Taiwan named 8th seed in Doha Asian Games by FIBA Asia

Sources in CTBA said that Taiwan has been named by FIBA Asia as the 8th seed in men's basketball event of the 2006 Doha Asian Games and doesn't have to play in the first round as the original draw by Doha organizing committee announced.

The organizing committee announced on Sep. 9 that a new two-phase system will be implemented in Doha Asian Games men's basketball since there are as many as 20 countries enter the tournament.

Twelve countries will have to play in a four-group preliminary games in the first phase with four group winners advance to the second phase along with eight seeds in the 12-team second phase.

The organizing committee announced the eight seeds without elaborating the seeding format. On paper, it looked like the top eight teams in the 2005 Asian Championship were seeded and get to skip the first phase. Taiwan was left out of the top eight seeds.

Since 8th-place Saudi Arabia decided not sending a team to Doha, its seed will have to be replaced. However it was Kazakhstan, which finished 10th-place in 2005 Asian Championship, and not Taiwan -- 9th-place in 2005 -- was placed as the 8th seed.

FIBA Asia ruled the draw invalid and later gave Taiwan the seed it deserved. Taiwan NT head coach Lee Yun-kwang welcomed the change.

The new bracket is listed below:

First Phase
Group A: India, Macau, Bahrain
Group B: Uzbekistan, Palestine, Mongolia
Group C: Hong Kong, Syria, Afghanistan
Group D: Kuwait, Kazakhstan, UAE

Second Phase
Group A: Qatar, South Korea, Jordan, Iran, A1, C1
Group B: China, Lebanon, Japan, Taiwan, B1, D1

Taiwan will receive a bye in the first phase and is in the same second phase bracket with China, Lebanon, Japan, and winner of Group B and Group D in the first phase.

On NT news, Taiwan men's NT will leave for South Korea tomorrow for a 8-game training tour.

Asian Games 12-man roster for Taiwan NT set

Tien Lei suffered a shin injury and will be out for 4-6 weeks, thus making him questionable for the Asian Games in Doha. Veteran point guard Chen Chih-chun is out of the Asian Games for foot injury.

Name, DOB, Height, Weight
TIEN, Lei 1983.06.01 202 88
CHEN, Hsin-An 1980.07.01 196 90
WU, Yong-Jen 1982.09.22 177 75
LEE, Hsueh-Lin 1984.01.31 176 75
YANG, Chin-Min 1984.01.23 188 85
LIN, Chi-Jay 1982.06.11 192 93
CHEN, Shih-Nian 1984.04.08 182 79
CHOU, Shih-Yuan 1983.11.16 190 80
YANG, Che-Yi 1978.10.20 193 87
YUA, Ying-Li 1984.08.09 195 85
TSUN, Wen-Din 1984.07.06 202 90
LEE, Chi-Yi 1978.10.27 200 90

Taiwan couldn't hold off Cuba, drops opening game in WC

Taiwan failed to protect a 16-point lead and lost to America champion Cuba 75-70 in its opening game in the FIBA World Championship for Women. Taiwan will meet France (Euro #5) in the second prelim.

Taiwan 70-75 Cuba (47-33)
TWN - Liu Chun-yi 14+9, Tsai Pei-chen 12, Sun Chieh-ping 12, Chiang Feng-chun 12, Wen Chi 11
CUB - Y. Boulet 36+16, Plutin 20

AUB Day 2 - Taiwan beat Mongolia 90-55

Led by Hsu Wei-shen's 15 points and 8 rebounds, Taiwan All-Stars beat Mongolia 90-55 in the second day of the AUB tournament and split the first two games.

What was incredible was two teams combined for an astonishing 59 turnovers in the game (Taiwan 28, Mongolia 31.)

Myonji Univ. from Korea pounded Hong Kong All-Stars 92-72.

AUB Day 1 Results

Sep. 11
Myongji University 87-80 Taiwan All-Stars
Yen Chen-hong 19, Chien Jia-hong 14+11, Chang Yi-wen 12, Lin Yi-huei 12
Northeastern Univ. 94-70 Hong Kong All-Stars

Asian University Men's Basketball Championship to be played in Taipei

Five teams will play in the inaugural Asian University Men's Basketball Championship (AUB) from Sep. 11-17, organizers announced Sunday.

Participating teams included Mongolia, Hong Kong University All-Stars, Myongji University of South Korea, Northeastern University of China, and Taiwan University All-Stars.

A single round robin preliminary round will be followed by a crossover semifinal and final.

A trio from National Taiwan Normal University -- Su Yi-chieh, Lin Yi-huei and Chien Jia-hong -- are expected to carry the host Taiwan. Su, SBL's reigning Rookie of the Year, and Lin both play for Dacin while Chien plays for YMY.

Taiwan University All-Stars roster:

Su Yi-chieh 181cm 72kg 1987.01.28
Chen Jun-chieh 180cm 74kg 1982.06.14
Cheng Chang-jun 176cm 71kg 1980.10.11
Chen Shun-hsiang 190cm 85kg 1985.05.25
Lin Yi-huei 193cm 85kg 1986.03.24
Lu Cheng-ju 194cm 88kg 1986.08.23
Hsu Wei-shen 198cm 90kg 1986.03.23
Wang Jian-wei 190cm 91kg 1985.01.07
Hong Yin-chieh 200cm 87kg 1986.01.06
Chien Jia-hong 196cm 105kg 1987.03.06
Chang Yi-wen 185cm 84kg 1984.04.13
Yen Chen-hong 196cm 87kg 1986.02.05

Head coach: Chen Chun-cheng
Coach: Liu Jun-yeh, Chan Bing-chun

183cm Lu Chu-wei, a shooting guard, is Hong Kong's best player.

Northeastern University claimed Chinese universities title in June when they beat Guangdong University of Technology 3-1 in the University Super League. 200cm Lee Zhenyang averaged 20.8 points in the 4-game series. 196cm guard Lu yao scored 30 points in Game 4 and was named MVP.

The Chinese team also recruited four alumni for the trip, including 208cm center Gu Liye, Lu Wei (194cm), Wang Shen (190cm), and Li Xiaoxu (204cm). All four players play for Liaoning in the CBA.

Asian Games Men's basketball draw ignited controversy

2006 Doha Asian Games organizing committee announced its men's basketball draw Thursday and immediately ignited controversy as Taiwan was left out of the top eight seeds. Local report said FIBA Asia has ruled the draw invalid.

According to the organizing committee, a new two-phase system will be implemented in Doha Asian Games men's basketball since there are as many as 20 countries enter the tournament.

Twelve countries will have to play in a four-group preliminary games in the first phase with four group winners advance to the second phase along with eight seeds in the 12-team second phase.

The organizing committee announced the eight seeds without elaborating the seeding format. On paper, it looked like the top eight teams in the 2005 Asian Championship were seeded and get to skip the first phase.

Since 8th-place Saudi Arabia decided not sending a team to Doha, its seed will have to be replaced. However it was Kazakhstan, which finished 10th-place in 2005 Asian Championship, and not Taiwan -- 9th-place in 2005 -- was placed as the 8th seed.

The decision to place China (2005 Asian Championship champ), Lebanon (runner-up) and Japan (5th) in the same group in the second phase was also controversial. Observers think host Qatar placed itself in the easier group.

Min-shen Daily reported Saturday that FIBA Asia has informed the organizing committee about the questionable seeding and competition system.

FIBA Asia stated that it has the final call on the system and seeding in major Asian competitions. It will hold a re-draw and designate the play system in a future date.

Doha Asian Games organizing committee announced the men's basketball draw and play system as follows:

First Phase
Group A: India, Macau, Bahrain
Group B: Uzbekistan, Palestine, Mongolia
Group C: Hong Kong, Syria, Afghanistan
Group D: Kuwait, Taiwan, UAE

Second Phase
Group A: Qatar, South Korea, Jordan, Iran, A1, C1
Group B: China, Lebanon, Japan, Kazakhstan, B1, D1

Taiwan lost to Lebanon, finished 4th in Asian Junior Men

Taiwan Men's Junior NT lost to Lebanon 83-60 in the bronze medal game of Asian Junior Men's Championship and finished for 4th place in the tournament, failing to win a ticket to the 2007 World Jnuior Men's Championship in Vancouver, Canada.

Still, it's the best finish for Taiwan in Asian Junior Men since 2000, when it won bronze.

Taiwan lost to South Korea 72-66 in the semifinal game Friday night. China beat Lebanon 119-66 in the other semi.

Taiwan in Asia Championship for Junior Men semi

Taiwan Junior men's NT upset Kazakhstan 79-75 in its final second round game Wednesday night to advance to the semifinal of the 2006 FIBA Asia Championship for Junior Men, which is taking place in Urumqi, China.

Taiwan will meet South Korea in the semifinal Friday. Win or lose, this is going to be Taiwan's best finish in Asia Junior Men since 2000, when it finished for bronze. Taiwan was 6th- and 5th-place in 2002 and 2004.

The best finish is six years is not the only goal for Taiwan Junior. It will try to beat South Korea for one of three seeds for Asia in the World U-19 Men's Championship, which will be played in Vancouver, Canada next year.

Height disadvantage didn't stop Taiwanese from fighting for a semifinal berth, as it led from start to finish with small margins, leading 40-35 at the half. Chang Tsun-hsien and Lo Yu-chun had 19 points each, while center Tsai Jun-ming scored 14 points.

China will meet Lebanon in the other semifinal game.

2006 Taiwan Junior NT

Yang Cheng-lun, 178cm PG
Lo Yu-chun, 185cm PG
Peng Jun-yen, 182cm PG
Wu Min-shien, 186cm SG
Lin Yi-fu, 186cm SG/SF
Hu Yu-cheng, 185cm SG
Chang Tsun-shien, 188cm SF
Hsieh Chen-yang, 192cm PF
Wu Jian-long, 194cm PF
Chen Yao-ting, 195cm PF
Tsai Jun-min, 196cm C
Wu Hong-shin, 200cm C

Head coach: Tien Ben-yu
Assistant coach: Hsieh Yu-chuan

Taiwan women's NT for 2006 World Championship

Head Coach: HUNG, Ling-Yao
Coach: WANG, Ling
Assistant Coach: CHANG, Hui-Yin

Name D.O.B Height Weight
CHEN, Yi-Feng 1984.11.13 171 56
CHIEN, Wei-Chuan 1971.03.08 171 60
CHIANG, Feng-Chun 1981.10.25 183 78
SUN, Chieh-Ping 1983.01.10 172 61
LAN, Jui-Yu 1983.08.02 170 62
CHU, Yung-Hsu 1981.01.08 177 69
WEN, Chi 1984.10.15 167 58
LIN, Hui-Mei 1981.12.11 177 76
LIN, Chi-Wen 1983.08.19 186 65
TSAI, Pei-Chen 1984.05.27 186 78
LIU, Chun-Yi 1981.01.23 180 78
LEE, Wan-Ting 1986.12.23 180 69
CHEN, Yu-Chun 1987.03.07 176 70

Taiwan U-18's roadblock to semi - Kazakhstan

Taiwan men's U-18 will face Kazakhstan in the final second round game Wednesday night to vie for a seed in the Asian U-18 semifinals in Urumqi, China, after splitting its last two games.

Taiwan was routed by China, 101-57, as expected Tuesday with Chang Tsun-shien again leading the team in scoring with 21 points. The team beat Kuwait 107-76 Monday. A victory over Kazakhstan will put Taiwan in the second place in Group I, behind China.

But it will not be easy. Half of Kazak players played in this year's Jones Cup and showed enormous potential. The leader of the pack is 6-10 forward/center Anton Ponomarev, who averaged 20.1 points (#3) and 9.1 rebounds (#2) in the Jones Cup.

Taiwan head coach Tien Ben-yu made clear Ponomarev will be the primary concern for Taiwanese defense. Dmitriy Klimov is another player to keep an eye on.

Injured Chen Yao-ting and Lin Yi-fu are questionable for the game, which hurt the Taiwanese because both have been starters.

Taiwan is expected to counter Kazakhstan, who has the height advantage, with zone defense, Tien said.

Taiwan Junior wins preliminary group in Asian U-18 Men

Led by Chang tsun-hsien's 20 points, Taiwan U-18 men's NT routed Singapore 78-41 Sunday and wrapped up the preliminaries in the Asian U-18 Men's Championship, which is taking place in Urumqi, China, with its third straight easy wins. Taiwan won Group A and will face Kuwait in the second round tonight.

Eight second-round qualifiers are bracketed into two groups:

Group I - A1 Taiwan, B2 Kazakhstan, C1 China, D2 Kuwait
Group II - A2 Iran, B1 Korea, C2 Japan, D1 Lebanon

Group II are regarded as the tougher group as it was packed with the defending champ Iran, Korea -- runner-up two years ago, and Lebanon, which ranked third in 2004.

Lebanon Junior is led by Paul Coughter, Lebanon's head coach in the World Men's Championship in Japan.

Taiwan women's NT head for Brazil without center Cheng

Taiwan women's NT left for Brazil for the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women Saturday without starting center Cheng Huei-yun, who made the painful decision to sit out the competition because of a severe knee injury.

Cheng's absence will hurt Taiwan a great deal, as she was basically Taiwan's only inside presence with international experience. Without Cheng, the team will have rely even heavier on its outside shooting and speed.

What's worse. Veteran Chien Wei-chuan (Rosa Chien), one of the most respectable guards in Asia, sustained a left hand injury and had six stitches on the eve of departure. Chien's injury obviously caused another concern.

Taiwan women's NT is bracketed in the same group with Czech Republic, Cuba and France. Head coach Hung Ling-yao said Czech will be the toughest opponent in the group and her team will have to beat either Cuba or France in order to go to the next round.

In its 4th appearance in the prestigious event, Taiwan women's NT will try to go for its best finish in history. Taiwan finished 12th, 14th and 14th respectively in 1986, 1994 and 2002.

Taiwan 2-0 in Asian U-18 Men's Championship

Taiwan NT is now 2-0 in the prelims at the 2006 Asian U-18 Men's Championship, which is being held in Urumqi, China, after beating defending champ Iran and India.

Taiwan routed Iran 87-59 in its opening game Friday as Chang Tsun-hsien led the team with 21 points. Chen Yao-ting had 18 points and 8 boards while center Tsai Chun-ming added 16 and 9.

Another lopsided win followed on Saturday, when Taiwan pounded India 96-54.

Interestingly, what was buzzing Urumqi was the team's female coaches -- Tian Pen-yu (Hsin-jung HS) and Hsieh Yu-chuan (San-min HS.) Maybe it's rare to see a men's national team coaching staff conprised exclusively by women.