Chen going to Guangdong

Apple Daily reported that Yulon Luxgen forward Chen Hsin-an is scheduled to go to China next Sunday and is expected to sign with Dongguan New Century.

Chen, who had surgeries on both knees in June, is working on his conditioning to prepare for the upcoming season in China, which will tip off on Dec. 19.

Once the biggest star in Taiwanese basketball, Chen has been plagued by injuries during the past three years and his skill deteriorated.

With or without Chen, Yulon has been and will always be competitive with the core of center Tseng Wen-ting and a group of aggressive and experienced guards. Which was why Yulon let go of Chen.

Sources told me that Yulon planned to send Chen to Shanxi but Chen opposed the move. Luxgen head coach Zhang Xue-lei, sources said, made up his mind that Yulon would stay competitive without Chen. At the same time he can be a valuable asset for his good friend Wu Qing-long, Shanxi’s head coach.

Feeling unwanted, Chen then made his move to contact Chinese teams although he’s still under contract. He figured that Yulon would let him do whatever he wanted again, just like what happened in 2002 when he tried out for Sacramento Kings and 2005, when he signed a lucrative contract with ETSN Antelopes before changing mind and re-joining Yulon.

Guess what? Chen was right. Not only Yulon approved his transfer to China but Yulon decided not to challenge Chen’s breach of contract.

On other news, Lin Chih-chieh, who’s currently in Zhejiang’s pre-season training camp, said that his goal for the new season is averaging 10-15 points and 5 assists.

But Lin will have to make a major adjustment in his game, which contains a lot of penetration. Zhejiang head coach Wang Fei, a former Chinese NT member, stresses a lot on set-up plays which require less penetration, more ball movement, cutting and screening.

(Photo: Apple Daily)

New basketball organization in the making

Did I say Taiwanese basketball never ceases to amaze me? Well, here’s the latest example. Liberty Times reported Saturday that five of seven SBL teams plan to set up a new committee to tackle on the marketing issue.

Dacin Tigers, which is owned by CTBA President Wang Jen-da, and Bank of Taiwan, a state-owned bank, were not invited to join the Super Basketball Developmental Committee, which will officially established on Nov. 17.

Taiwan Mobile general manager Wang Hong-shen said the committee looks to improve the marketing aspect of the SBL and will not be competing with the SBL Committee, comprised of team representatives and CTBA officials, for the leadership and organizational power.

"It is a division of labor, " Wang said.

CTBA deputy secretary-general Wang Jen-shen expressed his disappointment toward the move. "The move will destroy what the league has accomplished during the past six years if they want to take the matters in their own hands." Wang was referring to game operations, including venue and officiating.

"I doubt they will be able to set up all those things before the season opener in January, " he said.

The strange thing is:

1. The new committee excludes Dacin and BOT although it stresses that marketing will be its only goal. If that is true, why do they decide to left two teams out in the cold?

2. Although the new committee stresses that marketing will be its main goal, Wang Jen-shen still presumed that it’s trying to take charge of everything eventually.

Do you smell something?

Wang jen-shen is not stupid. And I bet he’s thinking what I’m thinking: these teams are trying to break away fro m the CTBA to set up their own league — again.

However I don’t think Wang and the CTBA are panicking any time soon. SBL teams have threatened to leave the league and set up a new one like…a million times, but they never actually did anything.

It will be interesting to see how this thing develops though.

2009 SBL local draft no. 1 pick…Doug Creighton?

Doug Creighton was selected by Bank of Taiwan Wednesday as the No. 1 pick in the 2009 SBL Local Draft.

Wait. You ask, "Hasn’t Creighton played in the SBL for two years?"

Yes, you’re right. He played for Pure Youth and Bank of Taiwan in the past two years.

But you’re also wrong, because he played as a foreigner during those years and this will be the first year he plays as a local after obtaining a Taiwanese I.D.

As crazy as it may seem, Doug Creighton was handed a BOT jersey from BOT head coach Lai Liang-chung, the man he played for last season, in the draft ceremony. Check the photo here.

In a relatively meaningless local draft, five of 12 applicants were selected by SBL teams. Pure Youth, Yulon and Dacin did not pick up anyone. Taiwan Mobile picked Taiwan Junior NT member Chen Po-wei at No. 2. At No.3 KKL selected 200cm center Lan Ching-chieh from NKNU. Taiwan Beer selected point guard Yang Nung.

KKL added point guard Hsu Bing-yen in the second round.

The draft is pretty much meaningless because most of the players picked up would not be able to play right away. According to the agreement between the SBL and the UBA (University Basketball Association), college players are not allowed to play in the SBL before their junior year.

Which means, if you select a high school graduate in the draft, he would not be playing for you in two years.

The SBL tried to pattern the draft after the NBA draft or most drafts you see elsewhere, but some teams never take the draft seriously. Yulon Luxgen, which has the largest budget among seven SBL teams, added promising prospect Lin Chieh-min to its roster prior to last season without going through the local draft.

Funny thing is that nobody said a word about it! And the SBL Committee never do anything about it. No fines and penalty. No condemnation. No statement. Everyone acted like it has never happened.

It’s not surprising to see that the draft which had a good intention at the first place has become a joke.

(Photo source: Apple Daily)

New wave of Taiwanese players exodus?

Chen Hsin-an.

Several local media reported that at least three players, including Yulon Luxgen star forward Chen Hsin-an, will sign with Chinese teams and play in China next season and a news wave of Taiwanese players exodus to China looked inevitable.

According to the reports, Taiwan Beer point guard Hsu Hao-cheng and former Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor (KKL) guard Lin Kwan-lun, who was released in the summer, will sign with Shanxi, one of 18 teams in Chinese pro league CBA (Chinese Basketball Association).

Hsu signed a one-year contract and will be paid US$15,000 and Lin signed a two-year contract of a monthly salary of US$8,000.

It was also reported that Chen Hsin-an, one of the best players in Taiwan, will sign with Guangdong for an annual salary of NT$11M (US$340,000) which is 7.6 times of his current salary with Yulon.

Taiwan Beer forward Lin Chih-chieh was the first Taiwanese player to sign with Chinese club this year, inking a one-year contract with Zhejiang in September which will earn him around US$15,000 per month plus incentives.

However, Central News Agency reported that Chen has not signed with any team although he expressed his wish to play in China for better salary.

Chen was quoted as saying that it was true that he has been in contact with three CBA teams, but stories about the NT$11M salary were incorrect.

The 29-years-old forward still has two years left in his contract with Yulon. The interesting thing was that Yulon’ general manager Chiang Yu-cheng told a press conference that the team will grant Chen his letter of clearance which allows him to transfer his registration to Chinese basketball authority.

These are not all. Taiwan Beer head coach Yen Chia-hwa was quoted by the media saying that TB center Wu Tai-hao has been courted by as many as six CBA teams with lucrative offers. Yen would not let of Wu, however, stressing that Wu is an irreplaceable piece in TB’s quest for the SBL title.

Rumor said Yulon lead guard Lee Hsueh-lin is entertaining the idea of playing in China for better pay, too.

All these rumors make you wonder what will the 2009-2010 SBL season look like when it tips off next January. Will half of Taiwan NT players play in the opposite side of the Taiwan Strait?

On the other hand, I guess we can’t blame the players for dumping the SBL for greener pasture when the league they try to leave behind is one which is still without a TV contract and not knowing whether it should allow foreign players or not with one month before its season opener.

High hopes for Taiwan in inaugural Asia U-16 Championship

A pair of Taiwan’s U-16 NTs will participate in the inaugural Asia U-16 Championships in the next two months looking for a seat in FIBA U-17 Championships next year.

A quick look at the inaugural tournament:

Taiwan men’s U-16 NT is among 17 teams in the championship which will be held in Johor Bahru, Malaysia from November 11-29. Placing in the same group with Iran, Thailand and Saudi Arabia, Taiwan will have to finish in the top two to advance to the quarterfinal round.

Taiwan women’s U-16 NT is heading for Pune, India for the competition to be held from November 20 to December 6. Twelve participating teams will be divided into two preliminary groups. Taiwan is bracketed in the same group with China, Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong and India.