2011 FIBA Asia Champions Cup: An insight into the Quarterfinals
The 2011 FIBA Asia Champions Cup has finally boiled down to the best eight teams and there is no longer any room for strugglers. Four premier teams from each group, have qualified for the quarterfinals that kick off today and
the equation is pretty simple - keep winning to be a part of the contention or pack your bags and say good bye to the medal hopes.
The eight top club teams had a day rest to recharge their batteries and revise their strategies for the knockout round, which will be played at the Phil Sports Arena. The teams that have reached the quarter finals are:
1. Al Riyadi (Libya) vs. Duhok (Iraq)
2. Mahram (Iran) vs. Al Ittihad (Saudi Arab)
3. Smart Gilas Pilipinas (Philippines) vs. Al Jalaa (Syria)
4. ASU (Jordan) vs. Al Rayyan (Qatar)
The host team Smart Gilas Pilipinas have emerged as one of the favourites in the contest after winning all four of their Group A games in the preliminary round. The host have a couple of outstanding players in the shape of Joseph
Evans Casio and Christopher John Tiu. The duo has been a constant double-double threat in this tournament and with a vocal crowd behind their backs in the knockout stage; they are only going to get better. The most dominating aspect of Gilas play has been
their brilliant team work. The team from Philippines will take on the Syrian Champions Al Jalaa in the game-3 of the quarterfinals.
Al Jalaa have already lost three meetings in the tournament. Mensur Bajramovic, Al Jalaa’s coach is however determined to give tough time to the favourites and is looking for a fresh start. “It was a different game at a different
venue at a different time. Things are entirely different now,”
The only win for Al Jalaa in the tournament so far came against the Al Shabab of UAE, who failed to win even a single game in the tournament.
The game-1 will be played between Al Riyadi of Lebanon and Duhok of Iraq. Riyadi are the favourites between the two teams due to the fact that Iraqi team managed to win only one game against the Malaysian’s KL Dragons, whereas
Al Riyadi have won four, including a magnificent victory over the two times defending Champions Mahram of Iran.
To top it off, the Lebanese are rearing to make their mark. Riyadi’s coach Fouad Abouchakra stated recently, “It’s been long overdue that we won this competition and proved what we are capable of,”
The champs Mahram will be playing against the Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad in the game-2 and are expected to pull off a win. The last meeting of the day will showcase a battle between Jordan’s Applied Science University and last year’s
runner up Al Rayyan of Qatar. Both the teams have been very impressive during the tournament and this matchup is perhaps the only one on the night, that is difficult to call.
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