2013 FIBA Asia Men’s Championships Roundup: Day Two

Action continued on Day 2 of the 2013 FIBA Asia Men’s Championships at the ultra-modern Mall of Asia Arena, and it featured a couple of great games with interesting results. The highlight, of course, was Gilas trumping Jordan! Woohoo!!!

Jayson Castro was a blur against Jordan.

In the first game of the day, the Chinese showed how quickly they moved on from the loss to Korea by dumping the hapless Malaysians, 113-22. Twin towers Wang Zhelin and Wang Zhizhi paired up for 38 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists to lead China to win #1. Guo Ailun and veteran Zhu Fangyu also did well, each scoring 16 points to underscore Team Dragon’s supremacy. Nobody scored in double-digits for Malaysia, with Ban Sin Ooi dropping a team-high 9 markers. China faces the tough Iranians in its last preliminary round game, and this game should give them just the right amount of momentum to be competitive in that match-up. Team China mentor Giannakis Panagiotis chose to rest star big man Yi Jianlian in this encounter.

Wong Chin Yong tries to shoot over the Chinese defense.

Wang Zhelin slams it home strong!

The second game of the day featured Taiwan cruise to its second straight win at the expense of Saudi Arabia, 90-67. Coach Hsu Chin-Tse’s boys raced to a 15-9 lead early in the first canto and just built on it with good ball movement and even better outside shooting. Taiwan connected on a total of 17 triples in this game, with Lu Cheng-Ju and Doug Creighton accounting for 11 of those treys. As expected, Quincy Davis anchored the middle for Taiwan, scoring 14 points on 6-of-7 FG shooting on top of 10 boards. Lu paced the victors with 25 markers, while Creighton ended up with 16. On the other end, big Mohammed Al Marwani was just a shadow of his last night’s self, where he made life difficult for Gilas. Al Marwani shot just 3-of-11 from the floor and finished with 6 points in 33 minutes of play. Ayman Al Muwallad and Marzouq Al Muwallad led the Saudis with a combined 29 markers. Next up for KSA is Jordan, while Taiwan faces the home squad in what is sure to be a loaded affair tomorrow.

Mohammad Al Marwani skies for the rebound.

Chen Shih-Chieh splits the defense.

In the third game, Japan had to suffer through a sluggish start and their foes’ torrid shooting before upending Hong Kong, 76-59. Hong Kong, which was missing two key players – Lee Ki and Poon Chi Ho (both are in HKG still working at their day jobs – really!!!) – stuck it to Japan behind the hot shooting of Li Kim Wong and Wong Chun Wai and trailed by just 1 point entering the second period. Japan put its main players in the game at this point (most of their usual starters were rested in the first canto), but the Hong Kongers continued to stick around because of crisp passes and quick cuts down the backdoor. After halftime, however, Team Hayabusa turned on the jets and outgunned HKG, 23-13, in the third frame. It was cruise control from then on as Japan ended its preliminary round with 1 win against 1 loss. Young gun Naoto Tsuji hit 4 triples on his way to 17 points in leading the Japanese, while Kosuke Takeuchi added 12 markers and 7 boards. Hong Kong was led by Wong, who dropped 23 points on 8-of-15 FG shooting. HKG takes on Qatar tomorrow, while Japan rests for two days before round 2 begins.

Wong Chun Wai waxed hot against Japan.

Naoto Tsuji's sniping was a key factor in the win.

In the fourth game of the day, the Iranians utilized a big third quarter to turn the tables on a speedy and gritty Korean side and gain their second win in as many games, 76-65. Iran got off to a strong start, but Korea outscored the WABA champs, 19-12, in the second canto to take the halftime lead, 34-30. Team Melli adjusted in the third period, going down to Hamed Haddadi and forcing turnovers to turn the deficit into a 10-point bubble heading into the final frame. Young bucks Kim Min-Goo and Kim Jong-Kyu tried to rally their squad in the dying minutes, but the Iranians proved to be the steadier side. Some color also developed as several players from both sides got physical, most notably Cho Sung-Min, and Min-Goo from Korea as well as Haddadi, Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, and Mahdi Kamrani from Iran. Haddadi and Bahrami dominated in the second half on their way to 30 and 23 points respectively, while Sung-Min led Korea with 15 markers. Coach Yoo Jae-Hak’s wards take on lightweight Malaysia tomorrow, while Iran tussles with powerhouse China.

Samad Nikkhah Bahrami played well versus Korea.

Kim Min-Goo stepped up despite the loss.

The fifth game of the day featured Kazakhstan overcome Bahrain in OT. Kazakhstan led for most of regulation, but Bahrain caught fire in the fourth quarter to catch up and take the lead. With about 20 seconds left, Mohammed Quwayed went to the line for two free throws and split them, giving Bahrain a slim 66-63 advantage. Five seconds later, Jerry Johnson, Kazakhstan’s naturalized player, connected on a three to tie the count. Former DLSU Green Archer Bader Malabes missed the potential game-winning shot as the game went into an extra five minutes. Johnson then scored 6 of his 18 points in OT to lead the Snow Leopards to their second win in as many tries. It was a sorry loss for the Bahrainis, who got a big 12-point, 12-rebound double-double from CJ Giles, but he fouled out. Bader Malabes and Ahmed Ismaeel led the Red Wolves with 14 points each. Anton Ponomarev of KAZ was limited to just 4 points on 1-of-8 FG shooting here, but veteran swingman Rustam Yargaliev made up for it by dropping 19 points on the strength of 5 treys. Kazakhstan looks to sweep Group D against the Indians next, while Bahrain hopes to bounce back strong against Thailand.

In the sixth game, Gilas leaned on Gabe Norwood’s defense, Jayson Castro’s speed, and Jeff Chan’s shooting to subdue Jordan, 77-71. Jimmy Baxter, who played 36 minutes in Al Nashama’s previous game against Taipei, played 38 minutes in this one, looking tired in some stretches. He wasn’t as aggressive tonight, and he was stifled by the tenacious D put up by Norwood. Baxter ended up with 14 points on 6-of-13 FG shooting. Gilas had to withstand the surprisingly strong production of former back-up Mohammad Hadrab, who rattled in 19 markers, most of which he scored in the first half. To counter this, coach Chot Reyes leaned on the brilliant guard play of Castro and Chan. Castro ran circles around the Jordanian defense for most of the game on his way to 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. One major play was him intercepting a pass to Wesam Al Sous and streaking downcourt for the open lay-up in the third period. Jeff Chan did really well, too, hitting 5 of his 7 three-point attempts to finish with a team-high 17 markers. In all, Gilas connected on a dozen triples. Jordan is now in a must-win situation against the dangerous Saudis, while Gilas gains momentum entering its titanic clash with fellow unbeaten team Taiwan.

Wesam Al Sous was deadly from long range.

The Pinoy crowd helped carry their heroes to the big win.

The day ended with Thailand losing to India, 89-65. The SEABA side was actually able to stick with the Bhangra Boys for much of the first quarter, but Scott Flemmin’s wards turned up the jets to close the first 10 minutes of play ahead, 27-13. It was pretty much cruise control for India from that point, as its defense continued to force Thai turnovers (20 in all). One big difference was points in the paint, where India held the advantage, 42-16, thanks to its size. The bigger Indians also dominated the glass, 60-36. Spitfire guards Narender Grewal and Vishesh Bhriguvanshi led the way with 24 and 20 points respectively, while Thailand’s Wutipong Dasom had 10 markers in the loss. India hopes to upset the Kazakhs next, while Thailand continues to look for win #1 against Bahrain.

Amrit Pal Singh dominated down low.

Wacharapong Tongsri drives strong.

2013 FIBA Asia Championship Standings

Group A	Wins	Losses
Philippines	2	0
Taiwan	2	0
Jordan	0	2
Saudi Arabia	0	2

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

Group C	Wins	Losses
Iran	2	0
South Korea	1	1
China	1	1
Malaysia	0	2

Group D	Wins	Losses
Kazakhstan	2	0
Bahrain	1	1
India	1	1
Thailand	0	2

BOX SCORES:

CHINA over MALAYSIA, 113-22

CHN 113 - Wang ZL 21, Wang ZZ 17, Zhu 16, Guo 16, Zhou 9, Li 8, Zhang 8, Liu 7, Sun 6, Wang SP 5, Chen 0

MAS 22 - Ooi 9, Foong 4, Gan 3, Tong 2, Kuek 2, Wong C 2, Soo 0, Ng 0, Wong W 0, Choo 0, Mak 0

QS: 31-2, 55-12, 79-19, 113-22

TAIWAN over SAUDI ARABIA, 90-67

TPE 90 - Lu 25, Creighton 16, Davis 14, Tsai 8, Lin 7, Tien 6, Yang 6, Chou 4, Hung 3, Chen 1, Lee 0, Tseng 0

KSA 67 - Al Muwallad A 15, Al Muwallad M 14, Kabe 10, Al Marwani Mo 6, Al Sager 6, Abu Jabal 4, Al Marwani Ma 4, Al Husawi 1, Belal 1, Al Mukhtar 0

QS: 31-14, 48-34, 65-46, 90-67

JAPAN over HONG KONG, 76-59

JPN 76 - Tsuji 17, Takeuchi 12, Kanamaru 10, Sakuragi 10, Tanaka 6, Hiejima 6, Ota 4, Watanabe 4, HInkley 3, Kurihara 2, Sakurai 2, Matsui 0

HKG 59 - Wong 23, Reid 10, Li 9, Chan Y 8, Chan S 4, Lau Tg 2, Szeto 2, Fong 0, Lam 0, Lau Tz 0,

QS: 25-24, 41-40, 64-53, 76-59

IRAN over KOREA, 76-65

IRI 76 - Haddadi 30, Bahrami 23, Kamrani 5, Sahakian 4, Kardoust 4, Jamshidi 3, Arghavan 3, Davoudi 2, Afagh 2, Davari 0, Veisi 0

KOR 65 - Cho 15, Kim MG 11, Kim JK 11, Lee JH 8, Kim SH 6, Kim JS 5, Lee SJ 4, Yang 2, Choi 2, Yoon 1, Kim TS 0

QS: 18-15, 30-34, 51-41, 76-65

KAZAKHSTAN over BAHRAIN, 79-76 (OT)

KAZ 79 - Yargaliev 19, Johnson 18, Yevstigneyev 16, Dvirnyy 12, Klimov 5, Ponomarev 4, Murzagaliev 3, Lapchenko 2, Sultanov 0, Bondarovich 0, Zhigulin 0

BRN 76 - Ismaeel 14, Malabes 14, Giles 12, Quwayed M 12, Al Derazi M 10, Azzam 7, Akhbar 6, Quwayed Y 1, Ebrahim 0, Al Tawash 0

QS: 18-11, 22-22, 40-43, 66-66, 79-76

PHILIPPINES over JORDAN, 77-71

PHL 77 - Chan 17, Castro 16, De Ocampo 11, Douthit 11, Norwood 8, Aguilar 6, Alapag 3, Tenorio 3, David 2, Fonacier 0, Fajardo 0, Pingris 0

JOR 71 - Hadrab 19, Baxter 14, Al Sous 13, Hussein 9, Abdeen 6, Al Hamarsheh 3, Abu Ruqayah 3, Zaghab 2, Abu Qoura 2, AL Najjar 0, Al Faraj 0

QS: 16-20, 33-38, 57-47, 77-71

INDIA over THAILAND,

IND - Grewal 24, Bhriguvanshi 20, Singh J 13, Singh Al 9, Singh At 8, Bhamara 6, Kaushik 3, Singh Y 2, Pethani 2, Pratham 1, Singh An 1, Kadam 0

THA - Dasom 10, Klahan 9, Kongkum 8, Suttisin 7, Tongsri 7, Apiromvilaichai Dn 6, Lertmalaiporn 6, Apiromvilaichai Dg 4, Lertlaokul 4, Klaewnarong 2, Ghogar 2, Samerjai 0

QS: 27-13, 46-30, 67-45, 89-65

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