Former Osaka Evessa center Tseng Wen-ting scored a game-high 19 points and Lin Chih-chieh poured in 16 as Taiwan edged Japan 79-76 in Group E action at the FIBA Asia Championship on Tuesday in Manila.
Japan slipped to 1-3 in the tournament, which serves as a qualifier for next year's FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain. Taiwan improved to 4-0.
Tseng sank 6 of 10 shots from the field, including 2 of 3 3-pointers in 22-plus minutes. He also went to the free-throw line for seven shots (and made five of them).
Kosuke Takeuchi led Japan (1-3) with 17 points and Kosuke Kanamaru had 14. Naoto Tsuji scored 13 points and J.R. Sakuragi had 10 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Ryota Sakurai dished out eight assists and Daiki Tanaka contributed eight points.
Tsuji and Kanamaru shot a combined 2-for-12 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Taiwan was ahead 44-41 at halftime.
Japan struggled in the rebounding department, with Taiwan holding a 44-33 edge on the boards.
On Monday, Japan lost 90-71 to the Philippines.
Jordan, which is 1-3, faces Japan on Wednesday in a Group E match.
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