FIBA Asia Championships 2015: Quarterfinals Results and Reaction

The top eight men's basketball teams in Asia continued their pursuit of a spot in the 2016 Summer Olympics Thursday as the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship quarterfinals were staged at the Changsha Social Work College Gymnasium in Changsha, China. 

Iran, Qatar, China and the Philippines entered their respective contests as fairly significant favorites to advance to the semifinals, but upstart squads such as South Korea, Japan, India and Lebanon aimed to provide stiff challenges, as they entered their games with few expectations and little to lose.

Although Iran, China and Gilas Pilipinas all did what they were supposed to do by advancing fairly comfortably, Qatar wasn't so fortunate.

Here is a rundown of the results from Thursday's quarterfinal matchups, as well as a closer look at how they came to be.

Quarterfinal Scores

Game	Team 1	Team 2	Score
QF1	Iran	South Korea	75-62, Iran
QF2	Japan	Qatar	81-67, Japan
QF3	India	China	China 104, India 58
QF4	Philippines	Lebanon	Philippines 82, Lebanon 70

Quarterfinal Recap

Iran 75, South Korea 62

Iran's defense of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship continued in impressive fashion Thursday as it earned a quality 75-62 win over South Korea in a game that was never truly in doubt.

Both teams received modest contributions throughout their lineups, but as is so often the case, Iranian center Hamed Haddadi was the difference. He led all players with 18 points and 14 rebounds in one of his best performances of the tournament so far.

Iran imposed its will from the start as it jumped out to a 23-8 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Korea continued to fight, as it actually outscored Iran in the second and fourth quarters, but the game was essentially already decided very early on.

According to Musong R. Castillo of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Iranian head coach Dirk Bauermann believes his team's hot start is what ultimately put it over the top:

"

I thought that our players understood that the Korean team tends to play well early in games. They understood that we had to come out hard and win the first five minutes of the game. 

That's what we did, we came out very focused and played great defensively. When you do that, it makes the rest of the game so much easier. 

That was an outstanding performance against a good offensive team.

"

Here is a look at the game's highlights, courtesy of FIBA's official YouTube account:

South Korea received 10 points each from Kim Jong-kyu and Moon Tae-young, but nobody was able to take control of the game like Haddadi did for Iran.

The Iranians led by 16 entering the fourth and final quarter, which allowed them to take the air out of the ball to some degree and get their superstar player some rest, per TJ Manotoc of ABS-CBN:

The teams remaining in this tournament have played a lot of basketball over the past several days, so keeping Haddadi fresh promises to be a big key to Iran's success moving forward.

Iran did what it was supposed to do Thursday in a game it had to win, but the level of competition will get even tougher over the next couple rounds.

Japan 81, Qatar 67

In perhaps the closest game of the day on paper in terms of the skill level of both teams involved, Japan upended Qatar 81-67 in a mild surprise as Qatar entered the quarters as the No. 2 seed in Group F.

Japan led from wire to wire as it seized a 28-13 lead in the opening quarter. The teams were very even after that with Qatar outscoring Japan by a single point the rest of the way, but that was nowhere near enough to mount a comeback.

Here are some of the contest's top highlights from FIBA's YouTube page:

The win marks the furthest the Japanese squad has advanced in the FIBA Asia Championship in nearly two decades, according to David Hein of HeinNews.com:

Both Japan and Qatar had four players score in double figures, but Japan's output was more impactful, as Takatoshi Furukawa led all scorers with 22 points, Makoto Hiejima added 17 and Joji Takeuchi dropped another 15.

Former Jackson State star guard Trey Johnson led the way for Qatar with 16 points; however, he didn't receive nearly enough offensive support from his teammates.

Japan hasn't qualified for the Olympics in men's basketball since 1976, and while it is still considered somewhat of a long shot to do so, the fact that it is in the semifinals means it has a puncher's chance.

The team showed off its offensive depth and ability to knock down shots from long range against Qatar, and if it can keep those things going moving forward, then it will continue to be a threat in the semis.

China 104, India 58

Eric Gay/Associated Press

In a clash between the world's two most-populous nations, China cruised to an easy victory in front of its home fans Thursday as it drubbed India by a score of 104-58.

India was a massive underdog against a Chinese team that has yet to lose at this year's FIBA Asia Championship, and that certainly manifested itself as China was never truly challenged.

China outscored India by at least eight points in every quarter, including a 15-point advantage in the second quarter, which gave it an insurmountable 23-point lead at the break.

Here is a rundown of the highlights, courtesy of FIBA's YouTube account:

One of the biggest stars in Chinese basketball history didn't disappoint as Yi Jianlian led the team with 21 points and seven rebounds to go along with three assists. He was aided by Xiaochuan Zhai, Peng Zhou and Ailun Guo, who combined for an additional 39 points.

India was essentially a two-man show Thursday as Vishesh Bhriguvanshi paced all scorers with 22 points, and Yadwinder Singh scored 16. Aside from them, the rest of the team netted just 20 points in all.

China entered the tournament as one of the top contenders since it is at home and has qualified for every Summer Olympic Games since 1976.

The 15 time FIBA Championship gold medalists are well on their way to another, and while a semifinal meeting with Iran could prove to be a major stumbling block, the Chinese have to be considered the favorites based upon what they have accomplished thus far.

Philippines 82, Lebanon 70

There was no shortage of pressure on Gilas Pilipinas to win Thursday after watching the likes of Iran and China advance earlier, and that is precisely what they did by defeating Lebanon 82-70.

Few gave the Lebanese side a realistic chance to beat the Philippines, especially after Gilas' recent victory over Iran. Even so, Lebanon entered the game with a bit of confidence and swagger thanks to head coach Veselin Metic.

Although Metic played up his team's role as the underdog, he also said that his team could match up with the Philippines "easy," according to ABS-CBN.

Lebanon was able to hang tough, but Metic's comments clearly fired up Gilas Pilipinas as they led for nearly the entire game. Jayson Castro and Andray Blatche combined for 49 points as Lebanon could never figure out how to slow them down.

Blatche took Metic's words to heart perhaps more so than anyone as he referenced them during the heat of competition, per TJ Manotoc of ABS-CBN:

The former Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets star also used his 24 points and 17 rebounds to control the pro-Lebanon crowd, as seen in this video from FIBA on YouTube:

Gilas are very much on a roll right now as they are undefeated since losing their FIBA Asia Championship opener to Palestine.

They will move on to face a gutsy, gritty Japanese team in the semifinals, but in terms of overall talent and depth, the Philippines have the advantage.

Provided Gilas Pilipinas can get through that challenge, things are setting up for them to face either Iran or host China in the final with an Olympic spot on the line.

The Philippines hasn't played in the Olympics since 1972, however, that drought may be on the verge of coming to an end.

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