Nan-shan HS revenged its bitter loss last year in the HBL finals against Song-shan HS yesterday. This time it routed Nen-jen HS 72-55 in the title game to win its sixth men’s championship in school history.
Meanwhile, Taipei First Girls’ HS, one of the best girls’ high schools in the nation academically-wise, shocked everyone with its 75-67 win in overtime to claim its first women’s HBL title in school history.
Nan-shan HS is ready to avenge for its championship game loss last year and go for its sixth title in school history in the 2012 HBL men’s Final Four, which will be played today and tomorrow at the National Taiwan University Gymnasium.
A total of eight men’s and women’s teams will meet in the semifinal today.
Song-shan HS, which completed an unprecedented three-peat last season, was unable to reach quarterfinal this season. Hujiang HS, last season’s women’s titlist, finished fifth place in the quarterfinal round and failed to reach the final four.
Continue reading “Eight teams go for high school men’s, women’s titles”
Hu Lung-mao of Song-shan and Chang Chi-fang of Hu-jiang were named 2011 HBL men’s and women’s Most Valuable Players after leading their schools to titles Sunday.
Chang also led the women’s competition in assists and steals while Hu was the rebounding leader in the men’s competition.
The 2011 HBL awards are listed below.
Men’s:
MVP: Hu Lung-mao (Song-shan)
Freshman of the Year: Huang Hung-han (Nen-ren)
Rebounding leader: Hu Lung-mao (Song-shan)
Assists leader: Chen Ying-chun (Nen-ren)
Steals leader: Chiu Jih-cheng (Nan-shan)
Blocks leader: Chen Kuan-chuan (Nan-shan)
Women’s:
MVP: Chang Chi-fang (Hu-jiang)
Freshman of the Year: Huang Ling-chuan (Hai-shan)
Rebounding leader: Cheng Yi-hsiu (Pu Men)
Assists leader: Chang Chi-fang (Hu-jiang)
Steals leader: Chang Chi-fang (Hu-jiang)
Blocks leader: Han Ya-en (Tamsui)
Chang Chi-fang saved the best for her last game as a high schooler. The 174cm all-around guard scored a HBL-record 45 points to go with 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals to lead Hu-jiang High School upset favorite Hai-shan High School 87-73 and win its first HBL title in school history Sunday.
Chang scored 31 points in the first half and single-handedly paced her school throughout the entire game. She won the MVP by averaging 34 points, eight rebounds and three steals in two games in the Final Four.
Chen Chung-wei had 22 points and eight boards for Hu-jiang, which coincidentally also defeated Hai-shan 77-62 in the third place game last season for the school’s best finish at the time.
Chang, who idolizes Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics, was 16 of 27 from the field, including 14 of 22 from the two-point range, and eight of nine from the free-throw line in 39 minutes Sunday night, played down her scoring record, saying that it was the championship that matters.
Chang smashed the previous single game scoring record in the Final Four of 40 points established by former Hai-shan center Liu Yi-chun.
Hai-shan, which had won three straight titles from 2006-2008, missed out on its opportunity for the fourth title in school history. Its “Twin Centers” Huang Hsiang-ting had 23 points and 9 rebounds and Wang Wei-lin tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds. Point guard Chen Yen-yu had 17 points.
There was another upset in the third place game, where Jin-ou High School overcame a 14-point deficit to knock down defending champion Tamsui High School 57-56 to secure its best finish in five years.
Jin-ou, which was out of the final eight last season to see its consecutive final eight appearance record end after 21 years, also snapped its seven-game losing streak against the mighty Tamsui.
The defending champ, which led 35-21 at halftime, engaged in a dog-fight with Jin-ou in the final minutes but failed to make a basket in two possessions in the final 26.1 seconds.
Having won six titles, Jin-ou was once the most powerful team in high school women’s basketball, but it was unable to win one after 2004.
Lin Yi-chun led Jin-ou with 19 points and eight rebounds while Chang Yu-wen had 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and seven steals.
Tamsui’s Lin Yu-ting, the freshman of the year and the MVP last year, had 20 points and 12 rebounds.
MVP Hu Lung-mao had dominant performances on consecutive nights as Song-shan High School completed a unprecedented feat of a three-peat after a 87-59 rout of Nan-shan High School Sunday night, becoming the first school in HBL history to win three straight men’s title.
Li-chi HS, San-min HS, Tsai-shin HS and Nan-shan HS have all repeated as champions in the past 22 years, but no school was able to complete a three-peat until Song-shan did it.
Arguably the best player in HBL this year, Hu had 29 points, 12 rebounds, five steals and three blocks in the title game after tallying 35 points and 13 boards in the semifinal game.
Hu, a 195cm lefty forward-center, was named the MVP with an average of 32 pints and 13.5 rebounds in two Final Four games.
Song-shan has won three titles in four Finals appearances. It lost to San-min in the finals in 2000 before defeating Nen-ren 69-61 and 83-80 in 2009 and 2010.
Hu also became the first player to lead his high school to three title in three years. He played pivotal roles in Song-shan’s previous title runs despite not winning the MVPs. Forward Hung Kang-chao scored 48 points in his last high school game last year to win the MVP honor. San yi-ching, a undersized 193cm center, was named MVP after a 16-point, 6 rebounds title game outing in 2009.
“We have made history and this group of players deserve this honor. I’m proud of them, ” Song-shan head coach Huang Wan-long said. Huang and Hu were both in tears in their long hugs after the final buzzer.
Song-shan, which has been known for its tenacious man-to-man defense, lived up to its nickname “the green shield” again in the second quarter, when it outscored Nan-shan 25-4 and jumped to a double-digit lead it never gave up.
Song-shan led 44-24 at the half and all Nan-shan could do was cut the deficit to 15 points, but Hu and Song-shan’s outside shooters made several crucial plays to increase the lead to 20 points.
Song-shan sophomore center Fan Shih-en had a career night of 16 points and 6 rebounds. Guards Huang Po-wei and Yu Yi-hsiang scored 15 each.
Yang Hsing-chih paced Nan-shan with 19 points.
In the third place game, talented point guard Chen Ying-chun had 23 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and two blocks to finish his high school career and lead Nen-ren to a 82-70 win over San-min High School.
However, Chen had to graduate without a HBL title trophy in his hands. Nen-ren lost to Song-shan in the HBL Finals in 2009 and 2010 and failed to make the finals after the semifinal loss to Nan-shan Saturday night.
Chen, who suffered a minor concussion in the semifinal game, was determined to play in his final game despite doctors and coaches advised him against it. “I refused to sit on the bench in my final game, ” Chen was quoted as saying.
With Chen controling the tempo, Nen-ren led by as many as 22 points as San-min never had a chance to mount a serious comeback run.
Center Wang Jen-chieh had 28 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for Nen-ren. Tien Cheng-tung had 11 points and eight boards.
San-min, the only final four teams from southern Taiwan, was led by Wu Song-wei’s 30 points. Center Shih Yen-tsung had 19 points and 15 rebounds.
(Photos: HBL, UDN, Apple Daily)
Hu Lung-mao scored 18 of his game-high 35 points in the third quarter as two-time defending champion Song-shan HS rallied in the second half to beat San-min HS 97-81 Saturday in the 2011 HBL men’s semifinal and advanced to the HBL finals for the third straight year where it will meet Nan-shan HS Sunday.
With eight seniors on its roster, Song-shan will be more experienced than Nan-shan, a traditional powerhouse which is seeking its sixth title in HBL history.
Song-shan head coach Huang Wan-lung’s halftime speech inspired Hu, arguably the best player in the HBL. Hu scored as many points as San-min in the third quarter and turned a seven-point deficit into a rout.
Nan-shan led from start to finish in a 78-70 victory over Nen-ren, which was seeking its third straight HBL finals appearance, but did not win without a scare.
Leading by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, Nan-shan had no answer against Nen-ren’s three-point attack and saw its lead shrink to a mere three points in the final quarter.
Song-shan 97-81 San-min
Song-shan: Hu Lung-mao 35p+13rb+2s, Huang Po-wei 19p, Chien Chao-yi 15p
San-min: Shih Yen-tsung 20p+10rb+3blk, Lin Kuan-ren 23p+6rb
Nan-shan 78-70 Nen-ren
Nan-shan: Chen Kuan-chuan 20p+11rb, Chiu Jih-cheng 13p, Wu Chia-chun 12p
Nen-ren: Chen Yi-chun 18p+7rb+9a+3s, Tien Chen-tung 24+8rb(6-12 3PT), Chen Hung-lin 10p+10rb
In the women’s competition, Hai-shan beat Jin-ou 80-57 and Hu-jiang upset defending champ Tamsui 85-81 in overtime Saturday.
Led by backup guard Shen Shin, who had 8 points and seven steals in 21 minutes, Hu-jiang snapped its 12-game losing streak against Tamsui to make its first ever HBL finals appearance in school history.
Waiting for Hu-jiang in the finals will be Hai-shan, which is looking for its fourth title in history in its seventh finals appearance.
Hai-shan 80-57 Jin-ou
Hai-shan: Huang Hsiang-ting 21p+11rb+4blk, Wang Wei-ling 14p+15rb+2blk, Chen Yen-yu 16p+6rb+5a+2s+2blk
Jin-ou: Chen Ting-yu 13p
Hu-jiang 85-81 (OT) Tamsui
Hu-jiang: Chang Chi-fang 23p+6rb+6a+2s, Chen CHun-wei 19p+8rb+7s, Shen Shin 8p+7s
Tamsui: Lin Yu-ting 25p+5rb+6a, Yang Jung 22p+14rb, Han Chun-en 13p+8rb
[Picture: Hu Lung-mao, Song-shan HS]
Two-time defending champion Song-shan HS advanced to the semifinal round after defeating Nan-shan HS in the last game of the quarterfinal round to finish No. 1 with a 6-1 record.
Center-forward Hu Lung-mao had 22 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocks and guard Chien Chao-yi added 12 points in the 65-59 win on Jan. 9.
Song-shan HS is scheduled to meet the No. 4 seed San-min HS in the semifinal, which will be played Feb. 26, while No. 2 seed Nan-shan HS will take on third-seeded Nen-ren HS, which has lost in the HBL finals to Song-shan HS in the last two years, in the other semi match.
Song-shan beat San-min in the quarterfinal round as Hu scored 42 points. The matchup of Hu and San-min center Shih Yen-tsung will be a sight to watch in the semi. Nan-shan beat Nen-ren 79-64 in the round robin quarterfinal.
Men’s quarterfinal standing:
1. Song-shan HS 6-1
2. Nan-shan HS 5-2
3. Nen-ren HS 4-3
4. San-min HS 4-3
5. Tai-shan HS 4-3
6. Nan-hu HS 3-4
7. Hsin-jung HS 2-5
8. Youth HS 0-7
In the women’s group, top seed Hai-shan HS will meet Jin-ou HS in the semifinal while defending champion Tamsui HS, the No. 2 seed, will meet Hu-jian HS in the other match.
Women’s quarterfinal standing:
1. Hai-shan HS 7-0
2. Tamsui HS 6-1
3. Hu-jian HS 5-2
4. Jin-ou HS 4-3
5. Nan-hu HS 3-4
6. Taipei First Girls’ HS 2-5
7. Pu Men HS 1-6
8. An-le HS 0-7
Chien Chao-yi, Song-shan HS
Wang Tai-chieh, Tai-shan HS
Chen Ying-chun, Nen-ren HS
(Photos: HBL)
HBL men’s champion year-by-year:
Year Champion, Runner-up
2011-12 Nan-shan HS, Nen-jen HS
2010-11 Song-shan HS, Nan-shan HS
2009-10 Song-shan HS, Nen-ren HS
2008-09 Song-shan HS, Nen-ren HS
2007-08 Nan-shan HS, San-min HS
2006-07 Nan-shan HS, Hsin-jung HS
2005-06 Hsin-jung HS, Nan-shan HS
2004-05 Tsai-shin HS, Hsin-jung HS
2003-04 Nan-shan HS, San-min HS
2002-03 Tsai-shin HS, Hsin-jung HS
2001-02 Tasi-shin HS, Kao-yuan HS
2000-01 San-min HS, Tsai-shin HS
1999-00 San-min HS, Song-shan HS
1998-99 Ping-tung HS, Nan-shan HS
1997-98 Tsai-shin HS, Ping-tung HS
1996-97 Ping-tung HS, Nan-shan HS
1995-96 Nan-shan HS, Tsai-shin HS
1994-95 Li-chih HS, Nan-shan HS
1993-94 Li-chih HS, Nan-shan HS
1992-93 Ping-tung HS, Li-chih HS
1991-92 Li-chih HS, Feng-yuan Business HS
1990-91 Nan-shan HS, Oriental HS
1989-90 Ping-tung HS, Nan-shan HS
1988-89 Miaoli HS, Ping-tung HS
HBL women’s champion year-by-year:
Year Champion, Runner-up
2011-12 Taipei First Girls’ HS, Pu Men HS
2010-11 Hu-jiang HS, Hai-shan HS
2009-10 Tamsui HS, Pu Men HS
2008-09 Pu Men HS, Yang-ming HS
2007-08 Hsi-shan HS, Tamsui HS
2006-07 Hai-shan HS, Tamsui HS
2005-06 Hai-shan HS, Jin-ou HS
2004-05 Tamsui HS, Hsi-shan HS
2003-04 Jin-ou HS, Hai-shan HS
2002-03 Tamsui HS, Hai-shan HS
2001-02 Tamsui HS, Jin-ou HS
2000-01 Jin-ou HS, Tamsui HS
1999-00 Nan-shan HS, Chung-hwa HS
1998-99 Chung-hwa HS, Jin-ou HS
1997-98 Ku-pao HS, Nan-shan HS
1996-97 Jin-ou HS, Ku-pao HS
1995-96 Tamsui HS, Jin-ou HS
1994-95 Tamsui HS, Nan-shan HS
1993-94 Tamsui HS, Jin-ou HS
1992-93 Jin-ou HS, Cheng-kung HS
1991-92 Jin-ou HS, Blessed Imelda’s School
1990-91 Chung-hwa HS, Chung-hsing HS
1989-90 Jin-ou HS, Blessed Imelda’s School
1988-89 Chung-hsing HS, Chung-hwa HS
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