CHINESE Taipei coach Hsu Chin-che used simple instructions and a simple game plan to pull off an incredible victory over the Philippines on Saturday night.
“I think Chinese Taipei team never gave up,” said Hsu in halting English during the postgame press conference. “We were down by 13 but in the final, we won. We never gave up.”
With the combined efforts of Lu Cheng Ju, Lin Chih Chieh, Tien Lei, and Tseng Wen Ting, the Taiwanese outscored the Filipino cagers 29-11 in the fourth to pull off an 84-79 victory in front of a packed crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The four combined for 76 points as the Taiwanese ended the preliminary round unbeaten.
Hsu had simple instructions when the Taiwanese trailed by 55-68 entering the fourth period: Stick to the game plan.
“I told my players to keep going and not change anything,” Hsu said.
Hsu also emphasized to his players not to be affected by the raucous Filipino crowd.
“We practiced and I told my players, 'Don’t worry,” Hsu said, referring to the crowd. “I told (them) that several times.”
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