Chinese Taipei finish group stage with first win

CHANGSHA-HUNAN (2015 FIBA Asia Championship) - Chinese Taipei suffered nothing but frustration on the first two days of the FIBA Asia Championship with narrow defeats to Lebanon and Kazakhstan, results that eliminated them from contention for a spot in the next round.

On Friday, the team played for pride and rebounded with a victory over previously unbeaten Qatar, a team that had already clinched first place in Group D.

Chih-Chieh Lin scored 14 points and Quincy Davis III had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the winners, who will now set out to impress in the Classification Round and finish as high as possible in the standings. 

Turning point: Chinese Taipei trailed by eight points at half-time but emerged from the changing room full of determination and eventually took the lead. They did not go in front for good, however, until Cheng-Ju Lu's three-pointer with 2:45 remaining in the contest.

Stats Don't Lie: Chinese Taipei got to the free-throw line more often, making 14 of 22 attempts compared to a five-of-nine effort from Qatar.

Game Hero: Lu played less than nine minutes but hit three of five shots from behind the arc, including one that put his team in front to stay.

The Bottom Line: At least one good team was going to miss out on the next round from Group D and it turned out to be Chinese Taipei, who finished behind Qatar, Lebanon and Kazakhstan, respectively. Chinese Taipei nevertheless showed great resolve on Friday, a positive display that will take away some of the sting for their fans. Qatar did their hard work on the first couple of days and now, they will look to reclaim some positive momentum.

FIBA