MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on my Mind) - The Quarter-Finals of the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship are about to start, and only eight teams remain in contention for the continent's single outright ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics. After six days of high-level competition, many players have been able to stand out, and we will look at them here. These are the guys who have made signifiant contributions for their respective teams and have helped them stay alive for the crown.

Yang Dong-Geun (Korea)
Yang has surely been the tournament's best playmaker and he is actually the competition's current overall leader in efficiency. He leads Korea in scoring, assists, and, surprisingly enough, rebounding, which makes him a regular triple-double threat. Despite being 34 years old, Yang has often looked like the most nimble player on the floor, and the one of the smartest, too. He is usually able to find his teammates, namely shooter Cho Sung-Min and big guys Kim Jong-Kyu and Lee Jong-Hyun, in their sweet spots, which definitely makes their lives easier.

Joji Takeuchi (Japan)
- A guy of Joji’s size shouldn’t be as spry as he is, but that’s exactly what we see in every game for Japan. Takeuchi has also proven to be the best shooting big man right now in the entire field, making 56.5% of his field goals. He is also just one of two players averaging double-doubles in the entire tournament (the other being Palestine’s Sani Sakakini). He has the uncanny ability to be a threat around the basket, but also stretch other teams’ defenses by luring opposing big men to the perimeter.

Zhou Qi (China)
Zhou is not even 20 years of age, but he has already shown how significantly he can impact a game. His size and length definitely make him an elite interior defender, but it has been his basketball IQ that’s impressed a lot of people here. He defies his age by being composed enough to step up just when China need big plays. Just ask the Koreans, who probably would've won their first round encounter had it not been for Zhou’s heroics. Give this kid a few more years, and he should be one of the most dominant players in the region.

Amjyot Singh (India)
The Indian wunderkind currently leads the tournament in scoring with 23.0 points per game. That’s a far cry from his norming 9.6 points in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship and 14.7 points in the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup. After leading India past Palestine and Hong Kong all the way to the Quarter-Finals, is it safe to say that Amjyot is the best forward in Asia right now? Well, guys like Samad Nikkhah Bahrami and Zaid Abbas may have something to say about that, but if we’re going simply by the numbers, then, Amjyot has, indeed, become the best.

Mohammad Hassanzadeh (Iran)
Hassanzadeh is not the most top-of-mind player when one thinks of Iran, but he has gradually become the team’s most productive player in the tournament. He currently leads Iran in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 17.3 points and 11.2 boards per outing. He has really stepped up big time for Team Melli, enabling guys like Hamed Haddadi and Oshin Sahakian to get some all-important rest. Iran’s main guys will probably see more playing time and more shots in the latter rounds, but if this power player continues to play at a high level, only good things can happen for Iran.

Terrence Romeo (Philippines)
This is Romeo's first official FIBA tournament, but he certainly hasn't been playing like an anxious newbie. There really is just one word to describe the way the Filipino plays: fearless. Romeo has never met a shot he has shied away from, and he relishes at the opportunity to take on anyone, even a giant like Hamed Haddadi. He is currently the third leading scorer of the Philippines and leads the team with 2.8 three-point makes per game. As an unpredictable and flamboyant player, Romeo is the yin to the calm and composed Jayson Castro's yang.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

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