TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwan men's basketball team defeated the Chinese squad 97:84 on Monday (July 31) at the 31st FISU World University Games in Chengdu, China.
Kao Chin-wei (高錦瑋) sank five three-pointers and scored a game-high 26 points, reported Liberty Times. Tsai Chen-kang (蔡宸綱) contributed 11 points in the third, helping lay the foundations for the comeback win.
Kao takes shot on his way to being top scorer of game. (Student Sports Union photo)
Team Taiwan had a rocky start in their first game, losing to Lithuania, which had seven players at least 200-cm-tall, by 30 points. In their second game, they lost to Brazil by 58 points.
However, on Monday, Team Taiwan's fortunes changed, despite China fielding a team with several professional CBA players. Although Taiwan fell behind by 12 in the second quarter, Lin Chun-chi (林俊吉) got things going in the second with a three.
Soon, Willy Lu (呂威霆), Tsai, Chiu Tzu-hsuan (邱子軒), and Kao all scored, narrowing the gap with a 20-11 run. Liu Cheng-hsun's (劉承勳) shot seconds before halftime brought the score to 46:48.
Yu scores layup. (Student Sports Union photo)
In the third, Tsai got the offense going with Yu Ai-che (游艾喆) dishing out several assists.The team ended up with a 76:66 lead after the third.
The team maintained a double-digit lead throughout the fourth and ended up with a 13-point victory. Despite the win, Team Taiwan will not be able to advance to the quarterfinals, finishing with a record of one win and two losses in the group stage.
Five Taiwanese players scored in double digits. Kao led the team with 26 points, Tsai with 15 points, Yu with 13 and a team-high 11 assists, while Lu and Chiu each had 11 points.
Players on bench cheer. (Student Sports Union photo)
