00:00Taiwan, competing as Chinese Taipei, will not be advancing to the next stage of the World Baseball Classic,
00:08ending its run at the tournament with a two-win, two-loss record in the group stage.
00:14The national team's elimination came down to the wire, determined by a game they didn't even play in.
00:21Taiwan's chances of moving to the quarterfinals was tied to the South Korea-Australia match,
00:27but only under very specific conditions.
00:30South Korea had to beat Australia.
00:33That would have forced a three-way tie between the three countries, each ending with a two-win, two-loss
00:39record.
00:39But because of tiebreaker rules, South Korea had to beat Australia at a minimum score of 7-3
00:46for Taiwan to even have a chance of moving on.
00:49In the end, Korea bested Australia 7-2.
00:53This means it's Korea and a group leader Japan who have punched their tickets to the WBC quarterfinals in Miami.
01:01Taiwan's team captain Chun Jiexian knew the odds before the final game,
01:05but he said he was proud of his teammates for giving the competition their all.
01:23But it's not all doom and gloom for the country's baseball fans.
01:28In their final match, the team beat South Korea for the first time in WBC history
01:33in an absolute nail-biter that went into extra innings.
01:37And with an intense rivalry between the two countries,
01:40that victory may have meant more than advancing to the next round.
01:45The intense rivalry between Taiwan and Korea goes back over 30 years in international baseball.
01:52And I think it's always a back-and-forth battle.
02:00Taiwan also set the WBC record for the most stolen bases in a single game,
02:06with eight in its game against the Czech Republic.
02:10All in all, it was a step forward for Taiwan.
02:13But I think a 2-2 finish and that historical thriller against Korea,
02:18and that's our first-ever victory against Korea in WBC history,
02:23that's certainly a progress.
02:25So while this may be the end of the road for Taiwan at this year's World Baseball Classic,
02:31the country can hold its head up high,
02:33knowing that it's gone out with a bang rather than a whimper.
02:37Devin Tsai and Leslie Liao for Taiwan Plus.
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