Haruaki Tanaka (1st R) of Japan goes for a lay-up during the 3X3 basketball men's pool match against Turkmenistan at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 26, 2023. (Xinhua/Wu Zhuang)
Japan earned a comeback win against Turkmenistan, while Chinese Taipei suffered a defeat on the second day of men's 3x3 basketball at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
HANGZHOU, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Taipei lost to the Philippines 17-12, while Japan made a late surge to beat Turkmenistan 19-15 on the second day of men's 3x3 basketball action at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Tuesday.
Chinese Taipei committed a significant number of fouls after the start, accumulating six fouls with 5:10 remaining in the game, while the Philippines took advantage of free-throw opportunities to establish a 7-3 lead.
Chinese Taipei gradually narrowed the gap as a two-pointer by Lin Sinkuan once helped them cut the deficit to 8-9. The Philippines pulled away once again with inside drives. After Chinese Taipei fouled with 18 seconds left, the Philippines made both free throws to secure a 17-12 win.
"We didn't have a specific strategy, we just focused on the game and tried to get the victory," said Filipino player Justine Sanchez. "There was a wonderful chemistry among our team members, and unity was the key to our success."
Yevgeniy Nazipov (2nd R) of Turkmenistan competes during the match. (Xinhua/Wu Zhuang)
Turkmenistan started the game against Japan strongly with a 5-0 run, but Japan's Haruaki Tanaka stood out to narrow the gap with two 2-point shots.
Then Turkmenistan's shooting accuracy began to drop, while Japan used a free-throw opportunity to tie the game at 11-11. After the score reached 15-15, Tanaka once again helped to extend Japan's advantage with frequent inside shots and Turkmenistan failed to turn the tides.
"It was a tough game, but we pulled it off," said Japan's Taroburaitochukuoma Saito. "We emphasized defense and had a strong performance from the outside."
Despite his team losing to Iran 22-6, the 23-year-old Maldivian basketball player Rishwan Mohamed said with confidence, "I'm here to win the game. Compared to the last match, the result is better, I think we could still do better."
Also on Tuesday, Kazakhstan beat Cambodia 21-13, Mongolia defeated Jordan 17-13, and Qatar emerged victorious 16-12 over Thailand. ■
