Jason Brickman and Kaohsiung did not have the opening night they dreamed of to start their title defense.
The inaugural T1 League champions were handed a rough 87-109 beatdown by New Taipei CTBC DEA, Saturday at Xinzhuang Gymnasium.
Brickman, last season’s best point guard, was held down to just 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting with two assists against six turnovers.
It was an error-prone game for the Aquas, who committed 23 turnovers in the contest that led to 16 New Taipei points.
Kaohsiung could not recover from a slow 25-14 start as the lead grew to 56-39 at the half.
Lin Weihan led the way for New Taipei with 18 points and 15 rebounds.
Croatian big man Kristjan Krajina added 13 points while naturalized Taiwanese winger Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, returning Kaohsiung import Mindaugas Kupsas got 18 points and 15 rebounds but was forced to commit five turnovers. Hu Longmao added 13 points in the loss.
Kaohsiung will next face Chris Gavina and Taichung on November 5 at National Taiwan University of Sport Gymnasium.
