Yulon testing imports

Yulon started to test several imports this week. The first of three was Nigerian-born Samuel Ekwe, who only had 8 points and 7 rebounds in his first game Friday. Ekwe and Yulon head coach Zhang Xuelei cited jet lag for the subpar performance. But I'm not sure whether Ekwe will get a second chance, since Yulon will be testing two more --Jermaine Dailey (200cm) from University of Illinois-Chicago and Jason McCoy (206cm) from Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Ekwe's profile is listed below:

Samuel Ekwe
Height: 203cm / 6'8''
Position: Center
Born: March 16, 1984
Hometown: Lagos, Nigeria
2008, October: Applied for Philippinean citizenship

Career:
San Beda College (Philippines)
2005-2006: San Beda College (Philippines-University League)
2006-2007: San Beda College (Philippines-University League)
2007: Magnolia Spinners (Philippines-PBL), left in May
2007, May: PBL Selection Team (exhibition team) played friendly series vs. Philippines NT
2008, April: Philippnes Selection at the SABA Champions Cup
2011: Santa Barbara Breakers (WCBL)

TB's winning streak snapped

[Picture: Yang Ching-min, TB]

Jan. 29
BOT 91-83 PY
BOT: Hsu Chih-chang 28+10rb, Chen Shun-hsiang 18p+6rb+5a, Lin Jui-kun 15p, J. Vaudreili 14p+12rb
PY: James Mao 20p+6rb+7a, R. Jennings 16p+13rb, Ke Chi-hao 14p, CHang Yu-lin 14p

TM 73-71 TB
TM: Ouyang Ching-heng 18p, Teng An-cheng 14p, M. Dove 17p, Wu Yong-jen 10p+7rb+6a
TB: Yang Ching-min 22p, Wu Tai-hao 10p+8rb, E. Jones 13p+11rb, Chen Shih-nian 12p

Yulon 80-73 Dacin

Jan. 28
PY 97-74 Yulon
PY: R. Jennings 24p+23rb, James Mao 14p, Chang Yu-lin 13p
Yulon: Chou Shih-yuan 21p, S. Ekwe 8p+7rb, Yang Che-yi 11p

Dacin 93-81 KKL
Dacin: A. Foyle 27p+15rb, Tien Lei 16p+7rb, Hsu Hao-cheng 16p
KKL: Chang Jung-hsuan 20p, S. Hawkins 15p+9rb, Chen Ching-huan 14p

Jan. 26
TB 94-90 BOT
TB: Yang Ching-min 25p, Chen Shih-nian 18p, Wu Tai-hao 12p
BOT: Chen Shun-hsiang 29p, J. Vaudreuil 28p+14rb

Dacin 84-70 TM
Dacin: Tien Lei 27p+10rb, A. Foyle 17p, Hsu Hao-cheng 17p+7rb+4a
TM: Wu Yong-jen 19p, Liu Sheng-yao 16p

Standing:
1. Taiwan Beer 13-2
2. Pure Youth 10-5
3. Dacin Tigers 8-6
4. Yulon Luxgen 7-8
5. Bank of Taiwan 5-9
6. Taiwan Mobile 4-10
7. Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor 3-10

John Vaudreuil, BOT

Tien Lei, Dacin

Alex Foyle, Dacin

(Photos: ESPN Taiwan)

SBL Week 5 MVP: Yang Ching-min

Taiwan Beer forward/guard Yang Ching-min won his second weekly MVP of the season when he was named SBL Week 5 MVP Tuesday.

Yang averaged 20.7 points, 6 rebounds and 4.3 assists for the week and was one of the main reasons why TB is leading the seven-team league with 12 wins and one loss.

He received 39 points in the weekly media poll. TB import Emmanuel Jones ranked second in the poll with 14 points.

Yang is averaging 16.1 points, 4.4 boards, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals for the season.

2010-11 SBL Weekly MVPs:
Week 5: Yang Ching-min (TB)
Week 4: Rashad Jones-Jennings (PY)
Week 3: Rashad Jones-Jennings (PY)
Week 2: Yang Ching-min (TB)
Week 1: Tseng Wen-ting (Yulon)

(Photo: ESPN Taiwan)

SBL stats leader thru Jan. 23

Scoring
1. S. Hawkins, KKL 19.9
2. R. Jones-Jennings, PY 17.8
3. Chen Ching-huan, KKL 17.7
4. E. Jones, TB 17.4
5. M. Dove, TM 16.9
6. Tien Lei, Dacin 16.4
7. K. Gayden, Dacin 16.2
8. Yang Ching-min, TB 16.1
9. Chen Shun-hsiang, BOT 15.7
10. Chien Chia-hong, PY 15.6

Rebounding
1. R. Jones-Jennings, PY 21.3
2. K. Gayden, Dacin 12.7
3. A. Foyle, Dacin 12.5
4. J. Faulknor, BOT 12.3
5. M. Dove, TM 11.8
6. E. Jones, TB 11.6
7. S. Bailey, KKL 11.0
8. S. Hawkins, KKL 10.9
9. Tseng Wen-ting, Yulon 9.8
10 Wu Chien-lung, Yulon 7.6

Steals
1. M. Dove, TM 2.4
2. Chou Shih-yuan, Yulon 2.1
3. S. Bailey, KKL 2.0
4. Lin Jui-kun, BOT 1.8
5. Chen Ching-huan, KKL 1.7

Blocked Shots
1. Tseng Wen-ting, Yulon 3.5
2. M. Dove, TM 2.1
3. S. Bailey, KKL 2.0
3. Tien Lei, Dacin 1.7
4. Wu Tai-hao, TB 1.6

Assists
1. Wu Yong-jen, TM 3.6
3. Chen Shih-nian, TB 3.5
3. Tseng Wen-ting, Yulon, 3.3
4. Hsu Hao-cheng, Dacin 3.2
5. S. Hawkins, KKL 3.1

Yulon drops to below .500

[Picture: Yulon's Lu Cheng-ju shoots over TB's Yang Ching-min]

-- Yang Ching-min and Emmanuel Jones scored 23 points in the third quarter and led Taiwan Beer to a 93-78 rout of Yulon and a franchise-record seven-game winning streak. TB's Wu Tai-hao, Wu Min-hsien sat out the game serving the one-game suspension.

-- I couldn't remember the last time Yulon dropped to below .500 this late in the season. Maybe this is the first time. The team did have its legitimate excuse to be this bad because it had lost 60 percent of its starting roster in two years after losing Chen Hsin-an, Lee Hsueh-lin and Tseng Wen-ting to the Chinese league CBA. However, the bad coaching job of the head coach Zhang Xuelei has also contributed a lot to its demise.

-- Local media reported that Yulon, the only SBL team without an import, has finally decided to bring in imports. Jermaine Dailey (200cm) from University of Illinois-Chicago and Jason McCoy (206cm) from Wisconsin-Milwaukee are scheduled to fly in this week for testing.

-- As to why PY import Rashad Jones-Jennings had been wearing his jersey with the last name of WANG, my friend Ben Metcalf, who currently works for Pure Youth as its technical advisor (and scout plus some assistant coach maybe?) said in an email that Jones-Jennings "has Wang on the back of his jersey because Jones-Jennings wouldn't fit. The neighborhood he grew up in was called Wang, so his nickname has always been Wang."

Jan. 23
TB 93-78 Yulon
TB: Yang Ching-min 22p, E. Jones 21p+13rb
Yulon: Lu Cheng-ju 23p, Wu Feng-cheng 15p+7rb

Dacin 76-64 BOT
Dacin: A. Foyle 19p+10rb, Tien Lei 16p
BOT: Chen Shun-hsiang 22p, J. Vaudreuil 17p+6rb

TM 84-78 PY
TM: M. Dove 25p+10rb+6blk, Liu Sheng-yao 18, Su Yi-chieh 12p
PY: James Mao 19, Chien Chia-hung 14p+13rb, Chang Yu-lin 14p

Standing:
TB 12-1
PY 9-4
Dacin 6-5
Yulon 6-7
BOT 4-8
TM 3-9
KKL 3-9

John Vaudreuil, BOT

Emmanuel Jones, TB

Marecus Dove, TM

(Photos: ESPN Taiwan)

WSBL: Lan leads Cathay Life to 6-0 start

 
[Picture: Lan Hao-yu]

Lan Hao-yu scored 15 of her 23 points in the third quarter as Cathay Life beat defending champion Taiyuan Textile for the second time this season with a 81-49 rout on Jan. 22.
 
Cathay Life is off to a 6-0 start. Lan personally outscored Taiyuan 15-11 in the third period. Lee Wan-ting and Cheng Hui-yun scored 11 each and Chen Yu-chun had 10 points for Cathay Life.

Taiyuan was hurt by the absence of two core players -- Liu Chun-yi and Ma Yi-hung.

(Photo: ESPN Taiwan)

SBL photos of the week

BOT's John Vaudreuil

Hsu Chi-chang, BOT

Chen Shih-nian, TB

Wei Wei, TM

Marcus Dove of TM tries to block this one from KKL's Shawn Hawkins

Rashad Jennings (L) and new Dacin import Alexus Foyle

Wu Feng-cheng, Yulon

Chien Chia-hung (L) of PY goes up against Dacin's Tien Lei

Hsu Chi-chang, BOT

(Photos: ESPN Taiwan)

Suspension and import replacement

Quick summary:

-- Yulon is reportedly to bring in imports for testing after losing starting center Tseng Wen-ting, who did not re-sign with the team. According to media reports, Yulon will bring in two imports next week before making the final decision.

-- Speaking of Tseng, the 204cm center made an appeal to the Chinese basketball authority to look for an opportunity to join the CBA in mid-season. Tseng wanted the league to make an exception for him after the deadline of local player registration passed last November.

-- Dacin sent away Keith Gayden, who averaged 16.2 points and 12.6 rebounds, for unknown reasons and brought in a familiar face Alexus Foyle, who played with Taiwan Mobile last season. Local media reported that Gayden did not blend in well with his teammates despite his stats were outstanding. Foyle averaged 23.2 points and 9.8 boards last year in 22 games.

-- PY point guard Hong Chih-shan made a go-ahead three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left to give PY a 74-71 victory over Dacin on Jan. 21.

-- Hsu Chih-chang scored 10 of his 25 points in the final quarter, including a pair of free-throws with 14.3 seconds to go to boost the lead to four points in BOT's 80-76 win over TM.

-- TB center Wu Tai-hao and PY import Rashad Jennings will be suspended for one game with a NT$10,000 fine each for fighting in the Jan. 22 game. Local media reported that Wu threw an elbow at Jennings before the import retaliated. TB rookie Wu Min-hsien also received a one-game suspension and a fine of NT$10,000 for leaving the bench area during the altercation.

-- Honestly, I don't have a clue why Jennings has been wearing his #24 jersey with the surname of WANG instead of JENNINGS.

Jan. 22
BOT 80-76 TM
BOT: Hsu Chih-chang 25p, Chang Po-sheng 17p, Chen Shun-hsiang 11p
TM: Wu Yong-jen 20p+5a, Liu Sheng-yao 11p

Yulon 85-76 KKL
Yulon: Lu Cheng-ju 25p+10rb, Yang Che-yi 14p+6rb+7a, Wu Chien-lung 15p+12rb
KKL: S. Hawkins 16p+10rb, Chen Ching-huan 22p

TB 83-79 PY
TB: E. Jones 21p+10rb, Yang Ching-min 21p, Chen Shih-nian 13p, Wu Tai-hao 8p
PY: Chien Chia-hung 24p+9rb, R. Jones-Jennings 5p+14rb, James Mao 15p, Ke Chi-hao 12p

Jan. 21
KKL 93-85 TM
KKL: Chen Ching-huan 28p+7rb+7a+4s, Chang Jung-hsuan 28p, S. Hawkins 21p+9rb
TM: M.Dove 18p+8rb, Liu Sheng-yao 17p

PY 74-71 Dacin
PY: R. Jones-Jennings 22p+25rb, Hong Chih-shan 14p, Chien Chia-hung 13p
Dacin: Tien Lei 13p, Lin Yi-hui 24, A. Foyle 8p+15rb

Standing:
TB 11-1
PY 9-3
Yulon 6-6
Dacin 5-5
BOT 4-7
KKL 3-9
YM 2-9

(Photos: UDN.com, Apple Daily)

SBL Week 4 MVP: Rashad Jones-Jennings

Pure Youth import Rashad Jones-Jennings became the first repeat winner of the SBL weekly MVP when he was named Week 4 MVP Tuesday. The American forward averaged 22.7 points, 25.3 rebounds and led PY to a perfect 3-0 week.

Jennings missed by a bucket to become the first SBL player to have five straight 20-20s during a season, but he did not seem to mind, saying that individual statistics came second.

He is averaging 18.7 points and 21.6 rebounds for the season.

Jennings had 36 points in the media poll. TB's Yang Ching-min came second with 16 points.

2010-11 SBL Weekly MVPs:
Week 4: Rashad Jones-Jennings (PY)
Week 3: Rashad Jones-Jennings (PY)
Week 2: Yang Ching-min (TB)
Week 1: Tseng Wen-ting (Yulon)

(Photo: ESPN Taiwan)

BOT brings in new import

[Picture: John Vaudreuil]

Bank of Taiwan brought in John Vaudreuil Sunday to replace the injured Jason Faulknor as its import, but the new import failed to produce a victory.

Vaudreuil, which was listed by many websites as 6-8 (203cm) but was listed by the SBL as 200cm, had 20 points and 6 rebounds in his debut, a 66-63 loss to KKL.

Vaudreuil's profile is listed below:

John Vaudreuil
DOB: 1985/9/15
Age: 25
Height: 6-8
Weight: 260 lbs
Nationality: USA
College: University of Minnesota-Duluth

2004-2005: Minn.-Duluth (NCAA2,starting five): 23games: 10.3ppg, 3.7rpg
2005-2006: Minn.-Duluth (NCAA2,starting five): 29games: 10.3ppg, 3.6rpg
2006-2007: Minn.-Duluth (NCAA2,starting five): 29games: 13ppg, 3.8rpg
2007-2008: Minn.-Duluth (NCAA2): redshirted
2008-2009: Minn.-Duluth (NCAA2,starting five): 31games: 16.5ppg, 6.9rpg
2010: Goldfield Giants (Australia-SBL, starting five): 26games: 19.7ppg, 2.73apg, 1.5spg, 9.7rpg

KKL 66-63 BOT
KKL: S. Hawkins 16p+9rb, Chen Ching-huan 15p, Kao Tien-lin 12p
BOT: J. Vaudreuil 20p+6rb, Lin Jui-kun 16p, Chen Shun-hsiang 10p

PY 84-75 TM
PY: R. Jones-Jennings 18p+27rb, James Mao 15p, Chien Chia-hung 21p+9rb
TM: M. Dove 22p+13rb

TB 100-71 Dacin
TB: Yang Ching-min 27p, Wu Tai-hao 11p, Wu Min-hsien 11p
Dacin: K. Gayden 30p+23rb, Tien Lei 5p (1-14 FG), Yue Ying-li 10p+8rb, Chen Tse-wei 10p

Standings:
TB 9-1, PY 8-2, Dacin 5-4, Yulon 5-5, TM 2-7, BOT 2-7, KKL 2-7

Chien Chia-hung's shot swat by TM's Marcus Dove (L)

Wu Tai-hao, TB

Tien Lei, Dacin

Yang Ching-min, TB

(Photos: ESPN Taiwan)