2018 Asian Games Recap: August 21st - 22nd
Jordan Clarkson for the Philippines and China's Liu Zhixuan at the Asian Games. Picture: Nazvi Careem, South China Morning Post.
Everything that happened in both men's and women's tournaments across two days of basketball action at the 2018 Asian Games:
Women's Tournament
Opening with nine unanswered points against Kazakhstan, Korea kept their opponents at a regular double-digit distance with superior close-range play, ball movement and defence, making 22 steals and forcing the Kazakhs into 29 turnovers. Ro Suk Yong and Park Hyejin led all scorers with 19 and 13 points respectively for Korea, who dominated proceedings and stay second in their group with a final score of 85-57.
Aya Watanabe opened the scoring early for Japan against Thailand, and kept up her long-range accuracy for the game’s entirety on her way to a game-high 27 points. Japan played well as a team and tough defence, which saw them limit Thailand to just two points in the entire fourth quarter. There was only one outcome in this game, the win was Japan’s and by fifty points.
After a close start to the game, Chinese Taipei scored twelve unanswered against Indonesia and did not look back. Their 42-point half time lead showed the extent of Chinese Taipei’s rampant offence, as did their fourteen threes, and they finished the game on top by 115 points to 51. Huang Lingchuan had a game-high 26 points for Chinese Taipei, who also saw 22 from Cheng Ihsiu and 19 from Chen Yenyu, as they top their group undefeated.
Korea's win will take them above Kazakhstan in Group A, the final game of which will see Indonesia take on India for the final qualifying spot. All that is left to decide in Group B, meanwhile, is the final standings, as Japan, Thailand, China and Mongolia have all secured their quarter final spot, meaning it's the end of the road for Hong Kong.
Men's Tournament
It was a high-scoring game between South Korea and Thailand, but playing better as a team and better identifying scoring opportunities, it was the Koreans who had the advantage. Thailand shot 50% from the field and saw four players score in double digits, while a good rebounding and three-point show from Korea helped keep them firmly in the lead. With 61 points between Ricardo Ratliffe, Kang Sangjae and Jeon Junbeom, South Korea secured first place in Group A, winning 117-77 over Thailand, whose fate is now out of their hands.
Shiu Wah Leung had an amazing performance with 35 points for Hong Kong, who looked determined in their final group game against Japan. The Japanese were now limited to only eight players, but shooting 50% from the field they managed to overcome a tight first half and lead by nine ahead of the fourth quarter. Hong Kong narrowed the gap with three minutes left, but finding the best inside looks, Japan were able to keep their heads above water and win the game by six points.
Jordan Clarkson finally made his debut for the Philippines and finished with 28 points against China. Zhou Qi put in an equally impressive show of 25 points for China, who had the better inside looks in a game that became more and more heated as it went on.
Philippines trailed by ten in the fourth quarter, but Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle helped lift them to lead by three with less than 1:30 on the clock. Zhao Rui would be the hero for China, though, as a final fast break layup and two from the line from him would win the game for his team in the last minute, by 82 points to 80.
South Korea's second round place is confirmed, while Thailand will have to wait for the result of the final Group A game. Japan's win does not secure them passage to the quarter-finals, but Hong Kong's loss relegates them to the classification round. The tentative situation in three-team Group D means nothing will be decided until play in the group is over.
Tomorrow will see the concluding group stage games for the women, and the all-important matchup between China and Kazakhstan in the men's tournament. All the information on the Asian Games can be found on the event's official website.
