Taipei, Nov. 5 (CNA) Two-time defending champion the Taipei Fubon Braves earned a 102-94 victory against the Hsinchu Jko Lioneers in the opening game of the six-team P. LEAGUE+ 2022-2023 season on Saturday.
The Braves were back on the hunt, eyeing their third consecutive championship title this season, right from the start of their first game of the season, which was a rematch of last season's finals against the Lioneers.
Braves center Perry James Jones III posted 27 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. The 211cm-tall American big man shot 10-13 from the floor, including 4-6 from beyond the arc and 3-3 from the free-throw line.
Meanwhile, guard Jet Chang (張宗憲) added 24 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block.
After the game on home court at Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium, Chang said that his biggest concern was not his personal performance but to help his team clinch its third championship title.
"And we want to start (winning) from the first game," Chang said. "To all the fans, you have waited for a long time, but now as the season has started, please come to support the Fubon Braves."
The two teams put on a fierce start, with the Braves taking a 28-19 lead at the end of the first quarter, before the Lioneers answered back to cut the deficit down to trail by only two points 49-47 at half-time.
The Braves rallied in the second half, leading 99-87 after a fast drive from the left side of the key by Chang with around four minutes left in the fourth quarter.
However, the Lioneers made errors while handling the ball and were unable to secure key opportunities to cut their deficit and ended up losing the game 102-94 to the Braves.
The Braves, which bagged the second of their back-to-back P. LEAGUE+ championship titles last season, will next face the Kaohsiung Steelers at Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium on Sunday, while the Lioneers will face the New Taipei Kings in a road game at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei on Nov. 13.
T1 LEAGUE finals rematch
Point guard Jason Brickman dropped 11 dimes, while small forward Kevin Hu (胡瓏貿) posted 27 points to lead the defending champion Kaohsiung Aquas to a 99-79 victory over the Taichung Suns on Saturday in a rematch of last season's T1 LEAGUE finals.
Aquas head coach Brendan Joyce said at the post-game press conference at the National Taiwan University of Sport in Taichung that he was very happy with the game as his team put in the effort to improve every week.
"I thought the guys tonight really came in determined to defend," Joyce said. "Defense did a great job, we would have achieved a lot of goals tonight and that opened up the game for us."
Coming off of a loss in the season opener last weekend against the New Taipei CTBC DEA, the Aquas regrouped and dominated against the Suns, taking a 29-16 lead in the first quarter. The southern port city team remained ahead to lead 47-37 at the half-time buzzer.
The Aquas put the game away for good at the end of the third quarter by maintaining a double-digit lead and taking a 73-54 advantage into the final quarter.
In addition to the team's defensive play which made the Suns turn over the ball 24 times, the Aquas also shot 51.1 percent for their 2-point shots and 41.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Suns head coach Chris Gavina said his team was disappointed with the outcome of the first game but hoped to learn their lessons and improve.
"Sometimes we do have to go through the bad times to get to the good, there's a lesson in every level of adversity," Gavina said.
Last season, the Aquas swept the Suns in a best-of-five final to be crowned the inaugural champion of the T1 LEAGUE.
The Aquas, with a 1-1 record, will next face the Taipei-based TaiwanBeer HeroBears in a road game at University of Taipei's Tianmu campus gym on Nov. 12.
The Suns, which just lost its first game of the season, will take on the DEA at National Taiwan University of Sport in Taichung on Sunday. The DEA are currently at the top of the six-team league standings with a 2-0 record.
