Qatar take on Japan today in FIBA Asian C’ship

Agencies/Manila

The suspension of Lebanon by FIBA means that all the three teams in the group – Qatar, Japan and Hong Kong –  will advance to the next round, although the results in the first round can have a bearing on the teams’ chances in the second phase of the tournament. Hong Kong would certainly be pleased with their progress to the second round being handed on a platter, but Qatar and Japan who are in the hunt for a place in the quarter-finals have their work cut out.

Qatar are reinforced by the naturalisation of Jarvis Hayes, the 10th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, but the fitness of the other players will come under serious strain and scrutiny.

Tom Wisman, the venerable and experienced coach that he is, has already called on his players to play “smart basketball” to preserve energy.

“My players know that they have the experience and can play well. The challenge for them is to play against the guys who can quicken the game with fresher legs,” Wisman said.

“What counts is how many wins we can take through. The Japan game is important for us. Then in the second round, we’re going to face three back-to-back hard matches against three Group A outfits. We expect Jordan, the Philippines and Chinese Taipei to be quite tough,” he said.

Interestingly, Wisman’s first “tough” opponent is a team he coached two years ago at the 26th FIBA Asia Championship at Wuhan (China). And more interestingly the current Japan coach Kimikazu Suzuki has retained most of the methods Wisman implemented with the Team Hayabusa.

Suzuki’s faith in old warhorse JR Sakuragi – as a naturalised player – will be put to severe test under these conditions, but Japan have the likes of Kosuke Kanamaru and Kosuke Takeuchi to steer their campaign. Young talent Yuta Watanabe is also aiming to make a mark.

Meanwhile, reigning champions China have revised their team following a spate of injuries. Out of the original list submitted earlier are guards Han Shuo and Liu Wei along with young centre Li Muhao who make way for veterans Wang Zhizhi and Zhu Fangyu along with promising playmaker Guo Ailun.

At the 27th FIBA Asia Championship, China looking for a record 16th gold medal in this event, are drawn with Iran, Korea and Malaysia in Group C of the Prelim Round. They start their campaign with a game against archrivals Korea.