DAY 4 OF THE 2011 FIBA-ASIA U16 CHAMPIONSHIPS

Shavkat Akramoc tries to lay the ball in as
the Uzbeks fall to the Malaysians.
(image by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

After the JUMP, you'll find scores, commentary and photos from Day 4 of the 2011 FIBA-Asia U16 Championships in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

MALAYSIA over UZBEKISTAN, 78-30

MAS 78 - Keng 20, Lee 15, Sim 13, Yew 8, Tan ZH 6, Singh 5, Tong 4, Liew 4, Tan HK 3, Foo 0, Su 0, Ng 0

UZB 30 - Muratov 12, Ovanesov 4, Erofeev 4, Djahangirov 3, Murodhonov 2, Morkovskiy 2, Ivashov 2, Zimoveyskiy 0, Kim 0 Bokhodirov 0

QS: 11-6, 31-17, 52-22, 78-30

- Malaysia grabs 13th spot after defeating the severely overmatched Uzbeks. It's clear that despite their size, the Uzbeks have a lot to learn and that they are just not at the same caliber as the rest of the field. Both teams shot poorly from the field, but Malaysia got the lion's share of possessions and shots. Malaysia had 89 field goal attempts while Uzbekistan had just 47.

- Eng Hong Keng led Malaysia with 20 points, 11 of which came from free throws. Kowng Fai Lee and Yik Wey Sim followed him up with 15 and 13 markers respectively.

- Once again, the lone bright spot for Uzbekistan was Farrukhjon Muratov, who finished with 12 points and 4 blocks, but he committed 6 turnovers and shot just 3-of-9 from the line.

Yik Wey Sim pulls up from 15 feet out.
(image by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

Farrukhjon Murativ and Kwong Fai Lee fight
for the rebound.
(image by MIlad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

LEBANON over INDIA, 77-65

LIB 77 - Salem 22, Zeinoun 21, Hadidian 20, Abou jaoude 6, El-Kaissi 5, Daaboul 3, Kabalan 0, AL-Agha 0, Wehbe 0, Kourjian 0

IND 65 - Ludhiana 16, Singh 12, Bhaupur 11, Saminathan 8, Bhamara 8, Sanjeev 6, Atwal 2, Narender 2, Sohal 0

QS: 17-13, 34-31, 63-47, 77-65

- Lebanon and India were nip-and-tuck for one whole half before the Lebanese unleashed a blistering 3rd quarter scoring binge to break the game open. Lebanon outscored India 29-16 in the 3rd frame to erect a double-digit lead that they would never relinquish. India tried to cut the gap late in the fourth, but Lebanon was able to effectively kill time and keep the Indians at bay.

- Coach Joe Moujaes of Lebanon used a three-headed scoring monster to deflate the Indian threat. Jimmy Salem and Gerard Hadidian scored almost at will and finished with 22 and 20 points respectively, but it was the 5 three-pointers and 21 total markers of guard Albert Zeinoun that proved to be significant in this win for Lebanon. Zeinoun also tallied 7 steals. Another win should ensure Lebanon's entry to the quarterfinals.

- India failed to exploit its size advantage and yielded to a grittier and more aggressive Lebanese squad. Once again, wingman Loveneet Ludhiana led the way with 16 points, 3 triples and 5 steals, but he missed 20 total shots from the floor. Ajay Singh scoed 12 points and blocked 5 shots while Haryana Bhaupur had 11 markers and 3 rejections to backstop Ludhiana. India needs to win its last two games to gain entry to the next round.

Satnam Bhamara tries a baby-hook over the Lebanese D.
(image by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

Gerard Hadidian goes for the undergoal stab.
(image by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

Jimmy Salem led the Lebanese past the tough Indians.
(image by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

CHINA over IRAQ, 84-41

CHN 84 - Zhao 24, Zhou 11, Guo 9, Yu 8, Liu B 8, Yan 6, Luo 6, Xu 5, Heng 3, Lai 2, Pan 2, Liu K 0

IRQ 41 - Hamzah 13, Razzaq 8, Ismael 6, Abdullhussein 5, Mahdi 4, Sabri 3, Abdulqaer 2, Abdullah 0, Ali 0, Ahmed 0

QS: 22-10, 41-21, 69-31, 84-41

- For a few minutes, it seemed like the Iraqis would provide China with its first stiff challenge, as they were able to contain Zhou Qi to some extent. The challenge would be short-lived, however, as China utilized superior outside shooting to open up the Iraqi defense. The Chinese shot 10 triples in all and used better ball movement to exploit seams Iraq's defensive scheme.

- Zhao Wei drained 7 of his 10 three-point attempts on the way to 24 points to go along with 4 assists and 4 steals in a masterful performance that gave China's prospective foes an even harder puzzle to solve. Zhou Qi still finished in double figures with 11 points in under 20 minutes. China remains unscathed in the tournament.

- Karrar Hamzah was the top-scorer Iraq with 13 markers, but he shot just 5-of-24 from the field. The whole Iraqi team, in fact, shot poorly from everywhere. Iraw made just 24% of its field goals and only 47% of its free throws. Iraq's quarterfinal hopes are now in jeopardy as they need to beat both India and Taiwan to advance outright.

Zhao Jiwei stepped up to lead China to its 4th win.
(image by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

Yan Haoxin hangs in the air for a pull-up J.
(image by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

Karrar Hamzah finds an opening against
China's Great Wall.
(image by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

JAPAN over VIETNAM, 97-36

JPN 97 - Baba 17, Yamamoto 16, Chikui 13, Shirato 11, Aoki 11, Sugiura 7, Shinkawa 6, Morikawa 6, Kakiuchi 5, Yanagawa 3, Miyamoto 2, Kaneko 0

VIE 36 - Tran J 9, Nguyen DT 7, Nguyen MT 6, Tran VN 6, Nguyen X 4, Do 2, Nguyen VH 2, Cao 0, Dinh 0, Phan 0

QS: 29-4, 52-6, 81-21, 97-36

- Japan didn't waste anytime in dumping the home squad and giving its bench players some burn. The Japanese just outclassed their southeast Asian counterparts with better shooting, better ball movement, and better defense.

- Japan was led by Yudai Baba's 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go along with 3 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Big man Kenta Yamamoto finished with 16 points, 3 blocks and 2 assists while Yasunori Aoki fired in 3 triples to end up with 11 markers. Japan is still undefeated and should continue its winning form against Indonesia.

- The home team continues to be winless, and, again, nobody finished in double figures. Jason Tran topped Vietnam with 9 points while Thong Nguyen Duy had 7. Vietnam next goes up against Qatar, which might be a good chance for them to get win #1.

Yudai Baba top scored for Japan as they
routed Vietnam.
(image by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

Yusei Sugiura and Thong Nguyen Duy battle
for the board.
(image by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

Taisei Shirato was preserved once again by Japanese
coach Hideki Togashi.

SOUTH KOREA over TAIWAN, 79-59

KOR 79 - Kim GC 18, Yun 16, Heo 14, Kim MK 9, Park 7, Lee 6, Koh 6, Shin 2, Kim GM 1, Kim NH 0, Won 0, Kim Y 0

TPE 59 - Lu 13, Pan 11, Wang 7, Chen CJ 7, Chen PL 6, Huang CY 5, Yeh 4, Liu 4, Wu 2, Huang HH 0, Lee 0, Hsieh 0

QS: 22-12, 40-26, 63-43, 79-59

- Korea and Taiwan have always been known to play quite similarly, but Korea, once again, showed it plays the quick-shooting game at a much better level. Both teams hit just 5 treys each, but it was Korea that complemented its outside game with a better running game.

- Kim Gook-Chan led South Korea with 18 points built on 4 triples. He also dished out 3 assists and stole the ball 4 times. Yun Yeong-Bin and Heo Ho-On backed him up with 16 and 14 points respectively. Yun also contributed 3 steals while Heo had 3 assists. Big man Park In-Tae was limited to single-figure scoring for the first time in the competition, but he did have 5 steals and 2 rejections. Korea remains unbeaten in Group E along with China, whom they'll meet on Monday.

- Lu Kuan-Shiuan and Pan Siang-Ting were the scoring leaders for Taiwan with 13 and 11 points respectively, but hardly anyone else contributed significantly. Taiwan failed to get its 2nd win of the tourney because of awful field goal and free throw shooting. Their quarterfinal chances got even dimmer as they've yet to face Iraq and Lebanon.

Kim Gook-Chan flashes the classic Korean shooting form.
(image by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

Heo Ho-On, the son of Korean living legend Hur Jae, contributed
14 points in Korea's win over Taiwan.
(image by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

Taiwan's Lee Kuan-Yi tries to pull up
from 20 feet.
(image by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

INDONESIA over SAUDI ARABIA, 70-65

INA 70 - Kosasih 20, Abraham 16, Ramadhan 12, Fahdani 9, Indraprasto 8, Istiadi 3, Purwoko 2, Sidabutar 0, Yogia 0

KSA 65 - Sakar 18, Barnawi 17, Musallam 11, Al-Thalabi 8, Mobarki 7, Al-Tamar 4, Al-Malalah 0, Hansawi 0, Al-Mutairi 0

QS: 10-14, 25-27, 45-44, 70-65

- The Indons showed a lot of heart coming from behind and holding on late in the game to turn back the favored Saudis in round 2. The Indons moved the ball better and forced 18 Saudi turnovers to get win #2 in the tournament and strengthen their bid at a quarterfinals berth.

- Big man Vincent Kosasih was steady down the stretch, hitting the big shots and playing good defense for coach Ricky Gunawan. He finished with a game-high 20 points, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Hans Abraham backed him up with 16 markers and 2 dimes while Taufik Ramadhan had a dozen points in just 16 minutes.

- Abdulaziz Sakar, Raad Barnawi and Abdullah Musallam led Saudi with 18, 17, and 11 points respectively. Barnawi and Musallam were solid down low with a combined 14 blocks while Musallam paired up with Sakar for 9 assists. Saudi Arabia can still advance to round 2 provided they win against either the Philippines or Vietnam.

Vincent Kosasih stepped up big time
to rally Indonesia past Saudi Arabia.
(image by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

Muhammad Fahdani goes up strong against the Saudis.
(image by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

Abdullah Musallam scored 11 points in a losing effort.
(image by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net)

THE PHILIPPINES over QATAR, 107-28

PHL 107 - Cani 15, Heading 15, Diputado 14, Caracut 13, Javelosa 10, Dalafu 10, Rivero 8, Go 6, Ramos 6, Alejandro 5, Asilum 5

QAT 28 - Dawoud 10, Abdelkawy 7, Saad 6, Al-Marri 3, Al-Ahmad 2, Al-Ahbabi 0, Mohamed 0, Al-Abidi 0, Al-Tamimi 0, Al-Malki 0, AL-Sheraim 0, Al-Mutawa 0

QS: 36-6, 56-10, 85-20, 107-28

- Despite resting wingman scorer Kyles Lao due to a sprained ankle, the Pinoys still barely broke a sweat in dumping the Qataris. The Filipinos shot a red-hot 54% from the floor while limiting Qatar to just 14%. The Philippines also moved the ball better with 27 assists and played much better defense with 9 steals and 30 blocks.

- Hubert Cani and Jordan Heading topped the Filipino scoring parade with 15 points each. Rev Diputado, Josh Caracut, Jay Javelosa and Josh Dalafu were the other Pinoys in twin digits with 14, 13, 10, and 10 markers respectively. Coach Olsen Racela's boys are now assured of a quarterfinals seat, but they'll need to win their remaining round 2 games if they want to clinch the top spot in Group F.

- With star scorer Abdulrahman Saad saddled with foul trouble early in the game, Qatar found it difficult to score. Mohammed Dawoud had 10 points to lead the Qatari scoring while Mohamed Abdelkawy finished with just 7. Abdelkawy was also 0-for-6 from beyond the arc. Qatar's quarterfinals hopes took a hit with this loss, and they'll need to beat both Indonesia and Vietnam to barge through.