The Koreans and
the Chinese are set to face off against each other in the Finals, while the
Taiwanese clinched the last slot in the 2013 FIBA Asia Tournament after
surviving a determined Mongolian side in today’s 2013 EABA Championship action.
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| Park Chan-Hee helped the hometown team push though to the championship game. |
In the first
game, Taiwan had to lean on streaky shooting in the second and third quarters
before pulling out a closer-than-expected 94-86 win over a vastly improved
Mongolian quintet. 5’11 Pure Youth guard Ke Chi-Hao shot a perfect 5-of-5 from
rainbow country in this game, including 4 important triples in a pivotal second
period that saw the Taiwanese lead after the Mongolians outscored them in the
opening canto, 22-21. Overall, Taiwan connected on 59% of its treys, with Doug
Creighton and Lin Kuan-Lun hitting 2 and 1 respectively. Curiously enough, star
big man Tseng Wen-Ting didn’t score in this game. Heck, he didn’t even attempt
any shots, though he did grab 11 boards, and he blocked 3 shots. Jet Chang led
the way for Taiwan with 19 points and 9 rebounds. The Mongolians started really
well here, with Sanchir Tungalag and Bilguun Battuvshin combining for 14 points
in the first period. They struggled in the middle two quarters before mounting
an ill-fated rally in the fourth. The 6’2 Sanchir finished with a game-high 30
points, while the 6’5 Bilguun scored 24 markers on top of 11 rebounds.
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| Tseng Wen-Ting and Bilguun Battuvshin battle for position. |
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| Jet Chang led Taiwan with 19 points. |
The second
game saw a rout as Korea destroyed Hong Kong, 105-62. In another strong
showing, 22-year old Kim Jong-Kyu scored 20 points in 20 minutes, while Park
Jae-Hyun shot 6-of-8 from the floor to end up with 15 points. The 6’2 off-guard
from the Seoul Samsung Thunders also had 3 assists and 2 steals for the home
team, which will play for the title against China tomorrow. Hong Kong had no
answer from the get-go, as they were outscored, 32-9, in the first quarter. It
was all downhill from there. Liang Man Hung led the losing side with 15 points,
hitting 3 triples, while 6’9 Duncan Reid scored 13 markers and hauled down 8
boards. Despite the loss, Hong Kong still qualified for the 2013 FIBA Asia
tourney in Manila.
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| Kim Min-Goo puts the pedal to the metal in transition. |
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| Coach Cho Bo-Young of Kyung Hee University is calling the shots for Team Korea. |
In the third
and last match, the Chinese used a crippling second quarter surge to distance
themselves from Japan and eventually win, 83-68. Guo Ailun and Zhai Xiaochuan
combined for 18 of China’s 25 points in that period, which opened things up for
Team Big Red in a big way. Japan and China fought to a standstill in the first
quarter, 15-15, before the Chinese made their move. Guo ended up with 25
points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals in an eye-popping display of
talent, while Zhai combined with Wang Zhelin to anchor the Chinese frontline.
Zhai and Wang paired up for 26 markers and 20 boards, helping coach Fan Bin’s
squad advance to the Finals against Korea. Kosuke Kanamaru of the Panasonic
Trians led Japan with 18 points, hitting 4 of his 10 triples, while big men
Kosuke Takeuchi and Yuya Nagayoshi each scored a dozen points.
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| Coach Fan Bin has been doing well coaching the young and talented Chinese. |
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| Kosuke Kanamaru led Japan's losing effort. (image from the JBA website) |
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| Yuya Nagayoshi is a young 6'7 stretch forward for Team Hayabusa. (image from the JBA website) |
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