The New Taipei CTBC DEA exploded in the fourth quarter to clinch a come-from-behind road win against the Tainan TSG GhostHawks on Saturday and pad their lead at the top of the T1 LEAGUE standings.
The DEA dropped 36 points while holding the GhostHawks to 20 in the final quarter to overcome the home side 116-111 at Tainan’s Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science’s gymnasium and improve their record to 10-4.
That put the DEA 1 1/2 games up on the defending champion Kaohsiung Aquas, who are currently 8-5. The GhostHawks remained in fourth place with a 7-7 record.
DEA center Edgaras Zelionis, who was named the league’s import player of the month for December, led all scorers with 29 points and had 15 rebounds, five assists, four steals, and one block.
The Lithuanian shot 11-21 from the floor, including 8-12 from within the arc.
DEA shooting guard Hsieh Ya-hsuan (???) added 24 points, including six three-pointers, and small forward Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga, known to local fans as “Abbasi” (???), posted 21 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter.
After the game, Hsieh said a key DEA strategy was to make sure their guards helped on defense inside the key and pulled in rebounds whenever possible because of the GhostHawks’ height advantage.
Hsieh also said the team got a big lift from Abbasi later in the game after he struggled a little in the first half.
“As a team we just kept encouraging each other, and later he was able to use his advantage to bring energy and pace to the court,” Hsieh said.
Asked how he felt that the DEA were the league’s first team to win 10 games this season, Hsieh said with a laugh that it would help the team really enjoy the Lunar New Year festivities.
In Saturday’s game, the GhostHawks went into halftime with a 64-59 edge and widened that in the third quarter behind its big men — 2.26-meter Gursimran Bhullar and 2.13m Robert Upshaw III — who put in 15 of the team’s 27 points to give them a 91-80 lead.
The DEA turned the tables in the final quarter, however, pulling even at 101-101 after a Hsieh free-throw with around 3 1/2 minutes left in the game.
The DEA pulled ahead but GhostHawks point guard Ku Mao Wei-chia (????) drained a three to tie it back up at 108-108 with 1:37 left, and the Ghosthawks went up by one on a free throw by Chien Wei-ju (???).
Hsieh immediately responded with a huge three-pointer with 55 seconds left, and two misses by the Ghosthawks and five free throws by the DEA down the stretch clinched the win for the New Taipei team.
Lioneers edge Kings
Also on Saturday in the P. LEAGUE+, Taiwan’s other professional basketball league, the Hsinchu Jko Lioneers edged the New Taipei Kings 107-106 at Hsinchu County Stadium to collect their third consecutive win.
Lioneers forward Anthony Bennett put up 35 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block, while Kings center Byron Mullens led his team with 27 points, 17 rebounds, one assist, and one block.
The Lioneers remained in third place in the six-team P. LEAGUE+ with a 9-8 record, while the Kings remained in first despite falling to 12-4, half a game ahead of the second-place Taoyuan Pilots, who are on a nine-game winning streak.
Prior to their latest win, the Lioneers defeated the Formosa Taishin Dreamers on Friday and the back-to-back defending champion Taipei Fubon Braves on Jan. 8.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel