TPBL Finals Feature Local Coach Showdown; Hsu Chin-cheh Says He Looks Up to His Former Players

(CNA, Taipei, May 21, by reporter Chen Jung-chen) The TPBL defending champions, the New Taipei Kings, will face the Formosa Dreamers in the championship series, where a showdown between local head coaches Hung Chih-shan and Chien Hao has become a major highlight. Hsu Chin-cheh, head coach of the P.LEAGUE+ team Taipei Fubon Braves, laughed and said he needs to look up to his former players. Having coached in the professional scene for nearly 20 years, Hsu once led Pauian to an unprecedented four-peat in the Super Basketball League (SBL). His former players from that era, Hung Chih-shan and Chien Hao, also chose to become head coaches after retiring as players. As "rookie coaches," the two have respectively led the Kings and the Dreamers to the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) finals this season, which Hsu said made him very happy. Speaking to the media today, Hsu joked that he must learn from his two former protégés. He also revealed that if his Braves could also advance to the PLG finals and face the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots again, it would not only prove that the Pauian system is the biggest winner but also create a huge buzz in Taiwan's basketball scene. "At least we are still in this position, and leading different teams. I hope they learned a little something from me back then." Hsu revealed that he had noticed Hung Chih-shan's potential as a head coach back in his high school basketball league (HBL) days at Tsai Hsing School. Besides executing plays, Hung was one of the few players who would proactively provide feedback and had quick reactions on the court. "So I knew back then that he was coaching material." However, Chien Hao's decision to take on the head coach role for the Dreamers came as a great surprise to Hsu. He saw Chien as a very optimistic player and thought he might prefer a management position, given the immense pressure of being a head coach. He was impressed that Chien was willing to step onto the front line and successfully lead the team to the finals. "It's really different from what I thought."