Action from yesterday’s FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship 9-10 placings match between hosts Qatar and Jordan and (left) from the semi-final clash between Iran and South Korea, at the Gharafa Indoor Hall. Pictures: Jayaram
China romped their way to a third successive—and 16th overall—final in the FIBA Asia U-18 Championship, at the Gharafa Indoor Hall yesterday.
The defending champions, whose 30th consecutive win in the championship dates back all the way to the 20th edition of the championship in Tehran in 2008, thrashed Chinese Taipei 92-50.
The comprehensive win, which booked China the second of three FIBA Asia berths to the 2015 FIBA U-19 World Championship to be played at Crete (Greece), also puts them in line for their 11th gold medal of the event when they take on Iran for the second time in a Asia U-18 finals.
The last time the two played the final at the 2002 edition of the event in Kuwait, a Yi Jianlian-led China defeated a Hamed Haddadi-led Iran, which was also, incidentally, the last occasion the two giants of Asian basketball met in an U-18 game.
Iran, who are playing their third final of the event have, however, won on both the other occasions—in 2004 at Bangalore and four years later in front of a home crowd at Tehran.
Earlier, Iran scored a comprehensive 60-78 win over Korea to make it to the title round. Down by 10 points at the end of a scrappy first half, when Iran—in their attempt to match fire with fire—seemed to have played into the hands of Korea, they came into their own only after a tongue lashing from the normally reticent IRIBF president Mahamed Mashoun in the locker-room.
Iran, which looked ragged till then, suddenly looked robust with Ali Allahverdi leading the 2004 and 2008 winners’ resurgence. Allahverdi, who had a mere twin free-throws to show for his more than half the presence in the first half, reeled in eight of his dozen points for the game in the third quarter, including scoring six of Iran’s points in an 8-0 run that turned the tables on Korea.
Mohamed Yousuf Vand—the lone player who was carrying forward the grudge of Iran’s defeat at Korea’s hands at the same stage at the 22nd Asia U-18 Championship in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) in 2012—now began to play true to his reputation, accounting for six of his 17 points and nine of his 17 rebounds for the game in the third period with Abdolsamad Soroodi and Navid Rezaeifar playing the perfect support cast.
A team that trailed by double digits going into the locker room break had truly returned not only rejuvenated, but were also in complete control.
Where Iran flourished, Korea floundered. Having began playing to their strength of speed, Korea’s ride depended on their incredible 50% field shooting rate. And that finished the game with a mere 38% spoke for all the difference between the two halfs.
Jeon Hyunwoo was Korea’s leader in scoring with 16 points, but 14 of them came in the first half. Byeon Junhyeong had 13 points, but only three in the second half.
In the 9-10 placings match, hosts Qatar beat Jordan 52-51 in a close encounter.