P. LEAGUE+ & T1 LEAGUE/Braves tie P.LEAGUE+ finals series with Kings in Game 2

Taipei, June 6 (CNA) The Taipei Fubon Braves outlasted the New Taipei Kings 87-83 Monday in New Taipei to tie the P.LEAGUE+ (PLG) finals series 1-1.

The game came down to the wire with the Kings trailing by one point with five minutes left, before the Braves' 40-year-old veteran Lin Chih-chieh (林志傑) scored seven points in a row ensuring his team led by one to two possessions.

The Kings had a chance to force the game into overtime with 13.1 seconds left as they were down by three points, but their American big man Byron Mullens missed a triple and their last chance disappeared when the Braves' Ukrainian center Ihor Zaytsev secured the rebound and was sent to the free-throw line for two shots.

Led by Zaytsev's 20 points and 11 rebounds, all five Braves' starters scored double-digit points, including 12 points from Jet Chang (張宗憲), who logged only six points in Game 1 on a 2-for-15 shooting performance.

The Kings also saw point guard Joseph Lin (林書緯) surge back from Game 1's five points to a team-high 20 points in Game 2, but that was still not enough to secure victory.

The Braves head coach Roger Hsu (許晉哲) said his team made improvements in securing rebounds, which was one of the outcomes he expected to see by playing Chris Johnson rather than two-time PLG finals MVP Michael Singletary.

After the first game, Hsu pointed out that Singletary was effectively contained by the Kings' American guard Kenny Manigault, adding that the 30 boards combined by Mullens and Quincy Davis were too formidable for the Taipei club.

While the Braves had three fewer rebounds than the Kings in Game 1, the team pulled down 10 more in Monday's victory.

However, Hsu showed no sign of easing up over the tied series, stressing that every game is a must-win.

The Braves' 87 points in Game 2 was better than the 72 points in Game 1, but the number is still far from the team's regular season average (98.6), Hsu explained, adding that the team also had 25 turnovers.

Meanwhile, the Kings' head coach Ryan Marchand had a few words to say about the officiating in what he characterized as the "super physical" series.

"The league obviously sent us a message that 'this is going to be more like an American football game or rugby game rather than a basketball game,'" said Marchand, who argued that an "ugly basketball" series would be the result.

"You know you do the same things for football, they're allowed holding, pushing, grabbing, hitting, so it's going to be physical. Moving from here on now, it just can be very physical, and I really hope players from neither team get injured because of the physicality they're allowing at both ends," he said.

It is not difficult to relate to Marchand, given that Mullens, the center on who the Kings rely heavily, was sidelined for nine-games from March to April due to a leg injury. Indeed, the Kings cannot afford to lose him after the club failed to register a third imported player by the deadline.

Marchand also mentioned the physicality of the competition after Game 1, and his remarks following Game 2 suggested the issue could gain increasing prominence as the series progresses.

The two teams have two-days off before their next encounter at Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium on Thursday.

Update

June 10: Kings level PLG finals series with Kenny Manigault triple-double

Related News

June 5: Braves tie P.LEAGUE+ finals series with Kings in Game 2