BASKETBALL/Pilots even series with Braves, set up first Game 7 in PLG finals

Taipei, May 20 (CNA) Five years into its history, the P. LEAGUE+ (PLG) is finally set to host its first-ever Game 7 in a championship series, after the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots defeated the Taipei Fubon Braves 83-67 on Monday.

The win at Taoyuan Arena tied the best-of-seven series 3-3, extending the finals to a do-or-die game on Wednesday, when the Pilots will seek their first PLG title.

The Pilots lost to the New Taipei Kings 4-1 in their PLG Finals debut last season.

"Although we are a young team, we showed our resilience and relied on our defense today," Pilots star Lu Chun-hsiang (盧峻翔) said after the game.

Lu, who had been relatively quiet in the first three games of the series, scored a game-high 19 points on Monday. He has averaged 22.3 points over the past three games.

Widely regarded as the face of the franchise, Lu said he tried to lead by example when his teammates appeared less focused during the game. "It's not time to relax yet. We still have the most important game on Wednesday," he said.

The Pilots controlled the pace for most of the night, leading 47-31 at halftime. The Braves trimmed the deficit to 64-53 by the end of the third quarter, and pulled to within five after opening the fourth quarter with a 10-4 run.

But a 10-foot pull-up jumper in the paint by Pilots point guard Pai Yao-cheng (白曜誠) followed by a three-pointer from Lu kept the Braves at bay the rest of the way.

Braves acting coach Aaron Wu (吳永仁) lamented his team's missed opportunity to close out the series, pointing to its 5-for-27 shooting from behind the arc as a major factor in the loss.

"You can't beat the Pilots when you shoot threes like that," he said.

In the Braves' other two losses, they shot 18-for-74 (24.3 percent) from three-point range, compared to 35.3 percent (30-for-85) in their wins.

Wu said the Braves have generally defended the Pilots well -- holding them to 83 points or fewer in all but two games -- was hopeful his team would deliver offensively on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Pilots head coach Iurgi Caminos praised his players for looking like "the old Pilots we've been on many days [this season]." He said the key to Wednesday's decisive game is to "play with the same mentality we had today."

"Our main goal is to stay as focused as we were today -- in every single possession on both defense and offense. That mindset will make us a competitive team," he said.

Game 7 is set to tip off in Taoyuan at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.