Thursday, September 25, 2003

ABC Day 3 – Taiwan beat Syria in a meaningless game

Combo guard combination Yen Shin-shu exploded for 28 points and Chen Chih-chung scored 17 as Taiwan beat Syria 94-84 today for the first win in the Asian Championship today. However, the victory doesn’t mean anything, since Taiwan is out of the final eight after two losses.

In the final preliminary game, Taiwan NT finally sees some light. Yen Shin-shu (12-17 FG) tallied 21 points in the first half, Chen Chih-chung (6-9 FG) took over in the second half, when he scored 15 of his 17 points and helped Taiwan to bounce back from the 50-51 halftime deficit and changed the momentum in the last 20 minutes.

Wu Dai-hao had 16 points and 7 rebounds for the Taiwanese, while Tien Lei turned in an outstanding game with his 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals.

M. Madanli led Iran with 22 points. M. Lmam followed with 20 points and 9 boards.

Local fans are very disappointed with the performance once again. Taiwanese media isn’t hesitant to blast the basketball association either. Several columnists expressed their disgust for the highest basketball governing body today.

Other Results:
Kazakhstan 86-82 Hong Kong
Lebanon 88-60 Uzbekistan
China 93-69 Iran
Qatar 68-47 Japan
Philippines 83-67 Jordan
Kuwait 86-81 Malaysia
Korea 121-76 India

Group Standings (Top two advance to the quarterfinals)
Group A: Lebanon 3-0, Kazakhstan 2-1, Uzbekistan 1-2, Hong Kong 0-3
Group B: Korea 3-0, India 2-1, Kuwait 1-2, Malaysia 0-3
Group C: China 3-0, Iran 2-1, Taiwan 1-2, Syria 0-3
Group D: Qatar 3-0, Japan 2-1, Philippines 1-2, Jordan 0-3