China salvages fifth place; Jordan ends up seventh

MANILA, Philippines – China and Jordan faced off for the title two years ago but a tectonic shift in the Asian basketball landscape found them fighting for the crumbs in the last day of the 2013 Manila FIBA Asia Men's Basketball Championship. 

Dethroned champion China salvaged fifth place but not after another disturbing struggle against a Jarvis Hayes-less Qatar, 96-85, in a cold Sunday afternoon at the Mall of Asia Arena while Jordan routed Kazakhstan to finish at seventh spot. 

Guo Ailun came off the bench to pump some life to a demoralized Chinese team finishing with his tournament-best 21 points.

Wang Zhizhi, who played his last international game, had 13 points while Yi Jianlian added 12 in a half-hearted effort against a physical Qatar team that missed its naturalized player Hayes due to injury.

Mansour Elhadary and Baker Ahmad Momammed scored 23 and 22 points, respectively to pick up the slack for the Qataris, who battled China tooth-and-nail in a close first half.

Qatar wound up at sixth spot.

Jordan, which went to the last World Basketball Championship by virtue of its runner-up finish in Wuhan, failed to duplicate the feat with their basketball program on a rebuilding mode as the Middle East team sorely missed key players Sam Daghles, Zaid Abbas and former naturalized player Rasheim Wright among others in Manila. 

But Jordan will go home with a some measure of pride beating Kazakhstan behind a well-balanced offensive attack. 

Mahmoud Abdeen led five Jordan players in double figures with 20 points behind a hot 4-of-5 shooting from the outside. 

Kazakhstan, which lost to Gilas Pilipinas in the quarterfinals, wound up at eight place.