Taiwan on Saturday finished third in Group B of the FIBA Asia Cup in Indonesia, after a 15-point loss to China set them up for a quarter-finals qualification matchup.
Following the 95-80 loss to China, Taiwan finished the round-robin group phase with a 1-2 record, trailing an undefeated South Korea and regional powerhouse China, which was 2-1 at the tournament played at Istora Stadium in Jakarta.
Bahrain finished last in the group with three defeats.
Photo: AFP
In each of the four groups at the Asia Cup, four teams compete for the top spot, which automatically puts them through to the quarter-finals of the Asia Cup. The second and third-placed teams in each group face off in a quarter-finals qualification round, with the four winners progressing.
Taiwan are today to play Jordan in their qualification matchup.
At a post-game news conference, Taiwan head coach Charles Parker said the team was missing two key players on Saturday.
“But the ones that did play, I’m very proud of their efforts,” Parker said.
Taiwan was making three-pointers in the first half, but was unable to keep it up for the whole game, whereas China was consistent in their shooting, he said.
However, the American basketball coach said he was hopeful about their chances to qualify for the quarter-finals.
In the “next game, we look to make more shots, free throws and threes. I think we are capable of beating anybody here in the Asia Cup. I really believe that we have a chance to go all the way to the final four,” he said.
Taiwan on Saturday stayed within reach of China through to the third quarter, only trailing by nine points before the start of the fourth.
However, it was then they had difficulty sinking shots, while China remained consistent, at one point leading a 21-15-point run.
Taiwan shooting guard Lin Ting-chien led all scorers with 30 points, shooting 10-17 from the floor, including 7-7 from the stripe. American-Taiwanese center William Artino posted a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds, while China center Wang Zhelin led his team with 17 points.
A pioneer of basketball in Asia, Taiwan was one of the seven countries to play in the first Asia Cup in 1960, when it finished second to the Philippines. Since then, Taiwan has qualified for the Asia Cup almost every year, except for 1975 to 1983.
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Kody Clemens homered on Wednesday as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 and clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs. Castellanos had three hits and scored three times. Bryson Stott also had three hits and Brandon Marsh drove in three runs for the Phillies, who on Monday claimed their first National League East title in 13 years. Coupled with the Milwaukee Brewers’ 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia secured the bye and home-field advantage in the NL Division Series. The Phillies owned the tiebreaker with the Brewers after winning the season series against the
Olympic bronze medalist Lee Meng-yuan has become the first Taiwanese athlete to top the International Shooting Sport Federation’s (ISSF) men’s skeet world rankings, while top Taiwanese shooters won golds in each of yesterday’s finals in Taoyuan. Lee’s 6,610 points put him ahead of fellow men’s skeet medalists from the Paris Olympics Americans Vincent Hancock and Conner Prince. Lee on Monday said that he was surprised by the result, although he had expected his ranking to rise after the Games, which was also the first time a Taiwanese athlete had competed in men’s skeet. Despite topping the rankings, Lee said he believed Hancock, who