Hong Kong China get Pre-Qualifiers revenge; Philippines shake off Thailand in 19th Asian Games

HANGZHOU (China) - Among the teams with the upper hand according to the FIBA World Ranking Men presented by NIKE, only one were not able to claim a win in the second day of Men's Basketball in the 19th Asian Cup.

Key Storylines

-China, Japan, Iran, Korea, Jordan start strong
-Philippines shake off Thailand in second half
-Kazakhstan stay in race to advance with win
-Hong Kong, China get Asia Cup 2025 Pre-Qualifiers revenge

Recap

Host China continue to roll through the Asia Games, getting their second win over Chinese Taipei 89-69. Zhang Zhelin had another double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds (also with 4 assists), but Zhao Jiwei led for China with 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Japan balanced out the minutes and offense in their win over Indonesia, 70-57, with 10 players scoring at least 3 points. Only one surpassed the 10-point mark in Kazuki Hosokawa who led Japan with 17 points, but it was more than enough.

 

Iran jumped out to big quarters from tipoff and out of the halftime break, building up the lead they needed to defeat Saudi Arabia 81-66. Thee players scored at least 15 points for Iran, while Arsalan Kazemi had an all-around game of 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Jordan also enjoyed an explosive start on their way to an 84-60 win over Bahrain. They started the first quarter by going up 28-8 and never looked back. Ahmad Al Dwairi was impressive in this game with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists.

 

Korea had no issues on their end as well, going up against Qatar and coming out victorious 76-64. Ra GunA posted a classic line of 23 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.

 

The Philippines had to take some time but were eventually able to break away for an 87-72 win over Thailand. They had even trailed by 2 points at the end of the first quarter but were never rattled as they made their way back and built a big enough lead to stay ahead through to the end.

 

Kazakhstan scored an important win over UAE, 59-49, to keep their hopes of advancing to the next phase of the competition. The Steppen Wolves allowed only 6 points in the final quarter while scoring 15 of their own to seal the deal.

 

Another team that secured an important victory for their hopes of getting that Qualification to the Quarter-Finals ticket was Hong Kong, China who defeated Mongolia, 69-64. It was a rematch from their previous clash at the Asia Cup 2025 Pre-Qualifiers in February this year where Mongolia beat Hong Kong, China 76-69. The veteran leadership presence of both Lee Ki and Duncan Reid was undeniably the key factor in this game as they helped their team to the win.

Upcoming Games (29 September)

Women's Basketball

Kazakhstan vs Japan 13:30 (GMT +8)
Hong Kong, China vs Philippines 13:30 (GMT +8)
DPR Korea vs Korea 17:30 (GMT +8)
Thailand vs Chinese Taipei 17:30 (GMT +8)
Indonesia vs China 20:00 (GMT +8)
Mongolia vs India 20:00 (GMT +8)

FIBA