SG Yang Che-yi made three consecutive three-pointers in a decisive 12-5 run in the fourth quarter as Taiwan All-Star defeated Taiwan NT 59-53 on April 27, completing a 3-0 swept in the warmup series before East Asia Games.
Despite a huge rebounding disadvantage (24-51), Taiwan NT was still in the game in the end of the third quarter. But Taiwan All-Star, which was without the service of starting frontlines Chu Chih-chin and Lai Kuo-hong, took over the game in the final quarter with the 12-5 run.
All-Star features a balanced scoring as PG Chou Jun-san and Yang Che-yi each scored 11. They also received major contribution from a pair of SINA players. Lo Shin-liang had 10 points and 8 rebounds while Huang Chun-hsiung pulled down 12 rebounds.
Chen Hsin-an led NT with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals, but shot just 1-8 from the charity-stripe. SG Chiu Chi-yi had 10 points.
Taiwan NT was totally outplayed by their "older brothers" in the three-game series, especially in the paint. With an all-time youngest NT roster averaging a bit more than 22 years-old, obvious they are inexperienced. Most of all, their frontline players need to and have to take the physical pounding inside.
This year's brand new NT has been labeled "soft" by many local observers. If they failed to improve in the physical game, they will be in big trouble in the upcoming East Asia Games, which starts on May 19 in Osaka, Japan.