 ETSN (TB: Lin Chih-tsun 23p, Lee Wei-min 20p)
VL 99-75 Sina
Aisin 92-72 Yulon (Aisin: J.R. Henderson 28p, Antwain Barbour 24p)
Jutai 117-111(2OT) SCO (Jutai: Chen Chuan-hsu 29p)

Group Standings:
Group A: Aisin, VL, Yulon, Sina
Group B: TB, Jutai, ETSN, SCO

East Asian Qualification Action

May 28
China 83-73 Taiwan (Taiwan: Yang Yu-min 14p, Tien Lei 13p, Tsun Wen-din 12p, Lee Hsueh-lin 11p, Chen Chih-chun 10p)
Korea 82-65 Mongolia
Japan 72-50 Hong Kong

May 29
Japan 59-51 China
Hong Kong 70-62 Mongolia
Korea 89-80 Taiwan (Taiwan: Tsun Wen-din 18p, Chen Chih-chun 14p, Tien Lei 12p+7rb. Taiwan only made 19-of-32 free-throws, while Korea made 16 three-pointers.)

Standings:
Korea 4-0, China 3-1, Taiwan 2-2, Japan 2-2, Hong Kong 1-3, Mongolia 0-4

Taiwan NT wins two straight, gets Asian Championship seed

Taiwan NT defeated Japan and Mongolia in the first two games in the East Asian qualification in Guangdong, China and secured its ticket to the Asian Championship, which will be held in Qatar later this year.

Led by Tien Lei’s 25 points, Taiwan beat Japan 73-61 in the opening game. The following night center Wu Dai-hao scored 17 points in a balanced attack to help Taiwan beat Mongolia 88-73.

Taiwan, minus top players Chen Hsin-an and Lin Chi-jay, opened the game vs. Japan with a 20-8 run and led the whole game. Tien Lei had 25 points and 8 rebounds, follwed by Tsun Wen-din’s 15 points and 9 rebounds. SG Chang Chi-feng scored 10 points.

Joji Takeuchi led Japan with 13 and 7.

Taiwan cruised in the second game vs. Mongolia with all 12 players seeing action. Wu Dai-hao had 17 points, followed by Chen Chih-chun’s 14, Chou Shih-yuan’s 12, Chang Chi-feng’s 11 and Yang Yu-min’s 10 points.

Taiwan NT, however, showed one of their most glaring weaknesses as they trailed Mongolia in rebounding 37-47, allowing 20 offensive rebounds.

East Asian Qualification scores:
May 26
Taiwan 73-61 Japan
China 94-70 Mongolia
Korea 93-69 Hong Kong

May 27
Taiwan 88-73 Mongolia
China 77-56 Hong Kong
Korea 73-64 Japan

Standings:
Taiwan 2-0, China 2-0, Korea 2-0, Japan 0-2, Mongolia 0-2, Hong Kong 0-2

Guan-hu Cup Day 2 – Lin Jia-huang scores 41, VL upsets Aisin in OT

Lin Jia-huang scored tournament-high 41 points, including 7 three-pointers, to help Videoland upset tourney favorite Aisin Seahorse 96-93 in overtime.

J.R. Henderson led Aisin with 20 points but was ejected in the fourth quarter because of two technical fouls.

Jutai pulled off another upset with an 83-80 win over ETSN. Chen Chuan-shu topped Jutai with 21 points, while O-Yang Jin-hen led ETSN with 22 points.

Yulon beat Sina 85-79 to stay undefeated. Wu Chih-wei led Yulon with 20 points. Liu Shen-yao had 16 points. Chen Shi-jay of Sina scored 35 points.

Philippine’s Spring Cooking Oil beat Taiwan Beer 91-85.

Standings:
Group A: Yulon 2-0, Aisin 1-1, VL 1-1, Sina 0-2
Group B: SCO 1-1, TB 1-1, ETSN 1-1, Jutai 1-1

Guan-hu Cup - Henderson scores 34, smashes backboard with dunk

Former UCLA and NBA forward J.R. Henderson scored 34 points as Japan's Aisin Seahorse opened the 2005 Guan-hu Cup Invitational with a 100-93 win over Taiwan's Sina Lions.

Henderson’s dunk in mid-third quarter smashed the backboard and brought the crowd to its feet. The game was delayed for 20 minutes before game organizer installed a new backboard.

New Aisin import Kris Johnson, who’s also from UCLA and the son of former NBA great Marques Johnson, scored 18 points.

Scores:
Aisin Seahorses 100-93 Sina
Yulon 90-82 Videoland
Taiwan Beer 87-70 Jutai Tech
ETSN 102-94 Spring Cooking Oil

Guanhu Cup International Invitational Tournament tips-off tomorrow

2005 Guanhu Cup International Invitational Tournament, hosted by local Hua-lien County Basketball Commission, tips-off tomorrow in Hua-lien County, Taiwan as eight teams from three countries will play in the 16-game mini-tournament.

Two invited teams are Aisin Seahorses from Japan’s JBL and Spring Cooking Oil from Philippines. Among the local teams, five teams come from the SBL – Yulon, Videoland, ETSN, Taiwan Beer and Sina – and Jutai Technology comes from the second division.

Guanhu Cup is in its third year of existence. This is the first year foreign teams are invited.

With Taiwan NT playing in the East Asian Qualification in Guangdong, China, local teams have to play without their top-caliber players.

Bracket:
Group A: Yulon, Videoland, Sina, Aisin
Group B: TB, ETSN, Jutai, Spring Cooking Oil(SCO)

Schedule
5/26
12:30 Yulon-VL
14:00 Jutai-TB
15:30 Sina-Aisin
17:00 SCO-ETSN

5/27
14:30 ETSN-Jutai
16:00 Yulon-Sina
17:30 TB-SCO
19:30 VL-Aisin

5/28
13:00 VL-Sina
14:30 ETSN-TB
16:00 SCO-Jutai
17:30 Aisin-Yulon

5/29
13:00 7/8 Game: A4 VS B4
14:30 5/6 Game: A3 VS B3
16:00 Third-place Game: A2 VS B2
17:30 Title Game: A1 VS B1

Roster
Spring Cooking Oil Basketball Team

Coaching Staffs: Victor Sanchez, Benjamin Da Jose , Benito Victoria

Christopher Corbin 6' 6" Center
Rodel Manuel 6' 4" Forward/Center
Mario Reyes 5' 9" Guard
Marlon Kalaw 5' 10" Forward
Rolando Basilides 6' 3" Forward
Samigue Eman 6' 9" Center
Jimboy Robillos 6' 4" Forward/Center
Leonito Vilar 6' 3" Forward
Jhayson Alminario 6' 6" Center
Anastacio Mendoza 5' 10" Guard
Bobby Ray Parks 6' 3" Forward
Jeremy Robinson 6' 3" Forward/Center

AISIN SEAHORSES

HEAD COACH: SUZUKI KIMIKAZU
ASSISTANT COACH: KAGAYA HISASHI

# NAME HEIGHT WEIGHT POSITION age
0 KOMIYA KUNIO 188 76 SG 30
1 TAKUSHI NAOTO 182 80 G 23
2 SAKO KENICHI 179 80 G 34
7 TOYAMA HIDEAKI 197 85 F 38
8 YAMASAKI TAKAFUMI 187 83 SG 26
11 YAMAGUCHI KENTARO 191 85 F 28
25 KOHARA SHINJI 194 86 F 27
32 JR HENDERSON 206 110 C 28
34 SETOYAMA KYOSUKE 187 75 SG 23
43 TAKATSUJI KANETAKA 194 86 F 31
55 ERIC MCARTHUR 197 110 C 36

Taiwan NT head for China without its top players

Taiwan NT enters the East Asian Qualification without its top players. Chen Hsin-an and Lin Chi-jay, both top wing players in Taiwan, and Wang Chih-chun, one of the top point guards, all withdrew because of injuries.

Fortunately, it’s only the qualification stage and other countries are not sending their top players either. Under FIBA Asia rule, five of the six participating teams will get the East Asia Zone seeds for the Asian Championship.

Head coach Lee Yun-kwang admitted that most of the players are tired after a grueling SBL season, which concluded on May 16. Taiwan NT departed for China after practicing for only four days.

Lee said the goal for the tournament is getting the seed, so he will not put too much pressure on the players. For Taiwan, beating Mongolia and Hong Kong shouldn’t be too hard.

Taiwan NT game schedule:
5/26 21:00 Japan
5/27 21:00 Mongolia
5/28 19:00 China
5/29 21:00 South Korea
5/30 21:00 Hong Kong

Taiwan NT Roster:
Chen Chih-chun (Yulon)
Lee Hsueh-lin (Yulon)
Chou Shih-yuan (Yulon)
Tsun Wen-din (Yulon)
Tien Lei (Dacin)
Chang Chi-feng (Dacin)
Chen Shih-nian (TB)
Ho Sho-jen (TB)
Yang Che-yi (VL)
Lee Chi-yi (VL)
Yang Yu-min (ETSN)
Wu Dai-hao (ETSN)
Yang Chin-min (BOT)

Chen Hsin-an doubtful for East Asian qualification

Chen Hsin-an, Taiwan's most celebrated player, sustained a knee injury in Game 3 of the SBL Finals on Sunday. Chen partially tear his lateral knee ligament and will more than likely sit out the upcoming East Asian Qualification in Guangdong, China later this month.

Worse yet, it's possible Chen can not play in Sacramento Kings' summer league this summer as planned.

Chen slipped on a wet spot and twisted his knee while chasing a Dacin offensive player with 1:30 left in Game 3, when the outcome was already decided. He lied on the floor for a couple minutes and went to the lockerroom to ice his knee. Chen stayed in the lockerroom when his teammates celebrated their second consecutive SBL title.

Later his injury was diagnozed as partially tear lateral ligament and will have to rest for at least four weeks.

Unfortunately for Chen, this is the third time he got injured in the same year when Asian Championship takes place. It's unbelievable but Chen did miss the last two Asian Championship due to injury. Without Chen, Taiwan finished 7th and 11th in the last two Asian Championships.

Yulon repeats as SBL champion, Tsun Wen-din wins MVP

In a hard-fought series where no victory came easy, Yulon still swept Dacin 3-0 to repeat as SBL champion. Yulon beat Dacin 92-84 last night in Game 3 of the 2004-05 SBL Finals to become the first repeat champion in the league’s short two-year history.

Center Tsun Wen-din had 27 points and 8 rebounds and was named Finals MVP, edging out teammates Chen Chih-chun and Chen Hsin-an. Tsun averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds in the series and received 41 points in the voting, including 10 first-place votes.

Chen Chih-chun, who averaged 19 points and 5.3 assists in the series, received 38 points while Chen Hsin-an only 4 points behind. Chen Hsin-an averaged 20.7 points in three games.

*Yulon 92-84 Dacin (Half 46-43)
Yulon: Tsun Wen-din 27p(13-16 FG)+8rb, Lee Hsueh-lin 19p(7-12 FG, 5-8 3PT), Chen Hsin-an 18p(6-15 FG)+6a, Chen Chih-chun 14p+4a+3s
Dacin: Tien Lei 19p(9-20 FG)+11rb, Chang Chi-feng 13p+6rb+9a, Lee Fong-yong 17p+6rb, Wang Chih-chun 12p, Chen Tse-wei 11p, Lin Yi-huei 10p

*SBL Finals scores:
Game 1: Yulon 92-88 Dacin
Game 2: Yulon 87-75 Dacin
Game 3: Yulon 92-84 Dacin

SBL Finals - Chen Chih-chun leads Yulon to 2-0 lead

PG Chen Chih-chun fought through injury and had a heroic performance of 21 points, 12 rebounds as Yulon beat Dacin 87-75 in Game 2 of the SBL Finals to take a convincing 2-0 lead in the series.

Game Three is on Sunday night. If Yulon wins tomorrow, it can win its second straight SBL title, with both years sweeping its opponents. Yulon beat Sina 3-0 last year.

Yulon jumped on Dacin in the first minute and cruised in the first half, leading 49-33 in halftime.

Just when it seemed the game was in control, Yulon’s quick team foul trouble in the third quarter allowed Dacin change the momentum. Chang Chi-feng had 8 points in a 14-4 run to cut the deficit to single-digit. Dacin had another 10-0 run to close the quarter 68-64. Chang Chi-feng scored 14 points in the quarter.

Chen Chih-chun, who injured his shooting hand in Game 1, make a crucial three-pointer in the fourth quarter and Chen Hsin-an was his usual self, pouring in 12 points in the final period. The CHEN-CHEN combo helped Yulon pulled away in final five minutes.

Chen Chih-chun made 7 of 10 shots and all four of his free-throws. While seen as a team-first playmaker, Chen stepped up in the series, scoring more than 20 points in both games.

Yulon center Tsun Wen-din also followed game 1 with another good outing, collecting team-high 25 rebounds and 11 rebounds.

Dacin star forward Tien Lei struggle for the second consecutive game, picking up his third and fourth foul before the final quarter. Tien also had trouble finding shots, shooting 8 for 21 in the game. Tien Lei had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.

Chang Chi-feng led Dacin with 26 pointsand 6 rebounds. Forward Lee Fong-yong had 14 points and 5 boards.

* University of South Alabama head coach John Pelphrey, who visited Taiwan for a coaching clinic, was in attendance at both SBL Final games. Pelphrey had a successful four-day clinic and left for U.S. tonight after the game.