You give me FIBA (Asia)!

I have not done so well on tipping winners in this tournament… congratulations must go to

IRAN!

Who defeated Lebanon in the final of the ’07 FIBA Asia 74-69. Going into the game as underdogs, the Iran unit lifted their game to not only match, but surpass their much-touted opponent. It was definitely a case of strength & skill versus inspiration, and this time inspiration won out. Lebanon played well, but had no answer for the passion of Iran.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Top Sports Stories in Japan… (August 6)

Man… the cicadas are screamin’ today… so noisy! One of the ‘pleasures’ of summer…

Today’s headlines in sports in Japan:

• Asashoryu close to breakdown (sumo)… [Daily Yomiuri]
• Qatar beats Japan for 7th place (FIBA Asia)… [Daily Yomiuri]
• Yet again, Giants beat Swallows (NPB)… [Daily Yomiuri]

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

All you need’s a strong heart and nerves of steel… FIBA in Asia!

Viva? Ok… well, the semi-finals both produced some somewhat unexpected results:

Lebanon defeated South Korea 76-74. Fadi El Khatib was clearly the best player in the game with 32 points, and could well be the player of the tournament.

Iran ran away comfortable winners over Kazakhstan, 75-62. This sets up an all-West-Asia final – Iran versus Lebanon. Should be a good game, but I’m not sure that Iran has anyone to answer to El Khatib. Lebanon to win a tight one, and take the championship.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

FIBA, be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade

Enough of the ol’ tunes… FIBA Asia results – end of the rounds.

• Philippines comfortably beat Kuwait 89-58
• China destroyed UAE 100-55
• Syria annihilated India 105-54
• Indonesia def Hong Kong 81-78
• Qatar beat Chinese Taipei 87-74
• Kazakhstan just beat Sth Korea 75-73
• Lebanon had a victory over Iran 82-60
• Japan just beat Jordan 71-68

In tomorrow’s semi-final round, Lebanon will play South Korea, and Kazakhstan plays Iran.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Top Sports Stories in Japan… (August 3)

Yay! A Deadspin link! We love Deadspin links… thanks a heap for that guys!

Top stories in Japanese sports today…

• Japan eliminated from FIBA Asia – no chance of Olympics… [Daily Yomiuri]
• Asashoryu on last chance… [Daily Yomiuri]
• JSA cannot control Asashoryu… [Daily Yomiuri]
• Takashi has a Giant win… [Daily Yomiuri]

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

FIBA Asia – Japan knocked down by South Korea!

Sth Korea were able to pick up a decisive victory against Japan, defeating the hosts (for their second straight defeat) 93-83. Japan are struggling on the ropes now, but they still have a chance (tho’ quite lessened) of making the next round.

In other matches on Day 5…

• China thumped Indonesia 102-47
• Philippines beat up on India 104-69
• Syria whalloped Kuwait 109-69
• Hong Kong beat UAE 87-64
• Jordan beat Kazakhstan 82-73
• Lebanon had a training run on Chinese Taipei 95-64
• Iraq defeated Qatar 95-87

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

FIBA Asia – Japan loses!!!

Fairly huge news in Asian basketball, Kazakhstan has downed the hosts Japan. Japan were (still are?) one of the favourites for the tournament, in which Olympic berths are the prize. With a 93-85 scoreline, the game could’ve gone either way… but Anton Ponomarev, Rustam Yargaliyew and Yevgeniy Issakov were all up to the task of keeping Nippon at bay.

In other games on Day 4 (worth noting, none of the absolute thrashings we’ve seen on other days):

• Philippines defeated Syria in a high-scoring affair 107-100
• China beat Hong Kong 93-69
• Kuwait just got past India 72-68
• UAE fell just short of beating Indonesia, losing 81-83
• Iran beat Chinese Taipei 76-64
• South Korea beat Jordan 70-65
• Lebanon defeated Qatar 90-68

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::