NONTHABURI (FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2018) — Day one of the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2018 is over and there are plenty of things to ponder over after the events of today’s games.

Here are the 5 takeaways from Day 1 of the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2018!

Pauian remain undefeated at Stadium29

The champions club from Chinese-Taipei had recently played at Stadium29 for the East Inter Subzone Qualifying Round and swept through the competition for a spotless record. They opened up their campaign at the Final 8 round by dominating the Liaoning Flying Leopards from China, 106-62.

There will be more tests along the way for Pauian Archiland, but the path seems bright so far for the team that finished 6^th place back in 2016.

Marcus Keene can score at will

Marcus Keene overtook the position of injured point guard Jason Brickman for the Mono Vampire Basketball Club, putting himself in a pressure situation to play just as well as Brickman had. After one game, it seems like Keene is doing a pretty good job.

The flashy floor general started off slow, but eventually built up steam before his grand act in the fourth quarter of the Mono Vampire’s game against the Meralco Bolts. Keene exploded for 8 points in barely over one minute to start the final interval, breaking through a 70-70 deadlock and leading Mono Vampire all the way to the win. Keene finished the game tied with the daily high of 29 points.

It might be tough to follow up a debut like this, but no one is going doubt Keene from being able to do it.

Powerful Petrochimi

Though they were limited to only 7 players in today’s game, Petrochimi played hard and aggressive throughout the entire 40 minutes of the game and it earned them a well-deserved 77-62 win over the SK Knights from Korea. The Iran club burst out of the gates with a 16-0 run and it was only until the 4:18 mark when they allowed their first points in the game.

Petrochimi played intense defense and rotated well to stop the Knights from getting any momentum their way and it helped them force back any run attempted. The back-to-back semifinalists will have to stay strong and united to maintain this form and get back to the Final 4 round and beyond.

Down go the defending champions

Al-Riyadi are still not out of the running to win the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2018 and defend their throne, but the early loss to Alvark Tokyo here suggest the high level of teams in the playing field and how tough a road it will be.

Alvark played efficient calculated basketball which countered their physical disadvantage against Al-Riyadi well, leading to their win over the Lebanese club. It was a game that displayed how even the playing field can be at this level of competition throughout the next couple of days.

Unsung heros

Marcus Keene (Mono Vampire) and Alex Kirk (Alvark Tokyo) got the main share of the spotlight in wins for their respective teams and rightfully so. However, it would be wrong to overlook the contributions of more defensive-oriented players like Darongphan Apiromvilaichai and Seiya Ando.

Apiromvilaichai was assigned to lock down the wings and guards of the Meralco Bolts, but he was able to put in a little extra by going perfect from the field for 11 points on 5-5 shooting including big three-point shots.

Ando was also handed the heavy task of shadowing Mark Lyons, but came up huge in the clutch moments of the game on the offensive end. His name was written all over the crucial 5 points in the final minute of the game including a tough jumpshot and a sweet alleyoop assist.

With so many star players trying to outshine each other at the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, it is easy to fly under the radar and make a big impact in each win.

FIBA