The Tough Basketball Competition in Asian Games :: Quarterfinals :: Semifinals :: Finals

The road to the gold medals will inevitably be fierce as teams will try to put up a decent game to pull through…
The quarterfinals cast of the basketball competition is now complete in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China although there were a lot of shocking reversals that took place in the wild and erratic Group F. The teams advancing to the quarterfinal round from Group F are Japan, Iran, the Philippines and Qatar, whilst China, South Korea, Jordan and North Korea of Group G also barges into the knock out stages. Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Chinese-Taipei and India miss the bus to the quarters, and interestingly Kazakhstan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia doesn’t send their respective basketball national teams in the Games which would’ve been tough contenders too in the basketball event .

The scrappy and tough Japan side proves to be the surprise package of the tournament thus far as it surprised Asian basketball Champion Iran with a squeaker 57-56 and another thrilling win over medal contender the Philippines 60-58 to pace Group F with 4 win and 1 loss slate.

The Japanese which parades a taller and faster team this time will lean on NBA veteran Yuta Tabuse and the fiery brother tandem of Kosuke Takeuchi and Joji Takeuchi against their quarterfinal foe North Korea. The perennial favorite China which swept Group F will tackle dangerous Qatari team and is expected to use their edge on height, crisp outside sniping and deliberate plays. The Qatari team is the only team that scored a win over Japan in the Group

The Philippines which didn’t compete in the men’s basketball tournament in the last staging of Asian Games in Busan, South Korea pins it hopes on skipper Chris Tiu and Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) seasoned players Asi Taulava and Kelly Williams. The Philippines’ naturalized player Marcus Douthit failed to play for the Philippines and could’ve give the country a big lift on the shaded lane with his huge frame and defensive hustle. His naturalization papers are still on the process of approval.

The Iranian team the current Asian champion and one of the three countries (along with China and South Korea), that competed in Beijing Olympics will have its hands full against fellow Middle East country Jordan.

Dennis Orcollo Newest Filipino World 8-Ball Champion

Former world number one ranked Filipino, Dennis Orcollo joined the ranks of Efren “Bata” Reyes, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Alex Pagulayan, Rubilen Amit and Ronnie Alcano as a world champion in billiards as he outclassed Neils Feijen of the Netherlands 10-3 to collar the much-coveted World 8-Ball Pool Championships at the Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.

Orcollo who hails from Bislig, Surigao del Sur, also won 9-ball gold medal in the last Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China last year and won prestigious tournaments such as the World Pool League, World Pool Masters, Derby City classic, US Bar Table, Billiards Congress of America. He pocketed a whopping $40,000 for his world title conquest at Fujairah.

Orcollo’s medal winning performance in the Asiad in 2010 also earned him the Athlete of the Year Award from the Philippine Sports Association along with World 9-Ball champion Bustamante, fellow gold medalists Biboy Rivera of Bowling and Rey Saludar of Boxing.

The Impressive Philippine Azkals

(News Update and Result Philippines Versus Mongolia, March 15, 2011)

Philippine Azkals lost to Mongolia 1-2 But Still Advances in the Next Round

The Philippines battling extreme weather and chilly wind at -20 degrees Celsius Centigrade lost to Mongolia 1-2 on their second home-and-away game in Ulan Bator in the AFC Champions Cup but still wins the tie via 3-2 aggregate.

But the winning effort of the Mongolians is not enough to help them push through the second round since they lost a 0-2 decision last month and must at least win by a margin of 3 goals.

The Philippines thus  earned a spot in the  Group Stage of the AFC Champions Cup against host and fellow South East Asian rival Myanmar, Palestine and Bangladesh in the

Phil Younghusband scored the first goal of the match but failed to finish the game after suffering a hamstring injury. Mongolia gave the Filipinos as they scored the last two goals of the game to win 2-1 at the end. But the gallant effort of the Mongolians was in a naught since they are trailing the Filipinos 2-3 on points aggregate.

(News Updates: Philippine Azkals Beat Mongolia Lead Home and Away Series)

The Philippine footballers which carries the moniker Azkals made big news in the country as they gate crashed through the semifinal round of the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup by beating host and defending champion Vietnam and scored two draws against Myanmar and Singapore.

The entry of the Philippine soccer team to the semis was even voted as one of the finest in football worldwide this year by the Sports Illustrated as it was stalled as 10th nosing out other major football news. Although the Philippine team yielded to Indonesia last December no thanks to troubles back home. The Philippine team didn’t play one of the games on its home turf which could have brought wonders to the team. The Indonesians dash the Philippine campaign in the tournament by winning twice by an identical 1-0 score.

The perennial whipping boys in the continent and in the South East Asian region, the Azkals provided a Cinderella finish, by holding both Singapore and Myanmar to draws before hacking out a shocking 2-0 triumph over Vietnam over a stunned crowd. The win by the Philippines was monumental since in can be likened to Brunei winning over the Philippine team in men’s basketball.

The Philippine footballers which is consists of several Filipino-Foreigners wielded the axe on their Vietnamese counterpart with a fluid and cohesive counter attacks and tough defensive stratagem. The Philippine finished with five points in Group B just one point behind their victim Vietnam which wound up their campaign with 6 points. Both Vietnam and the Philippines advances into the semifinal round. The tournament awards three points for a win, 1 point for a draw and nil for a loss.

Both Vietnam and Philippines secured semifinal berth and they are pitted against Malaysia and Indonesia respectively.

Now hope is high for the team that is thirsty for attention and accolades as they set their sights in several tournaments in the year 2011, including the South East Asian Games

Suggested Readings:

The Latest Heartthrobs in Philippine Sports – Phil and James Younghusband

The Road For Glory of the Philippine National Football Team – The Azkals

Philippine Azkals Images or Pictures

The Sights, Sounds and Highlights of the 2010 Soccer FIFA World Cup

The March for Glory of Spain Team in the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup

Spain vs the Netherlands in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final

The 2010 Soccer World Cup :: Group of Death :: Teams and Young Players to Watch

Funny and Hilarious Football or Soccer Images

Asian Teams in the World Cup

South Korea Eliminates the Philippines in Asian Games Basketball Event

The Philippine Smart Gilas was waylaid by long time rival South Korea  66-74, in the quarterfinal round of 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China to kiss their medal hopes goodbye. The Philippines which finished third in Group F have a relatively difficult assignment in South Korea which placed second behind China in Group G.

The Philippines which missed the services of its naturalized player, Marcus Douthit trailed the fast Koreans all throughout the game and were simply outhustled in the middle. The Koreans outrebounded the Filipinos 36-25. Moreover, the Filipinos converted only 42% of their shots against the 48% shooting clip of the Koreans.

Asi Taulava submitted his best performance for the Philippines so far in the tournament, as he scored 23 points and hauled down four rebounds, and not enough to steer the Philippines for the win.

The Filipinos are now to be contented of finishing as high as 5^th place in the consolation pool.

Phl Smart Gilas Team Nips Chinese Taipei Enters Quarterfinal Round

The Philippine Smart Gilas team breezed past gritty Chinese Taipei 82-73 to earn a quarterfinal berth in the basketball competitions of 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. The Philippine team finished third in Group F with a 3 win 2 loss record in the second round and will meet many time rival South Korea, where the winner will advance to the semifinal round.

Asi Taulava and Marcio Lassiter each scored 18 points while Chris Tiu chipped in 15 points to lead the Philippine charge. The Filipinos just lead by two points at half time but managed to pull away from Chinese Taipei in the fourth quarter to secure their third win in five outings.

China meanwhile annexed the top spot in Group G by beating South Korea 72-64, while Iran crushed Qatar 88-46 to top Group F.

Other countries that also made it to the quarterfinals are Japan, Iran, Qatar, North Korea, and Jordan.

Philippines Beat India in Fifth Round to Wrest Second Place in Asian Games

Philippines Upsets Kazakhstan in 4^th Round of Chess Competition in Asiad

2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou China

The Complete Lists of Filipino Medalists in the 2010 Asian Games

Philippines Loses to Japan in Asian Games

Philippine Basketball Team Win Over India in Asian Games

The Philippine Smart Gilas team toyed with winless India, escaping with a resounding win 78-57, to even their win-loss slate at 2 apiece and eventually sealing a berth to the quarterfinal round of the basketball competition in the 2010 Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China.

Another win tomorrow against the Chinese-Taipei, will prevent them from facing heavy favorite and host China and instead will tangle with the dangerous South Korean quintet.

The Philippine team started slowly as they even lead the Indians by a mere point after the first half. But the Philippines finally showed their true worth and tenacity in the remaining half of the match as they thoroughly outscored their rival from South Asia 46-24, to engineer the rout and the much needed win that propels the Filipinos to the knock out stages of the basketball competition.

Joseph Evans Casio sizzled with 18 points including three treys and Chris Tiu added 13 points to spearhead the Filipinos balance scoring attack.

The Filipinos also won earlier against Qatar, but drop its two matches to Japan and defending champion Iran. The Philippines will wind up its campaign in the second round in Group F against the Chinese-Taipei who is also vying for the quarterfinal seat.

Related Links:

Philippines Beat India in Fifth Round to Wrest Second Place in Asian Games

Philippines Upsets Kazakhstan in 4^th Round of Chess Competition in Asiad

2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou China

The Complete Lists of Filipino Medalists in the 2010 Asian Games

Philippines Loses to Japan in Asian Games

Philippines Versus India in Asian Games

The Philippines will take on lowly India on their fourth game in the second round of action in Group F of the basketball competitions of the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. The Philippines must win one of its two remaining games to gain a berth in the quarterfinals. The last game of the Smart Gilas Phl team would be against dangerous Chinese-Taipei.

If the Philippines will sweep its two remaining game it will face South Korea in the next round. Winning one of their remaining them may set them an early duel with China and two setbacks will virtually eliminate them in the tournament.  The Filipino cagers stomped its class against Qatar, while bowing to Asian champion Iran and Japan.

Overall the Philippines had amassed 2 golds 2 silvers and 8 bronzes on their Asiad campaign which is good for 15th place, and now lags behind SEA rivals such as Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, and ahead over Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Timor Leste.

The 16th Guangzhou Asian Games in China

The 16th Guangzhou Asian Games kicked off last November 12, 2010 showcasing the vast, distinct and colorful culture of the world’s most populated country in the world which is China.

Countries from all corners of Asia are here for the conclave sending their best athletes in various sports discipline (ubiquitous and traditional), with hope that they can collar some measure of respect in the region by bagging the medals at stake or rip some existing records.

The Far Eastern countries represented host China, South Korea, Japan, Hongkong-China, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Mongolia and Macau-China boasts athletes that can perform very well even in the world stage, are the perennial favorites in capturing most of the medals up for grab. And halfway through the games, the region amassed a lion’s share of the medals. Far East Asian countries especially China, South Korea and Japan, are heavy favorites in swimming, judo, taekwondo, table tennis, dance sports, gymnastics, chess, athletics, archery, cycling, weightlifting, fencing, shooting, softball and canoeing and kayaking.

The former territories that formed Union of Soviet Socialists Republic (USSR) like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyztan and Tajikistan which comprises Central Asia are also contending for top honors in the event. The region is strong in chess, dancesports, gymnastics, cycling, boxing, athletics, tennis, football, basketball, rowing and canoeing and kayaking.

The Game’s darkhorse, the Middle East or Western Asian countries are locked for a battle and will surely make their presence felt in events like basketball, football, judo, taekwondo, and wrestling. Iran, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Kuwait, Palestine, Syria, and Jordan form the Middle East bloc.

The South Asia which is consists of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Seychelles are pinning their hopes in events like cricket, khabaddi, tennis, chess, athletics, shooting, weightlifting, and boxing, billiards and snooker.

Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei and Timor Leste from South East Asia are force to reckon with in boxing, chess, bowling, golf, sepak takraw and billiards and snooker.

The games which will end on November 27, 2010, will truly showcase the strength, wit and courage of the participating athletes from all over Asia.

China as expected is leading charge in the medal tally followed by South Korea and Japan.

Related Links:

Philippines Beat India in Fifth Round to Wrest Second Place in Asian Games

Philippines Upsets Kazakhstan in 4^th Round of Chess Competition in Asiad

2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou China

The Complete Lists of Filipino Medalists in the 2010 Asian Games

Philippines Loses to Japan in Asian Games

Philippine Team Eyeing Jared Homan and More Filipino-Foreigner Players

The Philippine Smart Gilas team is now pinning its hope on Jared Homan as a naturalization prospect to reinforce the team in the shaded lane. The 27-year old Homan of Iowa State is currently playing in the Greek League as contract was sent and team as waiting for his reply.

The 6-10 Homan averaged an impressive 13.6 points and 8.1 rebounds in 31 outings. On his last game with Iowa State he amassed 19 points and 20 rebounds in a losing effort against eventual 2005 NCAA champion North Carolina.

The aggressive effort of the Gilas team is not only in acquiring a naturalized player but also plan to obtain promising Filipino-foreigners to bolster its lineup further.

The team is eyeing two Filipino-Italians 6’6 Christian Stanhardinger of Nebraska and 6’1 Chris Bancher of Seattle University. Filipino-America Chris Lutz of Marshall University is set to join the team in a tournament in Doha, Qatar.

The team’s itinerary in the remaining months ahead includes: a trip to Las Vegas to play five games and then the team departs to Canada to play three more games. The team is also competing in Stankovic Cup in Beirut, Lebanon, the Jones Cup in Taipei and the tough Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

In their recent Aussie stint the Philippine hacked out impressive and scintillating victories. The team came home with five wins and a draw.

In their trip to basketball powerhouse Serbia, the Philippine team missing a reinforcement in the middle and plagued with injuries, absorbed four losses and won just once. The Serbs mightily put the lights out of the Filipinos, by taking full advantage of their sheer height and heft. The losses of the Filipinos were on the Hands of Metalac Valjevo, 76-86, KK Hemofarm Stada Vrsac 67-98, Partizan Belgrad 71-87 and UKK Beograd 79-80. The solo win registered by the Filipinos was against Super Fund 91-84.

Fil-Am Marco Lassiter was the team’s brightest player in Serbia as he unleashed 17 points against Metalac and Beograd and 21 points against Partizan.

RP U-16 Team Cops Fourth Place

Johor Bahru, Malaysia – Iran eked out a win over the though Philippine Team 83-73, in overtime to finish third in the Fiba Asia U-16 Men’s Championship Friday night at the Bandaraya Stadium.

Jeofrey Javillonar missed an easy layup in regulation that could have have lifted the Philippines to a win for the Smart Gilas Team, whose offensive game did’nt flourish well in overtime thus allowing the Iranians to secure the win by virtue of a 13-o run to clinch the third place trophy.

In the championship game, the mighty and tall China crushed South Korea 105-69, to bag the much-coveted championship. China and South Korea clinched the two berths to the Fiba World-U17 Men’s Championship in Hamburg, Germany next year.

This is the second heart-breaking loss for the Philippine quintet against Iran. The Philippines lost a 70-76 in their quarterfinal meeting.

The fourth place dished out by the Filipinos, is the best in years. Ravena collected 18 points, four rebounds, and four steals to lead the losing cause of the Filipinos.