Chinese Taipei drubs Hong Kong, stays unbeaten
Inspired by its stunning come-from-behind victory over host Philippines, Chinese Taipei continued its winning run in the 27th FIBA Asia Championship by walloping the still winless Hong Kong, 94-55, at the start of the second round at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
As expected, the Taiwanese relied again on their deadly outside sniping to get the easy W over Hong Kong. They uncorked 14 of 27 treys, for an amazing 52% clip from long-distance. Against the Philippines last Saturday, they hit 15 of 30 from beyond the arc.
But unlike last Saturday, Taiwan’s bench delivered most of the killer blows against Hong Kong, as Taipei coach Hsu Chin-Che had the luxury of giving his starters a much-needed rest in preparation for the tougher competition versus Qatar and Japan.
Man of the Game: Back-up point guard Chen Shih-Chieh topscored for Chinese Taipei with 13 markers on a hot 4-out-of-5 shooting clip, four assists, three rebounds and three steals. Chen was given the opportunity to shine in this game after starting playmaker Lee Hsueh-Lin sat out the entire game.
Also delivering the goods for Chinese Taipei are Tien Lei with 12 points, and second stringers Creighton Douglas and Yang Chin-Min with 11 and 10 points respectively. Lu Cheng-Ju also added 11 points, while naturalized player Quincy Davis III chipped in 9 points and 7 boards.
Hong Kong actually started the game well, engaging Taiwan in a neck-and-neck battle during the opening period. It actually led at the halfway mark of the first quarter, 12-5, on a triple by Chan Yik Lun. After the first 10 minutes, the game was tied at 19-all.
Turning Point of the Game: In the second canto, the Taiwanese buckled down to business and got the upper-hand within two minutes, at 23-21, on a breakaway lay-up by Tseng Wen-Ting. They never looked back after that and ended the half with a comfortable 43-32 edge.
In the third period, Chinese Taipei exploded for 31 points, which included five three-point bombs to pull away for good, heading towards the last quarter with a commanding 74-43 advantage.
The onslaught continued in the final period as Taiwan used a running game to establish its biggest lead of the game at 94-51 with just 1:18 left in play.
Chinese Taipei is now 4-0 in one of its best starts in the FIBA Asia Championship.
Hong Kong drew 13 points from Fong Shing Yee.
