Taiwan Beer reclaimed the SBL title last Friday by defeating the Dacin Tigers 4-1. It proved to be an exciting series, with all five games decided by 5 points or less. In the end, Taiwan Beer proved to be the more poised team down the stretch, always seeming to come up with the big bucket or the defensive stop when they needed it. Yang Ching-min was named the MVP for the series. Yang dominated the Dacin wings at times, and the Tigers never figured out a way to stop him. Combined with consistent 20-10 performances from Emmanuel Jones and solid post play from Wu Tai-hao, including a 29 point outburst in Game 3, the Tigers nevern seemed to be able to hold off TB. It is not often that the #1 team after the first week is able to hold on to that claim for the entire season, but TB was able to do it. While they were favorites at the start of the season, the way in which they consistently performed at a high level throughout the season is definitely admirable

The win for Taiwan Beer is somewhat bittersweet, as there is little chance they will retain the same team for next year. Both Yang and Wu have announced the strong likelihood that they will be playing in the CBA next season. While it is sad to see the continued exodus of top players from Taiwan, it is hard to blame the players as the money, exposure, and stability are all so much greater on the Mainland. Taiwan needs to do something drastic if they want to stop the exodus of their best players.

One last thing to note is that the post-season awards were announced this past week also. Rashard Jones-Jennings came away with the MVP, while his coach at Pure Youth Hsu Chin-tse was was named coach of the year. Shawn Hawkins led the league in scoring, Marcus Dove led the league in blocks and steals, Jennings led the league in rebounding with 21+ a game, and Chen Chih-Chung held on to his assists title. It will be interesting to see if any of the imports are brought back next year. If the SBL can't hold on to their best Taiwanese players, hopefully they are smart enough to bring back the most popular imports.

For Taiwan Beer their semi-final matchup against Yulon was over before most people realized it was going on. Emmanuel Jones and Yang Ching-Min played strong, leading the way to a 4-0 series sweep of Yulon. Really, no big surprise there . . .

The other semi-final was quite the shocker though as Dacin pounced on Pure Youth in Game 1 and never gave up the momentum. Pure Youth was able to get the win in Game 4, but last night Dacin proved to much for them to handle. Early in the year Dacin struggled to find their form. Looking back it seems while Keith Gayden put up great numbers, he was not the exact player they needed. Alexus Foyle is a great compliment to Tien Lei, providing points and rebounds, while never really demanding the ball. The duo of Foyle and Tien were too much for Rashard Jones-Jennings and his Pure Youth to handle.

The finals look to be a really interesting matchup. In many ways Emmanuel Jones and Alexus Foyle will cancel each other out. Thay are both great athletes who provide a lot of hustle and length to their teams. With those two battling each other the series will come down to the Taiwanese players, exactly how it should be. In the frontcourt Tien Lei is by far the best Taiwanese player on the two teams (and arguably in the league). Taiwan Beer's Wu Tai-hao will have his hands full trying to guard him. Expect Tien to attack from the outside to expose Wu's lack of speed. On the other hand Taiwan Beer's Yang Ching-Min is one of the best wing players in the league and Dacin does not have a perimeter defender at his level. In terms of supporting cast, Taiwan Beer has had the best in the league all year, and has the clear advantage against Dacin. Dacin will need Chang Chih-feng and others to hit their outside shots and play mistake-free basketball.

While Taiwan Beer is the prohibitive favorite, Dacin has been playing well over the past month and will not be a push-over. It should be a great series!