Having finished a disappointing fourth in the Intercontinental Cup on Sunday, Taiwan's national baseball team immediately started training this week for the upcoming Asian Games, trying to fix the weaknesses that cost them dearly in the recent tournament.

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In a bronze medal contest between Taiwan and Italy on October 31st, the home team was still trailing by one run in the bottom of the ninth inning, with two outs and the bases loaded.

But the last batter, Gao Guo-ching, grounded out to end the game, and Taiwan had to settle for fourth place in the last Intercontinental Cup.

The Taiwan team actually started out strong at the beginning of the tournament, defeating competent rivals such as South Korea and Japan, as well as giving the eventual champion Cuba a run for its money in a tight 2-0 game.

But coming into the final round, the Taiwanese players apparently suffered a lapse in form as errors mounted at critical moments, which not only deprived them of a medal in October, but also cast a shadow on Taiwan's chances of defending the

Coaches of the national team believe that the problem lies in a lack of chemistry between members who play for foreign professional leagues and those who spend their careers in the CPBL.

To remedy the issue, the players lost no time in starting new training sessions this week in Chia-yi, seeking to build team cohesion before heading to China next Monday.

Taiwan is schedule to face South Korea first on November 13th.