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| Bahrain caught a HUGE fish on Day 4! |
The Quarter-Finals was completed yesterday with most of the favorites advancing, but a huge surprise was in the offing late on Day 3 at the 2018 FIBA U18 Asia Championship in Nonthaburi, Thailand as Bahrain pulled off a shocking win over perennial contender Chinese Taipei!
CHINA over INDONESIA, 102-45
China was quick to make up for its Day 3 loss to the Philippines and vented its ire on hapless Indonesia, 102-45. The Indons were coming off a rousing Day 3 win over Kazakhstan, but they found themselves overmatched against a bigger, deeper, and certainly more motivated Chinese quintet, which led from the get-go. Michael Wang shone for China anew with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals, while Guo Haowen added 11 points, 7 boards, and 13 dimes. Yesaya Alessandro Michael and Aldy Rachman paired up for 23 points as Indonesia got the boot. |
| Guo Haowen stuffed the stat-sheet against Indonesia. |
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| Michael Wang was unstoppable on Day 4. |
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| Yesaya Michael and the Indons bowed out of contention. |
JAPAN over LEBANON, 85-67
Japan had a slow start in this game against an energetic Lebanese unit, but the East Asian contenders turned up the jets in the second quarter to snatch the lead and never looked back. Smaller Japan was outrebounded by the bigger Lebanese, 46-32, but the former compensated with better playmaking (22-11 assists) and outside shooting (9 three-pointers for Japan). Sniper extraordinaire Keisei Tominaga led the way with 28 points on 9-of-17 FG shooting, while Hiroki Matsuzaki stepped up big time with 17 markers. Alex Zanbaka paced the U18 Cedars with 21 points. |
| Hiroki Matsuzaki was a strong inside presence for Japan. |
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| Keisei Tominaga continued his hot streak! |
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| Marc Khoueiry and Yousef Khayat console each other after getting eliminated. |
NEW ZEALAND over INDIA, 109-76
This game was close in the first half, but the Junior Tall Blacks flipped a switch in the third quarter to break the match open and cruised to their third win in four games. New Zealand outrebounded the bigger Indians, 69-40, to underscore their dominance in this encounter. Oscar Oswald had his breakout game here, tallying 17 points and 8 rebounds, while Rajveer Bhati had 14 points for India. James Moors was also solid for the Kiwis with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. |
| Arvind Krishnan splits the New Zealand defense. |
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| Maxwell Darling collars the rebound with authority. |
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| Oscar Oswald caught fire for the Junior Tall Blacks. |
BAHRAIN over CHINESE TAIPEI, 76-65
It certainly looked as if Chinese Taipei had this game wrapped up after their outscored Bahrain, 23-9, in the second quarter, but the GBA 2nd placers made great defensive adjustments in the third period that held the Taiwanese to a paltry 3 points. That resulted in a 13-point bulge for Bahrain heading into the final frame, and they successfully kept Chinese Taipei at bay till the final buzzer. Baqer Ali and Mustafa Rashed exploded for a combined 46 points to lead Bahrain in only their second win of the competition, while Muzamil Hamoda added 14 points and 13 rebounds of his own. It was a disastrous end to the tournament for Taiwan, who were hoping to make it to today's Quarter-Finals against the Philippines. They were led by 19 points from Lin Yan-Ting. |
| Baqer Ali zipped and zapped against the Taiwanese. |
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| Lin Yan-Ting could not rally Taiwan in the fourth period. |
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| Muzamil Hamoda stepped up big time for Bahrain. |
Day 4's Best Players:
Michael Wang (CHN) - 15pts, 17rebs, 7asts
Guo Haowen (CHN) - 11pts, 7rebs, 13asts
Oscar Oswald (NZL) _ 17pts, 8rebs, 2asts
James Moors (NZL) - 20pts, 10rebs, 2stls
Keisei Tominaga (JPN) - 28pts, 2stls, 4 triples
Quarter-Finals Pairings:
Iran v New Zealand, winner advances to SF 1
Philippines v Bahrain, winner advances to SF 2
Australia v Japan, winner advances to SF 2
Korea v China, winner advances to SF 1
Images from FIBA.basketball.
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