ASIA - Jayson Castro of the Philippines is widely regarded as the "best point guard in Asia" for the most part of this decade. With Castro as the floor general making his Asia Cup debut in 2013, the Philippines made back-to-back trips to the championship game and achieved their highest Asia Cup finish in nearly 3 decades.

There is little to no doubt that Castro deserves the recognition as Asia’s premier point man. Over three Asia Cup runs and 24 games from 2013-2017, the soft-spoken guard averaged 12.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game for Gilas Pilipinas. He's been doing so at an efficient rate as well, with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.3 and shooting lines of 44.5 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 83.8 percent from the charity stripe.

However, Castro will be 35 years old by the time the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 begins so an interesting question will inevitably arise: Who is next in line for the title of “best point guard in Asia”?

Cast your vote down below!

Shea Ili (New Zealand)

26-years-old
5 games
15.4 points per game
48.4 field goal percentage
28.6 three-point percentage
5.8 assists per game
2.0 turnovers per game

The New Zealander seems to be a pretty good candidate to start things off after being named to the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 All-Star Five. In his first Asia Cup appearance, Ili was 4^th in assists while also leading the team in scoring. In the matchup against Jordan leading up to the 2017 semifinals, Lil recorded 19 points, 13 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.

Ili already has the speed of a top-level guard, but it’s his upper body strength that makes him special. Possibly as a result of his youth experience of playing rugby at a high level, Ili can drive into the lane and finish in traffic among even the strongest big men. The 26-year-old has already been impressive in league play, earning the NBL Most Improved Player award in 2017-2018. There’s no doubt that he could become Asia’s best point guard again at the FIBA Asia Cup 2021.

Behnam Yakchali (Iran)

23-years-old
15 games
8.8 points per game
43.9 field goal percentage
47.4 three-point percentage
1.9 assists per game
0.8 turnovers per game

Yakhchali is the youngest player in this group, but deserves his spot nonetheless as a candidate to overtake the title as the "Best Guard in Asia". He made his Asia Cup debut in 2015, but it wasn't until the recent 2017 edition of the tournament that he took the huge lead forward as a star for silver medalists Iran.

The 1.95M (6'5") guard put up modest 4.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 2015. It was an impressive line for a 19-year-old going up against Asia's best, but it would be nothing compared to his breakout in the most recent Asia Cup. In 2017, Yakhchali led all players in three-point shots made with a ridiculous conversion rate of 57.9 percent and was among Iran's top scorers with 16.0 points per game.

Yakhchali plays with precision and efficiency which makes life for everyone else on the Iran national team a little bit easier. At the rate he's improving and his age, he'll be among the top guards in Asia for years and years to come.

Yuki Togashi (Japan)

25-years-old
4 games
7.8 points per game
46.2 field goal percentage
50.0 three-point percentage
3.0 assists per game
1.0 turnovers per game

Point guards aren’t exactly the biggest of players on the court and standing at only 1.67M (5’6”) makes Yuki Togashi smaller, even by point guard standards. That hasn’t stopped him from being an absolute headache to guard.

Togashi makes up for his height, not only with his blitzing speed but also his court vision and sharp-shooting three bombs. He might not be as well adjusted to attacking the paint as the other guards on this list, but his shooting and passing skills are certainly top-notch.

In this B.League season, Togashi has been on a tear and is a likely candidate for the MVP having lead his team, the Chiba Jets, to the best record in league history. It seems like only a matter of time before Togashi takes an even bigger leap for the national team - maybe as soon as the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers?

Wael Arakji (Lebanon)

24-years-old
14 games
12.1 points per game
55.8 field goal percentage
40.0 three-point percentage
3.6 assists per game
1.9 turnovers per game

Arakji’s rise to being the best guard in Asia was slightly derailed with an injury, but now he’s back on track. He was already on the map but his play in the 2015 quarterfinals certainly solidified his status among the top guards in Asia. In Lebanon’s win over Korea, Arakji scored 21 points on 8-11 field goal shooting to go with 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

Lebanon’s next big star has got everything: he’s a big guard at 1.93M (6’4”), he attacks the basket, he’s a solid three-point shooter, and he does a little bit of everything else. What more do you want?

The young guard bounced back nicely during the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers and should be looking to get Lebanon back to the Asia Cup semifinals for the first time since 2009. Arakji already has an outstanding record of individual success and all that might be left is a solid finish for his team in the Asia Cup.

Guo Ailun (China)

25-years-old
23 games
11.1 points per game
53.0 field goal percentage
32.8 three-point percentage
3.2 assists per game
1.4 turnovers per game

It’s uncommon for a player to have already made their debuts in the FIBA World Cup and the Olympics before their first FIBA Asia Cup game, but not every one is Guo Ailun. At 19 years of age, Guo played in his first Asia Cup in 2013 and has been a staple of the national team ever since. In the last game of the 2013 tournament, Guo unleashed 21 points on 8-10 shooting and 5 assists against Qatar which was no small feat for a teenager.

China only finished at 5^th place in that year, but came back strongly in 2015 to reclaim their title as Asia Cup champions. Guo capped off another outstanding tournament with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists in the title game against the Philippines.

Guo is already one of the best players in Asia and it will be intriguing to see if he can get even better heading towards the FIBA Asia Cup 2021. He already has the handles, quickness, and finishing touch to be one of the most feared players on the perimeter in the region. With a little more fine-tuning, could he claim the title as the best guard in Asia soon?

FIBA