Friday, April 15, 2011

Taiwan Beer wins pro-basketball league title

Taipei, April 15 (CNA) Taiwan Beer beat Dacin Tiger 83-78 Friday night in Game 5 of the 2011 Super Basketball League (SBL) Finals to win its third title in team history with a 4-1 series win.

Taiwan Beer, which led the seven-team league in the regular season with 22 wins and 8 losses, swept the defending champion Yulon 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs before routing Dacin in the best-of-seven series for its first title in three years.

The regular season champs, who won back-to-back titles in 2007-2008, now has a 2-1 record over the Tigers in the SBL Finals. Taiwan Beer captured the title over Dacin by 4-2 in 2007, while Dacin, in turn, beat Taiwan Beer by 4-3 in 2009.

The team arguably has the best lineup in the league, which includes American forward Emmanuel Jones and local players Wu Tai-hao and Yang Ching-min.

The SBL, the top-tier basketball league in Taiwan, was established in 2003. Yulon won four titles in the league's first seven years. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ly