Iran takes FIBA Asia beat Gilas Pilipinas

Iran wins FIBA Asia by beating Gilas Pilipinas. At half, Gilas Pilipinas rallied to reach 34-35 deficit against a favored Iran five in their gold medal match of the 27th FIBA Asia men’s Championship Sunday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City but Iran overwhelemed them defensively and the Philippines cannot buy a bucket.

Gilas Pilipinas eliminates Kazakhs 88-58

Smart Gilas Pilipinas fended off Kazakhstan's brief comeback with three pointers and fast breaks beating the taller Kazakhs, 88-58 quarterfinal game in the 27th FIBA Asia championships.

After leading by as many as 19 in the first period, the Philippines saw its lead dwindle down to just six, 38-44, when the Kazakhs’ started nailing their outside shots with 2:13 left in the second.

Chinese Taipei dethrones China, 96-78

MANILA, Philippines – Chinese Taipei used a big third quarter run to dethrone defending champion China in a shocking 96-78 upset in the quarterfinal round of the 2013 Manila FIBA Asia Men’s Basketball Championship at the Mall of Asia Arena on Friday night.

Chinese Taipei outscored China, 31-12, in a big third quarter explosion that overturned a 10-point China halftime lead.

The Taiwanese rallied behind the inside presence of naturalized player Quincy Davis and their outside sniping as the once mighty China lead suddenly crumbled.

Davis’ alley-oop play capped off a 15-0 run by the Taiwanese bridging the second and early part of the third quarter.

Yi Jianlian gave China its final lead, 52-50, before Tien Lei’s triple ignited a furious 21-12 exchange that gave Taipei a nine-point edge, 71-62, into the fourth quarter.

China never knew what hit them as Taipei continued to pour the heat in the payoff period.

“Never give up,” Chin-Che Hsu told reporters after the game.

Hsu rallied his troops by reminding them how they dug themselves up from large deficits against Jordan and Philippines in the early rounds of the tournament.

And they responded big in the second half.

Davis outplayed Yi finishing with 27 points missing only once on 13 attempts against the latter’s 22 points on 11-of-17 shooting. The two giants cancelled out each other in the rebounding department with 10 each.

The biggest revelation for Chinese Taipei was Tsai Wne-Cheng who wound up with 21 points, 15 coming in the second half where they turned the game around.

Lin Chih-Chieh and Tien added 17 and 13 points, respectively.

The Taiwanese were so red-hot as they shot 60 percent from the field including 10 of 20 triples.

Their lethal outside shooting will be tested in the semifinals against the imposing size of Iran, the winners of the 2007 and 2009 edition.

2013 FIBA Asia Championship: Chinese Taipei Clutch against Philippine Gilas win game 84-79

Chinese Taipei hit clutch three pointers in the final few minutes to steal a win against the Philippine team, 84-79, on Saturday in the final game of Group A play in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship being held at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Philippines were leading by 11 in early minutes of the 4th until the Chinese Taipei heat up and pummel the Philippine team with three pointers.

With the victory, Chinese Taipei earned the top spot in their Group with a 3-0 win-loss card, while Gilas slides down to second place at 2-1. Jordan and Saudi Arabia share identical 0-2 records.

Iran punishes Yi-less China 70-51

MANILA, Philippines – Iran establishes themselves as the top dog of this competition as they rout Yi Jianlan-less China, 70-51, Saturday to sweep the Group C of the 2013 Manila FIBA Asia Men’s Basketball Championship at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Iran exploited Yi’s absence to the hilt racing to a double-digit lead right in the opening quarter and outrebounding China, including a huge 16-7 disparity in the offensive glass.  Iran cashed in those offensive boards with 15 second chance points against China’s measly four points.

Samad Nikkah Bahrami scored all of his 10 points in the first quarter lifting Iran to a 26-16 lead.  Bahrami failed to score the rest of the way but it did not matter as the rest of the Iranians took care of the rest.

Yi, who sat out for the second straight game with a hamstring injury,

Hamed Haddadi had 15 points and seven boards outdueling China’s ageless Wang ZhiZhi, who finished with nine and five.

Hamed Afagh and Oshin Sahakian also did well for the 2007 FIBA Asia champions combining for 25 points.

Wang Shipeng was the lone double-digit scorer for China with 11 points.

2013 FIBA Asia Championship: Philippines Gilas beat Jordan share of top spot in Group A

The Philippine national basketball team put up a tough defense and a good offense to defeat Jordan, 77-71, in Group C play of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Gilas reeled off 17 unanswered points in a 20-4 run in a third quarter fueled by good defense and offensive rebounding, seizing a 53-42 lead against their taller foes. Jordan fought back, launching a late 9-3 run in the final three minutes, but with 35 seconds left on the clock, had to resort to intentional fouls. Gilas coolly sealed the game from the line to take their second win in the tournament.

Gilas struggled in the first quarter as they were outmuscled by Jordan in the paint. After taking an initial 4-2 lead on a Ranidel De Ocampo trey, Wessam Al-Sous and Mohammad Hadrab tormented the Philippines with their inside-out play. The pair combined for three triples in an ensuing 16-3 run, capped by a driving layup by Ali Zaghab, 18-7.

With under three minutes to play, Gilas called a timeout to earn a foothold in the match. Twin makes by Marcus Douthit complemented a Jeff Chan trey, paving the way for a 9-2 run to end the first period, 20-16.

Gilas enjoyed their best shooting stretch so far in the tournament as their first three field goals came from beyond the arc, courtesy of Chan and LA Tenorio, but Jordan maintained their lead thanks to easy buckets, including a breakaway layup by Jimmy Baxter and a Hussein putback, 28-25.

Hussein continued to overpower the defense, fighting inside to score six of their last 10 points. Similar to the first period, Gilas awoke in the last three minutes to keep the game close. De Ocampo's second trey and crafty playmaking by Jayson Castro gave them closing 8-2 run, trailing 38-33 after the second period.

Jordan shot 14-of-30 (47 percent) from the field, including 5-of-15 (33 percent) on three-pointers. In comparison, Gilas made 11-of-37(30 percent) of their attempts, counting 7-of-20 (35 percent) from long range. Gilas led in points off turnovers, 13-5, while Jordan held a 10-4 margin in points in the paint.

Gilas led in turnover points, 23-12, off a 13-17 turnover advantage.

Mohammad Hadrab led all scorers with 19 points. Jimmy Baxter added 14 points and six rebounds, while Wessam Al-Sous offered 13 points, including 3-of-8 makes from beyond the arc.

Iran win against South Korea 65-76

MANILA, Philippines - Hammed Haddadi and Bahrami dominated the game they combined for 53 points and 20 boards as Korea helplessly watched them perform at a high level in the preliminary round of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.

With the win, Iran is now alone at the top in their group. They will be meeting China in an early clash between title favorites tomorrow night.

The Iranians went on a run capped by a Haddadi put-back at the 4:48 mark of the first, for an 11-4 count in their favor, but a triple by Cho Sungmin trimmed their lead down to four at 16-12 with 2:21 left in the first. A free throw from Yun Hoyoung then inched Korea closed at 18-15 to end the first quarter.

Korea scored two baskets inside early in the second period, to claim a 19-18 lead and force Iran to call a timeout. After the break, Samad Nikkah Bahrami and Haddadi paired for four points to reclaim the lead and force Korea to call their own timeout.