TEHRAN (FIBA Asia Challenge 2016) – Chinese Taipei led wire to wire and cruised to a convincing win over Kazakhstan, 92-77, in Group E action at the FIBA Asia Challenge 2016 in Tehran, Iran.

Kazakhstan never held the lead in this encounter as the Taipei quintet dictated the tempo from the get-go. Coach Eduard Skrypets’s wards actually did a good job limiting the production of Taipei’s Quincy Davis, but Liu Cheng, Chou Po-Chen and Chiang Yu-An picked up the slack for Chinese Taipei’s cause. Not even a late rally by the Kazakhs could stifle Taipei’s momentum as coach Yan Jia-Hwa’s boys finished the game strong.

Turning Point: When Chou Po-Chen made a dunk in the middle of the first quarter that gave Chinese Taipei a 14-point lead at 20-6, one could sense that coach Yan’s had firm control of the match. Kazakhstan would cut the lead to 11 at the end of the first period, 8 points at the halftime break and even 6 points in the middle of the fourth quarter, but Taipei never fully relinquished control.

Stats Don't Lie: Bench play came to the fore in the encounter. Coach Yan’s bench mob outscored their Kazakh counterparts, 27-15, to underscore Taipei’s dominance. Shooter Lee Wei-Che caught fire for coach Yan’s second unit, burying 2 triples en route to 11 points. Back-up frontliners Lin Chih-Wei and Chou Po-Hsun also impressed by scoring a combined 9 points. In contrast, no Kazakh reserved scored more than 7 points.

Game Hero: 2014 SBL Most Valuable Player Liu Cheng stamped his class this game. The 1.92m wingman had his best game of the tournament so far, scoring 28 points to go along with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. He also drilled in 2 three-pointers as part of his 9-of-14 field goal shooting. This was Liu at his finest, and it was, indeed, a sight to behold. If he can consistently be this productive, Taipei may just be able to return to the Final.

The Bottom Line: It’s clear that Chinese Taipei are on a mission to at least match the achievements of the team that finished second in 2014. Even without some of their icons, Taipei have been able to tap a multitude of up-and-coming players to blossom as the squad’s new leaders. The prospects are good for them against Jordan tomorrow and China a day after. As for Kazakhstan, they’ve now absorbed three losses in as many outings, and only a win against Philippines tomorrow can still salvage any hope that they’ll barge into the Quarter-Finals.

FIBA