BASKETBALL/New Taipei Kings finish 4th at EASL

Taipei, March 11 (CNA) The New Taipei Kings missed out on US$250,000 in prize money following a 78-76 loss to the Anyang Jung Kwan Jang Red Boosters in the East Asia Super League's (EASL) third-place playoff Sunday in Cebu, the Philippines.

The P.LEAGUE+ (PLG) team won its first four EASL games with Jeremy Lin (林書豪), but lost all four when the former NBA guard was sidelined with a lingering injury to his left foot.

Forced to sit out the EASL Final Four week, Lin vented his frustration about the result after Sunday's game.

"[T]his one hurts. It's very rare that when we lose I feel we truly deserved to win. But tonight, I believe that," he wrote in an Instagram post.

Trailing by 11 points at halftime, the Kings fell behind the Red Boosters by 14 points in the third quarter but cut the margin to one possession down the stretch.

With about nine seconds left in the game Kenneth Manigault Jr. grabbed the Kings' last defensive rebound off a long shot, when New Taipei were down 76-78.

He wasted no time pushing forward and found Yang Chin-min (楊敬敏) on the left wing, who blew by Choi Seong Won on one dribble and made a pump fake to Robert Carter Jr. before he saw Joseph Lin (林書緯), unguarded, drive toward the paint.

The two-time PLG regular season MVP passed the ball to Joseph Lin for a potential game-tying shot, only to see Lin turn the ball over to Park Jihoon as the game ended.

Speaking of the last decision, Yang, who put up 15 points and six assists, said his hesitation was to blame for the play.

"We created the chance, but I missed it and did not take the shot because I was a bit indecisive at that moment," Yang said at the press conference, calling the loss "such a shame."

Despite the result, Yang and his team impressed quite a few foreign coaches on the international stage, Kings CEO Phil Chen (陳信生) told sports media TSNA.

According to Chen, coaches from Japanese and Australian teams expressed surprise at the game of the Kings' domestic players, who they had expected to lose by at least 30 points.

They were particularly impressed to find Yang is a 39-year-old veteran. "They all felt amazed and said his game defied his age, and that he proved himself a star in Asian basketball."

Yang scored 16 points in the Kings' 92-84 loss to the China Jets from Japan's B.LEAGUE on Friday.

Also on Sunday, the Jets outlasted the Seoul SK Knights 72-69 led by Yuki Togashi's 24 points and seven dimes, both game highs.

The Jets were crowned champions of the EASL with an 8-0 run and received US$1 million in prize money, while the Knights were awarded US$500,000. Togashi was named the EASL Final Four MVP.

"Yuki Togashi's lightning-quick pull-up threes have become an EASL trademark," the EASL official website wrote about the 30-year-old Japanese point guard, currently fourth in points per game in his domestic league.

Regardless of his 167-centimeter height, "Size has never deterred Togashi from becoming an incredible player and, as EASL Final Four MVP, he will continue to inspire Asian guards to level up," the website added.