MANGILAO (Guam) - China finished as the top team in Group C of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers after downing Guam, 86-78, at the Calvo Fieldhouse Sunday.
Far from their dominant form against Japan last Thursday, Team Dragon did just enough especially down the stretch to pull off the victory - a result that proved crucial for the bottom two in the pool that included the very team they just beat.
The Guamanians, despite the defeat, managed to clinch the third spot with a 1-5 record as they avoided losing by 24 or more against the traditional contenders.
Mongolia, who earlier yielded to Japan by way of an 89-79 result in Ulaanbaatar, needed the team of Coach EJ Calvo to lose by that many points in order to secure the said seeding and enter the Qualifying Tournament for Third-Place Teams.
But Guam were just too tough a nut to crack, so much so that they threatened to pull off an upset against the Chinese when they cut what was once a 16-point deficit to just seven, 83-76, behind a Takumi Simon triple from the corner with 1:03 to go.
Zhu Junlong, however, answered back with a trey of his own to push their lead back to a decade, 86-76, with 36.3 seconds left, all but sealing the result.
As tough as it was to lose on home soil again, Guam kept their heads up high as they're set to compete in the final qualification phase for the tournament proper.
Mongolia, on the other hand, may have to wait for another four years for a crack at the Asia Cup as they bowed out of contention with a record similar to that of Guam.
Yang Hansen top-scored for China with 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting and 9 rebounds. Zhao Rui finished with a 15-5-5 stat line, while Hu Jinqiu supplied 14 points as the charges of Coach Guo Shiqiang finished the Qualifiers with a 5-1 record.
Leading Guam's brave stand was veteran center Tai Wesley with a game-high 32 points and 8 rebounds as he made it hard for China's younger frontline.
Japan survive Blue Wolves scare
Finishing second in Group C, meanwhile, are Japan (5-1) after surviving the Blue Wolves at the UG Arena in easily one of the Qualifiers' most thrilling matches.
Ren Kanechika landed the biggest of blows down the stretch, hitting two three-pointers that changed the complexion of the game after the team caught itself staring at a one-point deficit, 78-79, with exactly four minutes left.
He nailed the first to give themselves the lead for good, 81-79, and then made another one shortly after Alex Kirk's split from the line for the dagger, 85-79, approaching the final two minutes that took the fight out of their foes.
A two-handed jam by Kirk and then a floater by Kai Toews proved to be the icing on the cake as the AKATSUKI JAPAN closed the game with 11 unanswered points.
Kirk top-scored in the triumph with an impressive double-double of 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field - he was 8-of-10 as well from the charity stripe - and 17 rebounds, together with 2 assists and 2 blocks to net an efficiency of 40.
Toews finished with 23 points, spiked by five treys, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists with 3 steals. Kanechika supplied 15 points on a quintet of threes as well, as both players submitted their best performances of the tourney in their campaign closer.
Three players also finished in double figures for the gallant Mongolia, with guard Margad Erdenetsetseg leading the way with 14 points on three treys.
Azbayar Antangerel made 13 points while Enkhbayasgalan Amarbayasgalan added 11, including four straight to give them the 79-78 lead that gave hope to a side that was looking to boost their bid of claiming the no. 3 spot in the group.
But then, Kanechika happened as Japan refused to give up, putting together a strong windup in another proof of why they're one of the favorites in the Asia Cup.
FIBA