Iran rally to beat Japan; Philippines, China remain perfect as Group Phase ends

TEHRAN (Iran) - Mohammad Amini and Sarem Jafari came through to complete Iran's epic comeback and beat Japan, 68-66, in the last match of the FIBA U18 Asian Championship 2022 Group Phase, Tuesday night at the Azadi Basketball Hall.

The two joined hands in the endgame, with Jafari sinking the game-tying triple with 2:35 left that Amini followed up with a tough bucket off a drive over a minute later to put them up for good, much to the delight of the home crowd.

Their foes tried to save themselves but to no avail, and the hosts erupted in jubilation when the final buzzer sounded as they emerged triumphant after being down by as much as 28 points to end the Group Phase with a win.

Amini led Team Melli with 23 points and 6 rebounds, while Jafari chipped in 8 points, 5 rebounds, a steal, and a block as the crew got fired up by the pep talk none other than the legendary Samad Nikkhah Bahrami gave at halftime.

The trio of Yuto Kawashima, Hiyuu Ozawa, and Akira Jacobs all scored 13 points apiece in the heartbreaking defeat for Japan.

RESULTS
Qatar 83-66 Syria
Philippines 84-73 Chinese Taipei
China 89-74 Korea
Iran 68-66 Japan

TOP PERFORMERS
Mason Amos (PHI) 30 EFF 28 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 12-20 FG
Liu Lijia (CHN) 28 EFF 18 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
Moustapha Ndao (QAT) 23 EFF 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
Yang Hansen (CHN) 22 EFF 7 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 6 blocks
Mohammad Amini (IRI) 23 EFF 23 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks

DAILY RECAP
Qatar finally broke through into the Group C win column by handing Syria their third loss in as many games, 83-66, to open the Group Phase's final day.

Moustapha Ndao top-scored with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Mohammed Hashim Abbasher had 14 points and 8 rebounds as the two presided over the telling second quarter run to take control of the match.

They starred in the 19-4 scoring spree to turn a narrow two-point lead to a wide 42-25 advantage with 3:33 to go, marking the start of a one-sided affair that saw Qatar lead by as many as 24 points later in the game.

Omar Alfarouk Makanas had 20 points and 8 rebounds to lead Syria, who tried to stage a comeback late by trimming the gap to just 12 points until Ndao and Abbasher came through for their side to seal the win.

Mason Amos starred for the Philippines yet again, lifting his side past Chinese Taipei, 83-74, to sweep Group C in the second game.

The 2.01 M (6'7") forward fired 28 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter to lead Gilas Youth's comeback after being down 10 early. He scored five in a 7-0 run for the 70-64 lead with 6:46 left that put them up the rest of the way.

 

Amos shot 60-percent from the floor, spiked by four triples. He also grabbed 6 rebounds and 3 assists en route to an efficiency rating of 30. James Nacua helped out with 16 points, as Jared Bahay had 8 points and 10 assists

Chun Sheng Chang led Chinese Taipei with 24 points and 6 rebounds as they finished the group stage with a 2-1 record. Te Chi Hsu and Chun Yen Kuo had 14 and 11 markers, respectively, in the defeat.

Finishing the preliminaries unscathed as well are China, who dominated Korea by way of an 89-74 victory to clinch the top spot in Group B at 2-0.

Five players scored in double figures in the win, with Liu Lijia and Wang Haoran tallying 18 points and 9 rebounds each to lead the pack. Liu Jinyu also had 18, as Zhang Junhao and Sun Yaohu added 13 and 11, respectively.

Yang Hansen didn't score in twin digits but greatly made his presence felt. The 2.16 M (7'1") center finished with 7 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, and an eye-popping 6 blocks, easily the most in this tourney.

Lee Juyeong had 24 points to lead Korea in the loss. They actually scored the game's first two points but allowed their counterparts to score 13 straight, and they'd play catch up since then.

Wrapping up the Group Phase was Iran's 68-66 win over Japan in easily one of the biggest comebacks in the U18 Asian tournament.

The home team actually started out hot with eight unanswered points, but its offense suddenly went cold that allowed Japan to end the first quarter with a blazing 24-6 run to build a 24-14 advantage.

Akatsuki Japan went on to lead by as many as 28 points but huge thanks to the Asian icon's pep talk, the young Team Melli slowly chipped away the gap, until Jafari and Amini came through with the most important shots of the night.

FIBA