Rallying from as much as 14 down in the first half, Taiwan Beer outplayed Kinmen Kaoliang in a brilliant second half to run away with a 73-66 win at the Hsinchu Municipal Gymnasium last night.
With less than three minutes remaining in the game, a long three-pointer from Lu Chi-min gave Taiwan Beer the lead for good after they trailed for more than three quarters before rallying the decisive fourth to claim the victory.
Last season’s Rookie of the Year made his return to the floor this season a memorable one, as he racked up a team-high 17 points, eight of which occurred in the final quarter, to lift his club past their foes.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The win not only brought the Brew Crew back into the win column after their tough loss to the Fubon Braves on Sunday, but also improved their record to 6-3 as they remain one of the three teams with winning records in the league.
Kinmen Kaoliang came out firing with hired gun Bryan Davis downing 13 in a high-scoring 27-point first quarter to grab a 27-17 lead.
The Distillers added to their lead significantly with a solid second quarter to close out the first half with a surprising 42-30 advantage, before being held to six points in the third quarter to make it an even game again.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
That was the extent to which Kinmen Kaoliang were in the game, as the Brew Crew carried their momentum into the fourth with scoring trio Liu Chan, Patrick O’Bryant and Lu hitting their marks to deny the best of Kinmen any chance of a comeback.
Four players scored in double-figures for Taiwan Beer, led by Lu’s 17, while Davis led all players with 26 points on the night in a losing effort.
Braves 88, Pure Youth 79
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The Fubon Braves pulled off a mild upset win over Pure Youth Construction in a 88-79 game in Hsinchu last night to take the top spot in the standings.
The win marked the Braves’ sixth straight as they held off a tough comeback attempt by the Builders in the third quarter that brought the three-time defending champions from as much as 15 down to within one before the Braves pulled away with a dominant fourth quarter to win by a landslide.
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