Wednesday’s Top 5 Players at the FIBA Asia Challenge 2016

TEHRAN (FIBA Asia Challenge 2016) - Day 6 in the FIBA Asia Challenge 2016 in Tehran, Iran saw the end group play and the forming of the Quarter-Finals pairings. China, Jordan, Chinese Taipei and India advanced from Group E even as Iran, Korea, Japan and Iraq moved on from Group F. Meanwhile, Philippines, Kazakhstan, Qatar and Thailand all got the boot.

FIBA.com presents the Top 5 performers from Wednesday’s contests in Tehran.

Kevin Galloway
Galloway had a whale of a game in Iraq’s triumph over hapless Thailand. The 2.00m forward scored 37 points and was the main driving force for the team’s victory. This is the kind of performance Iraq needs from their naturalized player, and if Galloway can do this again on Friday, they may just pull the rug from under China.

Dar Tucker
Like Galloway, Tucker exploded for 37 points to close out Jordan’s group play. He shot 10-of-15 from the field against an overmatched and fatigued Philippine side while also grabbing 6 boards and dishing out 2 assists. At his best, Tucker has been an unstoppable scoring machine for Jordan, and that’s exactly what they want from him as they try to upend Japan in the next round.

Mohammad Shaher Hussein
Hussein performance seems to be getting better and better with each passing game, and that’s a good sign for Al Nashama. If their 2.06m big man can consistently play as well as any top tier center in this event, they may just break into Semi-Finals and perhaps beyond. Hussein had 26 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and a block against the Philippines.

Hu Jinqiu
In the midst of the mind-boggling scoring displays of Galloway and Tucker was Hu’s quiet but very efficient outing against Chinese Taipei. The 18-year-old marvel shot 7-of-9 from the field to score 24 points and also haul down 11 boards. He padded his line with 3 assists and 1 steal, and he also shot an immaculate 10-of-10 from the stripe. It seems like Hu is the kind of player who just doesn’t do many wrong things on the floor, and coach Li Nan will certainly rely on that as they play dangerous Iraq on Friday.

Mohammed Al-Khafaji
Al-Khafaji is a new face at the Asian level of competition, but that hasn’t stopped him from being a potentially dominant performer. He showed exactly how good he could be by recording 19 points and 11 rebounds against anundersized Thai quintet. The 2.06m big man ran the floor well for Iraq and was the recipient of a number of passes that led to emphatic slam dunks. If he can put up another strong showing against China in their next game, Iraq’s chances of advancing further will surely shoot up.

FIBA