BANGKOK (Thailand) - We’re down to final 4. The results of the 3^rd day of play at the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2019 places Muharraq and Alvark Tokyo into the Semi-finals to complete the four-team cast of the Final Phase.

Naft Abadan and Al Riyadi didn’t need the win to maintain their position at the top of their respective groups, but got them nonetheless in closely contested games.

Scores

Alvark Tokyo 90-81 Hyundai Mobis
Fubon Braves 81-85 Muharraq
Naft Abadan 71-62 Hitech Bangkok City
Al Riyadi 91-87 Guangdong Southern Tigers

Key Points

Ahmed Alderazi hit the shot of the day with a walk-in three-pointer for Muharraq to breakaway from the Fubon Braves. That was followed shortly by a Mike Harris block that snuffed out all remaining hope for the Chinese Taipei club.

Alvark Tokyo also played it close in their do-or-die game against Hyundai Mobis. It’s highly possible that Milan Mačvan’s three-point halftime buzzer beater was just the push Alvark needed to get a big enough cushion and confidence to pull out for a win.

Amir Saoud put in a right-handed layup for his 21^st point of the game in the last 30 seconds of the game to give Riyadi the lead for good. Guangdong’s Zeng Fanri also missed potential game-tying free-throws in the last few seconds as well to seal the deal.

Key Players

2018 MVP Daiki Tanaka has been quiet over the past couple of days and finally came to life in the second half of Alvark’s game today. The scoring guard put up 12 points in the second half to finish with 16 in total, the most he’s scored in the competition this year.

Alderazi (15 points) and Bader Malabes (16 points) were much needed contributions, but Kevin Murphy’s 33-point burst was still the major key to the important victory.

Hamed Haddadi messed around in 21 minutes of play, finishing 19 points on 8-10 shooting, 10 boards, and 4 assists.

Stats Don’t Lie

Threes are still a big part of this game and the Fubon Braves felt the pain of lacking in that area today. They shot only 6-29 from beyond the arc for 20.7 percent while Muharraq rained in 13 threes on 38 attempts for 34.2 percent and the win.

Alvark knew it would be a close game against Hyundai Mobis and they made sure to have an extra gear ready. The B.League champions enjoyed an advantage in both second chance points (17-8) and bench points (39-12) over the KBL champions on their way a return to the Semi-finals.

The Guangdong Southern Tigers committed a whopping 27 fouls on Riyadi, leading to 34 free-throw attempts and 26 points converted. Losing by only 4 points meant that it might have helped to avoid a couple of fouls.

Bottom Line

Alvark Tokyo came into this tournament as returning finalists and were potentially only one missed Arakji jumper away from staying undefeated. Muharraq felt that they were overlooked and underestimated coming in and played their way to prove everyone wrong.

Both teams have made it to the Semi-finals and what a final 4 cast it is indeed for the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2019.

They said:

“I was really trying to go aggressively on the offensive end to advance to the Semi-finals.” - Daiki Tanaka on his second half performance

“We have met the strongest team in the tournament in our group which are the Chinese champions, Lebanese champions, and Korean champions. After this, I think the Iranian champions are most component ones and we will try to rise to the occasion and be competitive in that game.” - Coach Luka Pavicevic on advancing to the Semi-finals

“I’m used to making shots like this in Bahrain. I know I’m not afraid to take this shot. I know my teammates trust me. Everyone trusts me and now we are thinking forward.” - Ahmed Alderazi on his clutch three-point shot

“It’s the Semi-finals so it’s playoffs basketball. It’s win or go home, so I feel like whoever we play is going to bring their best game so we’re going to have to bring our best.” - Kevin Murphy on advancing to the Semi-finals

FIBA