(MENAFN- Gulf Times) China romped to an 89-65 victory over Qatar yesterday to storm into the quarter-finals of the FIBA Asia Championship and remained the only unbeaten side in the championship.
Roared on by their own fans in Changsha-Hunan, the hosts went in front by as many as 16 points in the first-half and 28 for the game as they clinched first place in Group F and set up a quarter-final against India, the fourth-placed team in Group E, tomorrow.
India have qualified for the quarter-finals for the first time since 2003, despite losing 65-99 to Philippines yesterday. India progressed to the knockout stage, despite the loss, on the basis of a superior head-to-head matchup against Palestine.
Both the teams ended their Group E commitments with a 2-3 win-loss record, but India defeated Palestine in their group encounter on Sunday to clinch the knockout spot. India have two wins in their last three games.
The Chinese have beaten all of their opponents, save South 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's 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 a do-or-die battle for fourth place in Group F, Lebanon prevailed over Jordan. Amir Saoud came off the bench and led the Cedars with 20 points. He connected on four of six shots from three-point range and has now hit 13 of 27 (48.1 percent) in the tournament.
Mohamad Haidar added 15 points and 7 rebounds.
In the other Group F game, South Korea, already assured of a third-place finish, defeated Kazakhstan 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, their fifth straight match of the competition, 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.
India took a good start, leading by one point after the first quarter. Philippines then proceeded to take over and broke the game wide open in the last two quarters, building a lead as high as 37 points.
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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