Asian Basketball Journal - May 14, 2014

Here in the Philippines there really is no site (or person) really dedicated to the Asian hoops scene, which is why this series exists. Through this series of Asian Basketball Journals, I hope to address just that void. I believe that Asian basketball is such a vibrant source of stories, and I think this should be shared with hoop nuts here in the Philippines and beyond.

Like in previous posts, I won’t be going into a lot of detail anymore. I’ll use mostly images and videos and then just add captions to each one that will, hopefully, capture the essence of the latest developments in Asian hoops.

Playoff action highlighted Asian basketball this past week!

As always, the past week saw many interesting things happen. In West Asia, the Lebanese Basketball League completed its Final Four cast with Byblos’s win over Mouttahed while defending champion Petrochimi Bandar Imam defeated Mahram-Tehran to close out the Iranian Superleague Finals. In East Asia, the Japan-NBL Playoffs turned the action up a notch with the start of semifinal action.



2014 Lebanese Basketball League (LBL): The Final Four cast is complete!

Import Jay Youngblood reacts energetically after scoring 2 of his 18 points in Byblos's huge win over Mouttahed.
(image by ProSportLb)

Mazem Mneimneh hit three triples on his way to 17 points as Byblos beat Mouttahed to book the last
seat in the LBL Final Four.
(image by ProSportLb)

Mouttahed's Mechref Samer goes up for 2 against Byblos.
(image by Najib Haiby/Sports-Leb)

Al Riyadi celebrates after locking a spot in the Final Four.
(image by Najib Haiby/Sports-Leb)

National team playmaker Rodrigue Akl launches a long tom for Sagesse,
which also advanced to the Final Four.
(image by Najib Haiby/Sports-Leb)

Legendary FIBA Asia player Fade El-Khatib is expected to be one of the major weapons
for Amchit in the semifinals.
(image by Najib Haiby/Sports-Leb)

2014 Iran Superleague: Petrochimi subdues Mahram in Game 4 to pocket another Superleague crown!

American guard Jonathan Gibson tallied 41 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists to lead
Petrochimi Bandar Imam to the Superleague title!
(image by Erfan Khoshkhoo/ISNA)

Mahdi Kamrani goes up strong against the defense of Mahram.
Kamrani and the rest of Petrochimi withstood the 52 points of former NBA center Hamed Haddadi.
(image from IranBasketball.org)

Jonathan Gibson leads the fastbreak for the repeat champs, Petrochimi.
(image by Erfan Khoshkhoo/ISNA)

Coach Mehran Hatami of Petrochimi gets a victory lift after his squad
wrapped up the title romp in Game 5.
(image by Erfan Khoshkhoo/ISNA)

2014 Japan-NBL: Toshiba dominates in the semis even as Wakayama beats Aisin in Game 3!

  

National team starting center Kosuke Takeuchi had just 7 points and 7 rebounds
as Toyota Alvark was eliminated by the Toshiba Brave Thunders in 2 games.
(image from Japan-NBL)

Japan's #1 point guard, Naoto Tsuji continued to be a critical player for
Toshiba, getting 15 points and 6 assists in Game 2 against Toyota.
(image from Japan-NBL)

Michael Parker and former NT big man Fumihiko Aono congratulate each other
after the Wakayama Trians defeated the Aisin Seahorses, 73-59, in Game 3!
(image from Japan-NBL)

Takuya Kawamura scored 14 points for the Trians as they barged into the
2013-2014 Japan-NBL Finals.
(image from Japan-NBL)

Former NT mainstay Shinsuke Kashiwagi dropped 13 markers in Aisin's losing effort in Game 3.
(image from Aisin Seiki)

JR Sakuragi led Aisin in its win in Game 2, but he couldn't lift the seahorses past the determined Trians in Game 3.
(image from Aisin Seiki)

The inaugural Japan-NBL Finals will pit the Wakayama Trians (left) against
 the powerhouse Toshiba Brave Thunders (right).
Shown here are Hiryuki Kinoshita, Michael Parker, and Takuya Kawamura of Wakayama and
Naoto Tsuji, Nick Fazekas, and Ryusei Shinoyama of Toshiba.
(image from Japan-NBL)

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