Taiwan’s national basketball team beat Japan 79-76 in a tight game on Tuesday to continue their winning streak at the FIBA Asia Championship in Manila.
Center Tseng Wen-ting led Taiwan with 19 points, and forward Lin Chih-chieh added 16, including a crucial three-point play with 44 seconds left that put his team 77-73 ahead.
The victory over Japan improved Taiwan’s Group E record to 4-0 and put them in a position to win the group and face the fourth-place team from Group F in the quarter-finals if they beat Qatar today.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Taiwan had already secured a top-four finish in the six-team group and a spot in the quarter-finals with a 94-55 thrashing of Hong Kong on Monday.
The Philippines downed the previously unbeaten Qatar 80-70 in yesterday’s late game.
Earlier, Jordan beat Hong Kong 80-54 in another Group E game.
The top three teams in the Asia Championship will automatically qualify for next year’s FIBA Basketball World Cup.
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