Taiwan NT suffered the first loss in East Asian Games after losing to China 68-65 today. Facing a Chinese team with mostly second-tier players, Taiwan led by as many as 11 points in the first half but failed to contain China's three-point shooting. Yang Yu-ming committed a turnover in the last possession.
Taiwan is now 2-1 in the tournament. China is 3-0. Tien Lei led Taiwan with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Yang Che-yi and Chen Chih-chun each scored 10 points. Taiwan led 39-33 at halftime. Overall, the result is acceptable although China featured only one key player Yi Jianlian from the REAL national team.
However, Taiwan NT almost became the victim of upset yesterday, escaping with a 76-74 win over underdog Hong Kong. Head coach Lee Yun-kwang blasted the team for a whole hour after the game. In other games yesterday, China beat Japan 70-57, South Korea beat Mongolia 86-57.