Shen Zijie (#14) of China dunks in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifier game against Chinese Taipei in the Philippines, June 20, 2021. /FIBA
China beat Chinese Taipei 91-73 in their last FIBA Asia Cup qualifier game in the Philippines on Sunday, finishing the tournament with four straight wins.
China's victory over Japan on Saturday had already secured the team a spot in the coming Asia Cup that will start on August 17 in Indonesia.
However, coach Du Feng did not want to give up the last game. Though he did not send Zhou Qi or Ren Junfei to the court, Du remained demanding of his players in Sunday's game. Twenty-one-year-old Zhang Zhenlin was even criticized for his underperformance on the floor.
China's players were in the best shooting form in the first half, but Zhou Peng's tough 2-plus-1 play, Wu Qian's 3-pointer, plus Wang Shaojie's last-second floater gave their team a 12-point lead (28-16) in the first quarter. Chinese Taipei enhanced their charging of the paint in the second quarter and narrowing the deficit down to 10 points (49-39).
Hu Mingxuan (#3) of China dribbles the ball in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifier game against Chinese Taipei in the Philippines, June 20, 2021. /FIBA
China showed more aggressiveness in the second half as Zhou Peng and Hu Mingxuan continued to hurt the opponents' defense by drawing fouls. By the time Zhou Peng finished an alley-oop in the fourth quarter, China's lead had grown to 26 points. That's when the game was long gone for the Chinese Taipei team.
Zhou Peng scored a game-high 21 points, six rebounds and four assists. Shen Zijie had a double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds.
China will fly to Canada directly from the Philippines to prepare for the Tokyo Olympic basketball qualifying tournament in Victoria. They will meet Greece and Canada in the competitions.