Saturday, November 27, 2004

Stankovic Cup Final Day – Qatar slams Korea for Asian title

It’s only fit that Qatari players were awarded the gold medals from FIBA Asia President Sheikh Saud Bin Ali Al-Thani, who’s also from Qatar. For now, Qatar can claim it’s the best team in Asia, period.

The final day of the 1st FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup left no suspense like previous days as Qatar slamed injury-depleted Korea 82-65 in the championship game and host Taiwan routed Syria, who’s also hurt by injuries of key players, 82-60.

Under hard-working American coach Joseph Stiebing, Qatar will be now looking forward to better results in the upcoming 2005 Asian Championship, 2006 World Championships for Men in Japan, and 2006 Asian Games in Doha, where Qatar will be the host.

Final placing of the FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup tournament:
1. Qatar, 2. Korea, 3. Taiwan, 4. Syria, 5. Japan, 6. India, 7. Kuwait, 8. Philippines

Qatar 82, Korea 65
Yasseen Ismail Mousa had 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting and turned the basketball court into his playground. A couple of Mousa’s alley-oop dunks were the highlight of the night which Qatar enjoyed as Asian’s No.1.

E.A. Saeed also scored 26 points, mostly inside the paint where Qatar dominated. Qatar shot an amazing 73% in two-point range and led 40-14 on rebounding.

Qatar used the height advantage to jump in front in the first minute and never gave up the lead. The game was already over before halftime, when the score was 52-19. Korea wasn’t able to mount any comeback in the second half, mostly trailing by more than twenty points.

Korea’s chance of beating Qatar was already slim when it lost its starting PG Kim Tae-sul two days ago. The chance was even slimmer when Korea’s top scorer Cho Sung-min hurt his ankle in the second quarter. Cho sat out the remaining game.

Taiwan 82, Syria 60
Taiwan walked out the horrible slump and beat the short-handed Syria 82-60 in the third-place game. Tien Lei scored 15 of his team-high 16 points in the second half as Taiwan opened up the game with an 18-5 run early in the fourth quarter.

Tien Lei, who had only one point in the first half, made three straight three-pointers to spark the fourth quarter rally, which was concluded by five straight points from Chen Hsin-an. With the run Taiwan turned a nine-point lead into 22-point, 68-46.

Taiwan finally showed their energy following consecutive losses to Korea and Qatar. They moved the ball well and shot the ball better, making 11 three-pointers in the game. Wu Dai-hao operated in the paint and scored all of his 10 points in the first half.

Syria was plagued by the absence of leading scorer Michel Madanli and M.S. Sharif as both players were forced to sit out due to injury. Point guard M. Albo Sada had 13 points to pace the Syrians.

Japan 75, India 65
K. Komiya scored 10 of Japan’s final 12 points as Japan beat India 75-65 to finished fifth-place in the Stankovic Cup. Tomoo Amino kept his strong showing in the tournament with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Sparked by 173cm PG H. Kashiwakura’s five straight points, Japan pulled away and lead 59-45 in the end of the third quarter. Japan led 68-54 with five minutes to go. India’s M.S. Ahmed and S. Robinson made eight free-throws to cut the deficit to eight with less than two minutes remaining. But K. Komiya also countered with four straight free-throws to secure the victory.

Although Japan only finished for the fifth-place in the tourney, the team can fly back to Tokyo with all smiles. Japan had four wins in five games and was out of the semi because of point differential. It shows dramatic improvement on defense and boosted its confidence on offense.

Kuwait 88, Philippines 66
Philippines gave Kuwait a good fight in the first half, trailing by only one 44-43. O. Mubarak was determined not to let Kuwait lose to a Filipino college team though. Mubarak had 32 points and 11 rebounds as Kuwait pulled away in the second half. Philippines lost all five games in the tournament by a humiliating 36.6-point margin.

Final Day Game Summary

Championship Game: Qatar 82-65 Korea (Half 52-27)
Qatar – Y.I. Mousa 28p(11-14 FG)+14rb, E.A. Saeed 26p+6rb
Korea – Chu Cheol-min 25p(7 3PT), Chun Jung-kyu 11p, Kang Eun-sik 10p

Third-place Game: Taiwan 82-60 Syria (Half 29-25)
Taiwan – Tien Lei 15p(4 3PT)+4a+2s, Chang Chi-feng 15p, Chen Hsin-an 13p+5a, Chou Shih-yuan 10p, Wu Dai-hao 10p, Tsun Wen-din 4p+8rb+7blk
Syria – M. Abo Sada 13p+7rb, W. Yakoub 9p+7rb+3blk

5/6 place Game: Japan 75-65 India (Half 39-36)
Japan – T. Amino 20p+11rb, K. Komiya 14p, K. Takeuchi 4p+15rb
India – M.S. Ahmed 22p, S. Robinson 17p

7/8 place Game: Kuwait 88-66 Philippines (Half 44-43)
Kuwait – O. Mubarak 32p+11rb, S. Hasan 18p+5rb
Philippines – B. Ilad 15p+13rb, M. Baracael 17p

Friday, November 26, 2004

Stankovic Cup Day 6 – Korea, Qatar win semi, will meet in final game

In the most important game of the tournament, Taiwan NT didn’t play like a home team. They didn’t even play like a TEAM at all. Qatar outscored Taiwan 41-26 in the second half and came up with a convincing 71-49 victory in the semi final of the Stankovic Cup tournament. Qatar will meet Korea, which beat Syria 88-82 in the other semi final, in the championship game.

In a tournament full of surprises, it’s not really a surprise anymore that both second-place teams in the group advance to the championship game while two group winners meet for third-place.

19-year-old phenom S. Abdulrahman Ali tallied 18 points and 14 rebounds. He scored seven straight points in the start of the fourth quarter to increase Qatar’s lead from nine to 16 points (46-30). With its height advantage, Qatar dominated the paint as star forward Y. I. Mousa had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Both teams struggled to put the ball in the basket in the first three quarters. Six minutes into the game, Qatar led by 7-3. In the end of the first period it was 15-8, Qatar. Thee score was 30-23 Qatar at halftime.

Taiwan NT looked like a group of lost souls in the whole game. For the second consecutive night, they had a hard time to score. Taiwan NT also had trouble containing Qatar’s power frontline downlow. Team leading scorer Chen Hsin-an had only five before the intermission.

The only HIGHLIGHT for Taiwan in the game was in the fourth quarter, Lin Chi-jay and Tien Lei made three consecutive threes to pull within 49-39. But Qatar kept their composure, oce again pulling away with a 22-10 closing run.

In the other semi final, Syria jumpstarted the game with its efficient half-court game to lead 31-17 with 7:30 to go in the second quarter. But Korea, with its starting PG Kim Tae-sul out of the game due to ankle injury, picked up their outside shooting and cut the deficit to 44-41 at halftime.

Syria lost its heart and soul Michel Madanli, who hurt his ankle and sat out the second half. Faciing a 21-46 rebounding disadvantage, Korea shot an astonishing 14 of 34 (41%) on three-pointers to be in front the rest of the way and made it to the championship game.

■Final Day Schedule
Championship: Korea vs. Qatar
Third-place: Taiwan vs. Syria
5/6: Japan vs. India
7/8: Kuwait vs. Philippines

■Day 6 Game Summary
Qatar 71-48 Taiwan (Half 30-23)
Qatar - S.Abdulraman Ali 18p+14rb, Y.I. Mousa 13p+13rb, Ali Turki Ali 13p
Taiwan - Tien Lei 17p+6rb, Chou Shi-yuan 14p, Chen Hsin-an 5p+5rb, Tsun Wen-din 2p+9rb+5blk

Korea 88-82 Syria (Half 42-44)
Korea - Lee Kwan-jae 22p, Cho Sung-min 18p, Kang Eun-sik 17p, Kim Dong-uk 12p
Syria - M. Samman 16p, M. Madanli 13p+12rb. R. Hasaballah 14p+8rb,O. Madani 13p+7rb

Japan 61-48 Kuwait (Half 35-24)
Japan - T. Amino 15p+12rb, K. Takeuchi 11p+15rb, S. Furuta 10p+7rb
Kuwait - O. Mubarak 24p

India 111-93 Philippines (Half 52-36)
India - S. Kumar 25p+6rb, S. Sridhar 23p+8rb, S. Robinson 18p+12rb+4a, M. Ahmed 14p+7rb
Philippines - B. Reroma 24p, R. Ricafuente 17p, E. Merelos 17p

Chen Talks

Chen Hsin-an, who is back to Taiwan for the Stankovic Cup, sat down with reporters and talked about his life in the ABA. Chen will be back to U.S. and join ABA's Orange County Crush on Nov. 30. Chen is the first Taiwanese player to sign with an North American pro team.

On his life in southern California:

I lived with one of my relatives at first before moving to the team hotel. Later I was able to drive myself to practice and back. But I try not to go to anywhere I'm not familiar with and keep myself from getting lost.(Laugh) I always enjoy American food, so basically I have no problem with daily meals. I think I'm doing just fine.

On Crush teammates and coaches:

My coaches and teammates have been very supportive and friendly. As the only international player on the team, I didn't feel any discrimination. Everyone treats me well and accept me as a teammate. I really can't ask for more.

On why he decided to go to U.S. this year:

I'm already 24 and there're only so many chances you can have in life. I really want to compete on a higher level for a long period of time, not just a short tournament, in order to test and improve myself. Probably I'll look bad at first, but I really want to have that chance to play in the U.S.

On why he signed with Crush, an ABA team, instead of NBDL or CBA:

My job is to focus on the court and the games. I let John Kim, my agent, take care of it. I will play for any team if that can make me better.

On his personal goal for the season:

Right now I'm probably the 7th or 8th man on the team. I try not to be too greedy at first. I want to be a starter, improve my defense, and average at least 10 points per game.

On Yuta Tabuse's inspiration:

My coach Earl Cureton coached Tabuse last season in the Long Beach Jam. Coaches have been saying Tabuse is too short to play in the NBA. But now look at Tabuse. He is in Phoenix. That proves if you keep trying and working hard, you will always give yourself an opportunity. If you don't have any opportunity to play in the NBA, it won't be because you are an Asian player or you are too short. Tabuse really inspires me to keep chasing my NBA dream.

His suggestions for Taiwanese top players(like Tien Lei), who want to play overseas:

Keep improving. Keep learning. Keep trying. And make yourself stronger. Tien Lei is very gifted but he's too skinny.

Thursday, November 25, 2004

Stankovic Cup Day 5 – One more surprise, Korea routs Taiwan by 19

One more surprise before moving on to the next stage. One day after a shocking loss to India, South Korea got back their shooting touch and routed Taiwan 94-75 on its home court, thus bumping India out of the Stankovic Cup semifinal.

With three upsets in two nights, suddenly the Stankovic Cup provided all the drama as expected. Six of eight teams finished the preliminary round with 2-1. You have Japan surprising Qatar, India edging Korea, and finally Korea stomping Taiwan by 19 points.

Which pretty much tells you that anything can happen in the next two days.

Cho Sung-min scored 15 points, including Korea’s last 12 points, en route to a game-high 29 points. Korean had five players scoring in double-figure and shot an impressive 12 of 25 three-pointers in a physical and exciting game.

Korea used a 17-0 run in the second quarter and a 16-0 run spanning from late third to early fourth quarter to secure the victory. It’s interesting because they didn’t look like a team which lost to India the night before at all.

Chen Hsin-an once again was the only one Taiwan NT could go to tonight. Chen shot 10-for-18 from the field and led Taiwan with 23 points. His teammates simply couldn’t throw a basket in the ocean. Taiwan NT was 5-for-26 from the three.

Although Taiwan still led Group A, head coach Hu Tsai-lin was all sorry after the game for letting the fans down.

Chen Hsin-an scored 10 of Taiwan’s first 11 points in the game as Taiwan led 22-11 after six minutes and 29-24 in the end of the first quarter. 202cm F/C Wu Dai-hao had seven points in the opening period.

Korean’s hot shooting and Taiwan’s inability to score during the first seven minutes in the second quarter set the tone for the game. Korea pulled away with a 17-0 run.

Taiwan made a run for its own. Chen Hsin-an and Tien Lei combined 13 points in a 19-7 thrid quarter run as Taiwan took the lead, 62-61, with 2:20 to go in the third. But Korea scored the next five points to start the game-deciding 16-0 run.

■Day 5 Game Summary
Korea 94-75 Taiwan (Half 49-43)
Korea – Cho Sung-min 29p, No Kyoung-suk 14p, Kang Eun-sik 13p, Kim Tae-sul 11p, Kim Dong-uk 11p
Taiwan – Chen Hsin-an 23p+6rb, Chang Chi-feng 12p, Tien Lei 11p+6rb

Japan 106-46 Philippines (Half 59-18)
Japan – T. Amino 19p, S. Furuta 14p+6rb, S. Ito 14p+6rb, K. Takeuchi 8p+13rb, J. Takeuchi 4p+11rb, K. Igarashi 13p, R. Sakurai 12p
Philippines – M. Bara 11p

India 71-63 Kuwait (Half 38-29)
India – S. Kumar 21p, S. Robinson 14p+18rb+6a+3s+6blk
Kuwait – O. Mubarak 24p+9rb+5blk, A. Albrahim 14p+6rb+4a

■Final Preliminary Standings
Group A
Taiwan 2-1
Korea 2-1
India 2-1
Kuwait 0-3
(Tie-breaker – Point differential: Taiwan +18, Korea +14, India -32)

Group B
Syria 2-1
Qatar 2-1
Japan 2-1
Philippines 0-3
(Tie-breaker – Point differential: Syria +15, Qatar +6, Japan -21)

■Day 6 Schedule
India(A3) vs. Philippines(B4)
Japan(B3) vs. Kuwait(A4)
Semi: Korea(A2) vs. Syria(B1)
Semi: Taiwan(A1) vs. Qatar(B2)

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Stankovic Cup Day 4 – Robinson’s 36 leads India upset Korea, 81-76

206cm center Sozhasingarayer Robinson scored 36 points, including two game-deciding free-throws with 1.4 seconds remaining to boost the lead to five points, as India pulled out a shocking upset over South Korea 81-76 in the Stankovic Cup tournament.

We don’t have any historical record on hand, but this is probably India’s first win over South Korea in history on every basketball level. And now you know why Robinson got down on his knee and kissed the basketball court after the final buzzer sounded.

India and Korea is both 1-1 in Group A. But because of this key win, India will make the semifinal if Taiwan beat Korea tomorrow.

Robinson totally dominated the Koreans in the game. He scored on dunks, fadaway jumpers, putbacks, finger-rolls, free-throws. Everything. With Korea coming back from a 14-point deficit in the end of third quarter and taking a one-point lead with 1:13 to go, Robinson calmly swished a 14-foot jumper to put India back on top, 77-76. India never gave up the lead after that.

Robinson made sure the Korean All-Stars will remember him for the rest of their lives. He made both free-throws with 1.4 seconds remaining to increasing India’s lead to five points. And the rest is history.

Korea couldn’t buy a basket in the first three quarter. Worst yet, they didn’t have a clue on how to stop Robinson. India led by three in the end of first and five at halftime. India’s opened the second half with an 18-6 run to take the largest lead of the game, 57-40.

Korean College All-Stars finally woke up in the final ten minutes. Cho Sung-min had 14 points, including three back-breaking three-pointers, in a furious 21-3 rally as Korea suddenly changed the momentum and took the lead 69-65 with six minutes to go.

You won’t find any drama in the other matchup though. Syria stomped Philippines 96-65. M.N. Samman led Syria with 27 points. Michael Madanli had 25 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. 210cm center Wissam Yakoub tallied 10 points, 8 rebounds and three blocks. Brian Ilad’s 16 points and 11 rebounds topped Philippines.

Standings
Group A: Taiwan 2-0, India 1-1, Korea 1-1, Kuwait 0-2
Group B: Syria 2-1, Qatar 2-1, Japan 1-1, Philippines 0-2

Stankovic Cup Day 4 – Japan’s upset win not enough for semifinal seed

Japan won, but Qatar advanced. It’s cruel, but it’s that simple.

Japan pulled up the first upset of the tournament today when they rallied and beat Qatar 70-65. However, because of the 26-point loss to Syria, Japan’s chance of making the semifinal came down a couple baskets short.

If Japan beat Philippines tomorrow, which is 99% possible, Japan, Syria and Qatar will be 2-1 all in wins and losses. The first tie-breaker compares head-to-head record, which three teams are the same at 1-1. It takes them to the second tie-breaker – point differential.

In this case, Syria jumps to number one with 15 points-plus, Qatar second with 6 points-plus, while Japan finished last with 21 points-minus. That explains why Qatar lost the game but got the semifinal seed.

However, Japan did shock Qatar today with a tough interior defense and quickness. With the inside presence of twin brothers Joji and Kosuke Takeuchi, both 6-7, Japan limited Qatar’s inside attack and trailed by only two, 34-36, at the half.

Thanks to Qatar’s poor foul-shooting and a 23-14 third quarter, Japan took control of the momentum in the second half. Before the game is done Qatar made the final push, Erfan Ali Saeed scored three points and cut the lead to 68-64 with 1:33 to go. Both team failed to make shot in the next two minutes.

With one minute remaining, Yasseen Ismail Mousa blanked two free-throws, missing a wonderful opportunity to cut the deficit to one basket. Japan’s point guard Kei Igarashi drove the lane and made a high-arching finger-roll, increasing the lead to five points and the final score, 70-65.

As a team, Qatar made only 12 of 25 free-throws and passed for only 7 assists in the game. They have to improve on both categories in the semi in order to do better.

Qatar and Syria both clinched a semifinal birth and the ticket to the next Asian Championship. Top five teams in the Stankovic Cup receive the automatic seeds in the 2005 Asian Championships.

Japan 70-65 Qatar (Half 34-36)
Japan – J. Takeuchi 17p+10rb+2s+2blk, R. Sakurai 14p, Y. Saito 10p, K. Takeuchi 7p+6rb+2blk
Qatar – A.T. Ali 18p, Y.I. Mousa 16p+8rb+3s, E.A. Saeed 12p+8rb

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Stankovic Cup Day 3 – Chen Hsin-an leads Taiwan past Kuwait

Once again, Taiwan NT rided on Chen Hsin-an’s shoulder. Chen had a game-high 20 points as Taiwan won its second straight after a 94-56 win over Kuwait.

Kuwait gave the home team a scare in the first quarter, when they trailed 20-21. In the last 30 minutes Taiwan NT showed no mercy, making 13 of 35 three-pointers in the game as a team to lead by as many as 40 points.

With its height advantage, Tien Lei, Wu Dai-hao and Tsun Wen-din also were able to score on putbacks and dunks on numerous occasions. Taiwan NT also scored a lot on fastbreaks, taking advantage of rebounding and Kuwait’s slowness to get back on defense.

Taiwan 94-56 Kuwait (Half 43-28)
Taiwan - Chen Hsin-an 20p+5rb, Tien Lei 11p+9rb, Chang Chi-feng 11p
Kuwait - O.Mubarak 17p+9rb, S. Hasan 12p

Standings:
Group A: Taiwan 2-0, Korea 1-0, India 0-1, Kuwait 0-2
Group B: Qatar 2-0, Syria 1-1, Japan 0-1, Philippines 0-1

Stankovic Cup Day 3 – Qatar rallies to win West Asia showdown

Qatar avoided the potential upset with a 28-10 third quarter rally to beat Syria 86-75 in the most exciting game so far in the Stankovic Cup. 19 year-old Saad Abdulrahman Ali and Yasseen Ismail Mousa each scored 20 points as Qatar led Group B with 2-0 after winning the West Asia showdown.

Surprisingly, Qatar trailed 36-46 to a highly-organized and efficient Syrian offense. A switch to two-three zone worked wonder. Qatar frustrated Syria’s outside shooting and controlled the paint. A three-pointer by Mohammed Seleem Abdulla put Qatar on top, 51-50, with 5:15 left in the quarter.

Qatar dominated the quarter which included at least five dunks by Mousa and Omer Abdergader Salem, and turned a 10-point halftime deficit into an 8-point lead in the end of third quarter.

Syria refused to give up. Led by Madanli, who was shut out in the third after scoring 17 in the first half, Syria made the score 80-75 with two minutes remaining. Madanli scored 11 straight points during a four-minute stretch.

A looseball foul call on A.A. Abdallah with 1:44 remaining drove Syrian head coach Sherif Osman Ayazmy crazy. Ayazmy challenged the referee on court and was ejected. Mousa made three of four ensuing free throws and iced the game.

Michael Madanli had 31 points after scoring 33 in the first game. He was obvious the brightest star so far in the first two days of the tournament.

Qatar 86-75 Syria (Half 36-46)
Qatar – S. Abdulrahman Ali 20p+4a+4s, Y. I. Mousa 20p+7rb+4s, O.A. Salem 13p+5rb+3blk
Syria – M. Madanli 31p(7-18 FG)+8rb+4a+4s, M.N. Samman 16p+5a

Monday, November 22, 2004

Stankovic Cup Day 2 – Korea and Qatar cruise

The second day of the Tournament made you wonder maybe this competition should split into two divisions. South Korea routed Kuwait 92-64 and Qatar beat Philippines 105-53 with only a handful of fans witnessing on the sideline.

So far Taiwan and South Korea are obvious the teams to beat in Group A. In Group B, Qatar and Syria led with 1-0. Japan is the only team that is capable of pulling an upset and makes the semifinal, if they can somehow manage to beat Qatar.

Standings:
Group A: Taiwan 1-0, Korea 1-0, Kuwait 0-1, India 0-1
Group B: Qatar 1-0, Syria 1-0, Japan 0-1, Philippines 0-1

Sunday, November 21, 2004

Stankovic Cup Day 1 – Taiwan, Syria open with blowout wins

The first edition of FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup opened with two blowout games in the first day of action. A new-and-improved Chen Hsin-an had 16 points and led Taiwan NT to a 98-61 victory over India, while Syria routed Japan 82-56.

Taiwan and India looked like two teams on different levels. Taiwan NT turned every missed shot and defensive rebound into a fastbreak, leading 26-6 in the end of the first quarter and declared the game over.

Chen Hsin-an, who joined the team after practicing with Orange County Crush of ABA for the first time, made 4 of 10 three-pointers and looked extremely confident. Taiwan NT made the game a 40-minutes garbage time and fastbreak drill, leading by more than 30 points before the end of third quarter.

Taiwan had six players scoring in double-digit.

In the opening game, Syria didn’t look like a team whose flight had been delayed for almost two days in Jordan because of a heavy fog and arrived in the gym just 30 minutes before tip-off. Syria opened the game which they never trailed with a 10-0 run and pounded Japan with inside advantage.

There’s more. Syria’s Michael Madanli tortured Japan with his deft shooting touch. Madanli scored a game-high 33 points on 12-for-23 shooting and made 7 of 12 foulshots to go with 5 rebounds and 4 steals.

Japan went through a cold shooting night and never found the basket, shooting an abysmal 31-for-71, including 3-for-23 behind the three-point line. Worst yet, they committed 23 turnovers. Ryota Sakurai led Japan with 10 points.

Syria 82-56 Japan
Syria – M. Madanli 33p+5rb+4s, M. Samman 15p+6rb, R. hasaballah 12p+8rb
Japan – R. Sakurai 10p, S. Furuta 9p+7rb, J. Takeuchi 9p+8rb, K. Takeuchi 2p+10rb

Taiwan 98-61 India
Taiwan – Chen Hsin-an 16p, Tsun Wen-din 15p, Tien Lei 14p, Chou Shih-yuan 12p,, Chang Chi-feng 11p, Wu Dai-hao 11p
India – S. Robinson 10p+9rb+3blk

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Taiwan NT finishes Korea trip 2-3

Taiwan NT lost to Korean All-Stars 68-91 and finished the warmup tour 2-3. The team will be back to Taiwan tomorrow and get ready for the Stankovic Cup with two-a-day sessions, assistant coach Chou Hai-jung said.

Taiwan NT trailed the whole game in part because of foul trouble. Tien Lei and Wu Dai-hao both had three fouls already in the first quarter. Tien commited his fourth foul in the second quarter.

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Stankovic Cup - Iran pulls out, Taiwan NT roster finalized

According to CTBA press release, FIBA Asia confirmed Iran had officially pulled out of the Stankovic Cup, which is now an 8-team tournament.

Taiwan NT also finalized its 12-man roster today. Wu Chih-yuan(injury), Chen Shi-nian and Yang Chin-ming were cut. Chen Hsin-an, who is with ABA's Orange County Crush right now, will join Taiwan NT on Nov. 18th.

Game schedule is revised as below:

*Participating Teams
GroupA: Korea, Kuwait, India, Chinese Taipei
GroupB: Qatar, Syria, Phillippines, Japan

*Competition Schedule
(Local Time)

November 21
15:00 B Syria - Japan
17:00 Opening Ceremony
18:00 A India - Chinese Taipei

November 22
18:00 A Korea - Kuwait
20:00 B Qatar - Phillippines

November 23
18:00 B Syria - Qatar
20:00 A Chinese Taipei - Kuwait

November 24
16:00 B Qatar - Japan
18:00 B Phillippines - Syria
20:00 A India - Korea

November 25
16:00 A Kuwait - India
18:00 B Japan - Phillippines
20:00 A Korea - Chinese Taipei

November 26
14:00 5-8 A3 - B4
16:00 5-8 B3 - A4
18:00 S Final A1 - B2
20:00 S Final B1 - A2

November 27
14:00 7/8 place game
16:00 5/6 place game
18:00 3rd-place game
20:00 Final
21:45 Closing Ceremony

Taiwan NT final roster for the Stankovic Cup

Manager: Lee Chin-chi
Head Coach: Hu Tsai-lin
Assistant Coach: Chou Hai-jung, Fu Min-jen

Players:

Tsun Wen-din 1984.07.06 C 202 86
Chen Hsin-an 1980.07.01 F 196 90
Chou Shih-yuan 1983.11.16 G/F 185 80
Lee Hsueh-lin 1984.01.31 G 176 75
Chang Chi-feng 1981.04.22 G/F 182 84
Lee Chi-yi 1978.10.27 C/F 200 90
Tien Lei 1983.06.01 C/F 202 86
Wang Chih-chun 1982.04.23 G 180 75
Lee Fong-yong 1980.12.15 C/F 197 89
Yang Che-yi 1978.10.20 F 193 85
Lin Chi-jay 1982.06.11 F 193 92
Wu Dai-hao 1985.02.07 C/F 202 98

Taiwan NT lost to Chung-Ang Univ., 81-96

Taiwan NT dropped to 2-2 in the 5-game warmup tour in Korea after a 81-96 defeat to Chung-Ang University. Wu Dai-hao, who was injured yesterday still suited up for the game and had 15 points. Tien Lei and Chou Shih-yuan had 11 points respectively. Lee Chi-yi, Lee Fong-yong and Chang Chi-feng scored 9 points each.

Taiwan NT will face Korea All-Star, which will be coming to Taiwan for the Stankovic Cup, tomorrow in the last warmup game.

Monday, November 15, 2004

Taiwan NT beat Konkuk Univ. to go 2-1 in tour

Tien Lei had 18 points as Taiwan NT beat Konkuk University to go 2-1 in the 5-game warmup tour in Korea. With two more injured players -- Wu Dai-hao(chest) and Lin Chi-jay(ankle) -- along with previous injured Tsun Wen-din and Chen Shi-nian, Taiwan NT will be short-handed in two remaining games. Wu and Lin are not expected to play in Korea but will be ready for the Stankovic Cup, Taiwan coaching staff said. Chou Shi-yuan scored 14 in the third game of the tour. Lee Fong-yong had 9 while Wu Dai-hao had 7 points before sitting out.

Sunday, November 14, 2004

Tien Lei's three-pointer lifted Taiwan NT

Tien Lei made a three-point shot with 2 seconds remaining as Taiwan NT edged Korea University 89-88 in the second warmup game in Korea. Tien Lei made four three-pointers and scored 16 points, while Chou Shi-yuan had a team-high 20 points. Lin Chi-jay and Tsun Wen-din had 10 respectively.

Saturday, November 13, 2004

Taiwan NT lost to Yonsei Univ., 74-81

Taiwan NT for the Stankovic Cup, which arrived in Seoul late last night, lost to Yonsei University 74-81 today in the first of five warmup games in South Korea. Chang Chi-feng led the team with 24 points. Chou Shi-yuan had 15, followed by Tsun Wen-din's 14 and Wu Dai-hao's 11. In addition to their Korean oppnents, Taiwan NT has to adjust to freezing temperature, which was only about 5 degree centigrade -- more than 20 degrees lower than Taiwan.

SBL tip-off will pull back one week

CTBA announced the 2004-05 SBL season will pull back one week from December 10 to December 18. It also confirmed all exhibition games will be played in Keelung City from December 9-12.

Friday, November 12, 2004

1st FIBA-ASIA Stankovic Cup Schedule

Participating Teams
GroupA: Korea, Kuwait, India, Chinese Taipei
GroupB: Qatar, Syria, I.R. Iran, Phillippines, Japan

Competition Schedule
(Local Time)

November 21
1 13:00 B Syria - Japan
2 15:00 B Phillippines - I.R. Iran
17:00 Opening Ceremony
3 18:00 A India - Chinese Taipei

November 22
4 16:00 B I.R. Iran - Syria
5 18:00 A Korea - Kuwait
6 20:00 B Qatar - Phillippines

November 23
7 16:00 B Syria - Qatar
8 18:00 B Japan - I.R. Iran
9 20:00 A Chinese Taipei - Kuwait

November 24
10 16:00 B Qatar - Japan
11 18:00 B Phillippines - Syria
12 20:00 A India - Korea

November 25
13 14:00 B I.R. Iran - Qatar
14 16:00 A Kuwait - India
15 18:00 B Japan - Phillippines
16 20:00 A Korea - Chinese Taipei

November 26
17 14:00 5-8 A3 - B4
18 16:00 5-8 B3 - A4
19 18:00 S Final A1 - B2
20 20:00 S Final B1 - A2

November 27
21 14:00 7-8 #17Loser - #18Loser
22 16:00 5-6 #17Winner - #18Winner
23 18:00 3rd Place #19Loser - #20Loser
24 20:00 Final #19Winner - #20Winner
21:45 Closing Ceremony

Thursday, November 11, 2004

Taiwan NT goes to Korea for a 5-game tour

Taiwan NT for the Stankovic Cup will go to South Korea from Nov. 12-18 for a five-game warmup tour. The team will meet various teams which includes Korea’s perennial college powerhouse Yonsei University and trim the 15-man roster down to twelve after the trip.

The inaugural FIBA Stankovic Cup will be played from Nov. 21-27 at TPEC Gymnasium, Taipei, Taiwan.

Saturday, November 06, 2004

Crush will hold press conference in Taiwan for Chen

According to SFX agent John Kim, Orange County Crush (ABA) will hold a signing press conference in Taipei for Sean Chen. Kevin Copeland, GM of the ABA Orange County Crush professional basketball team today announced the signing of Taiwanese basketball star Chen Hsin-an to the team, the first Taiwanese player to sign with a North American professional basketball team.

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Chen Hsin-an signs with Orange County Crush, SFX

Orange County Crush of the American Basketball Association signed Taiwanese player Chen Hsin-an(aka Sean Chen) to its training camp, making Chen the first player to sign with a North American ballclub.

SFX Basketball Group also announced that Sean Chen has chosen SFX Basketball as his worldwide representative.

The 6-5 Chen participated in the Sacramento Kings preseason training camp in October 2002, becoming the first player from Taiwan invited to an NBA training camp. Chen tried out for the Denver Nuggets summer league in the summer of 2003 and practiced with the National Basketball Development League’s (NBDL) Mobile Revelers.

“We are honored that Sean has chosen SFX Basketball to represent him,” said John Kim, Manager of Asia Pacific Divison. “It is our belief that Sean’s talent and ability make him a natural to play in the NBA.

“I chose SFX because they are the best in the world at representing professional basketball players,” said Chen. “It has long been a dream of mine to play in the NBA and I feel that SFX was the best choice to help me fulfill that goal.”

Chen, 24, is a member of the Taiwan National Team and plays for club team, Yulon Dinos. In 2004, he led Yulon to the SBL title and was named to the Asia-Basket All-Taiwanese SBL 2nd team, as well as to the Taiwanese Super Basketball League All-Star Game squad. In 2001, the Chen-led Dinos captured the A-League title. Chen was named MVP of the series.

Prior to joining the Dinos, Chen played for the Bank of Taiwan in the Amateur League. In 1998, he was named by the Asian Basketball Confederation as the most promising Asian junior player, along with NBA All-Star Yao Ming.