DAY 8 OF THE 2011 FIBA-ASIA MEN'S TOURNEY

Humatjon Nuraliev challenges the defense of
Malaysia's Yoong Jing Kwaan.
(image from FIBAAsia.net)

After the Jump: Scores, commentary and images from Day 8 of the 2011 FIBA-Asia Men's Championships in Wuhan, China.

MALAYSIA over UZBEKISTAN, 82-76

MAS 82 - Loh 18, Chee 13, Wee 9, Batumalai 9, Ng 9, Ooi 8, Lau 5, Kuek 4, Kuppusamy 3, Soo 2, Kwaan 2 Chin 0

UZB 76 - Denisov 21, Kozlov 15, Juginisov 13, Shatrov 10, Zinovev 6, Belokurov 6, Nuraliev 5, Yahin 0, Pereverzev 0, Timofev 0

QS: 22-14, 45-33, 64-59, 82-76

- Malaysia led early and held on to nail 11th place in Wuhan, China. The Malaysians compensated for their size disadvantage by shooting better from the field (43%-34%) and from behind the arc (42%-29%). They also used speed, outscoring the Uzbeks 27-8 in transition.

- Shee Fai Loh led Malaysia, hitting 4 threes for a total of 18 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Li Wei Chee had another good game down low, scoring 13 markers and grabbing 14 boards. This is Malaysia's best finish in the tournament since getting 9th place in 1989, and augurs well for their chances in the 2011 SEA Games.

- Vyacheslav Denisov hit 6 triples to lead Uzbekistan with 21 points. Aleksandr Kozlov backed him up with a beastly double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds to go along with 4 assists and 2 steals. Uzbekistan finishes 12th, which is two notches higher than their 14th spot finish in 2009.

Ban Sin Ooi lays it in over the
Uzbek defense.
(image from FIBAAsia.net)

Li Wei Chee gets an easy deuce underneath the hole
as Malaysia claims 11th place.
(image from FIBAAsia.net)

SYRIA over UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, 76-72

SYR 76 - Osfira 18, Nalbandian 16, Georges 12, Jlilati 8, Al-Khatib 7, Daks 7, Deeb 4, Lubus 4, Al-Saman 0, Abboud 0

UAE 72 - Ahmed 19, Al-Braiki 18, Abdalla 13, Al-Shabebi 11, Al-Sari 7, Banihammad 4, Salem 0, Al-Ali 0, Al-Zaabi 0

QS: 21-24, 43-39, 59-53, 76-72

- A big fourth quarter run by the Syrians put enough separation to hold off a late charge by the Emirates and close out the tournament with a 76-72 win. It was a close game all throughout with Syria unable to exploit its size, losing the rebounding battle, 39-42, and not dominating the paint offensively. UAE proved better in transition, too, outscoring Syria, 17-6, on fastbreak points, but the Syrians hit the shots that counted the most.

- Mahmoud Osfira fired in 18 points with 4 rebounds to lead Syria's offense while frontcourt partner Eder Georges finished with a dozen markers and 11 boards. Vache Nalbandian stroked in 4 triples and scored 16 markers in total to help balance out the scoring. Syria matches its 9th place finish in the 2003 edition, but it seems the Syrians will forever be hard-pressed to match their best-ever 4th place finish back in 2001.

Wael Jlilati skies for the lay-up against the
tall trees of UAE.
(image from FIBAAsia.net)

Shadi Lubus and Hussein Ahmed prepare for the
impending rebound battle.
(image from FIBAAsia.net)

Samir Daks finds an opening and scores two
as Syria locks 9th spot over UAE.
(image from FIBAAsia.net)

IRAN over TAIWAN, 98-66

IRI 98 - Haddadi 21, Kamrani 18, Afagh 18, Kazemi 13, Sahakian 10, Bahrami 9, Kardoust 5, Davoudi 3, Davari 1, Davarpanah 0, Sohrabnejad 0

TPE 66 - Wu 16, Tseng 13, Lin 12, Lu 12, Chen HA 8, Chen SN 5, Chien 0, Su 0, Ho 0, Chang 0

QS: 21-16, 48-31, 75-50, 98-66

- Taiwan seemed like it would make this game exciting, until Iran unleashed a 17-0 run that extended a tight 19-16 lead into a wide 20-point gap midway in the 2nd period. The WABA kings coasted from then on and proceeded to impose themselves at will over the hapless Taiwanese. Iran dominated in the paint and in transition, more than doubling Taiwan's rebounding output and dishing out significantly more assists.

- Hamed Haddadi made up for the Jordan game by pouring in 21 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks. Arsalan Kazemi had his own double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds while Hamed Afagh and Mehdi Kamrani each contributed 18 markers. Afagh made all his points from behind the arc. Iran bounces back after the shocker to Jordan and now battles for 5th place against Lebanon.

- Wu Tai-Hao led Taiwan's losing effort with 16 points and 6 boards while Tseng Wen-Ting, Lin Chih-Chieh and Lu Cheng-Ju combined for all 8 of Taiwan's triples to score 37 markers in all. Starting PG Lee Hsueh-Lin and relief big man Mao Chia-En both did not play. Taiwan falls further and now battles Japan for 7th spot.

Mehdi Kamrani uses the left hand to avoid the
defense of Taiwan's Tseng Wen-Ting.
(image from sports.163.com)

Samad Nikkhah Bahrami is sandwiched by
the tight Taiwan D.
(image from sports.163.com)

Hamed Haddadi and Javad Davari hold back
Tseng Wen-Ting during a tense moment.
(image from sports.163.com)

JORDAN over PHILIPPINES, 75-61

JOR 75 - Wright 24, Dahglas 16, Abbas 14, Abu Quora 9, Zaghab 5, Abbaas 5, Al-Sous 2, Hussein 0, Abu Ruqayah 0, Soobzokov 0, Al-Khas 0

PHL 61 - Douthit 21, Casio 15, De Ocampo 8, Williams 6, Barroca 4, Lutz 4, Lassiter 2, Alapag 1, Taulava 0, Tiu 0

QS: 12-18, 27-28, 49-41, 75-61

- The Pinoys' dream run ends while the Jordanians' upset streak continues after coach Tab Baldwin's boys caught the Philippines in its worst shooting funk of the tournament. The Filipinos shot a woeful 31% from the field, including an anemic 13% from downtown, as Jordan's big three of Sam Dahglas, Rasheim Wright and Zaid Abbas made key shots that put the game away mid-4th quarter. Dahglas sandwiched an Abbas triple with 2 treys of his own to expand a precarious 49-48 lead to a 60-48 advantage and effectively dash the hopes of the erstwhile resurgent Filipinos.

- Wright led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field while Dahglas scored 16 markers and dished out 4 assists. Dahglas and Abbas both sat out a significant portion of the 1st half due to early foul trouble, but came back strong in the 2nd half to repeatedly frustrate the Filipinos. Jordan now barges into the Championship game after two wins over higher seeds.

- Marcus Douthit had another commendable game, scoring 21 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and rejecting 2 shots, while JV Casio led the backcourt with 15 markers and 3 triples. It was all for naught, though, as the team shot miserably from the field and just couldn't solve the defensive puzzle presented by the determined Jordanians. The Pinoys still have a crack at the Olympics if they succeed in claiming 3rd place against Korea.

Sam Dahglas celebrates as Jordan continues its improbable run
through the knockout stages in Wuhan.
(image from sports.163.com)

JV Casio and the Pinoys struggled to find
the bottom of the net all night long.
(image from sports.163.com)

Zaid Abbas and the Jordanians were just a little
bit hungrier than the Pinoys in their semifinal match.
(image from sports.163.com)

LEBANON over JAPAN, 80-78

LIB 80 - Hoskin 16, Stephan 16, Ibrahim 16, Abdel Nour 13, Akl 8, Martinez 7, Kanaan 2, Tabet 2

JPN 78 - Kawamura 20, Amino 17, Takeuchi 15, Matsui 9, Shonaka 6, Hirose 4, Ota 3, Sakurai 2, Ishizaki 2, Takeda 0

QS: 15-23, 41-42, 61-62, 80-78

- KJ Matsui will have bad dreams all the way back to Japan after missing those free throws at the end of the game. Lebanon made an improbable endgame rally, cutting an 11-point deficit and taking the lead, 80-78, after Mohamad Ibrahim's three went in at the heels of a 15-2 run. The Japanese managed to get the ball back after Tomoo Amino missed a desperation 3, with Matsui fouled by Sam Hoskin. Matsui uncharacteristically missed the front end and deliberately missed the second, but Japan couldn't muster any miracles to send the game into an extra period.

- Hoskin, Elie Stephan and Ibrahim combined for 48 points for the Lebanese, who fall to the battle for 5th place with Iran after a dominating run in the last 10 years of FIBA-Asia basketball. Even if they manage to upset Iran, this will be Lebanon's worst finish in the competition since its 7th place debut in 1999. Hoskin added 16 rebounds to his tally while Stephan and Ibrahim each converted 4 triples.

- Japan is relegated to the battle for 7th spot with the Taiwanese, but this is the 7th straight edition they've missed the cut for the Top 4. Takuya Kawamura bounced back from a subpar showing against Korea with 20 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists while Amino scored 17 markers and grabbed 5 boards. Kosuke Takeuchi was solid down low with 15 points and 13 caroms, but he made a costly traveling infraction in the clutch. His twin, Joji, sat out the game to rest his rib injury.

Elie Stephan maneuvers past Takuya Kawamura in their
relegation round battle.
(image from sports.163.com)

Sam Hoskin produced another double-double
for the Lebanese.
(image from sports.163.com)

Tomoo Amino and the Japanese wasted a late
11-point lead and succumbed to Lebanon.
(image from sports.163.com)

CHINA over SOUTH KOREA, 56-43

CHN 56 - Yi J 17, Wang 15, Liu 11, Zhu 5, Sun 5, Ding 2, Zhang B 1, Yi L 0, Zhang Z 0, Yu 0, Su 0, Xirelijiang 0

KOR 43 - Yang DG 17, Stevenson 6, Kim YH 6, Ha 4, Yang HJ 4, Kim JS 3, Oh 2, Kang 1, Park 0, Cho 0, Kim JK 0

QS: 8-11, 21-19, 36-30, 56-43

- China outlasted South Korea in a game marred by terrible field goal shooting. Both teams shot below 30% from the field, with China making just 3-of-15 from downtown and Korea doing even worse, converting just 1-of-20. The keys for China were points-off-turnovers (13-2) and second-chance-points (11-2), as well as timely hits by veterans Wang Zhizhi and Yi Jianlian.

- Yi and Wang led the Chinese, combining for 32 points and 21 rebounds. Liu Wei balanced it out with an 11-point, 4-rebound, 3-assist production. As expected, the hometown team advances to the Championship game as the heavy favorites against an overachieving Jordanian team. The Chinese are pressured to break Iran's stranglehold on FIBA-Asia supremacy, and their chances are stronger now more than ever.

- Yang Dong-Geun played through an injured ankle to lead Korea's upset efforts with 17 points, but nobody else scored more than 6 from coach Hur Jae's squad. So awful was Korea's shooting that they managed just 19 points after 20 minutes of play, and were just outshot the rest of the way. Korea faces a familiar foe in the Philippines to try and salvage a slot in the FIBA Olympic Wildcard Tournament next year by getting 3rd place.