Players reported to Taiwan NT training camp for the East Asian Basketball Championship (EABC) Tuesday as Taiwan NT head coach Chou Jun-san nominated Liu Hua-lin as his second assistant.
Nineteen of 24 players on the preliminary rosters reported to the camp in Taipei for the preparation of the EABC which will be held in Nanjing, China from June 8 to June 15.
The 2011 EABC is the qualifying tournament for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship, which will be held in Wuhan, Hubei, China in September. The three best teams, excluding China, qualify for 2011 FIBA Asia Championship.
Five absent players were Tien Lei and Chang Chih-feng, who were injured, and three players who are currently playing overseas -- Tseng Wen-ting (Japan), Jet Chang (US) and Chou Yi-hsiang (US).
According to Chou, Tien and Chang are not likely to play in the EABC. Tseng has said he would like to sit out the EABC before joining the NT in Wuhan, if the team makes the Asian Championship.
Chou was also concerned about other injured players, including Wu Tai-hao, Chen Shih-nian and Ho Shou-cheng.
The Taiwan NT will probably have to go to Nanjing without several of its front-court players, so height will be a concern, Chou was quoted as saying.
On paper, Taiwan should have no problem qualifying for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship as it is expected to finish among top three teams, excluding China, in the EABC. Six teams in the 2011 EABC are:
Group A: Korea, China, Hong Kong
Group B: Japan, Taiwan, Mongolia
16 teams for the 2011 Asian Championship will include:
1. The organizing country.
2. The champion team from the previous FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup.
3. The four best-placed teams from the previous FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup will qualify the same number of teams from their respective sub-zones.
4. The two best teams from the sub-zones.
Therefore, 16 teams for the 2011 Asian Championship are:
East Asia (4): China, TBD, TBD, TBD
Gulf (3): Qatar, UAB, Bahrain
Middle Asia (2): TBD, TBD
Southeast Asia (3): TBD, TBD, TBD
West Asia (4): Lebanon, TBD, TBD, TBD