New Taipei CTBC DEA 136, Kaohsiung Aquas 133 — the DEA survived one of the wildest shootouts of the Club Friendship calendar, holding off a relentless Kaohsiung Aquas comeback to win a 269-point thriller in front of a roaring home crowd on Friday, October 9, 2026.

The final scoreline tells the story better than any summary could. Two teams traded baskets at a pace that rarely paused for breath, and when the buzzer finally sounded, the difference between celebration and heartbreak was a single three-point swing in the closing minute. New Taipei's late-game execution — calm free-throw shooting and one decisive stop on the defensive end — proved to be the margin between a statement win and a painful near-miss.

Match Overview

• Fixture: New Taipei CTBC DEA vs. Kaohsiung Aquas
• Competition: Club Friendship
• Date: October 9, 2026
• Final score: New Taipei CTBC DEA 136 – 133 Kaohsiung Aquas
• Result: New Taipei CTBC DEA win by 3 points

With 269 combined points, the contest instantly enters the conversation for the highest-scoring game of the Club Friendship season so far. Neither defense ever fully settled, and both coaching staffs spent the evening cycling through rotations in search of a lineup that could string together three consecutive stops — something that felt like a minor miracle every time it happened.

How the Game Unfolded

New Taipei set the tone early by pushing the ball on every made basket, refusing to let Kaohsiung set its half-court defense. The DEA's guards attacked the paint off high ball screens, then kicked out to corner shooters when the Aquas collapsed. That drive-and-relocate rhythm generated a steady stream of open looks, and the home side built a working lead that hovered around double digits for much of the opening half.

Kaohsiung, though, never allowed the game to slip away. The Aquas answered with their own transition attack, punishing New Taipei's long rebounds and turning defensive stops into quick points at the other end. Whenever the DEA threatened to pull away, the Aquas produced a run of their own — a corner three here, an and-one in the lane there — and by the fourth quarter the deficit had been whittled down to a single possession.

The closing stretch was everything a neutral fan could want. Both teams went small, both teams switched nearly every screen, and every possession carried the weight of the final result. New Taipei's composure at the free-throw line in the last 30 seconds, combined with a contested miss forced at the other end, ultimately sealed a win that was far more comfortable on the scoresheet than it ever felt on the floor.

Key Moments

• First-half scoring surge: New Taipei's perimeter shooting opened a double-digit cushion and forced Kaohsiung into an early timeout.
• The Aquas' third-quarter run: A sustained burst of transition buckets dragged Kaohsiung back into the game and silenced the home crowd.
• Crunch-time defense: The DEA came up with the evening's most important stop in the final minute, forcing a difficult, contested look as the shot clock expired.
• Free-throw professionalism: New Taipei converted its late trips to the line, refusing to hand the Aquas a lifeline.

Tactical Story

This was a game decided by pace and spacing rather than brute force. New Taipei's offense was built on penetration and ball movement — guards getting into the teeth of the defense, drawing help, and finding shooters on the weak side. That approach stretched Kaohsiung's rotations thin, and the Aquas paid for every late closeout.

Kaohsiung's counter was equally intelligent: hunt mismatches, attack the offensive glass, and keep the tempo high enough that New Taipei could never fully settle into its preferred half-court structure. The Aquas' ability to score 133 points on the road while chasing for much of the night speaks to how efficiently they generated quality shots in transition and second-chance situations.

In the end, the difference was small but meaningful. New Taipei won the rebounding battle in the fourth quarter, limited second-chance opportunities when it mattered most, and executed its late-game sets with a discipline that a 136-point night might otherwise obscure.

Standout Performers

New Taipei's backcourt led the way, controlling tempo and delivering timely buckets whenever Kaohsiung's pressure threatened to turn the game. The DEA's frontcourt contributed crucial interior scoring and rebounding, particularly during the fourth-quarter possessions that decided the outcome.

For Kaohsiung, the road performance was built on balanced scoring — multiple contributors in d