The Taoyuan Leopards of basketball’s T1 LEAGUE put a stop to their four-game losing streak with a thrilling last-minute 135-134 win against the TaiwanBeer HeroBears Saturday.
The Leopards — temporary tenants of the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium after Chung Yuan Christian University (CYCU) denied them use of their regular home court over COVID-19 fears — stay in fifth place in the league’s six-team standings with the win, two places behind the HeroBears in third.
Despite the Leopards establishing a 64-57 first-half lead, the HeroBears leveled the game at 107-107 with 7 minutes and 42 seconds to go, thanks in part to an unanswered 10-point run in the fourth quarter.
Momentum between the two sides then changed hands several times in a heavily contested final few minutes.
HeroBears captain Chiang Yu-an (???) seemed to have settled the game after pulling his side ahead 132-127 with under a minute left on the clock.
But a pair of three-pointers from Leopards’ captain Cheng Wei (??) and teammate Troy Williams saw the Taoyuan team take a narrow 133-132 lead with just 30 seconds to go.
While HeroBears center Diamond Stone answered with a two-pointer, Leopards point guard John Gillon’s steal saw him sink the match-winning the bucket for his side.
Reflecting on the win, Troy Williams said: “John coming down for the fast break, we do it so many times in practice, just when the ball even left my hand, it felt good, I knew it was going in. I mean, we wouldn’t even have got to that point without Wei’s two threes before mine.”
Leopards, who next face the New Taipei CTBC DEA in Taipei on Sunday, improved their record to six wins and 18 losses with Saturday’s win — still some way behind the HeroBears’ 15-12.
GhostHawks snap Aquas winning streak
In Saturday’s other T1 LEAGUE game, the Tainan TSG GhostHawks snapped the Kaohsiung Aquas five-game winning streak with a 91-76 victory at Chia Nan University’s Shao Tsung Gymnasium in Tainan.
Aquas point guard Jason Brickman led all scorers with 29 points, while GhostHawks center William Artino was just one assist shy of a triple-double, posting 17 points, 25 rebounds, and nine assists.
The GhostHawks sit last in the rankings with a 6-21 card, while the Aquas are locked in the top spot with a 21-7 record.
In the P. LEAGUE+, the Formosa Taishin Dreamers made it rain from downtown against the Taipei Fubon Braves to walk off 124-87 winners at Intercontinental Basketball Stadium Saturday.
The Dreamers drained a total of 21 three-pointers while shooting 55.3 percent from deep.
Dreamers forward Randall Walko led all scorers with a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds, including 4-6 from beyond the arc, with teammate Julian Boyd trailing behind with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
With the latest win, the Dreamers extended their winning streak to three games with a 14-9 card and booked their slot as the fourth team to enter the playoffs alongside the New Taipei Kings, Hsinchu Jko Lioneers, and the Braves.
The Dreamers rank third in the six-team league, while the Braves sit fourth with a 15-10 record.
The Dreamers next play the Taoyuan Pilots Sunday.
Lioneers overpower Kings
In Saturday’s other P. LEAGUE+ game, the Lioneers overpowered the Kings 110-92 at Xinzhuang Gymnasium.
Lioneers center 2.26 meter-tall Sim Bhullar led all scorers with a double-double of 30 points and 21 rebounds.
Collecting their seventh consecutive win, the Lioneers rank first with a 16-9 card, while the Kings picked up their third loss in a row and dropped to second in the rankings with a 15-9 record.
The Kings will next face the Kaohsiung Steelers Sunday.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel