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| Rash Rivero and the Pinoys ran into a really tough Iranian squad on Day 3. |
IRAN over PHILIPPINES, 93-72
IRI 93 – Dalirzahan 21, Rahmati 20, Mashayekhi 16, Foroutan 14, Yakhchali 10, Beigi 5, Bagheri 3, Yazdanpanah 2, Yousofvand 2, Najafi 0
PHI 72 – Alejandro 12, Cani 11, Suarez 10, Pingoy 9, Porter 8, Nambatac 5, Javelosa 4, Babilonia 4, Bonleon 4, Lao 3, Rivero 2, Olayon 0
QS: 22-17, 42-33, 65-48, 93-72
- Iran utilized its size advantage to the hilt, outrebounding the Philippines, 51-41, and blocking 6 Pinoy shots. Vahid Dalirzahan took care of the outside shooting with 4 triples and 21 points, while Hossein Rahmati scored 20 points and grabbed 14 boards to dominate in the paint. Three other Iranians scored in double-figures as they moved on to the second round undefeated.
- The Filipinos' speed kept them in the game for one half, but their deficiency in size was too much to overhaul in the last two quarters. Team Pilipinas finishes with a 2-1 slate, which is good for second in Group D, and moves on to the second round. Jay-J Alejandro scored a dozen markers to lead the Pinoys.
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| Jay-J Alejandro had to bleed for his 12 points against a tough and experienced Iran five. |
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| Benham Yakhchali shoots over the arms of Team Pilipinas's Jay-J Alejandro. |
CHINA over LEBANON, 96-74
CHN 96 – Dai 27, Gao 13, Bai 13, Wu 10, Li J 9, Li Q 8, Wang 8, Zhou 5, Luo 3, Yang 0, Shao 0
LIB 74 – Arakji 28, Hadidian 11, Nemer 8, Assi 6, Salem 5, Mezher 4, Al Agha 3, Tabaja 3, Choueiry 2, Chamoun 2, El Ali 2
QS: 22-18, 51-32, 70-45, 96-74
- China needed a strong second quarter to put some separation between themselves and the gritty Lebanese. Dai Huaibo had a dominant outing, scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, while Gao Shang and Bai Bing each poured in 13 markers. China continues unbeaten into Round 2, and remains the favorites for the title.
- Wael Arakji continued to show his offensive prowess with 28 points, 5 boards, and 3 steals. Undersized big man Gerard Hadidian was the only other Lebanese in twin digits with 11 points. Shooting woes hounded Lebanon here as they shot just 10% from beyond the arc and 44% from the line. Lebanon places second in Group A and advances into the second round carrying a 1-1 slate.
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| Wang Zhelin, also know as "The Next Yao Ming," is humming so far in Mongolia. |
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| Jimmy Salem struggled against the tenacious Chinese defense. |
INDIA over HONG KONG, 77-68
IND 77 – Brar 27, Kanarjee 16, Saminathan 10, Joshua 8, Rakesh 8, Singh L 6, Singh A 2, Bhasin 0, Atwal 0, Singh N 0
HK 68 – Leung 18, Chang 13, Chung 9, Ho 9, NG C 8, Tsai 7, Wong 4, Ng S 0, Lau 0, Tsoi 0
QS: 15-14, 33-28, 61-44, 77-68
- India formalized its entry into the second round by beating winless Hong Kong. Palpreet Singh Brar exploded for 27 points and a tournament-high 17 rebounds. He played without relief for the entire game, holding the fort down low against a smaller Hong Kong five. Amit Kanarjee and Karthickeyan Saminathan scored 16 and 10 points respectively to help India's cause.
- Hong Kong finished the first round winless in three games, but they were able to stay close to India for the whole first half here. Leung Shiu Wah and Chang You Fai led HK with 18 and 13 points respectively, while Ng Chun Yan battled down low with 11 boards.
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| Tsai Choi Kwan and the rest of Hong Kong were sent to the relegation round. |
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| Rakesh Singh helped India in a superb second half to defeat HK. |
MONGOLIA over INDONESIA, 73-67
MGL 73 – Lkhamjav 33, Chinzorig 13, Doniddemberel 10, Khureltogoo 7, Enkhtsetseg 6, Barkhuu 4, Ganbaatar 0, Nyamkhuu 0
INA 67 – Panagan 16, Baskoro 15, Halim 11, Istiadi 7, Oei 6, Lapian 5, Kosasih 3, Sitorus 2, Adrianno 2, Tuasela 0, Pangesthio 0
QS: 16-8, 38-26, 54-42, 73-67
- Coach Ganzorig Boldbaatar of Mongolia used a tight 8-man rotation to nail their country's first ever FIBA-Asia win. Versatile wingman Munkhnasan Lkhamjav continued his scoring binge with 33 points while also grabbing 4 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists, and stealing 5 times. He's certainly someone to look out for in the future. Helping him out were Enkhtaivan Chinzorig and Khash-Erdene Doniddemberel, who scored 13 and 10 markers respectively.
- Despite the loss, Indonesia will advance to the next round by virtue of having a better quotient than Mongolia. Joining the Indons in the second round from Group C are Taiwan and Bahrain. Jan Misael Panagan and Katon Adjie Baskoro led Indonesia here with 16 and 15 points respectively.
SYRIA over JAPAN, 73-71
SYR 73 – Obaysi 21, Hashem 20, Trab 9, Shnno 7, Baghajati 7, Atli 5, Bakar 2, Shahin 2, Al Zaim 0
JPN 71 – Narita 19, Terazono 15, Watanabe Y 13, Osaki 9, Mori 7, Sekido 5, Baba 3, Watanabe R 0, Sumino 0
QS: 15-15, 34-34, 54-58, 73-71
- Syria stayed within striking distance for the whole game and then unleashed an 11-2 run in the last five minutes to upset the struggling Japanese. Syria moves into the second round carrying a 1-1 slate thanks to the herculean efforts of Mohd Ali Obaysi and Mohamad Hashem, both of whom combined for 41 points. Mohamad Bilail Atli was also solid, grabbing 11 boards for Syria.
- Japan didn't put away the Syrians early enough and they paid for it with their second loss in three outings. They will still advance, but they will carry a 0-2 slate and, thus, will have an uphill climb towards the quarterfinals. Mashiro Narita led them with 19 points, but the Japanese were hampered by awful FG shooting all game long. Wingman scorer Yudai Baba, who was instrumental in Japan's first two games, scored 0 points on 0-for-11 shooting.
SAUDI ARABIA over KAZAKHSTAN, 76-65
KSA 76 – Abo Jalas 21, Faqihi 18, Bafarat 12, Al Tamar 11, Al Hosawe 8, Bakhashwain 4, Ahmedkhalil 2, Sufyani 0, Musallam 0, Barnawi 0, Mahammed 0
KAZ 65 – Kurochka 19, Maxutov 17, Marchuk 13, Zhumabek 6, Nurkhanov 4, Kryachko 2, Kadtsin 2, Nalogov 2, Toktarov 0, Tulepbergonov 0, Korotkiy 0
QS: 22-15, 44-35, 58-56, 76-65
- The Saudis came out on top and proved to be steadier in a game that saw five ties and ten lead changes. They finished the first round with a 1-2 record, good enough for third in Group D and to advance to the next round. Nassir Abo Jalas and Waheed Faqihi ruled the paint by pairing up for 39 points and 15 rebounds.
- The Kazakhs were able to take the lead in the third period after trailing at the half, but they weren't able to sustain their intensity and lost out to the hungrier Saudis. Alexey Kurochka, Alymzhan Maxutov, and Maxim Marchuk all finished in double digits with 19, 17, and 13 points respectively as Kazakhstan was relegated to the battle for 13th-16th places.
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| Mohammed Al Hosawe shows some hang time against Kazakhstan. |
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| Alymzhan Maxutov is one of the few bright spots in a struggling Kazakhstan team. |
SOUTH KOREA over SINGAPORE, 110-32
KOR 110 – Jung 20, Heo 19, Kang 17, Choi JY 16, Kim JY 15, Park 7, Choi SM 5, Kim SJ 5, Cheon 2, Choi SG 2, Kim MK 2
SIN 32 – Lim J 9, Tay DL 8, Tay WC 6, Tan 3, Ng N 3, Koh 3, Yeo 0, Low 0, Lim SH 0, Quah 0
QS: 18-9, 53-14, 76-24, 110-32
- Despite resting its big guns, South Korea practically went through unopposed in Day 3 as they advance unbeaten into the second round. Jung Hee-Won and Heo Ho-On led Korea with a combined 39 points while three others scored at least 15 points. Big man Lee Jong-Hyun didn't even need to play in this game. He's clearly being rested for the bigger games ahead.
- There were barely any positives in this game for the Singaporeans as they scored no more than 10 points in any single quarter. Nobody finished in double-figures, with Justin Lim scoring only 9 points to lead the hapless SEABA team.
TAIWAN over BAHRAIN, 94-61
TPE 94 – Wu 14, Huang TH 14, Lin 14, Lu 11, Huang HH 11, Chin 10, Fan 9, Lee 4, Cheng 3, Chiu 2, Li 2, Chen 0
BRN 61 – Shukralla AH 16, Naser 15, Buallay 9, Melad 7, Abdul Rasool 6, Abul 4, Ali Sayed 4, Ismaeel 0, Abdul Redha
QS: 22-13, 36-35, 61-48, 94-61
- The Bahrainis fought hard and put a scare into the Taiwanese for the first 20 minutes, but the experience and depth of Chinese-Taipei proved to be too much in the end. Wu Chia-Chun, Huang Tsung-Han, and Lin Kuan-Chun all scored 14 points as Taiwan continued undefeated into Round 2, where they will face stiffer competition in Iran and the Philippines.
- Bahrain also advances by virtue of having a better quotient than both Indonesia and Mongolia, but they will carry a 0-2 record. Ali Hassan Shukralla and Mahamed Naser led them here with a combined 31 markers.
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| Wu Chia-Chun's 14 markers led the way as Taiwan goes up 3-0. |
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| Hassan Ali Sayed goes under the defense of the hard-fighting Taiwanese. |
All images are by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net.
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