[No Tien Lei (middle) and Tseng Wen-ting (right) for Taiwan NT this year. Lee Hsueh-lin (left) returned from China to be back with the team.]
The Chinese Taipei Basketball Association on Friday announced the final roster for the upcoming East Asian Basketball Championship, the qualifying tournament for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship.
The 12-man lineup is led by three core players who played last season in China, including former Taiwan Beer forward Lin Chih-chieh and a pair of ex-Yulon Luxgen stars -- forward Chen Hsin-an and point guard Lee Hsueh-lin.
Roster:
Yang Ching-min, 188cm, 1984/01/22, 27, TB
Wu Tai-hao, 202cm, 1985/02/07, 26, TB
Cheng Jen-wei, 194cm, 1987/04/06, 24, KKL
James Mao, 196cm, 1982/11/16, 28, PY
Chien Chia-hung, 197cm, 1987/03/06, 24, PY
Lu Cheng-ju, 194cm, 1986/08/23, 24, Yulon
Su Yi-chieh, 182cm, 1987/01/28, 24, TM
Lee Hsueh-lin, 175cm, 1984/01/31, 27, Beijing (China)
Lin Chih-chieh, 192cm, 1982/06/11, 28, Zhejiang (China)
Chen Hsin-an, 195cm, 1980/07/01, 30, Dong Guan (China)
Chou Po-chen, 196cm, 1990/08/08, 20, Taiwan Normal University
Hung Chih-shan, 176cm, 1985/07/05, 25, Pure Youth
Head coach: Chou Jun-san, Taiwan Beer
Assistants: Hsu Chin-tse, Pure Youth; Liu Hwa-lin, Taiwan Beer
PY point guard Hung Chih-shan, who was not on the 24-man roster, was added to the squad, which omitted several oversea players -- center Tseng Wen-ting (Japan), Jet Chang (U.S.) and Chou Yi-hsiang (U.S.)
Noticeably absent from the final roster were four players who have to sit out the tourney due to injury: Dacin forward Tien Lei, TB point guard Chen Shih-nian, TB forward Ho Shou-cheng and Dacin guard Chang Chih-feng.
With only one player taller than 200cm (Wu Tai-hao), the team is extremely small and will likely depend on its speed and perimeter shooting in the tournament, 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 from September 15 to 25. The three best teams, excluding China, qualify for 2011 FIBA Asia Championship.
Chen Hsin-an
Lin Chih-chieh
(Photos: Apple Daily, FIBA Asia website)