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| Jay Javelosa and the Pinoys came back to thwart Bahrain. |
PHILIPPINES over BAHRAIN, 99-72
PHI 99 – Alejandro 23, Pingoy 19, Cani 11, Nambatac 11, Suarez 8, Porter 7, Javelosa 6, Lao 5, Babilonia 4, Olayon 3, Rivero 2
BRN 72 – Shukralla AH 32, Buallay 16, Naser 7, Melad 7, Abul 6, Ali Sayed 4, Abdulrasool 0, Abdulredha 0
QS: 13-22, 35-46, 73-61, 99-72
- Despite the knowledge that they will be playing either China or Korea in the crossover quarterfinals, the Filipinos still managed to muster enough gusto to convincingly beat the Bahrainis. It wasn't after a whole first half of trepidation, however, as the Gulf nation played with more aggression and urgency in the first 20 minutes of action. The Pinoys turned it up after the break, though, and simply put the clamps on Bahrain's offense. Jay-J Alejandro and Jerie Pingoy led the way anew for Coach Olsen Racela's crew, scoring 23 and 19 points respectively. Jay Javelosa, Rey Nambatac and Mark Olayon took care of the interior by combining for 30 rebounds.
- Bahrain's promising start was all for naught as Coach Aqeel Melad's wards caved in the second half onslaught of the Philippines. Ali Hassan Shukralla was brilliant with 32 points and 12 rebounds, but there was hardly any support with Mohamed Buallay the only other player in double figures. Bahrain is eliminated from quarterfinal contention, and they are now relegated to the battle for 9th place.
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| Rey Nambatac's solid inside play helped the Philippines finish at 4-1. |
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| Mahamed Naser shoots over the Filipino defense. |
CHINA over SOUTH KOREA, 107-102 (OT)
CHN 107 – Wang 33, Gao 26, Luo 21, Dai 10, Yang 5, Wu 4, Li J 3, Bai 3, Zhou 2, Li Q 0
KOR 102 – Cheon GB 21, Lee 19, Kang 16, Choi JY 15, Choi SM 15, Heo 7, Choi SG 7, Park 2, Kim SJ 0
QS: 20-19, 36-44, 65-66, 88-88, 107-102
- China got its first big test of the tournament when the Koreans pushed them to extra time and almost put a blemish on their otherwise unstained record. Wang Zhelin had to harder than he's ever had so far, ending up with 33 points and 15 rebounds to help the Chinese remain atop Group E. He was ably supported by Gao Shang's 26 markers and Luo Hanchen's 21. Coach Wang Huaiyu's boys will face the fourth-seeded Group F team, Saudi Arabia after a one day break.
- The Koreans had a golden chance to upend their EABA rivals, but they just ran out of gas in the OT. Things weren't helped by their 38% FG shooting, which offset their surprising edge in the rebounding department, 43-41. Five players finished in double digits for Coach Kim Rae-Young, led by Cheon Gi-Beom's 21 and Le Jong-Hyun's 19 points. Korea faces the dangerous Filipinos in the Final 8.
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| Wang Zhelin had to muster all his talent to help China escape Korea's upset effort. |
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| Gao Shang (L) has a tough time getting through the tight interior D of Korea, led by Lee Jong-Hyun (R). |
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| Choi Seong-Mo's shooting bannered the hopes of Korea to upset the Chinese. |
SAUDI ARABIA over INDONESIA, 73-67
KSA 73 – Faqihi 21, Al Hosawe 12, Sufyani 11, Abo Jalas 9, Mahammed 8, Bafarat 6, Barnawi 6, Ahmedkhalil 0, Musallam 0, Al Thalabi 0
INA 67 – Kokodiputra 21, Adrianno 18, Panagan 8, Lapian 7, Pangesthio 7, Sitorus 6, Baskoro 0, Istiadi 0, Halim 0, Oei 0, Tuasela 0
QS: 17-10, 27-30, 48-44, 73-67
- The Saudis barged into the quarterfinals by thwarting the Indons' hopes in the second half. The GCC team rallied from a halftime deficit to book the last Group F ticket to the Final 8, and they have Waheed Faqihi to thank once again. Faqihi scored 21 points and grabbed 7 rebounds for Saudi Arabia, who will face the mighty Chinese next.
- Indonesia wasted the best game so far of shooter Juan Kokodiputra, who hit 5 triples to lead the SEABA nation. Kokodiputra ended up with 21 markers for Coach Nat Canson, while Andre Adrianno continued to impress with 18 points of his own. Indonesia is relegated to the battle for 9th position.
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| Mahammed Safwan rises amidst four Indonesian players. |
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| Andre Adrianno has been a consistent offensive threat for the Indons. |
SYRIA over INDIA, 69-57
SYR 69 – Trab 18, Obaysi 17, Al Zaim , Atli 8, Bakar 7, Baghajati 6, Oubeid 2, Shnno 2, Shahin 0
IND 57 – Brar 19, Rakesh 14, Kanarjee 12, Singh S 8, Atwal 4, Bhasin 0, Saminathan 0, Nair 0, Singh L 0, Singh N 0, Joshua 0
QS: 14-17, 31-34, 53-44, 69-57
- Syria won the battle of the bottom two teams in Group E and set a date with Bahrain in the relegation round. Mahmoud Trab and Mohd Ali Obaysi led the way for Coach Panche Milevskl with 18 and 17 points respectively. Trab and Mohamad Atli ended up with 10 rebounds each as well.
- India's wonder boy, Palpreet Brar continued to turn heads with 19 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks, but he couldn't carry the Middle Asians past the Syrians. Rakesh Singh and Amit Kanarjee provided ample support with 14 and 12 points respectively, but the Indians just couldn't hold off Syria in the third period. They incurred a double-digit deficit to start the fourth and never threatened anymore. India will face Indonesia in the relegation round on Day 7.
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| Mahmoud Trab led the way as Syria defeated India. |
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| Loveneet Singh releases a teardrop shot in the middle of the Syrian D. |
JAPAN over LEBANON, 94-82
JPN 94 – Narita 26, Watanabe Y 21, Terazono 18, Baba 18, Osaki 4, Mori 3, Sugiura 2, Sumino 2, Sekido 0, Watanabe R 0
LIB 82 – Salem 15, Arakji 12, Mezher 12, Chamoun 10, Nemer 9, Hadidian 8, El Ali 8, Assi 4, Abi Kheres 2, Al Agha 0
QS: 22-18, 50-36, 71-56, 94-82
- Japan put together its first win streak in the tournament after beating the Lebanese. Masahiro Narita and Yuta Watanbe each scored in the 20s to lead Coach Sato Hisao's squad. Narita hit 6 triples on his way to 26 markers, while Watanabe had a double-double os 21 points and 11 rebounds. They were backstopped by Shuto Terazono and Yudai Baba, who scored 18 each. Japan faces Taiwan in the quarterfinals.
- Jimmy Salem, like he did many times in last year's U16 tournament, led Lebanon with 15 points, but his 7 turnovers were costly as Lebanon sank to fourth in Group E. They are, consequently, going to face WABA rivals Iran on Day 7 for the right to be in the semifinals. Wael Arakji, Ali Mezher, and Elie Chamoun all scored in double-figures in this losing cause.
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| Yuta Watanbe's inside presence sparked the Japanese past the Lebanese. |
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| Kazushi Mori and Wael Arakji battle for the rebound. |
TAIWAN over IRAN, 78-77 (OT)
TPE 78 – Lee 22, Wu 16, Li 11, Huang HH 8, Chin 8, Chiu 5, Fan 4, Lin 2, Lu 2, Huang TH 0, Cheng 0
IRI 77 – Dalirzahan 22, Rahmati 18, Mashayekhi 13, Foroutan 8, Yakhchali 8, beigi 4, Yousofvand 4, Najafi 0, Yazdanpanah 0
QS: 22-24, 33-39, 49-55, 69-69, 78-77
- Taiwan recovered from a disappointing loss to the Philippines by orchestrating the biggest upset in the tournament so far, beating Iran in overtime and, therefore, gaining second place in Group F. They now have to face Japan in the next round instead of the prospect of playing either China or Korea early on. Lee Chia-Jui came through for Coach Yen Hsin-Shu (all this while the box scores said it was Yang I-Feng boo), scoring 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Guards Wu Chia-Chun and Li Yu-Wei also did well, scoring 16 and 11 markers respectively. Taiwan squares off against Japan next.
- Iran probably didn't think Taiwan would offer a stiff challenge, but they were in for a big surprise. Perhaps the thought of this being virtually a no-bearing contest dampened their competitive spirit, so it looks as if they didn't play as aggressively as they usually do. The stats, however, tell a different story. Iran outrebounded and outshot the smaller Taiwanese, but those were offset by their 56% FT shooting, 24 turnovers, and allowing their foes to hit 8 triples. Iran faces Lebanon in the Final 8 in a rematch of the last WABA U17 Finals.
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| Li Kuan-Chun helped Taiwan to an improbable win over Iran. |
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| Saleh Foroutan and the rest or Iran ran smack into a determined Taiwanese squad. |
All images are by Milad Payami/FIBAAsia.net.
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