2013 FIBA Asia U16 Championships Roundup: Day Seven

The quarterfinals of the 2013 FIBA Asia U16 Championships in Tehran, Iran saw two favorites fall by the wayside even as China, as expected, breezed through to the semifinals. Joining the Big Red Machine are Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan.

Jolo Mendoza spearheaded the Pinoys'
conquest of the Iranians.

In the first game of the day, Malaysia pulled off a great upset by beating a taller Indian squad in overtime, 82-80. Malaysia actually dictated the tempo in the first half, leading by 11 at the break, but India found its bearings in the second half to force the extra session. In the end, however, the Malaysians managed to pump in the big shots in the clutch, and now they have a shot at finishing as high as ninth place. Foo Ting Jun led Malaysia with 18 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds, while Chong Koon Wei scored 16 markers thanks to 5 triples. Not surprisingly, it was Mahipal Singh who topscored for India with a game-high 26 points, while big man Vishal Gupta tossed in 10 markers and hauled down a dozen boards.

The second game of the day featured the Jordanians downing the Syrians, 66-55. Jordan led for practically the entire game, pretty much outplaying the Syrians in every aspect, although they did need to stave off a late charge by George Shakar’s wards in the second half. Mohamad Daher led the way with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Khaled Abu Aboud added 13 markers and 12 boards. Coach Yousef Abu Baker’s squad earned the right to face Malaysia in the battle for ninth place. Syria fell to a battle for eleventh, with Khalel Khori’s 10-point, 17-rebound output the most impressive.

The third game saw how Group F second seed Japan knocked out Group E third seed Korea, 75-71. Coach Takahashi Ideguchi’s wards closed the game with an 11-2 run that negated Korea’s 5-point edge in the middle of the fourth quarter and effectively propelled Team Hayabusa to the semifinals against top-seeded China. Hayato Maki paced the victors with 25 points on 50% FG shooting while also grabbing 6 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists, and getting 2 steals. Half-African Rui Hachimura scored 19 points and hauled down a herculean 25 rebounds while naturalized Chinese big man Gen Hiraiwa added 17 markers and 13 boards. Hachimura and Hiraiwa also rejected 2 shots each. Japan lorded the boards, 51-40, which more than made up for their 18 turnovers. It was a sorry result for the Koreans of coach Kim Do-Wan, who started the tournament strong, but have now lost three of their last four outings. Star guard Kwon Hyeok-Joon struggled here with just 5/14 FG shooting for a total of 13 points, while Choi Jae-Hwa and Yang Jae-Hyuk each netted 15. Korea faces Kazakhstan in the consolation round.

In the day’s fourth game, Bahrain’s late-game rally fell just short as the Taiwanese managed to stave the Gulf champs off and preserve a 70-67 triumph. By virtue of this win, Chinese-Taipei sets a semis date with Group F top seed the Philippines, which bowed to the Taiwanese in the first round of games. Taiwan led by as many as 25 points in the second quarter in this one before Bahrain uncorked a searing 15-0 blast that tightened up proceedings. Coach Orhan Guler’s wards managed to cut into the deficit significantly in the second half and got to as close as two points in the waning seconds, but a key miss on the stripe by Sadiq Hasan proved critical. Mohamed Juma and Hasan led Bahrain with 26 and 17 points respectively, while Chang Chun-Ting paced the Taiwanese with 15 markers. Juma had a dozen rebounds for his squad, but, as a team, Bahrain was outclassed on the glass, 50-26, by the more skilled Taiwanese. Sun Yung-Cheng, Tu Su-Han, and Hsu Cheng-Shun all scored in double-digits for coach Hsieh Yu-Chuan. The winner of the Taiwan-Philippines tussle will book a ticket to Dubai for the 2014 FIBA U17 World Cup.

Speaking of the Philippines, the SEABA kings, in game number five, blew out the hosts, Iran, and effectively booted them out of contention, 79-52. The Pinoys were clearly the much more aggressive side in this one, dominating all major stat categories except for blocks, which the much taller Iranians won, 7-2. Coach Jamike Jarin’s boys broke out of the gates smoking in this one, dictating the tempo from the get-go and leading at the half by 14. After receiving some motivational words from their senior team coach Memi Becirovic, however, the Iranians regrouped in the third period and managed to cut the gap to as small as 7 points. The Filipinos withstood that and countered with their own crippling run in the fourth quarter, turning that 7-point lead to as big 30 points. This went down as Iran’s biggest home loss in FIBA Asia history and pretty much avenged the championship loss of Gilas Pilipinas in Manila a couple of months ago. Jolo Mendoza and Mike Nieto led the Pinoys with a combined 29 points, while Soheil Farhadi was the lone bright spot for Iran with 26 markers. Richard Esctoto hauled down 10 rebounds for the Philippines, while Lorenzo Navarro distributed 7 assists. The Philippine team books a rematch with first round tormentor Taiwan, and the Pinoys are certainly looking not just for vengeance, but also for an outright passage to Dubai next year.

For the final match, China bucked a slow start in the first period and then dismantled Kazakhstan, 102-75, to book its own semis ticket and a chance to qualify to the 2014 FIBA U17 World Cup. Superstar-in-the-making Hu Jinqiu didn’t start in this one, and the effects were immediately felt as the Kazakhs made a game of it in the early goings. When coach Liu Jizeng could no longer stand the mediocrity of his wards, he put Hu in the match and the 6’10 teener instantly imposed his will. He eventually registered 29 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks while shooting 12/17 from the floor. His performance was reminiscent of past young Chinese bigs like Zhou Qi (2011) and Wang Zhelin (2009). Zhao Yanhao and Liu Chunqing also broke through the double-digit barrier with 23 and 11 markers respectively. On the other end, Kazakhstan was led by the 16 points of team captain Alexandr Danilchenko.

BOX SCORES:

MALAYSIA over INDIA, 82-80 (OT)

MAS 82 – Chang 26, Foo 18, Chong 16, Lau 5, Lim 4, Wong 4, Yek 3, Heng 2, Soong 2, Liew 2, Tan 0

IND 80 – Singh M 26, Maan 17, Mehla 12, Gupta 10, Sunil 7, Tudu 4, Das 3, Singh P 1, Pandit 0, Briggs 0, Hooda 0, Kanderiya 0

QS: 16-9, 35-24, 43-40, 67-67, 82-80

JORDAN over SYRIA, 66-55

JOR 66 – Hadri 19, Khori 10, Akhdir 8, Tarzikhan 8, Shammas 8, Balkes 2, Egho 0, Diab 0, Al Kerawan 0

SYR 55 – Daher M 20, Abu Aboud 13, Hijazi 12, Al Jadidi R 6, Al Bdour 4, Al Jadidi H 4, Daher A 3, Al Abed 2, Al Taher 2, Al Battikhi 0, Al Masri 0

QS: 20-13, 33-26, 45-42, 66-55