Bahrain win sends Syria packing as Iran, China win

MELBOURNE (Australia) & ASTANA (Kazakhstan) & ALEPPO (Syria) - Bahrain did the improbable and upended Kazakhstan to book their spot in the second round at the end of Window 3 in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers.

Despite a nightmare start, the Bahrainis defied the odds and upset the erstwhile unbeaten Steppen Wolves, 62-51. Kazakhstan raced to a 24-9 lead at the end of the first period, but coach Mindaugas Lukosius's boys turned the tables big time in the second quarter, outscoring the home team, 28-5, to take the lead for good.

As expected, Devon Dwayne Chism powered Bahrain with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Ahmed Alderazi also impressed with 13 points. Kazakhstan's top gunners shot blanks in this game, with Rustam Murzagaliyev and Nikolay Bazhin combining for 1-of-10 field goal shooting. Dmitriy Gavrilov and Oleg Balashov each had 10 points to pace the losing side.

It was precisely the outcome that Bahrain needed and coupled with Syria's 91-56 loss to Iran, it was enough to advance Bahrain to the next round. Bahrain will join Kazakhstan and Iran in Group F along with Australia, China, and Japan.

Iran won on the road to end their first round campaign thanks to 14 points and 15 rebounds from Hamed Haddadi. Mohammad Jamshidi also did well with 16 points. Nadim Issa had 13 points to lead Syria.

Meanwhile, in the final Group B game, China reasserted their mastery of Chinese Taipei with a 97-56 victory. Coach Du Feng's side dominated nearly every facet of the game from start to finish, ending the first round on a very strong note.

Zhou Qi dominated inside once more with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while fellow big man Wang Zhelin added 16 points and 5 boards. Yu Ai-Che led Chinese Taipei, which will not advance to the next round, with 11 points.

FIBA