Chinese Taipei goes 2-0 in FIBA Asia Cup after Group D win over Iraq

Chinese Taipei scored another big victory as it cruised past Iraq, 87-60, in Group D of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup on Thursday at the King Abdullah Sports City in Saudi Arabia.

Lin Ting-Chien erupted for a game-high 22 points, 16 of those in the third quarter, while Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga added 13 to lead the way for Chinese Taipei.

It was their second straight victory to open the tournament following a rousing 95-87 win over Gilas Pilipinas in their first assignment.

READ MORE | Gilas Pilipinas stumbles vs Chinese Taipei in 2025 FIBA Asia Cup opener

They cruised to a double-digit halftime lead, 39-28, thank in large part to their outside shooting.

Gadiaga, Ma Chien-Hao and Gao Jin Wei all knocked down two triples each as the team went 8-of-19 for a scorching 42.11% clip in the first half.

Then came a third quarter takeover from Lin as he scored 11 of the first 12 Chinese Taipei points to help extend the lead to 15, 49-34.

They ended with another flurry with Gadiaga and Brandon Gilbeck connecting on back-to-back baskets and Lin adding another three to make it a whopping 63-41 advantage at the end of three quarters.

In the fourth, Gadiaga and Liu Cheng hit consecutive threes and Adam Hinton chipped in another basket to push the lead past 30, 76-45, with over six minutes left in the game.

Abudllah Hayder Alibraheemi, who scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds, led the way for Iraq, which dropped to 0-2 after falling to New Zealand, 100-78, in their previous game.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News