Taiwan’s men’s basketball team advanced to the six-team qualifying tournament for this year’s Saudi Arabia International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup after defeating the Philippines 91-84 in Taipei on Thursday.
The victory is Taiwan’s first win against Gilas Pilipinas since 2016, avenging a 53-point drubbing in Pasig, Philippines, nearly a year ago.
Gianluca Tucci, Taiwan’s head coach, praised the team’s dedication and said the win is well-deserved.
Photo: Chen Jung-chen, CNA
“I don’t really see this as a surprise, because I deeply believe in my team. And if you see how hard they work [and] train, you can consider [this win the same way] as [I do],” said Tucci, who was appointed just a year ago.
Despite Justin Brownlee’s dominant 39-point, eight-assist performance for the Philippines, Taiwan remained composed and held firm down the stretch.
Lin Ting-chien and Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga led the scoring with 21 points each, supported by Lu Chun-hsiang and Ma Chien-hao who combined for 32 points.
Taiwan’s Brandon Gilbeck also made a significant defensive impact with five blocks.
“It’s fantastic to see multiple players step up and contribute offensively,” said Lin, who also recorded seven rebounds and five assists.
Lin credited captain Liu Cheng for energizing the team’s defense, despite his scoreless outing.
The defeat is Gilas’ first loss in the group stage, prompting the Philippines’ head coach Tim Cone to take responsibility, while acknowledging Taiwan’s progress over the past year.
“We knew they were going to be much improved from the last time we played them, but they were even better than we thought. That’s on me. No doubt, I should have prepared us better,” Cone wrote on X yesterday.
With the Philippines and New Zealand leading Group B with a 4-1 record, the two teams would compete for first place in Auckland tomorrow.
The already-eliminated Hong Kong host Taiwan in their final group-stage game tomorrow.
Taiwan would continue their quest for an Asia Cup berth in the upcoming qualifying tournament, which would be contested by six third-place teams from the first qualifying round later this year.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS