DAY 6 OF THE 2011 FIBA-ASIA MEN'S TOURNEY

Rodrigue Akl goes on the drive as Lebanon
defeats Uzbekistan in round 2.
(image from Sports163.com)

After the Jump: Scores, commentary and images from Day 6 of the 2011 FIBA-Asia Men's Championships in Wuhan, China.

LEBANON over UZBEKISTAN, 101-53

LIB 101 - Reda 18, Hoskin 18, Abdel Nour 16, Ibrahim 11, Akl 7, Martinez 6, Stephan 6, Bawji 6, Tabet 6, El Farkh 5, Kanaan 2, Bitar 0

UZB 53 - Denisov 19, Juginisov 11, Nuraliev 10, Timofev 4, Zinonev 3, Shatrov 2, Yahin 2, Pereverzev 2, Khabibullin 0, Kadirov 0, Belokurov 0

QS: 24-22, 50-26, 75-35, 101-53

- Uzbekistan kept it close for the first 10 minutes, and then they had terrible 2nd and 3rd quarters as Lebanon just ran them over. Lebanon dominated the inside, outscoring Uzbekistan in the paint, 36-20, and on second-chance points, 26-9. The Lebanese also converted on 15 of their 29 triples and outrebounded the Uzbeks 60-29. 

- Ghaleb Reda hit 3 treys to lead Lebanon's offensive charge with 18 points. Sam Hoskin also finished with 18 markers, but he also added 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. The Lebanese cement 4th place in Group E and face the supremely confident Chinese tomorrow.

- Uzbekistan lost all of its round 2 games and, as a result, is relegated to the battle for the 9th-12th spots in the competition. Vyacheslav Denisov led the former Soviet state with 19 points, 5 triples and 2 steals. Curiously, former star scorer Aleksandr Kozlov was not played in this game.

Sam Hoskin produced another double-double
in Lebanon's 4th win of the tournament.
(image from Sports163.com)

Evegeniy Shatrov rises for the lay-up against Lebanon.
(image from Sports163.com)

TAIWAN over MALAYSIA, 109-62

TPE 109 - Chang 25, Lin 21, Chien 16, Mao 13, Lu 10, Ho 6, Lee 5, Tseng 4, Wu 4, Chen SN 3, Su 2, Chen HA 0

MAS 62 - Batumalai 15, Chee 13, Kwaan 12, Lau 11, Ooi 4, Kuppusamy 3, Soo 2, Chin 2, Loh 0, Ng 0, Kuek 0

QS: 24-18, 51-36, 81-47, 109-62

- Taiwan was able to rest most of its core players as it finished round 2 with a rousing win over Malaysia. As expected, the Taiwanese dominated every facet of the match, hitting 16 treys, outrebounding the undersized Malaysians, and forcing their foes to commit 22 turnovers. 

- Jet Chang had another great offensive game, scoring 25 points and hitting 4 triples. Lin Chih-Chieh, who's been relatively quiet in the tournament, erupted for 21 markers after hitting 6 from downtown. Star big men Tseng Wen-Ting and Wu Tai-Hao played a combined 21 minutes only, but reserve frontliners Chien Chia-Hung and Mao Chia-En did well in their stead, pairing up for 29 points and 13 boards. Taiwan settles for 3rd in Group E and faces the resurgent Filipinos in the Final 8.

- Malaysia suffered its 4th loss in 6 games and now sinks to the relegation round. Guga Batumalai had another good shooting day, making 5 threes for 15 points. They end up 5th in Group E and battle UAE in the crossover for 9th-12th places.

Chee Li Wei and Tseng Wen-Ting jostle for the rebound.
(image from Sports163.com)

Ho Shou-Cheng and the Taiwanese advance to the
quarterfinals against the Philippines.
(image from Sports163.com)

Lee Hsueh-Lin strokes the jumper against
the Malaysians.
(image from Sports163.com)

JORDAN over UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, 94-80

JOR 94 - Dahglas 20, Wright 16, Zaghab 13, Abbas 13, Abbaas 10, Al-Sous 6, Hussein 5, Abu Ruqayah 4, Soobzokov 3, Abu Quora 2, Al-Khas 2

UAE 80 - Ahmad 28, Salem 23, Al-Braiki 8, Al-Hattawi 8, Ahmed 6, Abdalla 4, Al-Sari 3, Banihammad 0

QS: 40-20, 57-38, 82-58, 94-80

- Jordan scored a tournament-high 40 points in the 1st period to settle the rout early and in emphatic fashion. They utilized superior size to outscore the Emirates, 62-30, in the paint and just kept control of the game all through out, even as UAE hit 12 treys and tried to mount a mild comeback in the 4th frame. 

- Jordan finished 3rd over all in 2009, but now they are 4th in Group F. The consequence is they face WABA rivals Iran in the quarterfinals. Sam Dahglas shot 20 points along with 9 assists and 4 rebounds while Ali Zaghab had an all-around night with 13 markers, 9 boards, 3 blocks and 2 steals.

- UAE featured a 2-headed monster in Ibrahim Ahmad and Khalil Salem, both of whom combined for 51 points on 10-of-17 3-point shooting, but nobody else backstopped their efforts. The Emirates tumble to 6th in Group F and take on the surprising Malaysians in the consolation round.

Ali Zaghab was an all-around monster for Jordan.
(image from Sports163.com)

Ibrahim Al-Sari and the Emirates fall to
6th in Group F.
(image from Sports163.,com)

Zaid Abbas and the Jordanians are headed for a collision course
with the Iranians on Friday.
(image from Sports163.com)

IRAN over SOUTH KOREA, 79-62

IRI 79 - Haddadi 17, Kamrani 15, Kazemi 11, Davoudi 10, Bahrami 8, Kardoust 5, Afagh 5, Sahakian 4, Davarpanah 2, Davari 2

KOR 62 - Yang DG 14, Lee 14, Stevenson 10, Yang HJ 6, Ha 6, Kim JS 5, Kang 3, Oh 2, Kim JK 2, Kim YH 0, Cho 0

QS: 23-13, 42-30, 61-51, 79-62

- Despite what the score might suggest, Korea was within striking distance for most of the game. Despite the presence of Ha Seung-Jin, Iran was still able to dominate the interior, outscoring Korea in the paint, 40-22. The Iranians also had a significant rebounding edge, (40-25) and surprisingly shot better from beyond the arc (7-4). 

- Samad Nikkhah Bahrami left the game early after apparently spraining his ankle. Team officials don't think it's serious, though. Hamed Haddadi and Mehdi Kamrani reprised their inside-outside game, combining for 32 points. Haddaid added 11 rebounds  and 5 blocked shots, while Kamrani hit 3 triples and dished out 5 assists. Iran remains undefeated going into the quarterfinals, where they'll face the dangerous Jordanians.

- Cho Sung-Min, Korea's hot hand of late, curiously played only 2 minutes in this match, with no shot attempts. Yang Dong-Geun and Lee Jung-Suk led Korea with 14 markers each, but as a team they weren't as potent as usual in shooting from range. They managed just 4 triples out of 15 attempts. Jarod Stevenson played 30 hard minutes, getting 16 rebounds and 2 steals, but shooting just 2-of-11 from the floor and ending up with 10 points. Korea faces the Japanese in the quarterfinals.

Ha Seung-Jin lost the battle of the giants
against Iran's Hamed Haddadi.
(image from Sports163.com)

Mehdi Kamrani led the Iranians past the Koreans at the
close of round 2 play in Wuhan.
(image from Sports163.com)

Samad Nikkhah Bahrami went down with an ankle
sprain. Will it hamper him in the knockout stages?
(image from Sports163.com)

PHILIPPINES over SYRIA, 75-52

PHL 75 - Douthit 20, Tiu 8, De Ocampo 8, Casio 7, Lutz 7, Alapag 6, Lassiter 5, Taulava 4, Aguilar 4, Barroca 2, Baracael 2, Williams 2

SYR 52 - Al-Hamowi 11, Gorges 9, Jlilati 8, Nalbandian 6, Al-Saman 5, Deeb 4, Osfira 4, Lubus 3, Daks 2, Al-Khatib 0

QS: 14-11, 23-32, 49-45, 75-52

- This game featured 2 different Philippine squads -- the one that had low energy in the first half, and the one that dominated in the final 20 minutes. The Pinoys outscored Syria, 52-20, in the last 2 periods to roar back after surprisingly trailing by 9 at the half. Syria won the 2nd period with great shooting from all angles, and with Marcus Douthit getting saddled with fouls, but the Pinoys lived up to their "comeback kings" moniker after the break.

- Douthit scored the first dozen points for Team Pilipinas, and he finished with 20 to go along with 6 rebounds. He was rested for most of the 4th quarter. Nobody else finished in twin digits for the Philippines, but everyone did score. Asi Taulava led the rebounding department with 9 boards. They finish #2 in Group F and fight for a semifinals berth with the #3 from Group E, which is Taiwan.

- 7'6" giant Abdulwahab Al-Hamowi showcased great mobility for someone his size, scoring 11 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. His frontline partner, Eder Gorges, struggled with just 9 markers and 8 caroms. Syria falls outside the top 4 in Group E, and they play against the Uzbeks to begin the battle for 9th-12th spots.

Abdulwahab Al-Hamowi tries a long shot over
the arms of the Philippines's Marcus Douthit.
(image from Sports163.com)

Chris Lutz drives through the lane as the
Pinoys grasp the #2 spot in Group F.
(image from Sports163.com)

Ranidel De Ocampo pulls up for the jumper
as the Pinoys defeat the game Syrians.
(image from Sports163.com)

CHINA over JAPAN, 84-58

CHN 84 - Yi L 19, Yi J 18, Liu 14, Wang 13, Zhu 8, Sun 7, Zhang B 3, Ding 2, Yu 0, Su 0, Xirelijiang 0

JPN 58 - Kawamura 24, Takeuchi 10, Matsui 7, ishizaki 5, Amino 4, Shonaka 3, Sakurai 2, Takeuchi 2, Ota 1, Kashiwagi 0, Hirose 0

QS: 21-16, 44-30, 61-46, 84-58

- The Chinese didn't exactly throttle their way out of the gates to blast Japan, but they gained enough separation in the last 3 quarters to confidently waltz into the quarterfinals as Group F top seeds. Expectedly, China dominated inside, where they scored more (46-16) and rebounded more (50-31) than Japan. China had some trouble limiting Japan's spunky scorer Takuya Kawamura, but his performance didn't make enough of a dent in the Chinese scheme of things anyway.

- Coach Bob Donewald's wards march to the Final 8 unscathed, and they should continue winning against the seemingly overmatched Lebanese. Yi Li was the surprise package here as he hit 3 treys to finish with a team-high 19 points. Yi Jianlian was his usual impressive self, scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. 

- Kawamura impressed the crowd with flashy moves and great shooting. He ended up with a game-high 24 points on 4-of-8 3-point sniping, but hardly anyone else produced for Japan. Joji Takeuchi, who played really well against the Philippines just a night before, was on the floor for only 9 minutes here, scoring just 2 points. His twin, Kosuke, saw major burn at the slot and managed 10 markers, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks, but it was not nearly enough to topple China. Japan advances to the quarterfinals as Group F's #3 team and their prize is to collide with regional rivals South Korea.

Zhu Fangyu started the game hot to propel
the Chinese cause.
(image from Sports163.com)

Tomoo Amino and the Japanese suddenly find
themselves in a precarious situation as they
enter the Final 8.
(image from Sports163.com)

Yi Li stepped up big time to provided a powerful
scoring punch for the Chinese.
(image from Sports163.com)