Bahrain bow to Chinese-Taipei in FIBA Asia Cup opener

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain bowed to Chinese-Taipei 84-102 yesterday in their opening Group B game of the FIBA Asia Cup 2022, being held in Indonesia. The Kingdom’s senior men’s national team had a strong start and led 5-0 early in the first quarter, but they then conceded the next nine points and their opponents took control from there.

The Bahrainis tried to stay within striking distance the rest of the way but fell behind by as many as 25 points in the second half.

The nationals committed 23 turnovers in yesterday’s game, which led to 31 points for Chinese-Taipei. The East Asians also outscored Bahrain on the Fastbreak 23-6. Naturalised big man Wayne Chism spearheaded the Bahrainis in the contest with a gallant effort of 24 points and 18 rebounds.

He also had five blocks. Ahmed Hassan Alderazi contributed 20 points including four three-pointers, while Mohammed Ameer had 14 points and Mustafa Hussain scored 12.

Cheng Liu paced the winners with 29 points, while YingChun Chen had 16 and William Artino 15. The loss was a tough start for Bahrain in the competition, but it doesn’t get any easier moving forward. The nationals’ next fixture will be against Asian giants China tomorrow in a game tipping off at 4pm, Bahrain time. They then play South Korea on Saturday at 7am, Bahrain.