Taipei, Aug. 25 (CNA) Taipei Taishin Mars is working on recruiting former NBA player Jeremy Lin (林書豪) as part of the new team’s efforts to boost its competitiveness in the upcoming T1 LEAGUE 2023-24 season, the franchise said Thursday.
“Is there any team in Taiwan that doesn’t want Jeremy Lin?” said Oliver Shang (尚瑞強), president of Taishin International Bank, when asked if the franchise has reached out to the Taiwanese-American basketball standout.
“We have been in close contact. As far as I know, right now Jeremy Lin is making a decision between the last two to three teams,” Shang said at a news conference in Taipei that announced the Taishin team’s full name, local roster and home court.
Meanwhile, Shang also responded to accusations of player poaching made by the P.LEAGUE+’s (PLG) Hsinchu Jko Lioneers regarding shooting guard Lin Ping-sheng (林秉聖), saying that the two-time T1 LEAGUE All-Defensive First Team player has been participating in the Mars’ workouts.
Now that Lin Ping-sheng has signed a deal with Taishin, “[He is] our player for sure,” Shang said, adding that the franchise hopes the incident will not adversely impact Lin Ping-sheng.
Asked about the incident being looked into by Chinese Taipei Basketball Association, the organization that supervises basketball in Taiwan, Shang said he hopes the Lioneers and Lin will talk over the contract dispute between themselves, otherwise lawyers will have to get involved.
Taishin Financial Holdings was one of the major sponsors of the PLG’s Formosa Dreamers (formerly known as Formosa Taishin Dreamers) for the past three seasons, but rumors saying the business group intended to launch its own pro franchise started circulating as the 2022-23 season drew to a close.
On June 26, the T1 LEAGUE issued a statement that its executive council had approved Taishin’s application to take over the participation rights of the then TaiwanBeer HeroBears without taking over the latter’s entire roster.
Since then there has been much speculation about Taishin’s roster.
At the T1 LEAGUE’s 2023 summer draft on July 14, Taishin only picked Chang Chao-chen (張兆辰) from National Taiwan Normal University and Chien Ho-yu (簡賀宇) from Shih Hsin University, with Chien fired earlier this month for alleged involvement in a gangster related violent attack.
In addition to Lin and Chang, the 12 local players the Mars announced Thursday also included captain Lin Yi-huei (林宜輝) and other pro players as well as guard Lin Li (林勵) from National Chengchi University, who played for the Mars honorary advisor Huang Wan-lung (黃萬隆) at Taipei Municipal Song-Shan Senior High School.
The 2017 High School Basketball League (HBL) MVP was not picked in the PLG and T1 LEAGUE drafts and decided to drop out of the semi-professional Super Basketball League draft.
The Mars said it has also signed two imported players and a head coach with NBA experience, with more information to be announced in the near future.
The Mars will share Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium as its home court with Taipei Fubon Braves of the PLG, it said, the second instance of two teams from two different pro basketball leagues in Taiwan sharing the same home court.
The first one is Xinzhuang Gymnasium, which is home to PLG’s New Taipei Kings and the T1 LEAGUE’s New Taipei CTBC DEA.
Meanwhile, the Dreamers announced an end to their sponsorship deal with the Taishin group on Tuesday, but as of 4 p.m. Friday the franchise had yet to remove Taishin from the title of its Facebook page and Instagram account.
