FIBA ASIA - Favourites, Chinese Taipei progress in good form

WUHAN (FIBA Asia Championship) - China, Iran, Korea and Japan all recorded large victories to finish the preliminary round of the FIBA Asia Championship and keep their unbeaten records - and their march towards London - in tact.

China defeated the United Arab Emirates by 15 points, Iran made a statement by destroying Uzbekistan by 94 points, Korea swept aside India 84-53 and Japan made light work of Syria, winning 77-55 in the opening game of Day 3.

While this quartet were expected to head the field at this tournament, which has one berth at the London Olympics and two spots at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament on offer, Chinese Taipei have also emerged from the opening three days as a legitimate medal candidate.

The fourth-placed team at this year's East Asia Championship, Taipei trailed Iran by just two points with less than five minutes to play on Day 1 before falling by 12 points, and have since defeated Uzbekistan and a resurgent Qatar by double figure margins.

The key in their two wins has been their outstanding offensive execution and accurate shooting, having connected on 47% from the field to produce 175 points in the two games.

Despite this and their strong showing against Iran, coach Chou Chuan-San believes the team has much to improve on. "Our weakness inside is very obvious. Each match we have to protect our rebounds," he said following their 94-78 win over Qatar, in which they were outrebounded 55-38.

"Shooting at a high percentage is one thing, but we have to find a way to create opportunities to shoot more shots, and that means rebounding. In these three matches we did not protect our rebounds very well and this is something we definitely need to improve for the next round."

The second round at the FIBA Asia Championship will feature Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Iran, Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan in Group E, with Japan, Jordan, Syria, China, Philippines and the United Arab Emirates in Group F.

Action tips off on Monday following a rest day for all teams.

FIBA