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.
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