Taipei coach: 'Phl will be very tough game'

MANILA, Philippines - After winning their opening assignment, Chinese Taipei head coach Chin-Che Hsu isn’t thinking of the Saturday match against home team Gilas Pilipinas.

Not just yet.

“Philippines will be a very tough game,” Hsu told Philstar.com after piloting the Taiwanese to a 91-87 win over Jordan. (read game recap here)

A vastly improved Taipei squad showed up here in Manila fending off the opening challenge from a young but strong Jordan side with naturalized player Quincy Davis beefing them up.  

The win augurs well for the Taiwanese, who will face Saudi Arabia tomorrow, before the much-anticipated showdown with the hosts in what is expected to be an emotionally-charged game at 8:30 pm on Saturday.

But Taipei head coach Chin-Che Hsu downplayed that game as just one of their assignments in the tournament.  

“Every game is the same. Tonight we took care of business. We need to win tomorrow then think of the Philippines,” Hsu said. “We’ll see.”

Gilas Pilipinas was robbed of the chance to defend the Jones Cup title this year won by Iran after their invitation was recalled following the political tension between Philippines and Taiwan that stemmed from the killing of Taiwanese fisherman by a Philippine Coast Guard.

The Taiwanese coach, however, said that the political row has nothing to do with their showdown with Gilas.  He also rued the fact that Gilas’ non-inclusion in the Jones Cup derailed their FIBA Asia preparation.  

“We did not have time to scout them well.  It will be the first time that we’ll play against [Gilas] this year,” Hsu said. “I wish they came to Taipei to play in the Jones Cup but there were some problems.”

Chinese Taipei, eventually, ended up as runner-up to Iran in their best finish in seven years. 

Click to watch the video here