Spoiling first-half leads as large as nine points, Taiwan completely fell apart in a dismal second half to drop their quarter-final contest against the Philippines 95-78 at this year’s FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan, China, last night.
The loss not only denied Taiwan a chance to compete for the gold, but it also earned them a very tough meeting against two-time defending champions Iran, who were upset by Jordan in their quarter-final match earlier yesterday — virtually bumping Taiwan out of contention for a fifth-place finish.
A successful defensive scheme against Philippines center Marcus Douthit, coupled with a smooth start by the offense, gave Taiwan a surprising 23-14 lead late in the opening frame.
Photo: AFP
However, the hard-earned lead would dwindle to only four by the end of the first (23-19), with the Philippines netting five unanswered points in the final two minutes of the quarter.
Taiwan were able to fend off the Philippines after their lead fell to a single point two minutes into the second quarter with a 12-5 run on the inside play of Tseng Wen-ding and the three-point shooting of Lin Chih-chieh to reclaim a 39-31 lead with four minutes remaining in the half.
However, that was as long as they could hang with the Philippines, with the Philippines offense getting into their groove from that point on, rolling off a 14-3 run to close out the half with a 45-42 advantage.
Trouble continued for Taiwan in the second half with Douthit showing off his inside moves to help his team build a commanding 15-point lead.
To make matters worse for Taiwan, they would lose point guard Lin Hsueh-lin to injury midway through the third quarter and eventually Tseng to five personal fouls in the fourth, sealing their fate long before the final buzzer sounded.
Tseng left the game with a team-high 20 points and five rebounds, while teammates Chen Hsin-an and Lu Cheng-ju chipped in 14 and 12 points respectively.
As for the Philippines, Douthit’s game-high 37 points was the difference in the game as the former US standout (naturalized to Philippine citizenship earlier this year) dominated inside the paint by converting 13 of 24 from close range (eight of 10 from the free-throw line) with 10 rebounds to send his team into the semi-finals.
Next up for Taiwan in the consolation round will be a tough Iranian squad who will look to alleviate their frustration with a win.
Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30pm at the Wuhan Sports Complex.
Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen yesterday exited at the BWF World Tour Finals in China, losing in the semi-finals to China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi. Shi, who was named the BWF Men’s Singles Player of the Year, had a 9-4 record against Chou going into the match. He extended that record to 9-5 with a 21-14, 21-18 victory. Chou advanced to the men’s singles semi-finals on Friday by upsetting top-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark in a must-win match at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. The 16-21, 21-18, 21-15 victory saw Chou secure his second semi-finals appearance at the tournament, despite his relatively older
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
India’s chess star Gukesh Dommaraju returned to a hero’s welcome in his home city yesterday after becoming the youngest world champion aged only 18. Hundreds of fans crowded the arrivals area of Chennai International Airport, cheering alongside banks of television cameras as Gukesh made his way out of the airport after victory in taking the World Chess Championship title. “It means a lot to bring back the trophy to India,” Gukesh told reporters, with garlands of flowers draped around his neck, brandishing the glittering trophy in his hand. “I can see the support and what it means to India, I
Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest chess world champion on Thursday after beating the defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final match of their series in Singapore. Dommaraju, 18, secured 7.5 points against 6.5 of his Chinese rival in the contest, surpassing the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov, who won the title at the age of 22. The Indian teen prodigy has long been considered a rising star in the chess world after he became a chess grandmaster at 12. He had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier
RSS