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FIBA Asia – Japan take on Kazakhstan; Iran play Syria
TEHRAN (FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Men): None of the four semifinalists of last edition’s championship at Urumqi two years ago will play in the semifinals of the 20th FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Men. That was the script that emerged at the end of the Quarterfinal round on Tuesday.
In the semifinals on Thursday, Japan will take on Kazakhstan and Iran will play Syria in the semifinals. The championship takes a break on Wednesday.
Japan scripted a fantastic resurgence to send last edition’s runners-up Korea packing, with an 81-75 win and book the second berth – behind Iran – from Group II.
The other three semifinalists, ironically, all lost their final Quarterfinal round engagement, with the adverse result having no effect on their progress.
Syria lost 80-90 to Lebanon and yet made the grade.
The defeat left Syria involved in a three-way tie with China and Lebanon – all at 4 points – to decide the second semifinalist from Group I.
Syria won the tie-breaker with a goal average of +1.1111, ahead of China’s 1.0745 and Lebanon’s 0.9061.
Group I toppers Kazakhstan rested Alexander Tyutyunik, who had averaged 17 points and 7.4 rebounds in the first five games and lost 64-97 to China.
And Iran gave their spearhead Emad Salmani, who had averaged a staggering 16.75 points per game in four games, a break and went down fighting 84-85 to Philippines. The defeat did no change to the hosts’ position on top of Group II.
“We had played four tough games in five nights. Moreover the last two nights had been very hard on the boys. That’s why the bench played longer,” Kazakhstan coach Vadim Buryakov said.
“And this result was not going to affect our progress in anyway. And I wanted the bench to be geared up for any situation in the semifinals,” he said.
Japan came into this tournament with a lot of expectations. But their performance in the tournament had not met the expectations.
“There were some problem or the other in all our previous games,” Japan coach Yuji Yoshida.
“It was only today that we were able to play full strength. I think we played to our full potential thanks to that,” he said.
Japan trailed Korea right through, till midway of the second quarter.
Yoshida made a tactical switch-over in defense towards the end of the second quarter, which saw Japan tighten the screws and open up more space for their fast breaks.
Japan outscored Korea 37-27 in the third quarter which marked their resurgence as well shut down the Korean chances.
Makoto Hiejima scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the third quarter and Kaito Ishikawa 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Japanese charge.
Hiejima and Ishikawa had six assists each for the game. The latter collected seven boards.
“From now, it’s a matter of one game to take us to the world championship. The boys are aware of that. So anything can happen,” he said.
The top three from this championship will qualify for the FIBA U19 World Championship for Men in New Zealand next year.
Scores
Group I
China 97 (Liu Shunan 25, Li Xiaxou 19, Ren Junfei 12) bt Kazakhstan 64 (Anton Arsenyev 17, Pavel Llin 14). Quarterwise Scores: 21-9, 47-37, 67-53.
Lebanon 90 (Ahmad Ibrahim 34, Ralph Akl 11) bt Syria 80 (Samar Bawadekji 25, Tarek Al Jade 12). Quarterwise Scores: 30-20, 45-37, 64-56.
Group II
Philippines 85 (Ryan Garcia 19, Matthew Wright 13, Frank Golla 10) bt Iran 84 (Farbod Farman 19, Mohammad Hasanzadeh 17, Mehdi Shirjang). uarterwise Scores: 15-19, 35-35, 52-57.
Japan 81 (Makoto Hiejima 26, Kaito Ishikawa 19, Yusoke Karino 17, Daichi Taniguchi 11) bt Korea 75 (Kyungsang Park 22, Dong Seop Lim 15). Quarterwise Scores: 17-25, 31-37, 58-54.
Group III
Saudi Arabia 79 (Seraaj Abuswyheel 24, Yazaeed Fallatah 20, Hassan Binmohammed 19) bt India 77 (Vishesh Bhriguvanshi 24, Hirendra Rathore 20, Shantilal 19). Quarterwise Scores: 17-19, 35-35, 55-53.
Group IV
Jordan 74 (Odai Abuqamar 23, Zaid Sahouri 13) bt Hong Kong 53 (Chow Kin Wan 17). Quarterwise Scores: 31-11, 45-20, 62-33.
UAE 85 (Salah Khalifa Abdalla 22, Omar Halid Faqqas 19, Khalifa Khalil Ibrahim 14) bt Malaysia 79 (Gan Hong Hoong 20, Ong Chun Khee 17, Ma Chee Kheun 12). Quarterwise Scores: 24-20, 43-33, 65-64.
Minor placement
5-8 placings
China Vs. Philippines; Korea Vs. Lebanon
9-10 play-off
Chinese Taipei Vs. Jordan
11-12 play-off
Saudi Arabia Vs. Hong Kong
13-14 play-off
India Vs. UAE
S Mageshwaran
FIBA Asia
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