Second round action opened on Day 4 of the 2013 FIBA
Asia Men’s Championships at the ultra-modern Mall of Asia Arena, and it turned
out to be a great day for the locals as Gilas Pilipinas bounced back from its
sorry loss to Taiwan with an emphatic win over the Japanese.
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| Japeth Aguilar had three slam dunks against the Japanese. |
In the first game of the day, what started out as a
close contest turned into a rout as the Qataris turned up the heat in the
second half on their way to an emphatic 75-61 win to open the second round of
competitions. With their threes falling, the Jordanians of coach Vangelis
Alexandris kept within striking distance of Qatar in the first two quarters,
which ended with Al Annabi slightly ahead, 42-38. It was a very different story
in the third and fourth periods, though, as Jordan's guns fell silent and
Qatar's players became more aggressive. Led by Daoud Musa Daoud and former
NBAer Jarvis Hayes, the Qataris of coach Tom Wisman outscored their WABA foes,
33-23, in the second half to up their second round slate to 3-0. Jordan,
meanwhile, fell to 0-3 in Group E. Hayes
and Daoud combined for 28 points to lead Qatar, while old-timer Yaseen Ismail
Musa added 14 markers on top of 7 rebounds. Former back-up PF Mohammad Hadrab
continued to shine for Jordan with 16 points, while Wesam Al Sous added 14
markers. Jimmy Baxter, Jordan's naturalized swingman, shot just 5/17 from the
field on his way to a dozen points.
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| Khalid Suliman Abdi goes up for the easy lay-up. |
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| Jimmy Baxter drives strong to the hole. |
The second game of the day featured an excellent Iran
team that was never troubled in its encounter with the young Indian squad. The
WABA champions rolled to their fourth win in as many games, playing well
straight out of the gates and never letting up the pressure. Once again, it was
the terrific trio of Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, Hamed Haddadi, and Mahdi Kamrani
that sparked the offensive charge for the Iranians as they raced to a
commanding 29-point halftime lead. Those three hardly played in the second half
as coach Memi Becirovic didn't really need them back anymore. Afagh led the
scoring for Iran with 16 points on the strength of 4 triples, while Hamed
Sohrabnejad had 14 markers and 7 boards. For its part, India was paced by 15
points and 7 assists from Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, who shot just 3/17 from the
field.
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| Hamed Sohrabnejad was a solid inside force for Team Melli. |
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| Amjyot Singh displays his athleticism against Iran. |
In the third game, Hong Kong was somehow able to hang
tough against the undefeated Taiwanese in the first quarter, but they just
couldn't sustain it throughout the rest of the game. Banking on its bench,
Chinese-Taipei cruised to win #4 in the tournament, and upped their Group E
standing to 3-0 before facing a very dangerous Japan squad tomorrow. Back-up PG
Chen Shih-Chieh led TPE with 13 points on 4/5 FG shooting, while Tien Lei
continued his hot shooting with 12 points. As a team, Taiwan shot 58% from the
floor and 52% from beyond the arc. They also outrebounded HKG, 40-34, and
doubled up on their EABA rivals' assists, 24-12. Fong Shing Yee was the only
bright spot for Hong Kong with 13 markers. They take on the Jordanians tomorrow
in a battle of winless Group E teams.
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| Tien Lei continued to wax hot from long range. |
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| Fong Shing Yee led the losing effort of HKG. |
In the fourth game of the day, China once again played
lackluster basketball, nearly dropping their third game of the tournament
against the erstwhile unbeaten Kazakhs. China, which continued to rest star big
man Yi Jianlian, shot just 39% from the field and was outhustled for most of
the game. Despite Kazakhstan having three of its main players foul out with a
lot of time left to play (the first two fouled out in the third period, while
the last one "graduated" with more than 6 minutes to go), the game
was kept close because the Chinese just couldn't capitalize on their
opportunities and execute well. Even on the defensive end, the Chinese looked
lost, leaving too many Kazakhs open for jumpers or lay-ups. It was fortunate,
then, that the Snow Leopards had a tough time making their shots, too. When the
game was last tied at 65-all with about 2 minutes to go, it looked like the
Central Asian nation might spring a major upset, but Zhou Peng hit a couple of
big shots in the dying minutes that preserved the W for Team Dragon. Kazakhstan
drops to 2-1 in Group F, while China climbs to 1-2.
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| Zhou Peng battles Mikhail Yevstigneyev in the paint. |
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| Wang Zhizhi goes by Aleksandr Zhigulin. |
The fifth game of the day featured Thailand break open
a closer-than-expected game in the fourth quarter and cruise to its first win
in four games, 71-56. Eng Heng Soo's 19 points paced the Malaysians, who
automatically finish 15th after this, their fourth straight loss. On the other
end, Thailand's winning form was spearheaded by 16 points from Anasawee
Klaewnarong and a combined 25 markers from Wattana Suttisin and Wacharapong
Tongsri.
In the sixth game, Team Philippines, playing its best
game of the tournament so far, just blasted the Japanese, 90-71. Using superb
outside shooting, suffocating defense, and great hustle, Gilas Pilipinas
bounced back from its heartbreaking defeat to Taiwan a few days ago and gained
momentum heading into its critical match with Qatar next. Marcus Douthit was
the guy who spearheaded the fast start for the Filipinos. He was probably at
his most aggressive self so far, resulting in his scoring a few buckets in the
first quarter that really ignited the energy of his teammates. Another big
factor was Gilas being able to severely limit Japanese sniper Kosuke Kanamaru.
Prior to this game, Kanamaru had been Japan's leading scorer, but tonight he
was shadowed effectively by Gabe Norwood. He wasn't able to get his usual looks
at the basket and he scored a measly 4 points. Gilas next faces the very
dangerous Qatar five, which also beat Japan earlier in the tournament, while
Team Hayabusa tries to upset the still undefeated Taiwanese squad. The
Filipinos now tote a 2-1 slate in the Group E, while Japan carries a 1-2 card.
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| Marc Pingris challenges Kosuke Takeuchi. |
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| JR Sakuragi is a picture of frustraion after Japan loses to the hosts. |
The day ended with the Koreans not starting strong
against the upstart Bahrainis, but they quickly rectified that in the second
period and simply cruised to their third win in four games. Pint-sized
playmaker Kim Tae-Sul led Korea with 17 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals in just
20 minutes of play, while Cho Sung-Min and Kim Sun-Hyung each rattled in 14
markers. Kim Joo-Sung and Kim Jong-Kyu dominated down low with a combined 16
points and 16 rebounds as the Taeguk Warriors outworked the Red Wolves on the
boards, 36-19. Ahmed Ismaeel Aziz was the lone bright spot for coach Sasa
Nikitovic's Gulf side, scoring 19 points on the strength of 3 triples. Bahrain
drops to 1-2 in Group F.
2013 FIBA Asia Championship Standings
|
Group E
|
Wins
|
Losses
|
|
Taiwan
|
3
|
0
|
|
Qatar
|
3
|
0
|
|
Philippines
|
2
|
1
|
|
Japan
|
1
|
2
|
|
Jordan
|
0
|
3
|
|
Hong Kong
|
0
|
3
|
|
Group F
|
Wins
|
Losses
|
|
Iran
|
3
|
0
|
|
Kazakhstan
|
2
|
1
|
|
Korea
|
3
|
1
|
|
Bahrain
|
1
|
2
|
|
China
|
1
|
2
|
|
India
|
0
|
3
|
Consolation
Match-up:
Saudi Arabia vs. Thailand -- battle for 13th place
BOX
SCORES:
QATAR over JORDAN, 75-61
QAT 75 - Hayes 15, Musa 14, Daoud 13, Saeed 11, El Hadary 10,
Ali 5, Yousef 3, Abdi 2, Abdullah Mo 2, Abdullah Ma 0
JOR 61 - Hadrab 16, Al Sous 14, Baxter 12, Al Faraj 5, Zaghab
4, Abu Ruqayah 3, Hussein 3, AL Hamarsheh 2, Al Dwairi 2, Al Najjar 0, Abdeen 0
QS: 23-23,
42-38, 61-52, 75-61
IRAN over INDIA, 102-58
IRI 102 - Afagh 16, Bahrami 15, Sohrabnejad 14, Haddadi 12,
Kardoust 12, Kamrany 8, Davari 8, Jamshidi 7, Davoudi 7, Veisi 2, Arghavan 1,
Sahakian 0
IND 58 - Bhriguvanshi 15, Grewal 10, Singh Amj 10, Singh Amr
5, Singh P 5, Singh Y 4, Pethani 4, Singh J 3, Kaushik 2, Singh Arj 0, Bhamara
0
QS: 25-12,
51-22, 78-39, 102-58
TAIWAN over HONG KONG, 94-55
TPE 94 - Chen 13, Tien 12, Lu 11, Creighton 11, Yang 10, Davis
9, Hung 7, Chou 7, Tsai 6, Lin 6, Tseng 2
HKG 55 - Fong 13, Chan Y 9, Reid 9, Lee 5, Li 4, Lau 4, Lam 3,
Lau Ts 3, Chan S 3, Wong 2
QS: 19-19,
43-32, 74-43, 94-55
CHINA over KAZAKHSTAN, 73-67
CHN 73 - Chen 13, Tien 12, Lu 11, Creighton 11, Yang 10, Davis
9, Hung 7, Chou 7, Tsai 6, Lin 6, Tseng 2
KAZ 67 - Fong 13, Chan Y 9, Reid 9, Lee 5, Li 4, Lau 4, Lam 3,
Lau Ts 3, Chan S 3, Wong 2
QS: 24-12,
42-30, 50-46, 73-67
THAILAND over MALAYSIA, 71-56
THA 71 - Klaewnarong 16, Suttisin 13, Tongsri 12,
Lertmalaiporn 11, Apiromvilaichai Dn 5, Klahan 4, Lertalokul 3, Dasom 2,
Apiromvilaichai Dg 2, Samerjai 2, Kongkum 1, Ghogar 0
MAS 56 - Soo 19, Tong 6, Gan 6, Ooi 5, Wong C 5, mak 4, Kuek
3, Ng 3, Wong W 3, Choo 2, Foong 0
QS: 22-7,
31-27, 48-41, 71-56
PHILIPPINES over JAPAN, 90-71
PHL 90 - Douthit 19, Chan 16, Tenorio 9, De Ocampo 9, Castro
7, Norwood 7, Aguilar 7, Alapag 6, David 5, Fonacier 3, Pingris 2, Fajardo 0
JPN 71 - Sakuragi 19, Takeuchi 17, Hiejima 9, Tsuji 8, Matsui
6, Kanamaru 4, Kurihara 2, Sakurai 2, Ota 2, Watanabe 2, Tanaka 0, Hinkley 0
QS: 17-14,
46-36, 75-51, 90-71
KOREA over BAHRAIN, 96-51
KOR 96 - Kim TS 17, Cho 14, Kim SH 14, Lee JH 13, Kim MG 12,
Kim JS 11, Kim JK 5, Lee SJ 4, Yang 2, Moon 2, Choi 2, Yoon 0
BRN 51 - Aziz 19, Al Derazi M 7, AL Derazi A 6, Azzam 6,
Malabes 4, Quwayed Y 4, Quwayed M 3, Akhbar 2, Al Tawash 0, Aman 0
QS: 18-13,
42-26, 72-47, 96-51
Unless otherwise specified, all images are from FIBAAsia.net
(Milad Payami).
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