Asian Games: Basketball team self-destructs in sorry loss to Japan

A total defensive collapse in the game-deciding third quarter led to a bitter defeat for Taiwan as it dropped the opener to Japan by an 85-75 final score on Saturday night in the basketball competition of the Asian Games at Doha, Qatar.

Chen Hsin-an (Yulon Dinos) racked up a game-high 24 points for Taiwan, 14 of which were scored during an evenly-fought first half, but it still was not enough to deliver the win against a tenacious Japan squad that outshot Taiwan by a 46 percent to 35 percent margin.

The contest began with Chen hitting three monstrous three-pointers in a fast-paced first quarter that ended in a 25-25 tie. Taiwan led by as much as six points midway through the second quarter, before consecutive three-pointers by Japan's Kashiwagi Shinsuke brought his team to within a point of Taiwan, the first half ending 42-41.

Carrying first-half momentum into the third quarter, Japan turned its attention to playing inside the paint and were rewarded with several key buckets from big man Eric McArthur.

The low-post dominance by Japan, coupled with a five-minute scoring drought for Taiwan ultimately helped Japan build a nine-point cushion (64-55) after the third quarter, a lead it would not relinquish en route to victory.

Four players scored in the double-digits for Taiwan, with Chen's 24 leading the way and Lin "the Beast" Chih-jeh (Taiwan Beer) pitching in with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Tien Lei of the Dacin Tigers also scored a dozen to match center Tseng Wen-ding (Dinos), but the offense never really gelled.