CHANGSHA-HUNAN (2015 FIBA Asia Championship) - Defending champions Iran, Japan, hosts China and the Philippines are still in the hunt for the title and direct qualification for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics after winning their respective Quarter-Finals on Thursday.

Iran squared off against Korea in the first Last Eight meeting of the day and had a blistering start before prevailing, 75-62.

With veterans Yuta Tabuse and Takatoshi Furukawa playing heavy minutes and weighing in with key contributions, Japan led from start to finish in their 81-74 triumph over Qatar.

China turned on the style and rolled to a 104-58 triumph over India, with Yi Jianlian pouring in 18 of his 21 points in the first half.

Behind the powerhouse combination of point guard Jayson Castro and big man Andray Blatche, the Filipinos won, 82-70.

China will face Iran in Friday's first Semi-Final and Japan will go up against the Philippines in the second.

Iran didn't waste much time in establishing their superiority in their encounter against Korea, building a 15-point lead by the end of the first quarter and going up by as many as 23 points.

The starting frontline of Hamed Haddadi and Oshin Sahakian did much of the damage for the Iranians, combining for 30 points and 21 rebounds, while starting shooting guard Hamed Afagh added 11 points and hit three three-pointers.

Haddadi finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

In Japan's win, Tabuse started and logged nearly 37 minutes, scoring a dozen points and handing out six assists.

Furukawa had a team-high 22 point performance that included four three-pointers, while big man Joji Takeuchi scored 15 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

In China's win, India led 7-4 three minutes into the game after a basket from Amritpal Singh but the tournament hosts then took over.

Zhou Peng and Yi hit jumpers to start a 15-4 run that put the Chinese in command for good.

Yi has had some big games at the FIBA Asia Championship but none as spectacular as Thursday's.

As for the Philippines, the Lebanese fought bravely from start to finish.

Despite trailing by 14 points, they managed to cut the deficit to just four midway through the last quarter with a basket from Wael Arakji.

Blatche answered with two free-throws and a jumper as part of a 6-0 run that gave the Philippines some breathing room.

Lebanon kept the pressure on but got no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Castro was fantastic, reminding everyone why his nickname is 'The Blur'.

Friday's Semi-Final will be the first meeting between China, the only unbeaten team in the tournament, and Iran.

The other Semi-Final pits a Filipino side that has already beaten Japan in this tournament, 73-66.

In Classification Round games on Wednesday, Jordan thumped Hong Kong, 82-62, and Palestine edged Kazakhstan, 83-81.

In Palestine's win, Sani Sakakini had another huge performance, scoring 32 points and grabbing 18 rebounds.

He is averaging 23 points and 13 rebounds at the FIBA Asia Championship, the first his country has participated in.

Hong Kong will meet Kazakhstan in the 11th-12th place game on Friday and Palestine will go up against Jordan in the 9th-10th place game.

FIBA