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.

Asian basketball giant China fall to South Korea 63-59

South Korea endured a back-and-forth battle against defending champions China, to emerge victorious, 63-59, Thursday at the MOA Arena, for a share of the lead in Group C of the preliminary round of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.

In the other Group C match today, Iran had outclassed Malaysia, 115-25, to also go up 1-0.

Neither side led by more than six points, as the two powerhouses slugged it out. The score was at a deadlock, 55-all, with 2:08 left, resulting in a China timeout, but they were unable to get anything out of it as Wang Shipeng turned the ball over.

Nerves were clearly coming into play, as both sides turned the ball over anew, including a second straight for Wang, giving Korea possession with 1:17 left. A pair of charities by Yang Donggeun put Korea ahead. Then, off a turnover, former NBA player Yi Jianlian missed a two-pointer, but China got the offensive rebound and hit both charities, creating yet another tie at 57-all, 41 seconds left.

Cho Sungmin drew a foul from China, and hit both, breaking the tie, 59-57, 31 seconds left. Off China's timeout, Zhou Peng missed a two-pointer and Korea collared the rebound, leading to Cho Sungmin getting fouled anew. Still steady at the line, he canned both, for a two-possession Korea lead.

China wasn't going away yet though, as Liu Xiaoyu got the basket and the foul, but he missed his bonus charity. This time, Yang Donggeun was tested, but he too canned both free throws. In desperation, China launched up two three-pointers, but both failed to connect, allowing Korea to escape with this one.

"We gave them a lot of layups and a lot of easy baskets," lamented China head coach Panagiotis Giannakis.

Kim Joo-Sung paced South Korea with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Cho Sungmin added 12 markers, while Yang Donggeun chimed in with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists in a well-rounded effort.

READ MORE: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/320221/sports/basketball/2013-fiba-asia-championship-korea-escapes-china-in-clash-of-heavyweights

Taipei Beat Jordan, 91-87

MANILA, Philippines – Chinese Taipei fend off Jordan's late rally to score a close 91-87 victory on Thursday opening its campaign in the 2013 Manila FIBA Asia Men's Basketball Championship on a positive note at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Philippines.

Chih-Chieh Lin scorred 27 points while naturalized player Quincy Davis was a source of strength inside finishing with 18 points and pull down 11 boards to pace the Taiwanese.

A rebuilding Jordan team was led by its new naturalized player Jimmy Baxter, who wound up with 30 points.

Iran subdued of Malaysia 115-25 FIBA Asia 2013

2009 Champions Iran routed Malaysia 115-25 in the opening match of the 27th Asian Men's Basketball Championship on Thursday. It was a very lopsided win.

Hamed Hadadi played only about 13 minutes to score 21 points, and pull eight rebounds to lead the 2009 champions.

Both teams stood in silent tribute for one minute before the match for the 25-year-old Malaysian player Ng Kiat-Kee, who passed away while playing an Invitational tournament in China due to a heart attack.

But the Malaysian team failed to pull strenght from that unfortunate event. Their only points scored in the first quarter were from Tong Wen-Keong's three-pointer. Hadadi was 6-of-6 and scored 14 points to help Iran lead 42-3 after the first quarter.

Iran coach Mehmed Becirovic fielded in substitutes in the second quarter but his bench players only outscored Malaysia 16-10. Hadadi, Mahdi Kamrany and Samad Nikkhah Bahrami came back on court to help Iran extend their lead to 76 points before the final quarter.

Bahrami contributed 11 points and four assists while Kamrany had 12. Asghar Kardoust came from bench to take a second team-high 15 points.

"The score is not important," said Becirovic. "It's important for us to play our game."

Iran will play against South Korea in their second group match while Malaysia will take on defending champions China.

"We know South Korea well and they also know us well. South Korea is a very dangerous team and they have lots of great shooters." added Becirovic.

Mak Lok-Seng, who now carries Ng Kiat-Kee's No.14 jersey, felt sorry about the team's poor performance.

"We want to play a good match for him. I'm feeling sorry for the score," said Mak.

"Our team is full of young players," said Malaysian coach Teh Choon-Yean. "We are just gaining experience and learning how to play basketball in a high level."

Al-Sous of Jordan think positive despite loss

MANILA, Philippines – Jordan national team player Wesam Al-Sous was still positive after their narrow 87-91 loss in their opening match against Chinese Taipei in the 2013 Manila FIBA Asia Men's Basketball Championship at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

“It was a good game for us but I think we just had a lot of new players this year who lacked the experience that is why we lost a close game,” said Al-Sous, who scored 18 points including four triples.

Jordan missed the services of former team captain Sam Dahgles, Rasheim Wright, Zaid and Islam Abbas, key players in their second place finish in the 2011 FIBA Asia championships in Wuhan, China.

Jordan held a 67-65 lead entering the payoff period but could not sustain it succumbing to the pressure applied by the vastly improved Taipei squad.

“Although we lost, I think we can learn a lot from this game and I’m sure the coaches will make the right adjustments so hopefully next game will be better for us,” Al-Sous added.

“It’s just hard to start with a team but we put this on our back and with a new coach we are still adjusting but I think if we just had more experience we might have won this game,” he added.  

Jordan's new naturalized player Jimmy Baxter led the team with an impressive game-high 30 points in their loss.

Chinese men’s National team will be Panagiotis Giannakis

Panagiotis Giannakis the former coach of the Greek National Team has been chosen to coach the Chinese men’s National Team for the 27th FIBA Asia Championship.

He was chosen among three other coaches Russian team David Blatt (American) and  also a former Greek National Team coach Ilias Zouros. Giannakis was also selected by EuroLeague Basketball as one of the 50 Greatest Contributors in the first 50 years of the competition. He have a lot of coaching experience on high profile professional basketball clubs, like Greek giants Olympiakos.

Giannakis is also one of the only two to have won a EuroBasket gold both as a player and as a coach.

Giannakis led to a gold medal at the 2005 EuroBasket at Belgrade, and the Greek National Team to a silver medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan.

Possible Lineup of China:

Centers: Yi Jianlian (Guangdong); Wang Zhizhi (Bayi); Zhang Zhaoxu (Shanghai); Wang Zhelin (Fujian); Li Muhao (DongGuan). Forwards: Zhu Fangyu, Zhou Peng (Guangdong); Zhang Bo (Bayi), Zhai Xiaochuan, Ji Zhe (Beijing); Ding Yanyuhang (Shandong), Yi Li (Jiangsu), Ding Jinhui (Zhejiang), Li Xiaoxu (Liaoning).
Guards: Chen Jianghua, Liu Xiaoyu, Wang Shipeng (Guangdong); Han Shuo (Bayi); Liu Wei, Guo Ailun (Liaoning); Li Jingyu, Sun Yue (Beijing), Xirelijiang (Xinjiang), Duan Jiangpeng (Shanxi).