Taipei or Japan - who will make it to the second round?

TAIPEI (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - It's a do-or-die affair between Chinese Taipei and Japan, with the victor getting the last ride to the second round of the Asian Qualifiers.

Chinese Taipei narrowly won their previous encounter, 70-69, in Yokohama last February, and they are hoping to repeat the feat this time around at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium.

That's going to be easier said than done, though, as Japan are coming off an historic win over erstwhile undefeated Australia and will be bannered by the dynamic duo of naturalized player Nick Fazekas and budding superstar Rui Hachimura.

Both Fazekas and Hachimura were not around in the previous collision between these two teams, but they will certainly make a big impact in their game tomorrow. In their resounding win over Australia, Fazekas unloaded 25 points and 12 rebounds on 10-of-19 field goal shooting, while US NCAA standout Hachimura also popped the cap with 24 points and 7 boards on 10-of-18 shooting from the floor.

How Chinese Taipei will try to slow both of those Japanese aces down is going to be a brainteaser, but it's reasonable to expect that their own naturalized player, Quincy Davis, will be at the forefront of the effort. In their win earlier this year over Japan, Chinese Taipei leaned heavily on the 6ft 8in (2.02m) Davis, who recorded 12 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocked shots. As impressive as that line was, though, he may have to do a lot more in this game for Taipei to have a puncher's chance of winning.

Davis, however, will need a lot of help from the likes of Chou Yi-Hsiang, Chen Ying-Chun, Liu Cheng, Tseng Wen-Ting and Chen Kuan-Chuan. Yi-Hsiang, Ying-Chun and Kuan-Chuan did well in their loss to the Philippines with a combined 29 points, but coach Chou Chun-San will surely need a lot more production from both Liu and Tseng. Liu, a former MVP in Taipei's pro league, scored 0 points in 12 minutes of play, while Tseng was thoroughly outplayed by the Philippines' June Mar Fajardo. Taipei cannot afford any lukewarm performances in this game, or they can kiss their second round chances goodbye.

Whoever wins this match will move on to join Philippines and Australia in the second round, where they will all be placed in Group F. 

FIBA