MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on My Mind) - With the first three days of the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 in the books, here are six early impressions from around the tournament, including thoughts on undefeated Korea, the Philippines' woes, and a promising young Indonesian making a big leap.

Australia and New Zealand are a cut above

We all knew that the Boomers and the Tall Blacks would be good, but even without many of their top-tier players, both squads have been winning very convincingly. Right now, Australia are on top of Group A with a 2-0 record, having beaten Jordan and Saudi Arabia by an average of 21.0 points. New Zealand, for their part, opened their campaign with a 53-point beatdown of India. Needless to say, they are the favorites to sweep Group D. Former NBA player Thon Maker has been dominant for the Boomers, averaging 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds, while young gun Sam Mennenga shone brightly for the Tall Blacks in their first win, putting up 21 points and 9 boards.

Korea is a podium threat again

In the previous FIBA Asia Cup five years ago, Korea finished third place right behind Australia and Iran. After two games, they're looking sharp once again and appear to be a podium threat. They opened their account with a stirring win over China, 93-81, before defeating Chinese Taipei, 87-73. They are favorites to sweep Group B and should be easy picks to make it to the Semi-Finals and perhaps beyond, too. Not surprisingly, Ra GunA has been carrying much of the load for the Koreans, who have also seen strong games from Kang SangJae, Lee DaeSung, and the Heo brothers.

A full-strength Chinese Taipei would be scary

Every Chinese Taipei fan wants to see the national team at full strength, and it's for good reason. Even now, with still a handful of their top-tier players missing in action, Chinese Taipai have been very competitive. They blew out Bahrain on the first day before putting up a good fight against Korea on day three. Veterans Chen Ying-Chun and Liu Cheng have been leading the way along with big man Will Artino. Just imagine if other marquee guys like Chou Yi-Hsiang, Chou Po-Chen, Hu Long-Mao, Jonah Morrison, and Ma Chien-Hao were around, right? At full strength, Chinese Taipei could give the elite teams a run for their money.

Yuta Watanabe is a super stud

It's always good to see Yuta Watanabe playing for the Akatsuki Five. His size, length, and skill-set just make him a multi-threat player for Japan. We saw that in their win over upstarts Kazakhstan. The 206cm/6ft 9in Watanabe dominated with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks, turning on the jets when Japan needed some separation against the Steppen Wolves. It'll be interesting to see if he can put up big numbers against the likes of Iran and the other big teams, but I'm pretty sure he'll be able to do that, too.

Derrick Xzavierro is for real

Indonesian rising star Derrick Xzavierro is just 19 years old, but that has not stopped him from turning a lot of heads at the FIBA Asia Cup. In their first game against Saudi Arabia, Xzavierro had a solid 8 points, 14 rebounds, and 1 block. He followed that up with a very impressive 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 triples, and 3 blocked shots against the veterans of Jordan. At 203cm/6ft 8in, he has great size and is gifted with a unique skill-set. He has also proven to be a great sidekick to Marques Bolden, who has been Indonesia's anchor in the middle so far.

Strongest Lebanon squad in 10 years

The Cedars are fresh from a strong showing in Window 3 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers, and it sure looks like the momentum has carried over to Jakarta. Coach Jad El Hajj's wards stamped their class on a youthful but overmatched Philippines on day two, 95-80, and they should be real threats to possibly pull the rug from under New Zealand in Group D. They are missing Amir Saoud, and Ali Haidar didn't even play against the Philippines, but that didn't matter at all. Jonathan Arledge and Hayk Gyokchyan threw their weight around against the hapless Filipinos, while Wael Arakji ran rings around any and all defenders.

The Philippines have so much uncertainty

Speaking of the Philippines, Gilas Pilipinas are reeling from so much uncertainty surrounding the national team. They entered the FIBA Asia Cup with just one player from their top tier pro league and missed having marquee players Ange Kouame and Dwight Ramos -- both down with injuries. They have had a revolving door of players looking back to the last two windows of the Asian Qualifiers and the 2022 Southeast Asian Games, and the fans have been noisy on social media, expressing their gripes left and right. It's not a good look for them right now, but a win or two in Jakarta might tip the scales in their favor even a little bit.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

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