Taiwan recorded a second win in the competition on day three of the FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup in Beirut late on Monday evening with an 86-77 triumph over Iraq to improve to a 2-1 mark in Group A’s preliminary round action.
The win not only left Taiwan atop the standings, but also clinched a second-round berth in which the top four squads from each group will compete in cross-group matches to determine the final standings. The top five finishers will quality for the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China in November.
What should have been an easy win for Taiwan against a winless Iraqi team was anything but as the underdogs kept it fairly close with a strong low-post game to trail 21-20 after the first quarter.
The obvious size advantage for Iraq (with five players over 200cm) was neutralized by superior perimeter shooting by Taiwan which went on a 13-2 run in the first five minutes of the second quarter to lead it 34-22 before finishing the half with a 45-34 advantage.
After a quick bucket that upped Taiwan’s lead to 11 early in the third, Iraq rallied from behind to half its deficit before holding Taiwan’s offense scoreless for five minutes in what ended up being a 19-0 run to close out the quarter with a surprising 64-52 lead.
It took a valiant nine-point effort by point guard Lee Hsueh-lin (Yulon Luxgens) against a foul-plagued Iraq in the final quarter to bring Taiwan back from the dead and eventually prevail by nine in the end.
Five different players scored in double-digits for Taiwan, led by Chen Hsuen-shiang’s (Bank of Taiwan) team-high 16, while Iraq’s Mohammed Mahdi led all scorers with 27 in a losing effort for his team.
Next up for Taiwan will be Iran in what should be a uphill battle with tipoff scheduled for 3pm in Beirut today.
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