MANILA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- China recovered from an 11-point deficit to beat Chinese Taipei 100-93, securing its second consecutive victory in the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Sunday.
Trailing by seven points midway through the fourth quarter, China gradually rallied back, as veteran guard Zhao Jiwei sank a shot well beyond the arc to tie the game at 91-91 with 2:44 remaining.
Zhao Rui then drew a foul when attempting a 3-pointer, and he made two of three free throws to put China in front 95-93. Steady performances on the free-throw line secured China's win.
Five Chinese players scored in double figures, led by Zhu Junlong's 19 points. Hu Jinqiu and Zhao Jiwei added 15 and 13, respectively.
"We pulled ourselves back from the edge of the cliff," said Zhao. "In these two games, we showed more solidarity and courage than ever. I hope these two victories can awaken the whole team to fight together. But the job is not done, and we have to prepare well for the upcoming games."
Chinese Taipei center Brandon Gilbeck started off hot at the opening stages, scoring 10 of his side's first 14 points, while coming off the bench, Zhao hit two consecutive 3-pointers to help China turn the game around 18-14. Zhu's late 3-pointer moved China ahead 27-22 after the first quarter.
The tense battle continued in the second quarter. China built a seven-point advantage early on, while Chen Ying-chun had seven straight points and Chinese Taipei leveled the score at 35-35, before Liu Cheng's 3-pointer ended the halftime 51-50 in Chinese Taipei's favor.
Chinese Taipei began to take an upper hand after the break, with Lin Ting-chien's three-point play lifting it to a 70-61 lead with four minutes remaining in the third period. Chinese Taipei extended its lead to as many as 11 points before China rode on a fourth-quarter rally to win.
"I told my players before this game that it would come down to the wire and had to be prepared for 40 minutes both offensively and defensively. This was a team victory," said China's head coach Guo Shiqiang.
Chen had a game-high 26 points for Chinese Taipei. Lin and Gilbeck chipped in with 22 and 19, respectively.
China defeated Japan 87-80 away on Thursday for its first win in the phase.
Also on Sunday, Japan overpowered South Korea 78-72 to lead the group with a win-loss record of 3-1. South Korea and China both have a 2-2 record, while Chinese Taipei sits bottom with a 1-3.
After the final two rounds in the next window in July, the top three teams in the group will advance to the next phase. ■
