Taiwan NT defeated Japan and Mongolia in the first two games in the East Asian qualification in Guangdong, China and secured its ticket to the Asian Championship, which will be held in Qatar later this year.
Led by Tien Lei’s 25 points, Taiwan beat Japan 73-61 in the opening game. The following night center Wu Dai-hao scored 17 points in a balanced attack to help Taiwan beat Mongolia 88-73.
Taiwan, minus top players Chen Hsin-an and Lin Chi-jay, opened the game vs. Japan with a 20-8 run and led the whole game. Tien Lei had 25 points and 8 rebounds, follwed by Tsun Wen-din’s 15 points and 9 rebounds. SG Chang Chi-feng scored 10 points.
Joji Takeuchi led Japan with 13 and 7.
Taiwan cruised in the second game vs. Mongolia with all 12 players seeing action. Wu Dai-hao had 17 points, followed by Chen Chih-chun’s 14, Chou Shih-yuan’s 12, Chang Chi-feng’s 11 and Yang Yu-min’s 10 points.
Taiwan NT, however, showed one of their most glaring weaknesses as they trailed Mongolia in rebounding 37-47, allowing 20 offensive rebounds.
East Asian Qualification scores:
May 26
Taiwan 73-61 Japan
China 94-70 Mongolia
Korea 93-69 Hong Kong
May 27
Taiwan 88-73 Mongolia
China 77-56 Hong Kong
Korea 73-64 Japan
Standings:
Taiwan 2-0, China 2-0, Korea 2-0, Japan 0-2, Mongolia 0-2, Hong Kong 0-2