Jason Brickman and Kaohsiung FamilyMart averted a late meltdown against Taiwan Beer, taking a nail-biting 114-113 win in the 2021-22 T1 League season, Friday at Kaohsiung Arena.
The 6-foot Filipino-American floor general was at the forefront of the Aquas’ attack, dropping 29 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field — 4-of-6 from downtown — with 10 assists and two steals.
Behind Brickman and Lithuanian import Mindaugas Kupšas, Kaohsiung built a 93-78 lead heading into the final frame while maintaining a 108-98 cushion with 4:29 remaining.
Chu Yitsung though caught fire, knocking down back-to-back treys to cut the lead down to four with under three minutes left.
A split on the stripe by Xavier Alexander followed by a Kupsas bucket gave Kaohsiung a seven-point edge but a Brickman foul on Chiang Yuan while attempting a three-pointer gave the Hero Bears another crack at a comeback.
Brickman though converted on free throws on the other end as late treys from Chiang and Chu were not enough as time was against them.
This is Kaohsiung’s second win over Taiwan Beer this season, also taking a 107-106 squeaker last November 27.
The Aquas went up to 5-1 with the win for solo first while dropping Taiwan Beer to 4-3.
Kupsas had 25 points and six rebounds for Kaohsiung as well while Hu Longmao added 15 points and eight rebounds. Sixth man Yu Huanya got 10 points.
Taiwan Beer was led by Diamond Stone anew, tallying 29 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks while Lee Chiwei had 20 points built on three treys.
Chiang and Chu got 19 and 18 points respectively with the former also dishing out eight assists while the latter knocked down four triples.
Up next for Kaohsiung is Tainan TSG on Sunday.
