Taiwan proved no match for defending champions Iran, falling short by a dozen with a dismal second half, to drop their opener in a 49-37 final at the Wuhan Sports Complex in Wuhan, China, in the preliminary round of this year’s FIBA Asia Championship.
An outstanding defensive effort by the islanders kept the game close in a low-scoring first half that saw Iran led most of the way with a bigger and stronger lineup, before Taiwan went on a 7-0 run in the final three minutes of the half to take a surprising 19-17 lead at the half.
After Iran tied the game in the opening possession of the second half, Taiwan would roll off an 11-1 run with Lin Chih-chieh downing six of the 11 points, to claim their biggest lead of the game at 30-20.
Photo: AFP
That was the extent to what Taiwan could handle the two-time defending champs, as the Persians countered with a 12-1 run of their own, championed by forward Samad Nikkhah Bahrami’s 10-point spurt in the closing minutes of the third, to reclaim a 32-31 advantage after three quarters of play.
Iran continued their newfound momentum by scoring the first seven points of the fourth quarter to stake an eight-point cushion, before Taiwan mustered one final rally that brought them to within a deuce (39-37) of Iran with 6:29 remaining in the contest.
That was as close as Taiwan got, as the Iranians pulled away by scoring the game’s final 10 points to close out strong with a dominating 10-0 run.
Power forward Wu Tai-hao would finish with a team-high 15 points, 10 of which came in the first half, while Iran’s Bahrami led all scorers with 18, followed by Arsalan Kasemi and Hamed Hadadi’s eight points apiece.
Iran enjoyed a 60-27 edge in total rebounds, with 23 coming off the offensive glass that led to a number of second-chance opportunities.
Next up for Taiwan is a young team from Uzbekistan, who beat Qatar 27-12 last night. Qatar lost by default as five different Qatar players fouled out during the first half, to leave them with only one player available on the roster.
It is a must-win game for Taiwan if they wish to remain in contention. The game is scheduled for 11am tomorrow.
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