Taiwan’s men’s basketball team on Monday clinched a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup quarter-finals with a 78-64 win over Jordan in Saudi Arabia, securing their best finish in the tournament since placing fourth in 2013.
The win was sweet revenge for Taiwan, who were denied a quarter-final spot by Jordan at the same stage of the previous Asia Cup in 2022 after blowing a nine-point lead in the final minute and losing 97-96 on a half-court buzzer-beater.
“History is part of the journey,” Taiwan head coach Gianluca Tucci said when asked about the 2022 collapse of the team, who he did not coach. “Life gives everybody a kind of revenge, and [so do] sports ... but I respect this Jordan team and appreciate the way they played because they never gave up.”
Photo courtesy of Taiwan’s representative office in Saudi Arabia
Led by Adam Hinton’s 18 points off the bench, Taiwan seemed to be in control much of the game, holding the edge in three of the four quarters, but it was not until the final quarter that they put a gritty Jordan team away.
Leading 39-35 at halftime, Taiwan lost one of their toughest frontcourt defenders, Hu Long-mao, to a knee injury with 5 minutes, 49 seconds left in the third quarter, while naturalized big man Brandon Gilbeck had his minutes limited in the second half due to foul trouble.
It was Hinton’s 10-point third quarter that kept the team afloat, including a coast-to-coast slam with 2 minutes, 21 seconds left in the period.
Jordan cut the margin to three points at 63-60 with just over 5 minutes left in game, but back-to-back three-pointers by Chen Ying-chun provided much-needed breathing room for Taiwan, and Jordan never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Hinton, named Player of the Game, said that he felt “our team really came together” in the hard-fought contest.
“Especially Brandon, he was a monster — rebounding, blocks, just doing everything for us,” he said, while Chen’s clutch shots from long range were also “very big for us.”
Gilbeck grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds along with seven blocks, despite only playing about 23 minutes, while Chen went three-for-four from deep to post 15 points.
Dar Tucker led Jordan with 20 points.
Taiwan entered the tournament with arguably their best roster in a decade, with the Hinton brothers — Adam and Robert — suiting up for Taiwan in a FIBA competition for the first time.
The Hintons, raised in the US, were born to a Taiwanese mother and acquired Taiwanese passports before turning 16, making them eligible to represent Taiwan without occupying a roster spot for a naturalized player.
Taiwan face Iran today in a bid to reach the Asia Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2013.
It will be a big challenge, given that Taiwan have lost their past 10 games against Iran since 2003 in the Asia Cup, Asian Championships and Asian Games.
Their most recent victory was an overtime win at the 1998 Asian Games.
In yesterday’s early game the Philippines beat Saudi Arabia 95-88.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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