 As a Hung Kuo Elephant, he became the then-highest-paid basketball player in Taiwan and was the cornerstone of the "Hung Kuo dynasty" from 1996 through 1998 when the team won three consecutive championships of Taiwan's professional Chinese Basketball Alliance (中華職業籃球聯盟).He was named the most valuable player (MVP) for the 1995-1996 season and for the 1998 championship series where he almost single-handedly brought his team to its third title out of a 1-3 plight in the best-of-seven series against the powerful challenger, the Kaohsiung Mars.After the Taiwanese professional league, as well as his home club, the Hung Kuo Elephants, came to disbandment due to financial difficulties in 1999, Cheng moved to play for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association in mainland China.