Ke Chi-hao (Pure Youth Construction) shot a perfect five-for-five from behind the three-point line and Chang Tsong-hsien added a team-high 19 points as Taiwan overcame a sluggish start to defeat Mongolia 94-86 to win the battle for the fifth place at the East Asia Basketball Association Championship in Incheon, South Korea, yesterday afternoon.
The victory not only salvaged a respectable finish for Taiwan, who fell to a disheartening loss to Japan on Saturday to miss a chance to advance to the medal round, but also netted them the fifth and final qualifying spot for the Asian Championship in Manila, Philippines, in August.
“We knew we had to beat [Mongolia] in order to accomplish what we came out here to do, anything less would have been unacceptable,” Taiwan team captain Tseng Wen-ting said after the game.
Even though he did not get a chance to score, Tseng’s 11 rebounds and irreplaceable presence inside the paint was the main reason Taiwan were able to fend off a tenacious rally by Mongolia in a 30-point fourth quarter to keep the win intact.
After a slow start that saw Taiwan trail by as many as seven points in the opening quarter, it was Chang who finally found his shooting boots to help reduce the deficit to one by the end of the first quarter.
That was when Ke decided to take matters into his own hands as he converted from behind the three-point arc on three straight attempts in what ended up being a 12-point second quarter to help his team claim a comfortable 49-38 lead at halftime.
Taiwan added seven to their lead with a strong finish in the third quarter to build a wide enough cushion to withstand a late Mongolia rally that would have been one of the biggest comeback victories in tournament history.
Five different players scored in double digits for Taiwan, led by Chang’s 19. Tsai Wen-cheng (Pure Youth Construction) also chipped in 18 for his team as skipper Hsu Jin-tseh got the necessary point production from his Builders crew to pick up the win.
Yesterday’s other games saw South Korea trounce Hong Kong 105-62 and China defeat Japan 83-68. South Korea play China in the title game at 4pm today after Japan and Hong Kong fight it out for bronze at 2pm.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care