The TAT (The Asian Tournament) 2026 Chengdu stop continued on August 18 at the Jianyang Culture and Sports Center, with the Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards carrying momentum from their opener to defeat Japan's Nihon Tengu 95-76, securing their second straight win at the Chengdu stop.
The Leopards took an early lead 24-19 in the first quarter, then pulled further ahead with a 26-16 second quarter, taking a 50-35 advantage into halftime. They kept up the steady offense in the second half, putting up 21 and 24 points in the third and fourth quarters respectively, never giving their opponents a chance to mount a comeback, ultimately taking the win by a 19-point margin.
Lin Hsin-Kuan led the team with a game-high 22 points, adding 5 rebounds and 3 assists; Wendall Lewis contributed 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks; Chuang Po-Yuan posted 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists; while Wang Che-Yu drilled 4 three-pointers en route to 12 points.
The Leopards dished out 22 assists on the night and generated 10 steals to fuel their offensive and defensive rhythm, committing just 9 turnovers as a team. On defense, they held Nihon Tengu to just 8-of-41 shooting from beyond the arc, a mere 19.5% clip, which proved key to pulling away on the scoreboard.
The trip to Chengdu carried extra significance for the Leopards—after battling recurring knee injuries and a long rehabilitation process, Lu Chi-Erh finally stepped back onto the official competition stage.
In his comeback game against Sichuan Jincheng's second team on August 17, Lu Chi-Erh started and played 23 minutes and 50 seconds, going 4-of-7 from two-point range for 8 points. Some rust from his long absence was inevitable, but he still showed his familiar drive to attack the basket on offense, as the Leopards took the win 73-65.
A day later, facing Nihon Tengu with his minutes carefully managed, Lu played 16 minutes and put up 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals without a single turnover, finishing with a plus-9 rating. From readjusting to game intensity in his first outing to finding a steadier rhythm in his second, what mattered most beyond the stats was that he was able to stand on the court again, healthy.
When facing his injury in 2025, Lu Chi-Erh once said in an interview, "As long as basketball hasn't given up on me, I won't give up on myself." Now, on the court in Chengdu, that promise has finally found its most tangible answer.
A comeback isn't proven in a single game—it's built one run, one collision, one shot at a time. For Lu Chi-Erh, who waited so long for this moment, simply being able to wear the No. 72 jersey again is, beyond the victory itself, the image most worth remembering.
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