BEIRUT (Lebanon) - The game is as dependent as ever on long-range shooting it has been. We’ve seen it as players leverage their skills in shooting from long distances all over the court to create space and open up the offense for their teams. It’s a talent that has become even more valuable as time goes by, and the trend doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon.

Here are some of the best long-range snipers from the recent decade at the FIBA Asia Cups that you know you can’t leave wide open!

Three-point shooting statistics are recorded from 2007 onwards.

Hamed Afagh (Iran)

When mentioning the success of Iran in the Asia Cup, the more famous names mentioned are Hamed Haddadi, Samad Nikkahbahrami, and Mahdi Kamrani and deservedly so. Another key contributor to the prime period of Iranian basketball is the sharpshooter Hamed Afagh.

The 6’3” shooting guard was a part of all three Asia Cup title runs, with 5 Asia Cup appearances in total. In all of his 42 games, Afagh has knocked down 87 three-pointers, which stands as one of the most in Asia Cup history. Not only does Afagh rain threes in volume, but he also does so efficiently as well.

In 2009, Afagh led all players in three-pointers made (25) at an impressive clip of 47.2 percent. His total Asia Cup career average was 42.0 percent from downtown.

Additional notes: Samad Nikkah Bahrami was also a threat from downtown during these runs, going for 63 threes on 36.8 percent in his Asia Cup career. A promising youngster who should take up the mantle as the next Iranian sharpshooter is Behnam Yakhchali, who shot a blistering 57.9 percent for 22 threes in 2017.

Jamal Abu Shamala (Palestine)

Abu Shamala has only played in one FIBA Asia Cup so far back in 2015, but what a run it was. Palestine were able to pull off a lot of surprises, and a significant factor to their inspiring run was how on-point their star forward was from downtown.

So far, no other player in the Asia Cup record books has knocked down more three-pointers than Jamal (36), and he did so by taking only 66 attempts for a 54.5 conversion rate. Talk about quantity and quality.

He was a perfect pairing for Sani Sakakini, who was able to take control of the post while Abu Shamala draws the defense away from the paint.

Takuya Kawamura (Japan)

The only other player since 2007 to have knocked down at least 30 three-pointers in a single FIBA Asia Cup campaign aside from Abu Shamala is Japanese marksman Takuya Kawamura.

The 6’3” shooting guard was only 21 years old when he went on a tear at FIBA Asia Cup 2009, drilling in 31 threes with a conversion rate of 47.7 percent. Kawamura played at the Asia Cup again in 2011, and though his numbers dropped a bit, he was still a feared shooter nonetheless at 16 made threes at 35.6 percent.

Over these two FIBA Asia Cup campaigns, Kawamura shot an impressive 42.7 from beyond the arc.

Additional Notes: You can’t mention three-point shooting and Japan basketball without bringing up the legend, Takehiko Orimo. In 2007, even at 36, Orimo knocked down half of 42 attempts from behind the three-point line. Also worth mentioning is Yusuke Okada, who shot 23-45 in FIBA Asia Cup 2009 and holds the record of most threes in a single game with 10 in total.

Finally, it’s tough to leave out Keijuru (KJ) Matsui, who featured in three FIBA Asia Cups. It was in 2015 where he was at his peak, nailing 20 threes on a 46.5 percent clip.

Saad Abdulrahman Ali (Qatar)

Ali was already a key member for Qatar since one of their latest successful runs at the Asia Cup back in 2003 when they won the bronze. He’s been an essential part of the team ever since, not only as a scorer but as a sharpshooter.

Since 2007, Ali has been one of the best from beyond the arc in Asia, with a total of 64 threes made on 40.3 percent shooting. His efficiency might have dropped in the later years, but in the late 2000s, Ali was nearly as good to make a three as a coin toss coming up as heads.

His best performance was at FIBA Asia Cup 2009 when he shot 49.1 percent from downtown with 26 threes made.

Lu Cheng-Ju (Chinese Taipei)

Everything clicked for Chinese Taipei onwards to their 4^th place finish at FIBA Asia Cup 2013 from Quincy Davis’ debut to the play of Lin Chih-Chieh. Among one of the other factors that were on point was the shooting of Lu Cheng-Ju.

It was his sniping for 6-9 from downtown that help Chinese Taipei claim a big-time win over hosts Philippines in the Group Phase. He would finish that year’s competition as one of the best long-range shooters with 23 threes on 48.9 percent shooting.

Lu played in a total of 5 Asia Cups and made 57 threes at 39.1 percent.

Jimmy Alapag (Philippines)

The legendary Alapag doesn’t have a single FIBA Asia Cup run where he stands out as a top-level marksman, but his overall body of work makes it easy to put him up as one of the best. Over 3 FIBA Asia Cups, Alapag put in 40 three-pointers in just a shade under 40 percent.

Of course, the diminutive point guard also gets an additional boost for knocking down one of the biggest three-pointers in Philippines basketball history against rivals Korea in 2013.

Additional Note: Another gunner for the Philippines in the Asia Cup is Terrence Romeo. While Romeo is mostly known for his fancy ball-handling skills, he’s knocking down threes at a rate of 40.7 percent for a total of 37 makes in the previous two FIBA Asia Cups.

Cho Sungmin (Korea)

Korea have a long list of sharpshooters to pick from, but one of the best from beyond the arc is undoubtedly Cho Sungmin.

In his FIBA Asia Cup debut back in 2011, Cho was already on fire and went off for 19 three on 43.2 percent. He took another step up in 2013 by shooting 45.9 percent on 17 threes. His highest total then came in 2015 when he knocked down 21 threes though his percentage dropped down to 37.5. Cho is a 41.6 percent Asia Cup career three-point shooter over 26 games.

Crossing the span of 2 Asia Cups from 2013 to 2015, Cho has a streak of 16 consecutive games with at least one three-pointer.

Additional Note: The most three-pointers made in a single FIBA Asia Cup campaign, however, goes to Kim Mingoo, who poured in 25 threes in 2013.

Amir Saoud (Lebanon)

Saoud is sometimes referred to be his Lebanese fans as the “Rainman,” appropriately for the 6’2” (1.87M) shooting guard who boasts a three-point shooting clip of 43.0 percent in his first two FIBA Asia Cup appearances in 2015 and 2017.

Currently, at 28 years old, Saoud still has plenty of time to continue adding on to his three-pointers total in the tournaments, which currently sits at 34.

Zhu Fangyu (China)

China are mostly known for their big men and post players, so it’s sometimes easy to overlook their long-range gunners. Zhu Fangyu is one of those gunners, featured throughout most of the 2000s up until FIBA Asia Cup 2013.

In his last 3 Asia Cups (2009, 2011, 2013), Zhu has been pretty consistent with at least 13 threes in each tournament at an admirable rate of 40.0 percent.

Additional Note: Li Gen is not known to be a lights out three-point shooter and instead heralded for his ability to penetrate to the basket. Surprisingly, he is one of the best three-point shooters in FIBA Asia Cup history with 31 makes on 59 attempts in 2 appearances fro a blistering shooting rate of 52.5 percent.

Who knew?

FIBA