Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Taiwan edges Lebanon 60-58 in second round

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Two steals in the last 18 seconds saved the day for Taiwan NT, which edged Lebanon 60-58 in the second round of the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Men Monday in Wuhan, China.

In the chaotic last 60 seconds, Lebanon committed a 24-second violation while Taiwan returned the favor with a backcourt violation before Wu Tai-hao picked the pocket of a slashing Jean Abdel Nour to regain possession.

FPG201191915132Jet Chang then missed four straight free-throws, giving Lebanon the final chance to go for a tie, before making up with a steal with two seconds left to seal the game.

With the win, Taiwan had one foot in the quarterfinal round and should be able to avoid top seed -- China or Japan -- in the other group once it's in the quarterfinals.

Chen Hsin-an paced Taiwan with 15 points and Wu Tai-hao chipped in 12 points and 8 rebounds. Le Cheng-ju had 10 points, including a pair of crucial three-pointers.

Surprisingly, Taiwan played with patience in the game and attacked the paint the entire game, making only six attempts behind the three-point line. It still trailed in the rebounding department, 51-36, however.

Lebanon, which is going through a rebuilding phase, was led by Sanuel Hoskin's 19 points and 13 rebounds and Jean Abdel Nour's 12 and 9.

The game was a see-saw game throughout, with the score tied at 30 at the half and 50 in the end of the third period.

Taiwan pulled ahead 60-55 on Tseng Wen-ting's putback with 2:27 remaining. Rodrigue Akl answered with a jumper before Hoskin made one of two free-throws to cut the deficit to one basket.

Second Round standing:
Group E
Iran 3-0
Korea 3-0
Taiwan 2-1
Lebanon 1-2
Uzbekistan 0-3
Malaysia 0-3

Group F
China 3-0
Japan 3-0
Philippines 2-1
Jordan 1-2
Syria 0-3
UAE 0-3

(Photos: FIBA Asia)