2018 Asian Games Recap: August 27th
Eight teams took a step closer to the ultimate goal - to medal in the men's tournament at the Asian Games. With a loss now meaning elimination, it was all to play for in a highly competitive quarter-final bracket:
South Korea and Philippines were evenly matched in the first quarter-final, in which the result went back and forth between the teams. The Koreans went from down by eight in the third to re-take the lead in the fourth, and a decisive close-range scoring run would help them clinch victory. 25 points from Jordan Clarkson would not be enough for the Philippines, as South Korea make the semi-finals winning here by nine, with 30 points and 14 rebounds from Ricardo Ratliffe.
Iran had a noticeable physical advantage over Japan, as they were dominant from close range and on both offensive and defensive boards. Hamed Haddadi made a double-double of 22 points and 16 rebounds for Iran with his team mate Sajjad Mashayekhi had 17 points of his own in their dominant 93-67 win over Japan.
After trailing Chinese Taipei early on, Tarek Aljabi led the fight back for Syria on his way to a game-high 28 points. Having won the half-time lead, though, Syria then had to fight to keep it, and despite their effectiveness from close range, Chen Yingchun and Liu Cheng propelled Chinese Taipei back into the lead and onto the eventual final result of 82-75.
Jamarr Johnson had 20 and Akiri Winsu scored 18 points for Indonesia, but China were very much in control of the last of the quarter finals. Making over half of their field attempts and fifteen three-pointers, as well as showing better team cohesion and defence, it was a very impressive performance from the Chinese. Abudushalamu Abudurexiti had a game-high 24 points for China, who saw off the host nation 98-63 on their way to the semi-finals.
The men's tournament will continue on August 30th, when South Korea will take on Iran and a clash of neighbours will ensue, as Chinese Taipei play China for a place in the final. Until then, more on the Asian Games and full details on all basketball so far can be found by following this link to the official website.
