The P. League+ League kicked off at the Hsinchu County Stadium tonight (27th) with the Hsinchu JKO Lioneers home team playing against the Taoyuan Pilots. The Lioneers and Hsinchu County’s city marketing joined forces to successfully create a basketball rage that attracted a huge crowd of fans to the games. Acting as host, Hsinchu County Magistrate Yang Wen-ke was accompanied by William Brent Christensen, Director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), who was invited to kick-off the game, to cheer the players from the sidelines. The Lioneers took the lead in the second quarter, with players on both the offense and defense shining brilliantly, but was trounced by Taoyuan Pilots Davon Reed's 43 points, which is a record high in the League. At the crucial moment during the fourth quarter, the Lioneers faltered in the offense to suffer a devastating 98 to 106 at the end of the game.
Tonight, Hsinchu County Magistrate Yang Wen-ke was at the stadium with the fans to robustly cheer the Lioneers. Magistrate Yang said that since the Hsinchu JKO Lioneers was established, it has attracted a lot of fans to the games and kindled a passion for ball games. He hopes that more fans will give their support in the future and come to the Hsinchu County Stadium to watch the Lioneers play, and at the same time take a mini tour of Hsinchu County.
AIT Director William Brent Christensen was invited to kick off the evening, and Hsinchu County Magistrate Yang Wen-ke, former New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu Li-luan, former Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih, and former Commissioner of the Chinese Professional Baseball League John Wu also attended the game.
In the first quarter, both teams started out with a fierce battle, edging each other out until the second quarter when the Lioneers took a slight lead in the scores. This evening, the Lioneers performed brilliantly in both offense and defense to lead the scores ahead during the middle of the second quarter. On the defensive end, Hasheem Thabeet guarded the free throw line to contribute 18 rebounds and 4 blocks, and also scored 17 points on the defense. In addition, LaDontae Henton also cleared 7 out of 12 three-point shots this evening to win a high score of 40 points.
However, the Taoyuan Pilots also has some outstanding players. Davon Reed had a handle on both offense and defense. His long shots, close up shots and powerful offense scored 43 points, which is a record high in the league, and battered against the Lioneers all the way into the fourth quarter. Both teams played brilliantly well towards the end of the game, but in the final minutes, the Lioneers faltered in their attack, and the Taoyuan Pilots pulled ahead to defeat the Lioneers by 8 points.