The T1 LEAGUE defending champion Kaohsiung Aquas suffered a 78-74 road game upset against the TaiwanBeer HeroBears in Taipei on Saturday, picking up their third consecutive loss after back-to-back defeats at home last weekend.
With the loss, the Aquas’ record drops to 11-8, putting them in second in the six-team league’s standings, 2.5 games behind the New Taipei CTBC DEA at 12-4. The HeroBears, meanwhile, snapped a four-game losing streak to stay in fourth in the league, 4.5 games back of the DEA.
HeroBears captain Chiang Yu-an (???) led all scorers in Saturday’s game with 16 points, while Aquas center John Bohannon and small forward Kevin Hu (???) both answered with 13.
At the post-game press conference, Kaohsiung Aquas head coach Brendan Joyce said his team had chances to win but suffered breakdowns and made too many unforced turnovers.
“It’s not the greatest basketball game when you look at the stats, there’s just way too many turnovers on both teams,” Joyce said, adding that neither team would be happy with their performance.
The Aquas recorded a total of 27 turnovers and 32 personal fouls, while the HeroBears recorded 24 turnovers and 27 fouls.
During the game on Saturday, the Aquas racked up four fouls in the first few minutes, before collecting themselves and pulling into a 24-15 lead to close out the first quarter.
From there, however, the HeroBears rallied, edging in front 30-29 on an and-one play by forward Branden Dawson just over four minutes into the second quarter.
HeroBears’ sharp shooters then helped the team extend its lead to 43-38 at the end of the first half.
As the second half got underway, the HeroBears briefly pulled ahead by an eight-point margin, which the Aquas narrowed to a four-point, 61-57 game at the end of the third quarter.
The game’s intensity heated up in the fourth quarter, with both teams stepping up their defense and the Aquas taking a temporary 73-71 lead with 1:34 on the clock, before a series of missed shots allowed the HeroBears to retake the lead and win by a score of 78-74.
Dreamers outhustle Steelers
Meanwhile, in the P. LEAGUE+, Taiwan’s other professional basketball league, the Formosa Taishin Dreamers outhustled the visiting Kaohsiung 17LIVE Steelers 102-91 at Intercontinental Basketball Stadium in Taichung.
Former NBA sensation, Steelers guard Jeremy Lin posted a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds.
With the win, the Dreamers now sit fifth in the six-team league rankings with a 9-13 record, 6.5 games back of the first place New Taipei Kings at 14-5. The Steelers remain in last place at 3-18, 12 games behind the Kings.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel