Taiwan NT enters the East Asian Qualification without its top players. Chen Hsin-an and Lin Chi-jay, both top wing players in Taiwan, and Wang Chih-chun, one of the top point guards, all withdrew because of injuries.
Fortunately, it’s only the qualification stage and other countries are not sending their top players either. Under FIBA Asia rule, five of the six participating teams will get the East Asia Zone seeds for the Asian Championship.
Head coach Lee Yun-kwang admitted that most of the players are tired after a grueling SBL season, which concluded on May 16. Taiwan NT departed for China after practicing for only four days.
Lee said the goal for the tournament is getting the seed, so he will not put too much pressure on the players. For Taiwan, beating Mongolia and Hong Kong shouldn’t be too hard.
Taiwan NT game schedule:
5/26 21:00 Japan
5/27 21:00 Mongolia
5/28 19:00 China
5/29 21:00 South Korea
5/30 21:00 Hong Kong
Taiwan NT Roster:
Chen Chih-chun (Yulon)
Lee Hsueh-lin (Yulon)
Chou Shih-yuan (Yulon)
Tsun Wen-din (Yulon)
Tien Lei (Dacin)
Chang Chi-feng (Dacin)
Chen Shih-nian (TB)
Ho Sho-jen (TB)
Yang Che-yi (VL)
Lee Chi-yi (VL)
Yang Yu-min (ETSN)
Wu Dai-hao (ETSN)
Yang Chin-min (BOT)