Fans on Saturday welcomed the return of Quincy Davis with the loudest cheers of the night as he led his new P.League+ team to victory at New Taipei City’s Hsinchuang Gymnasium.
Davis — who became a Republic of China citizen in 2013 and is considered a hero for his national team exploits — did not disappoint in his first appearance with the New Taipei Kings, after he missed the new expansion team’s first six games due to injury.
He managed eight points in just 17-and-a-half minutes of play, with 10 rebounds, two assists and one block in the Kings’ 101-90 victory over Davis’ former team, the Taoyuan Pilots.
Photo: CNA
He received a huge ovation when he was introduced ahead of the tip-off, and drew the loudest cheers of any player when he scored.
Facing his former team, part of the Taoyuan Pauian Archiland organization for which he played from 2011 to last year, Davis said he had to adjust.
“It’s a little bit weird playing against my former team. I think at one point in the game I said: ‘Let’s go Pilots.’ I caught myself, but it’s something you get used to,” Davis said after the game.
The 2.03m center last played a competitive game in May last year in the playoffs with the Pilots, formed in 2020 for the league’s inaugural season.
“It has been a long time since I played, but I’m not too far removed from the rest of the guys,” said the 38-year-old Davis, who joked about his age in dispelling the idea that he might have been away too long.
“I did play in the playoffs, so stop trying to make it seem like I’m old,” he said with a smile.
Kings general manager James Mao on Monday last week said that the team would initially limit Davis’ playing time to recover.
Davis said he had no problem with the move.
“Being a professional player, and you love the game, you would want to play as many minutes as possible, but I’m working with trainers and the coaches, the whole staff, and everybody’s cautious of how many minutes I play. I don’t really worry about it,” he said. “If they think I need to sub out, it’s going to be their suggestion, and I’m going to trust their judgement.”
Davis first played in Taiwan in 2011 in the SBL. After helping his team clinch its first championship title the following year and being named Most Valuable Player, he renounced his US citizenship to be able to play for the national team.
He has since played a major role in lifting the international competitiveness of Taiwanese basketball, most notably in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, when he scored 26 points in a 96-78 drubbing of China. Taiwan finished the tournament in the top four for the first time since 1999.
In the T1 League, the Taoyuan Leopards on Friday signed American John Gillon just days after he was waived by the Pilots in the P.League+.
The Leopards are hoping to get a boost from the 27-year-old, 1.83m point guard, said general manager Brett Su, a former national team point guard.
The signing came three days after the Pilots said they would not extend a two-month trial contract with Gillon, because of what they said was his inability to fit into the team’s system and a level of performance that fell short of expectations.
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