P. LEAGUE+ & T1 LEAGUE/New Taipei Kings pick up 7th consecutive win in P. LEAGUE+

New Taipei, March 11 (CNA) The New Taipei Kings continued to assert their dominance of Taiwan's P. LEAGUE+ (PLG) on Saturday, winning their seventh consecutive game with a 117-89 drubbing of the visiting Formosa Taishin Dreamers.

With the win, the Kings improved their record to 20-5 and opened a full 5-game lead over its closest pursuers -- the Taipei Fubon Braves and Taoyuan Pauian Pilots -- while the Dreamers dropped to 11-16 but still remained in fourth by half a game.

Kings guard Kenny Manigault posted a quadruple-double of 22 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists, and 10 steals while teammate Byron Mullens, the PLG's MVP of the Month for February posted a double-double of 32 points and 17 rebounds.

After the game, Manigault said his team could not get too far ahead of themselves and had to continue to focus on every game despite the winning streak.

"Shout out to my teammates for pushing me night in and night out. I'm just glad we got the win, honestly," Manigault said.

Former NBA and PBA forward Chris McCullough, who played his first game for the Dreamers on Saturday, had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the visitors.

McCullough was with the Kings during the 2021-2022 PLG season, but he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a game in March 2022 and returned to the United States to have it surgically repaired.

The Dreamers announced on Feb. 27 that they had signed him to a contract.

In Saturday's contest, the Kings put the game out of reach in the second quarter with a 42-point outburst that gave them a 68-46 halftime lead.

The Dreamers never threatened in the second half.

Lioneers top Steelers

Also, in the PLG on Saturday, the visiting Hsinchu Jko Lioneers topped the Kaohsiung 17LIVE Steelers 85-76 at Kaohsiung Fengshan Stadium.

Steelers star, former NBA sensation Jeremy Lin, sat out his second straight game due to illness. The Steelers said in a statement that they decided to let Lin sit out the game and recuperate to avoid injury.

While the Steelers overcame Lin's absence with a dramatic win over the Braves on Friday, they could replicate their success on Saturday against a team they need to overtake if they hope to get a sniff at the playoffs.

The Lioneers improved to 11-17 but remained in fifth place in the league, while the Steelers fell to 6-20.

Aquas outhustle Suns

Meanwhile, in Taiwan's other professional basketball league, the T1 LEAGUE, on Saturday, the defending champion Kaohsiung Aquas edged past the visiting Taichung Suns 97-92 at Kaohsiung Arena to improve to 13-10. They are currently third in the six-team league.

The Suns lost their fifth in a row and saw their record drop to 6-14.

The Aquas are now five games back of the 17-4, league-leading New Taipei CTBC DEA.

The Suns overhauled their roster earlier in the week by replacing their imported players.

They announced that they had signed Americans Keith Benson and Arnett Moultrie to take the places of Americans Marlon Johnson and Raphiael Putney.

Benson had 12 points and 19 rebounds, while Moultrie contributed 19 points in their T1 LEAGUE debut against the Aquas.

DEA outscore Leopards

Also, in the T1 LEAGUE Saturday, the visiting DEA outscored former NBA star Dwight Howard's Taoyuan Leopards 89-79 at National Taiwan Sport University's multipurpose gymnasium.

Howard recorded 21 points and 21 rebounds and Leopards guard Michael Efevberha led all scorers with 34 points and added 11 rebounds and three assists, but it was still not enough to help the Leopards prevail.

The cellar-dwelling Leopards are now 4-14, 11.5 games back of the DEA.

(By William Yen)

Enditem/ls