The Ryukyu Golden Kings took part in the 7^th annual Hua Lien International Invitational Tournament in Taiwan and finished 4-1 tying them for the best record in the tournament with the Dacin Tigers and Kyung Hee University of South Korea. The tournament featured the teams from the SPL (Taiwan professional basketball league) the National teams from Malaysia and Afghanistan and also an All-Star team from the NBC (National Basketball Conference) of the Philippines

On the first day Ryukyu, had to face two tough opponents in NBC (Philippines) All-star team and last years runner up in Taiwan’s SPL the Dacin Tigers. NBC added size by bringing in 6-6 Michael McDaniel and 6-9 Steve Broom from Australia. Both teams had to overcome opening game nerves and eventually Ryukyu was able to come out with the win.

The evening game which was broadcasted through ESPN Asia saw Dacin pull away with a victory over Ryukyu in the final minutes. The fatigue of travel and of playing in a game earlier caught up to them and Dacin was able to come away with the victory. Dacin’s line-up featured 6’8 Tien Lei a sweet shooting forward who was in the Sacramento Kings training camp a couple of years ago.

After a days rest on October 4^th, Ryukyu faced Taiwan’s DMedia on the 5^th and the Afghanistan National Team on the 6^th. Dmedia was led by pg Lin Guan-luen who throughout the tournament played excellent basketball. The Afghanistan National Team is coached by Mamo Rafiq who played basketball at Idaho State and most recently served as an assistant for the Women’s program there.

“Dmedia and the Afghanistan NT really played us tough; both teams are very talented and I know that they will be very successful this year.” Said Coach Hernando

In their final game, Ryukyu was able to open up a 20 point lead against Taiwan Beer (Defending SPL Champion) en route to a 24 point victory.

“This was a good test for us to see how we come together as a team” Ryukyu Kings Coach Hernando Planells said. “Overall we were pretty balanced, but there are some things we need to work on in order for us to be successful during the season”.

Below are the results from the tournament

Oct. 3
Ryukyu 96-79 NBC (Philippines)
Yulon 85-80 TB
dmedia 70-69 Afghanistan
Kyung Hee 96-56 Malaysia
Dacin 75-66 Ryukyu

Oct. 4
Pure Youth 106-68 Malaysia
Afghanistan 96-92 NBC (Philippines)
dmedia 82-78 Dacin
Kyung Hee 77-71(OT) Yulon
TB 85-77 Pure Youth

Oct. 5
Ryukyu 80-79 dmedia
Kyung Hee 101-94 Pure Youth
Kyung Hee 75-66 TB
Dacin 99-88 NBC (Philippines)
Yulon 94-74 Malaysia

Oct. 6
TB 101-78 Malaysia
dmedia 101-97(OT) NBC (Philippines)
Dacin 79-66 Afghanistan
Ryukyu 72-70 Afghanistan
Yulon 88-81 Pure Youth

Oct. 7

Dacin 76-71 Kyung Hee

Yulon 95-85 dmedia

Ryukyu 96-72 Taiwan Beer

Afghanistan NT 82-77 Pure Youth

Malaysia NT 78-70 NBC (Philippines)