The Taipei Fubon Braves picked up its eighth straight win with a 91-87 thriller over the visiting Formosa Taishin Dreamers on Friday, ranking a tied-second place in the P. LEAGUE+ rankings, ahead of the 228 Peace Memorial Day long weekend.
With the victory, the back-to-back defending champion Braves are now 15-8 and move up from third to tied-second place with the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots in the six-team league rankings, 1.5 games back of the 15-5 New Taipei Kings at the top.
The Dreamers now carry a 9-14 card and drop from tied-fourth to fifth place, 7.5 games behind the Kings.
Braves guard Lin Chih-chieh (???), nicknamed the “Beast,” led all scorers with 21 points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal. The 40-year-old basketball veteran is considered one of the legends of Taiwan basketball, with fans across the country.
Lin’s teammate, center Chris Johnson, also rocked the crowd with a double-double of 19 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and one block.
After the game, Lin said his team’s eighth straight win was good for the team’s morale as they did not perform that well at the start of the season.
“I think the consecutive wins we are experiencing later (in the season) is because our players are finding their right spots and are contributing either offensively or defensively,” Lin said.
During the game on Friday, played at Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium, the Braves rushed the floor to end the first quarter with a 10-point deficit 28-18.
The Dreamers rallied from the start of the second quarter, increasing their accuracy to cut down the deficit to trail 31-30 in a little over three minutes. From there, the Dreamers took a brief 32-31 lead after center Brandon Gilbeck’s kiss off the glass.
However, its lead was short-lived as the Braves once again pushed the floor to regain the lead 45-34 with 3:57 on the clock before ending the first half with 14 points in the lead, 56-42.
After the break, the intensity heated up as the Dreamers tied it 67 a piece with around 3:37 left on the clock before the Braves fought back to finish the quarter 73-71.
Taking pockets of momentary leads in the fourth quarter, the Dreamers were again unable to make their escape, allowing the Braves to claw back and regain the lead.
With the Braves up 89-87 and just a little over 20 seconds left in the game, the home crowd were out of their seats as they saw the Taipei-based team intercept the ball to make a fast break play that was executed by guard Jet Chang (???) to lift the score to 91-87 with 12 seconds on the clock.
A final possession by the Dreamers missed the last shot of the game with the Braves holding on to the ball until the buzzer sounded, winning the game.
As Taiwan is about to enter its 228 Peace Memorial Day long weekend, basketball fans are going to be excited with a list of scheduled games as the Hsinchu Jko Lioneers host former NBA sensation’s Kaohsiung 17LIVE Steelers on Saturday and the Dreamers on Sunday at Hsinchu County Stadium.
The Pilots will also host the Kings and the Braves on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, at Taoyuan Arena. A highlight will be on 228 Peace Memorial Day, Tuesday, as Jeremy Lin’s Steelers go up against his brother Joseph Lin’s Kings at New Taipei Xinzhuang Gymnasium.
Meanwhile, in the T1 LEAGUE, Taiwan’s other professional basketball league, the Taichung Suns will host the Tainan TSG GhostHawks on Saturday and the Taipei-based TaiwanBeer HeroBears on Monday at National Taiwan University of Sport Gymnasium.
The New Taipei CTBC DEA will host the league’s defending champion Kaohsiung Aquas on Saturday and eight-time NBA All-Star Dwight Howard’s Taoyuan Leopards on Sunday at New Taipei Xinzhuang Gymnasium.
One of the T1 LEAGUE’s highlights over the four-day holiday will be its first-ever All-Star Game, which will take place on Tuesday, 228 Peace Memorial Day, at Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel