UAE beaten in FIBA Asian Championships opener

Dubai: Yi Jianlian's 14-point first quarter output railroaded UAE early in the game as FIBA Asia Championships host China scored an 82-59 victory in their Group F-final round game in Tianjin, China.

Yi, who plays for the New Jersey Nets and Milwaukee Bucks in the US National Basketball Association, scored six in a row, including converting twin free-throws, to cap China's 14-0 run towards the end of the first quarter.

UAE, fought back in the next two quarters – matching their powerhouse rivals 16-16 in the second and outscoring China 21-15 in the third.

However, the Chinese broke away with a 12-4 blitz in the first five minutes of the last quarter.

UAE sank to 0-3 and their chances of barging into the quarterfinal look bleak.

“I am proud of the way these boys played against such a mighty opposition,'' said UAE coach Mounir Ben Slimane.

“They played without fearing the reputation and size of the opponents. And that's a major plus from this game for us.'' Mounir

Rashed Alzaabi was the highest scorer for UAE with 20 points. Jasim Abdalla contributed 12 and Ali Alhattawi chipped in with 11 points.

In other Group F results, Lebanon needed a fourth quarter three-pointer to defeat Qatar 73-63 in their pivotal Group F eight-final round game.

The win took Lebanon to a 2-1 win-loss record and enhanced chances of finishing third in the Group. Qatar slumped to 1-2. Jordan fought a lack of rhythm to beat an equally off-colour Kazakhstan 98-80.

Both China and Jordan have a 3-0 win-loss record, while both Kazakhstan and UAE are 0-3.

In Group E, Iran and Korea continued their unbeaten spree heading towards their Wednesday's clash, in all probability a play off for the top place in the Group.

Iran demolished Japan 101-71 after Korea had opened the day's proceedings with a clinical 78-58 decimation of Kuwait. Iran and Korea both have a 3-0 record, while Kuwait and Japan are both 0-3.

The Philippines rode on James Yap's superb shooting show in the third quarter, supported by some airtight defence, to beat Chinese Taipei 77-70.
The Philippines have a 2-1 record in the Group as against Chinese Taipei's 1-2.

Yap, a former Philippine Basketball Association MVP, sank four of six three-pointers as Philippines outscored Taipei 29-19 in the third quarter – and scored 15 of his game-high 23 points in the third quarter.

Willie Miller Jr had an all-round consistent shooting performance and scored 17 points for Philippines, converting all his five three-pointer attempts.