Taipei, Aug. 16 (CNA) Grief-stricken over his grandfather's death last week, Taiwanese basketball player Chou Shih-yuan said his performance in an Asia Professional Basketball (APB) tournament game Wednesday night was in tribute to his grandfather.
The Taiwanese national team lost the opening game of the second round 99-93 to the Perth Wildcats, but it was Chou's four three-pointers in the third quarter that ignited a furious rally that almost helped the home team pull off a come-from-behind win.
Chou was raised by his grandparents until his junior high school graduation in the southern city of Kaohsiung. Chou's father worked in another city at the time and was seldom at home.
For almost ten years, his grandparents were his only family, said Chou, who learned of his grandfather's death via a cellphone text message after a team practice session last week.
"Later, he was bedridden with diabetes and lost most of his vision, but he listened to almost every one of my basketball games on television. He always wanted to know if I played well," Chou said.
"I wasn't able to think about him much while I was on the court today. But I am glad I had a good game and did not disappoint him," said Chou, who scored 16 points in 22 minutes and had his best game in the tournament so far.
Chou will miss the next two games as he will be back in Kaohsiung for the funeral.
The five-team APB tournament invited four basketball clubs from Japan, Korea, Australia and the Philippines. The tournament enters the single round-robin second round Wednesday and concluded on Saturday.