The Formosa Taishin Dreamers ended a five-game losing streak by routing the Hsinchu Jko Lioneers 123-99 on Saturday in Taichung, following the return of P. LEAGUE+ games as the Lunar New Year break winds down.
With the victory, the Dreamers are fifth in the six-team league standings with a 6-10 record, ending a streak of five losses in a row, while the Lioneers are third with a 9-9 card, 4 games back from the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots and the New Taipei Kings at the top.
Dreamers guard Ryan Lu (???) led all scorers with 28 points, four rebounds, one assist and one block, while Lioneers center William Artino led his team with a double-double of 19 points, 10 rebounds, three dimes and one block.
Lu, who drained 7-12 from the three-point line, said after the game that the team adjusted its offense during the Lunar New Year break after showing signs of struggling in that area in the first half of the season.
"There has been great improvement to the team's energy," Lu said. "I really want to thank the fans for coming to support us even after we recorded our fifth consecutive loss."
Making use of their homecourt advantage at Taichung's Intercontinental Basketball Stadium, the Dreamers controlled the tempo of the game to take a double-digit 37-25 lead at the end of the first quarter before finishing the first half with a 12-point lead 70-58.
The Dreamers widened their lead to 97-69 with one minute and 47 seconds left in the third quarter after a 13-0 run from 84-69 with just a little over four minutes on the clock.
Steamrolling through the offensive end of the floor, the Taichung-based team clocked out of the third quarter 26 points in front at 99-73.
Backed by their big lead, the Dreamers put the game to bed with a dagger from guard Jason Wang (???) to take the score to 120-97 with 1:09 left in the fourth quarter.
Another bucket from downtown from Dreamers guard Wu Sung-wei (???) and a layup by Lioneers guard Chiang Kuang-chien (???) saw the game finish 123-99.
The P. LEAGUE+ is one of two fully professional basketball leagues in Taiwan, the other being the T1 LEAGUE.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel