Taiwan Mobile Clouded Leopards
Encyclopedia
The Taiwan Mobile Clouded Leopards are a semi-professional team in the Super Basketball League
(SBL) in Taiwan
.
The franchise dates back to 1983 when it was originally founded as the Chien-hong Men's Basketball Team (建弘男子籃球隊). Owned subsequently by Hung Min-tai (洪敏泰), owner of Tera Electronics (新銳/泰瑞電子), the team went by the same name as the corporation for a number of years until it joined the professional Chinese Basketball Alliance
(CBA) as Tera Mars (泰瑞戰神) in 1994.
As a professional club, the Mars was a powerful competitor to the dominant Yulon Dinos
and Hung Kuo Elephants. In the 1998 finals, it posed the strongest challenge the "Hung Kuo dynasty" had ever met when pushing the defending champions to the brink of elimination with a 3:1 advantage in the best-of-seven series -- although they eventually let this opportunity for championship slip away. Wang Libin
(C), Yen Hsing-Shu (PG), and the American import Todd Rowe (SF) were the core players on this team; they were led by head coach
Chung Chih-Mong (鍾枝萌), the so-called "iron-and-blood coach" due to his aggressive leadership style.
Before the close down of the CBA in 1999, the Mars led the league in wins by a considerable margin in its last regular season that was never finished. It remained a close contender for domestic championship around the turn of the century with a biggest frontcourt lineup Taiwan's amateur Division A conference (甲組聯賽) had ever seen. This roster included Wang Libin (6'8") and Song Tao
(6'10").
The team's initial mascot
, Mars, was derived from the Roman
god of war
and had remained in spite of several changes of ownership. It had not only carried the team through the flourish CBA era but also accompanied its members and fans in the midst of the financial turbulence of the late 1990s
. Between the ownership by the Kaohsiung
-based Hanshin Group (漢神集團) and that by the Broadcasting Corporation of China
(BCC), head coach Chung had to seek corporate sponsors on his own while his players spontaneously work without getting paid in order to keep their beloved team alive.
The Mars eventually became history following the takeover by Videoland Television Network
in June 2004 when the team was renamed as the Videoland Hunters (緯來獵人). Subsequently, the franchise was sold to Taiwan Mobile
, a major mobile communication provider in Taiwan, and once again renamed as it currently goes. It is now coached by retired superstar Cheng Chih-Lung
.
Super Basketball League
The Super Basketball League , often abbreviated to the SBL, is the pre-eminent men's semi-professional basketball league in Taiwan. It was founded in 2003 and considered by many as the successor organization to the short-lived Chinese Basketball Alliance , a men's professional basketball league...
(SBL) in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
The franchise dates back to 1983 when it was originally founded as the Chien-hong Men's Basketball Team (建弘男子籃球隊). Owned subsequently by Hung Min-tai (洪敏泰), owner of Tera Electronics (新銳/泰瑞電子), the team went by the same name as the corporation for a number of years until it joined the professional Chinese Basketball Alliance
Chinese Basketball Alliance
The Chinese Basketball Alliance was a men's professional basketball league in Taiwan that existed from 1995 to 1999. Also abbreviated as "CBA", the defunct organization based in Taiwan was distinct from the Chinese Basketball Association of the People's Republic of China and was also not to be...
(CBA) as Tera Mars (泰瑞戰神) in 1994.
As a professional club, the Mars was a powerful competitor to the dominant Yulon Dinos
Yulon Dinos
The Yulon Dinos are a basketball team in the Super Basketball League in Taiwan. It was founded in 1965 by Yulon Motor's Chairman Yen Ching-ling as a First Division amateur basketball team...
and Hung Kuo Elephants. In the 1998 finals, it posed the strongest challenge the "Hung Kuo dynasty" had ever met when pushing the defending champions to the brink of elimination with a 3:1 advantage in the best-of-seven series -- although they eventually let this opportunity for championship slip away. Wang Libin
Wang Libin
Wang Libin is a former male Chinese basketball player and an active basketball coach.Wang started his playing career at the age of 14 and was one of the most talented frountcourt players in Asia. 6'8", Wang was not only a powerful inside player with solid footwork and impressive mobility but also...
(C), Yen Hsing-Shu (PG), and the American import Todd Rowe (SF) were the core players on this team; they were led by head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
Chung Chih-Mong (鍾枝萌), the so-called "iron-and-blood coach" due to his aggressive leadership style.
Before the close down of the CBA in 1999, the Mars led the league in wins by a considerable margin in its last regular season that was never finished. It remained a close contender for domestic championship around the turn of the century with a biggest frontcourt lineup Taiwan's amateur Division A conference (甲組聯賽) had ever seen. This roster included Wang Libin (6'8") and Song Tao
Song Tao
Song Tao is a retired Chinese basketball player and coach. 6'10" with impressive mobility, he was the first player from Asia drafted by an NBA team when the Atlanta Hawks selected him in the 3rd round of the 1987 NBA draft, although he never went to training camp due to serious knee injuries.Song...
(6'10").
The team's initial mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
, Mars, was derived from the Roman
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...
god of war
Mars (mythology)
Mars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions...
and had remained in spite of several changes of ownership. It had not only carried the team through the flourish CBA era but also accompanied its members and fans in the midst of the financial turbulence of the late 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
. Between the ownership by the Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...
-based Hanshin Group (漢神集團) and that by the Broadcasting Corporation of China
Broadcasting Corporation of China
The Broadcasting Corporation of China , BCC, is a broadcasting company in the Republic of China. It was founded as the Central Broadcasting System in Nanjing in 1928.-History:...
(BCC), head coach Chung had to seek corporate sponsors on his own while his players spontaneously work without getting paid in order to keep their beloved team alive.
The Mars eventually became history following the takeover by Videoland Television Network
Videoland Television Network
Videoland Television Network is a cable network program provider in Taiwan, founded in 1983 by Koos Group. Videoland is one of Taiwan's major satellite television providers, offering seven channels of programming...
in June 2004 when the team was renamed as the Videoland Hunters (緯來獵人). Subsequently, the franchise was sold to Taiwan Mobile
Taiwan Mobile
Taiwan Mobile is a GSM mobile phone operator based in Taiwan.Taiwan Mobile started as part of a strategic divestment from the now defunct Pacific Electric Wire & Cable Co. Ltd...
, a major mobile communication provider in Taiwan, and once again renamed as it currently goes. It is now coached by retired superstar Cheng Chih-Lung
Cheng Chih-Lung
Cheng Chih-Lung is a retired Taiwanese professional basketball player, a former member of the Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China, and an active basketball coach...
.
Notable members
- Chung Chih-Mong (鍾枝萌) - 6'5", centreCenter (basketball)The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
, coach; Chinese Taipei squad head coach at 1998 Asian Games1998 Asian GamesThe 13th Asian Games were held from December 6 to December 20, 1998 in Bangkok, Thailand. This was the first time that Thailand bid for the event after it shouldered the two postponed hosting rights in 1970 and 1978.-Emblem:...
. - Chen Jih-Hsing (陳日興) - 5'11", point guardPoint guardPoint guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
; star player in Taiwan in the 1980s1980sFile:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
. - Li Chih-Chiang (李志強) - 5'11", point guard, coach; star player in Taiwan in the 1980s.
- Tseng Tseng-Chiu (曾增球) - 6'3", small forwardSmall forwardThe small forward, or colloquially known as three, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically somewhat shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers, but on occasion are just as tall...
; star player in Taiwan in the 1980s. - Chou Hai-Jung (周海容) - 6'3", shooting guardShooting guardThe shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...
, coach; star player in Taiwan in the 1980s. - Wang LibinWang LibinWang Libin is a former male Chinese basketball player and an active basketball coach.Wang started his playing career at the age of 14 and was one of the most talented frountcourt players in Asia. 6'8", Wang was not only a powerful inside player with solid footwork and impressive mobility but also...
(王立彬) - 6'8", centre; CBA (Taiwan) star player, one of the only two Asian players to achieve triple-double in the game. - Todd Rowe - 6'7", small forward; CBA (Taiwan) regular season MVP, 4-time scoring champions, shot-blockBlock (basketball)In basketball, a block , not to be confused with blocking, occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player. The defender must not touch the offensive player's hands or otherwise a foul is called. In order to be legal, the block must occur while the shot...
champion. - Yen Hsing-Shu (顏行書) - 6'0", point guard; CBA (Taiwan) assistAssist (basketball)In basketball, an assist is attributed to a player who passes the ball to a teammate in a way that leads to a score by field goal, meaning that he or she was "assisting" in the basket. There is some judgment involved in deciding whether a passer should be credited with an assist...
champion. - Song TaoSong TaoSong Tao is a retired Chinese basketball player and coach. 6'10" with impressive mobility, he was the first player from Asia drafted by an NBA team when the Atlanta Hawks selected him in the 3rd round of the 1987 NBA draft, although he never went to training camp due to serious knee injuries.Song...
(宋濤) - 6'10", centre; former CBA (Taiwan) star player, tallest player in Taiwan's Division A conferece when he played for the Mars. - Chen Hui (陳暉) - 6'0", point guard; SBL assist champion, All-SBL Team.
- Cheng Chih-LungCheng Chih-LungCheng Chih-Lung is a retired Taiwanese professional basketball player, a former member of the Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China, and an active basketball coach...
(鄭志龍) - 6'3", coach; former FIBA Asian All-Star, former CBA (Taiwan) finals MVP.
See also
- Chinese Basketball AllianceChinese Basketball AllianceThe Chinese Basketball Alliance was a men's professional basketball league in Taiwan that existed from 1995 to 1999. Also abbreviated as "CBA", the defunct organization based in Taiwan was distinct from the Chinese Basketball Association of the People's Republic of China and was also not to be...
- Asian Financial Crisis
- Broadcasting Corporation of ChinaBroadcasting Corporation of ChinaThe Broadcasting Corporation of China , BCC, is a broadcasting company in the Republic of China. It was founded as the Central Broadcasting System in Nanjing in 1928.-History:...
- Super Basketball LeagueSuper Basketball LeagueThe Super Basketball League , often abbreviated to the SBL, is the pre-eminent men's semi-professional basketball league in Taiwan. It was founded in 2003 and considered by many as the successor organization to the short-lived Chinese Basketball Alliance , a men's professional basketball league...
- Videoland Television NetworkVideoland Television NetworkVideoland Television Network is a cable network program provider in Taiwan, founded in 1983 by Koos Group. Videoland is one of Taiwan's major satellite television providers, offering seven channels of programming...
- Taiwan MobileTaiwan MobileTaiwan Mobile is a GSM mobile phone operator based in Taiwan.Taiwan Mobile started as part of a strategic divestment from the now defunct Pacific Electric Wire & Cable Co. Ltd...