Cathay Life won another Taiwan women’s league title yesterday, and it would not surprise anyone.
Cathay Life routed Chunghwa Telecom 65-45 to win the best-of-three 2012 WSBL title 2-0, taking home its 19th league title (A-League and WSBL combined) in team history.
Huang Fan-shan led Cathay Life with 13 points. Chiang Feng-chun had 12 and 11 and Huang Pin-cheng added 11.
Continue reading “Cathay Life wins Taiwan women’s title – Yes, again”
[Left: Huang Fan-shan, Cathay Life; Right: Tsai Pei-chen, Taiyuan]
Cathay Life routed Taiyuan 83-65 and Chunghwa Telecom beat Taipower 60-54 Wednesday as Cathay Life leads the first round of the six-round WSBL regular season 3-0 and Chunghwa Telecom followed with 2-1.
Cathay was led by Lan Hao-yu’s 19 points. Chiang Feng-chun, who re-signed with Cathay Life after leaving the team for one year, had 14 points. Huang Fan-shan had 10 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Chan Chi-fang led Taiyuan with 19 points. Ma Yi-hung did not play due to injury.
[Picture: Lan Hao-yu]
Lan Hao-yu scored 15 of her 23 points in the third quarter as Cathay Life beat defending champion Taiyuan Textile for the second time this season with a 81-49 rout on Jan. 22.
Cathay Life is off to a 6-0 start. Lan personally outscored Taiyuan 15-11 in the third period. Lee Wan-ting and Cheng Hui-yun scored 11 each and Chen Yu-chun had 10 points for Cathay Life.
Taiyuan was hurt by the absence of two core players — Liu Chun-yi and Ma Yi-hung.
(Photo: ESPN Taiwan)
[Picture: Liu Chun-yi, Taiyuan]
Defending champion Taiyuan Textile opened the 2011 WSBL season Jan. 10 with a 79-60 win over expansion team Applause Red Devils and followed with 84-66 win against Fo Guang the next day for a quick two-game winning streak.
Led by a pair of national team forwards — Liu Chun-yi, who had 34 points and 12 rebounds and Tsai Pi-chen who had 11 and 11 — Taiyuan had no problem against the Red Devils on opening night.
Former Chunghwa Telecom guard Wen Chi, who signed with Applause in off season, led the Red Devils with 25 points and 4 steals.
However, repeating will not be easy for Taiyuan because perennial Cathay Life returned to the league after a one-year hiatus.
Cathay Life, which had won 17 straight titles in Taiwanese women’s league, withdrew from the 2010 WSBL season over what it claimed was a violation by Chunghwa Telecom in signing Chiang Feng-chun, a former Cathay Life star forward who came out of retirement.
Cathay Life beat Taipower 67-55 in its opening game on Jan. 11.
The regular season will be played from Jan. 10-March 30 at Taipei Gymnasium, located in downtown Taipei, and Sinjhuang Stadium in nearby Xinbei City. Top four teams in the regular season advance to the playoffs. No. 3 and No. 4 teams meet in the best-of-three bronze medal series while the top two teams meet in the best-of-three WSBL Finals.
Chien Wei-chuan, Cathay Life
Wen Chi, Applause Red Devils
Lin Chi-wen, Taipower
(Photos: CTBA)
Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) announced that the Women’s Super Basketball League (WSBL) will open its 2011 season on January 10 and, for the first time in 10 years, as many as six teams will compete in the highest level of Taiwanese women’s basketball.
The participating teams of the new season will be the defending champion Taiyuan Textile, Taipower, Chunghwa Telecom, Fo Guang, the expansion team Applause Red Devils and Cathay Life, which returns to the league after a one-year hiatus.
Taiyuan and Cathay Life were favored to meet in the Finals.
Cathay Life, which had won 17 straight titles in Taiwanese women’s league, withdrew from the 2010 WSBL season over what it claimed was a violation by Chunghwa Telecom in signing Chiang Feng-chun, a former Cathay Life star forward who came out of retirement.
Chiang subsequently finished her one-year contract with Chunghwa Telecom before signing with Zhejiang of the Chinese women’s league WCBA (Women’s Chinese Basketball Association) in October.
The regular season will be played from Jan. 10-March 30 at Taipei Gymnasium, located in downtown Taipei, and Sinjhuang Stadium in nearby Xinbei City. Top four teams in the regular season advance to the playoffs. No. 3 and No. 4 teams meet in the best-of-three bronze medal series while the top two teams meet in the best-of-three WSBL Finals.
Popularity of women’s basketball in Taiwan lagged far behind the men’s competition as the number of teams decreased over the years. According to the CTBA, the last time there were six women’s teams in Taiwan’s top division was in 2001.
The CTBA is still in talks with several companies in order to put the WSBL games on television or the internet.
Applause Red Devils women’s basketball team became the sixth team in the Women’s Super Basketball League (WSBL) after it registered with the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA), the team announced the news in a press conference last week.
The Red Devils have recruited a number of players from current WSBL teams, including former Chunghwa Telecom trio of national team starting point guard Wen Chi, power forward Liu Chia-hsiu and guard Chiang Yi-lien.
Ho Shan-shan of Taiyuan Textile and Chen Li-yun of Taipower also signed with the expansion team, which was co-established by Applause Digital Entertainment Ltd. and National Taipei University of Education.
Tsai Po-lung will be the team’s head coach. Tsai said that the Red Devils will announce the second wave of new signees after the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.
Five teams currently in the league are: Cathay Life, Taiyuan Textile, Taipower, Chunghwa Telecom and Fo Guang.
Chiang (left) and Ma (right)
Chiang Feng-chun finished her one-year contract with Chunghwa Telecom and is talking to two or three Chinese teams, Liberty Times reported. Chiang is expected to sign after the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.
Chiang, one of the best players in Taiwan and widely seen as one of the best forwards in Asia, came out of retirement and joined Chunghwa Telecom. Her former employ Cathay Life, which has won 17 straight women’s titles, announced Feb. 9 that it will pull out of the 2010 season over Chiang’s controversy. (See: Chiang Feng-chun’s elegibility confirmed)
According to United Evening News, Ma Yi-hung is another core player leaving Chunghwa Telecom this summer and will sign with the defending WSBL champion Taiyuan. Chunghwa Telecom also lost 20-year-old Huang Pin-cheng, who has signed with Cathay Life, earlier this summer.
United Daily News reported that Pu Men High School graduate Wei Yu-chun plans to go to the U.S. and play in the NCAA.
(Photos: ESPN Taiwan, UDN.com)
Liu Chun-yi had 24 oints and 9 rebounds and Tsai Pei-chen added 19 and 8 as Taiyuan Textile beat Chunghwa Telecom 66-59 in Game 3 of the 2010 WSBL (Women’s Super Basketball League) Finals to win the series 2-1 and its first title in 12 years.
With Taiyuan winning and Yulon Luxgen leading Dacin 3-2 in the SBL Finals, Yulon Group could become the first company in history to win the men’s and women’s title in the same year.
Chunghwa telecom was led by Chiang Feng-chun’s 20 points and 7 rebounds and Wen Chi’s 14 points.
Taipower and Fo Guang finished third and fourth respectively in the four-team league.
Cathay Life, the 4-time WSBL champions from 2006-2009, withdrew from the season to protest Chunghwa Telecom’s recruit of its former player Chiang Feng-chun.
Chiang, one of the best players in Taiwan and widely seen as one of the best forwards in Asia, came out of retirement and joined Chunghwa Telecom. Her former employ Cathay Life, which has won 17 straight women’s titles, announced Feb. 9 that it will pull out of the 2010 season over Chiang’s controversy.
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