NEW TAIPEI CITY (Chinese Taipei) - Chinese Taipei had not beaten Korea since 2009 in major FIBA competitions. Until now.
Led by the powerful play of center Brandon Gilbeck, Chinese Taipei triumphed 77-65, scoring a massive upset in the Asian Qualifiers.
After being down 7-0 initially, they ended up controlling the remainder of the three quarters in what might seem like a surprising victory.
Chinese Taipei had lost 13 of their last 14 games in the World Cup Qualifiers, including each of the last 11. Korea had won their last 10 games in the World Cup Qualifiers. Both streaks now took a turn.
Turning Point
Window 1's star Lee Hyunjung fouled out with more than 4 minutes left in the game, the final nail in the coffin for Korea. Lee was the main force for Korea with 18 points and 8 rebounds and his disqualification from the game after getting his fifth personal foul proved too much for Korea to overcome.
Key Players
Brandon Gilbeck. Chinese Taipei's big man had himself another double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds for an overall efficiency of +29. He has scored at least 16 in all of his World Cup Qualifiers games now.
Benson Lin led Chinese Taipei in scoring, with 18 points off a near-perfect 7-of-9 from the field, confirming his star status for the East Asian Squad.
Stats Don't Lie
34 mins. That's how long Chinese Taipei led in this game. So it was not just a regular 'upset'. It was a dominant one at that secured by the home team.
Korea commited 18 turnovers compared to Chinese Taipei's 13 and that will always be something difficult to overcome for a team coming from behind.
Bottom Line
Chinese Taipei are now 1-2, while Korea are now 2-1. With China also opening their win column earlier today, Group B remains wide open, with all 4 teams in contention for a spot in the Second Round.
They Said
"I think we played in the wrong pace, and we didn't move the ball well enough. That shows we had a bad balance between assists and turnovers. - Korea Coach Nikolajs Mazurs
"We didn't execute the game well. From the beginning, it's the starting five's responsibility, including me, [where we were] looking for a quick shot [and] not playing team basketball. For me, I need to be more calmed down. We got a lot of great guys. I think this game's on me really - Korea's star forward Lee Hyunjung, who got fouled out late in the game.
"It was an amazing game. We played one of the best games ever since I'm here. I want to dedicate this victory to an Italian friend of mine who passed away in Taipei few days ago." - Chinese Taipei Coach Gianluca Tucci
"We played amazing defense. If you consider that Korea scored an average of 85 points per game against China in the previous window, and they scored just 65 [against us] you can realize how huge was our focus, aggressiveness and efficiency of strategy in defense." - Coach Tucci
"Korea is always a very tough opponent. Playing against them, you really can't lose focus and relax. Everybody has to communicate while we're on court. We did our best to limit their key players. They still did really good on their rebounds, especially their offensive rebounds from time to time. In that department, we really have to thank Brandon [Gilbeck]." - Chinese Taipei's Chen Ying-Chun
Watch the post-game press conference:
FIBA