2013 FIBA Asia Men’s Championships Roundup: Day One

Day 1 of the 2013 FIBA Asia Men’s Championships unfurled at the ultra-modern Mall of Asia Arena today with a dynamite six-game schedule (one other game was played at the legendary Ninoy Aquino Stadium).

Jayson Castro and the rest of Gilas ran into some
rough patches against KSA.

In the first game of the day, the Iranians just dominated the severely outmatched Malaysian side, 115-25. YES, THAT IS NOT A TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR. A 90-point winning margin? Yes, that just happened. Iran’s big three dominated early and often here. Hamed Haddadi eventually ended up with 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 block while shooting 8-of-9 from the field, while Samad Nikkhah Bahrami and Mahdi Kamrani scored 11 and 12 respectively. Asghar Kardoust, Haddadi’s main reliever, also did well, scoring 15 points in just 14 minutes of action. Only Hong Hoong Gan broke into double-digit scoring for Malaysia with 11 markers. Malaysia was outrebounded, 22-47, while they were also forced to commit 21 turnovers.

Eng Heng Soo and the Malaysians were just...
bludgeoned.

Hamed Haddadi dominated in the paint.

Samad Nikkhah Bahrami drives strong.

The second game of the day featured Taiwan erasing a 10-point deficit in the third quarter en route to its first win – a 91-87 triumph over Jordan. Quincy Davis had a great first outing for Taiwan, shooting 8-of-9 from the field on his way to 18 points on top of 11 rebounds. It was hotshot Lin Chih-Chieh, however, who really starred for coach Hsu Chin-Tse. Lin, who plays professionally in the CBA, scored 27 points on the strength of 4 triples. He also had 5 boards, 4 assists, and a steal as Taiwan collected its maiden win in the tournament. Despite missing stalwarts Wu Tai-Hao and Jet Chang, Taiwan was able to steady itself down the stretch and preserve the win. They go up against lightweight Saudi Arabia tomorrow. Jordan, for its part, was led, not surprisingly, by new naturalized player Jimmy Baxter, who dropped 30 points, including 5 triples. Wesam Al Sous also did well with 18 markers, hitting 4 threes. It was clear, though, that Al Nashama missed its veterans, and even coach Alexandris Evangelos admitted in the postgame presscon that had they been around, Jordan would have performed much better.

Quincy Davis slams one home!

Lin Chih-Chieh with the daring drive.

Jimmy Baxter was Jordan's scoring leader.

In the third game, Qatar rallied in the fourth quarter to upend the Japanese, 75-74. The Qataris hit their shots in crunch time and limited Team Hayabusa to just 13 points in the final frame to secure their first win. Japan led by 8 points going into the final period, and it seemed they had the momentum. That is until Jarvis Hayes, Erfan Ali Saeed, and Daoud Musa Daoud caught fire for coach Tom Wisman. Hayes split his free throws in the dying seconds to give Qatar a 4-point lead, 75-71, which was good because KJ Matsui of Japan hit a trey at the buzzer for the final count. Hayes had 20 points and 6 rebounds to lead Al Annabi, while Erfan Ali Saeed and Yasseen Ismail Musa scored 14 and 12 respectively. The Japanese wasted the amazing shooting afternoon of Kosuke Kanamaru, who hit 10 of his 13 attempts, including 4 triples, to finish with 27 markers. Team Hayabusa will try to redeem itself against EABA rival Hong Kong tomorrow.

Coach Tom Wisman can heave a sigh of relief after
beating his former team.

Japan wasted the hot shooting of Kosuke Kanamaru.

Jarvis Hayes came up big in the endgame.

In the fourth game of the day, the Koreans surprised everyone but themselves with a huge 63-59 opening day victory over China. Coach Yoo Jae-Hak credited their training for the morale-boosting triumph – something they surely need heading into their match-up with Iran tomorrow. The Chinese were a little stronger early in the game, but Kim Sun-Hyung, Yang Dong-Geun, and Cho Sung-Min hit some big shots to keep the Taeguk Warriors right within striking distance. Korea limited China to only 9 points in the third canto, and then carried enough momentum all the way into the endgame, where Yang and Cho hit key free throws to ice the upset. Kim Joo-Sung led Korea with 15 points, while Cho and Yang scored 12 and 11 respectively. Yi Jianlian was the only Chinese player in double-digits with 23 points on top of 10 boards. Yi and his teammates will try to bounce back against lowly Malaysia tomorrow.

Coach Giannakis Panagiotis starts his maiden FIBA Asia
tournament with a loss.

Yi Jianlian was the lone bright spot for China.

Kim Sun-Hyung was a spark off the bench.

The fifth game of the day featured Bahrain force overtime and then do enough to escape, 82-80, over India. The Indians almost had the game under wraps until the Bahrainis rallied late in the game to send the game into an extra inning. Mohammed Quwayed led Bahrain with 25 big points while naturalized player CJ Giles hauled 14 rebounds to go along with his 13 markers and 4 rejections. India was led by Narender Grewal’s 25 points and 2 steals while Amjyot Singh and Amrit Pal Singh scored 16 and 14 points respectively. Bahrain looks to improve to 2-0 tomorrow against Thailand while India will take on the Kazakhs.

Bader Malabes gets a homecoming in Manila.

Joginder Singh tries to protect the ball.

Mohammed Quwayed led Bahrain's late drive.

In the sixth game, Gilas had a tougher-than-expected time trying to dispose of the gritty Saudi Arabian squad, but the hometown favorites were still able to pull off the win, 78-66. The Saudis were athletic, they made their perimeter shots, and they were fearless. In contrast, Gilas played a little too tentative in several stretches, and the home team never really could create any big separation against their Gulf opponents. Despite it being an “ugly win,” however, coach Chot Reyes and his wards will take it. The backcourt duo of LA Tenorio and Larry Fonacier led the way for Gilas with 12 points each, while Marcus Douthit contributed 10 markers on top of 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. Tenorio and Fonacier also combined for 10 assists. As a team, however, the Pinoys didn't take good care of the ball, turning it over 14 times compared to just 10 for KSA. Saudi was led by Ayman Al Muwallad's 18 points, while Mohammed Al Marwani and Mustafa Al Hosawi dropped 12 and 11 markers respectively.

Marzouq Al Muwallad held his own against Gilas.

Jeff Chan scrambles for the loose ball past Jaber Kabe of KSA.

The day ended with Thailand losing to Kazakhstan, 81-67. Anton Ponomarev led the way for the Central Asian nation with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Coach Matteo Boniciolli also relied on Dimo Klimov, who finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds. Naturalized player Jerry Jamar Johnson orchestrated the plays well, distributing 8 assists while also netting 15 markers. The Kazakhs led for practically the whole and they began playing really loose right in the third period. As for the Thais, former Thailand Slammer Darunpong Apiromvilaichai led the losing cause with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Anton Ponomarev dominates down low.

Jerry Johnson is a big plus for the Kazakhs.

Wutipong Dasom was limited in his first
FIBA Asia match.

2013 FIBA Asia Championship Standings

Group A	Wins	Losses
Philippines	1	0
Taiwan	1	0
Jordan	0	1
Saudi Arabia	0	1

Group B	Wins	Losses
Qatar	1	0
Japan	0	1
Hong Kong	0	0

Group C	Wins	Losses
Iran	1	0
South Korea	1	0
China	0	1
Malaysia	0	1

Group D	Wins	Losses
Kazakhstan	1	0
Bahrain	1	0
India	0	1
Thailand	0	1

BOX SCORES:

IRAN over TAIWAN, 115-25

IRI 115 - Haddadi 21, Kardoust 15, Jamshidi 12, Kamrani 12, Bahrami 11, Sahakian 10, Veisi 9, Davari8, Afagh 7, Sohrabnejad 4, Arghavan 4

MAS 25 - Gan 11, Tong 3, Wong W 3, Soo 2, Kuek 2, Mak 2, Ooi 2, C Wong 0, Foong 0, Ng 0, Choo 0

QS: 42-3, 58-13, 91-15, 115-25

TAIWAN over JORDAN, 91-87

TPE 91 - Lin 27, Davis 18, Tien 12, Chen 10, Tseng 6, Yang 5, Lee 4, Tsai 4, Creighton 3, Lu 2, Hung 0, Chou 0

JOR 87 - Baxter 30, Al Sous 18, Hadrab 8, Abdeen 10, Abu Ruqayah 8, Zaghab 6, Al Hamarsheh 5, Hussein 2, AL Najjar 0, Al Dwairi 0, Al Faraj 0

QS: 26-20, 41-41, 65-67, 91-87

QATAR over JAPAN, 75-74

QAT 75 - Hayes 20, Saeed 14, Musa 12, Daoud 9, Abdi 9, El Hadary 8, Ali 3, Yousef 0, Abdullah 0, Baker 0

JPN 74 - Kanamaru 27, Sakuragi 13, Takeuchi 10, Kurihara 7, Matsui 6, Hinkley 4, Sakurai 3, Tanaka 2, Hiejima 2, Ota 0

QS: 21-25, 35-41, 53-61, 75-74

KOREA over CHINA, 63-59

KOR 63 - Kim JS 15, Cho 12, Yang 11, Kim SH 9, Lee SJ 6, Kim TS 3, Moon 2, Kim JK 2, Choi 2, Lee JH 1, Kim MG 0, Yoon 0

CHN 59 - Yi 23, Zhou 8, Liu 6, Wang ZL 5, Zhu 4, Wang ZZ 4, Guo 2, Chen 2, Sun 2, Zhang 2, Wang SP 1, Li 0

QS: 13-15, 29-31, 46-42, 63-59

BAHRAIN over INDIA, 82-80 (OT)

BRN 82 - Quwayed M 25, Ebrahim 13, Giles 13, Ismaeel 11, Al Derazi M 10, Malabes 7, Akbar 2, Al Tawash 1, Azzam 0, Quwayed Y 0, Mallalah 0

IND 80 - Grewal 25, Singh At 16, Singh Al 14, Bhriguvanshi 12, Singh J 6, Pethani 4, Kadam 3, Kaushik 0, Singh Y 0

QS: 25-17, 37-32, 52-58, 70-70, 82-80

PHILIPPINES over SAUDI ARABIA, 78-66

PHL 78 - Tenorio 12, Fonacier 12, Douthit 10, De Ocampo 9, Pingris 8, Chan 6, Castro 6, Alapag 5, David 4, Norwood 2, Fajardo 2, Aguilar 2

KSA 66 - Al Muwallad A 18, Al Marwani A 12, Al Hosawi 11, Abo Jalas 9, AL Marwani M 8, Al Muwallad 4, Kabe 2, Belal 2, Al Sager 0

QS: 14-16, 35-28, 57-46, 78-66

KAZAKHSTAN over THAILAND,

KAZ 81 - Ponomarev 21, Johnson 15, Murzagaliyev 13, Klimov 12, Yargaliyev 7, Lapchenko 6, Dvirnyy 4, Zhigulin 3, Sultanov 0, Bazhin 0

THA 67 - Dg Apiromvilaichai 16, Dn Apiromvilaichai 9, Lertlaokul 9, Klaewnarong 8, Tongsri 6, Klahan 6, Kongkum 6, Suttisin 3, Dasom 2, Ghogar 2, Samerjai 0, Lertmalaiporn 0

QS: 26-15, 42-33, 69-47, 81-67

Unless otherwise specified, all images are from FIBAAsia.net.