China hardly broke a sweat in decimating Chinese Taipei, 115-66, en route to its second win in as many games in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers’ third window, Thursday evening at the AUF Sports and Cultural Center in Pampanga.
The long-time continental force flexed its strength over its much younger counterparts right from the jump as it collected its most dominant win yet in just its second game back on the global stage since the 2019 World Cup.
“This is the second of our four games in the bubble. Generally, this is a good game compared to the first game. The flow is getting better now,” said head coach Du Feng through a translator post-game
All 12 players were utilized by Feng in the conquest, with 7-foot-5 center Liu Chuanxing and Wu Qian leading the way with 16 points apiece.
Lu Wenbo made 15 points, Hu Mingxuan and Wang Shaojie each had 12 points, as Zhao Jiwei chipped in 11 for Team Dragon, who shot 57.6-percent from the field thanks mainly to the 32 assists they dished as a unit.
“I think we are getting better and we are just looking forward to the following games,” said the decorated bench tactician.
China zoomed to a 33-9 start and did not let up the rest of the way, leaving the Taiwanese overwhelmed — to the point that they committed 24 turnovers that were converted into 37 points by the Chinese.
The victory, however, was marred by an injury scare as Shen Zijie landed awkwardly on a rebound play and left with 6:27 left in the second period.
China will take a break tomorrow and resume play on Saturday, as it looks to score another win over Japan at 2:30 p.m.
Hsieh Yahsuan top-billed for Chinese Taipei with 25 points in the defeat that dropped their record to 1-2. Lee Han Sheng was the only other double-digit scorer for the Taiwanese with 11 markers.
New naturalized player Mohammad Al-Bachir Gadiaga, meanwhile, only had five points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal in nine minutes.
The Scores:
China 115 – Lu 16, Wu 16, Liu 16, Zhao J 13, Hu 12, Wang 12, Zhang 8, Xu 8, Zhou 6, Shen 4, Zhao Y 2, Ren 2.
Chinese-Taipei 66 – Hsieh 25, Ku 8, Li 11, Lu 6, Gadiaga 5, Morrison 4, Su 3, Wu C 2, Wu S 2, Chen 0, Lin 0, Lan 0.
Quarterscores: 37-16, 67-32, 91-47, 115-66.
