Taiwan Hoops

SBL regular season to resume after break

2012-01-28T22:21:00.001+08:00

SBL regular season games will resume on February 3 after a three-week long break of the Lunar New Year and Taiwan’s presidential election.

The last game was played on January 8, approximately one week before the January 14 presidential election and later the nine-day Lunar New Year vacation.

A couple of things worth mentions:

==
Former NBA player Noel Felix may not have the strongest numbers on the court, but he helped his team win. And that was why he was named MVP of December and January after averaging 17.6 points and 8.6 rebounds in Dacin’s 7-1 season opening run.

Dacin head coach Chiu Da-tsun praised Felix for his high basketball IQ and strong work ethics as well as his ability to play with his teammates and his easy-going personality. That was about the best comments a player is able to have from his peers and coaches.

==
Some teams are scrambling to find an ideal import player before the Feb. 12 import replacement deadline.

I’m not sure whether KKL is happy with Tim Parham. Word is that the team would release him. Taiwan Mobile head coach Jia Fan has said Dennis Carr would be replaced.

==
The Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) and BroSports, marketing company of the SBL, announced that the SBL All-Star Game is back after a three-year hiatus.

The 2012 SBL All-Star Weekend will be held in Greater Kaohsiung from Feb. 25-26.

A Locals vs. Imports game will be play on Feb. 25 with Local All-Star team meeting a mixed team of seven imports and seven local rookies.

The All-Star Game, as well as the dunk contest, skills challenge and three-point shootout, will be played on Feb. 26.

==
With Lin Chih-chieh and Tseng Wen-ting playing in China, Chen Hsin-an and Tien Lei are probably two of the most notable local star players this season in the SBL.

Chen, who returned to Taiwan after spending two disappointing years in China and signed with Pure Youth, walked out of the slump after the first four games, during which he averaged only 8.5 points.

The 6-5 forward averaged 16 points in his last five games and lead PY to finish a respectable 6-3 record before the long break.

However, observers are really afraid they might have seen the best of Tien Lei, who sat out the entire 2011 season to rehab his knee and calf injury.

The 6-7 forward, who used to dominate the SBL in scoring and rebounding, is averaging 13.8 points and 5.8 rebounds after eight games. The performance is by no means good enough for someone who is able to get a 20-10 every night.

SBL Standing (Jan. 28)
Dacin 7-1
PY 6-3
Yulon 6-4
TB 3-4
TM 3-5
KKL 3-5
BOT 1-7

Notable SBL performers by team (Jan. 28)

2012-01-28T21:17:00.001+08:00

Yulon
Kevin Johnson 18p+17.2rb+3.1a+2b
Lu cheng-ju 16.3p
Chou Po-chen 10.7p+7.1rb
Chen Chih-chung 9.6p+3.3rb+4.4a

Taiwan Beer
Emmanuel Jones (4 games) 19.5p+10.5rb
Yang Ching-min 18p+4.4rb+2.1s
Cheng Jen-wei 13.9p+8.6rb
Ho Shou-cheng 10.7p+4.6rb

Dacin
Noel Felix 17.6p+8.6rb
Chang Chi-feng 16.8p+4.3rb
Tien Lei 13.8p+5.8rb
Lin Yi-hui 10.5p+5.1rb

Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor
Tim Parham (2 games) 18.5p+10rb
Antoine Broxsie (6 games) 18.2p+14.5rb
Shan Wei-fan 14.7p
Liu Cheng 10.1p+4.9rb
Lee Chun-wei 8.4p+5.8rb

Pure Youth
Quincy Davis (6 games) 18.5p+10.3rb
Chen Hsin-an 12.7p+4.6rb+3.3a
Doug Creighton 12.2p+4.7rb
Lin Tsung-ching 10.4p
Ger Chi-hao 9.8p+3a

Taiwan Mobile
Dennis Carr 13.4p+12.4rb
Chen Ching-huan 12.5p+5.2rb
Su Yi-chieh 11p+3.6rb+6.1a
Chang Jung-hsuan 10.6p
Liu Sheng-yao 10.4p

Bank of Taiwan
Hsu Chih-chiang 16p+8.2rb
John Vaudreuil 15.6p+10rb
Chang Po-sheng 13.1p+4.2rb

TM releases Fizer

2011-12-25T17:42:00.001+08:00

[Antoine Broxsie]

Taiwan Mobile has decided to release former NBA draft pick Marcus Fizer for his bad attitude, local media reported.

Fizer, who played for TM in only one game, told the team his injury flared up and did not practice with the team since then. He asked not to play this week.

According to TM head coach Jia Fan, Fizer also demanded extra preferential treatment.

Jia was quoted as saying that the team decided not to tolerate such behavior and release Fizer. “We don't let a player to decide when he is in the mood to play and when not to,” he said.

At the same time, KKL is testing Manny Richardson along with Antoine Broxsie. Since each team is allowed to register one import, Richardson had to sit this week and Broxsie took the opportunity to prove himself.

Broxsie, who was tested by Taiwan Beer before joining KKL, had 18 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocks in KKL's 56-55 win over TB on Saturday after scoring 34 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in a 98-93 overtime victory over TM on Friday.

Taiwan Beer is said to be releasing Dennis Carr and could bring back Emmanuel Jones, who played for TB last year.

Davis to replace Dials: report

2011-12-23T11:19:00.001+08:00

Pure Youth will have to find a replacement for Terence Dials, who had to leave Taiwan after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, and it has locked up 6-9 forward Quincy Davis, local media reported Thursday.

Davis, who played in China in 2010 and Turkey this year, averaged 10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds during his four years at Tulane University.

PY head coach Hsu Chin-tse was quoted as saying that he was not sure whether 27-year-old Davis would be able to arrive in Taiwan on time because of the Christmas break.

Quincy Davis
DOB: Feb.16, 1983
Height: 205cm
Weight: 111kg
College: Tulane

2002-2003: Tulane (NCAA): 20 games: 2.4ppg, 2.5rpg, FGP: 55.6%, FT: 63.6%
2003-2004: Tulane (NCAA, starting five): 28 games: 10.6ppg, 6.1rpg, BlocksCUSA-4(2.4bpg), FGPCUSA-6(53.3%), FT: 63.8%
2004-2005: Tulane (NCAA, starting five): 28 games: 13.7ppg, 6.1rpg, 1.5bpg, FGPNCAA-10(61.2%), 3PT: 50.0%, FT: 68.6%
2005-2006: Tulane (NCAA, starting five): 29 games: 13.1ppg, 5.8rpg, 1.0apg, BlocksCUSA-2(1.6bpg), FGPCUSA-1(58.1%), 3PT: 2-3, FT: 66.9%: Finished his career at Tulane ranked 22nd all-time in points scored (1,109), 16th in rebounds (559) and 8th in offensive rebounds (226).
2006: Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (Pre-NBA Draft): 3 games: 12.3ppg, 5.0rpg, 0.0apg, 1.0spg, 1.0bpg, 2FGP: 61.5%, FT: 50.0%
2006-2007: InterCollege Etha Engomis (Cyprus-Division A, starting five), in April '07 moved to Belenenses Hyundai Lusifo (Portugal-UZO Liga, starting five): DNP
2008: In February signed at Deportivo Tachira (Venezuela-LPB, starting five), Venezuelan League: 8 games: 5.5ppg, 3.4rpg, 2FGP: 50.0%, FT: 58.8%; released in April '08: Liga Sudamericana: 5 games: 13.8ppg, 8.2rpg, Blocks-3(1.2bpg), 2FGP: 54.9%, FT: 65%
2009 July: KBL Pre-Draft Camp in Las Vegas, NV
2010: Jiangsu (China-NBL, starting five): 25 games: Score-4(22.5ppg), Reb-5(13.0rpg), 1.8apg, Steals-2(2.5spg), Blocks-2(3.0bpg), FGP-1(66.7%), FT: 63.8%
2010-2011: In Jan.'11 signed at Bornova Bld (Turkey-TBL, starting five)
2011: Venice Beach Ninja's (WCBL, starting five)

Imports shine in SBL opening week

2011-12-19T02:24:00.001+08:00

Import players are making their impact felt in the opening week as the 2011-12 SBL season tipped off in the central city of Miaoli on Saturday.

6-7 Kevin Johnson had double-doubles on consecutive games and led Yulon to a 2-0 start, beating Pure Youth and KKL respectively. Johnson had 22 points, 23 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals against PY and 28 and 22 against KKL.

A pair of former NBA players also turned in solid performances. Marcus Fizer had 23 points and 13 rebounds in his debut and led Taiwan Mobile to a comeback win against Bank of Taiwan, 66-62.

Noel Felix tallied 19 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks in Dacin's 70-62 opening win over defending champion Taiwan Beer and followed up with 17 and 8 in a 86-77 win over PY.

In terms of local players, Chen Hsin-an and Tien Lei both had a disappointing week.

Chen, who returned from China and joined Pure Youth, was a combined 7 for 25 from the field and has averaged 9 points in two games. Having been picked by some analysts as a favorite to make the SBL Finals, Pure Youth opened the season 0-2.

Coming off a lower leg stress fracture injury after a 12-month rest, 202cm forward Tien Lei had only 11 points in two games and played only 9 minutes in the second game due to knee injury. His injury is reportedly to be minor.

PY's Terence Dials had 20 and 19 in the first game but hurt his knee in the third quarter against Dacin on Sunday and left the game with 14 points. According to media reports, Dials will undergo a MRI to determine how serious of his injury. It was reported that PY may have to start searching for a new import player.

Dec. 17
Dacin 70-62 TB
Dacin: N. Felix 19p+13rb+5b, Tien Lei 5p+6rb
TB: D. Carr 16p+8rb+3b

Yulon 88-71 PY
Yulon: K. Johnson 22p+23rb+4a+4b, Chou Po-chen 15p+6rb
PY: T. Dials 20p+19rb, Chen Hsin-an 8p (3-13 FG)+4TO

Dec. 18
Dacin 86-77 PY
Dacin: Lin Yi-hui 28p+8rb+5s, N. Felix 17p+8rb
PY: Chen Shih-chieh 15p+10rb, T. Dials 14p, Chen Hsin-an 10p (4-12 FG)

Yulon 81-67 KKL
Yulon: K. Johnson 28p+22rb, Lee Chi-yi 14p
KKL: Hong Chih-chao 16p, A. Broxsie 12p+8rb

TM 66-62 BOT
TM: M. Fizer 23p+13rb, Deng An-cheng 8p+11rb
BOT: Hsu Chih-chang 19p, J. Vaudrieul 14p+14rb

Standings:
Yulon 2-0
Dacin 2-0
TM 1-0
KKL 0-1
BOT 0-1
TB 0-1
PY 0-2

(Photos: Apple Daily and Liberty Times)

SBL import situations, Dec. 15

2011-12-16T13:00:00.001+08:00

Defending champion Taiwan Beer has run into problems in recent weeks with finding the import it needed, releasing two players before testing 6-7 forward Dennis Carr.

TB released DeAngelo Collins and Antoine Broxsie. Broxsie went on to be tested by KKL, which released Rashad Jones-Jennings.

Jones-Jennings played last season with Pure Youth and captured the SBL rebounding title.

Current SBL imports are:
Yulon: Kevin Johnson, Humboldt St.
Dacin: Noel Felix, Fresno St.
TB: Dennis Carr, Embry Riddle (NAIA)
KKL: Antoine Broxsie, Oklahoma St.
BOT: John Vaudreuil, Minnesota-Duluth
PY: Terence Dials, Ohio St.
TM: Marcus Fizer, Iowa St.

Antoine Broxsie (KKL)
DOB: 1979/11/7
Age: 32
Height: 209cm
Weight: 116kg
Nationality: USA
College: Oklahoma State

Career:
Tampa, Fla. (Tampa Bay Technical): 17 points, 14 rebounds, and eight blocks per game
1997-1998: Minnesota (NCAA)
1998-1999: Minnesota (NCAA)
1999-2000: redshirted
2000-2001: Oklahoma St. (NCAA): 2.5ppg, 2.4rpg
2001-2002: Oklahoma St. (NCAA): 29 games: 1.1ppg, 1.4rpg, 0.3apg
2002-2003: Grand Rapids Hoops (CBA): 10 games: 2.7ppg, 2.2rpg, 0.4apg: waived in Jan.'03, next month was tested at BK Opava (Czech Republic-NBL), but not signed
2003: La Ola del Districto Federal (Mexico-LNBP): released in Oct.'03
2003 November: Global Sports All-Star playing exhibition games against NCAA teams
2004: Kentucky Reach (WBA): 16 games: 5.1ppg, 6.8rpg, 1.1apg, 1.9bpg
2004-2005:Nov.'04 played briefly in Kentucky Colonels (ABA); Utah Snowbears (ABA): left before the season started, but joined back in Dec.'04
2005: Marinos de Anzoategui (Venezuela-LPB), released in March
2005: Gulf Coast Bandits (WBA): left in May, but re-signed very shortly: 13 games: 3.9ppg, 4.2rpg, 1.1bpg
2005: Tuberos de Colima (Mexico-LNBP)
2005: July: Next Level Exhibition Team
2005-2006: Rockford Lightning (CBA), waived before season started, in Nov.'05 signed at San Martin de Junin (Argentina-TNA): 5 games: 6.2ppg, 3.6rpg, 2.0bpg
2006: Marineros de Guaymas (Mexico-CIBACOPA): in Jan.'06 moved to Al Khaleej (Saudi Arabia-D1): 25.4ppg, 14.8rpg, 5.7bpg, in May signed at Cartersville Warriors (WBA), then joined Cocolos de San Pedro de Macoris (Dominican Republic-LIDOBA, starting five): 6g 11.8ppg 10.7rpg 0.8apg
2006 July: Southern California Summer Pro League (Play 2 Win Delta Jammers team)
2006: In Aug. joined Cimarrones de UABC (Mexico-LNBP)
2006-2007: Al Qadsia (Saudi Arabia-D1, starting five): Score-3(24.2ppg), 15.3rpg, Blocks-1(5bpg)
2007: In Mar. signed at Cupes de los Pepines (SRT), then moved to Villa Duarte de Calero (Dominican Republic-District National, starting five): 15.1ppg, Reb-2(12.5rpg), Blocks-1(4.7bpg), FT: 84%
2007 July: Summer Pro-Am League in Long Beach (Play2Win Delta Jammers)
2007-2008: B.M.C. AEK Larnacas (Cyprus-Division A): 6 games: 5.8ppg, 7.5rpg, 1.7bpg, 2FGP: 41.0%, FT: 30.0%, released in Dec.'07 and moved to Chihuahua Dorados (Mexico-LNBP, starting five): 6 games: 10.5ppg, 6.5rpg, 1.0apg, 3.7bpg, FGP: 41.7%, FT: 82.1%, in Feb.'08 signed at Al Jahraa (Kuwait-D1, starting five), also played at BC Kolin (Czech Rep.-NBL, starting five): 2 games: 1.5ppg, 4.0rpg
2008: Metros de Santiago (Dominican Rep.-LIDOBA, starting five)
2008-2009: Saitama Broncos (Japan-BJ League, starting five): 52 games: 6.6ppg, 8.1rpg, 1.1apg, Blocks-3(2.2bpg), FGP: 50.6%, 3PT: 14.3%, FT: 68.5%
2009 July: KBL Pre-Draft Camp in Las Vegas, NV
2009-2010: Takamatsu Five Arrows (Japan-BJ League, starting five): 47 games: 11.9ppg, Reb-4(12.3rpg), 1.0apg, Blocks-1(2.9bpg), FGP: 51.9%, FT: 64.5%
2010-2011: Toluca (Mexico-LNBP), then moved to Algodoneros de la Comarca (Mexico-LNBP, starting five): 2 games: 9.5ppg, 5.0rpg, 1.0apg; in Oct.'10 signed at Satria Muda Britama Jakarta (Indonesia-NBL, starting five): 11 games: 13.0ppg, Reb-5(12.8rpg), 1.5apg, Blocks-2(3.2bpg), FGP: 49.5%, FT: 83.3%
2011: Fuerza Guinda Nogales (Mexico-CIBACOPA, starting five): 22 games: 7.2ppg, Reb-5(8.7rpg), 1.0apg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 43.6%, 3PT: 20.0%, FT: 65.4%
2011: Centauros de Apure (Venezuela-LNB, starting five), left in November

Dennis Carr (TB)
DOB: 1981/1/27
Age: 30
Height: 201cm
Weight: 111kg
Nationality: USA
College: Enbry Riddle

Career:
Scarborough HS, Houston (Tx.)
2001-2002: Embry Riddle University (NAIA): 8.5 points per game, 5.3 rebounds per game, 48.7% FG, 68% F
2002-2003: Embry Riddle University (NAIA): 10.8 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, 47.3% FG, 71% FT
2003 Great Lakes Storm (CBA) Tryout Camp
2004 Mildura Mavericks (Australia-ABA): 20.2 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 2.1 apg, 2.2 bpg, 1.1 spg
2003-2004: played in Luxembourg
2004-2005: Las Vegas Rattlers (ABA): 17.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.0 bpg
2005-2006: In Oct.'05 signed at Genesis Brighton Bears (United Kingdom-BBL): 1 game: 7.0ppg, 1.0bpg, in Dec.'05 joined Las Vegas Rattlers (ABA): team folded in Dec.'05
2006: In August signed at Lechugueros de Leon (Mexico-LNBP), but released very shortly
2006-2007: Hapoel Yokneam/Megido (Israel-National League): 21 games: 21.7ppg, Reb-5(10.0), 1.0apg, 1.3bpg, 2FGP: 54.6%, 3PT: 54.5%, FT: 76.4%
2007-2008: Elitzur Qiryat Ata/Motzkin (Israel-National League, starting five): 34 games: 20.7ppg, 9.9rpg, 1.1bpg, 2FGP: 61.4%, 3PT: 40%, FT: 74.4%
2008-2009: Maccabi Rishon Le-Zion (Israel-Premier League): only pre-season, in Nov.'08 moved to Hapoel Afula (Israel-National League, starting five): 30 games: 19.0ppg, 9.0rpg, 1.2spg, 1.3bpg, FGP: 64.0%, 3PT: 18.8%, FT: 73.0%
2009-2010: Hapoel Yokneam/Megido (Israel-National League, starting five): 30 games: 17.3ppg, 8.0rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 55.0%, 3PT: 37.7%, FT: 71.9%
2010-2011: BSC Raiffeisen Furstenfeld Panthers (Austria-A Bundesliga): 34 games: 8.3ppg, 5.5rpg, FGP: 43.9%, 3PT: 30.7%, FT: 60.0%
2011-2012: Las Vegas Aces (ABA)

2011-12 SBL complete schedules

2011-12-04T18:51:00.001+08:00

Regular season

Dec. 17 (Sat) @ Miaoli
1600 Yulon-PY
1830 Dacin-TB

Dec. 18 (Sun) @ Miaoli
1400 TM-BOT
1600 KKL-Yulon
1800 PY-Dacin

Dec. 23 (Fri) @ Miaoli
1800 TB-BOT
2000 TM-KKL

Dec. 24 (Sat) @ Miaoli
1400 Dacin-Yulon
1600 KKL-TB
1800 BOT-PY

Dec. 25 (Sun) @ Miaoli
1400 Dacin-KKL
1600 Yulon-BOT
1800 PY-TM

Dec. 30 (Fri) @ Jhubei
1800 BOT-KKL
2000 Yulon-TM

Dec. 31 (Sat) @ Jhubei
1400 TB-PY
1600 TM-Dacin
1800 KKL-Yulon

Jan. 1 (Sun) @ Jhubei
1400 BOT-TM
1600 Yulon-TB
1800 PY-Dacin

Jan. 6 (Fri) @ Kaohsiung
1800 BOT-Dacin
2000 Yulon-PY

Jan. 7 (Sat) @ Kaohsiung
1400 TM-TB
1600 PY-KKL
1800 Dacin-Yulon

Jan. 8 (Sun) @ Kaohsiung
1400 BOT-PY
1600 TB-KKL
1800 Yulon-TM

(Lunar New Year break)

Feb. 3 (Fri) @ Sinjhuang
1800 TB-BOT
2000 Dacin-TM

Feb. 4 (Sat) @ Sinjhuang
1400 BOT-Yulon
1600 TM-KKL
1800 PY-TB

Feb. 5 (Sun) @ Sinjhuang
1400 KKL-Dacin
1600 PY-TM
1800 TB-Yulon

Feb. 10 (Fri) @ Sinjhuang
1800 Dacin-BOT
2000 KKL-PY

Feb. 11 (Sat) @ Sinjhuang
1400 TB-TM
1600 BOT-KKL
1800 Yulon-Dacin

Feb. 12 (Sun) @ Sinjhuang
1400 TM-PY
1600 Dacin-TB
1800 BOT-Yulon

Feb. 17 (Fri) @ Sinjhuang
1800 Dacin-PY
2000 BOT-TM

Feb. 18 (Sat) @ Sinjhuang
1400 TB-KKL
1600 PY-Yulon
1800 TM-Dacin

Feb. 19 (Sun) @ Sinjhuang
1400 Yulon-KKL
1600 Dacin-TB
1800 BOT-PY

Feb. 25 (Sat) @ Jhubei or Sinjhuang
1700 All-Star Weekend: Locals vs. Imports

Feb. 26 (Sun) @ Jhubei or Sinjhuang
1800 All-Star Weekend: All-Star Game

March 2 (Fri) @ Sinjhuang
1800 TM-KKL
2000 TB-BOT

March 3 (Sat) @ Sinjhuang
1400 KKL-PY
1600 BOT-Dacin
1800 Yulon-TB

March 4 (Sun) @ Sinjhuang
1400 Dacin-KKL
1600 TM-Yulon
1800 TB-PY

March 9 (Fri) @ Sinjhuang
1800 TM-TB
2000 BOT-KKL

March 10 (Sat) @ Sinjhuang
1400 Yulon-PY
1600 Dacin-TM
1800 TB-BOT

March 11 (Sun) @ Sinjhuang
1400 KKL-Yulon
1600 PY-Dacin
1800 TM-BOT

March 16 (Fri) @ Sinjhuang
1800 PY-TM
2000 Yulon-BOT

March 17 (Sat) @ Sinjhuang
1400 KKL-PY
1600 TB-Dacin
1800 TM-Yulon

March 18 (Sun) @ Sinjhuang
1400 BOT-KKL
1600 PY-TB
1800 Yulon-Dacin

March 23 (Fri) @ Sinjhuang
1800 KKL-Dacin
2000 TB-Yulon

March 24 (Sat) @ Sinjhuang
1400 TM-KKL
1600 Dacin-TB
1800 PY-BOT

March 25 (Sun) @ Sinjhuang
1400 TB-TM
1600 BOT-Dacin
1800 Yulon-PY

March 30 (Fri) @ Sinjhuang
1800 KKL-TB
2000 PY-TM

March 31 (Sat) @ Sinjhuang
1400 TB-BOT
1600 Yulon-KKL
1800 Dacin-PY

April 1 (Sun) @ Sinjhuang
1400 BOT-TM
1600 KKL-Dacin
1800 TB-Yulon

April 6 (Fri) @ Sinjhuang
1800 TM-Dacin
2000 BOT-KKL

April 7 (Sat) @ Sinjhuang
1400 Yulon-TM
1600 TB-PY
1800 Dacin-BOT

April 8 (Sun) @ Sinjhuang
1400 TM-TB
1600 PY-KKL
1800 BOT-Yulon

April 14 (Sat) @ Sinjhuang
1600 TM-KKL
1800 Yulon-Dacin

April 15 (Sun) @ Sinjhuang
1600 KKL-TB
1800 PY-BOT

(End of regular season)

Postseason schedule

First Round @ Sinjhuang
#1 vs. #4
Game 1: 1600 April 21 (Sat)
Game 2: 1600 April 22 (Sun)
Game 3: 1800 April 24 (Tue)
Game 4: 1800 April 26 (Thu)
Game 5: 1600 April 28 (Sat)
Game 6: 1600 April 29 (Sun)
Game 7: 1800 May 1 (Tue)

#2 vs. #3
Game 1: 1800 April 21 (Sat)
Game 2: 1800 April 22 (Sun)
Game 3: 2000 April 24 (Tue)
Game 4: 2000 April 26 (Thu)
Game 5: 1800 April 28 (Sat)
Game 6: 1800 April 29 (Sun)
Game 7: 2000 May 1 (Tue)

SBL Finals @ Sinjhaung or NTU Gym
Game 1: 1800 May 5 (Sat)
Game 2: 1800 May 6 (Sun)
Game 3: 1900 May 8 (Tue)
Game 4: 1900 May 10 (Thu)
Game 5: 1800 May 12 (Sat)
Game 6: 1800 May 13 (Sun)
Game 7: 1900 May 15 (Tue)

Taiwan Mobile signs Marcus Fizer

2011-12-04T18:11:00.001+08:00

Taiwan Mobile signed 6-8 forward Marcus Fizer, the second former NBA player in the SBL following Noel Felix of Dacin Tiger, local media reported.

Fizer, out of Iowa State, was the No. 4 pick selected by the Chicago Bulls in the 2000 NBA Draft and went on to play for the Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets between 2000-2006. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2001 and won the NBDL MVP in 2006.

He appeared in 289 career NBA games, making 35 starts and averaging 9.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 1.2 apg, shooting .435 from the floor and .691 from the free throw line in 20.9 mpg

After the NBA, Fizer played in Span, Israel and Puerto Rico.

According to the Wikipedia, Fizer was one of the most heavily tattooed players in the NBA. As of March 2006, he had 31 tattoos.

Local media reported that Fizer did not play in the past year to nurse his injury. The 120kg forward was also quoted as saying that he had watched SBL game clips on Youtube before arriving in Taiwan.

Fizer described the SBL as a league playing at a quicker pace and stressing perimeter shooting, which is similar to the European style.

TM head coach Jia Fan said he has been pleased with Fizer’s strong work ethic so far and believed that the US forward would greatly help the team in fighting for a playoff berth.

In related news, Taiwan Beer was said to be unhappy with DeAngelo Collins, the Liberty Times reported.

TB players described Collins as selfish and chided his work ethics. Yen Chia-hua, TB’s head coach, was quoted as saying that he is considering to replace Collins.

Current SBL imports are:
Yulon: Kevin Johnson, Humboldt St.
Dacin: Noel Felix, Fresno St.
TB: DeAngelo Collins, HS
KKL: Rashad Jones-Jennings, UALR
BOT: John Vaudreuil, Minnesota-Duluth
PY: Terence Dials, Ohio St.
TM: Marcus Fizer, Iowa St.

(Photos: Liberty Times)

SBL announces 2011-12 season schedules

2011-11-30T10:23:00.001+08:00

Dacin Tigers and Taiwan Beer will meet in the opening game of the 2011-12 SBL season on Dec. 17 at Miaoli Dome in the central city of Miaoli, the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association announced.

For the first time, SBL games will be scheduled to play in the southern city of Greater Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second largest city. The regular season games from Jan.6-8 will be played at Kaohsiung Dome with a capacity of over 10,000.

Each of the seven SBL teams will meet each other five times during the regular season with the top four teams advancing to the postseason.

No regular season games will be played in Taipei City however as there is no qualified arena in downtown Taipei to host the games. The four host cities are Miaoli, Greater Kaohsiung, Jhubei of Hsinchu County and Sinjhuang of New Taipei City.

According to the CTBA, the All-Star Game could be played at Jhubei and the playoffs could be played at the National Taiwan University Gymnasium and/or Sinjhuang Stadium.

Seven exhibition games will be played at Taipei Municipal Gymnasium between Dec. 6 and Dec. 8 with each team playing two games. The games will be free of charge.

SBL imports situation

2011-11-21T11:44:00.001+08:00

Taiwan Beer is testing DeAngelo Collins and is expected to sign the American forward with baggage during his basketball career, the Chinese-language Liberty Times reported.

In related news, Taiwan Mobile has released Lorenzo Davis and is the only team among seven SBL teams without an import now.

Bank of Taiwan retained John Vaudreuil as the only team without making changes to its import player. While rebounding machine Rashad Jones-Jennings stayed in Taiwan, he signed with KKL after spending last year with Pure Youth.

Yulon, which had refused to sign any import player in the past, had to sign Kevin Johnson to deal with the void left by departing center Tseng Wen-ting, who is currently playing in China.

DeAngelo Collins (Taiwan Beer)
DOB: 1982/11/21
Age: 29
Height: 206cm
Weight: 104kg
Nationality: USA
School: Inglewood HS

Career:
2001-2002: Inglewood HS
2002: NBA Draft candidate
2002: Drafted by Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA,5thd round (38))
2002: Toronto Raptors veterans preseason camp
2002-2003: in Dec.'02 signed at Darussafaka Istanbul (Turkey-D1), but his contract was cancelled immediately: ULEB Cup: 1 game: 4.0ppg, 3.0rpg
2003: Toronto Raptors veterans preseason camp
2003-2004: In Jan.'04 signed at Central Entrerriano Gualeguaychu (Argentina-Liga A): 4 games: 20.5ppg, 12.8rpg, 1.5apg, 2.0spg, 2.5bpg, but next month joined Juarez Gallos (Mexico-ABA)
2004 July: Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) Summer League
2004: Red Bull Barako (Philippines-PBA)
2004: drafted by Florida Flame (NBDL,2rd(11))
2004-2005: Florida Flame (NBDL): released in Jan.'05: 12 games: 2.3ppg, 4.3rpg, FGP: 32.4%, then played at Yunnan Honghe Running Bulls (China-CBA): 16 games: Score-2(28.9ppg), Reb-2(16.6rpg), 2.2apg, 2.7spg, 1.7bpg, FGP: 47.94%, 3Pts: 21%
2005: Grises de Humacao (Puerto Rico-BSN): 2 games: 8.5ppg, 8.0rpg, 1.5bpg
2005 July: Court Side Pro Camp in Frankfurt, GER (American Stars team)
2005-2006: LidoRose Roseto Basket (Italy-SerieA): 4 games: 3.8ppg, 6.3rpg, left in Oct.'05, in Feb.'06 signed at Beijing Aoshen Olympians (China-ABA)
2006: In June signed at Dodge City Legend (USBL): 13 games: 6.0ppg, 6.0rpg, FGP: 42.3%, FT: 30.8%
2006 July: Summer Pro League in Long Beach (Dallas Mavericks)
2006-2007: In Jan.'07 signed at Orthodox (Jordan-Excellent League, starting five): 10.0ppg, 2.5rpg, 2.2apg, 1.2spg
2007: In March signed at Cocodrilos de Caracas (Venezuela-LPB) as a temporary replacement for injured Kevin Freeman, left in May: 5 games: 8.4ppg, 9.2rpg, 1.4spg, 1.0bpg
2007 July: Summer Pro-Am League in Long Beach (Riverside Dream Team)
2007-2008: Al Ittihad Jeddah (Saudi Arabia-D1): left in March '08
2008, spring: JBL League in Los Angeles (Posh Klipz team)
2008: Carlsbad Beach Dawgs (WCBL): 12.5ppg
2008-2009: In Oct.'08 signed at Seoul SK Knights (Korea-KBL), left in March'09: 33 games: 11.6ppg, Reb-3(10.3rpg), 1.5apg, 1.4bpg, FGP: 46.7%, 3PT: 16.7%, FT: 41.5%
2009-2010: In Jan.'10 signed at Jilin Northeast Tigers (China-CBA, starting five): 14 games: 17.4ppg, Reb-1(15.4rpg), 2.5apg, 1.2spg, Blocks-4(2.8bpg), FGP: 46.5%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 43.1%
2010: Leones de Ponce (Puerto Rico-BSN): 7 games: 9.0ppg, 9.0rpg, 1.4apg, FGP: 50.0%, FT: 53.8%; in March joined Trotamundos de Carabobo (Venezuela-LPB), left in April: 8 games: 13.8ppg, 9.3rpg, 1.5apg, 0.8spg, 1.3bpg, 2PT: 38.0%, 3PT: 100.0%, FT: 53.0%
2009 August: EnFuego Hoops Showcase LNBP Camp in San Diego, Ca.
2010 August: Reno Bighorns (D-League) free agent tryout camp
2011: ShenYang Dongjin (China-NBL, starting five): 19 games: 23.1ppg, Reb-5(12.5rpg), Assists-3(4.5apg), 2.1spg, Blocks-1(3.9bpg), FGP: 51.1%, 3PT-1(68.8%), FT: 55.0%

Kevin Johnson (Yulon)
DOB: 1984/6/4
Age: 27
Height: 201cm
Weight:
Nationality: USA
College: Humboldt St.

Career:
2005-2006: Humboldt St. (NCAA2)
2006-2007: Humboldt St. (NCAA2)
2007 April: Collegiate Basketball Invitational Camp in Wadsworth, Ohio
2007 July: HSM International Exposure Camp in Las Vegas, Nevada
2007-2008: Allianz Swans Gmunden (Austria-A Bundesliga, starting five): Austrian League: 45 games: 13.0ppg, Reb-3(10.0rpg), 1.6apg, 2FGP: 49.5%, 3PT: 36.4%, FT: 74.1%; ULEB Cup: 12 games: 12.3ppg, Reb-3(9.0rpg), 1.4spg, FGP: 57.3%, 3PT: 32.1%, FT: 75%
2008 June: ACMT EuroExposure camp in Ohio
2008-2009: SPEC Polonia Warszawa (Poland-DBE, starting five): 26 games: 10.4ppg, Reb-3(8.5ppg), 1.0apg, FGP: 53.5%, 3PT: 28.0%, FT: 80.4%
2009-2010: LTi Giessen 46ers (Germany-1.Bundesliga): 34 games: 9.1ppg, Reb-3(7.2rpg), FGP: 56.6%, 3PT: 24.0%, FT: 68.2%
2010-2011: In Nov.'10 signed at Keravnos Strovolou (Cyprus-Division A, starting five): Cyprus League: 13 games: 7.5ppg, 6.5rpg, 1.1apg, 1.1spg, Blocks-5(1.2bpg), FGP: 58.5%, 3PT: 37.0%, FT: 75.0%

Noel Felix (Dacin)
DOB: 1981/10/4
Age: 30
Height: 205cm
Weight: 107kg
Nationality: Belizean-US
College: Fresno St.

Career:
Los Angeles, Calif. (Inglewood)
1999-2000: Fresno St. (NCAA): 2.8ppg, 2.2rpg
2000-2001: Fresno St. (NCAA): 3ppg, 2.9rpg
2001-2002: Fresno St. (NCAA): 20 games: 8.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.7 apg
2002-2003: Fresno St. (NCAA): 28 games: 8.5ppg, 4.8rpg, 25ast
2003: Phoenix Suns (NBA) training camp
2003-2004: Shanghai Oriental Sharks (China-CBA), in Dec.'03 signed at Idaho Stampede (CBA): 37 games: 8.8ppg, 3.8rpg, 25ast, 1.1bpg
2004 July: Rebook Rocky Mountain Revenue in Salt Lake City (San Antonio Spurs)
2004-2005: Carife Ferrara (Italy-Lega2): released in Dec.'04: 14 games: 8.4ppg, 4.2rpg, 2FGP: 44.6%, 3FGP: 33.3%, next month joined Yakima Sun Kings (CBA, starting five): 30 games: 15.7ppg, 7.4rpg, 1.5apg, 1.3bpg, FGP: 49.4%, 3Pts: 28.6%, in April '05 signed at Talk N Text Phone Pals (Philippines-PBA) but shortly left: Fiesta Conf: 3 games: 21.0ppg, 12.0rpg, 1.3apg, 1.7spg, 1.3bpg
2005 July: Reebok Vegas Summer League (New Jersey Nets)
2005 July: Reebok Rocky Mountain Revue (Seattle Supersonics)
2005-2006: $398,762: Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA, starting five): 41 games: 15.7ppg, 7.0rpg, 1.7apg, 2.0bpg, FG: 54.4%, FT: 81.8%, in March '06 called-up by Seattle Supersonics (NBA): Regular Season: 12 games: 1.5ppg, 1.1rpg
2006 July: Rocky Mountain Revue in Salt Lake City (Seattle Supersonics)
2006-2007: Seattle Supersonics (NBA), left in Oct.'07 and signed with Maccabi Elite Tel-Aviv (Israel-Premier League, starting five): Israeli League: 21 games: 4.9ppg, 2.8rpg; Euroleague: 12 games: 2.8ppg, 1.1rpg
2007 July: NBA Summer League in Las Vegas (Milwaukee Bucks)
2007: Anaheim Arsenal (D-League) training camp
2007-2008: Anaheim Arsenal (D-League, starting five), in Dec.'07 moved to Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem (Israel-Premier League): Israeli League: 15 games: 3.2ppg, 1.3rpg; ULEB Cup: 5 games: 7.6ppg, 3.4rpg, 1.0bpg, left in jul.'08
2008 July: NBA Summer League in Las Vegas (Sacramento Kings)
2008-2009: Anaheim Arsenal (D-League): 16 games: 13.2ppg, 6.6rpg, 1.2apg, 2.0bpg, FGP: 46.8%, 3PT-3(66.7%), FT: 80.3%
2009-2010: Maine Red Claws (D-League): 30 games: 9.2ppg, 5.8rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 46.0%, FT: 87.1%, in Feb.'10 moved to Springfield Armor (D-League, starting five): 15 games: 10.9ppg, 4.7rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 40.7%, 3PT: 42.9%, FT: 83.0%
2010-2011: Seoul Samsung Thunders (Korea-KBL, starting five), left in Nov.'10: 2 games: 3.0ppg, 1.5rpg

Rashad Jones-Jennings (KKL)
DOB: 1984/8/31
Age: 27
Height: 203cm
Weight: 112kg
Nationality: USA
College: Univ. of Arkansas at Little Rock

Career:
Chattanooga, Tenn. (Chattanooga State CC)
2005-2006: UALR (NCAA, starting five): 29 games: 12.2ppg, RebNCAA-3(11.3rpg), FGP: 44.3%, FT: 60.5%
2006-2007: UALR (NCAA, starting five): 30 games: 12.5ppg, RebNCAA-1(13.1rpg), 1.4apg, 1.0bpg, FGP: 50.2%, FT: 57.7%
2007 April: Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (Norfolk Sports Club)
2007: Drafted by Dodge City Legend (USBL,2rd(18))
2007 July: NBA Summer League in Las Vegas (Philadelphia 76ers)
2007: Drafted by Oklahoma Cavalry (CBA,2rd(11))
2007-2008: In Dec.'07 signed at Ago Rethimno Almeco (Greece-A1): DNP
2008-2009: In Jan.'09 signed at FC Bayern Muenchen (Germany-ProA, starting five): 15 games: 8.1ppg, Reb-2(10.1rpg), Blocks-3(1.4bpg), FGP: 51.1%, FT: 40.3%
2009-2010: Philadelphia 76ers (NBA), only pre-season, in Nov.'09 moved to BC Odessa (Ukraine-Superleague), released next month, in Feb.'10 signed at Boulazac Basket Dordogne (France-ProB, starting five): 16 games: 8.8ppg, Reb-3(8.7rpg), 1.4spg, FGP: 56.1%, FT: 41.5%
2010-2011: Soles de Mexicali (Mexico-LNBP, starting five): 2 games: 4.0ppg, 8.0rpg, 1.0apg, in Dec.'10 moved to Pure Youth Construction (Taiwan-SBL, starting five): 33 games: 16.0ppg, Reb-1(20.6rpg), 1.2spg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 47.9%, FT: 51.8%

Terence Dials (Pure Youth)
DOB: 1983/7/15
Age: 28
Height: 206cm
Weight: 113kg
Nationality: USA
College: Ohio St.

Career:
Youngstown, Ohio/Boardman HS
2001-2002: Ohio St. (NCAA): 32 games: 6.7ppg, 4.2rpg, FGP: 62.3%, FT: 59.2%
2002 June: Worthington Summer League-Columbus, Oh. (DSW)
2002-2003: Ohio St. (NCAA): 6 games: 7.0ppg, 5.8rpg, FGP: 46.9%, FT: 63.2%: Missed 26 games due to lower back injury and was granted a medical redshirt
2003-2004: Ohio St. (NCAA, starting five): 30 games: 10.4ppg, 6.6rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 50.5%, FT: 71.7%
2004 June-July: McDonald's Summer League in Columbus, Oh. (DSW Shoe Warehouse team)
2004-2005: Ohio St. (NCAA, starting five): 32 games: 15.9ppg, 7.9rpg, FGP: 57.4%, FT: 61.7%
2005: June-July: Worthington Summer League in Columbus, Oh. (Union Savings Bank team)
2005-2006: Ohio St. (NCAA, starting five): 32 games: 15.0ppg, 8.0rpg, 1.1bpg, FGP: 55.9%, FT: 65.8%
2006 July: Toshiba Vegas Summer League (Toronto Raptors)
2006-2007: Entente Orleans 45 (France-ProA): 34 games: 13.4ppg, 6.5rpg, 1.3apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 55%, 3PT: 41.7%, FT: 55.6%
2007 July: NBA Summer League in Las Vegas (Cleveland Cavaliers)
2007-2008: Elan Bearnais Pau-Orthez (France-ProA, starting five): ULEB Cup: 4 games: 14.0ppg, 3.8rpg, 1.3apg; French League: 10 games: 10.2ppg, 5rpg, 2FGP: 55%, FT: 42.4%
2008-2009: Entente Orleans 45 (France-ProA): 36 games: 9.3ppg, 3.9rpg, FGP: 59.8%, 3PT: 10.0%, FT: 54.3%
2009-2010: In Nov.'09 signed at New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig (Germany-1.Bundesliga), but DNP, later that month moved to Paderborn Baskets (Germany-1.Bundesliga): 11 games: 8.2ppg, 5.1rpg, FGP: 60.7%, FT: 61.5%, in Jan.'10 agreed terms with Sdent BBC Nyon (Switzerland-LNA, starting five): 6 games: 9.5ppg, 5.8rpg, 2.0apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 52.1%, FT: 50.0%, released in Mar,'10
2010: Western Liaoning (China-NBL, starting five): 20 games: 21.9ppg, Reb-1(15.6rpg), 1.7apg, Steals-5(2.2spg), FGP: 59.0%, FT: 69.5%
2010-2011: Pizza Express Primetel Apollon (Cyprus-Division A, starting five): 13 games: 10.3ppg, 4.2rpg, FGP-2(67.1%), FT: 62.2%
2011: Hebei Springs (China-NBL, starting five): 14 games: 19.2ppg, 11.6rpg, 1.5spg, FGP: 57.7%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 51.6%, left in July

John Vaudreuil (Bank of Taiwan)
DOB: 1985/9/15
Age: 25
Height: 6-8
Weight: 260 lbs
Nationality: USA
College: University of Minnesota-Duluth

2004-2005: Minn.-Duluth (NCAA2,starting five): 23games: 10.3ppg, 3.7rpg
2005-2006: Minn.-Duluth (NCAA2,starting five): 29games: 10.3ppg, 3.6rpg
2006-2007: Minn.-Duluth (NCAA2,starting five): 29games: 13ppg, 3.8rpg
2007-2008: Minn.-Duluth (NCAA2): redshirted
2008-2009: Minn.-Duluth (NCAA2,starting five): 31games: 16.5ppg, 6.9rpg
2010: Goldfield Giants (Australia-SBL, starting five): 26games: 19.7ppg, 2.73apg, 1.5spg, 9.7rpg

Dacin, TM sign imports

2011-11-05T20:00:00.001+08:00

Dacin Tigers and Taiwan Mobile signed their import players for the 2011-12 SBL season last week, Apple Daily reported.

Dacin signed 6-9 forward Noel Felix, the first SBL import with NBA experiences. Felix, who played for Seattle Sonics in 2005-06 season and averaged 1.5 points and 1.2 rebounds in 12 games, was quoted as saying that he had wanted to try out with several NBA teams but decided to stop waiting for those opportunities because of the extended NBA lockout.

Taiwan Mobile signed 6-10 forward Lorenzo Davis, who was quoted as saying that his priority is to help TM to make the playoffs.

Noel Felix

205cm, 107kg
Nationality: Belizean-US
Born: Oct.4, 1981 in Los Angeles, Calif.

Lorenzo Davis

208cm, 109kg
Nationality: US
Born: May 6, 1982 in Lewizburg, Germany

Career:
2003-2004: Mountain St. (NAIA): 38 games: 6.9ppg, 5.0rpg, 1.0apg, 1.0bpg, FGP: 60.0%.
2004-2005: Mountain St. (NAIA, starting five): 30 games: 10.0ppg, 8.7rpg, 1.1apg, 2.0bpg, FGP: 54.4%.
2005-2006: NBA Draft Early Entrie
2006: Atlanta Hawks workout
2006-2007: Titanes de Queretaro (Mexico-Cimeba, starting five): 8 games: 15.0ppg, 12.4rpg, 3.5bpg, FGP: 51.2%.
2007 October: Bakersfield Jam (D-League) training camp
2007-2008: In Jan.'08 signed at Butte Daredevils (CBA, starting five): 15 games: 3.7ppg, 4.8rpg
2008: Los Angeles Lightning (IBL): 14 games: 3.9ppg, 5.9rpg, 0.9apg, 2.2bpg
2008: Drafted by Albuquerque Thunderbirds (D-League,8rd(115))
2008-2009: In Jan.'09 signed at Georgia Gwizzlies (ABA): 8 games: 19.0ppg, 14.5rpg, 3.5bpg, FGP: 50.0%, left in Feb.'09
2009: San Antonio (URBL): 15 games: 18.9ppg, 10.0rpg, 2.3apg, 2.6bpg, 1.4spg, 2FGP: 55.0%, 3PT: 41.0%, FT: 74.5%, then moved to Los Angeles Lightning (IBL), left in July
2009, May: Memphis Grizzlies (NBA) workout
2009, December: Vermont Frost heaves (PBL) training camp
2010 July: Court Side Pro Camp in Las Vegas (Eagles team): 4 games: 12.0ppg, 11.5rpg, 3.0bpg
2010: Nevada Pride (IBL Exhibition team, starting five)
2010: Memphis Grizzlies (NBA) workout
2010-2011: Metro Atlanta Stars (UBA, starting five): 1 game: 20pts, 10rebs, in Nov.'10 moved to Dallas Stars (UBA, starting five): 11 games: 19.0ppg, 9.6rpg, 1.6apg, 3.2bpg, FGP: 51.9%, 3PT: 35.7%, FT: 72.7%; in January signed at Rochester RazorSharks (PBL): 2 games: 4.5ppg, 5.0rpg, 1.0bpg, in May'11 signed at GIE Morrow Disciples (UBA, starting five): 1 game: 19pts, 10rebs
2011: Team Tokyo (Eurobasket Summer League in Houston, starting five): 3 games: 10.3ppg, 12.0rpg, 1.0apg, 2.0bpg
2011-2012: CSU Atlassib Sibiu (Romania-Div.A, starting five)

PY wins 2011 Probation Cup Invitational

2011-10-18T07:49:00.001+08:00

Doug Creighton's offensive rebound and putback helped Pure Youth beat Elite Talent Exchange 89-86 to win the 2011 Probation Cup Invitational in Taiwan's eastern city of Hualien on Sunday.

Zuo Tsun-kai missed consecutive free-throws but Creighton, who joined PY this summer, grabbed the offensive rebound for the winning basket as PY, which led by as many as 18 points, held off ETE's furious rally in the last period.

Ger Chi-hao had 13 of his game-high 23 points in the third period. Terence Dials had 14 points for PY while James Mao added 13. Chien Chia-hung had 11. Creighton scored six points.

Taiwan Beer routed Dacin 95-66 in the bronze medal game with Chen Jen-wei scoring 19 points.

Dacin was led by Chen Yi-an's 16 points. Lin Yi-hui had 15.

Both teams were short of core players in the game with Ho Shou-cheng and Ha Hsiao-yuan of TB sitting out and Tien Lei and Chang Chi-feng of Dacin also out.

Kevin Johnson and Jimmy Lin combined for 41 points as Yulon beat KKL 90-68 to finish fifth in the tourney.

Johnson tallied 22 points and Lin scored 19 points. Wu Fong-cheng had 14. According to Yulon head coach Chiu Chi-yi, the team will sign Johnson for the season.

Lee Chun-wei and Hsu Wei-sheng scored 12 points each for KKL.

BOT beat Malaysia NT 93-71 to finish seventh place.

2011 Probation Cup Invitational Tournament

2011-10-10T11:04:00.001+08:00

The 2011 Probation Cup Invitational Tournament will be held from Oct. 12-16 in the eastern Taiwan city of Hualien with nine teams in contention for the tourney, which is in its tenth year.

Malaysian national team, Elite Talent Exchange and seven SBL teams will be divided into two groups in the preliminary round with top four teams in each group advancing to the knock-out second round, where top two teams in each group will meet in a cross-over semifinals and the third- and fourth-ranked teams meet in 5-8 place classification games.

The Elite Talent Exchange, a US team put together by agents, is sponsored by Heins Baby Corporation. SBL teams which haven't hired imports would take this tournament as an opportunity to look at the American players.

Brackets and game schedule:

Group A: Yulon, Taiwan Mobile, Elite Talent Exchange, Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor, Pure Youth
Group B: Dacin, Malaysia NT, TB, BOT

Oct. 12 (Wednesday)
0930 Yulon-TM
1130 ETE-PY
1330 Dacin-BOT
1530 Malaysia-TB
1930 PY-Yulon

Oct. 13 (Thursday)
1130 Yulon-KKL
1330 TM-PY
1530 TB-BOT
1730 Dacin-Malaysia
1930 KKL-ETE

Oct. 14 (Friday)
1130 TM-ETE
1330 Malaysia-BOT
1530 PY-KKL
1730 ETE-Yulon
1930 Opening ceremony
2000 TB-Dacin

Oct. 15 (Saturday)
1200 Game E: A3-B4
1400 Game F: B3-A4
1600 Game C: A1-B2
1800 Game D: B1-A2

Oct. 16 (Sunday)
1200 Game 7/8 place: Losers of E and F
1400 Game 5/6 place: Winners of E and F
1600 Third place Game: Losers of C and D
1800 Championship: Winners of C and D
2000 Closing ceremony

In related news, Yulon is reported testing 2.01-meter forward Kevin Johnson, who came from NCAA Division-II Humboldt State and played in Cyprus last year. Johnson averaged 7.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game with Keravnos Strovolou of the Cyprus league last season.

Taiwan Beer reportedly will test Jason McCoy, a 2.08-meter center out of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and played last year in Belarus, averaging 17.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.

Kevin Johnson

Jason McCoy

(Photos: China Times, Eurobasket.com)

Chen Hsin-an signs with Pure Youth

2011-10-09T18:19:00.001+08:00

Chen Hsin-an, arguably Taiwan's best player, would play in his home country Taiwan next season after signing with Pure Youth Construction on Friday, local media reported.

Chen, who spent the last two years with Dongguan in the Chinese league CBA, decided to play closer to his family as he now have two daughters.

The 1.96-meter forward sign with Pure Youth for two years with the maximum monthly salary of NT$120,000 (US$3,936) allowed under SBL regulation. Signing bonuses and incentives were not disclosed. (However, I suspect that PY would pay Chen more than that.)

The 31-year-old left Yulon to sign with Dongguan two years ago, inking a two-year deal with the Chinese team in Guangdong Province for an estimate annual salary of NT$11 million (US$361,000), about seven times of his current salary with PY.

His stint with Dongguan was a happy one, however, as Chen had been plagued by injury during the period. His playing time suffered, so did his performance. Chen averaged 2.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in his first season in China and 2.89 points and 2.4 rebounds last year.

Chen elevated his play -- although not much -- in the just-concluded FIBA Asia Championship for Men in Wuhan, China, where he averaged 8.6 points and 3.1 rebounds. Taiwan finished with a disappointing eighth place in the tournament.

Chen was quoted as saying that he did not make up his mind to sign with PY until the day before the signing as Yulon and Taiwan Beer were also in the run for his service.

He credited PY head coach Hsu Chin-tse as the key person for his signing with the team because Hsu always called to see how he was doing when he was in China. Salary is not the main reason for his signing with PY, Chen underlined.

With Chen on the team, Hsu said that PY would set its eyes on the SBL championship.

Chen would sit out the Probation Cup which will be held in the eastern Taiwan city of Hualien next month to nurse his ankle injury, sustained during the Asian Championship.

He averaged 17.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in his five years in the SBL, all with Yulon Luxgen, and won the Finals MVP in 2003-04 season and regular season MVP in 2007-08 season.

Liu Cheng named top pick in 2011 SBL draft

2011-10-09T17:25:00.001+08:00

[Liu Cheng]

Liu Cheng was named the top pick in the 2011 SBL local players draft on Oct. 7 as 13 of 17 applicants were selected by six SBL teams.

Liu, a 1.90-meter forward from Min Dao University, was selected by KKL at No. 1 as expected while Chen Hsiao-jung went No. 2 to Taiwan Mobile and Lai Po-lin was picked up by Bank of Taiwan at No. 3.

KKL, which owns the No. 1 pick for the first time, added five news additions after losing many players to other teams previously. It also selected Yang Shu, also from Min Dao University, at No. 4.

TM picked up a pair of 1.97-meter forwards -- Chen Hsiao-jung in the first round and Chen Po-ting at the second.

Peng Chun-yen and Lin Li-jen, both played for Taiwan junior NT, went to Pure Youth. Taiwan Beer selected Huang Chia-ming of Min Dao and Lee Cheng-han from Taipei Physical Education College (TPEC).

Dacin Tigers didn't make any draft pick, forfeiting its draft rights in the first round.

The 2011-12 SBL season is scheduled to tip off on Dec. 17 at Miaoli City in central Taiwan.

(Photos: CTBA)

Liu Jia-fa joins TB coaching staff

2011-10-05T10:33:00.001+08:00

Former Dacin head coach Liu Jia-fa will join Taiwan Beer's coaching staff as an assistant coach, local media reported last week.

Liu twice led Dacin to advance to the SBL Finals but lost to Yulon and Taiwan Beer respectively. He coached Chunghwa Telecom of the women's league WSBL for two years after leaving Dacin.

In Taiwan Beer, he will coach alongside current Taiwan NT head coach Chou Jun-san and Taiwan NT assistant Liu Hua-lin as assistants under the head coach Yen Chia-hua.

According to Yen, Liu will be in charge of development of young players while Chou is in charge of on-court coaching and substitution.

Taiwan Beer will rely on younger players this season as Lin Chih-chieh and Wu Tai-hao will both play in China and Doug Creighton has left the team to sign with Pure Youth.

Liu said he will stress fundamentals and physical training, given that Taiwanese players are injury-prone, which reflected their lack of sufficient physical training.

2011-12 SBL local players draft

2011-09-30T18:01:00.001+08:00

Sixteen players have completed registration for the 2011-12 SBL local players draft, which will be held on Oct. 7 in Taipei, the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) said.

Seven of the 16 players came from Ming Dao University, runner-up in the university league UBA this past season, including notable players Liu Cheng and Peng Chun-yen, according to the CTBA.

Liu, a 1.91-meter forward who was named UBA freshman of the year in 2009, is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the draft.

The draft order for the seven SBL teams will be: KKL, BOT, KKL, Dacin, PY, TB with the second round proceeding in reverse order. Yulon has sent its draft rights in the first two rounds to KKL in previous player deals.

Tseng Wen-ting signs with Shanghai

2011-09-30T17:38:00.001+08:00

Taiwan NT center Tseng Wen-ting signed a four-year contract with Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

Terms of the agreement -- a three-year contract with Shanghai could exercise a team option for the fourth year -- were not disclosed, but it is believed that Tseng will be paid between one million to two million Chinese yuan annually.

Tseng could earn up to NT$9.4 million (US$310,000) per year.

The 6-8 center intended to sign with Shanghai after finishing his contract with Yulon Dinos in January but was kept from signing due to the CBA's internal regulations. Tseng signed with Osaka Evessa of Japan's BJ League instead, earning around US$10,000-15,000 per month.

It was reported that as many as six Chinese teams were trying to sign Tseng. Tseng chose Shanghai for his familiarity with the city.

The All-SBL center is scheduled to arrive in Shanghai on Oct. 16 for the pre-season training camp before the CBA season starts on Nov. 20.

As of now, five Taiwanese players, including four Taiwan NT starters, will play in China next season. Taiwan Beer forward Yang Ching-min, who was rumored to sign with Jilin, did not sign with any team and will play in Taiwan.

Players, Team, Estimated monthly salary (NT)
Lee Hsueh-lin, Beijing, NT$600,000
Wu Tai-hao, Zhejiang, NT$450,000
Lin Chih-chieh, Zhejiang, NT$750,000
Hong Chih-shan, Dongguan, NT$250,000
Tseng Wen-ting, Shanghai, NT$600,000
(Source: Apple Daily)

(Photo: Apple Daily)

National conference to discuss development of Taiwan's basketball

2011-09-28T00:35:00.001+08:00

The CTBA plans to hold a national conference to discuss the future direction of Taiwanese basketball after Taiwan NT finishing for a somewhat disappointing eighth place in the 2011 Asian Championship. The CNA report is as follows:

Taipei, Sept. 26 (CNA) A national basketball conference is scheduled for late October after Taiwan finished eighth in the FIBA Asia Championship on Sunday, said the head of the country's basketball association.

The conference was planned to discuss how to revive basketball in Taiwan by gathering opinions from the government, academics and experts familiar with the issue, said Ting Shou-chung, legislator and Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) chairman.

Ting said that his association is drafting a proposal to revive basketball, including improving training at the basic level, raising payments for players, building more stadiums and facilities, and organizing good basketball events to help the sport gain more popularity.

The performance of the national men's team cannot be judged by one or two games, Ting noted. He said many of the better-performing teams in the championship relied on their naturalized foreign-born players.

However, he said recruiting foreign-born players is not the best way to succeed in international games or make basketball a national sport. (By Justin Su and Kendra Lin)

Taiwan finishes eighth in 2011 Asian Championship

2011-09-25T19:30:00.001+08:00

Taiwan was down to six available players due to injury and lost to Japan 81-72 to finish for the eighth place in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Men in Wuhan, China.

Taiwan, which had already lost four players -- point guards Lee Hsueh-lin, Su Yi-chieh and forwards James Mao and Chien Chia-hung to injury -- trailed 28-9 in the first quarter, when it again lost injured Wu Tai-hao after three minutes.

Lin Chih-chieh chipped in nine points in the second period and Lu Cheng-ju made two threes to ignite a 13-4 run as Taiwan cut the deficit to 47-36 at the half.

Taiwan tried to stay with the Japanese. Chen Shih-nian made one of two free-throws to narrow the score to 54-49. However, Chen Hsin-an was down with injury and Japan pulled away 66-53 at the end of the third period.

Japan wouldn't stop, making nine three-pointers in the last period for the win.

Lin Chih-chieh had a team-high 18 points. Tseng Wen-ting had 17 while Jet Chang added 14.

Taiwan shot miserably in the game with only 3-of-19 from three and 17-of-28 from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Japan made 11 threes in the game and was 12-of-14 from the free-throw line.

Taiwan dropped to the eighth place after finishing fifth and sixth in 2009 and 2007. In 2003, it finished for the all-time worst 11th place in Harbin, China. Taiwan hasn't made the Asian final four since 1999.

2011 Asian Championship: Iran bruise Taiwan in Wuhan

2011-09-25T15:55:00.001+08:00

Taken from Asia-basket.com:

Iran - Taiwan 98:66

Iran outgunned Taiwan in the classification round of Asian Championship in Wuhan. Iran will now play for the fifth place at the tournament. Hamed Haddadi (218-C-85) posted 21 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists to pace the winners.
Iran scored 21 points in the starting quarter to surge ahead. They established a 21:16 lead after ten minutes. Iran opened the second term on a 15:0 run to clear off. Iran enjoyed a comfortable 48:31 lead at the interval. Iran stretched the gap in the third quarter. They piled up a 25-point lead at the final intermission. Taiwan had no chances in the fourth term as Iran coasted to the victory. Hamed Afagh (190-G-83, agency: SportsList Inc.) and Mahdi Kamrani (186-PG-82) posted 18 points each for Iran. Kazemi added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Wu Tai-Hao (202-C-85, college: BYU-Hawaii) replied with 16 points for Taiwan. Wen-Ting Tseng (202-C/F-84) netted 13 points in the loss.

Iran: Hamed Haddadi 21+14 boards, Hamed Afagh 18, Mahdi Kamrani 18
Taiwan: Wu Tai-Hao 16, Wen-Ting Tseng 13

(Photo: Apple Daily)

Taiwan-Philippines post game thoughts

2011-09-25T15:47:00.001+08:00

Some quotes taken from Taiwanese media is the past few days after the quarterfinal loss to the Philippines:

"It's a pity. This is the most important game and we had a chance to win, " center Tseng Wen-ting said, adding that Taiwan players failed to execute its defensive plan on Douthit's high post pick-and-roll.

Tseng said the communication between frontcourt players and guards was so bad that they ended up fouling the offensive players.

According to Tseng, Philippines executed its pick-and-roll and inside-outside games beautifully. Taiwan's defense fell apart when Casio's shot began to fall. The frontcourt guys had to go out to help, leaving Douthit uncovered inside.

"Our defensive plan did not adjust quick enough, " Tseng said.

It was never a happy thing to see your teammates get hit, said Chen Hsin-an.

"I was pretty mad at them. If Casio did not intentionally hit Lee [Hseuh-lin], I have to say that Asi Taulava's foul on Wu Tai-hao (grabbing) must have been intentional, " Chen said.

"Lee's injury was not why we lost this game, " said head coach Chou Jun-san. "Our play was out of synch before that. And we could not contain Douthit."

"We had a good first quarter. Unfortunately the backup players did not do their job, " Chou said, adding that the deciding factors were Douthit and Philippines' physical play.

Chou was not happy with his guards, saying that they were not offensive-minded throughout the tournament. The experiment of using Jet Chang as a point guard also failed.

Local media has also started to discuss whether Taiwan should, like other countries, to use naturalized players.

There has been similar discussion as well in China, according to local media. However, most Chinese players and basketball observers are against it.

For Taiwan, it would be difficult to find naturalized players for a number of reasons. First, I don't think there are many foreigners would like to receive Taiwanese passports or citizenship due to Taiwan's sensitive political relations with China.

Second, who is going to pay the bill? Some of the naturalized players -- if not all of them -- receive preferential treatment from the country he plays for. I don't think the CTBA would like to pick up those pay checks. The CTBA probably doesn't have enough budget.

Taiwan fall apart in quarter-final

2011-09-24T14:41:00.001+08:00

Report from Taipei Times:

Taiwan fall apart in quarter-final
By Paul Huang / Contributing Reporter

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/archives/2011/09/24/2003514047

Spoiling first-half leads as large as nine points, Taiwan completely fell apart in a dismal second half to drop their quarter-final contest against the Philippines 95-78 at this year’s FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan, China, last night.

The loss not only denied Taiwan a chance to compete for the gold, but it also earned them a very tough meeting against two-time defending champions Iran, who were upset by Jordan in their quarter-final match earlier yesterday — virtually bumping Taiwan out of contention for a fifth-place finish.

A successful defensive scheme against Philippines center Marcus Douthit, coupled with a smooth start by the offense, gave Taiwan a surprising 23-14 lead late in the opening frame.

However, the hard-earned lead would dwindle to only four by the end of the first (23-19), with the Philippines netting five unanswered points in the final two minutes of the quarter.

Taiwan were able to fend off the Philippines after their lead fell to a single point two minutes into the second quarter with a 12-5 run on the inside play of Tseng Wen-ding and the three-point shooting of Lin Chih-chieh to reclaim a 39-31 lead with four minutes remaining in the half.

However, that was as long as they could hang with the Philippines, with the Philippines offense getting into their groove from that point on, rolling off a 14-3 run to close out the half with a 45-42 advantage.

Trouble continued for Taiwan in the second half with Douthit showing off his inside moves to help his team build a commanding 15-point lead.

To make matters worse for Taiwan, they would lose point guard Lin Hsueh-lin to injury midway through the third quarter and eventually Tseng to five personal fouls in the fourth, sealing their fate long before the final buzzer sounded.

Tseng left the game with a team-high 20 points and five rebounds, while teammates Chen Hsin-an and Lu Cheng-ju chipped in 14 and 12 points respectively.

As for the Philippines, Douthit’s game-high 37 points was the difference in the game as the former US standout (naturalized to Philippine citizenship earlier this year) dominated inside the paint by converting 13 of 24 from close range (eight of 10 from the free-throw line) with 10 rebounds to send his team into the semi-finals.

Next up for Taiwan in the consolation round will be a tough Iranian squad who will look to alleviate their frustration with a win.

Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30pm at the Wuhan Sports Complex.

Photos: Taiwan vs. Philippines

2011-09-24T09:46:00.001+08:00

A couple of photos taken from Taiwanese newspapers today.

(Photos: UDN.com, Apple Daily)

Philippines beat Taiwan to reach semi behind Douthit's 37

2011-09-23T23:05:00.001+08:00

Philippine center Marcus Douthit was unstoppable. The naturalized center had 37 points and 10 rebounds as Philippines rallied in the second half to beat Taiwan 95-78 in the quarterfinal of the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Men and advanced to the semifinals.

Philippines advanced to Asian semifinals for the first time since 1987 while Taiwan failed to make the final four for the first time since 1999.

Despite Taiwan coaching staff knew that Douthit would be the key man in the Philippines' offense and had reportedly designed special defensive plans to contain Douthit, the former NBA draft pick still dominated the paint, shooting 14-for-25 in the game.

Taiwan played brilliantly for 15 minutes, leading by as many as nine points in the first half. It led by eight after backup forward James Mao's three-pointer with 4:40 left, but Philippines answered with a 14-3 run to close the first half leading by three.

Taiwan was out of synch in the second half as Philippines jumped to a 65-50 lead. It was hurt after point guard Lee Hsueh-lin was bloodied by an elbow of Joseph Casio and was forced to leave the game.

Taiwanese center Tseng Wen-ting fouled out of the game with 4:27 remaining. While Lu Cheng-ju made consecutive threes to pull within seven with three minutes left, it was too late.

Tseng led Taiwan with 20 points and five rebounds while Chen Hsin-an had 14. Lu scored 12 points and Lin Chih-chieh turned in 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Wu Tai-hao had 9 and 7.

Ranidel De Ocampo had 18 points for the Philippines. Masio Lassiter had 13 and 8.

Taiwan is scheduled to meet two-time defending champion Iran, which was shocked by Jordan in the quarterfinal, tomorrow but Lee Hsueh-lin would probably sit out the game for receiving stitches above his left eyebrow.

Several Taiwanese players were quoted as saying that they were not happy with the cheap shots thrown by some opposing players, but they also acknowledged that their poor play in the second half was why the Philippines had an opportunity for the comeback.

(Photos: FIBA Asia)

Taiwan 78-95 Philippines

2011-09-23T20:30:00.001+08:00

Taiwan lost to the Philippines 95-78 in the quarterfinal round of the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Men.

Taiwan vs. Philippines

Taiwan 109-62 Malaysia

2011-09-23T20:28:00.001+08:00

Led by Jet Chang's 25 points and Lin Chih-chieh's 21 points, Taiwan beat Malaysia 109-62 in its last game of the second round. It is scheduled to meet the Philippines in the quarterfinal round.

Taiwan vs. Malaysia

Taiwan loses to Korea, 82-61

2011-09-20T22:16:00.001+08:00

Reports from FIBA Asia:

KOR/TPE - Korea is a team of action, their coach a man of few words

WUHAN, China (26th FIBA Asia Championship): Korea coach Hur Jae is a man of very few words. The regulars to the post-game conferences here would vouch that there is not more than a mono syllable answer that you can expect from the 46-year-old. Probably, he doesn’t need to since his team takes care of the most of the action on the court without any trouble as they did against Chinese Taipei in their 82-61 win.

There’s this calmness and ‘you-can’t-read-my-face’ expression about Hur that is indirectly proportional to the intensity and ferocity his team has shown so far which catapulted the East Asia Champions to right on top of the leading contenders’ list for the Championship.

“Of course we want to win the Championship but there is a lot of difference between wanting and winning,” he said nodding in satisfaction about the team’s performance.

Ha Seung-jin got some court-time today, but nothing noteworthy in his 5-minute stay, but considering that the 221-cm center was coming from an injury, and Korea didn’t need him to do anything for this win against Taipei, his presence may be taken as only positive.

Cho Sung-min (pic above) was in devastating form as usual for his game-high 19 points and naturalized forward Moon Taejong came up with his contribution of 15 points.

“They are crucial for our progress in the tournament,” Hur answered a question in the affirmative.

Four wins on the trot has brought Korea to a head-on collision with twice defending champions Iran an encounter which on Wednesday will decide who tops the Group E.

“They are a good team. We will prepare for them,” was all Hur would say.

Taipei had their moments – like a 7-0 run midway towards the end of the first quarter – but those were sporadic, and just not sufficient to stop the Korean juggernaut.

Taiwan vs. Korea

Taiwan edges Lebanon 60-58 in second round

2011-09-20T08:16:00.001+08:00

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.

Jet 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)

Boxscore: Taiwan 60-58 Lebanon

2011-09-19T23:56:00.001+08:00

Taiwan vs. Lebanon

Boxscore: Taiwan vs. Qatar

2011-09-17T23:37:00.001+08:00

Taiwan vs. Qatar

Taiwan makes second round

2011-09-17T23:31:00.001+08:00

Jet Chang scored a game-high 35 points in Taiwan's 94-78 victory over Qatar Saturday in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Men and helped Taiwan advance to the 12-team second round.

Taiwan made the second round as second place of the Group B with a 2-1 record, behind the undefeated Iran (3-0).

Qatar, which was plagued by naturalization issues with FIBA Asia and saw six of its players suspended, used five players for the entire game. In protest of the shocking development, Qatar basically gave up its previous two games by fouling out players before deciding to play today.

Chang made 10-of-18 shots, including 6-of-10 from three. He was not proud of his 35 points though, telling the media after the game that the game was not competitive.

"We were a little bit hesitant in the beginning because we didn't know how Qatar would play this game, " said Lee Hsueh-lin, who had 15 points and seven assists.

Tseng Wen-ting, who seemed to be not in his best condition in the preliminary round, had 14 points and seven rebounds.

Head coach Chou Jun-san said it was not an easy game for Taiwan NT, because Qatar had been stripped of several players and could not play the game with its full squad.

Chou was not happy with Taiwan NT's rebounding effort in the first three games, saying that it would be an important factor in the next round.

Omar Salem led Qatar with 30 points and 12 rebounds. Erfan Ali Saeed had 19 and 13 while Abdulrahman Saad chipped in 18 and 10.

Preliminary round standing: (top three teams advance)
Group A
Korea 3-0
Lebanon 2-1
Malaysia 1-2
India 0-3

Group B
Iran 3-0
Taiwan 2-1
Uzbekistan 1-2
Qatar 0-3

Group C
Japan 3-0
Jordan 2-1
Syria 1-2
Indonesia 0-3

Group D
China 3-0
Philippines 2-1
UAE 1-2
Bahrain 0-3

Second round brackets:
Group E
Korea
Taiwan
Uzbekistan
Lebanon
Malaysia
Iran

Group F
Japan
Philippines
Jordan
Syria
UAE
China

(Photos: FIBA Asia)

Video: Taiwan-Iran highlight

2011-09-17T12:56:00.001+08:00

Review of the Iran game

2011-09-17T12:05:00.001+08:00

For 26 minutes, Taiwan NT played solid defense against Iran and was on the verge of pulling off a big upset in Wuhan. However, Samad Bahrami came to the rescue and Taiwan NT went out of synch in the last 14 minutes, ending up with a 12-point loss.

Taiwan was able to stay with the Iranians early as both sides couldn't seem to find the basket and Taiwan playing aggressive and tenacious defense against its opponents, especially 7-2 center Hamed Haddadi.

Taiwan used speed to its advantage in an 11-1 run in the third quarter to make the score 30-20. With 2:08 left in the quarter, Haddadi, who finished with eight points and 18 rebounds, was out of the game after committing his fourth foul.

"That was when we started to feel we could win the game…until Bahrami took over," said center Wu Tai-hao, who had a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds.

Bahrami, a 6-6 forward who recovered from an injury, scored 11 of his 18 points in the quarter and led Iran to regain the lead, 32-31, at the end of the third period.

Taiwan never recovered from the slump. With 2:10 left in the game, Iran took a 10-point lead.

Both teams failed to shoot the ball well. Taiwan shot a miserable 21 percent from the field and Iran was no much better at 33 percent as both sides blamed it on the Chinese organizers, who gave the teams used balls for practice but new balls in competitions.

Players described the new balls as slippery and said it was very hard to get a grip of the ball in the act of shooting and dribbling.

Taiwan's Lin Chih-chieh had eight points, but shot 0-for-7 from three. Taiwan and Iran shot a combined 5-for-47 from three-point territory. Center Tseng Wen-ting scored three points on 1-for-10 shooting. Chen Hsin-an had seven points.

Taiwan was outrebounded by Iran 60-27 but the main reason it could stay with Iran, aside from defense, was its strategy to draw body contact. The decision paid dividends as Taiwan was 11-of-13 from the free-throw line. Iran only made four out of 10 attempts.

Local media lamented the loss but praised the team for its fighting spirit.

In some way, the tournament was a brand new start for Taiwan NT, which hired former NBA coach Bob Hill as its technical advisor and named Chou Jun-san, who did not have any head-coaching experience, as its new head coach.

Personally, I think former Taiwan NT head coach Chung Kwang-suk, a South Korean, did well. Under Chung, Taiwan NT played its best zone defense in years and finished fifth place two years ago. The CTBA's decision to stop hiring foreign head coaches was a pity.

However, since the decision has been made. I wish Hill, Chou and Taiwan NT do well in the tournament and beyond.

Boxscores: Taiwan vs. Iran and Uzbekistan

2011-09-16T16:28:00.001+08:00

Taiwan vs. Iran Taiwan vs. Uzbekistan

Chou unhappy with win over Uzbekistan

2011-09-16T16:26:00.001+08:00

Taiwan beat Uzbekistan 81-71 Friday for its first win in the 2011 Asian Championship following a loss to Iran the day before, but head coach Chou Jun-san, who's making his international debut as a coach, was not a happy man.

Leading by as many as 22 points with seven minutes left in the game, Taiwan only came up with a 10-point win at the end. The 12-point differential could cost Taiwan a berth in the second round if it loses to Qatar.

Sixteen teams are divided into four groups of four in the first round with the top three teams in each group advancing to the 12-team second round. The first-round scores will carry over to the second round, where teams will be divided into two groups of six and the top four teams of the groups advance to the quarterfinal round.

Five Qatar players who were suspended by FIBA Asia over nationality issue reportedly could be allowed to play in the game versus Taiwan.

Chou was not happy with his players, saying that he had warned them against being "too relaxed" with the Uzbekistan team.

Jet Chang led Taiwan with 15 points while backup forward James Mao surprised with 13 points. Chen Hsin-an and Lu Cheng-ju finished with 11 points each.

FIBA Asia report:

TPE/UZB - Taipei take charge early, cruise past Uzbekistan
WUHAN, China (26th FIBA Asia Championship): Chinese Taipei scored the first nine points of the game and then cruised along to an 81-71 win – their first in Group B – against Uzbekistan on Friday.

Both Chinese Taipei are Uzbekistan are now locked at one win and one loss each, and with one game in hand – against Qatar and Iran respectively.

“We knew we had to win this game to stay alive (for a place in the Second Round),” said Taipei coach Chou Chuan-San.

“We began well, but then lost concentration. This is what I’m worried about when we play bigger teams,” the coach said.

“We can do a lot better on the free-throws. Overall I think we need to move to the next gear if we have to do well,” he added.

(Photo: FIBA Asia)

IRI/TPE - Samad steers Iran to safety and opening win

2011-09-15T22:20:00.001+08:00

WUHAN, China (26th FIBA Asia Championship): It needed the sparkling skills of Samad Bahrami, playing his first international game for the Iran NT, for Team Melli to start their quest for a FIBA Asia Championship with a 49-37 win against a feisty Ch. Taipei in Group B on Thursday.

Much as it brought cheers to many of the fans who assembled at the Wuhan Sports Center, the 28-year-old’s classy performance must have also brought relief to Iran coach Veselin Matic for having the spearhead back in form.

“Ours is a team of 12 players. We just do what the coach asks us to do,” Bahrami who had an 18-point game high said.

Iran outscored Taipei 17-6 in the final quarter – marked by a 10-0 run that closed the game – and that in a nutshell spoke for the struggle of the twice defending champions to play with their customary elan.

“A lot of our players are coming back from injuries,” reasoned Matic.

“Also this is the first game of the Championship. It was like a shock treatment for us to get our act together fast enough,” he said.

“I think both teams struggled to get used to the new balls. Look at the shooting rate,” he said.

Taipei had a woeful 2/20 in long rangers as against Iran’s 3/27.

“We have set long goals. So every game is a step in that direction,” Matic said.

Matic’s opposite number Chou Chuan-san attributed it on Iran’s craftier players for the turn of the tide in the second half.

“We played to a plan and carried out what we had planned. But a team like Iran can always surprise you with something different. Which is what happened today, when they didn’t start the game with him,” Chou said pointing to the fact that Bahrami came off the bench.

(Source: FIBA Asia)

2011-12 SBL season to tip off on Dec. 17

2011-09-01T00:44:00.001+08:00

A seven-team meeting convened by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association decided that the 2011-12 SBL season -- the ninth year of the semi-pro league -- will tip off on Dec. 17 this year and the player draft will be held on Oct. 7.

More details will be announced next week.

A number of regulations on rookies were approved. The minimum monthly salary for a first-year player will be NT$40,000 (US$1,379). A rookie player has to play for the team that selected him in the draft for at least two years before obtaining the free agent status.

Players who are not selected in the draft or those who are selected but are not placed in the team's roster will become free agents and can be signed by any team.

Seven SBL teams will also start negotiating with ESPN Taiwan for the broadcast contract for the next season. Taiwan Beer head coach Yen Chia-hua has been named chief negotiator by representatives of the seven teams.

Taiwan finishes 4th in 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Women

2011-08-29T11:18:00.001+08:00

Taiwan women's NT lost to Japan on Sunday for the second straight time by a large margin in the same tournament after a 83-56 loss kicked them out of the podium finish in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Women and the qualifying tournament of the 2012 London Olympics.

Losing to Japan by 27 in the preliminary round, Taiwan still couldn't keep up with the Japanese in the bronze medal game, scoring only 10 points in the first quarter and 9 in the second.

Japan led by an astonishing 55-19 at one point in the second quarter. Despite Chiang Feng-chun scored 16 in the final period, it was impossible for Taiwan to close the gap.

Chiang, who scored a team-high 24 points, said the entire team was too nervous to win the game. "We wanted to win this one so bad that we couldn't relax on the court."

Center Lin Chi-wen had nine points, but she was only 3 of 8 from the free-throw line.

Maki Takada led Japan with 25 points.

Taiwan lost to Japan in the bronze medal game for the third consecutive time in the Asian Championship.

Read the FIBA Asia report:

JPN/TPE - Yet another early Hayabusa flutter, this time it brings them the bronze

OMURA-NAGASAKI, Japan (24th FIBA Asia Championship for Women): Hosts Japan swamped their rivals with a familiar advance offensive early on in the game, further accelerated as the game progressed before settling into a cruise mode defeated Chinese Taipei 83-56 in the bronze medal play-off on Sunday.

Japan’s 11th bronze medal in FIBA Asia Championship for Women history also booked them a place in the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament. Taipei, on the other hand, have to be content with the mere semifinalists’ tag for the third FIBA Asia Championship in succession – and 10th overall.

A 9-0 run midway through the first quarter set the tone for the Japanese dominance.

Asami Yoshida and Yuko Oga, Japan’s two trusted spearheads struck once each with characteristic elan and Maki Takada (pic above) scored on the paint and completed a three-point play as Japan perched themselves firmly in the driving seat.

A seat they got down only at the final buzzer.

Takada scored 11 of her game-high 25 points for the game and Oga had 6 of her game’s 10 points and 2 of a game-high 6 assists in the first quarter.

“After the defeat last night (in the semifinals to China), the team was determined to prove we are not as bad,” said Oga.

“That determination combined with our rhythm helped us to a good start,” she said.

“I had a lot of dreams before this tournament. I was really determined to take the team to the Olympics. It was heartbreaking when we lost last night. But I think we more than made up for that with today’s performance,” said Takada.

“Our shooting let us down,” said Taipei coach Chang Hui-Yin.

“The point about Japan tonight was they as aggressive in their defense as in their offense. We were truly caught off guard,” she said.

On Saturday, Taiwan lost 72-66 to Korea in the semifinal game after committing 16 turnovers and missing a couple of shots that could have cut the deficit in the closing minutes.

Read the FIBA Asia report:

KOR/TPE - Ha effect on Taipei, Korea enter finals
OMURA-NAGASAKI, Japan (24th FIBA Asia Championship for Women): Giant center Ha Eun Joo punched crucial holes in the rival defense at the crunch situations to help twelve-time former champions Korea overcome Chinese Taipei 72-66 for their fourth successive – and 22nd overall – entry into the FIBA Asia Championship gold medal game.

Of course, Taipei proved – as Korea coach Lim Dal Shik had expected – as tough a nut to crack and it was Ha’s 202-cm presence right in the center of the Korean plans that made all the difference.

Taipei almost matched Korea point for point and basket for basket – but all only when Ha was benched.

Ha played only 18 minutes, but logged in a dozen points in that time to leave Taipei high and dry literally.

“She’s very effective when used like this,” Lim Dal Shik said of using Ha in parts.

“I just do my job. If it is useful for the team, I’m happy,” Ha said.

Sin Jung Ja and Kim Jung Eun, who along with Ha are the only three members in the current team, who were also a part of the gold winning Korean team at the 22nd FIBA Asia Championship for Women at Incheon in 2007, did the rest of the damage for Korea.

Sin scored 15 points and collected 8 rebounds and Kim accounted for 13 points and 7 rebounds.

Choi Youn Ah kept her dream of winning a maiden FIBA Asia Championship for Women medal alive wih 13 points.

“We did alright. Let’s get back to our boards where we lost out,” rued Taipei coach Chang Hui-Yin.

Chiang Feng-chun and Liu Chun-yi shared the scoring honors for Taipei with 15 points each.

Photos: Derrick Rose Taiwan tour

2011-08-29T00:00:00.001+08:00

A couple of photos from the wire news agencies.

NBA MVP Derrick Rose concludes Taiwan tour

2011-08-28T23:55:00.001+08:00

Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls finished his two-day trip to Taiwan today.

Take a look at the following videos. The first one was Rose's interview with Videoland TV. The English efficiency of the host was less than desired and the questions he posed were…urghh…You know.

But I like the second video in which you can see Rose played with hand puppets, one of Taiwan's best known traditional folk arts.

Derrick Rose interview with Videoland TV

Derrick Rose plays with Taiwan's hand puppets

Yet another player leaves KKL

2011-08-27T12:02:00.001+08:00

Forward Chang Jung-hsuan, who was listed on the 24-man roster of the Taiwan NT this year before being cut, has been released by Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor (KKL), the team said in a press release.

Local media reported that the 1.90-meter forward, who won the SBL's Most Improved Player award last season, will sign with Taiwan Mobile.

Chang became yet another player leaving the team this summer. Chen Ching-huan, Lin Chih-lung and Hung Ying-che have all signed with Taiwan Mobile. Wang Nan-kuei and Huang Chu-tao signed with Bank of Taiwan.

Only four players -- Kao Tien-lin, Shan Wei-fan, Hong Chi-chao and Lee Chun-wei -- from the roster last season remain with the team. New KKL head coach Hsu Chih-chao could be in deep trouble finding players.

A former MVP in the high school league HBL, Chang was named as the Most Improved Player of the SBL last season. At the same time, he led National Taiwan Normal University to its third consecutive UBA title and won the MVP.

2011 WUG: Taiwan women's basketball wins silver medal

2011-08-27T11:40:00.001+08:00

Well, OK, this is not new. It happened last week. But I didn't have time blogging. Taiwan women's NT lost to the US 101-66 in the gold medal game of the 2011 World University Game in Shenzhen, China. However, it was the best finish and the first medal ever for Taiwan in the games.

The medal is also Taiwan's first medal at major international competitions on any level, men or women.

Local media described the team that almost no one paid attention to as a Cinderella team after the team went past Finland, Lithuania and China in the preliminary round and beat Brazil in the quarterfinal and Sweden in the semifinal.

Taiwan was able to use its speed to counter taller opponents, but the team had no answers to the much taller Americans, who average 1.86 meter as a team, in the title game. Chang Ning, Taiwan's tallest player, is 1.86 meter tall.

Taiwan women's NT had eight appearances in the WUG before this year, finishing best in 2003 when it ranked fourth in Daegu, Korea.

Taiwan's senior women's NT made the World Championship four times -- 1986, 1994, 2002 and 2006. Its best finish was 12th place.

Taiwan women's NT in Shenzhen (5-1):
8/14 Taiwan 78-45 Finland
8/15 Taiwan 71-48 Lithuania
8/16 Taiwan 77-70 China
8/18 Quarterfinal: Taiwan 65-54 Brazil
8/19 Semifinal: Taiwan 71-70 (OT) Sweden
8/21 Final: USA 101-66 Taiwan

Taiwan women's NT to meet Korea in Asian Championship semifinals

2011-08-27T11:10:00.001+08:00

Taiwan (2-3) is scheduled to meet top seed Korea (5-0) in the semifinal of the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Women tonight at Omura, Japan.

Taiwan lost 69-67 to Korea in the final game of the preliminary round.

China will meet Japan in the other semifinal game.

Taiwan women's NT in preliminaries:
8/21 Taiwan 81-53 India
8/22 Japan 81-54 Taiwan
8/23 Taiwan 83-55 Lebanon
8/24 China 72-63 Taiwan
8/25 Korea 69-67 Taiwan

Preliminary round standings:
LEVEL I
Team    W    L    Pts    GA
Korea    5    0    10    1.23
China    4    1    09    1.31
Japan    3    2    08    1.18
Taiwan    2    3    07    1.07
Lebanon    1    4    06    0.78
India    0    5    05    0.60

LEVEL II
Team    W    L    Pts    GA
Malaysia    4    1    9    1.49
Kazakhstan    4    1    9    1.25
Indonesia    4    1    9    1.07
Uzbekistan    2    3    7    1.17
Singapore    1    4    6    0.65
Sri Lanka    0    5    5    0.64

Taiwan basketball notes

2011-08-19T23:04:00.001+08:00

Chen Hsin-an to sign with PY?
Chen Hsin-an, 31, reportedly will return to Taiwan and sign with Pure Youth after spending the last two years in China with Dongguan.

Chen has finished his two-year contract with Dongguan, where his playing time was limited due to injury and other reasons. According to the United Daily News, Dacin Tigers is also trying to sign Chen, but Chen has not reached a final decision on his future, saying that he wants to focus on the upcoming FIBA Asia Championship for Men right now.

Yang Chin-min signs with Jilin
The United Daily News reported that Taiwan Beer swingman Yang Chin-min has signed with Jilin of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) for a two-year contract worth 2.5 million Chinese Yuan (NT$11.31 million).

Yang was tested by Shanghai, which has signed Taiwanese center Tseng Wen-ting, in early July but decided to sign with Jilin, which offered better contract, the report said.

Yang's departure will be another devastating blow to Taiwan Beer, which has lost many players to Chinese teams, including Yang, Lin Chih-chieh (Zhejiang) and Wu Tai-hao (Zhejiang). Backup guard Wu Min-hsien and forward Doug Creighton also left. Creighton reportedly signed with Pure Youth, his former team.

Taiwan NT having trouble keeping players
Taiwan NT is having trouble keeping players on its roster before the team leaves for Shanghai and Hanzhou, China for a training tour, local media reported.

Yang Chin-min could sit out the FIBA Asia Championship for Men as his ill mother is scheduled for an operation.

Lee Hsueh-lin, who played last year in the CBA with Beijing, requested to leave the team temporarily to negotiate his contract with Beijing.

Point guard Chen Shih-nian was one of four players skipping the Thursday practice. Chen was in China to try out for a Chinese team and will join the team in Shanghai. Center Tseng Wen-ting was in hospital for a checkup of his hip injury.

(Photos: UDN)

2011 Jones Cup videos: Iran wins championship

2011-08-18T09:05:00.001+08:00

Interview of Iranian center Hamed Haddadi

Awarding ceremony

Taiwan NT 15-man roster for Asian Championship confirmed: report

2011-08-15T02:34:00.001+08:00

Taiwan head coach Chou Jun-san made the final cut right after the conclusion of the 2011 William Jones Cup with the 15-man roster for the upcoming FIBA Asia Championship for Men set, local newspaper Liberty Times reported.

Little-used point guard Hung Chih-shan of Pure Youth and young and inexperienced Chou Yi-hsiang were cut as well as Doug Creighton, who was reportedly unable to participate in the Asian Championship due to family business, the report quoted Chou as saying.

The 15-man roster is listed below.

Yang Ching-min, 188cm, 1984/01/22, 27, TB
Wu Tai-hao, 202cm, 1985/02/07, 26, TB
Chen Shih-nian, 180cm, 1984/04/08, 27, TB
Ho Shou-cheng, 196cm, 1983/02/15, 28, TB
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
Chen Shun-hsiang, 190cm, 1985/05/02, 26, BOT
Su Yi-chieh, 182cm, 1987/01/28, 24, TM
Lee Hsueh-lin, 175cm, 1984/01/31, 27, Beijing (China)
Tseng Wen-ting, 202cm, 1984/07/06, 26, Osaka (Japan)
Lin Chih-chieh, 192cm, 1982/06/11, 28, Zhejiang (China)
Chen Hsin-an, 195cm, 1980/07/01, 30, Dong Guan (China)
Jet Chang, 192cm, 1988/12/27, 22, BYU-Hawaii (US)
Chou Po-chen, 196cm, 1990/08/08, 20, Taiwan Normal University

Head coach: Chou Jun-san, Taiwan Beer
Assistants: Hsu Chin-tse, Pure Youth; Liu Hwa-lin, Taiwan Beer
Technical Adviser: Bob Hill

Among the 15 players, center Tseng Wen-ting sat out the last two games of the Jones Cup to nurse his hip muscle strain while Wu Tai-hao was kept out of the entire tourney due to injury. Another key frontcourt player Tien Lei was not included in the 18-man roster also because of injury. As usual, Taiwan's height is expected to be a huge disadvantage in Wuhan, Hubei, China.

Iran goes three in a row in William Jones Cup

2011-08-15T02:19:00.001+08:00

Title game: Iran 66-59 Korea
Iran defeated Korea 66-59 in the title game of the 2011 William Jones Cup tournament Sunday to win its third straight title at the annual invitational tournament.

Iranian center Hamed Haddadi of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies followed his semifinal outburst of 36 points, 8 rebounds and five blocks against the Philippines with another brilliant outing, collecting 35 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocks against the Koreans in the title game.

Haddadi outplayed former NBA center Ha Seung-jin, who had four points and 8 boards before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Haddadi's strong showing quickly forced Korean center Kim Joo-sung to another disqualification.

Korea could never keep up with Iran after Kim and Ha both fouled out.

Iran's three-peat (2009-2011) marked the fifth consecutive year that a West Asia team wins the Jones Cup tournament. Jordan won the tourney in 2007 and 2008 before finishing as runner-up behind Iran in 2009.

IRN: H. Haddadi 35+18+7blk, O. Sahakian 13+8
KOR: Kim Joo-sung 19+6+4a, Moon Tae-jong 15, Yang Dong-geun 13, Ha Seung-jin 4+8

Hamed Haddadi vs. Ha Seung-jin

Bronze medal game: Philippines 82-72 Taiwan
Marcus Douthit once again dominated the paint as Philippines led from start to finish to win the third place in the Jones Cup, leading by as many as 22 in the fourth quarter before Taiwan used a 18-6 run to cut the deficit.

Taiwanese center Tseng Wen-ting sat out his second straight game due to hip muscle strain.

PHI: M. Douthit 28+11, M. Lassiter 16, D. Hontiveros 13+7
TWN: Chien Chia-hung 26+7, Chen Shun-hsiang 13

Chien Chia-hung, Taiwan

Chen Hsin-an, Taiwan

Su Yi-chieh vs. Chris Tiu

5/6 place game: Japan 73-70 Jordan
JPN: Takeki Shonaka 24, Fumio Nishimura 23
JOR: Y. Wesam 17, I. Abbas 15+7, R. Wright 12

Takeki Shonaka, Japan

Fumio Nishimura, Japan

=====

Semifinal 1: Korea 90-85 (OT) Taiwan
Thirty-five-year-old Moon Tae-jong, known as Cameron Stevenson when he played in America and Europe, scored 10 of his game-high 28 points in overtime as Korea overcame strong challenge from Taiwan to advance to the title game.

Chen Hsin-an turned in his best game in a national team uniform in years, tallying 22 points, six rebounds and four assists.

KOR: Moon Tae-jong 28, Oh Se-keun 11+11, Kim Joo-sung 12+9
TWN: Chen Hsin-an 22+6+4, Lee Hsueh-lin 12, Jet Chang 12+7

Chen Hsin-an, Taiwan

Lin Chih-chieh, Taiwan

Chen Hsin-an, Taiwan

Su Yi-chieh, Taiwan

Semifinal 2: Iran 78-59 Philippines
IRN: H. Haddadi 36+8+5blk, O. Sahakian 16+7
PHI: M. Douthit 16, M. Lassiter 10, A. Barroca 10+7

Marcus Douthit vs. Hamed Haddadi

Andy Barroca, Philippines

Javad Davari, Iran

Final Standing:
1. Iran 7-2
2. Korea 7-2
3. Philippines 6-3
4. Taiwan 4-5
5. Japan 5-4
6. Jordan 4-4
7. Malaysia 1-7
8. UAE 0-7

Preliminary standing:
1. Korea 6-1
2. Philippines 5-2
3. Iran 5-2
4. Taiwan 4-3
5. Jordan 4-3
6. Japan 3-4
7. Malaysia 1-6
8. UAE 0-7

2011 William Jones Cup: boxscores

2011-08-14T21:49:00.001+08:00

I'm sorry for not writing reports about the Jones Cup for the past couple of days. I was to busy with my day job.

People asked me about the boxscores of the tournament. Here they are. You should be able to tell which team is which and the names of the players.

By the way, Iran just completed the three-peat, beating South Korea 66-59 in the title game.

Playoff round boxscores
http://wjc.basketball-tpe.org/files/13-1004-1554.php
Preliminary round boxscores
http://wjc.basketball-tpe.org/files/600-1004-71.php

2011 Jones Cup preliminary round standing

2011-08-13T17:37:00.001+08:00

1. Korea 6-1
2. Philippines 5-2
3. Iran 5-2
4. Taiwan 4-3
5. Jordan 4-3
6. Japan 3-4
7. Malaysia 1-6
8. UAE 0-7

Day 5: Taiwan survives UAE scare

2011-08-10T23:46:00.001+08:00

Taiwan 92-87 UAE (32-40)
TWN: Jet Chang 24, Chen Shun-hsiang 15, Lu Cheng-ju 14, Tseng Wen-ting 5+5+5blk
UAE: I. Ahmad 21+4s, R.A. Zaabi 20, M. Al Braiki 15

Japan 87-70 Jordan (35-40)
JOR: R. Wright 26, O. Daghles 12+4s, Z. Abbas 11+9
JPN: Keijuro Matsui 25, Takeki Shonaka 18

Iran 69-49 Malaysia
IRN: H. Ehdadi 13+7, M. Nabipoor 12+8
MY: Tian Yuan Kuek 11

Korea 78-70 Philippines (37-28)
PHI: J. Casio 27, M. Douthit 16+8, M. Baracael 13
KOR: Oh Se-guen 19+6, Ha Seung-jin 16, Yang Dong-geun 17+6+5a, Moon Tae-jong 11+10

Standings:
Korea 5-0
Taiwan 4-1
Philippines 3-2
Jordan 3-2
Iran 3-2
Japan 2-3
Malaysia 0-5
UAE 0-5

Taiwan vs. Philippines highlight

2011-08-09T23:47:00.001+08:00

Taiwan vs. Philippines Aug. 7, 2011

Day 4 results

2011-08-09T23:15:00.001+08:00

Standings:
Korea 4-0
Jordan 3-1
Philippines 3-1
Taiwan 3-1
Iran 2-2
Japan 1-3
Malaysia 0-4
UAE 0-4

Iran 84-55 UAE

Philippines 86-68 Malaysia

Korea 69-67 Japan

Taiwan 77-75 Jordan

(Photos: CTBA)

Day 3: Taiwan 104-54 Malaysia

2011-08-08T21:46:00.001+08:00

Standings:
Jordan 3-0
Korea 3-0
Philippines 2-1
Taiwan 2-1
Iran 1-2
Japan 1-2
Malaysia 0-3
UAE 0-3

(Photos: CTBA)

Day 3 results

2011-08-08T20:44:00.001+08:00

Japan 92-85 UAE

Jordan 76-72 Philippines

Korea 77-59 Iran

(Photos: CTBA)

Day 2: Philippines silence clueless Taiwan

2011-08-07T22:35:00.001+08:00

[Tseng Wen-ting vs. Marcus Douthit]

If this tournament is the Asian Championship, Taiwan is in deep trouble. Fortunately, it's not.

The Philippines outplayed host Taiwan on both ends of the court from start to finish, scoring a 90-78 convincing victory on Taiwan's home turf behind support of hundreds of passionate Filipino fans -- as usual -- Sunday night.

Taiwan's closest neighbor to the south is now tied 2-0 with Jordan and Korea after two days.

With starting center Tseng Wen-ting committing two quick fouls in the first quarter and Wu Tai-hao sitting out the game due to injury, Taiwan had no answer against Philippines' twin tower of Marcus Douthit, who had a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds, and agile J.P Aguilar, who had 12 points, and trailed by as many as 20 in the second half.

Douthit and Aguilar were extremely active and effective offensively and defensively. Led by Joseph Casio, Donaldo Hontiveros and Marcio Lassiter, the Philippine backcourt was able to penetrate, kick-out and score against a passive Taiwan defense for almost the entire game.

Philippines NT was also able to execute its half-court sets with efficiency as the big guys set solid picks for wing players and the entire team executed a beautiful inside-outside game.

I don't mean to take anything away from the Philippines, who very much deserved to win this game, but there was one thing to ponder. For the second consecutive game, Taiwan head coach Chou Jun-san put all of his 12 guys on the court before the halftime buzzer and kept substituting players in and out the entire game, even when the team was making a run.

I don't have any proof, but it looked to me that Chou intended to use this tournament as a TRUE warm-up tourney to evaluate players' performance before the more important FIBA Asia Championship next month.

Defensively, Taiwan's backcourt had trouble to keep up with the quicker Philippine guards and the inside players were clueless against taller Douthit and Aguilar. Taiwan's defense failed to contain the Philippines' mid-range game either.

Offensively it's even worse. The team shot a miserable 35 percent. There was no half-court set to speak of. And, at one point, it seemed that no one wanted to shoot.

There is still time for Taiwan to regroup and tune up. Hopefully, Chou and technical adviser Bob Hill are able to make things happen quickly in time for the big prize -- the Asian Championship in Wuhan, China.

Philippines 90-78 Taiwan (Half 49-36)
PHI: M. Douthit 23+9, A.P. Aguilar 12, J. Casio 10, C. Lutz 9, D. Hontiveros 9
TWN: Chen Hsin-an 17, Tseng Wen-ting 14+8, Lin Chih-chieh 13

Standings:
Jordan 2-0
Korea 2-0
Philippines 2-0
Taiwan 1-1
Iran 1-1
Japan 0-2
Malaysia 0-2
UAE 0-2

Jet Chang, Taiwan

Chen Hsin-an, Taiwan

(Photos: CTBA)

Day 2: Jordan, Korea, Iran cruise

2011-08-07T21:02:00.001+08:00

Jordan 93-63 Malaysia
JOR: Z.A. Abbas 21+7, O. Daghles 17+4a+5s
MY: Li Wei Chee 13, Shee Fai Loh 12

O. Daghles, Jordan

Korea 102-54 UAE
Oh Se-keun 16, Lee Jung-suk 13, Moon Tae-jong 12, Kang Byung-hyun 12
UAE: Q. Omar 11+8, K. Salem 10+8

Ha Seung-jin, Korea

Iran 77-58 Japan
IRN: J. Davari 12, O. Sahakian 10+9, M. Kamrani 10, A. Kardoust 10
JPN: Keijuro Matsui 11, Sean Hinkley 2+10

M. Kamrani (L), Keijuro Matsui (R)

Day 1: Philippines upset two-time defending champ Iran

2011-08-07T09:29:00.001+08:00

Led by naturalized Marcus Douthit, who had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Philippines upset two-time defending champion Iran Saturday in the opening day of the 2011 William Jones Cup invitational tournament in Taipei.

Philippines NT was more prepared against Iran, who came to Taipei without one of its key players Samad Nikkhah. According to Iranian head coach Veselin Matic, Hamed Ehadadi did not practice much with the team before arriving in Taiwan.

In the other game, Taiwan NT welcomed back Chen Hsin-an, who haven't been playing for Taiwan for years, and defeated a young and inexperienced Japan 99-72.

Philippines 73-59 Iran
PHI: M. Douthit 24+11, A.M. Barroca 13+7
IRN: H. Ehadadi 25+9, M. Kamrani 18

Taiwan 99-72 Japan
TWN: D. Creighton 18, Tseng Wen-ting 15, Lu Cheng-ju 12
JPN: Keijuro Matsui 13, Yuta Watanabe 12

Korea 110-50 Malaysia
KOR: Kang Byung-hyun 17, Moon Tae-jong 17, Cho Sung-min 16, Ha Seung-jin 10+9
MY: Li Wei Chee 12

Joran 91-72 UAE
JOR: R. Wright 15, Z.A. Abbas 14, A.J. Zaghab 12+8
UAE: O. Alameri 19

Standings:
Jordan 1-0
Korea 1-0
Philippines 1-0
Taiwan 1-0
Iran 0-1
Japan 0-1
Malaysia 0-1
UAE 0-1

Hamed Ehdadi, Iran

Tseng Wen-ting, Taiwan

Rashiem Wright, Jordan

Lin Chih-chieh, Taiwan

Cho Sung-min, Korea

Hsu Chih-chao named KKL new head coach

2011-08-05T10:03:00.001+08:00

Former Dacin Tigers assistant coach Hsu Chih-chao has been named head coach of the Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor, the team announced.

Hsu, 37, spent his entire career as a player or a coach in Dacin.

The young coach said that he will make KKL a "balanced" team on both ends of the court. KKL averaged 82.6 points per game last season but also surrender 88.6 points per game, highest among seven SBL teams.

The announcement, however, contradicts a previous report saying that Huang Bao-tse will be the team's new head coach next year. A local media reported that Huang was hired as an assistant rather a head coach.

2011 SBL coaches

Name     Team     DOB     W-L (Year)
Chiu Chi-yi     Yulon     1975.10.6     0-0 (2011-)
Yen Chia-hua     TB     1954.6.26     143-91 (2003-2011)
Chia Fan     TM     1975.2.3     0-0 (2011-)
Hsu Chin-tse     PY     1973.4.27     72-78 (2006-2011)
Lai Liang-chung     BOT     1960.8.13     26-93 (2007-2011)
Hsu Chih-chao     KKL     1974.5.1     0-0 (2011-)
Chiu Ta-tsun     Dacin     1964.7.1     87-63 (2006-2011)

2011 Jones Cup women's competition concludes

2011-08-05T09:44:00.001+08:00

Taiwan defeated Korea's Samsung club team 73-50 Thursday in the final game to win the 2011 William Jones Cup tournament women's competition with an undefeated record (4-0).

The title was Taiwan's seventh in tourney history.

In the other game of the night, Japan routed India 98-62 to finish as runner-up with 3-1.

To everyone's surprise, Samsung finished without a win in the tourney and snapped South Korean teams' three-peat quest in the tournament. South Korea sent WKBL teams instead of its national team to the Jones Cup in the past three years.

Local media reported that Samsung's import was injured and two of its best players were on the national team.

Taiwan women's NT head coach Chang Hui-ying was quoted as saying that she was unhappy with the team's defensive effort as players seemed to relax a bit after a big lead.

Final Standings:
Taiwan 4-0
Japan 3-1
Taiwan WUG 2-2
India 1-3
Samsung (Korea) 0-4

South Africa withdraws from 2011 Jones Cup

2011-08-05T09:43:00.001+08:00

South Africa national team has withdrawn from the 2011 William Jones Cup tournament due to funding problems, the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association announced Thursday.

After the withdrawal, the entire tourney has been re-scheduled. A playoff round will be added after the eight-team single round robin preliminary round. The schedule is listed as follows:

Aug. 6
13:00 Jordan-UAE
15:00 Korea-Malaysia
17:00 Philippines-Iran
19:00 Opening ceremony
19:30 Taiwan-Japan

Aug. 7
13:00 Malaysia-Jordan
15:00 UAE-Korea
17:00 Japan-Iran
19:00 Philippines-Taiwan

Aug. 8
13:00 UAE-Japan
15:00 Jordan-Philippines
17:00 Korea-Iran
19:00 Taiwan-Malaysia

Aug. 9
13:00 Iran-UAE
15:00 Malaysia-Philippines
17:00 Japan-Korea
19:00 Jordan-Taiwan

Aug. 10
13:00 Iran-Malaysia
15:00 Jordan-Japan
17:00 Philippines-Korea
19:00 Taiwan-UAE

Aug. 11
13:00 Japan-Malaysia
15:00 UAE-Philippines
17:00 Korea-Jordan
19:00 Taiwan-Iran

Aug. 12
13:00 UAE-Malaysia
15:00 Iran-Jordan
17:00 Japan-Philippines
19:00 Taiwan-Korea

Aug. 13
15:00 #7 vs. #6
17:00 #4 vs. #1 (Semifinals)
19:00 #2 vs. #3 (Semifinals)

Aug. 14
15:00 #7/#6 winner vs. #5
17:00 Third-place game
19:00 Championship game
Closing ceremony

Venue: Sinjhuang Stadium, New Taipei City

Taiwan women's NT wins 2011 Jones Cup

2011-08-04T10:44:00.001+08:00

[Liu Chun-yi, Taiwan NT]

Taiwan women's NT defeated the other home team, the World University Games national team, 77-59 Wednesday night to clinch the 2011 William Jones Cup tournament with one game left to play.

It is scheduled to meet Samsung of South Korea tonight, but the outcome will not affect the final placing. Samsung was 0-3 after three games.

7/31
Taiwan WUG 71-64 India
Taiwan 72-62 Japan

8/1
Taiwan 94-49 India
Taiwan WG 52-43 Samsung

8/2
Japan 77-58 Taiwan WUG
India 63-59 Samsung

8/3
Japan 61-56 Samsung
Taiwan 77-59 Taiwan WUG

8/4
India vs. Japan
Samsung vs. Taiwan

Standings thru. Aug. 3
Taiwan 3-0
Japan 2-1
Taiwan WUG 2-2
India 1-2
Samsung (Korea) 0-3

Taiwan finishes eleventh in Chile

2011-08-01T08:57:00.001+08:00

Led by Lin Yu-ting's 15, Taiwan placed five scorers in double-digit and defeated host Chile for the second time in the tournament to finish 11th place in the 2011 FIBA World U19 Championship for Women.

While the 11th place is not something to brag about, it is already Taiwan's best finish in the tourney. Taiwan was winless in its first appearance in 1993. This year it had a 3-5 record in Chile.

Taiwan U19 Women NT in Chile (3W5L)
July 21 Taiwan 83-73 Slovenia
July 22 Taiwan 47-77 Spain
July 23 Taiwan 50-88 Brazil
July 25 Taiwan 46-89 Australia
July 26 Taiwan 66-41 Chile
July 27 Taiwan 57-74 France
July 29 Taiwan 50-88 China
July 30 Taiwan 86-49 Chile

Lin Yu-ting

2011 Jones Cup rosters, schedule download

2011-07-30T23:48:00.001+08:00

For those who want to download complete rosters and schedule of the 2011 William Jones Cup Invitational Tournament, please visit this link:

http://www.box.net/shared/ndddad7lxphm0b6okdld

2011 William Jones Cup women's competition rosters

2011-07-30T23:41:00.001+08:00

Taiwan National Women’s Basketball Team

Head Coach：張慧瑛 CHANG, Hui-Yin
Coach：柯孟儀 KO, Meng-I

    馬怡鴻 MA,Yi-Hung    1980.11.27    176    68
    陳萓峰 CHEN,Yi-Feng    1984.11.13    171    60
    藍浩語 LAN, Hao-Yu    1983.08.02    171    64
    林紀妏 LIN, Chi-Wen    1983.08.19    186    68
    劉家秀 LIU,Chia-Hsiu    1983.12.06    182    63
    劉君儀 LIU,Chun-Yi    1981.01.23    180    80
    李宥叡 LI, You-Ruei    1986.12.23    181    68
    張詩婕CHANG, Shih-Chieh    1986.03.16    171    56
    初詠萱 CHU, Yung-Hsu    1981.01.08    177    69
    劉希曄 LIU, His-Yeh    1991.10.10    173    68
    柳伊純 LIU, Yi-Chun    1986.03.12    183    80
    林仙芳 LIN, Hsien-Fang    1991.08.16    168    65
    黃淑珍 HUANG, Shu-Chen    1983.09.20    178    83
    姜憶蓮 CHIANG, Yi-Lien    1982.09.08    164    58
    姜鳳君 CHIANG, Feng-Chun    1981.10.25    184    80

JAPAN National Women’s Basketball Team

Head Coach：小? 裕二三 KOJIMA, Hirofumi
Assistant Coach：古海五月 FURUMI, Satsuki
Assistant Coach：藪內夏美 YABUUCHI, Natsumi

4    藤吉佐緒里 FUJIYOSHI, Saori    1987.04.09    178    67
5    ?崎里奈 TOMIAKI, Rina    1988.03.18    180    72
6    山田茉美 YAMADA, Mami    1988.04.13    176    68
7    田中真樹 TANAKA, Maki    1988.05.27    171    66
8    MORI, Mutya    1988.11.01    180    70
9    林真未 HAYASHI, Naomi    1988.10.07    168    60
10    中? 惠里 NAKAHATA, Eri    1988.09.15    165    60
11    牛田悠理 USHIDA, Yuri    1989.10.19    181    62
12    元山夏菜 MOTOYAMA, Kana    1990.08.01    180    61
13    濱口京子 HAMAGUCHI, Kyoko    199.08.04    181    74
14    大沼美? ONUMA, Misaki    1990.10.02    175    70
15    櫻木千華 SAKURAGI, Chika    1991.06.09    179    64

Taiwan Women's Basketball Team of the Univesiade

Executive Coach：馬樹秀 MA, Shu-Shiou
Coach：鄭慧芸 CHENG, Hui-Yun
Coach：錢薇娟 CHIEN, Wei-Chuan
Coach：梁嘉音 LIANG, Chia-Yin

4    羅巧惠 LO, Chiao-Hui    1990.02.24    178    68
5    黃凡珊HUANG, Fan-Shan    1987.09.29    174    62
6    楊雅惠 YANG, Ya-Hui    1989.04.20    170    62
7    賴欣妤 LAI, Shin-Yu    1988.05.31    175    63
8    黃英利 HUANG, Ying-Li    1989.02.24    170    64
9    張寧CHANG, Ning    1987.10.16    185    75
10    楊淑淨 YANG, Shu-Ching    1988.01.14    170    62
11    陳鈺君CHEN, Yu-Chun    1987.03.07    178    70
12    徐千惠HSU, Chien-Hui    1989.09.10    171    60
13    吳欣穎WU, Shin-Ying    1987.02.06    176    76
14    黃品蓁HUANG, Ping-Jen    1989.11.06    177    71
15    謝佩君 HSIEH, Pei-Chun    1991.07.26    182    80

INDIA National Women’s Basketball Team

Head Coach：高迪 Peter James GAUDET
Coach：卡恩 Abdul Hamid KHAN

4    艾卡莎 Akanksha SINGH    1989.09.07    168    58
5    巴蒂 Bharti    1986.03.06    168    68
6    荷西 Geethu Anna JOSE    1985.06.30    185    80
7    艾妮塔 Anitha PAUL DURAI    1985.06.22    169    62
8    希度 Raspreet SIDHU    1989.07.18    169    60
9    哈基 Harjeet Kaur    1988.04.03    187    74
10    絲路蒂 Smruthi RADHAKRISHNAN    1992.04.15    175    60
11    莉瑪葉 Shireen Vijay LIMAYE    1995.02.13    187    79
12    瑪度 Pushpa MADDU    1989.02.15    165    66
13    索拉瑪尼 Kokila SUBRAMANI    1988.07.25    165    56
14    普拉香提 Prashanti SINGH    1984.05.05    173    66
15    拉斯曼 Kruthika LAKSHMAN    1989.03.26    177    65

KOREA Samsung Women’s Basketball Team

Head Coach：李虎根 LEE, Ho-Kun
Assistant Coach：鄭相日 JUNG, Sang-Il
Assistant Coach：Kirk Anthony COLLIER

0    KIM, Mi-So    1991.10.02    185    75
1    李花娟 LEE, Hwa-Yeon    1990.08.13    173    59
2    朴昭英 PARK, So-Young    1991.05.06    169    66
4    李宣和 LEE, Seon-Hwa    1988.06.02    181    84
7    朴太恩 PARK, Tae-Eun    1987.07.25    170    57
9    車洪珍 CHA, Hong-Jin    1992.04.24    179    69
10    HONG, Bo-Ram    1988.10.01    177    65
11    朴正恩 PARK, Jung-Eun    1977.01.14    180    67
15    李有真 LEE, You-Jin    1990.03.18    184    78
17    安孝振 AHN, Hyo-Jin    1991.10.14    179    74
35    Kimberly J ROBERSON    1986.11.21    178    77

2011 William Jones Cup men's competition rosters

2011-07-30T23:31:00.001+08:00

MALAYSIA National Men’s Basketball Team

Head Coach：吳清發GOH CHENG HUAT
Asst. Coach：蔡國強CHUA KOK KIAN

4    何耀龍HO YEOW LOONG    1988.05.06    178    77
5    蘇永慶 SOO, Eng-Heng    1984.04.04    180    78
6    魏川進 WEE CHUAN CHIN     1984.05.25    180    78
7    王俊棋ONG CHUN KHEE    1990.02.22    172    78
8    黃萬新OOI BAN SIN    1983.10.29    180    80
9    古加尼BATUMALAI GUGANESWARAN    1982.05.26    182    78
10    陳智鑫CHIN ZHI SHIN    1987.03.16    190    80
11    羅樹輝LOH SHEE FAI    1989.01.16    192    87
12    郭添源KUEK TIAN YUAN     1991.08.03    200    80
13    黃有成NG YEO SENG,JOHN    1981.08.30    193    90
14    關勇縉KWAAN YOONG JING    1990.07.13    200    87
15    陳利緯CHEE LI WEI     1983.06.10    198    100

JAPAN National Men’s Basketball Team

Head Coach：湯瑪仕 Thomas WISMAN
Assistant Coach：東野智? HIGASHINO, Tomoya
Assistant Coach：東頭俊典 TODO, Shunsuke
Assistant Coach：伊藤拓摩 ITO, Takuma

4    岡田優介 OKADA, Yusuke    1984.09.17    185    81
5    山田太治 YAMADA, Daiji    1981.06.08    200    105
6    野口大介 NOGUCHI, Daisuke    1983.05.26    196    86
7    太田敦也 OTA, Atsuya    1984.06.04    206    110
8    酒井泰滋 SAKAI, Taiji    1984.08.28    190    88
9    正中岳城 SHONAKA, Takeki    1984.09.15    180    78
10    松井啟十郎 MATSUI, Keijuro    1985.10.16    188    83
11    西村文男 NISHIMURA, Fumio    1986.09.24    177    73
12    伊藤大司 ITO, Taishi    1986.12.22    182    75
13    田臥勇太 TABUSE, Yuta    1980.10.05    173    75
14    荒尾岳 ARAO, Gaku    1987.01.15    198    93
15    鎌田裕也 KAMATA, Yuya    1990.05.11    197    98
16    Sean HINKLEY    1991.04.03    197    98
17    橋本晃佑 HASHIMOTO, Kosuke    1993.05.06    201    76
18    富?勇樹 TOGASHI, Yuki    1993.07.30    170    65
19    渡邊雄太 WATANABE, Yuta    1994.10.13    195    73

Taiwan National Men’s Basketball Team

Technical Advisor：Bob Hill
Head Coach：周俊三 Chou,Chun-San
Coach：許晉哲Hsu,Chin-Che
Coach：劉華林Liu,Hwa-Lin
Coach：周俊雄Chou,Chun-Hsiung

    陳世念 CHEN, Shih-Nine    1984.04.08    180    76
    楊敬敏 YANG, Chin-Min    1984.01.22    188    85
    李學林 LEE, Hsueh-Lin    1984.01.31    176    75
    陳順詳 CHEN, Shun-Hsiang    1985.05.25    190    90
    呂政儒 LU, Cheng-Ju    1986.04.13    194    88
    毛加恩 MAO, Chia-En    1982.11.16    196    90
    簡嘉宏 CHIEN, Chia-Hung    1987.03.06    197    108
    洪志善 HUNG, Chih-Shan    1985.07.05    176    75
    張宗憲 CHANG, Tsung-Hsien    1988.12.27    192    86
    蘇翔翊SU, I-Chieh    1985.01.28    181    78
    林志傑LIN, Chih-Chieh    1982.06.11    192    95
    陳信安CHEN, Hsin-An    1980.07.01    196    90
    何守正HO, Shou-Cheng    1983.02.15    196    96
    簡浩Douglas Creighton    1985.03.07    195    90
    周柏臣CHOU, Po-Chen    1990.08.08    197    95
    曾文鼎TSENG, Wen-Ting    1984.07.06    202    90
    吳岱豪WU, Tai-Hao    1985.02.07    203    100
    周儀翔CHOU, Yi-Hsian    1991.02.04    193    90

I.R.IRAN National Men’s Basketball Team

Head Coach：麥提克 Veselin MATIC
Coach：哈塔密 Mehran HATAMI
Coach：卡馬林 Safa Ali KAMALIAN

    索瑞尼加 Hamed SOHR ABNEJAD    1983.05.07    201    89
    艾倫 Aren DAVOUDICHEGANI    1986.07.12    184    78
    達法利 Javad DAVARI    1983.04.25    185    77
    卡拉尼 Mahdi KAMRANI    1982.06.01    186    78
    瓦西 Saman VEISI    1982.08.07    189    80
    巴洛 Reza LOTFI BAROGH    1983.09.16    191    90
    艾法 Hamed AFAGH    1983.02.01    190    78
    薩哈金 Oshin SAHAKIAN    1986.03.21    200    91
    卡杜斯特 Asghar KARDOUST    1986.03.21    212    118
    艾哈文 Rouzbeh ARGHAVAN    1988.05.18    213    104
    薩米德 Mohammadsamad NIK KHAHBAHRAMI    1983.05.11    198    85
    艾哈達迪 Hamed EHADADI    1985.05.19    218    115
    阿卡拉吉 Mohammad HASSANZADEH    1990.07.06    199    89
    納普爾 Moosa NABIPOOR    1983.08.14    213    102
    拉拉薩德 Yonas LALAEHZADEH    1989.01.28    199    89
    塔塔立 Amirhossein TATARI    1988.05.08    191    90
    達瓦帕那法 Saeid DAVARPANAHFARD    1987.09.07    190    86
    達瑞薩里Jaber ROUZBAHANI    1986.05.10    223    114
    薩德 Majid GHASEM ZADEH    1989.07.27    188    75

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES National Men’s Basketball Team

Head Coach：魯塞維奇Zoran ZUPCEVIC

4    艾布萊齊Mohamed AL BRAIKI     1991.12.21    190    80
5    穆巴拉克Salem MUBARAK     1982.06.03    207    85
6    艾瑪Ibrahim AHMAD     1979.06.09    175    75
7    阿努艾米Talal ALNUAIMI     1988.09.26    180    80
8    胡塞斯Husain AHMED     1989.03.06    180    80
9    薩倫Khalifa SALEM     1991.08.25    175    70
10    阿拉美里Omar ALAMERI     1991.11.18    190    90
11    艾薩比Rashed AL ZAABI     1988.10.19    188    75
12    歐馬Qais OMAR     1991.10.31    195    90
13    巴尼哈麥Malalla BANIHAMMAD     1983.06.18    200    95
14    艾哈塔威Ali ALHATTAWI     1979.11.20    200    95
15    阿布達拉Jasim ABDALLA     1988.11.24    202    95
    艾薩里Ibrahim ALSARI     1980.07.04    185    80
    阿拉里Rashid ALALI     1990.04.03    200    95
    亞庫Hamad YAQOUB     1989.06.10    175    80
    艾加那比Mohamed ALJUNAIBI     1991.03.28    205    95

SOUTH AFRICA National Men’s Basketball Team

Head Coach：恩文亞Mlungisi NGWENYA
Assistant Coach：安傑貝Patric ENGELBREGT

    默斯峇Neo,Kgalabi MOTHIBA    1982.03.21    199    90
    克威迪Thabang,Esiah KGWEDI    1978.04.15    198    98
    雷斯貝Kegorapetse,David LETSEBE    1980.10.14    198    88
    丹尼森Quintin,Cedrick DENYSSEN    1980.08.27    200    100
    恩構班尼Tsakani ,Craig NGOBENI    1983.12.16    199    95
    卡龍博Cedric,Lukanda KALOMBO    1983.06.02    208    95
    西邦庫魯Lindokuhle,Nduduzo SIBANKULU    1981.04.09    199    107
    達拉米尼Nhlanhla DLAMINI    1986.09.02    153    70
    基歐加提列Amogelang KEOGATILE    1987.10.10    198    89
    梅特勒Brendan,Glenn METTLER    1982.01.10    190    85
    恩圖加Vincent,Luyanda NTUNJA    1981.06.24    185    85
    西特侯Sakhile,Curtis SITHOLE    1990.03.11    198    108
    內哈威Tshilidzi NEPHAWE    1989.06.10    205    105
    艾文能Chris AVENANT    1991.04.25    195    88
    佳貝爾Christopher,James GABRIEL    1988.12.19    220    128
    瑪哈內立Fumani MARHANELE    1982.08.28    198    87

JORDAN National Men’s Basketball Team

Head Coach：鮑德溫Thomas ANTHONY BALDWIN
Coach：巴拉卡特Murad ABED ELRAZZAQ BARAKAT

4    阿部庫拉Abdallah RADWAN ABUQOURA     1984.05.30    204    100
5    阿拉瓦迪Mousa KAYED ALAWADI     1985.07.20    180    94
6    阿巴斯Zaid AHMED ABBAS     1983.11.21    203    92
7    察哈布Ali JAMAL ZAGHAB     1988.03.06    205
8    蘇若柯夫Enver KAZBEK SOOBZOKOV     1978.05.16    201    87
9    達格利Osama MOHAMMAD FATHI DAGHLES     1979.09.18    198    84
10    艾薩依德Alkhas ZAID NAIM     1976.03.07    201    98
11    艾索斯 Wesam YACOUB AL-SOUS    1983.02.24    189    83
12    默罕莫德Mahmoud NZAR ABDEEN     1987.12.23    192    86
13    阿海特Fares SAQF ALHAIT     1987.05.04    195    87
14    伊斯蘭Islam MOHAMMAD ABBAAS     1980.03.11    200    100
15    伊戴斯Ayman SADEQ IDAIS     1978.06.28    205    98

PHILIPPINES SMART Gilas Men’s Basketball Team

Head Coach：托洛曼 Rajko TOROMAN
Asst. Coach：邦怡 Oliver BUNYI
Asst. Coach：洛克 Jude Ericson ROQUE

    巴洛卡 Andy Mark BARROCA    1986.04.25    176    79
    卡西歐 Joseph Evans CASIO    1986.09.01    176    81
    艾巴布 Dylan Simon ABABOU    1986.12.07    183    84
    阿奇拉 Japeth Paul AGUILAR    1985.01.25    208    88
    漢迪夫洛斯 Donaldo HONTIVEROS    1977.06.01    188    84
    貝拉卡爾 Marnel BARACAEL    1985.04.14    193    85
    貝拉斯特羅 Jason BALLESTEROS    1985.07.10    198    87
    陶拉瓦 Pauliasi TAULAVA    1973.03.02    208    108
    提優 Christopher John TIU    1985.07.15    178    82
    萊思特 Marcio LASSITER    1987.05.16    188    84
    多希特 Marcus DOUTHIT    1980.04.15    211    106
    魯茲Christopher LUTZ    1985.02.11    193    86

KOREA National Men’s Basketball Team

Head Coach：許載 HUR, Jae
Assistant Coach： LEE, Hun-Jae
Assistant Coach： KIM, Sang-Shik

4    朴燦熙 PARK, Chan-Hee    1987.04.17    190    87
5    李政錫 LEE, Jung-Suk    1982.07.06    183    87
6    梁東根 YANG, Dong-Geun    1981.09.14    180    81
7    姜秉賢 KANG, Byung-Hyun    1985.03.03    193    91
8    Cameron Jarod STEVENSON    1975.12.01    198    96
9    金榮煥 KIM, Yong-Hwan    1984.07.05    195    94
10    趙成? CHO, Sung-Min    1983.12.23    189    91
11    梁熙鍾 YANG, Hee-Jong    1984.05.11    194    93
12    金周成 KIM, Joo-Sung    1979.11.09    205    97
13    河昇鎮 HA, Seung-Jin    1985.08.04    221    140
14    吳世根 OH, Sek-Eun    1987.05.20    200    98
15    金鍾奎 KIM, Jong-Kyu    1991.07.03    207    98

Official website of 2011 William Jones Cup

2011-07-22T18:55:00.001+08:00

The official website of the 2011 William Jones Cup invitational tournament has been launched at http://wjc.basketball-tpe.org/bin/home.php

AS USUAL, it's only in mandarin Chinese.

World U19 Women's: Taiwan opens with win over Slovenia

2011-07-22T13:12:00.001+08:00

(FIBA.com report)
Puerto Varas (2011 FIBA U19 World Championship for Women) - While some may have thought Chinese Taipei were in Chile to make up the numbers, they have shown they mean business on night one of the FIBA U19 World Championship for Women.

The FIBA U18 Asia Championship bronze medallists squarely put one foot in the Eight Finals with a superb 83-73 victory over the more fancied Slovenia in Puerto Varas.

Slovenia finished fourth at last year's European championship and feature emerging stars Nika Baric and Tjasa Gortnar. While the 187cm Gortnar fired with 23 points and 14 rebounds, Baric was contained to just 12 points on 3/9 shooting as Slovenia managed just 29 first half points and 36% shooting for the game.

In contrast, Chinese Taipei, who finished a distant third in the Asian Championship last year, had contributors all over the court, shooting 43% from the perimeter and committing just 10 turnovers for the night.

Small forward Yu-Ting Lin led the way with 17 points on 7/11 shooting, shooting guard Chi-Fang Chang collected 11 point and 5 rebounds, while small forwards Yu-Chun Wei and Wei-Lin Wang both scored 10 points as the Taipei wings dominated.

Chinese Taipei extended a three point quarter time lead to nine points at the main break and 12 at three quarter time, before comfortable holding on for a stirring victory over the talented Europeans.

Slovenia must now beat at least one of Spain and Brazil and rely on other results going their way to progress to the Eight Finals, while one more win will secure passage for Taipei.

Taiwan roster:
4     Chia-Wen KUO     PG     169cm 5'7"     18/04/1993
5     Yu-Chun WEI     SG     176cm 5'9"     23/05/1992
6     Jung-Hsing LIU     SG     173cm 5'8"     22/06/1992
7     Jung YANG     PF     183cm 6'0"     18/05/1993
8     Ching-Ning LEE     SF     175cm 5'9"     14/02/1992
10     I-Hsiu CHENG     SG     178cm 5'10"     24/06/1993
11     Hsiang-Ting HUANG     SF     179cm 5'10"     26/01/1993
12     Yu-Ting LIN     SF     183cm 6'0"     25/01/1994
13     Chi-Fang CHANG     SG     174cm 5'9"     16/01/1993
14     Wei-Lin WANG     SF     180cm 5'11"     01/02/1993
15     Tsai-Hsin CHEN     SF     181cm 5'11"     06/11/1993

World U19 World Championship for Women grouping:
Group A: Canada, Italy, Egypt, China
Group B: Russia, USA, Japan, Argentina
Group C: France, Chile, Nigeria, Australia
Group D: Taiwan, Brazil, Spain, Slovenia

http://chile2011.fiba.com/

Taiwan's 18-man roster for 2011 William Jones Cup

2011-07-20T09:05:00.001+08:00

Taiwan released its final 18-man roster for the 2011 William Jones Cup invitational tournament Tuesday.

All core players, including four players spending last season overseas, except 202cm forward Tien Lei are on the final roster.

Taiwan NT is scheduled to leave for Zhejiang, China on July 21 for a five-day training trip and return to Taipei on July 26 to prepare for the 2011 William Jones Cup.

A total of nine teams entered the men's competition, which will be held from Aug. 6-14 at Sinjhuang Stadium, New Taipei City,

Yang Ching-min, 188cm, 1984/01/22, 27, TB
Wu Tai-hao, 202cm, 1985/02/07, 26, TB
Chen Shih-nian, 180cm, 1984/04/08, 27, TB
Ho Shou-cheng, 196cm, 1983/02/15, 28, TB
Doug Creighton, 195cm, 1985/03/07, 26, TB
Hung Chih-shan, 176cm, 1985/07/05, 25, PY
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
Chen Shun-hsiang, 190cm, 1985/05/02, 26, BOT
Su Yi-chieh, 182cm, 1987/01/28, 24, TM
Lee Hsueh-lin, 175cm, 1984/01/31, 27, Beijing (China)
Tseng Wen-ting, 202cm, 1984/07/06, 26, Osaka (Japan)
Lin Chih-chieh, 192cm, 1982/06/11, 28, Zhejiang (China)
Chen Hsin-an, 195cm, 1980/07/01, 30, Dong Guan (China)
Jet Chang, 192cm, 1988/12/27, 22, BYU-Hawaii (US)
Chou Po-chen, 196cm, 1990/08/08, 20, Taiwan Normal University
Chou Yi-hsiang, 194cm, 1991/02/04, 20, Salt Lake CC (US)

Head coach: Chou Jun-san, Taiwan Beer
Assistants: Hsu Chin-tse, Pure Youth; Liu Hwa-lin, Taiwan Beer
Technical Adviser: Bob Hill

Knee injury kept Jeremy Lin from Wuhan

2011-07-16T11:18:00.001+08:00

Taiwan will not recruit Golden State Warriors guard Jeremy Lin for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan, China due to Lin's knee injury, Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) President Ting Shou-chung said Friday.

Lin is under rehabilitation for his knee injury and the Warriors medical team advised him against playing in competitions, Taiwanese media quoted Ting as saying.

Due to the NBA lockout, Ting thought Taiwan had a good opportunity to land Lin, but that was not the case after the injury had been reported.

Lin is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan for a 10-day promotional trip in August, including an appearance at NIKE Summer League Finals and a four-day basketball camp and other activities.

2011 William Jones Cup schedule released

2011-07-16T01:02:00.001+08:00

The Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) released the men's and women's competition schedules for the 2011 William Jones Cup invitational tournament.

A total of nine teams entered the men's competition, which will be held from Aug. 6-14 at Sinjhuang Stadium, New Taipei City, and there will be five teams in the women's tourney, which will be played at Taipei Gymnasium from July 31-Aug. 4.

Both groups will adopt the single round robin format to determine the winner.

Complete rosters of the tournament haven't been released yet, but I guess most men's teams will be national teams as most teams would love to use the tourney as a warm-up series to prepare for the upcoming Asian Championship in Wuhan, Hubei, China in September.

In the men's competition, two-time Asian champion Iran will be seeking to three-peat in the Jones Cup as well.

Taiwan will send two teams -- the national team and the national team for the World University Games -- to the five-team women's group. The women's competition will be free of charge.

Men's schedule

Aug. 6
13:00 South Africa-Iran
15:00 Korea-UAE
17:00 Philippines-Jordan
19:00 Opening ceremony
19:30 Taiwan-Japan

Aug. 7
13:00 South Africa-Korea
15:00 UAE-Philippines
17:00 Japan-Malaysia
19:00 Iran-Taiwan

Aug. 8
13:00 UAE-Japan
15:00 Jordan-Iran
17:00 Korea-Malaysia
19:00 Taiwan-South Africa

Aug. 9
13:00 Iran-UAE
15:00 Japan-Jordan
17:00 Philippines-Korea
19:00 Malaysia-Taiwan

Aug. 10
13:00 UAE-Malaysia
15:00 Philippines-South Africa
17:00 Iran-Japan
19:00 Korea-Jordan

Aug. 11
13:00 South Africa-UAE
15:00 Malaysia-Iran
17:00 Japan-Philippines
19:00 Taiwan-Jordan

Aug. 12
13:00 Philippines-Malaysia
15:00 South Africa-Jordan
17:00 Japan-Korea
19:00 Taiwan-UAE

Aug. 13
13:00 Malaysia-South Africa
15:00 UAE-Jordan
17:00 Korea-Iran
19:00 Philippines-Taiwan

Aug. 14
13:00 Jordan-Malaysia
15:00 South Africa-Japan
17:00 Iran-Philippines
19:00 Taiwan-Korea
Closing ceremony

Venue: Sinjhuang Stadium, New Taipei City

Women's schedule

July 31
16:00 Taiwan WUG-India
18:00 Opening ceremony
18:30 Taiwan-Japan

Aug. 1
17:00 Korea-Taiwan WUG
19:00 India-Taiwan

Aug. 2
17:00 Taiwan WUG-Japan
19:00 Korea-India

Aug. 3
17:00 Japan-Korea
19:00 Taiwan-Taiwan WUG

Aug. 4
17:00 India-Japan
19:00 Korea-Taiwan
21:00 Closing ceremony

Venue: Taipei Gymnasium (10, Sec.4, Nanking E. Rd., Taipei City)

Taiwan in tough group in FIBA Asia Championship

2011-07-07T23:17:00.001+08:00

Taiwan was placed in the tough group B with two-time defending champion Iran, Gulf power Qatar and a Middle Asia team which could be Kazakhstan after FIBA Asia completed the draw for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship.

Report from FIBA Asia:

CHN/IRI - Iran to begin title defense in Group B; China opt for Gr. D; Lebanon in Gr. A

WUHAN, China (26th FIBA Asia Championship): Twice defending champions Iran will match wits with GCC champions Qatar, East Asia’s Chinese Taipei and the qualifier from the “Stan” division of Middle Asia in Group B in the Preliminary Round of the 26th FIBA Asia Championship.

The draw for the 26th FIBA Asia Championship was completed at the host city Wuhan amidst a sparkling ceremony on the Yangzte River on Wednesday.

Vice Mayor of Wuhan Liu Shunni presided over the Draw Ceremony in the presence of Hu Dechun, Director of Administration of Sports of Hubei Province, Luo Changgang, Director of Economic and Technological Development Zone, Zhang Jin, Deputy Director of Admin. of Sports of Hubei Province, Former China National Team coach Liu Guiyi and the representatives of sponsors – KIA Motors, PEAK and Sportsfive.

FIBA Asia Deputy Secretary General Hagop Khajirian along with FIBA Asia Hon. Chairman Xin Lancheng, also the Secretary General of CBA, supervised the Draw proceedings.

The 26th FIBA Asia Championship, also the qualifying event for the 2012 London Olympics, will be held from Sept 15-25.

The 26th FIBA Asia Championship, also the qualifying event for the 2012 London Olympics, will be held from Sept 15-25.

The champion team from Wuhan will directly qualify for the most significant sporting event at the British capital, while the No 2 and No 3 teams will qualify for the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament.

Hosts China as per the procedure of the draw opted to play in Group D after SEABA champions Philippines along with GCC duo UAE and Bahrain were drawn.

Lebanon, who qualified for the 26th FIBA Asia Championship directly by virtue of winning the title in the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup last year were drawn in Group A along with the qualifier from the SAARC division of Middle Asia, SEABA’s Malaysia and recently crowned East Asian champions Korea.

Japan, who lost to Lebanon in the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup, were drawn into Group C along with SEABA runners-up Indonesia, 2009 FIBA Asia Championship bronze medalists Jordan and another WABA team Syria.

The 26th FIBA Asia Championship is the fifth occasion when China will host this prestigious event – 1989 Beijing, 2001 Shanghai, 2003 Harbin and 2009 Tianjin are the earlier occasions.

The Draw process

The four semifinalists of the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup – Lebanon, Japan, Qatar and Philippines – were seeded into four different groups, and the draw decided which group each of them will figure. Liu Guiyi conducted the draw for the seeded teams.

The two Middle Asian representatives along with Indonesia and UAE were drawn next. Hu Dechun drew the lots to decide which team goes where.

Luo Changgang conducted the draw for the next level involving Malaysia, Taipei, Syria and Bahrain to follow suit.

At this stage, China exercised their right – as hosts – of choice in the groupings and Zhang Jin drew Iran, Jordan and Korea into their respective groups.

Groupings for Preliminary Round
Group A: Lebanon, Middle Asia 1, Malaysia, Korea
Group B: Qatar, Middle Asia 2, Ch. Taipei, Iran
Group C: Japan, Indonesia, Syria, Jordan
Group D: Philippines, UAE, Bahrain, China.

Notes:
Middle Asia 1: New Delhi hosts the SAARC teams from July 13-15 to identify this qualifier.
Middle Asia 2: Navoi (UZB) will host Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan as the four teams attempt to win this qualifying berth.

The top three teams from each group will advance to the Second Round in the following manner.

Second Round Groupings
Group E: A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3
Group F: C1, C2, C3, D1, D2, D3

Each team will play the three (3) new teams in its own group (the final scores of all games played in the Preliminary Round are valid for this round). The top four from each group in the Second Round will advance to the knockout quarterfinal stage.

FIBA Asia

World U19: Taiwan finishes 14th place in Latvia

2011-07-07T12:19:00.001+08:00

Taiwan was routed by China 91-48 in its final game in the FIBA U19 World Championship for Men in Latvia and finished with 14th place in its first trip to the junior worlds in 24 years.

Height was once again the dominating factor of the game for Taiwan, the smallest team in the tourney. Coincidentally, China is the tallest team with seven players above 200cm.

Taiwan was able to lead the first period, 15-13, before China launched fiery offensives, including a 33-13 run in the second quarter and followed with a 24-6 run in the third, and pulled the game away.

Hung Kao-chiao led Taiwan with 18 points while China's Guo Ailun scored the game-high 24 points.

Taiwan shot 4-of-21 from the three-point range and shot only two free-throws in the game. It was also outrebounded by China, 41-23.

Korea defeated Tunisia 78-72 to finish 15th in the 16-team tournament.

Taiwan NT and Daniel Bolick

2011-07-06T01:25:00.001+08:00

Taiwan NT opened the second phase of its training camp for the preparation of the FIBA Asia Championship for Men Monday in Taipei with Taiwanese-American Daniel Bolick became the latest -- and surprising -- addition to the 24-man squad.

Under the guidance of technical advisor Bob Hill, a former NBA head coach, and head coach Chou Jun-san, the team opened the two-a-day second phase with a three-hour practice Monday morning.

Due to injuries and other activities, only 16 of 24 players were at the practice, but Bolick, who graduated from the University of North Carolina this year, joined the team as a "volunteer."

Bolick, a 5-9 guard, was promoted to the UNC varsity team after spending his first three years as a walk-on, according to the Chinese-language newspaper Apple Daily. His mother came from Taiwan, it was reported.

There is no guarantee that Bolick will make the team though, Chou said.

Taiwan NT will close the second phase of the camp around July 20 before visiting Zhejiang, China for a five-day for some warm-up game with Chinese teams.

Daniel Bolick

(Photos: Apple Daily, ACC Photos)

World U19: Taiwan beats Tunisia in classifications

2011-07-06T00:47:00.001+08:00

Chen Ying-chun scored 24 points and Yu Chun-an added 19 as Taiwan defeated Tunisia 70-59 in the classification round (13-16 place) of the FIBA U19 World Championship for Men in Latvia.

Taiwan will meet China Wednesday to vie for the 13th place finish.

Taiwan did not back down after trailing 29-28 at the half with forward Hu Lung-mao sitting out the game due to a sprained ankle. Chen tallied his personal-best in the tourney to go with eight rebounds and six assists while backup shooting guard Yu made five three-pointers en route to his tournament-high output.

Taiwan was 9-for-19 from the three-point territory.

China beat Korea 95-88 in the other classification game.

World U19: Taiwan routed by Australia

2011-07-03T11:47:00.001+08:00

Taiwan U19 NT was routed by Australia 93-65 in the third and last preliminary game in the FIBA U19 World Championship for Men Sunday in Valmeira, Latvia.

Taiwan lost all three games in the preliminary round to finish last in Group B. It is scheduled to meet Tunisia tomorrow in the classification games for 13th-16th place.

Facing a taller Australian team, Taiwan trailed 25-10 seven minutes into the game but was able to cut the deficit down to six in the second period.

Hu Lung-mao, one of Taiwan's core players, scored nine points in the quarter before spraining his ankle with 2:07 remaining in the first half. The 195cm forward, who had 11 points in 15 minutes, did not return.

Everything went downhill from there as Australia punished Taiwan from inside and out. Anthony Drmic, a 196cm small forward, made seven of nine three-point tries en route to a game-high 34 points on 11-of-15 shooting. Drmic also pulled down eight rebounds.

195cm forward Igor Hadziomerovic added 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting.

Hung Kang-chiao led Taiwan with 22 points (11-17FG) and point guard Chen Ying-chun had 10 point.

Height disadvantage proved to be Taiwan's achilles heel. As the smallest team in the 16-team field, Taiwan had a minus-22 rebounding margin in three preliminary games. Last night it was again outrebounded by Aussie, 41-27.

Head coach Huang Wan-lung acknowledged that the disadvantage was difficult to overcome, especially in a highly-competitive tournament like this one.

The 0-3 record was actually expected by almost everyone before the tourney started. For Taiwan, which returned to the World Championship after 24 years, any win in Latvia would have been a upset victory.

I say let's give a shoutout to the boys from Taiwan, which rarely advanced to the world championship on any level.

Final group standing
Group A
1. Poland 2-1
2. Brazil 2-1
3. Russia 2-1
4. Tunisia 0-3

Group B
1. Australia 2-1
2. Latvia 2-1
3. Argentina 2-1
4. Taiwan 0-3

Group C
1. Croatia 2-1
2. Lithuania 2-1
3. Canada 1-2
4. Korea 1-2

Group D
1. USA 3-0
2. Serbia 2-1
3. Egypt 1-2
4. China 0-3

1/8 Finals
Group E: Brazil, Australia, Poland, Russia, Latvia, Argentina
Group F: USA, Lithuania, Serbia, Croatia, Canada, Egypt

Classification Games (13-16)
Korea, China, Taiwan, Tunisia

Anthony Drmic

Hung Kang-chiao

Hu Lung-mao

(Photos: FIBA.com)

World U19: Taiwan loses to Argentina, drops two straight

2011-07-02T02:58:00.001+08:00

Taiwan U19 NT suffered the second straight loss in less than 24 hours after an 80-69 defeat to the taller and stronger Argentina in its second game in the preliminary round of the FIBA U19 Championship for Men in the Latvian city of Valmiera Saturday.

Taiwan managed to hang on to a seven-point deficit at the half but once again collapsed in the third quarter, when it was outscored by Argentina 29-10. The game was pretty much over at the end of the period when Taiwan trailed by 26.

Argentina, which suffered an embarrassing 24-point loss to Australia the day before, led the entire game. Carlos Paredes led the team with 19 points while Luciano Massarelli scored 12 points.

Taiwan was still led by the Big Three -- forward Hu Lung-mao, Hung Kang-chiao and point guard Chen Ying-chun. Hung paced the team with 18 points and four rebounds, making 8 of 15 shots. Chen followed with 15 and 6. However, Hu only had seven points on 1-for-5 shooting in 27 minutes. He and Chen had a combined 12 turnovers, half of Taiwan’s team total.

Taiwan did rebound better. After being outrebounded by 40 in the Latvia game, the team cut that deficit to 12 (33-21) against Argentina.

In its last preliminary game in Group B, Taiwan will meet Australia. Once again, nobody expects it to beat the team from Down Under. If Taiwan finishes fourth in the group, it will have to play the classification round for 13th - 16th place.

Hu Lung-mao

Head coach Huang Wan-lung

Hung Kang-chiao

(Photos: FIBA.com)

World U19: Taiwan falls to host Latvia

2011-07-01T10:31:00.001+08:00

Latvia's height was too much for Taiwan NT to overcome. Taiwan fell to the home team Latvia 85-67 early Friday morning Taiwan Time in its opening game of the FIBA U19 World Championship for Men at Valmiera, Latvia.

Taiwan, which returned to the World Championship after 24 years, only trailed by nine points at the half, 42-33, but was not able to challenge Latvia in the second half. As the smallest team in the 16-team tournament, Taiwan was outrebounded by Latvia 57-17.

Taiwan has an average height of 189cm while Latvia checks in at 197cm. Meanwhile, China is the tallest team in the field at 201cm.

Hu Lung-mao, Hung Kang-chiao and Chen Ying-chun each scored seven in the first half, when Taiwan's pressure defense created trouble for Latvia, which was led by Janis Timma's 19 first-half points.

Latvia set the tone of the game in the third quarter, when it outscored Taiwan 24-14 and led by more than 20 points at one point.

Poor free-throw shooting (12 for 30) and turnovers (25) from the Latvian side gave Taiwan several opportunities to mount a comeback. However, the huge disadvantage at the rebounding department hurt Taiwan too much that the boys could only cut the deficit down to around 15 the rest of the way.

And Taiwan's dismal three-point shooting did not help either, making only 1 of 13 three-point attempts.

Latvia scored 46 points in the paint and had 18 second-chance points in the game. Timma scored a game-high 23 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. Edmund Dukulus also turned in a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards. NBA draftee Davis Bertans had 13 and 7.

194cm forward Hu Lung-mao led Taiwan with 18 points and 4 rebounds, shooting 4-of-13 from the field and 10 of 12 from the foul line. Point guard Chen Ying-chun had 11 points and Hung Kang-chiao had nine points.

Give Taiwan some credit though. Its tough defense created Latvia's 25 turnovers and stole the ball 11 times.

Australia pounded Argentina 73-49 in the other game of the Group B. Taiwan is scheduled to meet Argentina today in the second preliminary game.

World U19 Groups
Group A: Poland, Russia, Brazil, Tunisia
Group B: Australia, Latvia, Argentina, Taiwan
Group C: Croatia, Canada, Korea, Lithuania
Group D: USA, Serbia, China, Egypt

Hu Lung-mao

Chen Ying-chun

Janis Timma

(Photos: FIBA.com)

Huang Wan-lung's interview with FIBA.com

2011-07-01T10:23:00.001+08:00

It seemed to me that Huang intentionally omitted Hu Lung-mao and Chen Ying-chun when he was asked to name notable players on the team, haha.

TPE - Huang: "Make friends here because bball is just a game"

VALMIERA (FIBA U19 World Championship) - Ahead of his team's opening game against hosts Latvia, Chinese-Taipei trainer Wan-Lung Huang - or Roman to friends - took some time out to chat with FIBA about his team's prospects in Latvia.

FIBA: You are one of the teams that we do not know very much about. Can you tell us a little bit about your team and how you got to be here?

Huang: This year it was very good for the Chinese Taipei team to make it into the World Championship because the last time we were here was 24 years ago. In the Asia Cup we played and worked hard. We had no big players so we had to work hard on our defense to beat Iran and qualify to be here. Again this year our size is too small but I think if we play as a team and work hard on defense we will do ok. For us it is not about winning or losing but just doing our best.

This tournament will be difficult for us. We have been together training for just two months as all the players go to different colleges and high schools.

FIBA: Looking at your group it is a very difficult one. Is there one game in particular that you are targeting to win?

Huang: Well I think our first game against Latvia but it will also be very tough. It is a home game for Latvia and also we do not know a lot about the Latvian team so we have to continue training the way we have been. It is too late to change anything now.

FIBA: Can you give us the names of two or three players who, as fans we should be watching?

Huang: Some of our inside players. Kuan-Chuan Chen (#15) and Kang-Chiao Hung (#13) have good skills. Also our point guard Chao-Yi Chien (#4) is also very good. As I said earlier, we have no size but our skills are good.

FIBA: How are your players enjoying the experience here?

It is very exciting for us to come here to Latvia…everything is new and fresh. I tell my guys let's make friends here because basketball is just a game so we need to enjoy ourselves and makes friends amongst the other players and coaches.

Wu Tai-hao signs with Zhejiang: report

2011-06-29T15:28:00.001+08:00

Taiwan Beer center Wu Tai-hao has signed a two-year contract with Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), Apple Daily reported Wednesday.

Terms of the contract was not disclosed, but Zhejiang will reportedly pay Wu an annual salary between 1 to 1.5 million Chinese Yuan (US$155,000-232,000, NT$4.47-6.7 million), the report said.

Wu will play alongside his former TB teammate Lin Chih-chieh, who has played in China for two years.

As many as six CBA teams were trying to sign Wu since the 6-8 center announced this summer that he would seek an opportunity to play in China next season.

Wu is currently in China with Taiwan Beer for the Straits Cup tournament, which is being held in Zhejiang. However, he did not play in the tournament due to his knee injury.

Wu is scheduled to return to Taiwan with the team tomorrow before going to Zhejiang again next week. Wu and Lin will be back to Taiwan in the end of August and report to Taiwan NT training camp for the FIBA Asia Championship for Men, which will be held in Wuhan, Hubei, China in September.

Taiwan U19 NT in Riga

2011-06-29T13:58:00.001+08:00

Taiwan U19 NT arrived in Riga, Latvia in the afternoon of June 27 local time and stayed at Dikli Palace Hotel. The team had a two-a-day (1p.m. and 9p.m.) on June 28 in a local high school and the tournament venue Vidzeme Olympic Center.

Taiwan head coach Huang Wan-lung

Dikli Palace Hotel

(Photos: CTBA)

Taiwan to include Jeremy Lin in Asian Championship roster

2011-06-27T23:38:00.001+08:00

Taiwan's basketball federation will include Jeremy Lin, the first Taiwanese-American in the NBA, in its 24-man preliminary roster for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Men, Taiwan media quoted Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) President Ting Shou-chung as saying.

According to Ting, the United Daily News (UDN) reported, he met Lin in a May visit to the U.S. and Lin told him that the possibility for him to play for Taiwan is about 50 percent. Therefore, Ting said, the CTBA plans to list Lin among the 24 candidates in the initial stage in mid-July.

The FIBA Asia Championship for Men will be held in Wuhan, Hubei, China is September.

The CTBA will consult Lin again when the Warrior guard returns to Taiwan for a promotional tour in August before submitting the final 12-man roster for the Asian Championship later that month.

Gie-min Lin, Jeremy's father who came from Taiwan's central county of Changhua, would love to see his son representing Taiwan in international competitions, but Lin's mother hopes Jeremy to focus on his NBA career before making other considerations, the UDN reported.

In addition to Taiwan, China has been recruiting Lin to play for its national team as well, Ting said. However, it's almost impossible for Lin to play for China because he will have to give up his U.S. citizenship.

Taiwan is favored to land Lin since it recognizes dual citizenship, Ting added.

Taiwan U19 NT departs for Latvia

2011-06-27T22:32:00.001+08:00

Taiwan U19 national team departed for Latvia Sunday for the FIBA U19 World Championship for Men, hoping that they will pull off another miracle.

Taiwan is scheduled to meet host Latvia at 1:30a.m. July 1 Taiwan Time. Less than 17 hours later, they will meet Argentina at 9p.m. July 2 (Taiwan Time) before finishing the preliminary round against Australia at 9a.m. the next day.

The smallest team in the 16-team field of the tournament, Taiwan hopes that it will duplicate the inspiring upset victory over Lebanon in the Asian U18 Championship last year. Taiwan overcame a 15-point deficit to defeat a taller Lebanese team.

Taiwan, which makes the FIBA U19 World Championship for the first time in 24 years, has an average height of 189cm.

Chien Chao-yi, a 181cm guard, said he was well aware that most opponents in Latvia he has to defend are probably as tall as 194cm forward Hu Lung-mao, Taiwan's top scorer and rebounder, and those opponents could have five starters taller than 6-7 on the court, but all he has to do is to do the best he can -- without fear -- when he's on the court.

Taiwan head coach Huang Wan-long, who led Song-shan High School to a unprecedented three-peat in Taiwan's high school league HBL between 2009 and 2011, said that a smaller team will have to disrupt its opponents' tempo in order to win the game.

"In other words, we have to deny the ball at all time and limit open shot opportunity of our opponents. That's how we beat Lebanon, " he said.

"I don't have a concrete goal in mind. I have to to prepare these kids and train them to reach the top condition. Come game time, the only goal I have for them is to play their hearts out."

Most basketball observers predicted that it will be very difficult for Taiwan to get a win in the preliminary round.

Last year, Huang added, "no one expected us to make the World Championship but we did. This year we have to do it again. We have to make a miracle happen one more time."

(Photo: Liberty Times)

Youth movement of SBL coaches

2011-06-22T11:07:00.001+08:00

All of a sudden, a youth movement is taking place in the SBL coaching community with four of the seven head coaches are under the age of 40.

Three of these four young coaches holding the most prestigious position in Taiwanese basketball coaching fraternity were born after 1975. The other one, Pure Youth head coach and NT assistant Hsu Chin-tse, is 37 years-old.

Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor, which is in the midst of a management controversy and a crisis of player exodus, announced that head coach Lo Tien-chin was let go and Huang Bao-tse, who was still on the team as a reserve point guard last season, will assume the head coaching duty in the new season.

Huang became the latest wave of youth movement that hit the SBL after Chiu Chi-yi and Chia Fan were named by Yulon and Taiwan Mobile, respectively, as new head coaches.

The arrival of these young men makes 57-year-old TB coach Yen Chia-hua, who obviously thinks he's still pretty young and energetic since he was still able of kicking referees in the a** two years ago, the oldest SBL head coach.

In a way, the trend is a good thing. It shows that most teams understand they have to change with time and to embrace new ideas.

However, there are enormous challenges for the newcomers as well as they will probably find it difficult to have their voices heard and to have their instruction executed by players who are about the same age as their younger brothers.

It takes time and hard work to be a successful head coach. Most of these young men have only previously coached high school or college basketball, where a head coach is worshipped as a God. Hopefully they will follow the footsteps of Hsu Chin-tse, who earned his reputation as a bright young coach and finally led Pure Youth to the SBL playoffs and a runner-up regular season finish last season.

Meanwhile, there is no sign that SBL teams intend to hire foreign coaches anytime soon.

Since the end of last season, three teams have hired new head coaches. Zhang Xuelei of Yulon, Cheng Chih-lung of Taiwan Mobile and Lo Tien-chin of KKL were replaced.

Profiles of SBL head coaches:

Name	Team	DOB	W-L (Year)
Chiu Chi-yi	Yulon	1975.10.6	0-0 (2011-)
Yen Chia-hua	TB	1954.6.26	143-91 (2003-2011)
Chia Fan	TM	1975.2.3	0-0 (2011-)
Hsu Chin-tse	PY	1973.4.27	72-78 (2006-2011)
Lai Liang-chung	BOT	1960.8.13	26-93 (2007-2011)
Huang Bao-tse	KKL	1976.9.18	0-0 (2011-)
Chiu Ta-tsun	Dacin	1964.7.1	87-63 (2006-2011)

Huang Bao-tse, KKL

Chiu Chi-yi (right), Yulon

Hsu Chin-tse, PY

Lai Liang-chung (right), BOT

Yen Chia-hua, TB

Chiu Ta-tsun, Dacin

Chia Fab, TM

Taiwan a underdog in FIBA U19 World Championship for Men

2011-06-21T21:10:00.001+08:00

Here's FIBA.com's preview of the U19 World Championship for Men in Latvia. No doubt, Taiwan U19 NT is definitely the underdog in the tournament -- being the smallest team in the field.

FIBA U19 World Championship for Men Group B Preview

VALMIERA (FIBA U19 World Championship) – While Latvia will do everything to offer teams and travelling fans the most hospitable of welcomes, this will be set aside when they do battle in Group B of the FIBA U19 World Championship, where the tournament hosts will welcome Argentina, Australia and Chinese Taipei.

The Latvians will be cheered on by a partisan crowd in Valmiera, but other teams will go out on the court just as determined to put themselves in the best possible positions for the next round in Riga.

Argentina will be looking to bounce back after a poor performance in the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, where they finished outside the medals and qualified to the World Championship via the fourth and last spot allocated to the Americas.

There will be no major squad changes from last year’s team apart from Mateo Bolivar, who will be absent through injury.

The talented trio of Fernando Podesta, Marcos Delia and Carlos Peredes will take most responsibilities once again, but should get much more help from Patricio Garino, who emerged in the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship with an average of 13.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2,9 assists.

It took Australia only three wins to grab a spot in the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship, as only two teams from Oceania were competing in the qualification round. Australia swept the series against New Zealand 3-0 with a 43 point average margin of victory booking their tickets to Latvia before any other side.

The roster that the Emus – as the U19 men’s team is known – will be taking to Latvia will be similar to the one that won the Albert Schweitzer Tournament last year, which is also known as the unofficial U18 World Championship.

Mitchell Creek, the MVP of the tournament, and Hugh Greenwood should be the team’s top-guns, while Jackson Aldridge and Anthony Drmic both have the talent and skills to take some of the scoring load, when needed.

Chinese Taipei, the clear underdogs of the group, will be making their sec appearance in the Championship’s history, having finished 11th in the third edition of the tournament back in 1987.

Although reaching the World Championship in Latvia after finishing third in the 2010 FIBA Asia U18 Championship was an achievement on its own, the Asian side will be looking to squeeze the most of the opportunity to meet the world’s best, giving players such as the team’s leader Lung-Mao Hu some worldwide exposure.

Hardly anyone expected Latvia to finish with bronze medals in the 2010 FIBA Europe U18 World Championship, but the hosts of this year’s World Championship demonstrated that passion, teamwork and an outstanding player – in this case Davis Bertans – if well-combined, are a path to success.

The performance of Bertans will be the key if Latvia wants to repeat last year’s success, as the lanky forward will be looking to top his 14.8 point and 7.7 rebound averages from the European Championship last year after spending a year at Olimpija Ljubljana.

It would be unfair to dismiss his very good supporting cast, especially Edmunds Dukulis and Janis Timma.

What might worry the coach of the Latvian squad, Ziedonis Jansons, is that the team’s captain Andris Misters will have to miss the World Championship due to an injury.

For the three clear-cut favorites in the group, the story will be about avoiding getting in the best positions for the next round, as the tournament moves to Riga for the second group stage, where teams will continue the fight for podium positions. For Chinese Taipei there’s the opportunity to leap out of obscurity and produce a historic upset.

Hill observes Taiwan NT's newcomers

2011-06-21T20:53:00.001+08:00

Former NBA head coach Bob Hill, who has been hired by Taiwan as its national team technical advisor, said Monday that Jet Chang and Chou Yi-hsiang both have potential to be good but there are a lot of room for improvement for the young players.

As most Taiwanese players are now in the central city of Changhua to participate in the qualifying games of the National Games, Hill on Monday night focused on Chang and Chou, who returned from the United States after the semester ended.

There were only less than five players in the practice, but Hill trained the players as hard as usual, giving them only a three-minute water break during a two-hour practice which stressed fundamentals.

Hill instructed BYU-Hawaii junior guard Chang and Chou, who completed his first year at Salt Lake Community College, on various mid-range shooting skills, including the step-back jumper, floater and baby hook, as well as dribble drive penetration, according to the Apple Daily, a local newspaper.

Chang and Chou are both physically gifted and have quickness, Hill was quoted as saying. He also said the players need to hone their skills, especially on their non-shooting hand and shooting technique, and experience.

The objective of these training categories is to transform Taiwan NT from a perimeter-oriented and three-pointer-shooting team into a group that excels at executing its offense inside and out. In other words, Hill expects Taiwan NT to be a more "balanced" team on the offensive end.

Player profiles:

Jet Chang (a.k.a Chang Tsung-hsien)
192cm, 91kg
Junior, BYU-Hawaii
DOB: Dec. 27, 1988
2010-11 31G 21.1p, 3.6rb, 1.7a
2009-10 17G 19.2p, 3.3rb, 2.2a
2008-09 29G 12.3p, 2.8rb, 1.3a

Chou Yi-hsiang
190cm, 90kg
Freshman, Salt Lake CC
DOB: Feb. 4, 1991
2010-11 32G 4.6p, 1.6rb, 0.9a

(Photos: Apple Daily)

TM introduces Chia Fan

2011-06-20T17:57:00.001+08:00

[Picture: Chia Fan (center) and his assistant coaches Chen Huei (right), Shen Hsin-han(left)]

Taiwan Mobile officially introduced its new head coach Chia Fan Monday, hoping the young coach will lead the under-achieving team to the SBL playoffs.

Chia, who formerly coached Min Dao University, is considered one of the top young coaches in Taiwan after leading Nan-shan High School to HBL titles in 2008 and 2009. He also transformed Min Dao University from a Div-II team into a Div-I powerhouse, making the final four last year and the championship game this year.

A 2001 class of Pittsburgh State (Kansas) University with a PE degree, Chia replaced Cheng Chih-lung, who stepped down after failing to take Taiwan Mobile to the SBL playoffs in four years. Cheng left the team with a won-loss record of 44-76.

Meanwhile, TM also announced former guard Chen Huei and Shen Hsin-han will be Chia's assistants. Ex-assistants Huang Chun-hsiung and Kenny Kao were not retained.

(Photo: Taiwan Mobile)

Lin Chih-lung to sign with Taiwan Mobile

2011-06-20T12:03:00.001+08:00

Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor's operational crisis has worsened after guard Lin Chih-lung said he will sign with Taiwan Mobile next season.

As many as 10 players on the teams have either signed with other teams or said they would leave the team that failed to reach .500 in the last three years.

Lin, who averaged 5.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists last season with KKL, said he didn't see his future with the team and that was why he decided to leave. He will join Chen Ching-huan, KKL's second-leading scorer last season at 18.3 behind Shawn Hawkins, in Taiwan Mobile.

Taiwan Mobile needs backcourt depth if starting point guard Su Yi-chieh opts to play in China next year, new head coach Chia Fan said, adding that the departure of veteran point guard Chen Huei, who will retire and work as an assistant coach next season, could make the point guard position very thin.

SBL to relax import height limit: report

2011-06-18T07:11:00.001+08:00

The Super Basketball League (SBL) will adopt a new height limit of 6-9 (205cm) to replace its current limit of 6-7 (200cm) in the 2011-12 season while the monthly salary cap will stay at the current US$10,000, Taiwanese media reported.

In the first preparatory meeting of the SBL Committee, which is under the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA), Friday, new CTBA President Ting Shou-chung also made sure the SBL All-Star Game will be held after a two-year hiatus.

The new season will tip off in mid-December, the meeting decided. Regular season games will be held at Hsinjhuang Stadium, Taipei Municiple Arena and Fengshan Stadium in the southern city of Kaohsiung. Some of the playoff games will be held at the National Taiwan University Gymnasium, one of the best venues in downtown Taipei but was never used as a SBL venue due to its high rent.

In addition, game dates of the new season will be Friday-Saturday-Sunday instead of Wednesday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday due to lack of fan supports on Wednesdays.

The height limit of import players was obviously the most important changes in the new season. The committee adopted the change in the hope of improving the competition level.

Several team representatives argued that, if the salary limit remains unchanged, it will be difficult for teams to hire imports with better skills.

The Chou Po-cheng case, raised by Yulon head coach Zhang Xuelei, was also discussed in the meeting. Chou, who was on Taiwan NT roster for the EABC, was selected by KKL in the SBL Draft last year. The 197cm forward reported to KKL's preseason camp but never signed a contract with the team. He signed with Yulon Luxgen afterwards.

Chou was subjected to a two-year suspension for violating the draft regulation, which states that a draftee must sign with the team that made the pick in the draft or else will be slapped with a two-year ban.

No final decision was reached in the meeting.

KKL could terminate sponsorship: report

2011-06-17T23:07:00.001+08:00

Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor Inc., one of the most successful wine companies in Taiwan, could terminate its sponsorship of the SBL team, local media reported Friday.

KKL is a highly successful semi state-owned liquor company in Kinmen, an outlying island located very near China's southeast coast but is controlled by Taiwan government. Kaoliang, the Chinese word for sorghum, sells so well that the distillery generates an annual revenue of close to US$70 million for the county government.

In 2008, KKL signed a three-year NT$30 million (US$1.04 million) sponsorship deal after Hongya International Inc. and De-heng Marketing firm took over management rights from the team formerly known as Dmedia Numen.

However, KKL was disappointed that the team failed to make the playoffs in the past three years and never finished above .500. In addition, the company was unhappy with the management of Hongya. In each of the past three seasons, there were rumors that KKL failed to pay its players and imports on time.

KKL also accused Hongya of breach of contract, saying that the management did not keep at least four Kinmen-born players on its roster, which was a requirement of the sponsorship agreement.

Chen Ching-huan, the team's second-leading scorer last season at 18.3 behind Shawn Hawkins, has left the team and signed with Taiwan Mobile. A total of nine players reportedly left the team since March.

Wang Nan-kuei, Huang Ju-tao and Hong Ying-che have signed with Bank of Taiwan, according to Apple Daily.

A Hongya Inc. official was quoted as saying that the company's deal with KKL runs through April 2012 and nothing will change before that date. The official denied that KKL will terminate its sponsorship agreement.

Kinmen Basketball Association reportedly said the association has been mulling to take over the operation rights of the team and make it a team of 100 percent Kinmen-born players.

Taiwan finishes fourth in EABC

2011-06-16T11:36:00.001+08:00

[Chien Chia-hung]

Taiwan was routed by China 87-53 in its last game in 2011 East Asian Basketball Championship Wednesday in Nanjing, China and finished fourth in the qualifying event for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Men.

Taiwan head coach Chou Jun-san, who made his debut as head coach of the national team, said the second-unit players actually outplayed the starters, who only turned in average performance, in the tourney.

Chien Chia-hung, a 197cm forward from Pure Youth, was a pleasant surprise, averaging a team-leading 14.25 points in four games. Chien scored a team-high 19 points Wednesday and, according to local media, Chinese teams have expressed interests in signing the 24-year-old.

Chou Po-cheng, a 20-years-old 196cm backup forward, also showed solid play in the paint.

Facing the Chinese B-team, Taiwan trailed 34-26 at the half before a disastrous third quarter changed the momentum of the game. China outscored Taiwan 30-11 in the period as guard Meng Duo, who finished with 22 points, made four three-pointers. Taiwan couldn't find the solution against seven-footer Zhang Zhaoxu, who tallied 12 points and 13 rebounds, either.

Taiwan technical advisor Bob Hill reminded his players to "hold their heads up" later in the lock room, saying that it was only a qualifying tournament and there was no need to lose confidence because of one game.

Taiwan NT is scheduled to return to Taiwan Thursday and will soon be in preparation of the William Jones Cup tournament, which will tip off on August 6. The annual international invitational tourney will be used by many teams as a warm-up competition for the Asian Championship in September.

Chou said that he is most concerned with the rebounding issue for now since Taiwan was outrebounded in almost every game in Nanjing. It's almost guaranteed that Chou will make some changes with the lineup between the Jones Cup and the Asian Championship.

With the absence of Tien Lei, Lin Chih-chieh and several oversea players, including Tseng Wen-ting, Jet Chang and Chou Yi-hsiang, the Taiwan NT in Nanjing was actually a B-team. It will be interesting to see how Chou and Hill could make the team better once everyone is back in the lineup.

In the title game, Korea beat Japan 89-73. Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan will represent East Asia in the upcoming Asian Championship.

Final EABC placing:
1. Korea
2. Japan
3. China
4. Taiwan
5. Hong Kong
6. Mongolia

(Photos: UDN.com)

Video: EABC semi Taiwan 69-61 Korea

2011-06-15T10:51:00.001+08:00

The video shows Taiwan's 69-61 semifinal loss to Korea in the 2011 EABC. Taiwan trailed for most of the game but was able to stay close. Wu Tai-hao's dunk in the last minute, as shown in the video clip, cut the deficit to two, 63-61. However, Taiwan did not score again.

[Correction] Taiwan to meet China in EABC

2011-06-15T10:09:00.001+08:00

Japan upset China 72-62 yesterday in the EABC semi. So Taiwan will meet China in the bronze medal game while Korea meeting Japan for gold. My bad…

Taiwan loses to Korea in EABC semi

2011-06-14T19:30:00.001+08:00

Taiwan lost to South Korea 69-61 in the semifinal of the 2011 East Asian Basketball Championship Tuesday in Nanjing, China.

Taiwan is scheduled to meet Japan in the bronze medal game of the qualifying tournament for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Men, which will be held in Wuhan, Hubei, China from September 15-25, in a rematch Wednesday.

In the preliminary round, Taiwan beat Japan 75-74.

Taiwan trailed almost the entire game but was able to stay close. The halftime score was 35-28, Korea.

Lu Cheng-ju led Taiwan with 15 points while center Wu Tai-hao had 14. Chen Hsin-an and Chien Chia-hung added 10 apiece. Chien also pulled down 5 boards.

Kang Byung-hyun paced Korea, which was coached by former great Hur Jae, with a game-high 17 points, including five three-pointers. Yang Dong-guen had 13 points and five rebounds and Lee Seung-jun added 13 and 8. Oh Se-keun tallied seven points and 10 rebounds.

Korea, which will meet China for gold, outrebounded Taiwan 39-30.

Regardless of the final results, China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan have secured berths in the FIBA Asia Championship.

Taiwan to meet Korea in 2011 EABC semi

2011-06-12T23:16:00.001+08:00

Taiwan NT will meet Korea on June 14 in the semifinal of the 2011 East Asian Basketball Championship, the qualifying tournament for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship, after winning the Group B in the preliminary round.

Group A winner China will meet Japan, which finished second in Group B, in the other semifinal game.

Regardless of the results, all four teams in the semifinal round have secured berths in the FIBA Asia Championship, which will be held in Wuhan, Hubei, China from September 15 to 25, as the three best teams, excluding China, qualify for the tournament.

Since the EABC is only a qualifying tournament and the competition level is not as good (China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan were already favored to win the tickets to the Asian Championship prior to the tourney), most countries, excluding perhaps Japan, did not send their strongest squad to Nanjing, China.

Stories published by Taiwanese newspaper today are interesting though, saying that Bob Hill, a former NBA head coach who was hired as Taiwan's technical advisor, blasted Taiwan's starters in the locker room during the intermission of the team's game versus Mongolia.

Hill was quoted as saying that the starters "played like s**t" and "blew up two games they have played, forcing the backup players to clean up their messes."

Wow, I don't think a Taiwanese head coach will ever be this "honest" with his players. Local head coaches were usually "too nice" with players in fear of damaging his relationships with them.

And this is why I've been advocating the hiring of foreign coaches. A foreign head coach, such as South Korean coach Chung Kwang-suk who led Taiwan to the fifth place in the 2009 Asian Championship, only focuses on getting his job done no matter what it takes.

Results of the preliminary round:
Group A
Korea 134-47 Hong Kong
China 104-43 Hong Kong
China 61-54 Korea

Group B
Taiwan 75-74 Japan
Taiwan 85-71 Mongolia
Japan 94-73 Mongolia

Taiwan beats Mongolia, wins Asian Championship seed

2011-06-11T16:39:00.001+08:00

Taiwan defeated Mongolia 85-71 Saturday in Nanjing, China to win Group B in the 2011 East Asian Basketball Championship and virtually secure a berth in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Men.

The 2011 EABC serves as the qualifying tournament for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship. Taiwan will meet the Group A winner -- either China or Korea -- in the semifinal on June 14.

Regardless of the results in the semifinal round, Taiwan has secured a seat in the FIBA Asia Championship since the three best teams, excluding China, qualify for the tournament, which will be held in Wuhan, Hubei, China from September 15 to 25.

Chien Chia-hung, Su Yi-chieh and Lu Cheng-ju each scored 13 points in the win over Mongolia as five Taiwanese players reached double-figure. James Mao had 12 while opening game hero Chen Hsin-an added 10.

Point guard Lee Hsueh-lin had nine points and six assists.

EABC: Taiwan beat Japan 75-74

2011-06-10T21:57:00.001+08:00

Chen Hsin-an made two free-throws with 0.8 seconds left in the game as Taiwan defeated Japan 75-74 Friday in the opening game of the 2011 East Asian Basketball Championship, which serves as the qualifying tourney for the Asian Championship, in Nanjing, China.

The victory marked the first win for Taiwan NT head coach Chou Jun-san, who debut with the national team Friday. The Japan game was also Taiwan's first game under the guidance of technical advisor Bob Hill, a former NBA head coach.

Taiwan is scheduled to meet Mongolia Saturday.

There was neither broadcast nor website for the tournament, so I had to rely on limited information provided by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association to write this story.

According to the CTBA, Japan led 32-27 at the half. In the last minutes, Taiwan took a five-point lead after Lu Cheng-ju's three before Japan regained the lead, 74-73. Chen Hsin-an, who had the ball on the last possession, took the ball to the hole and was fouled. He made both foul shots.

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.

Japan NT roster for 2011 East Asian Basketball Championship

4.木下　博之    KINOSHITA, Hiroyuki    PG 178cm 70kg 1980.2.18
5.金丸　晃輔    KANAMARU, Kosuke    SF 193cm 78kg 1989.3.
6.桜井　良太    SAKURAI, Ryota    PG 194cm 75kg 1983.3.13
7.石崎　巧    ISHIZAKI, Takumi    PG 188cm 85kg 1984.7.6
8.柏木　真介    KASHIWAGI, Shinsuke    PG 183cm 80kg 1981.12.22
9.川村　卓也    KAWAMURA, Takuya    SG 193cm 80kg 1986.4.24
10.竹内　公輔    TAKEUCHI, Kosuke    PF 206cm 98kg 1985.1.29
11.網野　友雄    AMINO, Tomoo    SF 196cm 87kg 1980.9.2
12.広瀬　健太    HIROSE, Kenta    SF 193cm 90kg 1985.7.1
13.古川　孝敏    FURUKAWA, Takatoshi    SG 190cm 90kg 1987.10.2
14.伊藤　俊亮    ITO, Shunsuke    C 204cm 110kg1979.6.27
15.竹内　譲次    TAKEUCHI, Joji    PF 206cm 98kg 1985.1.29

Video: Hill speaks to Taiwan NT

2011-06-07T22:16:00.001+08:00

(via Roundballcity.com) Technical consultant Bob Hill spoke to Taiwan NT before a practice session.

The video was filmed by Taiwanese entertainer Blackie, a former basketball player. He is now marketing manager of Taiwan Beer.

Lin pulls out of Taiwan's EABC roster

2011-06-06T10:38:00.001+08:00

[Chen Shun-hsiang]

Forward Lin Chih-chieh will sit out the East Asian Basketball Championship after his grandmother passed away last week, according to Taiwan NT head coach Chou Jun-san.

Chou plans to replace Lin with Bank of Taiwan guard Chen Shun-hsiang but does not know whether the request of substitution would be granted by FIBA Asia, given that the 12-man roster had been submitted for the tourney which starts June 10 in Nanjing, China.

Lin, who was expected to be the top two scorers of the Taiwan NT along with Chen Hsin-an, was not in good condition to play in the qualifying tournament of the FIBA Asia Championship

If the request is denied by FIBA Asia, Chou said, Taiwan NT will enter the tourney with 11 players.

History of Taiwan women's NT in FIBA Asia Championship for Women

2011-06-05T20:35:00.001+08:00

(Year, Host City, Ranking)
2009 Chennai, India 4th
2007 Incheon, Korea 4th
2005 Qinhuangdao, China 3rd
2004 Sendai, Japan 4th
2001 Bangkok, Thailand 4th
1999 Shizuoka, Japan 3rd
1997 Bangkok, Thailand 4th
1995 Shizuoka, Japan 4th
1994 Sendai, Japan 4th
1992 Seoul, Korea 4th
1990 Singapore 4th
1988 Hong Kong 3rd
1986 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3rd