TPBL Round 14 (Regular Season): Lioneers beat Taipei TM by three after a very close game

TPBL is at the halfway of the Regular Season and there are still another 14 rounds left. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game of round 14 in the TPBL ended with only three-point defeat of 6th ranked Mars (7-10) to fourth ranked Lioneers (10-7) 101-98 on Sunday evening. 32 personal fouls committed by Taipei TM helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The former international point guard Kuo-Hao Kao (179-1998, college: SEMO) orchestrated the victory by scoring 32 points and 7 rebounds. American power forward Drew Pember (211-2000, college: UNC Asheville) contributed with 20 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. American Stanton Kidd (202-1992, college: Colorado St., agency: JCK Sports Group) replied with a double-double by scoring 23 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists for Taipei TM. Mars' coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Lioneers have an impressive five-game winning streak. They moved-up to second place. Taipei TM at the other side keeps the sixth position with ten games lost. Lioneers are looking forward to face Kings (#5) in Taipei in the next round. Taipei TM's supporters also look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Taipei to the arena N.Taipei CTBC.
An interesting game for Leopards (13-5) which played against second-ranked Dreamers (10-9). First ranked Leopards managed to get a 7-point victory 98-91. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Dreamers. American-Liberian Lasan Kromah (198-1991, college: UConn, agency: LHZ Sport Agency) had a double-double by scoring 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners and Jin-Wei Gao chipped in 16 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists during the contest. International center Brandon Gilbeck (213-1996, college: W.Illinois) responded with a double-double by scoring 19 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocks. Taiwan Beer L. maintains first position with 13-5 record. Dreamers at the other side dropped to the third place with nine games lost. They share the position with N.Taipei CTBC. Taiwan Beer L. will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Dreamers will play on the road against the league's second-placed Lioneers in Hsinchu and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
The game in Taipei was also quite interesting. Fourth ranked DEA (10-9) played at the court of 6th ranked Mars (7-10). DEA defeated Mars 95-79 on Saturday. Marko Todorovic notched a double-double by scoring 24 points, 22 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals to lead the effort. Even 24 points and 7 assists by Stanton Kidd did not help to save the game for Taipei TM. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. N.Taipei CTBC moved-up to third place, which they share with Dreamers. Loser Mars keeps the sixth position with ten games lost. N.Taipei CTBC will meet bottom-ranked Kaohsiung A. (#7) in the next round. Taipei TM's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Taipei to the arena N.Taipei CTBC.

In the last game of round 14 Kings were smashed by Dreamers 116-96.



Dreamers - Kings 116-96

No shocking result in a game when second ranked Dreamers (10-9) crushed 5th ranked Kings (8-11) 116-96 on Saturday. Dreamers dominated down low during the game scoring 68 of its points in the paint compared to Kings' 46. They outrebounded Kings 53-37 including a 42-28 advantage in defensive rebounds. Ghanian-American power forward Ben Bentil (206-1995, college: Providence) notched a double-double by scoring 29 points and 12 rebounds to lead the effort and the former international point guard Yu-An Chiang (174-1991) supported him with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Even 20 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists by American-Jordanian Jalen Harris (196-1998, college: Nevada) did not help to save the game for Kings. The former international guard Joseph Lin (186-1992, college: Hamilton) added 19 points and 7 assists for Dreamers. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Dreamers have a solid three-game winning streak. Despite that victory Dreamers went down to third position due to points difference, which they share with N.Taipei CTBC. Defending champion Kings keep the fifth place with 11 games lost. Dreamers will meet league's second-placed Lioneers in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Kings will play against the league's second-placed Lioneers in Hsinchu and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Kings: J.Harris 20+7reb+6ast, L.Joseph 19+3reb+7ast, J.Gardner 18+7reb+4ast, A.Daye 14+8reb+3ast, L.Cheng-Ju 8+1reb, S.Shih-Hsuan 7+5reb+1ast
Dreamers: B.Ben 29+12reb+2ast, B.Julian 16+6reb+3ast, Y.Chiang 14+6reb+7ast, C.Lin 13+2reb+2ast, W.Randall 12+6reb+1ast, C.Tsung-Hsien 11+3reb

Taipei TM - N.Taipei CTBC 79-95

The game in Taipei was also quite interesting. Fourth ranked DEA (10-9) played at the court of 6th ranked Mars (7-10). DEA defeated Mars 95-79 on Saturday. N.Taipei CTBC dominated down low during the game scoring 56 of its points in the paint compared to Mars's 36. N.Taipei CTBC forced 20 Taipei TM turnovers and outrebounded them 50-31 including a 40-24 advantage in defensive rebounds. N.Taipei CTBC looked well-organized offensively handing out 29 assists comparing to just 13 passes made by Taipei TM's players. Montenegrin forward Marko Todorovic (208-1992) notched a double-double by scoring 24 points, 22 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals to lead the effort and the former international guard Ya-Hsuan Hsieh (187-1998) supported him with 23 points and 7 assists (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field). Five DEA players scored in double figures. Even 24 points and 7 assists by American Stanton Kidd (202-1992, college: Colorado St., agency: JCK Sports Group) did not help to save the game for Taipei TM. Guard Sheng-Ju Ting (174-1998, college: St.Francis, IL) added 17 points and 5 rebounds for N.Taipei CTBC. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. N.Taipei CTBC moved-up to third place, which they share with Dreamers. Loser Mars keeps the sixth position with ten games lost. N.Taipei CTBC will meet bottom-ranked Kaohsiung A. (#7) in the next round. Taipei TM's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Taipei to the arena N.Taipei CTBC.
Top scorers:
Taipei TM: S.Kidd 24+4reb+7ast, S.Ting 17+5reb+3ast, K.Chien 10+6reb, M.Samuel 9+3reb, H.Tsung-Han 8+2reb, D.Stone 7+6reb
N.Taipei CTBC: T.Marko 24+22reb+4ast, Y.Hsieh 23+2reb+7ast, R.Nemanja 15+7reb+1ast, G.Bachir 15+6reb, B.Lewis 10+6reb+2ast, W.Lin 6+1reb+10ast

Dreamers - Taiwan Beer L. 91-98

An interesting game for Leopards (13-5) which played against second-ranked Dreamers (10-9). First ranked Leopards managed to get a 7-point victory 98-91. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Dreamers. Taiwan Beer L. forced 20 Dreamers turnovers. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 21 assists. American-Liberian Lasan Kromah (198-1991, college: UConn, agency: LHZ Sport Agency) had a double-double by scoring 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners and international point guard Jin-Wei Gao (175-2000) chipped in 16 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists during the contest. International center Brandon Gilbeck (213-1996, college: W.Illinois) responded with a double-double by scoring 19 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocks and international forward Chien-Hao Ma (201-2001, college: Georgia St.) scored 23 points (was perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line). Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Taiwan Beer L. maintains first position with 13-5 record. Dreamers at the other side dropped to the third place with nine games lost. They share the position with N.Taipei CTBC. Taiwan Beer L. will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Dreamers will play on the road against the league's second-placed Lioneers in Hsinchu and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Dreamers: M.Chien-Hao 23+3reb+1ast, B.Gilbeck 19+17reb, B.Bentil 11+10reb+2ast, R.Walko 10+4reb, J.Boyd 10+10reb+2ast, T.Chang 10+4reb+2ast
Taiwan Beer L.: K.Lasan 22+11reb+3ast, M.Malcolm 17+9reb+3ast, J.Gao 16+6reb+8ast, M.Chris 14+8reb+1ast, S.Lin 14+6reb+2ast, P.Chuang 8+6reb+1ast

Taipei TM - Lioneers 98-101

The most exciting game of round 14 in the TPBL ended with only three-point defeat of 6th ranked Mars (7-10) to fourth ranked Lioneers (10-7) 101-98 on Sunday evening. 32 personal fouls committed by Taipei TM helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The former international point guard Kuo-Hao Kao (179-1998, college: SEMO) orchestrated the victory by scoring 32 points and 7 rebounds. American power forward Drew Pember (211-2000, college: UNC Asheville) contributed with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. American Stanton Kidd (202-1992, college: Colorado St., agency: JCK Sports Group) replied with a double-double by scoring 23 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists and Kenyan-South Sudanese power forward Makur Maker (212-2000, college: Howard) added 25 points and 8 rebounds (was perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line) in the effort for Taipei TM. Four Lioneers and five Taipei TM players scored in double figures. Mars' coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Lioneers have an impressive five-game winning streak. They moved-up to second place. Taipei TM at the other side keeps the sixth position with ten games lost. Lioneers are looking forward to face Kings (#5) in Taipei in the next round. Taipei TM's supporters also look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Taipei to the arena N.Taipei CTBC.
Top scorers:
Taipei TM: M.Maker 25+8reb+2ast, S.Kidd 23+14reb+5ast, H.Tsung-Han 12+3reb, M.Samuel 11+2reb, S.Ting 10+4reb+6ast, D.Stone 7+3reb
Lioneers: K.Kuo-Hao 32+7reb+1ast, P.Drew 20+11reb+2ast, T.Po-Yu 15+3reb+8ast, H.TJ 11+9reb+2ast, C.Liu 9+1reb+2ast, C.Yun-Hao 7+1reb+1ast