China/Chinese Taipei - China edge out Taipei in fifth place feisty fare

TOKYO, Japan (4th FIBA Asia Cup): Guo Ailun did a good job of drawing an extra defender towards himself before setting up Zhao Tailong and the latter struck again, moments later, this time beating the buzzer to help China eke out a 67-63 win against a perky Chinese Taipei in the play off for the fifth place of the 4th FIBA Asia Cup on Saturday.

“Well, those two shots spoke for the spirit and character of these youngsters,” said China coach Fan Bin.

“Playing the semifinals would have been a step up for these youngsters in their learning process, no doubt in that. But finishing fifth ahead of a lot of good teams is not bad either,” he added.

China had sent their development team to this competition with an eye on the 2016 Olympics with the 19-year-old Guo Ailun being the most experienced and Zhang Dayu who turned 21 in January this year being the oldest.

Wang Zhelin finished with a mammoth game of 20 points and 14 rebounds.

Lin Chih-Shieh’s 20 points led Taipei.