Taiwan’s basketball team got off to a rocky start at the FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship on Tuesday, suffering a 90-77 loss to Japan, after the game was postponed the previous day due to heavy rain.
Competing under the name “Chinese Taipei,” the team was trailing 38-52 at half time, but rallied in the third quarter, coming within five points of Japan, with 60-65 on the board, at Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru, India.
As soon as the final quarter started, however, Japan stretched the lead to 70-60, with a bucket from downtown by shooting guard Yuzuyu Yasogawa and a two-point jump shot by power forward Haru Owaki.
Japan never looked back and chipped away at the Taiwan team’s defense, leaping to 89-75, as Owaki made another two-point jump shot with 25 seconds left on the clock.
At the final buzzer, Japan had boosted their score to 90-77, and the Taiwanese were 0-1 in the round robin stage of the tournament, where they are competing in Group B of Division A.
Taiwan center Hsiao Yu-wen (???) led all scorers with 39 points, shooting 16-19 from the floor and converting 7-9 from the stripe, while also posting a double-double of 15 rebounds.
The Japanese team was led Yasogawa, who scored 23 points, including 5-7 from beyond the arc.
A total of eight teams, spread evenly across Groups A and B, are playing a single round-robin format, with the top ranked teams in each group advancing to the semifinals, while the second- and third-ranked teams of each group will play in a qualifying phase.
The other countries in group B are Japan, China and Indonesia, while the teams in Group A are Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, and India.
Taiwan’s first game at the tournament was scheduled for Monday but was postponed due to heavy rain that caused leaks in the competition venue, according to a statement issued by FIBA.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel