Veteran SG Lo Hsin-liang scored 20 points as SINA Lions beat Taiwan NT 78-71 in the most anticipated game in the tournament. SINA is now 4-1 and ties for the first place with Australia, who was upset by Russia, 69-77, in an earlier game. Philippines edged South Korea 97-92, giving Koreans their 4th straight defeat.
In a game where you can see several fans waving protest posters, Taiwan NT was BOOED thruout the whole game. Home crowds are obvious upset with NT's performance, and opted to cheer for SINA, which features several former NT players like Lo Hsin-liang, Chou Jun-san and Huang Chun-hsiung.
The majority of Taiwanese fans are not satisfied with the NT's play in the tournament. Many ofthem urged CTBA to include SINA veterans to the Asian Games roster and showed concerns of current players' lack of experience will hurt them in the Asian Games.
With its balanced inside and outside offense, SINA led 49-39 in halftime and maintained the small-margin lead in the second half. Lo Hsin-liang made 4 of 6 three-pointers. 200cm F Huang Chun-hsiung, who had 14 points and 7 rebounds in the game, sealed the win with another three-pointer in closing minute, lifting SINA to a 5-point lead with the score of 71-66.
195cm F Shan Wei-fan, a loan from A-League's Jutai Tech, also had 14 and 7. Yang Yu-ming scored 18 points to lead Taiwan NT. Shen Hsin-an and Chiu Chi-yi had 14 each. Tien Lei came up with 4 points and pulled down 7 rebounds.
*Game Summary
SINA 78-71 Taiwan NT
SINA - Lo Hsin-liang 20p(8-14, 4-6 3PT), Huang Chun-hsiung 14p(6-8)+7rb, SHan Wei-fan 14p(5-10)+7rb
Tai - Yang Yu-ming 18p, Chen Hsin-an 14p, Chiu Chi-yi 14p(9-10 FT)
Russia 77-69 Australia
Rus - Alexandre Chernov 24p(10-17)+6rb+4a, Maxim Pertsev 14p, Denis Sevastianov 12p+8rb, Vladimir Pevnev 12p+6rb
Aus - Walter Brown 16p+7rb, Michael Kinoma 15p, Dave Simmons 8p+9rb
Philippines 97-92 South Korea
Phi - Edgar Echavez 22p+7rb+4a, Jeffrey Flowers 12p, Billy Mamaril 11p+7rb, Bruce Dacia 10p, Romel Adducul 10p+6rb