American professional basketball players Deyonta Davis and John Gillon will hit the hardwood with the Taoyuan Leopards this weekend, joining the effort to break the team's losing streak in the professional T1 LEAGUE in Taiwan.
After losses in their last four games, the Leopards will be going all out against the Kaohsiung Aquas on Saturday and the Taichung Suns on Sunday, in two home games at Chung Yuan Christian University Gymnasium in Taoyuan.
Currently, the Leopards are at the bottom of the league's standings, having won only one of their seven games so far, while the Suns are ranked fourth with three wins and five losses, and the Aquas are at the top with an 8-1 record.
Davis, 25, a 211-cm tall former NBA center, played for the Memphis Grizzlies from 2016-2018 and the Atlanta Hawks 2018-2019, appearing in 107 career games and posting 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in an average of 12.1 minutes per game.
He later played in the NBA G-League, the NBA's official minor league basketball organization, for the Santa Cruz Warriors, posting 11.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks, shooting 69.4 percent from the floor in the 2019-20 season.
Gillion, meanwhile, played 79 games in the NBA G-League from 2017 to 2019, averaging 11.5 points and five assists, with a 43 percent shooting average.
The 27-year-old 183-cm tall point guard later played professionally in Lithuania, Turkey, and Hungary then joined the Taoyuan Pilots for the current T1 LEAGUE season, playing three games before getting waived, after which he moved to the Leopards.
He is expected to beef up the Leopard's defense on the weekend, matching up against Aquas Filipino-American playmaker Jason Brickman, who is currently dominating the league in assists and steals, with 7.7 and 3.2, respectively, per game.
"I'm very optimistic about Gillion, as he can effectively control the team's offensive rhythm on the court, making it smoother," said Leopards head coach Wang Chih-chun (???). "I'm looking forward seeing him successfully guard against Brickman of the Aquas and bring a new spark to the team."
Wang said Davis, meanwhile, has the potential to dominate in the restricted area underneath the basket and can help his teammates in the paint.
Paired with teammate Filipino-American forward Caelan Tiongson, who is ranked second in the league's rebound standings by crashing an average of 14.2 boards per game, Davis will help lift the team's offensive and defensive capabilities under the rim, Wang said.
According to the Leopards, it has not yet been determined whether Davis will play one or both games on the weekend, while Gillion is likely to appear in the two games, which will be played behind closed doors at Chung Yuan Christian University Gymnasium in light of the current COVID-19 situation in Taoyuan.
The closed-door decision was made to protect the health and safety of players, staff, and fans, the Leopards said in a statement earlier this week.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel