The New Taipei Kings outhustled the Taipei Fubon Braves 107-99 Saturday, snapping the Braves’ seven-game winning streak in the professional P. LEAGUE+.
Playing to a home crowd of 6,220 at New Taipei Xinzhuang Gymnasium, the Kings led narrowly for most of the game and were only four points ahead, just under a minute from the final whistle.
With 54 seconds on the clock and the score at 102-98, Kings forward Yang Chin-min (???) nailed an ice-cold jumper from beyond the left arc, propelling his team to a 105-98 score and forcing the Braves to call a time out.
When play restarted, the Braves missed a series of shots, before swingman Mike Singletary was sent to the free-throw line after a foul by Kings center Quincy Davis.
Singletary hit one of two and was later called for committing an unsportsmanlike foul on Kings forward DeAndre Liggins, who sank one of his two shots on the line.
With a seven-point lead, Kings guard Lee Kai-yan (???) was sent to the line, and he took the score to 107-99.
After a 30-second time-out by the Braves, wing player Jet Chang (???) missed an opportunity from down court, then his teammate Lin Chih-chieh (???) missed the putback and fouled Lee, stopping the clock at 20 seconds.
Lee missed the two free-throws, but the Kings maintained possession as they wound down the clock to win the game.
The Kings’ victory effectively broke a streak of seven consecutive wins by the Braves.
Kings center Thomas Welsh, the league’s MVP for the month for December, led the scorers, with a double-double of 24 points, 15 rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
At a post-game press conference, Kings head coach Ryan Marchand said the team had missed its home crowd support in previous games.
“We hadn’t been home for almost three months, so it was exciting to have the fans cheer for us again,” he said.
In their last home game before Saturday’s, the Kings lost 91-95 to the Braves on Jan. 9.
Braves head coach Roger Hsu (???) also spoke about the fans, saying the strong support of the Kings’ home crowd was commendable.
“I hope our Taipei fans will be like those in New Taipei and come out to support us at our home games,” Hsu said.
The latest victory gave the Kings 11 wins and six defeats and put them just 0.5 games behind the Braves, who are leading the six-team P. LEAGUE+ rankings with a 13-7 record.
Meanwhile, in southern Taiwan, the Kaohsiung Steelers on Saturday broke their eight-game losing streak when they took down the Formosa Taishin Dreamers 95-80 at Kaohsiung Fengshan Stadium.
Steelers guard Chou Yi-hsiang (???), a member of Taiwan’s national team who spent the past five seasons playing in China, debuted in the P. LEAGUE+ with 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
After the game, Chou told the media that the first three quarters of the game were challenging for him because he was still trying to find his rhythm.
“However, my coach and teammates were encouraging me in the fourth quarter, and I warmed up,” Chou said on the sidelines.
Even after the Steelers’ win Saturday, they remained at the bottom of the standings, with five wins in 19 games, while the Dreamers were ranked third, with a 10-7 record.
On Friday, the Taoyuan Pilots defeated the Hsinchu Jko Lioneers 97-89 at Hsinchu County Stadium.
T1 LEAGUE: Also on Friday, the Taoyuan Leopards extended their head-to-head record against the Tainan TSG GhostHawks to 4-2, with a 109-93 win at Chung Yuan Christian University Gymnasium.
The Leopards are fifth in the rankings, with a 5-14 record, while the GhostHawks are at the bottom, having won only four of their 20 games so far this season.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel