Qatar to meet Japan in quarters

9/29/2015 11:25:04 PM

(MENAFN- The Peninsula)Action from the match between Qatar and China at the FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha China yesterday. The hosts won the match to finish on top of Group F. Qatar who finished second will take on Japan in the quarter-finals tomorrow.

Changsha China: China will go into their quarter-final clash against India at the FIBA Asia Championship as the tournament’s only unbeaten side after routing Qatar 89-65 yesterday.

Qatar who finished second in the group will take on Japan in the quarter-finals tomorrow.

Lebanon edged Jordan 80-76 and the Philippines won convincingly over India 99-65 in other key games.

Roared on by their own fans as the host nation China went in front by as many as 16 points in the first half and 28 for the game against Qatar as they clinched first place in Group F.

The Chinese have beaten all of their opponents save Korea on Day 2 by double-digit margins.

China’s perimeter game looked solid with captain Zhou Peng making all three of his shots from long range and Li Gen drilling three of six.

Qatar reduced a 16-point deficit to 40-33 with 1:25 remaining in the first half and had an opportunity to draw even closer but Khalid Suliman Abdi was off target with a jumper. China veteran Liu Wei and Zhai Xiaochuan then scored baskets in the last 30 seconds of the second quarter to stretch the advantage to 11. The Chinese carried the momentum into the second half with Yi Jianlian dunking and Zhou Peng following with a three-ball to stretch the lead to 16.

China got some easy points scoring 16 in transition to none for Qatar. The tournament hosts getting 32 points in the paint compared to just 12 for Qatar shot 51.4 percent inside the arc for the contest. China floor general Guo Ailun was a model of efficiency making four of his five shots from the floor and scoring 11 points while also handing out three assists.

China have been playing with so much confidence since their come-from-behind win over Korea that it’s difficult to see any team stopping them right now. All 12 players got minutes and five of them hit double-digits in points. Qatar won’t be too disappointed because they are a genuine medal contender. Bearing in mind that Trey Johnson and Mohd Mohamed didn’t play Qatar know they can put up a much tougher fight. The Chinese will expect harder games in the knockout round.

In the other Group F game Korea already assured of a third-place finish took on Kazakhstan and won 79-63.

In Group E Iran ended tournament debutant Palestine’s quest for the podium by rolling to a 94-48 victory.

The victory by the Iranians who had suffered their first defeat on Monday against the Philippines ensured India a spot in the Quarter-Finals.

Hamed Haddadi and Asghar Kardoust combined for 29 points and 22 rebounds for Iran. In the Philippines’ big win India put up a good fight for a half but fell behind by as many as 37 points after the break.

Terrence Romeo buried three shots from long range and finished with 20 points while also handing out four assists and coming up with three steals during the match.

Japan sealed third place in Group E with an 89-62 triumph over Hong Kong.

Joji Takeuchi finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.

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