In a match marked by defensive lapses and a poor team effort under the post, Taiwan lost to China 88-66 at the FIBA Asia Challenge in Tehran yesterday.
It was a familiar tale of starting on a high, then faltering down the stretch for Taiwan at a major international tournament. They began with three wins in a row, building expectations for a medal finish in Iran.
However, Taiwan were on end of two defeats in their past two matches, edged by South Korea 70-69 on Friday, before falling to China yesterday.
It was no contest in a trench war under the post, as China won the rebounds contest, pulling down 51 compared with 28 for Taiwan.
China ran up a 11-2 lead after the opening whistle and they stayed in front to the end, leading by 30 at one point.
US-born naturalized Taiwanese Quincy Davis was the lone bright spot for Taiwan, finishing with 16 points and seven rebounds, while none of his teammates reached double digits.
China shooting guard Fang Shuo had a game-high 25 markers, with big center Hu Jinqiu chipping in 15 points and grabbing 17 rebounds.
Taiwan head coach Yen Chia-hua admitted the defense had a bad performance, with China netting 10 three-pointers and shooting better than 50 percent from inside the paint.
“The collapse of our defense was the main reason for this defeat,” Yen said. “We played seven games in eight days, so many of our players were tired. It is the same for Davis; he does not have much left in him.”
“China sent up five of their tall guys to the post and they battled hard against Davis, and we had no one else to lead the defense,” he said.
“We also missed Liu Ching, who sustained a cut in Thursday’s game,” Yen said. “Our attacking line-up was not the same without Liu, while we also missed a lot of shots.”
“China were the better team today, and we have to accept defeat this time,” he said.
Taiwan face India today in their final game of the tournament.
STILL IN THE HUNT: Rasmus Hojlund took his goal tally for SSC Napoli to nine as the champions cruised to a win at US Cremonese and stayed two points behind the leaders Inter on Sunday stayed at the Serie A summit after beating Atalanta BC 1-0 to maintain their slender lead over local rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez netted the only goal of the game in Bergamo for Inter, who lead Milan, 3-0 winners against Hellas Verona thanks to Christoper Nkunku’s first Serie A goals, by a single point at the top of the division. The Argentina striker has scored in four consecutive league matches to end what has been a tricky year in positive style. “I ended last season in a lot of pain... I kept going during the Club World Cup and international
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
Algeria on Sunday became the third country after Egypt and Nigeria to qualify for the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations by edging Burkina Faso 1-0 in Rabat through a Riyad Mahrez penalty. Defending champions Ivory Coast failed to join the trio after drawing 1-1 with Cameroon in a lively showdown in Marrakesh. Elsewhere, Mozambique ended a 39-match wait for a first victory by beating Gabon 3-2, while Sudan got back into contention for a last-16 slot by beating Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in Casablanca. Captain Mahrez converted from the penalty spot midway through the first half and Algeria then held on
Supermaxis Master Lock Comanche and defending champions LawConnect yesterday continued their close duel on the second day of the 80th running of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Just over 27 hours into the race that began on Friday in Sydney Harbour and is to end on the island state of Tasmania, Comanche had a 4 nautical mile (7.4km) lead over LawConnect. LawConnect was forced to contend with a broken mainsheet and halyard overnight, but fixed both issues and remained in pursuit of Comanche, which is skippered by Matt Allen and James Mayo. “We had a few things slow us down and Comanche’s
RSS