26th FIBA Asia Championship 21 Sep Review: Philippines and China record wins: (Part-3)
Philippines 75 – Syria 52
On Wednesday, Philippines registered their third straight victory in the second stage of the Asian Championship. Marcus Douthit once again turned out to be the star of the show for the Filipinos and landed a game-high 20 points
and 6 rebounds to spearhead his team to a 75-52 win over Syria.
For the Syrians, Muhia Kasaballi was the top performer with 11 points and five boards.
Trailing by 11-14 with the start of the second quarter, Syria retaliated swiftly and overpowered Philippines 21-9 to gain a comprehensive 32-23 lead, taking the command of the game.
However Syria failed to maintain their momentum in the third quarter. Philippines completely turned the tide in the frame and converted their 9 point deficit at the break into a 49-45 lead before entering the final quarter. They
never looked back after that and outscored the Syrians 26-7 to seal the win.
China 84 – Japan 58
Hosts China clinched their six straight victory in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship on Wednesday night after they Japan 84-58. China is now one of only two teams in tournaments – other being Iran – who will enter the quarterfinals
round with a clean sheet. Japan on the other hand fell to 3-2 record in Group F.
Former New Jersey Nets star Yi Jianlian notched up a magnificent double-double with 18 points and 13 boards to power China on the night.
China kept Japan under the cosh right from the tip-off and by the time the first quarter ended, they were leading by 21-16. Things got rosier in the second quarter for the Chinese, who by that time had got the measure of the Japanese
defense. They outscored the Japanese 23-14 went into the break leading by 14.
The Japanese managed to keep the Chinese offensive battery under check in the second half, but came nowhere close to slashing the double digit hole; they succumbed to in the first half.
The outcome of the game however didn’t affect the quarterfinal journey of both the teams. China will face Lebanon to grab a spot in the semi-finals while Japan will take on South Korea in the quarterfinals.
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