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| Jerie Pingoy has a good first outing as a member of the Philippine NT. |
PHILIPPINES over SAUDI ARABIA, 95-52
PHI 95 – Suarez 15, Alejandro 14, Bonleon 13, Pingoy 11, Nambatac 10, Lao 9, Cani 6, Olayon 6, Javelosa 5, Porter 4, Rivero 2
KSA 52 – Faqihi 19, Abo Jalas 11, Bafarat 8, Ahmed 4, Al-Hosawe 4, Barnaw 4, Bakhashwain 2, Sufyani 0, Musallam 0, Al-Tamar 0, Mahammed 0
QS: 23-12, 49-29, 76-45, 95-52
- The Philippine Team was off to a roaring start thanks to the superb production of swingmen Kyle Suares, Jay-J Alejandro, and Mario Bonleon. The Pinoys shot 51% overall from the field and, despite a size disadvantage, still managed to outrebound the Saudis, 42-32.
- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, U18 Champions of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) sub-zone, led early in the game, but couldn’t compete once the Pinoys turned up the jets. They had an awful shooting day from practically everywhere – just 23% from the field and 59% from the line. Another loss might be enough to eliminate them from second round contention.
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| Jay Javelosa battled with much bigger foes inside the paint. |
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| Waheed Faqihi led the Saudis' losing effort. |
SYRIA over SINGAPORE, 78-48
SYR 78 – Atli 14, Trab 11, Hashem 10, Baghajati 10, Obaysi 7, Bakar 6, Al-Zaim 5, Shnno 4, Shahin 4, Oubeid 3, Nwelaty 2, Mashaal 2
SIN 48 – Tay D 14, Tan 8, Low 8, Lim J 6, Chee 4, Ng H 3, Ng J 2, Koh 2, Tay W 0, Yeo 0, Lim S 0
QS: 14-13, 33-29, 59-40, 78-48
- The Syrians had some trouble in a tighter-than-expected first half, but they were able to blow the game open in the last two periods. Mohammad Billal Atli was the best Syrian player here, producing a double-double line of 14 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. Fellow frontliner Ockba Baghajati also played well, netting 10 points and grabbing 8 boards.
- The Singaporeans were able to stay with Syria in the first 20 minutes, but their inexperience and the gap in talent was just too much in the second half. Singapore was thoroughly outplayed as they were outrebounded, 21-48, and they coughed up the ball 20 times. Curiously enough, they are in this tourney without their top young player, Delvin Goh, who plays for the Singapore Slingers.
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| Tarek Al-Zaim and the Syrians gave the overmatched Singaporeans no chance. |
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| Jun Wei Tan struggled against the much taller Syrian side. |
SOUTH KOREA over JAPAN, 91-69
KOR 91 – Lee 19, Choi SM 16, Kang 12, Cheon 11, Heo 11, Choi SG 10, Kim SJ 9, Park 2, Jung 1, Choi JY 0, Kim JY 0, Kim MK 0
JPN 69 – Osaki 14, Narita 12, Watanabe Y 10, Baba 7, Sumino 7, Terazono 5, Sekido 4, Watanabe R 4, Sugiura 4, Mori 2, Mitsuda 0
QS: 28-16, 47-31, 74-47, 91-69
- Korea scored 15 points in the first five minutes of play to quickly gain some separation against the dangerous Japanese. Senior NT player Lee Jong-Hyun led the way with 19 points and 6 rebounds while shooting 80% from the floor. Choi Seong-Mo also did well, producing 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals. The Koreans made 55% of their field goals and were much better on the boards as they outrebounded Japan, 42-28.
- The Japanese really struggled here against their EABA rivals. Yuta Watanabe and Yuta Osaki were clearly Coach Sato Hisao’s best players here. They combined for 24 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 10-of-23 from the floor. The kicker, however, is that Japan attempted only one free throw the entire game. ONE FREE THROW. Where the hell does that happen?! They have a chance to bounce back against Singapore and then Syria in the next two days.
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| Jung Hee-Won and Ryosuke Watanabe battle for the rebound. |
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| Prodigy Lee Jong-Hyun dominated the interior for Korea. |
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| Yudai Baba tries to penetrate straight into the Korean defense. |
LEBANON over INDIA, 65-61
LIB 65 – Arakji 25, Salem 18, Chamoun 6, Al Agha 3, Mezher 2, Assi 2, Nemer 2, El Ali 1, Hadidian 0, Abi Kheres 0
IND 61 – Brar 28, Kanarjee 13, Rakesh 6, Singh AP 6, Saminathan 4, Sunder 4, Atwal 0, Singh L 0, Narender 0, Joshua 0
QS: 16-16, 30-34, 51-47, 65-61
- India outscored Lebanon, 16-5, to close out the first half and they took a 4-point lead into the break. That probably shocked the Lebanese, who are expected to shine in this meet. They regrouped in the second half and managed to arrest the lead once again, but it was a tight game till the end. Wael Arakji and Jimmy Salem paired up for 43 points for Lebanon, but together they shot just 36% from the field. The height advantage of the Lebanese came to fore here, as they outrebounded India, 46-38, thanks mainly to the prowess of Gerard Hadidian, who grabbed 11 boards.
- The Indians don’t have to feel dejected, though, as they had some shining moments. Leading them here were Palpeet Singh Brar and Amit Kanarjee, who scored 28 and 13 points respectively. Curiously, just like Singapore, they are also without their most intriguing talent, 7-footer Satnam Singh Bhamara.
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| Karthickeyan Saminathan shoots over the Lebanese interior defenders. |
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| Elie Chamoun goes up for this acrobatic lay-up. |
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| Ziad El-Ali tries the fadeaway over India's Parpreet Brar. |
CHINA over HONG KONG, 153-47
CHN 153– Wang 28, Li J 20, Gao 19, Dai 19, Han 17, Yang 17, Wu 9, Luo 7, Zhou 7, Bai 6, Li Q 4,
HK 47 – Ng CY 18, Tsoi 8, Leung 6, Tsai 4, Chung 3, Chang 2, Wong 2, Lau 2, Ho 2, Tong 0, Ng P 0, Li 0
QS: 34-15, 68-30, 112-35, 153-47
- This wasn’t even a contest really. For the Chinese, it might not even be good enough to be compared to their practices. Star-in-the-making Wang Zhelin lived up to form, scoring 28 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in just 17 minutes of play. Five other Chinese scored at least 17 points to underscore their depth and dominance. Most notable, however, were the following: China’s 60-14 rebound edge, China forcing 32 Hong Kong turnovers, and China limiting Hong Kong to just 28% field goal shooting.
- Chun Yan Ng played gallantly for Hong Kong, but, alas, they were simply outmatched in every aspect. Ng scored 18 points to lead their losing cause, but they still have an outside chance to make the next round if they win at least one of their next two games.
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| Zhou Qi didn't need to produce big numbers for Team China. |
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| Bai Bing helped the Chinese dominate the Hong Kong squad. |
BAHRAIN over MONGOLIA, 95-74
BRN 95 – Naser 24, Melad 18, Abul 10, Bu Allay 10, Shukralla AH 9, Abdul-Rasool 8, Ismaeel 7, Ali Sayed 5, Shukralla S 2, Abdul-Redha 2, Rabeeah 0
MGL 74 – Lkhamjav 21, Chinzorig 18, Khureltogoo 15, Doniddemberel 11, Nyamkhuu 4, Munkhtamga 3, Enkhtsetseg 2, Dashdavaa 0, Baasansuren 0, Ganbaatar 0, Barkhuu 0
QS: 10-20, 37-38, 67-54, 95-74
- The hosts started the game really well as they led by 10 after the first ten minutes. That soon changed, however, as Bahrain outscored them 85-54 the rest of the way. Mohammed Naser led the Bahraini charge with 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals, while big man Mohammed Bu Allay also performed really well, scoring 10 points, grabbing 7 boards, handing out 5 assists, and getting 3 steals. Bahrain has a solid shot at a winning record if they can win at least one more game before the second round.
- Mongolia showed a lot of potential here, but it’s clear that they still have a lot to work on. They did well by forcing 29 Bahraini turnovers, but they also committed 27 turnovers of their own. The Mongolians also shot just 35% overall after starting hot in the first period.
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| Ali Melad scored 18 markers as Bahrain frustrated the hosts. |
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| Hanbulag Nyamkhuu of Mongolia hoists it amidst a sea of outstretched arms. |
TAIWAN over INDONESIA, 99-44
TPE 99 – Lu 18, Fan 18, Lee 11, Cheng 10, Huang HH 10, Chiu 9, Wu 6, Lin 6, Chen 5, Chin 4, Huanh TH 2, Li 0
INA 44 – Panagan 11, Halim 11, Baskoro 7, Adriano 5, Kokodiputro 2, Istiadi 2, Kosasih 2, Sitorus 2, Lapian 1, Tuasela 1, Oei 0, Pangesthio 0
QS: 24-8, 49-17, 71-28, 99-44
- The Taiwanese were absolutely dominant against Indonesia here. Five players finished in double-figures as Taiwan outplayed the Indonesians in virtually every category. Most impressive, though, were their 23 steals and 21 assists, which implies great defense and playmaking from the 2012 FIBA-Asia U18 bronze medalists.
- Everyone knew the Indons were the underdogs here, but nobody really expected them to lose this bad. Both Jan Misael Panagan and Kristianto Halim scored 11 points, but nobody else performed up to par. Indonesia shot just 21% from the floor, thought their aggressiveness was rewarded with 30 free throw attempts, out of which they made only 20.
IRAN over KAZAKHSTAN, 105-46
IRI 105 – Yakhchali 21, Dalirzahan 14, Rahmati 12, Mashayekhi 11, Gabrani 11, Yousofvand 10, Koudakani 8, Dehghani 6, Foroutannik 5, Arbatsofla 5, Najafikharaji 2
KAZ 46 – Marchuk 16, Nukhanov 7, Toktarov 6, Kurochka 5, Maxutov 4, Zhumabek 4, Kadtsin 2, Korotkiy 2, Kryachko 0, Nalogov 0, Tulepbergonov 0
QS: 17-11, 49-19, 77-28, 105-46
- The Iranians, expected to challenge China for the title here, struggled a little bit in the first quarter, but they got their groove in the second stanza and never looked back. Benham Yakhchali led the way with 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 steals while fellow guard Sajjad Mashayekhi contributed 11 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Both combined to hit all 7 triples for Iran.
- The Kazakhs had a reasonably good start, but they just got outplayed the rest of the way. Maxim Marchuk was the lone bright spot with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 2 steals. They were limited to just 28% FG shooting, and were beaten on the boards, 69-25.
All images are by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net.
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