Liu Cheng and Chou Yi-Hsiang lead Taipei as they begin Asian Qualifiers campaign

TAIPEI (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - Former SBL Most Valuable Players Liu Cheng and Chou Yi-Hsiang will spearhead the charge of Chinese Taipei at the Asian Qualifiers.

Liu was named SBL MVP in 2015, while Chou won the plum in 2016 and 2017. Both are now plying their trade in the CBA, but they have come back home to lend their strength to the national team, which is hoping to make it to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China. Both Liu and Chou are considered to be among the very best Taipei players around, and they will be leading a team devoid of many familiar faces and names.

Iconic Taipei players like Lin Chih-Chieh, Tien Lei and Tseng Wen-Ting are absent from this final roster, which means even more will be expected from both Liu Cheng and Chou Yi-Hsiang. Aiding them, however, will be other seasoned players like Chou Po-Chen, Lu Cheng-Ju and Tsai Wen-Cheng.

Of course, much of Taipei's fortunes are also hinged on naturalized center Quincy Davis. Davis was sidelined by injury and missed the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 in August, but he was instrumental in carrying Taipei to their first ever EABA Championship crown earlier in the year.

Taipei will be hard-pressed to beat Australia today even if the former are playing at home, but they have a bigger chance to spring an upset when they go on the road against the Philippines on 27 November.

FIBA