Taiwan’s national team yesterday surprised defending champions South Korea with a 77-64 victory in Nagano, Japan, to win the International Basketball Federation’s East Asia Basketball Championship crown for the first time.
South Korea, looking to extend their run of three consecutive titles, began the stronger side, going ahead 20-15 in the first quarter.
However, Taiwan reversed the deficit in the second quarter, with point guard Liu Cheng and center Quincy Davis leading the charge for a 39-34 scoreline at the intermission.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan put up a solid defense and gradually asserted their dominance, outscoring South Korea 38 to 30 in the second half for a 13-point margin of victory.
Liu and Davis combined for 44 points, while captain Tsai Wen-cheng and point guard Chiang Yu-an also dialed in outstanding performances.
Liu found his scoring touch to finish with a game-high 23 points, while adding four rebounds and two assists.
Davis, a US-born naturalized Republic of China citizen, also had a good day at the office, scoring 21 points to go with 14 rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot.
South Korea power forward Heo Il-young and center Lee Jong-hyun gave a losing effort their best, netting 18 and 13 points respectively.
Taiwan head couch Chou Chun-san praised the team’s all-round effort.
“We faced stiff competition from the [South] Koreans in the opening quarter, but we held on and played our game. We turned it around with our defense, while making field goals when we needed them,” Chou said after the game.
“The leadership provided by veterans Tsai Wen-cheng, Wu Tai-hao and Quincy Davis — who helped the younger players gel as a team — was a critical factor for today’s match and winning the tournament,” he added.
At the start of the tournament, most Taiwanese fans had given up hope for even a decent finish after the national team was blown away 96-63 by China in their opening match.
They regrouped in the second game to defeat Hong Kong 92-57 and upset hosts Japan 78-75 in the semi-final before yesterday’s massive victory over South Korea.
“That 33-point opening loss to China was unsettling and had shaken our confidence, but we got back on track to win games,” Davis said.
“In this championship final we were facing the South Koreans, who are capable of scoring over 100 points in a match. Together we held them to under 70 points; that is a very proud achievement for our team,” he added.
Hosts Japan salvaged some pride by pounding China 76-58 to take third place in front of home fans in Nagano.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
Italian Luca de Aliprandini described Saturday’s World Cup giant slalom at Val d’Isere as the hardest race of his life, coming two days after his Swiss partner Michelle Gisin suffered a heavy fall in training which required neck surgery. De Aliprandini finished 26th in the men’s event won by Loic Meillard, but the result paled into insignificance with two-time Olympic ski champion Gisin in hospital with injuries to her wrist, knee and cervical spine (neck). “It was Michelle’s wish that I race here. I couldn’t say no to her, but it was the toughest race of my entire life,” an emotional De
TOP OF THE TABLE: Evann Guessand put the visitors ahead early in the game and Flavius Daniliuc equalized before Youri Tielemans got the winner in the second half Aston Villa on Thursday extended their winning streak to eight games in all competitions with a 2-1 victory against Basel in the UEFA Europa League to secure at least a playoff spot. Villa were tied with Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1, and Midtjylland, 1-0 winners over Genk, atop the standings of the second-tier European competition on 15 points with five wins from six games. They have bounced back from a poor start to the season and are third in the Premier League, including a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday. At St Jakob-Park in Basel, summer signing Evann Guessand
RSS