The franchise derives 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.

[1] During the CBA-Taiwan period, the Elephants were the unmatched three-time champions[2] and the most favored squad holding a considerably larger share of young fans attending the game compared with the other clubs in the league.

In the SBL's inaugural 2003–2004 season, the Lions had a second-place finish and was the runner 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.

With the improvement of the young players on the team, Pauian has been able to register increasing wins and made its first postseason appearance since the Lions period in 2008.