Taipei, Sept. 25 (CNA) Taiwan trailed from start to finish in a 99-90 loss to South Korea in the first game of the second round Saturday in FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Men held in Sanaa, Yemen.
The Taiwan team dug themselves a big hole in the first quarter when they were outscored by the Koreans 38-22. From that point on, all they could do was try to catch up but in the end failed in the attempt.
Chen Ying-chun led Taiwan with 19 points while Hu Lung-mao had 18. Lee Seounghyun led South Korea with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
"We were caught napping early. The early deficit proved a little too much," Taiwan head coach Huang Wan-lung was quoted by FIBA Asia Web site as saying.
Sixteen participating teams in the biennial tournament are pooled in groups of four in the preliminary round. The top three teams in each group advance to the second round, with two groups of six teams each.
Taiwan, which is now 1-2 in the second round, is scheduled to meet Lebanon Sunday. It ranked ninth in 2008 and finished fourth in 2006. (By Chris Wang) enditem