TAIPEI CITY (Chinese Taipei) - Chinese Taipei moved a step closer in turning their FIBA Asia Cup 2025 hopes into reality following a 113-73 conquest of Guam, Wednesday night at the University of Taipei Tianmu Gymnasium.
The home team dictated the pace right from the get-go before breaking away for good in the second chapter en route to a dominant start to the continental showpiece's Qualifying Tournament for Third-Place Teams.
Including their Window 3 campaign in the Asia Cup Qualifiers last February, Coach Gianluca Tucci's charges have now won their third consecutive game - and asserted as well their mastery of the Pacific team.
Chinese Taipei have now won against Guam twice in a row, with their first a 77-72 decision in the same qualifying phase back in 2021 to complete the 16-team picture for the 2022 Asia Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia.
It was the men's program's 18th straight appearance in FIBA's flagship tournament in Asia and soon, they can make it 19 should they take care of business against Thailand on Friday, March 21, at 19:00 local time.
Group G
1/3 GAMES PLAYED
# | TEAM | GP | W | L | % | Last 5 | For | AGT | +/- | FA | AA | PTS |
1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100.0 |
| 113 | 73 | 40 | 113.0 | 73.0 | 2 | |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 |
| 73 | 113 | -40 | 73.0 | 113.0 | 1 | |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 |
Game heroes: Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga finished with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting as he spearheaded the squad's balanced attack, which saw a total of six players finish in double figures in the rout.
The athletic winger scored 12 of his points in the first half alone as he sparked the second-quarter surge, pulling off highlight-worthy plays to help Chinese Taipei come into the halftime break with a 54-38 lead.
Brandon Gilbeck supplied 15 points and 13 rebounds, together with 2 assists, a steal, and a block for a full line - all without a turnover. He already had 12 and 7 in the first quarter alone to lead his side to a 29-19 lead.
Ma Chien-Hao also came through with 15 points, alongside 7 rebounds. Lu Chun-Hsiang provided 13 points, while Hu Long-Mao and Chen Ying-Chun chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively in the triumph.
Turning point: Gadiaga and Ma were responsible in creating that huge gap in the second chapter, joining hands for the key 9-0 run toward a 43-26 lead with 4:55 on the clock that marked the start of a lopsided affair.
Stats don't lie: Chinese Taipei shot an impressive 56.4-percent from the field and that's big thanks to their 24 assists. They also took care of the rock extremely well as they only committed four turnovers.
They said: "I'm really happy about this win that became easier than probably some of you expected. But only because we did a really great job in the first period where we pushed the tempo. We are better than them in running the floor, putting pressure, and they are really good at half-court. We didn't allow them to play half-court and so this is the reason why we got this important win, and allowed us to win easier than expected. Our players are really motivated to play this window and you can see everybody, as soon as they stepped on the court, they did something important." - Gianluca Tucci, Head Coach, Chinese Taipei
"I think it was a great team effort, we performed our roles well. Big credit to the guys. it was tough to prepare for this. I mean, Guam is a good team and obviously we're still gonna be locked in for Thailand but guys just got done playing games around Asia and big credit to the guys for coming in such a short notice and getting locked in." - Brandon Gilbeck, Center, Chinese Taipei
"Unfortunately, we did not get the win. And our primary objective is to come here and get two wins. We know that we can still advance and accomplish our goal of qualifying for the Asia Cup by winning tomorrow night. Rather than focusing on the result of tonight's game, we're gonna get ready to take care of business and come back tomorrow night because that's the only thing we can do." - EJ Calvo, Head Coach, Guam
"Obviously, the score, it is what it is. But at the end of the day, the main thing is about pride and just fighting. I think that no matter how much we're down as a team or how much we're up as a team, we still gotta make sure that we conduct ourselves in the right manner and still make sure that our pride is still on the line, and make sure we still continue to still play hard. Obviously we were short-handed but no excuses or anything like that ... that's what we have to continue to do as a team: no matter the circumstances. we have to continue to play hard." - Earnest Ross, Forward, Guam
FIBA