Late Taipei Surge Ends Bahrain’s Asia Cup Run

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Hopes of a place in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup quarter-finals were dashed in a costly final six minutes on Thursday as Bahrain surrendered a seven-point lead and lost 109-99 to Chinese Taipei in Ahmedabad.

Bahrain led 91-84 with 6min 37sec left and were closing in on the last eight. Chinese Taipei then outscored them 25-8, punished turnovers and found their range from three-point territory as the game slipped away.

The loss ended Bahrain’s bid for a quarter-final place and sent Chinese Taipei through to face South Korea on Friday.

Bahrain had taken a 79-75 lead into the fourth quarter after winning the first 24-23 and the third 27-22. Chinese Taipei took the second 30-28 before winning the final quarter 34-20.

Hassan Abdulkadir led Bahrain with 36 points and 18 rebounds, but his fifth foul with 3min 10sec left forced him out as Chinese Taipei took control.

Somto Patrick finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds, while Mahdi Habib scored 16 and handed out eight assists. Mujtaba Mahmood added 14.

Chinese Taipei shot 48.7 pc from three-point range against Bahrain’s 23.1 pc and made 14 steals, giving them a clear edge in the closing stages.

Liu Ting-Kuan led Chinese Taipei with 33 points, seven rebounds, six assists, six steals and two blocks. Carter Coleman scored 23, while Cheng Yu-Hsin had 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

The key run came soon after Bahrain moved seven clear. Chinese Taipei scored nine unanswered points to go 93-91 ahead with 4min 10sec left and never trailed again.

The 208 combined points made it the seventh-highest scoring game in FIBA U18 Asia Cup history.

Bahrain had been chasing their first quarter-final appearance since 2018.