The Taoyuan Pauian Archiland (), also translated as Taoyuan Pure-Youth Construction, was a semi-professional basketball team formerly in the Super Basketball League (SBL) of Taiwan.
History
The franchise derived its history from the celebrated Hung Kuo Elephants (宏國象) as they created the only dynasty of the defunct Chinese Basketball Alliance in Taiwan (CBA-Taiwan) between 1996 and 1998. Under the previous ownership by Sina.com and corporate sponsorship by BenQ, the team had also competed in the Chinese Basketball Association of the People's Republic of China (CBA-PRC) in the 2001–2002 and 2002–2003 seasons as the Sina Lions (新浪獅) or BenQ-Sina Lions (明基新浪獅) before becoming a founding member of the SBL in 2003.Franchise history on its official website, in Chinese
During the CBA-Taiwan period, the Elephants were the unmatched three-time champions. In addition to the official championships, they were able to defeat Yulon, the CBA's first champion team, in an unofficial exhibition series following the conclusion of the latter's championship season. Nonetheless, they did not have a chance to defend their third championship because the league was discontinued midway through the 1998–1999 season due to financial problems. In the aftermath of the league's sudden closedown, the club had hit its own financial drought, until it was rescued by Sina.com from the brink of disbandment around 2000.
As the Sina Lions, they moved to join the other professional league abbreviated as "CBA" in mainland China. Having played from a homecourt in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, the Lions made the quarter-finals in their first year with the CBA-PRC but finished 13th out of 14 teams in the league with a disappointing 7–19 record in the ensuing season, and dropped out from the top-tier Division A league (甲级A组联赛). The club then withdrew from mainland China and moved back to Taiwan to join the newly founded SBL. In the SBL's inaugural 2003–2004 season, the Lions had a second-place finish and were the runners-up in the championship series against the Yulon Dinos, their long-time rival in Taiwan.
Following the retirement – forced or voluntary – of a number of aged starters, the younger Lions ended up with an embarrassing 3–27 record in the 2004–2005 season. Between 2005 and 2007, the team was turned over between various corporate owners/sponsors including YMY Telephone Marketing (幼敏電銷), Azio TV (東風衛視), and Pauian Archiland (璞園建築). With the improvement of the young players on the team, Pauian has been able to register increasing wins and made its first post-season appearance since the Lions period in 2008.
On July 11, 2022, the team has announced that they will rent their spot in SBL to Changhua County Basketball Team for the next two seasons.
Notable players
Chen Hsin-An Chen Kuan-Chuan Chen Shih-Chieh Chen Tzu-Wei Cheng Chih-Lung Chien Chia-Hung Chien Wei-Ju Chou Chun-San Douglas Creighton Quincy Davis Huang Chun-Hsiung Hung Chih-Shan Orlando Johnson Ke Chi-Hao Lai Kuo-Hung Liu I-Hsiang Lu Cheng-Ju Lu Chi-Min Luo Hsing-Liang James Mao Quincy Miller Jawann Oldham Peng Chun-Yen Garret Siler Tsai Wen-Cheng Wu Tai-Hao
Head coaches # Name Term GC W L Win% GC W L Win% AchievementsRegular seasonPlayoffsHung Kuo Elephants1 Lee Chung-hee 1994–1996 1 championship (1996)2 Paul Coughter 1996–1999 1996–97, 1997–98 CBA Coach of the Year.2 championships (1997, 1998)BenQ-Sina Lions3 Chiu Ta-Tsung 2001–2003 50 18 32 4 1 3 Sina Lions4 Hu Tsai-Lin 2003–2004 24 14 10 6 2 4 5 Liu Chun-Chin 2004–2005 30 3 27 — — — —YMY Telephone Marketing— Liu Chun-Chin 2005–2006 30 3 27 — — — —Azio TV Eagles6 Hsu Chin-Che 2006–2007 30 7 23 — — — —Pauian Archiland/Taichung Pauian Archiland/Taoyuan Pauian Archiland— Hsu Chin-Che 2007–2015 240 160 80 60 36 24 2007–08, 2010, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15 SBL Coach of the Year.4 championships (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)7 Ben Metcalf 2015–2020 158 90 68 44 22 22 2015–16, 2017–18 SBL Coach of the Year.1 championship (2018)8 Yen Hsing-Shu 2020–2021 40 14 26 — — — —9 Huang Chi-Feng 2021–2022 30 3 27 — — — —
Season-by-season record Chinese Basketball AssociationSeasonCoachRegular season PostseasonWonLostWin %FinishWonLostWin %Result2001–02Chiu Ta-Tsung11138th13Lost Quarterfinals to Bayi Rockets, 1-32002–03Chiu Ta-Tsung71913thDid not qualifyTotals1832-131 Playoff Appearance
Super Basketball LeagueSeasonCoachRegular season PostseasonWonLostWin %FinishWonLostWin %Result2003–04Hu Tsai-Lin14102nd24Won Semifinals vs Dacin Tigers, 2-1Lost Finals to Yulon Dinos, 0-32004–05Liu Chun-Chin3277thDid not qualify2005–06Liu Chun-Chin3277thDid not qualify2006–07Hsu Chin-Che7236thDid not qualify2007–08Hsu Chin-Che15154th13Lost Semifinals to Yulon Dinos, 1-32009Hsu Chin-Che14164th03Lost Semifinals to Dacin Tigers, 0-32010Hsu Chin-Che17133rd23Lost Semifinals to Yulon Luxgen Dinos, 2-32010–11Hsu Chin-Che19112nd14Lost Semifinals to Dacin Tigers, 1-42011–12Hsu Chin-Che2281st81Won Semifinals vs New Taipei Yulon Luxgen Dinos, 4-1Won Finals vs Taipei Dacin Tigers, 4-02012–13Hsu Chin-Che2641st84Won Semifinals vs New Taipei Yulon Luxgen Dinos, 4-2Won Finals vs Taipei Dacin Tigers, 4-22013–14Hsu Chin-Che2461st82Won Semifinals vs Taipei Dacin Tigers, 4-1Won Finals vs Taiwan Mobile, 4-12014–15Hsu Chin-Che2371st84Won Semifinals vs New Taipei Yulon Luxgen Dinos, 4-1Won Finals vs Taiwan Beer, 4-32015–16Ben Metcalf2191st66Won Semifinals vs Fubon Braves, 4-2Lost Finals to Taiwan Beer, 2-42016–17Ben Metcalf14165th44Won First Round vs Fubon Braves, 3-1Lost Semifinals to Taipei Dacin Tigers, 1-42017–18Ben Metcalf18122nd84Won Semifinals vs Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor, 4-2Won Finals vs Fubon Braves, 4-22018–19Ben Metcalf20163rd45Won First Round vs Taipei Dacin Tigers, 3-1Lost Semifinals to Taiwan Beer, 2-42019–20Ben Metcalf17152nd03Lost Playoffs to Yulon Luxgen Dinos, 0-32020–21Yen Hsing-Shu14265thDid not qualify2021–22Huang Chi-Feng3275thSeason early ended due to COVID-19 pandemicTotals294288-615014 Playoff Appearances
Honours ABA Club Championship Champions (1): 2011 Runners-up (1): 2012
See also Chinese Basketball Alliance (Taiwan) Chinese Basketball Association (PRC) Super Basketball League (SBL) Taoyuan Pauian Pilots
References Sina Scoreboard SINA Lions join the CBA Taipei Times: Taiwan's basketball team in China says it is quitting league BenQ name change