Taiwan yesterday fought all the way into the final quarter of a cross-strait basketball duel, but after captain Liu Ching left the game due to an injury, they could not hold on, losing 93-88 to China in the final FIBA Asia Challenge group-stage match in Tehran.
Taiwan were strong early on and battled to within one point to end the first half at 49-48.
Led by Liu and US-born naturalized citizen Quincy Davis, Taiwan took a four-point lead in the third quarter, but China recovered the lead in the final quarter.
Liu and Davis led Taiwan in a rally to level the game at 78-78, but faltered down the stretch for China to leverage their advantage in rebounds and turnovers to win.
Taiwan lost their momentum in the final quarter when Liu crashed into China’s defense, falling and sustaining a cut above his right eye, resulting in him leaving the game for medical treatment. Liu is expected to be ready to play the team’s next match.
Taiwan head coach Yen Chia-hua rued the team’s missed opportunities, saying after the game: “We mainly lost in the passing department, as skill level and options for passing were not as good as China’s. Otherwise, we could have created more scoring chances.”
“Before the game, we assessed that we could defeat China, because they came with an inexperienced squad and had some deficiencies in defense and set-play movement,” he said. “It was unfortunate that we did not capitalize on their shortcomings, and we also had too many turnovers.”
Four of Taiwan’s players scored in double digits, with Liu and Davis each at 19, Chou Yi-hsian contributing 18 points and Chou Po-cheng adding 11 points.
China’s big center Hu Jinqiu had a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds in a stellar display for his team.
In the other Group E contest, Jordan prevailed over the Philippines 119-105 in a high-scoring game.
After yesterday’s result, Taiwan held a 3-2 record for third place in the group, qualifying for the quarter-finals, where they are to face tough opponents, likely one of the top finishers from Group F, either hosts Iran or South Korea.
Taiwan started the tournament with three straight wins, but fell to Jordan 109-83 on Tuesday.
China improved to 4-1, in second place behind Jordan (also 4-1) on points difference.
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
Arsenal stormed six points clear at the top of the English Premier League as Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres put Fulham to the sword in a 3-0 win, while West Ham United’s defeat at Brentford offered Tottenham Hotspur a lifeline in the battle for survival. The Gunners have stumbled toward the finish line in their quest for a first league title in 22 years, blowing a sizeable lead over Manchester City in a series of nervous displays. However, the return of Saka, making his first start in six weeks, freed up Mikel Arteta’s men in a dominant performance that shrugged
RSS