Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/11/07
By: Lee Yu-cheng and Lee Hsin-Yin
Taipei, Nov. 7 (CNA) Taiwan lost to South Korea 78-69 in the final of the FIBA Asia U16 Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia on Saturday, but it was still the country’s best-ever showing in the tournament held every two years.
As one of the top three finishers in the 16-team tournament, Taiwan automatically qualified for the 2016 FIBA U17 World Championship in Spain, along with South Korea and third-place China.
In Saturday’s final, Taiwan had a 31-30 lead at halftime, but the Koreans went on a 9-0 run to start the third quarter and never led by fewer than six points after that.
Taiwan defeated Japan 60-57 in the semifinals on Friday to reach the final, ensuring that it would eclipse its previous best finish at the event, a fourth-place finish in 2013 when China won the championship.