Taiwan announces final roster for EABC

[No Tien Lei (middle) and Tseng Wen-ting (right) for Taiwan NT this year. Lee Hsueh-lin (left) returned from China to be back with the team.]

The Chinese Taipei Basketball Association on Friday announced the final roster for the upcoming East Asian Basketball Championship, the qualifying tournament for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship.

The 12-man lineup is led by three core players who played last season in China, including former Taiwan Beer forward Lin Chih-chieh and a pair of ex-Yulon Luxgen stars — forward Chen Hsin-an and point guard Lee Hsueh-lin.

Taiwan NT having trouble with injury and…basketball

Chen Tse-wei became the latest casualty down with injury as the 200cm Dacin forward withdrew from the national team training camp for the 2011 EABC, according to head coach Chou Jun-san.

So far, Chen, Tien Lei and Chang Chih-feng — coincidentally, all three came from Dacin, have decided to sit out the EABC.

Players report to Taiwan NT training camp

Players reported to Taiwan NT training camp for the East Asian Basketball Championship (EABC) Tuesday as Taiwan NT head coach Chou Jun-san nominated Liu Hua-lin as his second assistant.

Nineteen of 24 players on the preliminary rosters reported to the camp in Taipei for the preparation of the EABC which will be held in Nanjing, China from June 8 to June 15.

CTBA announces 24-man preliminary roster of Taiwan men’s NT

The Chinese Taipei Basketball Association approved the 24-man preliminary roster of Taiwan men’s NT for the East Asian Basketball Championship, a qualifier for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Men, submitted by Taiwan NT head coach Chou Jun-san Friday.

Six oversea players, including the trio playing in China — Lin Chih-chieh, Chen Hsin-an and Lee Hsueh-lin, Tseng Wen-ting, who is playing for BJ League’s Osaka Evessa in Japan, and the pair playing in the U.S. — Jet Chang and Chou Yi-hsiang.

Chang finished a brilliant junior season with the NCAA Div-II BYU-Hawaii, leading the Seasiders to the championship game and scoring 78 points in two games in the Final Four. He became the first Taiwanese player to be named the Most Outstanding Player in Div-II Final Four. He averaged 21.2 points during the season.

20-year-old Chou, a 6-4 freshman in Salt Lake Community College, averaged 4.6 points in 15.1 minutes in his first year in the U.S.

Preliminary roster:

Yang Ching-min, 188cm, 1984/01/22, 27, TB
Wu Tai-hao, 202cm, 1985/02/07, 26, TB
Cheng Jen-wei, 194cm, 1987/04/06, 24, KKL
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
Tien Lei, 202cm, 1983/06/01, 27, Dacin
Chang Chih-feng, 183cm, 1981/04/22, 30, Dacin
Chen Tse-wei, 200cm, 1985/01/30, 26, Dacin
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
Chen Ching-huan, 190cm, 1987/12/18, 25, KKL
Chang Jung-hsuan, 194cm, 1986/02/03, 23, KKL
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)

Meanwhile, Chou has nominated PY head coach Hsu Chin-tse as one of his assistants. The other assistant coach remains to be named.

Asian Games: Taiwan out of quarterfinals

Taiwan men’s NT lost to Iran and the Philippines to finish 1-4 in the preliminaries and was out of the Asian Games quarterfinal round.

Taiwan lost to the Philippines 82-73 in a battle for the quarterfinal berth on Monday. Lin Chih-chieh had a team-high 21 points while Wu Tai-hao added 20. Lee Hsueh-lin tallied 19 points and 9 rebounds.

Tien Lei, who was bothered by his sprained ankle did not score in 14 minutes.

On Sunday, Taiwan made 12 threes and forced Iran to 22 turnovers but was unable to stop Iranian center A. Kardoustpoustinsaraei, who tallied 22 points and 16 points, in a 73-72 loss.

Taiwan still had the chance to win. However, Tien Lei, Taiwan’s go-to man for the second straight game, failed to knock down the potential winning shot. Tien, who also failed to make the final shot in the game vs. Qatar, said after the game that he was fouled in the last possession but didn’t get the whistle.

Lin Chih-chieh led the team with 22 points. Wu Tai-hao had 12 and Lee Hsueh-lin had 10. Taiwan was outrebounded 34-16.

Men’s Standing:
Group E
China 5-0
South Korea 4-1
Jordan 3-2
North Korea 2-3
Mongolia 1-4
Uzbekistan 0-5

Group F
Japan 4-1
Iran 4-1
Philippines 3-2
Qatar 3-2
Taiwan 1-4
India 0-5

Quarterfinals:
South Korea vs. Philippines
Japan vs. North Korea
Iran vs. Jordan
China vs. Qatar

Women’s Standings:
Group A
China 3-0
South Korea 2-1
Thailand 1-2
India 0-3

Group B
Japan 2-0
Taiwan 1-1
Maldives 0-2

Semifinals:
Japan vs. South Korea
China vs. Taiwan

(Photos: Liberty times, UDN.com)

Taiwan 1-1 in Asian Games men’s basketball

Taiwan had an easy 93-66 win over India after losing to Japan 63-57 in the opener to split its first two games of the 2010 Asian Games men’s basketball competition in Guangzhou, China.

On Wednesday, Lin Chih-chieh had 23 points and Tien added 20 in the rout. Yang Ching-min scored 13 pooints and point guard Lee Hsueh-lin dished out 10 assists to go with five points.

India was led by Jagdeep Singh’s 22 points.

Taiwan was not so fortunate the previous night, when it committed 15 turnovers against Japan, which took advantage of Taiwan’s carelessness for 14 fastbreak points. Japan also dominated the paint, scoring 44 points in the restricted area against Taiwan’s 24.

Taiwan managed to pull within 24-23 at the half after a dismal first quarter, during which it only scored seven points. However, the team could not match up against the more prepared Japanese inside, especially after losing starting center Tseng Wen-ting, who didn’t go to Guangzhou with the team due to injury.

Ryota Sakurai scored nine of his 12 points in the crucial fourth quarter to lift Japan for the victory. Joji Takeuchi paced the team with 15 points and 13 rebounds while his twin brother Kosuke Takeuchi also had a double-double of 13 points and 10 boards.

Yuta Tabuse had 10 points for the winner.

Taiwan has to finish in the top four of the six-team Group F to advance to the knockout quarterfinal round. After the loss to Japan, it needs to beat at least one team among Qatar, Iran and the Philippines to ensure the knockout round berth.

Asian Games standings as of Nov. 17

Group E
South Korea 2-0
China 2-0
Jordan 1-1
Mongolia 101
North Korea 0-2
Uzbekistan 0-2

Group F
Japan 2-0
Qatar 1-1
Taiwan 1-1
Iran 1-1
Philippines 1-1
India 0-2

(Photos: Liberty Times)

Taiwan announced 16-man roster for Asian Games men’s basketball

CTBA announced its 16-man men’s basketball roster for the Asian Games in Gaungzhou, China on Wednesday with injured core players Tseng Wen-ting, Tien Lei, Lin Chih-chieh and Wu Tai-hao all returning to the national team training camp.

Wu Feng-cheng replaced Jet Chang, who will go back to Hawaii to prepare for his junior season with BYU-Hawaii.

Taiwan men’s NT did not perform well during the past Asian Games, finishing for 5th place in 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, 6th place in 1994 in Hiroshima, 5th place in 1998 in Bangkok, 7th place in 2002 in Pusan, Korea and 8th place in 2006, Doha, Qatar.

Wu Feng-cheng 1986.11.27 195 80 Yulon
Yang Chin-min 1984.1.22 188 85 Taiwan Beer
Lee Hsueh-lin 1984.1.31 176 75 Yulon
Chen Shih-nian 1984.4.8 180 76 Taiwan Beer
Chen Shun-hsiang 1985.5.25 190 90 Bank of Taiwan
Hung Chih-shan 1985.7.5 176 75 Pure Youth
Chien Chia-hung 1987.3.6 197 108 Pure Youth
Cheng Jen-wei 1987.4.6 194 90 KKL
Lu Cheng-ju 1986.4.13 194 88 Yulon
Mao Chia-en 1982.11.16 196 90 Pure Youth
Tien Lei 1983.6.1 202 100 Dacin
Wu Tai-hao 1985.2.7 202 100 Taiwan Beer
Tseng Wen-ting 1984.7.6 203 90 Yulon
Chang Chih-feng 1981.4.22 183 90 Dacin
Lin Chih-chieh 1982.6.11 192 95 Taiwan Beer
Chou Po-chen 1990.8.8 196 94 University

Head coach: Zhang Xuelei
Assistants: Chiu Chi-yi, Wei Yung-tai

Taiwan’s 12-man roster for FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup set

Taiwan NT head coach Zhang Xuelei announced his 12-man roster for the upcoming FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup tournament with center Tseng Wen-ting back in the mix to boost up the thin frontline.

The tournament will be held in Lebanon from Aug. 7-15 as a qualification tourney for the 2011 Asian Championship, which incidentally will also take place in Lebanon.

It will be also important for Taiwan to participate in this tournament and finish in the top five, which will win seeds for five subzones under FIBA Asia. Since the East Asia zone is granted two seeds in the next Asian Championship, if Taiwan fails to finish in the top five, it will have to vie for the two East Asian seeds with China and Japan, who will not send their teams to Lebanon next month, in the next East Asian Basketball Championship that also serves as a qualifying tournament.

Zhang will welcome back Tseng Wen-ting, who has been in the U.S. for individual training, after Taiwan NT’s miserable 2-4 record and the 5th-place finish in the 2010 Jones Cup. Entering the Jones Cup without a true center, Taiwan NT was outmatched in the paint defensively and could only rely on their perimeter game.

The addition of Tseng may not be probably enough though as most of Taiwan’s core players are still under rehab of their injuries. Tien Lei, Wu Tai-hao and Lin Chih-chieh will once again skip the Stankovic Cup. The health of Chen Hsin-an, who is now playing for China’s Dongguan, is also unclear. Chen was not selected to the national team partially because he did not play in Taiwan at all last year.

Po., Name, Ht., Age
G Lee Hsueh-lin, Yulon, 175cm, 26
G Chen Shih-nian, Taiwan Beer, 180cm, 26
G Yang Ching-min, TB, 188cm, 25
G Hong Chih-shan, Pure Youth, 176cm, 24
G Chen Shun-hsiang, BOT, 190cm, 25
G Jet Chang, BYU Hawaii, 190cm, 21
F Chien Chia-hong, Pure Youth, 196cm, 22
F James Mao, Pure Youth, 196cm, 27
F Lu Cheng-ju, Yulon, 192cm, 23
F Cheng jen-wei, KKL, 194cm, 23
F Chen Tse-wei, Dacin, 200cm, 24
C Tseng Wen-ting, Yulon, 204cm, 26

Head Coach: Zhang Xuelei
Assistants: Chiu Tsun-chih, Chiu Chi-yi

Cross-Strait tournament
The fifth edition of a cross-Taiwan Strait tournament will be held in Taiwan in the end of the month with four teams participating, local media reported. The four teams are: Taiwan Beer, Fujian SBS Xunxin from Chinese League CBA, Hong Kong champion Nam Wah and Macau Fukien basketball team. The tourney will be played at Taipei Municiple Arena and National Yilan University Stadium.