Chinese Taipei climbs back in fourth to upset Nationals

The Gilas Pilipinas suffered its first loss in the 27th FIBA Asia Men’s Championship as it melted down the homestretch  and lost a huge 13-point lead to eventually fall, 79-84, to a gritty Chinese Taipei team in Group A action last night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

It seemed as if the Gilas had full control of the game when it built a 13-point spread, 68-55, at the end of the third canto.

Larry Fonacier was responsible for the uprising of the Nationals in the third as he fired 16 of his 21 points in that stretch, highlighted by four three-point bombs.

But Chinese Taipei refused to give in and outscored the Gilas, 29-11, in the fourth to register the come-from-behind victory and take the lead in Group A (3-0).

Big man Wen Ting Tseng gave Chinese Taipei back the lead, 74-72, but the Gilas’ naturalized player Marcus Douthit retaliated and scored their next five points for a, 77-75 advantage.

That proved to be the last time that the Gilas held the lead as Tseng beat the shot-clock buzzer by banking in a three-pointer. Then, Chen-Ju Lu broke the Gilas’ backs as he swished another from the left wing for an, 81-77 lead with 1:27 remaining.

Jayson Castro gave the hosts their last glimmer of hope with a lay-in to slice the deficit to two, 79-81, with 42.2 ticks remaining. Chih-Chieh Lin sank three free-throws near the end to hammer the final nail in the Gilas’ coffin.

Lin nearly registered a triple-double with 20 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists while Lu added 22 points and five boards. Lei Tien had 18 while Tseng finished with 16.

Fonacier led the Gilas with 21 but saw little action in crunchtime. Douthit had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

IRAN SWEEPS GROUP C
In other games, Iran took advantage of the absence of NBA player Yi Jianlin as it humbled the reigning champion China, 70-51, in Group C action.
Four players scored in twin digits for the two-time Asian champions, led by star center and NBA player Hamed Haddadi, who had 15 points and seven boards.

Forward Oshin Sahakian chipped in 13 points and seven boards, while Hamed Afagh and gunner Nikkhah Bahrami Samad added in 12 and 10, respectively to help them sweep their games in the first round of eliminations while sending China, long-considered to be Asia’s best, to their second loss in three games.

Still in Group C, South Korea manhandled Malaysia, 80-58, to settle for a 2-1 (win-loss) card.

In Group B, Qatar bagged its second straight win after defeating Hong Kong, 87-64, while Kazakhstan defeated India, 80-67, to sweep Group D.