Korea, Philippines overcome feisty Thailand, Indonesia in Window 1
BANGKOK (Thailand) - Korea and the Philippines were expected easy wins in the first window, but Indonesia and Thailand gave the powerhouses a fight.
BANGKOK (Thailand) - What might have seemed like comfortable wins on paper turned out to be victories that were a bit harder to come by for Korea and the Philippines in Window 1 of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers.
Results
INA vs KOR - 76-109
KOR vs THA - 93-86
INA vs PHI - 70-100
Indonesia immediately turned heads in their opening match against Korea, taking a 27-21 lead at the end of the first quarter. They fed off the energy from the crowd at Mahaka Arena, which grew as Abraham Damar Grahita continued to score. The 24-year-old guard had 25 points in the game, but Korea ran away with the win on 17 three-pointers.
Korea ran into similar difficulties in their second game, going up against Thailand at home in the Jamsil Students’ Gymnasium.
Despite taking an early lead, Korea allowed Thailand to gain momentum and blast off on a 12-0; This build a lead that pressured the home team up until late in the fourth quarter. Tyler Lamb put up a valiant effort, but Korea came out with wave after wave of players to hold on for a 93-86 win.
The Philippines had just as much trouble in their game against Indonesia in their clash to finalize the action in the first window of Group A.
They led throughout the entire game, looking to blow things away after a 14-0 run in the second quarter with a series of steals and fastbreak finishes. Indonesia fought their way back to be down by only 4 points in the third quarter, but coach Rajko Toroman’s squad could not resist the last wave of attacks from their foes.
All in all, it was a good trio of well-fought games between quality teams in the first window of Group A at the Asia Cup Qualifiers.
Standout players
Kim Jong Kyu
14.0 points per game, 6.0 rebounds per game
Korea needed their frontcourt players to step up in the absence of Ra Guna. Kim Jong Kyu didn’t let down the fans from the expectations, especially against Thailand where he scored 16 points and 7 rebounds.
He was a big impact in the second quarter against Thailand, helping Korea hold off the upset attempt.
Tyler Lamb
28 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals
Lamb put Thailand on his shoulders and nearly carried them through over the 30th-ranked team in the world, according to FIBA World Ranking presented by Nike.
His point total is the 2nd most in the first window and even if it took a lot of attempts (25) and turnovers (7) to get there, it’s just what Thailand needed.
“I think it was a well fought game,” Lamb said in the postgame press conference. “I’m proud of my guys. We were able to fight back in the fourth quarter and bring it close, but I think with little adjustments and we’re well on our way.”
Andakara Prastawa Dhyaksa
21.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.5 three-pointers made per game
Prastawa had a relative quiet first game compared to his backcourt mate Grahita. However, when it came time to step up in the second game against the Philippines, he delivered.
The 1.72M (5’8”) guard was on fire from the start with 11 points in the first quarter, keeping Indonesia within range of the Philippines. He finished the game with 28 points and cooled off a bit towards the end, but it’s been a positive two game stretch.
Thirdy Ravena
23 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
Kiefer Ravena, Thirdy’s brother, was actually the one expected to come in and punch in numbers immediately off the bat. Instead, it was the younger Thirdy who came out with a bigger game to start their Asia Cup Qualifiers campaign.
Not only was he streaking up and down the court in transition where he got a bulk of his points, Ravena also knocked down three triples and emphatically swatted away two shots.
Schedule for Window 2
27 November 2020
KOR vs PHI
THA vs INA
30 November 2020
KOR vs INA
THA vs PHI
FIBA