Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – On Sep.23rd, the Semi-finals officially started. To attract more audiences and supporters, the venue was moved to Buyant Ukhaa Sport Palace, one of the largest sports halls in Mongolia, which was equipped with the latest and modern facilities. Had returned from the beautiful grassland and valleys, all the players were refreshed and more engaged into the matches.

Korea vs. Kazakhstan

The two countries shared some similarities. Both weren’t able to send the best players here due to the national championship was held at the same time. Despite of never winning a single match in the preliminary round, they didn’t lose confidence, and both were extremely keen for a victory. Korea struck firstly to control the pace. Kazakhstan team was not quite used to the fast attack and was left behind badly in the first period. In the second period, Kazakh team strengthened the guard section, taking the man to man defense tactics to resolve several Korean threatening shots. At the same time, their forwards and centrals kept on scoring. No.15 Bolat delivered five 2-points, helping Kazakhstan to narrow the score gap by over 10 points at the end of first half. Realizing attack was the best defense, Korea team began their journey of frenzied counterattack. No.20 Oh Seunghyun got 5 out of 8 field goals and succeeded in scoring all the three 3-point shots. No. 30 You Jinsoo contributed 6 assists and grabbed 9 rebounds. Finally, Korea won by 83:72 and got a place to compete for the 5th place with Macau China tomorrow. Kazakhstan finished all the matches. Despite of getting no victory, they contributed so many excellent shots. Their never-giving-up spirit and sportsmanship won all the opponents’ respect.

Hong Kong China vs. Mongolia

With the advantage in both height and smooth cooperation, Mongolia team started the match with full energy, and apparently Hong Kong China was difficult in coping with the furious attack. Aiming to the final, Mongolia swept Hong Kong China with the score of 106:67. 4 Mongolian boys gave the double-double performance and got all the free throws in. Although losing the game, Hong Kong China team performed better in the 3-points, “Mongolia guards are so tall and strong, we have to focus more on the shootings outside the painted area.” Hong Kong China team coach Siu Wing Ho said, “We learnt a lot from this championship, especially when facing a tough rival. The emotion control is of crucial importance, and our players need more practice.”

Chinese Taipei vs. China

In the 5th Asian University Men’s Basketball Championship, Chinese Taipei was defeated by China in the final. Today, the old rivals met again. This time, Chinese Taipei totally dominated the game and revenged over China by 124:50. All Chinese Taipei starting five players got double scores, especially No.7 Tseng Po-Yu, who only played 19 minutes, but made 7 out of 9 balls, all free throws in, 3 assists without a single personal foul or turnout, which was an amazing record in this championship. With 3 major players injured, China team did not showed their best performance. “We are not satisfied but we accept the result, Chinese Taipei team is really brilliant.” said team coach Lin Xiaolin. Finally Chinese Taipei paved their way to the final. “We’ve been practiced intensively for the last three months and we deserve all the victories. We are confident to keep the winning steak and kiss the gold medal.” Chinese Taipei main coach Parker Charles Henry said.

Tomorrow was the last day of the championship. All of the final four teams had encountered their opponents in the preliminary round, so they knew each other’s advantage and disadvantage, and were better prepared than the first match. The final matches would be more fascinating. Besides, the Victory Ceremony and Closing Ceremony would be held just after the games. You are welcome to the Buyant Ukhaa Sport Palace to cheer for the teams or watch the live broadcast via Mongolia National TV, MNBA Sports TV, ETV, as well as Facebook page of Mongolian National Basketball Association.

The result of Sep.23^rd:

The schedule for Sep.24^th:

For more information, please visit www.ausf.org.

(Source: AUSF Secretariat)