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Eliminations Round
Standings |
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Lee saeh Lin lead Taiwan to a gold medal at East Asian Games
2005 |
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Taiwan's Tseng Wen Ting, right, battles against Japan's Shunsuke
Ito in the men's basketball final at the East Asian Games in
Macau yesterday. Taiwan defeated Japan 60-55 to win the gold
medal.
PHOTO: AP
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 Taiwan beat Japan to win
second EAG gold
Tien Lei made two game-clinching free-throws with 3.6 seconds
remaining as Taiwan edged Japan 60-55 in East Asian Games title game
and won its second EAG gold medal.
Taiwan won its first gold medal in 1997 Busan EAG and got silver in
2001 EAG in Osaka, Japan.
The gold medal didn't come easy. Led by 10(32-22) at halftime and as
many as 15 points in the third quarter, Taiwan almost blew the game
after missing several free-throws in crucial moments. And Japan
rallied behind 19-year-old high schooler Takuya Kawamura, who made
three three-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Kawamura's last field goal -- a back-breaking three pointer -- cut
Japan's deficit to only three, 58-55, with 3.6 seconds left. But it's
too late for Japan, who almost trailed the entire game. Tien made both
of his free-throws to ice the game.
Lee Hsueh-lin led Taiwan with 15 points. Center Tsun Wen-din had 14
points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Tien Lei had a
double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds and added four steals.
Japan shocked China 68-60 in the semifinal. It's probably the biggest
upset in the whole tournament, although China only sent its second
national team.
And after today's final, I think Japan has finally found its shooting
star of the new generation. Takuya Kawamura, who was named MVP in this
summer's Basketball Without Borders Camp in China, is a
sweeting-shooting scorer with a big heart -- at 19 years-old. He is
tall enough to deal with most backcourt players in Asia at 190 cm. His
potential is unlimited.
Taiwan beat South Korea 61-48 in an ugly semifinal game. Tsun Wen-din
once again dominated the game with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Tien Lei
had 16 points and 14 rebounds.
In women's final, Taiwan Women's NT play picked a wrong time to play
poorly. Taiwan Women's, which beat China by more than 30 in the
prelim, lost to China 71-67 in the title game.
China Rallies to Beat Korea for Bronze
Rallying to
outscore Korea 25-12 in the fourth quarter, China won the bronze medal at the
Asian Games 79-77. Wang Shipeng was the star of the game, scoring 30 points on
10 of 15 shooting.
Yi Jianlian only scored 7 points on 3 of 10 shooting but had 10 rebounds, 3
assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks. Wang Bo had an excellent game with 17 points on
6 of 8 shooting, including 3 of 4 three-pointers, but only 3 rebounds from the
power forward slot. China only outrebounded Korea 25-24.
Zhang Qingpeng scored 12 points but only hit 4 of 12 shots. He had 1 rebound
and 1 assist. Sun Yue had 2 points on 1 of 5 shooting but had 3 assists and 1
steal. Wang Zhongguang, who started at point guard in place of Lu Xaioming, had
2 points and 1 assist but fouled out in 20 minutes. Meng Da had 3 points on 1
of 4 shooting in 15 minutes. Hu Ke had 2 points and 1 rebound in 5 minutes
backing up Yi at center. Gu Li Ye did not play for the second straight game.
China led 17-16 after the first quarter but Korea came back to lead 42-38 at the
half. Korea extended its lead to 65-54 at the end of the third quarter before
China staged its fourth quarter rally.
Park Jihyon led Korea with 27 points on 10 of 16 shooting and had 3 rebounds, 3
assists and 3 steals. Jung Hoon had 16 points and 7 rebounds while Lee Kwangjae
had 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
China shot 43 percent from the floor to 41 percent for Korea. Korea had 11
steals to 6 for China. China's edge was on the foul line where it hit 14 of 16
shots to 10 of 14 by Korea.
Wang Shipeng solidified his spot on the National Team and Yi Jianlian showed
that he is already emerging as a world-class center and might be Yao Ming's
backup at next year's world championship as well as playing some power forward.
This puts Tang Zhengdong's spot in jeopardy unless he raises his level of play.
No one emerged to lay strong claim to a point guard position and Wang Bo and
Jiao Jian are not international-level power forwards. But Wang Bo could earn
the 12th-man slot if he gains consistency in his outside shooting.
Participating
teams rosters:
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