Haddadi, Saoud and Ratliffe stand out at the end of the First Round of the Asian Qualifiers

BEIRUT (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - The First Round of the Asian Qualifiers concluded  and there were a number of jaw dropping performances.

Across the three windows of the first round, it was a combination of familiar and new faces from Iran, Korea, Lebanon and Iraq who showed up for their respective teams. 

Interestingly, top teams like New Zealand, Australia and China didn't have too many individual stars leading the overall stats. But that makes sense when you consider their deep rosters. 

Triple Double Threat

While Iraq may have been knocked out,  Demario Mayfield has announced himself as one of the best guards in the Asian region. Mayfield was the only player to have a triple-double game across all regions of these Qualifiers, against Qatar on 2nd July (27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists).

Phenomenal from the Field

Lebanese sharpshooter Amir Saoud was the only player in Asia to have made 50% or more of his attempted field goals, 50% or more of his attempted 3-pointers and 100% his free throw attempts!

Single Game Highest Scorer

Korea's new naturalized center Ricardo Ratliffe has been an absolute beast in the First Round.  His 43 points against Hong Kong on July 1 is the most any player has scored in a single game of the Qualifiers, across all regions.

Master of the boards

Iran's legendary centre Hamed Haddadi returned to the squad in the second window and immediately made his presence felt. Notably, he grabbed 20 rebounds against Kazakhstan on 22nd February 2018, the most any player has tallied in a single game of the Qualifiers, across all regions.

20 and 10

We have Demario Mayfield and Ricardo Ratliffe again in this category. Both had three games with 20+ points and 10+ rebounds, the most in the Asian Qualifiers region.

20 and 20!

 Hamed Haddadi was the only player with a 20 points and 20 rebounds game in these Qualifiers, among all regions. This stat sheet stuffing performance came against Kazakhstan on 22nd February. It was a timely effort, as Team Melli was keen to reassert itself after losing to Iraq in the first window. 

FIBA