TOKYO—Pesky on the defensive end and very deliberate on offense, National Chengchi University of Chinese Taipei on Saturday showed heavy favorite Radford University of the United States the door after a 79-75 victory that put the Griffins back in the World University Basketball Series final game.
The Griffins used a floating zone defense and got the goods from young swingmen Sung Hsin-Hao and Lin Tzu-Hao when the going got rough in the fourth period as the Taiwanese await the winner of the Ateneo-Hakuoh University of Japan clash for a title game foe at Yoyogi National Stadium here.
“It was total teamwork for us, especially on the defensive end,” Sung told reporters through a translator after draining critical buckets in the fourth, including a spectacular windmill layup that eluded 6-foot-10 Radford center Josiah Harris for 67-61 with 5:16 left.
The Griffins will return to the WUBS title game after scoring a 79-75 upset of Radford U. Ateneo and Hakuoh of Japan will dispute the other berth. | @musongINQ pic.twitter.com/0zFGOjt7yQ
— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) August 12, 2023
The Griffins opened the second half trailing by four, and were down by 11 points near the halfway mark of the third period before their defense clicked.
Led by a workhorse of a center in Mouhamed Mbaye, NCCU, which lost by a wide margin to the Blue Eagles last year, methodically nibbled at that deficit and even led by 12 points late in regulation.
Mbaye was a force on both ends for the Griffins, notching a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds that went with two blocks and a steal.
Sung led NCCU in scoring with 22 points on top of six rebounds.
Only two late triples by the Highlanders made the final score close.