Taipei, May 15 (CNA) The defending champion Dacin Tigers overcame the Yulon Luxgen 89-76 to win Game 5 of the 2010 Super Basketball League (SBL) Finals on Saturday and stave off elimination in the best-of-seven series.
Dacin fell behind in the series 3-1 after losing to Yulon 87-81 in Game 4 Friday, but playing with urgency, the Tigers opened an early lead Saturday night with an 11-3 run in the first quarter and led by six at the half, 38-32.
Forward Tien Lei had 11 of his game-high 20 points, including two three-pointers, in the third period as Dacin extended its lead to as high as 14 points, even with American import Byron Allen on the bench for nearly the entire quarter because of foul trouble.
The brilliant play of second-string guards Lo Yu-chun and Huang Bao-tse, who combined for 26 points in the game, helped Dacin answer Yulon's comeback bid in the final quarter as the Tigers were able to maintain their lead at between 7 and 10 points.
Yulon will have another shot to clinch its fourth title in team history in Game 6 Sunday, which will be played at Sinjhuang Gymnasium in Taipei County.
Dacin beat the Taiwan Beer 4-3 in the finals last year to win its first title in the SBL, a seven-team league that was established in 2003 and is Taiwan's top basketball competition. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ls