CLARK CITY (Philippines) - Japan and the Philippines put away feisty opponents to come away with big wins in their second games inside the Asia Cup Qualifiers bubble.

Japan shook off a midgame slump on their way to win their first game inside the Philippine bubble over Chinese Taipei, 98-61.

The Akatsuki Five looked dominant from tipoff, starting the game with a 14-0 run and it seemed as if it would be an easy win to rebound from their recent loss.

Chinese Taipei themselves were coming off a loss to China and were not ready to give in immediately to a second straight loss. They chipped away at the lead down to as little as three points near the end of the half with spirited plays. While that lifted the morale of Chinese Taipei, it also seemed to have awakened the sleeping giant in Japan.

After a buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the half by Makoto Hiejima, Japan continued to pile on and accumulate a 17-2 run to start the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

Edwards had a strong game for Japan, leading with 21 points but it was the collective hot hands from long range that fueled the team to the win. Nine of the 12 players knocked down at least one triple as the team shot more than 50 percent from that range.

Kosuke Kanamara was the top marksman with 4 three-pointers, but it’s also worth noting that Hiejima was perfect from beyond the arc off three attempts.

This was a more inspiring performance from Chinese Taipei following their earlier loss. All but one player got on the scoreboard and they displayed crisp ball movement throughout the game.

Japan improve to 2-1 I Group A of the Qualifiers while Chinese Taipei drops to 1-3.

The Philippines also had to fend off a gritty opponent in Indonesia before going away with a 76-51 win.

Indonesia’s game plan was to slow down the tempo and limit possessions which they did well from the start. The score at halftime was only 30-22, which meant that Indonesia was still within range of pulling off an upset.

The second half started with Indonesia closing in to as close as 5 points, but the Philippines picked up the pace from there as they applied pressure on the Indonesia guards.

The Philippines forced Indonesia into making 17 turnovers, while also limiting their shooting to only 31.5 percent from the field.

Coach Tab Baldwin’s squad also had issues scoring efficiently but made up for it with their hustle. The Philippines nearly doubled Indonesia’s total on the boards with 58 rebounds to 31.

The big men enjoyed the bulk of the scoring for the Philippines with Justine Baltazar and Ange Kuoame recording 11 points each to lead the team.

Lester Prosper was the main man for Indonesia once again with 22 points.

The Philippines have already secured Asia Cup qualification and now have an undefeated 5-0 record heading into their rematch against Korea. Indonesia drops to 1-4 and will later face Thailand.

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