Will the Fubon Braves claim a ticket to the #FIBAAsiaCC?
BANGKOK (Thailand) - The Fubon Braves are currently one of the hottest teams in Taipei. Now they’ll be bringing the heat over to the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2019 in the Road to Final 8 - East Asia round.
The Braves recently won the Super Basketball League (SBL) earlier this year, making it the first ever in the history of their franchise. It was their second consecutive trip to the SBL finals, both under well-respected head coach Hsu Chin Che who is heading into his 3rd year as the team’s commander.
The club has had a long history in Taipei, established in 1983 as the Chien-Hung Men’s Basketball Club. After going through various name changes over the years, the team eventually became the “Fubon Braves” in 2014 and now stands as one of the most recognized basketball teams in the country today.
The team struggled early on with only 3 playoff berths over their first 9 SBL seasons. Since 2013, the Braves have not missed postseason play including two straight finals appearances in the past two seasons. They were finally able to win their first SBL title last season, taking the league by storm from start to finish. The Braves wrapped up the regular season in first place with a 24-12 record before sweeping Taiwan Beer in the finals.
The recent success of the Braves stems from their fine cultivation of talent in the past few years. Notable names like sharpshooting Hung Chih-Chan, ferocious rebounder Tsai Wen Cheng, and scoring machine Chang Tsung-Hsien have all played key parts on the national team in multiple FIBA Asia Cups.
(Chang Tsung-Hsien at FIBA Asia Cup 2011)
Promising prospect Lai Ting-En seems on path to make the national team sometime in the near future too, after his inspiring performance during the SBL finals.
One of the Braves’ biggest star is Lin Shu Wei or Joseph Lin who is an SBL Rookie of the Year, 2-time assist king, 4-time SBL All-Star, and the younger brother of NBA’s Jeremy Lin.
The Braves will have to finish among the top two teams at the Road to Final 8 - East Asia in order to claim a berth for their debut at the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2019 Final 8. If they are able to do so, Fubon will become the 3rd team from Chinese Taipei to play in the Final round of the Champions Cup after Pauian Archiland (2016, 2018) and Daxin Tigers (2017).
FIBA
