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| Kris Porter and the Filipinos upset the Taiwanese on Day 5 of competitions in Ulanbaatar, Mongolia. |
PHILIPPINES over TAIWAN, 88-83
PHI 88 – Pingoy 25, Alejandro 22, Nambatac 10, Javelosa 6, Suarez 6, Cani 5, Olayon 5, Rivero 5, Babilonia 2, Porter 2, Lao 0
TPE 83 – Lin 25, Li 16, Fan 16, Huang HH 9, Chiu 6, Lee 6, Wu 3, Lu 2, Huang TH 0, Cheng 0, Chin 0
QS: 17-14, 43-34, 63-64, 88-83
- The Philippines achieved a mild upset on Day 5 by handing Taiwan its first defeat of the tournament. Jerie Pingoy and Jay-J Alejandro paired up for 47 points as the Filipinos have the inside track to finish in the top two of Group F. Coach Olsen Racela's boys shot almost 50% from the field in a great display of accuracy, which they sorely needed against a team that had pretty much the same strengths they did -- speed and shooting. If the Pinoys beat Bahrain on Day 6, then they can solidify their hold on number 2.
- The Taiwanese didn't start as strong as they usually did and paid for it even if they took the lead late into the fourth quarter. They just had no answer for Pingoy and Alejandro as the dynamic Pinoy duo wreaked havoc in the backcourt. Lin Kuan-Chun led Taiwan with 25 points while Li Yu-Wei and Fan Shih-En each scored 16.
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| Jerie Pingoy led the Pinoys' swift attack against a speedy sweet-shooting Taiwanese squad. |
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| Fan Shih-En gave the Pinoys headaches around the basket, but Taiwan still ended up losing. |
HONG KONG over MONGOLIA, 98-81
HK 98 – Chung 21, Chang 17, Leung 16, Ng CY 9, Ho 9, Tsoi 8, Wong 7, Tsai 6, Tong 2, Li 2, Ng S 1, Lau 0
MGL 81 – Lkhamjav 31, Chinzorig 23, Khureltogoo 7, Ganbaatar 4, Nyamkhuu 4, Doniddemberel 3, Munkhtamga 3, Dashdavaa 2, Enkhtsetseg 2, Ochbadrakh 2, Barkhuu 0
QS: 23-26, 53-40, 73-59, 98-81
- Hong Kong ended their stint on a high note by winning their last two games to cop 13th place. Chung Ho Wa led the way with 21 points, while Chang You Fai and Leung Shiu Wah scored 17 and 16 markers respectively. HK finished the tournament with a respectable 2-3 slate.
- Mongolia actually ended up with a 2-3 record, too, though they ended their campaign with this loss. Munkhnasa Lkhamjav and Enkhtaivan Chinzorig were, once again, the bullish scorers for Coach Ganzorig Boldbaatar. They combined for 54 points as the hosts weren't able to sustain their strong start in the first quarter. They finish a reasonable 14th place on home soil.
IRAN over INDONESIA, 97-26
IRI 97 – Bagheri 23, Yazdanpanah 16, Foroutan 13, Rahmati 13, Najafi 8, Mozafaro 6, Yakhchali 6, Dehgani 4, Beigi 4, Dalirzahan 2, Yousofvand 2, Mashayekhi 0
INA 26 – Tuasela 9, Adrianno 6, Kosasih 3, Panagan 2, Halim 2, Pangesthio 2, Sitorus 2, Baskoro 0, Kokodiputro 0, Istiadi 0, Oei 0, Lapian 0
QS: 29-9, 49-10, 70-23, 97-26
- Iran was merciless in blasting away the Indonesians for an immaculate 4-0 slate in Group F. Coach Mehran Hatami chose to rest many of his big guns as the second unit mopped up the hapless Indons. Saeid Bagheri led Iran with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Mohamed Yazdanpanah scored 16 and collared 7 caroms.
- The Indons had no chance in this one as they were forced to commit 39 turnovers and they gave up 17 more rebounds to the taller and heftier Iranians. Nobody finished in double figures for Coach Nat Canson, with Yerikho Tuasela the scoring leader at 9 markers. Indonesia is now 1-3 and they need to beat Saudi Arabia tomorrow if they still harbor any hopes of bargain into the quarters.
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| Vahid Dalirzahan rises against the undersized Indonesian frontline. |
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| Andre Adrianno pulls up in front of Iran's Saeid Bagheri. |
JAPAN over INDIA, 100-71
JPN 100 – Narita 23, Osaki 20, Watanabe Y 17, Terazono 16, Baba 12, Sugiura 5, Mori 3, Mitsuda 2, Sumino 2, Sekido 0, Watanabe R 0
IND 71 – Brar 31, Rakesh 15, Atwal 6, Singh N 5, Kanarjee 4, Singh L 4, Singh S 3, Bhasin 0
QS: 29-17, 56-35, 80-49, 100-71
- Coach Sato Hisao of Japan took no chances in this one as they recovered from a losing streak to finally win in the second round. Masahiro Narita and Yuta Osaki paired up for 43 points on the strength of 9 triples as the Japanese closed in on one of the quarterfinal slots at stake in Group E. A win against the strong Lebanese on Day 6 will ensure their entry into the Final 8.
- Palpreet Brar was unstoppable with 31 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks, but his heroics weren't enough for India as the Middle Asian nation dropped to 0-4 in round 2. Rakesh Singh was the only other Indian in twin digits with 15 markers. Coach Jai Singh must now steer his club to a win over Syria on Day 6 for a sliver of hope to reach the quarters.
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| Khusmeet Atwal rolls one off his fingertips as India drops another game against Japan. |
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| Shuto Terazono's 16 points helped Japan bounce back after a string of losses. |
SOUTH KOREA over LEBANON, 95-63
KOR 95 – Kang 28, Cheon 21, Choi SG 21, Choi JY 10, Choi SM 6, Heo 4, Jung 3, Lee 2, Kim 0, Park 0
LIB 63 – Arakji 16, Mezher 10, Nemer 9, Chamoun 8, Salem 7, Hadidian 4, Choueiry 4, Tabaja 2, El Ali 2, Al Agha 1, Assi 0
QS: 24-10, 50-27, 64-48, 95-63
- Senior NT member Lee Jong-Hyun was confined to just 2 points, but it hardly mattered as Korea easily found other people who stepped in to contribute. Kang Sang-Jae, Cheon Gi-Beom, and Choi Seun-Gook combined for all but one of Korea's 14 treys to formally lead the EABA country's entry into the Final 8. All three scored in the 20s for Coach Kim Young-Rae. Jong-Hyun still made his mark with 12 rebounds while Gi-Beom was just a rebound shy of a triple-double with 11 assists and 9 boards.
- Wael Arakji continued to play impressively, but his team suffered its second defeat in the process. Arakji and Ali Mezher joined hands to try and lead Lebanon, but they just couldn't seriously threaten the more talented Koreans. Arakji and Mezher finished with 16 and 10 points respectively. Coach Salim Chemali's team has one foot in the quarterfinal door, but a win against Japan tomorrow will put it beyond doubt.
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| Jimmy Salem tries to go up and under the defense of Korea's Lee Jong-Hyun. |
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| Choi Jun-Yong slams home two of his ten points against Lebanon. |
BAHRAIN over SAUDI ARABIA, 75-72
BRN 75 – Naser 25, Buallay 18, Ali Sayed 13, Shukralla AH 10, Abul 6, Abdulrasool 2, Melad 1, Abdulkareem 0, Abdulredha 0
KSA 72 – Abo Jalas 25, Mahammed 16, Faqihi 11, Al Hosawe 10, Bafarat 6, Sufyani 2, Barnawi 2, Ahmedkhalil 0, Bakhashwain 0, Al Thalabi 0
QS: 15-15, 41-26, 67-44, 75-72
- Bahrain had to withstand a furious fourth quarter rally by the Saudis, but they still managed to pull out the big win. This was the Bahraini's first win in the second round, and they remain strong contenders for the fourth and final quarterfinal berth in Group F. Mahamed Naser missed just one of his thirteen field goal attempts on his way to 25 points, even as Mohamed Buallay and Hasan Ali Sayed scored 18 and 13 respectively. Ali Hassan Shukralla, meanwhile, contributed a double-double with 10 markers and 11 boards to go along with 5 assists and 5 steals.
- Nassir Abo Jalas and Safwan Mahammed has brilliant outings for Saudi Arabia, but their combined 41 points and 31 rebounds weren't enough to overhaul Bahrain's big lead late in the game. Coach Alsanhani Ali's boys, however, still have an outside chance of making the quarters if they beat Indonesia by a big margin tomorrow coupled with a Bahraini loss.
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| Nassir Abo Jalas used his athleticism to finish with 25 points for Saudi Arabia. |
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| Mahamed Naser scored 25 of his own as Bahrain stayed alive for a quarterfinal berth. |
KAZAKHSTAN over SINGAPORE, 76-59
KAZ 76 – Marchuk 15, Kurochka 13, Nalogov 13, Zhumabek 13, Maxutov 11, Kryachko 6, Toktarov 3, Korotkiy 2, Nurkhanov 0, Kadtsin 0, Tulepbergonov 0
SIN 59 – Tay DL 14, Koh 10, Tay WC 6, Chee 6, Lim J 6, Ng N 4, Low 3, Quah 3, Tan 3, Ng J 2, Lim SH 2, Yeo 0
QS: 22-15, 39-23, 61-36, 76-59
- Kazakhstan salvaged some pride by beating Singapore and finishing the tournament at 15th place. The once powerhouses of Middle Asia seem to be wanting of talent and should seek to revitalize their program in the near future. Maxim Marchuk and Maxim Nalogov each finished with a double-double to lead Coach Maxim Rakhimov's crew. Marchuk had 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Nalogov scored 13 markers and grabbed 10 boards against the smaller Singaporeans.
- It's clear that Coach Nam Kheng Ng would've been able to use the talents of Delvin Goh here in Ulanbaatar, but he had to make do with a team lacking in depth and experience. Ding Loon Tay and En Jia Koh led the losing cause of Singapore with 14 and 10 markers respectively.
CHINA over SYRIA, 101-71
CHn 101 – Wang 22, Li J 19, Li Q 17, Dai 15, Luo 9, Gao 8, Wu 6, Bai 3, Yang 2, Zhou 0
SYR 71 – Baghajati 22, Shahin 12, Obaysi 8, Oubeid 7, Trab 5, Al Zaim 5, Bakar 4, Shnno 4, Nwelaty 2, Atli 2
QS: 18-11, 45-25, 76-49, 101-71
- China leaned on a big second quarter to blow the game open and leave the Syrians in the dust. This win assures China of a top two spot in Group E heading into the quarterfinals. Four players finished in twin digits led by Wang Zhelin's 22 and Lin Jinglong's 19 points. Li Qi and Dai Huaibo also did well with 17 and 15 markers respectively for Coach Wang Huaiyu.
- Syria can be commended for sticking with the Chinese for one whole period, but they just couldn't keep up when the EABA power raised their game in the second stanza. They're not eliminated yet, though, as a win against India should solidify their hold on fourth place in Group E.
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| Gao Shang's imposing presence under the hole helped him score 8 points for China. |
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| Mohamad Atli tries to hoist a fadeaway jumper over the taller Wang Zhelin. |
All images are by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net.
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