Taiwan’s Team B proved no match for Jordan, dropping their opener of this year’s William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament 71-62 at the University of Taipei’s Gymnasium in Tianmu last night.
The Islanders actually led 18-16 after one quarter of play, with a solid first quarter from scorers Lu Chi-min and Chang Jung-hsuan.
However, the hard-earned lead lasted less than a quarter with the Jordanians outscoring the home hosts 15-9 in the second quarter to skid ahead for good.
Trailing by more than 10 points, the home hosts rallied to pull within four of the visitors with under two minutes to play.
However, failure to secure the defensive glass that led to several second-chance baskets by Jordan ultimately cost Taiwan the game as Jordan pull away in the closing minute to win it by nine.
TAIWAN 76, JAPAN 66 (4TH QUARTER)
Team Taiwan led Japan 76-66 with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter as of press time in their opener in Tianmu last night.
The hosts did not start off well as they turned the ball over nine times in the first 10 minutes to fall behind the visitors 15-20 after one quarter of play.
However, they regrouped in a hurry, with Chen Shih-chieh leading the way in a seven-point spurt to outscore Japan 20-15 in the second quarter and tie the game at 35 at the half.
After opening the second half with a 6-0 run, Taiwan steadily built their lead up to 10, before settling for a 63-58 score to end the third quarter.
Yang Chin-min led all scorers with 24 points after three quarters of play, while Yuki Togashi’s 10 points was a team-high among the Japanese over the same span.
In other Jones Cup action, it was:
‧ Egypt 80, South Korea 78
‧ US 70, Iran 64
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